East Raleigh

East CAC Meeting Minutes
April 2011
Submitted by Secretary Sue Sturgis

Raleigh’s East Citizens Advisory Council held its monthly meeting at 7 p.m. on Monday, April 19, 2011 at the Lions Park Community Center. About 30 people were there, with about a half-dozen attending for the first time. Chairman Mark Turner recorded the meeting, with video available at www.eastraleigh.org. The March 2011 minutes were approved without changes.

Mark noted that the community was dealing with the aftermath of the April 16 tornado that caused significant destruction in the ECAC area behind the Food Lion shopping center on Raleigh Boulevard, hitting especially hard in the Lockwood neighborhood that encompasses North King Charles, Marlborough, Millbank, Euston and Brighton.

SUCCESS REPORTS: Mark reported driving down Milburnie Road today and seeing that a lot of fallen trees have already been cleaned up. It’s clear that crews have been working hard.

Charlene Willard, Raleigh Community Services Department’s liaison to the ECAC, reported that her department would coordinate a volunteer relief effort to help with storm cleanup once Parks & Recreation finished assessing conditions. There’s an online volunteer signup available at www.raleighnc.gov/stormhelp; within a few hours of the site’s launch, 275 people had registered to help.

In other good news from the ECAC, Mark was invited to talk about his work as a blogger to participants in Raleigh Digital Connectors. A partnership between the city and One Economy, a global nonprofit that works to bring technology to underserved communities, the Digital Connectors program offers technology training for youth from diverse backgrounds between the ages of 14 through 21.
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Submitted by Secretary Sue Sturgis

Raleigh’s East Citizens Advisory Council held its monthly meeting at 7 p.m. on Monday, March 21 at the Lions Park Community Center. About 35 people attended, with several there for the first time. Attendees approved the February minutes without changes. Chairman Mark Turner recorded the meeting, with video available at www.eastraleigh.org. Attendees were invited for beers at Big Boss Brewery after the meeting.

SUCCESS REPORTS: Spring is here, and the new playground at Lions Park is drawing crowds. The Belvidere Park signs went up near the car wash on Dennis Avenue, and they look beautiful. And a song that ECAC Vice Chair Van Alson wrote with alt-country rock singer-songwriter Ryan Adams was on “American Idol”; there’s a link on the ECAC’s Facebook page.
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Submitted by Secretary Sue Sturgis

Raleigh’s East Citizens Advisory Council held its monthly meeting at 7 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 21, 2011 at the Lions Park Community Center. About 30 people attended, with about five there for the first time. The January minutes were approved without changes. Chairman Mark Turner recorded the meeting, with video available at www.eastraleigh.org.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Charlene Willard with the city’s Community Services Department announced that the Belvidere Park neighborhood will be dedicating its new stone entryway on Saturday, Feb. 26 at 10 a.m. and placing a time capsule inside. The project was funded with a Raleigh Neighborhood Improvement Matching Grant. Other neighborhoods interested in seeking a grant should move forward now; applications are due June 30, and the ongoing recession means the program’s future is uncertain. Anyone interested is encouraged to call Charlene at charlene.willard@raleighnc.gov or 919-996-5718 to discuss ideas.

The Raleigh Summer Youth Employment Program offered by Community Services will be interviewing applicants soon. It is for people ages 14 to 18. For more information, visit http://1.usa.gov/eeXNfG.

Charlene discussed an idea for an ECAC calendar. Currently no CAC has one, and there are lots of possibilities. Anyone interested in working on this should contact Charlene.
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