Hello all,
Thanks for tuning in on October 12, 2020 for another PPNA Virtual Community Meeting. We heard some great information on Ballot Initiatives and Community Composting. Scroll down to view the complete digital recording of Monday’s meeting.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Join the Southeast Youth and Families Engagement Organization at a Community Clean-Up in Pigtown, going on this Saturday, October 17 from 10a-1p. Location is 1205 S. Carey Street, Baltimore, MD 21230. Click here for more information.
Southeast CDC has a new Community School Coordinator at Highlandtown 237: Welcome to Marcela Gomez Griffith! Contact Marcela at Marcela@southeastcdc.org.
Recap and archive of PPNA Meeting minutes and guests: Past meeting minutes are posted online. Meeting minutes always include contact information for guest speakers. An archive of guest speakers and topics from past community meetings is available on our website: click here.
Seeking PPNA Treasurer: Are you talented at budgeting? Do you have a passion for our neighborhood? The PPNA Board is seeking a Treasurer to support with managing organizational funds from memberships, grant awards, fundraising, and other avenues. Contact info@pattersonparkneighbors.org to express interest.
Sokol Baltimore is reopening their doors on October 20. Please remove your cars from their parking lot at 3218 Noble Street between the hours of 3:00-9:00p on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. Contact sokolbaltimore@gmail.com with questions or concerns.
COMMITTEE HAPPENINGS
Sustainability: Big thanks to Allison Blood and the Sustainability Committee for coordinating Community Dumpsters for Recycling while recycling services are suspended. PPNA has brought Recycling Dumpsters to the neighborhood on two dates, October 3 and October 10, with plans for a third. Recycling Dumpsters are located at (1) Fairmount and Potomac and (2) Fairmount and Montford. Plans for another date are tentative for October 17.
Economic Development: Do you have an Etsy shop, cottage industry, brick-and-mortar store, or home-based business in the neighborhood? PPNA is compiling the 2nd Annual Hyperlocal Gift Guide that will showcase small, locally-owned, and independent businesses of Southeast Baltimore. We'll have it ready before the holiday shopping season so people can find the perfect present or gift card and support other neighbors in the process. Click here to read the call for submissions, and send your info through this google form to be considered for the guide!
GUESTS
Bill Henry, Comptroller
On Ballot Initiatives for voting in Baltimore City
There are three types of questions about ballot initiatives: (1) State-wide questions, (2) Bond bills for Baltimore City, and (3) Charter amendments for Baltimore City.
(1) State-wide questions *These are for every voter in Maryland. *Question 1 would give the Maryland General Assembly power to move money around within the Governor’s Budget. *Question 2 would authorize the Maryland General Assembly to put a plan together around allocating funds from sports gambling towards education. At present, there is not yet a plan in place on what this would look like. (The Maryland General Assembly was cut short in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.)
(2) Bond bills for Baltimore City *These are for every voter in Baltimore City. *Questions A, B, C, and D are the bond bills. Bonds involve the City borrowing money to do capital projects, and then repaying that money over time with taxpayer dollars. *Question A is regarding bonds for the Affordable Housing Program. *Question B is regarding bonds for education buildings. *Question C is regarding bonds for community and economic development programs. *Question D is regarding bonds for public infrastructure.
(3) Charter amendments for Baltimore City *Question E would allow The Charter Review Commission to be appointed at least once every ten years. *Question F would give the City Council power to move money around within the Mayor’s Budget. *Question G would allow the City Council to override a veto from the Mayor with a two-thirds majority instead of three-fourths majority. *Question H: At present, there is a very specific window of time during which the Council can override a veto from the Mayor. Question H would allow the Council to hold a veto override vote at the next Council meeting, regardless of this window of time. *Question I: At present, the Charter does not allow removal of the Mayor against their will. Question I would allow a standardized process for removing all elected officials for willful neglect of mayoral duties, felony, or misdemeanor, regardless of their elected position. *Question J would allow the City Auditor to have subpoena power for requesting documents in an audit. *Question K would allow the hire of a City Administrator to serve as the Chief Administrative Officer for Baltimore City. Department heads would report to the City Administrator, and the City Administrator would report to the Mayor.
Contact Bill: bill.henry@baltimorecity.gov
Marvin Hayes and Anne Rosenthal, Baltimore Compost Collective
On a pilot program for Community Composting in the Patterson Park area
The pilot program for community composting in the Patterson Park area is a partnership between the Baltimore City Office of Sustainability and Baltimore City Schools.
Currently, Baltimore Compost Collective operates in Curtis Bay, Federal hill, Riverside Park, and Locus Point.
Baltimore Compost Collective is a youth-lead food scrap collection service, empowering youth employees with knowledge, education, and entrepreneurship about composting.
Customers of Baltimore Compost Collective deposit their compost in a five-gallon bucket, and youth employees pick up the bucket from your home. The community scale composting site is Filbert Street Community Garden. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Baltimore Compost Collective made accommodations for compost drop-off instead of compost pick-up.
The compost is used at Filbert Street Community Garden to grow produce for neighborhoods that are food deserts.
What is composting? Composting is the decomposition of organic material and food scraps to restore nutrients, increase water retention, decrease contaminants, reduce emissions, restore local soil, avoid incineration, decrease rates of asthma, and many other benefits.
Do’s and Don’ts: *Baltimore Compost Collective accepts fruit and vegetable scraps, egg shells, coffee grounds, garden trimmings, plant scraps, grass clippings without pesticides, and tea bags without staples. *Baltimore Compost Collective does not accept oily food scraps, materials with oil on them, pet waste, cooked food, cardboard, and dryer sheets.
The vision for sustainable alternatives to trash waste in Baltimore City includes mandatory recycling and curb-side compost pick-up. 80% of trash waste in Baltimore City can be composted.
How do I compost? Get started by creating three waste areas in your home: (1) waste area, (2), recycling area, (3) compost area.
Baltimore Compost Collective is launching a contactless compost drop-off area in the Patterson Park area. This will be a pilot program to gauge the support of neighbors, the capacity of the Community Drop-Off program, and the sustainability of compost drop-off locations throughout Baltimore City.
The Community Drop-Off program is in partnership with Baltimore City Schools. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Baltimore City Schools was planning to implement food-sharing tables, food waste alternatives, and other composting programs in 2020.
Baltimore Compost Collective is aiming to launch the Community Drop-Off site near Patterson Park in 2020, pending approvals from Baltimore City Schools, the Department of Recreation & Parks, and other stakeholders.
Click here to learn more about composting from Baltimore Compost Collective, a program of the Office of Sustainability.
Contact Marvin: Baltimorecompostcollective@gmail.com
Contact Anne: Acrosenthal@bcps.k12.md.us