Neighborhood Update

We've been in contact with some neighbors and city officials regarding some of the issues that were discussed at the February meeting, and we wanted to pass this information on to you.

1. I-44 Widening

Many people who will be affected by the widening of I-44 have already been contacted by ODOT, but here is some more information that might be helpful. Our city councilor, Cason Carter, sent this information along.

"As I understand the process, ODOT will first contact affected homeowners by letter notifying the homeowners of ODOT's intent to acquire property. After that, ODOT staff will make an appointment with the property owner to appraise the property. At that time they will also make arrangements for the property owner to meet with relocation staff who will offer assistance. ODOT staff has stated that they will try to contact homeowners through the corridor from Yorktown to Riverside this year and make offers by the end of the year. ODOT staff also indicated they are currently working on the design for the corridor and that there are many phases to the right-of-way process.

The contact person for interested residents and potentially affected homeowners is Cole Perryman, ODOT Public Relations. He has been very helpful in providing this information. Mr. Perryman has indicated that residents wanting to find out if their properties are in the affected construction area they can call Kevin Stout, Right-of-way Division of ODOT, at 405-521-2661."

Editor's Note: I have also had good luck speaking with a local ODOT representative, Randall White at 838-9933. Also, the my informations shows that the local INCOG representative for I-44 issues is Tim Armer at 584-7526. And I've been told that the I-44 Project Manager for ODOT is Ray Sanders who can be contacted at 405-522-7600 or 200 NE 21st, Room 3C9, Oklahoma City, OK 73105. Public information can also be accessed via the ODOT webpage at www.okladot.state.ok.us.

2. Trash in the Park

We've posted a few suggestions about our park's trash problem on the Heller Park website at www.hellerpark.org. We are still trying to get the contact names for the sports groups that use the park. Anyone who can help with that would be greatly appreciated. One neighbor made a good suggestion which was to encourage neighbors to bring bags with them and to pick up trash when they walk in the park. Also, the City will provide us with trash bags if we have a core group of neighbors who would like to "adopt" the park and schedule regular clean ups. If you are interested in coordinating this, let us know. Also, please check out the posting titled "Keeping Our Park Clean" on the Heller Park Neighbors website.

3. Drug Activity

This information came from our city councilor, Cason Carter. "...some residents and I discussed suspected drug activity after the meeting. If citizens witness drug activity or evidence of drug activity, they should call either the Mayor's Action Center at 596-2100 or Tim Barrett, Drug House Investigator for Neighborhood Inspections, at 918-596-2868 . Neighborhood Inspections works with the Police Department to investigate suspected drug activity. When Neighborhood Inspections has proof of activity, they will notify the apartment manager and the property owner and seek to enforce our laws. Drug paraphernalia in the parking lot is sufficient evidence to begin such an investigation."

4. Interested in Being a Board Member?

We would be so grateful to have some more neighborhood leaders volunteer to be board members of Heller Park Neighbors. If you are interested, we will be having an informal meeting on Thursday, May 10 at 6:30 pm at Southern Hills Baptist Church. (This will be right before the "Comprehensive Plan" meeting which starts at 7:00 pm.) If you are interested in being a board member, but cannot attend this meeting, please let us know and we'll send you the information that was discussed.

Thanks to all for staying informed about our neighborhood.