Please Join Us

for the

Quarterly Meeting of the

Park Forest Crime Prevention &

Improvement District

and the

Park Forest Community Association

Thursday evening, January 31st

6:00 p.m. — 8:00 p.m.

at the

Greenwell Springs Public Library

11300 Greenwell Springs Road

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Wait!

Before you dig that first foundation hole or strike

that first nail, you should know which

renovation projects require a permit.

At this meeting, our featured speaker will be a

representative from the Baton Rouge Permit and

Inspection Division.

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Also, get updates on ongoing and planned projects, election of 2019 PFCA officers,

door prizes, refreshments and more.

Park Forest Crime Prevention & Improvement District

(PFCPID) P.O. Box 40461 Baton Rouge, LA 70835-0461

2019 Officers and Commissioners

PFCPID President: Walter Thomas

Phone: (225) 235-0578 Email: wst553@cox.net

PFCPID Vice-president: Terry Carney Email: onteryl@cox.net

PFCPID Treasurer: Lillian Grossley Phone: (225) 202-0990 Email: lillian.grossley@gmail.com

PFCPID Secretary: Beverly C. Thomas Email: bct310@cox.net

PFCPID Commissioner: Donald Lewis Email: donaldlewis1@cox.net

PFCPID Commissioner: Michael Walker Email: michaelwalker3645@att.net

PFCPID Commissioner/Newsletter: Diann Lacey Email: dmlacey3@gmail.com Phone: (225) 588-8659

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Park Forest Community Association (PFCA)

P.O. Box 45112 Baton Rouge, LA 70895

2019 Officers to be elected at our January 31st

Quarterly Meeting

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Are you receiving phone reminders and alerts from us? If not, please call our

Community Hotline at 225-275-6639 Leave your name and number to be added to our list.

Volume 21 Issue 1 January 2019

“Want a Good Neighbor, Be One”

“See Something, Say Something”

Call (225) 389-2000

Except in an emergency, call 911

Help keep our community safe!

PFCA 2018 TOY DRIVE

On Saturday, December 8th, the Park Forest Community Association hosted a Toy Giveaway for the children in

our community. We had come to realize that many residents of Park Forest and Oak Forest had not yet been

made completely whole following the August 2016 flood that negatively affected so many of our residents.

Hence, PFCA wanted to do something to help parents put another gift under their Christmas trees, along with a

nice wide smile on the faces of their kids and/or grandkids.

PFCA partnered with the Amazing Grace Christian Fellowship Church on Aletha Drive. Rev. Spears and the

members of the church’s congregation graciously opened their doors to our organization to collect the many

donated toys and to serve as the toy distribution center.

During the collection phase, we received approximately 150 toys and games, including bicycles, scooters, dolls,

radio controlled cars and many more exciting gifts.

However, as luck would have it, the weather did not cooperate on December 8th. So, many who would have

come out were unable to do so because of the incessant rainfall. We decided to hold a subsequent toy

giveaway a week later to finally give all toys away. Success!

Our Yard of the Month (YOTM) program was established to promote goodwill and reward exemplary lawn care in our community. The purpose of the program is to recog-

nize residents who demonstrate above-average efforts in maintaining and beautifying

their property, thereby contributing to the overall appearance of the community at large.

This program is administered entirely by a group volunteers. Those of you who have

lived here for several years may recall the previous YOTM program. The revitalized pro-

gram was brought back in 2018 and it has proven to be quite a success. In fact, it has

been so successful that the judges were often conflicted as to which of the many well-

maintained and cleverly decorated lawns should prevail as the winners and runners-up.

Hence, in October, the judges had no choice but to declare two yards tied for the winners spot.

YOTM will continue into 2019. However, it is on hiatus during the winter months when our lawns are typically

dormant. But, get ready during the month of March, as YOTM 2019 kicks off in April.

Winners and runners-up will have a congratulatory sign prominently placed in their front yard. And, the month’s

winner receives a $50.00 gift card with a $25.00 gift card going to the runner-up.

If you have questions about YOTM, you may call our Community Hotline at 225-275-6639 and someone from

the committee will return your call.

This young boy walked away with

a “surprise gift” and a 16-inch boy’s Star Wars bike. He

was just thrilled!

One of our youngest recipients was

pleased to learn that in her bag was

a Minnie Mouse doll. We later

learned that she is crazy about Minnie!

Patsy Legrand Resigns

The most effective crime deterrent is a visible police presence. If a crime occurs, police officers are

often already on the scene and can take immediate action for our protection. Some of our residents,

however, have complained that they would never see any of the officers. So, at your request, we

have increased the number of extra-duty officers available to us. Additionally, we have increased the

amount of hours they patrol our community. Our direction to the officers is simply to enforce the

Baton Rouge ordinances, deter, and when possible, prevent crime and to quickly react to crime

when and if it occurs. Our officers are all well-trained members of the Baton Rouge Police

Department, working for us during their off-duty hours. The corporal, who leads this group of

officers, keeps track of when each officer is off from the BRPD in order to schedule the times they

may be available to patrol our community. The scheduling is also based on our specific coverage

requirements.

As such, the salary for the officers makes up the largest percentage of the annual budget of the Park

Forest Crime Prevention and Improvement District. We share this information with you at each of

our Quarterly Meetings.

Additionally, the team’s leader provides us with a monthly recap of all calls to which our officers

responded. He provides us with the number of tickets issued for illegal parking, speeding and stop

sign violations, as well as the number of warnings issued (verbal and written) for the aforementioned.

Officers responded to 44 calls that generated file numbers.

These included calls for:

Miscellaneous disturbances (7) False alarms (16) Unfounded suspicious incidents (3) Arrest for possession of a stolen gun (1) Arrest for possession of marijuana (1) Wreck (1) Miscellaneous minor calls (15)

As officers patrolled, they also reported the following violations:

These included: Tickets issued for speeding and stop signs (86) Tickets issued for the parking violations (31) A number of warnings for violating city ordinances

for parking**

** Pick up your Baton Rouge Ordinance Brochure at the Quarterly Meeting. Stay informed!

Officer Activity - (October - December)

Our Extra-duty Police Patrol

Patsy has been a Park Forest homeowner since 1986 and an active member of the Park Forest Community Association for more than 15 years. When our voters approved the formation of the Park Forest Crime Prevention and Improvement District, Patsy became one of the original seven commissioners. Last month Patsy resigned her commission citing, in her written resignation, her declining health. Some of you may be aware that Patsy was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease about four years ago. However, in spite of

her diagnosis, she continued to work tirelessly with PFCA & PFCPID. Patsy was notably, for many years, the coordinator of our Neighborhood Watch Program until the program’s procedure was modified in the Spring of 2018. Patsy continued her work with blight, putting additional focus on that area of community improvement. She made every effort to appear in court, with applicable photos, whenever the offending prop-erty or vehicle was scheduled on the docket. Patsy also served on our Welcoming Committee. She was the perfect person to welcome newcomers to our community. She always had a smile for them and, undoubtedly, our new residents could truly tell that she had a love for this community.

We thank you Patsy for your many years of service to this community and we wish you all the best!

Patsy Legrand

Park Forest Crime Prevention & Improvement District Park Forest Community Association Baton Rouge, LA 70814

Mark your calendars for our Quarterly Meeting on Thursday, January 31, 2019 at the Greenwell Springs Library - 6:00 p.m.

Speeding May Result in a Hefty Fine!

Congratulations to last quarter’s winners and runners-up!

October

9622 Glensade

&

3251 Yosemite

(a tie)

3751 Kings Canyon

November 9633 Westerly 10944 Cedar Bend

December 3432 Lava Beds 4116 Hillmont Dr.

Yard or the Month Winners No Solicitation

By the time this newsletter hits your mailboxes, “No Solicitation” signs may have already been erect-ed at the entrances to Park Forest and Oak Forest.

The applicable municipal ordinance is shown on the signs. The Park Forest Crime Prevention & Improvement District has filed the required paper-work with the city-parish, designating our community as a no solicitation zone. The ordinance specifically prohibits house-to-house peddling.

So, what if someone comes to your door attempting to sell you something?

Violation of the "No Solicitation" ordinance is a legal matter and may be reported to law enforcement at (225) 389-2000.

The speed limit on most undivided residential streets in the Baton Rouge city-parish

is 25 miles per hour. And, 25 mph really means 25 mph. Please don’t’ think it will

be okay to push your speedometer to 35, 45 or 55 mph. Should you exceed the

posted speed limit, you run the risk of being ticketed. Is it worth it?

Neighbors have reported to us, and to the officers, that certain streets within our

community have become a virtual raceway. Hence, in order to keep our residents

safe, our extra-duty patrol officers have started to pay particular attention to those

streets. During the previous three months, October through December, officers

wrote a total of 86 citations for a combination of speeding and stop sign violations.

And, a whopping 38 of those citations were written just during the month of Decem-

ber. By the way, the radar gun is back in use. The officers will likely see you before

you see them. You may not have time to react. Please slow down!