Top That!

They say that street sign toppers encourage a sense of belonging and neighborhood pride. While it’s hard to imagine how one can be more proud of our community, we’re now a few steps closer to having our very own sign toppers to promote our neighborhood’s identity.  A few design mock-ups will be headed to the VHCA board for consideration at their next meeting. Once a selection is made, it’s off to production and up they’ll go! 

content submitted by Chip Franzoni of the VHCA Board of Directors

The Virginia-Highland Civic Association is pleased to report some significant property tax reductions that will result in material savings to the Association on the old library lots–now North Highland Park (at St. Charles Place and North Highland Avenue) that the VHCA owns thanks to some great efforts by past Treasurer George Zirkel and Walter Hotz, Esq., of BOE Tax Appeals in Tucker. Upon George’s request, Mr. Hotz appealed our 2018 taxes on the two parcels and physically attended the County Boards of Equalization hearings to present our case. The parcels were appraised at $174,000 and $157,000, respectively, in 2018 before the appeal and hearing. Mr. Hotz was able to get each lot appraisal down to $100, for a sum total of $200 appraisal value for the combined property/park. What an amazing job that the Association will reap benefits from for the next several years. These rates will be frozen/’locked in’ all the way until 2021 pursuant to the tax statute.

On behalf of the VHCA and all of its’ members, we would like to formally send a huge thanks out to both George Zirkel and Walter Hotz, Esq. Thanks so much!!

Article by David Brandenberger, President – Virginia-Highland Civic Association

From Jennifer Ide’s Office: (Please join us)

The Renew Atlanta/TSPLOST programs, launched in 2015 and 2016, were created to help address the billion dollar infrastructure backlog facing the city. Though the programs have made much progress to date delivering key projects across Atlanta, they face significant budget challenges as we move forward to complete the full initial program scope. Moreover, the cost to deliver the full scope of the initial program considerably exceeds the funding available from the Renew Atlanta Bond and anticipated TSPLOST revenues.

We are working diligently to prioritize and re-baseline the initial program lists to deliver the greatest impact to Atlanta’s above-ground infrastructure and transportation network with the available funds. Through this re-baselining effort, we are dedicated to engaging all stakeholders to help inform the process in a transparent and meaningful way.

As a first step in that process, we encourage you to attend our Public Meetings associated with each quadrant of the city. Bring your neighbors to the first meeting for the Northeast quadrant will be at Grady High School (929 Charles Allen Dr. NE) on January 30 from 6:30 to 8:00 PM

(UPDATE) Public input via survey has been extended to February 7, 2019.

Presentation and Survey can be found here.

Subscribe to the District 6 Newsletter for monthly updates/news/events in our district!

Submitted by Kim Meyer, Trustee, Inman Middle School Foundation

Atlanta Public Schools recently received the amazing news that all 6^th and 7^th grade students will benefit from the T-Mobile Empower Ed program.  What does this mean for Inman? Lenovo laptops will be issued to all 6^th and 7^th grade students in January. In addition, certain students will qualify for wireless “hotspots” to ensure the availability of WiFi service at home.

Thanks to donations from our Inman community that includes our Candler Park neighborhood, the Inman Middle School Foundation had already succeeded in funding over 400 Chromebooks that are already being used in classrooms every day across grades and subject areas. These devices, when added to the new T-Mobile laptops and existing Inman devices, mean that EVERY Inman student will have access to a dedicated device by February!

The Grady Cluster is aligned to support the College and Career Readiness platform for our students. These technology initiatives result in students gaining skills to best prepare them for their college and/or job experiences.  In the shorter term, increased exposure in the classroom helps increase students’ comfort level for the spring Milestones assessments which are conducted on a laptop or Chromebook.  Finally, this technology enables teachers across all grade levels to interact with their students in new and engaging ways while delivering real-time, differentiated instruction based on individual student needs and abilities.

Tenecia Powe, Inman’s Instruction Technology Specialist, said “The most powerful aspect of being one to one is the unique learning experiences that will now be offered to our students. They will be able to interact with content in a way that’s just not possible with the traditional paper and pencil method. Skyping content experts, virtual field trips, and other digital activities take learning beyond the borders of our brick and mortar school. With effective and efficient integration, we will not only engage and instruct our students today, but we will also prepare them for future success in college and careers.”

The success of this initiative will continue to require support in the areas of teacher professional learning, educational software, and technology updates/accessories. Continued financial contributions from our Inman families and community are therefore critical to maintaining the great momentum we’ve built so far.

Please visit www.inmanfoundation.org to learn more on how you can support our Inman Eagles!

Long time Board member, Leah Matthews welcomed her second baby, precious Lila Mae, last weekend. Congratulations to you and your family, Leah!

We’ll see you at the February Board Meeting! Thank you for all that you do.

Each month the volunteer board members of the VHCA, come together with Va-Hi residents to make motions, pass variances, and mold the future of our wonderful historic neighborhood. We invite you to join us for the conversation. Mark your calendar for the year ahead!

Capping off another successful year, the 2018 Virginia-Highland Tour of Homes raised more than $30,000 for the Virginia-Highland Civic Association. Every year we’re reminded of what an incredible neighborhood ours is to call home, and this year was no different! Seven generous neighbors opened up their homes to more than 1,700 visitors over the weekend of December 1^st and 2^nd, showcasing their art, furnishings, and renovations, as well of some of the neighborhoods favorite restaurants. Despite one day of heavy rain, more than 170 volunteers came out to showcase wonderful homes from across Virginia-Highland. Luckily, Sunday brought beautiful weather – and with it a record number of visitors. 

Raising more than $380,000 for the neighborhood over the last six years, the Tour of Homes is a true community effort. We’d like to thank, first and foremost, our homeowners for hosting this year’s tour. We couldn’t have done it without YOU! We’re also very grateful to our advertising and restaurant partners who continue to be so generous each year. Many thanks to those who volunteered throughout the weekend and to our house captains who managed volunteers at each home.

The Tour of Homes Committee works all year long to put together an outstanding event. We’d like to thank each of them for their efforts:

• Home Selection: Jeannie Lightsey (Co-Chair), Robin Ragland (Co- Chair), Pam Bullock, Julie Farmer, and Mary Hallenberg
• Public Relations:  Kitsy Rose PR
• Restaurants: JoAnn Zyla (Chair), Alison Hutton, and Robin Ragland
• Volunteers: Brittany Thacher (Co- Chair), Meghan Pendergast Dean (Co-Chair), Elanor Barrineau, and Karen Murphree
• Graphic Design: Lori Z Joslyn
• Website: Centner Consulting
• Tour Operations:  Sean Davey, Cherry Frederick, and Holle Gilbert
• Signage and Flocking: Cherry Frederick

Last but not least, thank you to Robin Ragland for dedicating your time for the last six years as Tour of Homes Chair. Your hard work and dedication are invaluable and we’re grateful to have you as our neighbor!

If you really enjoyed this year’s Tour and want to be part of an important fundraising effort for our neighborhood, please note that the 25th annual Tour of Homes will be held December 7-8, 2019. We’d love to have you join our team! Or, maybe you’d like your home featured on next year’s tour? It’s a great way to connect with neighbors and finish up that list of projects around the house! For details on how to get involved, contact Chase Johnson at chasevhca@gmail.com.

Contributed by Chase Johnson