During Tuesday evening’s Ward 1 Listening Post meeting, Old West End resident Iris Dethmers voiced neighborhood concerns she said had arisen during a recent meeting in which twenty families were represented.
The listening post meeting was attended by council members Bernard Alston and Mary Emma Evans. Alston holds the at-large seat, while Evans holds the ward seat.
City Manager Ray Griffin, Finance Director Sandra Wilkerson, Public Works Director Linda Leyen, and Henderson Police Chief Keith Sidwell were also in attendance to make presentations and answer questions from the approximately 30 residents who attended.
The meeting was conducted by Henderson Mayor Pete O’Geary.
Dethmers voiced concerns to city employees and elected officials over gunshots at night, larcenies, a lack of curfew enforcement, and the destruction of a large number of what she characterized as “historic trees” without permits.
Dethmers said that the loggers responsible for “butchering” the trees are harassing neighborhood residents by offering to buy the trees for $100 each.
“We don’t want to sell our trees,” Dethmers said.
She went on to list concerns with poor lighting.
Henderson resident Andrea Harris addressed city representatives concerning abandoned houses on W. Rock Spring Street. She noted that they have been abandoned for a long time.
Harris said that many small landlords do not rehabilitate their properties because they do not have the money. She encouraged council members to help with stimulus money and other funding sources.
She also expressed the hope that the city’s web site has become and “informative place to go”. She opined that the web site should be something that allows others to know that the community has a strategic plan.
Harris expressed disappointment that Henderson, unlike other communities that lost a large number of jobs in a short period of time, had not gotten people together to make sure that resources went into the community to help those who had lost jobs. She encouraged city officials to do so now, as unemployment in [African-American] communities is twice the general average.