1.  Our Civic meeting was held at Heritage Free Will Baptist Church, 575 Obetz Rd., at 6:00pm. Approximately 24 people were in attendance. After reminding members of the decorum policy, President Curtis Brown called the meeting to order. Following the Pledge of Allegiance, Pam Richards opened the meeting with prayer.
2. Curtis recognized January and upcoming February birthdays and anniversaries. Bill and Cathy Palmer will celebrate their 64^th wedding anniversary on January 14. The minutes for the November meeting were viewed by the group. A motion was made to accept the minutes as read:

   1^st Motion – Donna Scaggs    2^nd Motion – Judy Campbell

• Treasurer Marsha Kessler stated that our beginning balance was $2992.00. Following several expenditures, our ending balance is $1732.36. A motion was made to approve her report as stated:

   1^st Motion – Vickie Dinsdale        2^nd Motion – Ed Oberting

Curtis noted our Civic’s new and improved ‘Donation Box’ and encouraged members to contribute. 

• President Curtis Brown informed members that the Essential Care Center, located at 3772 S. High St. behind Dollar Tree, is in need of cat food. Any kind is requested.
• Curtis thanked those members who attended the Civic’s Holiday Party, and asked if there were any issues. People seemed to have a wonderful time and enjoyed the evening.
• Bruce and Connie Miller sent Curtis a Thank You card for the beautiful award plaques they received from our members. The messages touched their hearts.
• Next Curtis thanked all the volunteers who not only assisted at the Recreation Center’s Toy Drive last month, but also donated toys for the children. The children had a wonderful time choosing their toy, meeting Santa, playing games and eating Christmas cookies. Our business partner, The Olen Corporation, donated money for toys and also sent several volunteers to help with the event. Thank You, Olen Corporation! 
• The Olen Corporation has invited our Civic members to tour their facility this coming spring, and see first hand what their company does. Many people expressed a desire to attend this tour.
• Curtis informed members that on the last Monday of each month, we donate donuts to Fire Station #22, in appreciation of all they do for our community. Please let Curtis know if you’d like to help with an upcoming month. 
•  Our Civic group has a new partnership with the S. High St. Columbus Library branch! We will promote their events on our website, and list the programming they offer. Currently the library has plenty of programming available for toddlers, children and teens. They want to increase their adult and senior offerings, and are open to suggestions from the community. 
•  Curtis stated that AEP’s ‘Neighbor to Neighbor’ program is live until March 28, 2025. This program provides one-time grants of up to $350, applied directly to your bill, to help income limited customers. For more information on this and other assistance programs, call 1-800-672-2231 or visit www.aep.com. Curtis said that forestry crews are planning to begin vegetation clearing along Parsons Ave. to prepare for the removal of the transmission line. The vegetation activities are scheduled to begin the week of February 3. Contract Land Staff (CLS) right-of-way agents plan to reach out to individual property owners where vegetation removal is planned, to inform them of the schedule. In March AEP will begin clearing trees from the general right of ways. They’ll reach out to property owners to collaborate on tree issues on private property, if needed.
•  We still need a logo for our Civic group. If you have an idea for one, please contact Curtis asap. A distinctive logo will give our members a solid front when working out in the community.
•  The subject of Bike Plus was introduced and explained. ‘Bike Plus’ is a city wide initiative to add 487 miles of bike infrastructure to improve safety and accessibility with environmental benefits. Specifically,

— 189 miles of on-street bikeways

— 270 miles of shared use paths

— 28 miles of urban trails and greenways

— a network to connect neighborhoods and create safer routes for cyclists and pedestrians.

As our city grows, there’s been a call for safer and more accessible lanes. The plan is paid for through the LinkUs sales tax increase approved by voters in November. The City is currently testing different path types on E. Broad St. 20 quick projects will start this year, like Frebis Ave., N. 4^th St., Summit St., Hamilton Ave. and Livingston Ave. Full implementation is projected for 2030. 

Our South Side is included, but it will take time. Many of our community members, especially seniors, will likely not benefit from this. Long distances to work hubs rule out biking. Our climate limits year round biking. We have concerns about reduced lane availability, also. To make our voices heard, we need to — provide feedback through QR codes the City is placing on new bike paths,

— attend public meetings or write City officials and hold them accountable,

— attend community meetings, including our Area Commission meetings,

— encourage your friends to share their needs and ideas.

1. Curtis informed members that Buckeye Middle School, a neighborhood facility, was chosen to close by the school board. The board cites declining enrollment, aging infrastructure and the district’s efforts to manage costs more efficiently, as the reasons behind their decision. Plans call for moving the middle school students to Marion Franklin High School. Buckeye will remain open for the 2025-2026 school year, but the timeline is not locked in. The school has served as a key resource, including hosting Nationwide Children’s School Health Services, which provides primary care services to the community on-site. Principal Jodie Emerson is assembling a team of ‘stakeholders’ to provide feedback to the Board of Education on the best options for the Buckeye community following the closure. 
2.  Curtis encouraged Civic members to become actively engaged in our community. Our Area Commission has been operating outside of Columbus’ best practices since 2022, and has done so unchallenged. The Commission is supposed to post their Bylaws, agendas, and meeting minutes for the public, but do not, resulting in a total lack of transparency. More information coming….
3.  Our Civic group is replacing previously planned programming with a single program: SSC Ambassador Program. Several members are already ambassadors, through their participation in community events. Each member is able to become an Ambassador by engaging outside of our monthly meetings, by building bridges, committing to action and by being proactive. Our Civic group is looking to build more community partnerships and to engage in low effort, high reward activities. These actions will require minimal time or energy from the person performing them, but will result in a significant positive impact for the person benefiting from the effort.
4.  A reminder that our Newsletter has a section titled ‘Kudos’, where you can thank a neighbor, friend or even a stranger for their kind deed.
5.  CPD Officer Guman reintroduced himself to members and listed his job duties. He would like to help out with community concerns. His cruiser is #349 and his phone # is 614-645-1413. Officer Guman was the only City official to attend our National Night Out in August. We appreciate Off. Guman!
6.  Our next Civic Meeting will be Monday, February 10, 2025 at Heritage Free Will Baptist Church, 575 Obetz Rd. Time is 6:00pm.
7.  A motion was made to adjourn:

 1^st Motion – Bill Palmer         2^nd Motion – Donna Scaggs