Rally to save the Euclid Postal Station (901 34th Avenue North)

Saturday, October 31st from 9-noon
by Concerned Citizens and the Suncoast Area Local American Postal Workers Union, AFL-CIO

On October 31st from 9AM to 12 noon, concerned citizens will be holding a rally at the Euclid Post Office located at 901 34th Avenue North to oppose the possible closing of it by the USPS.

Refreshments will be provided and we ask for as many local participants as possible to come out and help gather signatures for petitions and letters to be sent to our elected officials.

Please let officials know that you, your neighborhood and association are opposed to the possible closing and ask the city for help in holding this rally to prevent the unnecessary shut down of postal services in the Euclid area.

The coordinator of this event is Mike Sullivan, both a postal employee and leader of the local postal union. He can be reached at 727-520-7300. Your support in helping stop any consideration to close the Euclid station is appreciated.

August President's Message

By Barbara McCormick Heck

Neighborhood Challenges. Neighborhoods have been very challenged this year as they deal with a wide variety of issues. Neighborhoods need your continued help if they are to succeed. Please volunteer to help and offer your suggestions.
Can’t join a Committee? Use e-mails, US mail and phone calls to make your case. So fasten your seat belts because we have a lot of work to do on these issues.
• 2010 City and County Budgets – dealing with the reality of the cuts.
• Public Safety – dealing with increases during these tough economic times.
• Foreclosures – dealing with unkempt homes, yards and absent landowners.
• Codes Enforcement – dealing with new policies.
• Land Development / Historic Preservation / Landmarking of historic resources – preserving our history for future generations.
• Going “green” – dealing with environmental impacts.

Vote – September 1st Primary. Our forefathers paid heavily for us to have the opportunity of free and unfettered
elections. Please honor them and this country by casting your ballot in the September Primary and again in the November General Election.

School Starts Soon. Please place reminders in your newsletters and on your websites that school starts in just a few weeks. Ask your residents to please drive responsibly and slowly and obey all school zone speed limits. Let’s keep our children safe – they are the future.


Grant Proposal Deadlines. Proposals for various grants are due very soon. Contact Tom Killian, CONA Mentor, if you need help. CONA has many successful grant recipients who can review your proposal and give suggestions. Grant information and application forms may be found on city web site at www.stpete.org/budget/grantsc.asp
• Neighborhood Partnership Grants – September 4th deadline.
• Police Forfeiture Grants – September 25th deadline.
• St. Petersburg Arts Grants – August 31st deadline.

2009 Voter Registration information

August 1 is the deadline to be registered to vote for the September 1 Primary election for St. Petersburg Residents.

See the following PDFs for more information:

voter_registration_deadline.pdf

voter_registration_deadline_events.pdf

2009 Forfeiture Grant information

2009 - FORFEITURE FUND AWARD PROGRAM
MEETING NOTICE

DATE: WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19, 2009

TIME: 6:00 PM

LOCATION: CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS, CITY HALL
175 - 5TH STREET NORTH
ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA

PURPOSE: TO PROVIDE APPLICANTS WITH INFORMATION ABOUT THE AWARD PROGRAM AND THE APPLICATION FORM AND PROCEDURE FOLLOWED BY A QUESTION AND ANSWER PERIOD.

ALL APPLICANTS ARE ENCOURAGED TO ATTEND THIS MEETING PRIOR TO COMPLETING THE APPLICATION FORM.

Download Application here - Fortfeiture_Application.pdf

CONA Family Fun Day at the Trop-August 16th

CONA Family Fun Day at the Trop
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Rays vs. Toronto Blue Jays at 1:38PM
$18 Tickets – Bring your entire family ! ! !
(includes admission, hot dog, cracker jacks and soda)

St. Petersburg’s Council of Neighborhood Associations (CONA) is sponsoring a Family Fun Day at the Trop on Sunday, August 16th. Rays vs. Toronto Blue Jays at 1:38PM. Special seating is in left field. This is not a fundraiser. You are paying the exact cost of the group sales ticket. Parking is FREE with four in your car. Please make your check payable to “CONA” and indicate “Rays Tickets”. Get your check in early, these seats will go fast. Please call 727-321-2653 or e-mail Cass Rael for details.
Cass Rael e-mail cvraelsr@hotmail.com

July President's Message

Times are tough. Our neighborhoods are facing very difficult challenges. The Mayoral and Council races are in full swing.Lately, so many seem to focus on what is wrong, instead of finding solutions to fix the situation. It has become too easy to complain, to blog on CONA and other websites, to talk on the phone, to send text messages, to stand around after various meetings talking about what is not being done or how someone else could do it better.

Let's spend that same amount of time and focus our energy figuring out ways to make things better. Let’s work on ways to solve neighborhood problems. Working on a solution requires a time commitment. It requires becoming and staying
informed. It requires your attendance at (CONA/Committee/Council/Commission) meetings. It requires seeking out informed experts, not just the loudest voices in the room. We all know that complaining takes less time, but it does NOT fix the problem.
Working on a solution does help fix the problem.

CONA Outreach: In the next three months, CONA Officers and Committee Chairs will be visiting your Association and
Crime Watch meetings. We want to find out your neighborhood needs and how CONA can assist you. For your immediate needs, please e-mail any officer with your request. We have many associations who have faced similar issues and can provide
guidance and assistance.

Public Safety: CONA’s PSC Committee will work with any neighborhood who wants to set up Crime Watch groups.
Committee Updates/Questions: Please e-mail or call your CONA Committee Chair with any questions you might have. Contact information is listed in our CONA Newsletter and on our website.

Let me leave you with this thought:
Do not be so concerned with what was and what will be.
Yesterday is history
Tomorrow is a mystery
But today is a gift
. . . that is why it is called the present

Enjoy each day. Hug your loved ones. Smile. Help someone in need. Do a good deed. Slow down and smell the flowers. Be happy you are here. We are happy you are here too. Have a great July.

Thursday, June 25 - 2009 Partners Luncheon-SPNHS

The Board of Directors, Members and Staff of
St. Petersburg Neighborhood Housing Services, Inc.

Invites you to the 2009 Partners Luncheon
Celebrating National Homeownership Month.

Special Guest Speakers
City of St. Petersburg Mayoral Candidates

2009 Partners Luncheon.pdf

June Message

June President’s Message
By Barbara McCormick Heck

The 2010 City Budget cuts will impact each of us. Over the past months, our City government has been looking
for ways to consolidate, trim, delete and more efficiently run government on much less money in 2010 and onward. It
has been an extremely difficult task for everyone involved. We are talking about potential job losses, service reductions,
closures and more.

City Council had its first Budget workshop on May 26th – a 6+ hour meeting with the various departments reviewing
their proposed 5%, 7% or 10% reductions. Even with just a 5% reduction, it was evident that we will notice the
changes. And a 5% across the board decrease will not get us to the lowered budget number we need to hit. Ouch.
The current proposed budget (complete with 5%, 7% and 10% decreases can be viewed on our CONA website at
www.conastpete.org and also on the city’s website at www.stpete.org.

Step One: I urge everyone to carefully read through the proposed Budget RIGHT NOW ! ! ! Check to see what these
cuts will mean to you and to your neighborhood. Right now is the time to talk to your City Council member about
these cuts. Do not wait until “later”, or at the end of summer and definitely not after the budget has been finalized.
Step Two: Plan on attending the Budget Public Forum tentatively scheduled for July 9th. Get ready to speak about
how this budget (and its cuts) will affect you and what changes you might suggest.

Step Three: Reach out. Join with your neighbors and with your adjacent neighborhood associations when working on
a project (clean-up, get-togethers, neighborhood socials). Spreading the “cost” or the “labor” over lots more people
really helps minimize what each person needs to do or to spend.

Step Four: Support CONA, attend the CONA meetings and let CONA know when you need help.
Just remember everyone that T-O-G-E-T-H-E-R we can do anything. “Together” is the key.