JULY 26, 2007

The JULY 26th meeting was held at the PCSO District Center on Avenue G at 7:00 PM. The meeting was called to order by Secretary Thea Crosier. Concerning our current situation with NO President, Thea asked resident Larry Cleary if he was willing to accept the position and he said he was happy to do so. Thea made a motion to designate JPV resident Larry Cleary as new JPVRA President and motion was seconded by Martha Bruce.

Minutes – read and accepted.

Treasurer’s Report – No change or activity. Balance remains at $339.68.

New Business

Major Baggett of Polk County Sheriff’s office gave a short presentation on a NEW type of growing theft activity ~ COPPER theft. People are breaking into homes to steal the copper wire. They are also breaking into citrus and other commercial areas to steal copper wire or pipes from pump or telephone equipment. This is a growing problem and many of the thieves are cocaine addicts looking for quick cash. The copper is sold at pawn shops and as it is often melted down, making the source untraceable. President Larry Cleary said the home next door to him on Coleman Road was broken into recently for this reason. The home was empty and to be renovated and the home was stripped of duct work, fans, wire, etc. Aluminum is currently going up in value, so aluminum theft is also becoming a problem. People are starting to steal the GUTTERS off homes! The authorities are now dealing with a different type of thief then in the past. Pawn shops have state requirements such as ID from seller, etc. for copper and aluminum. But scrap yards do not fall under as tight of restrictions. One good deterent to theft of your home is to buy a TOY camera at toy shop and mount it on your house with camera facing OUT onto property.

The Sheriff’s office stated it has recently been involved in a traffic citatation operation in our area. Most citations issued were for speeding.

Major Baggett mentioned that Coleman Road resident Mike DeChambeau (a guest this evening) is very active in many Neighborhood and Sheriff’s office programs and will be a terrific asset to JPVRA. Mike asked how we advertised our meetings. He was told that it was with flyers being passed on foot or in some cases poster board signs at main JPV intersections. Mike suggested that we try to get our meetings listed in advance in the LEDGER and NEWS CHIEF calendar of events. The group agreed this was an excellent idea.

Major Baggett mentioned the Crime Stopper’s program and said he’d be happy to have a representative give a short presentation at the August meeting.

Old Business

Thea said she has been unable to reach “Keep Winter Haven Beautiful” to see if and funding for our landscape project is forthcoming. She will keep trying. Meanwhile Thea suggested that JPV group members try rooting out cuttings of shrubs to later be planted in JPV area to enhance homes or small businesses. This was discussed. Lynn Giles said she and her neighbors on Taylor have decided not to begin planting Crepe Myrtles yet. They first want to get curb areas cleaned up and posts installed. They are also thinking that plumbago shrubs might be more feasible.

Stan Bucher (code enforcement) reported on his findings of where to dispose of old tires. The only place in Polk County is the Landfill where tires can be left for cost of $1 apiece (without rim) and up to ten tires may be deposited. With rim costs $2-$3 apiece. It was also mentioned that “Keep Winter Haven Beautiful” will sometimes coordinate a special drop off day for tires at a specific location.

Stan spoke briefly concerning vehicles that park on right of way or sidewalks. This has been a continual issue in JPV. Stan said drivers may NOT park on roadways in unincorporated areas of Polk County without “reasonable reason.” He suggested that perhaps the code office could try to enforce this rather then the Sheriff’s office. However, the law is extremely vague ~ and difficult to enforce. A driver may also be ticketed if automobile is parked in wrong direction (against the right of way.) The law concerning curb-side parking has too many exceptions to let Sheriff’s office give out citations. However, the Sheriff’s office will be happy to send an officer out to investigate specific cases and to check for ordinances. Lynn Giles said that “Keep Polk County Beautiful” has hazardous waste recycling twice a year. This is normally written up in the newspaper in advance of the event.

Martha Bruce asked Larry Cleary about his petition to keep same speed limit on Coleman Road and not let it be raised to 45 mph. Larry said he obtained many signatures and has submitted the petition to the Department of Transportation and County Traffic Engineers, but heard nothing back yet. Betty Sills mentioned that the speed limit on Coleman on the OTHER side of Recker Highway is 30 mph. However, that side of Recker is CITY and our side is COUNTY, which makes a difference.

Number in attendance was 14.

The meeting was adjourned @ 8:05.

Next meeting, Thursday, Aug. 23rd.