Meeting date changed

They changed the date of the fairgrounds meeting from this Thursday to Monday, Nov. 16th at 5:30, Young Ave. Deli. They'd apparently like to keep it small instead of having a big public forum, but since I announced it here already, I'll keep y'all up to date, and it is a meeting in a public place with one of our representatives.

Fairgrounds Meeting with Councilman Strickland

There's a public meeting with Councilman Jim Strickland about the fairground plans this Thursday, Nov. 12th at 5:30 pm at Young Ave. Deli. Alex Turley in Cooper Young is concerned about the city's more recent plan for the fairgrounds (with a green space promenade, ball fields, residential, and smaller retail opportunities) and has organized this meeting to let the neighborhood voice its desires. Alex is Henry Turley's nephew, and he supports his uncle's plan, which originally had the blessing of the city before the more recent option emerged. Turley would like to build the fairgrounds around an athletic complex for regional youth sports (to complement the focus of the Kroc Center) and a larger retail component, with hotels and larger stores, ideally a Target and grocery store.

I see good things in both plans. Like many Midtowners, I would love to see a quality grocery move in (Trader Joe's would be my first choice, or a Whole Foods or Fresh Market), and I've wanted a Target for years. However, the Turley plan does not seem to allow for much, if any, free green space. His green space is planned for ball fields and other programmed activities. I love the newer plan's idea of a long green promenade from East Parkway to the Coliseum that would double as tailgating, a la the Grove in Oxford, for football weekends.

Memphis is toward the bottom of the nation on percentage of parkland in its city area. We have only 5.1% of our space devoted to parkland (a large chunk of which is in one place at Shelby Farms), where Albuquerque, N.M. has 30%. New York has 19.6%, Washington, D.C. has 19.4%, and Austin, TX has 16.3%. I'd hate for several hundred acres of publicly held land to be divvied up without any green space reserved for park space.

I was at a meeting with Henry Turley about this plan last week, and he doesn't have a full plan laid out on paper. He wants community input before making a final plan. He seemed very open to ideas about enviornmental issues such as reducing light pollution from ballfield lights and including storm water retention -- the problem with redevelopment is that Overton Park is already threatened with invasive engineering projects aimed to fix flooding in this same already-at-capacity watershed. Any plan approved has got to be environmentally sound so as not to add runoff in an already flood-prone area.

Anyway, that's my wish list. Go make your own wish list known Thursday night.

Veterans' Day Memorial

There will be a Veterans Day Ceremony sponsored by the DAR held at the Doughboy Statue this Wednesday at 11:00 A.M. (11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month). If you are free, please join in this recognition of our veterans.

Hayride

The Hayride was a great evening out in the park. I don't remember when I've last had s'mores (chocolate is always first in my mind), the mules were charming, and it was lovely to ride through the Old Forest in the darkness and watch the stars and the tree tops against the sky. It was my first time at the event, and apparently our rain date cut down on attendance somewhat, but it was a lovely stream of neighbors and friends. I met some great people, saw some good friends, and enjoyed the perfect November evening. Hope to see all of you out there next year.


Willy Bearden dispensed hot chocolate to the crowd.

HARIDE TONIGHT!!!

Come out and join us this evening from 6-8 pm by the East Parkway Pavilion. We'll have a mule team pulling a wagon through the Old Forest, a campfire, s'mores, marshmallows, and a membership table where you can renew for the year or buy an organic t-shirt or canvas grocery bag. It's one of the few chances a year to be out in the forest under the stars, and the weather is perfect. Don't miss it!

Overton Square plans changing

The CA had an article about the latest incarnation of plans for Overton Square. The developer is making some changes after complaints that their original layout was too suburban and car-centric in feel for Midtown in general and Overton Square in particular. They've added an extra building along Cooper to soften the large parking lot, and the plaza at the corner of Madison and Cooper looks quite nice.

However, the article failed to address the flooding issue in Midtown that centers on Lick Creek, which runs directly underneath the property in question. Belleair and the zoo, both just downstream of Overton Square, are flooding regularly, and Overton Park is threatened with various plans to try to fix the flooding. All of these involved digging and building berms, none of which are desirable in a historic park.

Any building in Overton Square MUST address storm water run-off (heightened dramatically by big box roofs and parking lots) to keep from adding to this problem. Green roofs and storm water collection need to be required by the city to keep the already out of hand problem from getting even worse. Developers routinely get a pass from dealing with storm water containment, but that has got to stop. This enforcement also needs to apply to any development that might happen in the fairgrounds, also situated just by a tributary that feeds this flood problem.

HAYRIDE POSTPONED!!!

The weather this week looks downright awful, so we're moving the hayride to Friday, Nov. 6th (weather permitting) instead. It will be from 6-8 pm, by the East Parkway Pavilion. We'll have a mule team or two pulling wagons through the Old Forest, a campfire, s'mores, marshmallows, and a membership table where you can renew for the year or buy a t-shirt. Please help us spread the word about this last minute date change.