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July 2007
IN DEPENDENCE OF YOU DAY....
July reminds us of our country’s birthday and the commitment of a militia made up of people like you and me. Today we have no need for militias but we do have a need for people to answer the call to volunteer. One of the more trying parts of being president is finding people who are willing to assist in many of the projects the association has scheduled during the year. Many assume someone else will jump in and do the job. We are extremely dependant on you! There may not be an association in the future unless some new faces step forward in the community. Any amount of time you can volunteer, however small it may be, is needed and appreciated.
In June the members who attended the monthly meeting voted unanimously to move forward with the CHAP process. I am currently drafting a letter to be sent to the mayor’s office to start the process.
Summer also brings about two difficult issues that I feel need to be addressed. The first is trash. Please read the article on trash enforcement in this newsletter. Trash must be kept in rat-proof containers even on your property.
The second issue is noise. The level of noise in our neighborhood has reached a very high level. It does not matter if it comes from a commercial establishment, church, residence, car alarms, house alarms or car radios; being courteous to your neighbors is essential to getting through the summer months. If you think you may be an offender please turn or tone it down..
August should be a very interesting month with the upcoming city elections. Mayor Sheila Dixon has agreed to attend and so have several other candidates. Bring your questions to the August meeting.
—Richard Hackett
President BHA
*TRASH ENFORCEMENT*
Butchers Hill is a Strict Enforcement Neighborhood
Starting in July, the Butchers Hill Streetscape Committee and the Baltimore Housing Sanitation Enforcement Section are initiating strict enforcement of the city code for Exterior Sanitary Maintenance. Be sure you know the rules, why they are important, how the rules are enforced, and what to do for handling specific trash-related circumstances.
What: the Rules for Regular Household Trash Collection – Regular household trash is collected as early as 7 a.m. Tuesday and Friday, except holidays. Up to 4 containers, each weighing less than 30 pounds, may be put out in front of your house ONLY on the morning of collection. Trash, garbage or debris not stored inside your own premises must be kept in rat-proof containers with tight-fitting lids. Regardless of what type of receptacle you use, all refuse must stay off sidewalks until Tuesday or Friday mornings.
Why: it DOES matter when the trash goes out – We all know that trash left out can quickly become a nuisance. Rats, dogs, birds, and yes, people, get into the trash. Furthermore, once trash starts to accumulate, it seems to attract more – a location for dumping trash soon becomes a “dump”.
Trash isn’t just unsightly; it’s far more serious than that:
- Legal Responsibility: we are responsible for the sidewalk, gutter and alley adjacent to our property.
- There’s a reason we use the term ‘Sanitary Enforcement’. Controlling rats, flies, other vermin, and water-borne diseases is not a thing of the past. Urban cleanliness to protect health is the most im-portant reason we care about community trash. Rats carry diseases. A recently published Johns Hopkins study based on rats collected in East Bal-timore showed high levels of many human patho-gens. Our local researcher, Greg Glass, reports that the most serious disease risks are for leptospirosis, tapeworm, and hantavirus because these can be contracted from rat excrement and saliva.
- “Grime attracts Crime”; a neat and clean environ-ment deters more than disease. Some studies have shown that fixing the small problems, like litter, helps to deter crime. One thought is that crooks recognize that a neighborhood that notices and picks up trash also notices and reports unusual or disorderly behavior. Another theory is that the quality of the environment, like an orderly appearance, influences all citizens’ behavior.
- Property Value is money in the bank. For the homeowners of Butchers Hill, our community is one determinant of the value of probably our most significant asset and our biggest investment – our homes. The time, money, and energy we spend on our houses extend to the street, sidewalk, and alley.
How: enforcement through citations – Housing Code Enforcement inspectors will be conducting “walk-abouts” starting this month. Just as illegal parking is regularly policed, illegal dumping will be enforced with violation notices sent by certified mail to the property owner where the trash is discovered. The fine for the first offense is $50 for a household or $100 for a multi-family building. If the fines are not paid, they can become a lien on the property. For repeat offenders, the case may be referred to the Code Enforcement Legal section where it can be reviewed for prosecution. Fines can be increased up to $500 a day. There can be a Housing Court summons to a hearing board – these are as “real” as any other court hearing, even possibly leading to subpoenas and arrest!
What: to do if… -- here are some situations and how to handle them. Many of these scenarios ask you to call “311”. Here is information about the City’s 311 pro-gram. It works! The call center tracks complaints and forwards them to the correct agency. Agencies report on how quickly and efficiently the complaints are handled. When you dial 311, be prepared to write down the service request number and the time frame for resolution that the operator gives you. This is an official record of your complaint and can be useful if the matter is not resolved appropriately. The Streetscape Committee and Sanitation Enforcement can help you pursue a trash problem, but only if you have reported it first and allowed sufficient time for an inspector to respond. You can also create and track your service request online at the City’s 311 online website https://baltimore.customerservicerequest.org/web_intake_balt/Controller site.
- What if there is trash on your property that isn’t yours? Call 311 to report “illegal dumping”. If someone puts trash in front of your house, it is legally your responsibility unless you call. An inspector will come out to identify whose trash it is and issue a violation.
- What if you see someone driving into our neighborhood to dump trash? Get the license number and call 911 – this is a serious police matter – we don’t know what’s being dumped, or why!
- What if someone on your block consistently puts out trash before collection day, or has discarded bulk items without an appointment, or left building materials out? Call 311 and provide the address where the violation has occurred. Note that you can go to the Housing website to find out if a particular address has had previous violations.
- What about dog feces? Exteriors must be kept clear of any accumulation of animal waste as well as accumulated trash, garbage, and debris. Dog feces attract rats. Call 311 to report a serious, consistent, and continuing problem with built-up dog “poop”. For the more common daily droppings, it is difficult to monitor folks who don’t “curb” their dogs on our neighborhood streets. Nevertheless, it is illegal – Title 10 of the Health Code states that any person having custody of an animal must remove all feces left by the animal on public or private property, and further, must have in his or her possession means for removal and disposal.
- What if I want more information? See the following page at www.ButchersHill.org: http://www.butchershill.org/about/trash.pdf.
Also see the Baltimore City Housing website at www.BaltimoreHouseing.org. Click on the Housing Code Enforcement button under Quick Links lo-cated at the lower left hand corner of the page.
To learn more about Butchers Hill Association trash activities and practices call Sandy Sales at 410-558-0149.
Butchers Hill is serious about keeping our neighborhood clean. How can we ask our visitors not to litter if we are complacent about a primary source of litter – our own household trash practices? Let’s keep our neighborhood healthy and tidy by obeying the trash disposal rules.
BHA COMMITTEES AND MONTHLY MEETINGS
- Crime Prevention/Block Representatives: Wednesday, July 18th, 7 P.M., 2105 E. Baltimore St. The committee meets monthly to share information from our block representatives and to coordinate action. New block representatives wanted; if interested e-mail or call
, 410-522-4991.
- Police ask that residents call 410-666-DRUG to report repeated suspected drug activity, but always call 911 if you need immediate police response.
- Butchers Hill Citizens on Patrol (C.O.P.): Butchers Hill Citizens on Patrol (C.O.P.) has been regularly patrolling the neighborhood for over six years, and conducts its walk-arounds on the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of the month. We meet at 7:30 p.m. at the intersection of Patterson Park Ave. and Lombard St. All are welcome. For more information, please contact
Evan Helfrich, 410-342-2148.
- Community Representative, School 27 School Improvement Team: Carolyn Boitnott, 410-522-4991.
- Education Committee: Monday, July 17th, 7 PM, 232 S. Patterson Park Ave. Contact:
Tori Simms, 410-675-4948, Carolyn Boitnott, or Martha Del Pizzo.
- House Tour Planning Meeting: Tuesday, July 30th, 7 PM at 2029 E. Pratt St. If you would like to help out with the tour come to the meeting or email
Sue Noonan or Dee Lundelius.
- Membership Committee: Wednesday, July 11th, 7:30 PM, 2110 E. Baltimore St. Contact
Kathy Hackett, 410-327-2447.
E-mail BHAmember@gmail.com to request a new neighbor packet.
NEW NEIGHBORS: See the Moving In link on our web site: www.butchershill.org
- Book Club: Tuesday, July 24th, 7:30 PM, 2002 E. Pratt St. Anyone interested in joining, please contact:
Anne Puckett, 410-675-8765.
- Land Use: Monday, July 16th, 7PM, at the White House, 27 South Patterson Park Ave. The Land Use Committee reminds homeowners in the 2100 and 2200 blocks of E. Baltimore St. and the 2200 block of E. Pratt St. that you live in a City historic district. All exterior work and painting must be submitted to CHAP and Butchers Hill. We're happy to help with any questions. Contact Virgil Bartram: 410-327-4964. CHAP's number is 410-396-4866.
- BHA Executive Committee: Tuesday, July 17th at 7:30 PM, 2110 E. Baltimore St.
Contact Richard Hackett.
- Streetscape Committee: Thursday, July 5th, 7 PM at 2225 E. Lombard Street. The Streetscape Committee meets the first Thursday of the month. Contact:
Connie Brines, 410-539-2827.
- Newsletter: The deadline for the AUGUST issue of the newsletter is Wednesday, July 18th.
Contact Patricia Clark.
COMMUNITY BULLETIN BOARD
SAVE YOUR FLEAS for the September 15th Patterson Park Flea Market featuring Hand Crafts. This event benefits the Patterson Park Charter School and Commodore John Rogers Pre-K to 8 as well as neighboring community associations and local non-profit groups. Please consider donating an hour or two of your time the day of the event. Early risers, 7:00-9:00 am, and afternoon helpers, 2:00-4:00 pm, are especially welcome. Help at the Butchers Hill booth is also needed. Call Sandy (410)371-8346 or Carolyn (410)522-4991 to volunteer.
EMERGENCY RESPONSE TRAINING
Emergency responsiveness is one of those things you hope you never need, but how thankful we all are for those who do respond when disaster strikes. As recent events have shown, the first minutes after an event are critical. In the gap between the event itself and the arrival of trained professionals, we can make a difference. We could possibly save lives.
Our community has a rich opportunity to take advantage of Emergency Response Training. It is provided by the city, and it involves 16 hours of class time. We can arrange a schedule that will meet the needs of working adults, with classes either at night, or on Saturdays. Most of the classes will be held locally (exact location still to be determined). The final class will require attendance at a city training site.
In order to finalize scheduling, we need to have a head count of interested individuals. Please contact Larry Fishman, (410)
522-0471. lmfishman@yahoo.com or Richard Hackett richhackett@gmail.com if you wish to attend the training classes.
HIGHLANDTOWN LIBRARY IS OPEN and seeking community input. GOT PRESCHOOLERS? A PLAYGROUP? And want an activity for hot summer days?
Write or drop off a note to Jacquelyn Purnell at 3601 Eastern Avenue, 21224, or email: SEL@prattlibrary.org/ with your specific ideas about what activities you are interested in, and who would be participating. Current activities include: Mother Goose on the Loose, Monday, 10:30 a.m. (non-walking toddlers), 11:30 a.m. (walking toddlers with caregivers); Terrific Twos, Thursday 10:30 am (with caregiver); Preschool Story Time, Thursday. 11:30 am.
Current hours: MONDAY, WEDNESDAY & THURSDAY 10:00am-8:00pm; TUESDAY, FRIDAY & SATURDAY., 10:00am-5:00pm. 410-396-0935, Fax:443-984-3941.
~ JULY IN PATTERSON PARK~
The PAGODA is open for the season! Open to the public every Sunday 12-6pm, and during special events.
Free Mercy Music in Patterson Park Concert Series
Produced by WYPR 88.1 and Friends of Patterson Park
6:30 pm on Pagoda Hill
| July 8th, Sunday |
Squeeze Bayou (Cajun) |
| July 24th, Tuesday |
Stryker's Posse |
~LITTLE ITALY OPEN-AIR FILM FESTIVAL~
7pm Friday evenings at the intersection of High and Stiles Street. Screenings are free and open to the public. Bring your family, friends and lawn chairs.
- JULY 6, “MOONSTRUCK”
- JULY 20, “THE DA VINCI CODE"
- JULY 13, “ONLY YOU”
- JULY 27, “AMERICAN GRAFFITI”
July 20-22 ARTSCAPE 2007,
http://207.114.6.204/resources/up165.aspx
Baltimore Playwrights Festival. www.baltplayfest.com
ART STUDIO SPACE NEEDED
Painter looking for a space to work.
Approximate 16’x20’ space would be nice.
Contact Phil at (410) 440-9943
COMMUNITY DUMPSTER, Thursday, July 5th, unit block No. Collington.
For neighborhood residents only. No building materials, refrigerators, water heaters, washers, dryers, stoves, batteries, wet paint, automotive parts (including tires and rims), or hazardous materials.
The dumpster generally arrives around 10 AM and leaves around 2 PM.
Please fill from the back.
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