The Westminster/Pine Park Civic Association hosted the yearly meeting at Westminster Elementary School on January 18. The largest crowd in years showed up to hear plans for a crime prevention district in our neighborhood. Board members Bill Root and Louis McKnight outlined plans to implement the district. Incidentally, the meeting followed a rash of burglaries in our neighborhoods.

There are several websites from other neighborhoods who have implemented these districts and also copies of articles that the Advocate has published for more information:

A: With only 56% of the residents paying dues, we can’t afford enough sheriff patrols to make a difference. The board was spending copious amounts of time to try to collect dues from the remaining residents. We researched other districts and are impressed with their success. Another reason is that with crime increasing somewhat in the city, we wanted to be proactive. Our subdivisions are assigned to the South Burbank Sheriff’s station, which is in one on the highest crime districts. We feel the extra patrols in our neighborhood will be a deterrent to criminals.

A: We aren’t. Nothing regarding subdivision names or boundaries will change. Just like the current civic association is called the Westminster/Pine Park Civic Association, we have named the crime prevention district, the Westminster/Park Crime Prevention and Neighborhood Improvement District. This is for naming purposes only to file the bill in the legislature and to be able to assess and collect the fee on each parcel. It no way affects our subdivision’s identities on file at the EBR courthouse. The district is actually a “political subdivision” which is a unit of local government, including a school board and  special districts, authorized to perform government functions. This allows the legislature to pass a bill that will allow the district to levy an assessment to pay for security and other matters.

A: We plan to raise the dues from $50 to $100 for several reasons. We have needed to raise dues for years but did not do that so as not to penalize the 56% of our neighbors who consistently pay dues. We are also being proactive as the district will be in effect for 10 years and we need to make allowances for inflation. We also needed enough funding to increase our security patrols to a level that will protect our residents. Please note that we will not have civic association dues. Every dollar of the increase will be spent on the crime prevention fees and patrols. There will be no increase in other expenses such as beautification, newsletters, etc.

A: It basically insures that all residents who own property here will pay dues. This plan is being implemented all over the state. It allows neighborhoods to take charge of their security.

A: Actually, most of it will be for security- just not all patrols as we have other programs in effect, which we believe enhance security. We want to continue the newsletter for informational purposes as well as the phone tree. A small percentage will be allocated for beautification. Since there will be no other dues collected regarding a civic association, we still want to maintain the Chelsea boulevard and our entrances. All social events, including Luminaria will be self-funded.

A: The board will consist of 7 members appointed by various city leaders. They will appoint residents or property owners who volunteer. Anyone who meets the criteria may volunteer and be eligible. This doesn’t differ that much from our current Board of Directors.

All other questions and concerns may asked here or forwarded to Bill Root, Louis McKnight or Dawnette Shelton