Murray Hill Preservation Association

On Thursday, November 10, 2011, the city recreation and community services department held a meeting at the Murray Hill Art Center to discuss its future. The meeting was attended by almost 40 community members, as well as by representatives from the city, from Councilman Love, who was in China, and from the Art League of Jacksonville. Quinn Bledsoe, COJ Program Manager, explained that the city plans to use “community partners,” private sector groups, to organize and provide services as the city can no longer afford its previous levels of programming. This idea is already working successfully in other parts of Jacksonville.

Craig Erskine, Director, Art League of Jacksonville, expressed great enthusiasm for the facility and the League’s desire to offer many and varied classes and activities there. The Art League finds teachers who will offer classes at as reasonable a cost as possible and organizes the classes according to student demand. In addition to the traditional arts that have been offered in the past, such additional areas as music, writing, and drama are possibilities. From time to time scholarships become available. The hope is that no student need be turned away due to inability to pay. The city takes none of the fees. Communication of program details is done by website, email, phone and literature.

Plans for renovation of the building have been in place for some time. Alice Jones, the person in charge of these, said it was her fault little has been done so far; she has “a lot of projects.” Funding has been approved since May. The quickest the work can be completed is five months from now, she said. Upon request, she provided a phone number whereby MHPA board members and others can call to keep track of progress. Plans include enclosing the ac units, new flooring, locking cabinets, drying racks, easel racks, new stools, chairs, and pressure washing the outside. Community volunteers for yardwork/landscaping would be welcome.

We greatly appreciate the city’s dedication to maintaining as much of the neighborhood’s character and resources for a rich, healthy life as possible during the difficult economic climate. When the renovations are complete, it will be up to us to support the new programs and take advantage of all they offer.

We wish to give a special, huge, thank you to Murray Hill Presbyterian Church for donating some of their storage space for MHPA’s long term items. Storage of such things as the Christmas decorations for first block, records from the historical neighborhood surveys, some stationery, and dishes for future use at events now no longer requires a monthly payment. The generosity of the church in steadfastly supporting our neighborhood is part of what makes Murray Hill a wonderful place to live!

We are in need of new members and board members. In this economic climate it takes extra thought to fund an undertaking that isn’t averting an immediate crisis. New electronic technology expands our ideas of neighborhood to areas often far away. Yet, in terms of property values and quality of life, “hands on” involvement can’t be ignored. If we don’t keep up with what’s going on at our doorsteps, who will? Imagine our neighborhood if we took away some of MHPA’s accomplishments – a barren first block, streets flooding, no library, a park with few trees, political pairing with Paxon/Lackawanna which doesn’t share our same concerns, increased crime.

We should all appreciate ourselves and each other for the neighborhood we have built. Please consider talking to your neighbors about starting or maintaining an MHPA membership. Please consider serving a short period as a board member at large, attending monthly meetings, keeping in touch, and helping a bit on an issue that attracts you. It’s interesting and fun and will keep our community the safe, beautiful and rewarding place we love.

I decided to take a look at the free insulation program offered by JEA so I called Justin Bouck of AEA (904-716-6018). Justin represents the company that made the presentation at the Murray Hill Preservation Association meeting on October 27. His company, AEA, is the JEA authorized installer for this program. Justin came to my home on Tuesday November 8 and estimated the job. He discovered that my home is 1315 square feet and calculated that JEA would pay for the first 1100 square feet and I that would pay 40 cents per square feet for the additional 215 feet. That amounted to an out of pocket cost to me of $86.00. I authorized the job and his installers arrived as scheduled on Friday the 11th. The crew was very courteous, tidy and efficient doing the entire job in less than an hour. While they were here they also sealed some leaks in my plenum, which is the duct that connects the air handler to the ducts in my attic. There was no additional cost for the sealing portion of the project. All in all, I was amazed at how simple it was for this to happen and that they remained true to their word. Frankly, it seemed too good to be true. The job was completed a week ago as of this writing and, It might be our imagination, but our home feels more comfortable and the A/C seems to be running less. Some of this is seasonal but only the bill at the end of the month will tell. Based on my experience, I would highly recommend taking advantage of this program. – Jim Robson, Board Member

On Thursday October 27 at 7PM, the Murray Hill Preservation Association will host a presentation by Justin Bouck, Regional Manager of Alternative Energy Applications.

Mr. Bouck told us this in a letter, “We are a pre-qualified contractor working for JEA to assist with the implementation of their ShopSmartR rebate programs. As of October 1, 2011 JEA’s guidelines have changed. We can now insulate homes up to 1100 Sq Ft. at no charge to our customers. If the customer’s home exceeds 1100 Sq Ft, the customer is responsible for paying for any amount that exceeds JEA’s rebate. This additional cost will vary from one customer to another. Factors that affect this determination include the age of the home, the level of the existing insulation, and the amount of insulation to be added in order to meet the criteria as required by JEA’s program.

Another JEA rebate program that AEA participates in is their Residential Duct Repair program. We will inspect the existing attic’s duct system and notify the customers of any serious leaks or concerns. However, due to reduced funding for this program, we are only able to make minor repairs and perform limited preventative maintenance.

We are licensed and insured as required by JEA, Duval County and the State of Florida.”

After his presentation, Justin will be available for questions and answers. This promises to be an exciting opportunity to learn about these JEA rebate programs.

The program will be open to all MHPA members at no charge. Visitors will be charged a small $10.00 admission. There will be a membership table available for those who would like to join or renew. A special discount family membership will be available for $20 for first time members. The usual membership and renewal is $25.00.

The program will be presented at Murray Hill Presbyterian Church 940 Talbot Ave. 32205, in the social hall. Please enter from the parking lot off Talbot.

Thursday, September 22 from 5:30 – 7:30pm
at Murray Hill Baptist Church Gymnasium
4300 Post St.
Dine in or Take-out/To-go available. $8.00 a dinner

Join your neighbors at the September Spaghetti Social from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, September 22, 2010 at Murray Hill Baptist Church, 4300 Post Street. Edgewood Bakery is catering the event again this year.

Dinner will include spaghetti (with meat sauce or plain sauce), bread, salad, dessert and drink. Tickets are only $8 and available at Edgewood Bakery in advance and at the door the day of the event.

During the dinner we will have live entertainment from magician Andy Johnson and a book sale to benefit the Friends of the Murray Hill Library. All proceeds from the book sale, starting at 4:30, go toward Friends of the Murray Hill Library.

We will have plenty of space for everyone to sit and eat and will also offer meals to go. Volunteers are needed to assist with set-up, clean-up and serving. If you can help, please contact John Allmand at 537-3992. We look forward to seeing you there!

The Friends of the Murray Hill Library will hold its 2nd Annual Book Sale on Thursday, September 22, from 4:30 P.M. to 7:30 P.M. It will be at the Murray Hill Baptist Church located at 4300 Post Street (corner of Post and Dancy) and will be going on at the same time and place as the Murray Hill Preservation Association Spaghetti Dinner.

There will be a nice assortment of fiction and non-fiction books available at extremely reasonable prices. We are also planning to have lots of children’s books this year. Don’t miss this opportunity to come have a great spaghetti dinner and pick up some great book bargains right here in our Murray Hill neighborhood!

If Grilled Chicken with Lemon Caper Beurre Blanc, Lump Crab Cakes, Grilled Flank Steak with Chimichurri and Pan Seared Salmon with Couscous make your taste buds tingle, Edgewood Bakery’s new Bistro should be on your menu for evening dining. The Bistro will be opening for business on Thursday, September 15 and will be open every Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings from 5:30pm to 9pm. The Bistro menu features a delicious array of Appetizers (including Mussels, Escargot, Pulled Pork & Monchego Quesadilla), Soups (California Creamy White Corn and Shrimp Chowder), Salads, Entrees and Lighter Fare (Sandwiches and Burger). To compliment the savory fare, a great selection of wines and beers are offered by the glass or bottle.

What would dinner at Edgewood Bakery be without decadent desserts? From the classics of Key Lime Pie, Carrot Cake, Deep Dish Apple Pie a la mode to the Cake du Jour and our Baker’s Showcase, sweets have never been so tempting. For the Chocoholics, feast on EB’s Wicked Good Bistro Brownie – a soul-satisfying extravaganza including Dreamette ice cream!

Sandy & Gary Polletta along with Chef Fernando Silvera of 1171 fame invite you to dine at your new neighborhood Bistro at Edgewood Bakery! We look forward to seeing you soon.

We unfortunately find ourselves in the middle of another library budget crisis this year. As we go to print, we are faced with the City Council Finance Committee proposing a $3.5 million budget cut to the public library system in the new fiscal years starting October 1. This is $2.5 million more than what was requested in the Mayor’s proposed budget. The Finance Committee voted to save $2 million by closing all libraries one day a week (Mondays), plus approved an additional $.5 million which will require the closure of Maxville Library and additional cuts in hours and services to all libraries on other days of the week. All total 41 library positions will be lost. Our Friends of the Murray Hill Library group is strongly opposed to these budget cuts since they will have a devastating impact on the operation and effectiveness of our library system.

There is not much time to act since the final budget will be approved on Sept. 27. Please call city council members to express your opposition to these cuts to our library budget by calling 630-CITY and requesting to speak to the city council members. The new City Council representative for our area is Jim Love, but it will take 20 votes to change the proposed plan so the more representatives you talk with the better. You can also log onto the website savejaxlibraries.com and send a letter to the city council members directly from that site. It is vital that we unite in strong opposition to this plan and make our voices heard in support of our libraries!

Judy Klein, President
Friends of the Murray Hill Library

We want to welcome back special guests Barbara Langston, ISA AM & her son, Jon Grogan who are accredited by the International Society of Appraisers again for Murray Hill’s Ice Cream Social. For a small donation (optional $5), you can bring in an item to be appraised while you enjoy ice cream with your fellow Murray Hill neighbors. The event will be presented in the Antique’s Road Show fashion so that we can all see the item appraised! If you need their services in the future contact them at (904) 642-1003 or
www.blangston.com.

There will also be opportunities to join or re-join MHPA and/or buy signs and history books.