Our Civic meeting was held at the Heritage Freewill Baptist Church at 6:00pm. Seventeen (17) people were in attendance. After reminding members of our decorum policy, President Curtis Brown called the meeting to order. Following the Pledge of Allegiance, Pam Richards opened the meeting with prayer. Curtis recognized October birthdays and anniversaries. Vickie and Bob Dinsdale celebrated their 57th anniversary on October 7. Congratulations!
The Secretary’s Minutes were distributed, read and approved:
1st Motion– Robert Campbell. 2nd Motion – Judy Campbell
The Treasurer, Marsha Kessler, announced that our current balance is
$2104.38. A motion was made to accept her report:
1st Motion – Donna Scaggs. 2nd Motion – Cathy Palmer
Curtis first thanked all those who had attended the Senior Series at the S. High St. Library. It was considered to be successful, with 5-10 people attending each session. If members enjoyed the classes, we could do another collaborative series in 2026.
Several Fall activities will be held this month. Please help if you’re able and wear your shirt:
A. October 16, 6-9pm is the Buckeye Middle School Fall Festival We members will help with various festival events.
B. October 18, 9-11am is the Fall Day of Service. We’ll be cleaning efflorescence off the brick welcoming sign and cleaning up 104 exit traffic. Meet at 2295 S. High St. in the former Lighthouse Ministries parking lot. November 1 is our rain day.
C. October 18, 1-2pm is Cookbook Club at the Library The theme this month is Pumpkin.
D. October 20 at 6pm is the Buckeye Middle School closure meeting at South High School.
E. October 23, 5:30-7pm is Trunk or Treat at the Scioto Southland Recreation Center. Arrive by 5pm to get a parking space to pass out candy. Plan to pass out candy to 400 kids. Many thanks to those who have donated candy!
F. October 25, 9-2pm is the Heritage Church Craft Show. We have a table at this event to hopefully engage the community. If you’re able to man our table for a short rotation, please let Curtis know.
G. October 25, 11:45-1:30pm is the Clear Creeks & Byways cleanup of S. High St. Meet at Tim Horton’s if you’re able to assist.
H. October 29, 5-6pm is the Parsons Elementary ‘Harvest in the Halls’. The school has invited us to participate with a table. 300 people are expected.
November 10, 6:00pm will be our Civic Meeting. We plan to hold officer elections. Bring a $5.00 toy for the Rec Center’s Toy Drive. (No baby toys. 10-16 age group is mostly present there)
K. November 22, 1-2pm, is Cookbook Club. The theme is rolls. (Any kind of rolls – egg rolls, cake rolls, Swiss roll, cinnamon rolls, dinner rolls, etc.)
L. December 8 will be our Holiday Party held in the gymnasium of Heritage Church. Time to be decided later. We will invite our community partners to attend, as well as the interested members of Heritage Church. Toy donations will be collected for the Rec Center. Members can bring a $5 ornament for our exchange. Cost for members to attend will be either $10 OR bring a dessert.
Curtis informed members that Ms. Promise, a staff member at Buckeye Middle School, has reached out to us for assistance. For the holidays, the teachers and staff pull resources together to provide holiday meals for 50-60 families suffering from food insecurity as well as snacks for an additional 50-60 families. They also deliver to peoples’ homes. This year our Civic will replace purchasing additional toys for the Recreation Center with helping to provide food for families during this time. We would potentially also deliver. This impact will be greater because the assistance stays in the community. Any of the toys not taken during our toy drive are delivered to other community centers in Columbus. There were many toys left over from last year’s event. We are still working on the details with Ms. Promise.
Voting will take place on November 4, 6:30am-7:30pm, with early voting through November 2. Running for City Council District 7 are Jesse Vogel and Tiara Ross (endorsed Democrat). Three (3) seats are open on the Columbus City School Board. Candidates running are Kimberly Mason, Mounir Lynch, Janeece Keyes-Shanklin, Patrick Katzenmeyer, Jermaine Kennedy and Antoinette Miranda. The final 3 are endorsed Democrats.
Several bond levies are on the ballot this year:
A. Issue 1 – Mental Health/Addiction Services Levy (Renewal & Increases). Approximately $77 per $100k.
B. Issue 2 – Columbus Zoo Renewal. Approximately $13 per $100k.C. Issue 5 – Municipal Fire & Safety ($250Million). Approximately $27 per $100k.
D. Issue 6 – Parks & Recreation ($250 million). Approximately $27 per $100k.
E. Issue 7 – Streets & Refuse. ($400 million), Approximately $45 per $100k.
F. Issue 8 – Neighborhood & Affordable Housing – ($500 million). Approximately $49 per $100k.
G. Issue 9 – Water, Sewer & Utilities. ($500 million) Approximately $42 per $100k.
The maximum total if all pass is $227 per $100k. Property tax amounts are the maximum that could be charged. Columbus uses part of its income tax revenue to help pay for city bond projects. The City has permanently dedicated .25% of 2.5% income tax to capital improvements. This is about $.25 of every dollar. In past bond cycles, the City has been able to cover costs with income tax revenue to avoid raising property taxes. If income tax levels dropped, taxes would increase.
9. OFFICER NOMINATIONS: The process includes October nominations, November elections and January new term starts. All 4 officer positions are elected to one year terms. Any member in good standing may nominate themselves. No experience required. Must be committed to the neighborhood. We’ll take nominations one position at a time, beginning with the Treasurer. Nominations must be made verbally and be accepted by the nominee. Membership will be confirmed, then placed on the ballot. Ballots will be prepared after the meeting concludes. We’ll vote in person in November.
Nominations are open:
Treasurer – Marsha Kessler
Secretary – Pam Richards.
Vice President – No one present is interested in this position.
President – No one present is interested in this position. We’ll deal with this in November.
Nominations are closed.
10. CVS is closing on October 28. This is confirmed through multiple letters to different members.
11. Curtis asked if 2-4 people would consider helping clean our community sign. Please let him know if you’re able to help.
12. Our next meeting is November 8. Please bring a $5 toy to donate if you’re able.
13. The evening’s Door Prize was won by Donna Scaggs, and included $15 McDonald’s gift card and a pumpkin. Congrats, Donna!
14. Ambassadors will meet briefly following the meeting. Discussion to center on Trunk or Treat and our Holiday Party prep.
15. A motion was made to adjourn: 1st Motion – Bill Palmer. 2nd Motion – Donna Scaggs.
Respectfully Submitted,
Pam Richards, Secretary