SPAR and PSOS Discussions

[John P]

Chris, Bill Hoff, the president of SPAR, just commented on how great mothballing is. The present SPAR board has supported this effort 100%.WE are grateful for the work SOS and the city  have done to make this happen. Can we quit beating SPAR up every chance we get? Please?

That would just derail the Were A Victim Please Help Us story so of course not.

[strider]

Chris, Bill Hoff, the president of SPAR, just commented on how great mothballing is. The present SPAR board has supported this effort 100%.WE are grateful for the work SOS and the city  have done to make this happen. Can we quit beating SPAR up every chance we get? Please?

That would just derail the Were A Victim Please Help Us story so of course not.

It would be much easier and better for everyone if what Chris posted still wasn't true ......

I suspect that if the few within SPAR Council who's actions and words make Chris's statements true would authentically include and cooperate with other groups like PSOS,  then "beating up" on SPAR Council on this or any forum would stop.

Meanwhile, PSOS will continue to fight and save the houses.

[Debbie Thompson]

Really? 100% supportive? And yet in spite of a promise byLewis Lawrence, SPAR president when it happened, PSOS was 100% deliberately left out of the discussion with the City about the steeple. This even though it was PSOS that raised the alarm.

Some things never change. We really thought they were headed in a positive direction. And yet, in spite of proven results, we contine to be left out of discussions of importance to Springfield preservation.

I am beside myself and better stop there.

[ChriswUfGator]

Chris, Bill Hoff, the president of SPAR, just commented on how great mothballing is. The present SPAR board has supported this effort 100%.WE are grateful for the work SOS and the city  have done to make this happen. Can we quit beating SPAR up every chance we get? Please?

That would just derail the Were A Victim Please Help Us story so of course not.

Sorry if the truth hurts.

If you want to keep poking this particular hornet's nest, I can start posting the emails. I'll caution you in advance that whenever it comes down to evaluating any actual evidence, you SPAR folks generally run into serious problems. Personally, I'm fine with it, so just let me know and I'll start posting your president's emails claiming HPC decided not to work with us on our own project, and instead chose to work with your group and to exclude us, following which I'll be happy to post the HPC's emails saying they have no idea WTF he's talking about, and that they were contacted by SPAR, not the other way around, and thought SPAR was communicating with us all along. Your choice.

But let's cut to the chase, shall we? Your group exists at this point because I and the other landowners who you spent 8 years calling in bogus code complaints on made a conscious decision to allow it to continue existing. This occurred for exactly two reasons, mainly because I happen to personally like Mike A. and a couple of your other members, and because we figured we could accomplish more for the common good by working together with you. But if you want to go ahead and finish the job, then by all means keep it up. The SOLs on what your leadership did have not yet run, including your former president's flipping vacant lots which your 'preservation' group got demolished on to a developer for a 10,000% profit, hiding it using her daughter's name. And spare me the bogus indignation; after 8 years, you already know full well I wouldn't have said it if I couldn't back it up.

Back when things were still heated, there was discussion with the AUSA, they were interested. The issue was dropped because the primary targets of my displeasure with your leadership had already left town, so I figured it was a moot point. If you wish to revisit the status quo, then by all means let's. I don't think you people have the faintest idea what hostile looks like. I do this for a living, and I don't generally lose. Keep it up.

Your saving grace has been that I'm not the final decisionmaker, PSOS has a board of directors that I have to answer to, and ultimately it's their decision. I think it's pretty obvious by now what would already have happened if it were my decision. But the next time you folks decide to insert yourselves into a legitimate project of ours, usurp it, and then fail to follow up on it, while cutting us out of it and taking credit for our efforts, and derailing what should have been a positive and badly needed change in COJ's policy on public notices for administrative COAs, I can't promise I'm still going to have the leash on. Worst part is, I'm actually one of the docile ones compared to Gloria and Nicole. SPAR already fought this war and lost, if you want to continue at the rate you're going, don't say you didn't get fair warning.

I refuse to see another goddamn thing in Springfield demolished. Period. We don't have time for politics, if you want to help, then help.

[strider]

The post that John P was responding to and caused the above posts and the spitting of the original thread. 

Quote from: Adam W on Yesterday at 07:41:45 AM
Great work. It's amazing to see what dedicated people can accomplish. It's easy to get cynical about so many things - but this story shows that a group of volunteers can actually make a major difference that will have a long-term impact on the social and historical fabric of the neighborhood. You guys really should be proud of what you have managed to accomplish so far.

Oh don't stop being cynical yet, you'd be amazed at the fights we've had during this process, with code enforcement over one thing or another, and with SPAR which continues to try and cut us out of the loop and undermine our efforts, while paradoxically also trying to take credit for the results. I guess old habits die hard.

But it's not all bad, along the way we've gotten some amazing help from the folks at the HPC and the building department, who have been very supportive. I think they all wanted something like this to happen, there just wasn't a group out there for them to play ball with. Before us, the neighborhood's 'preservation' group was actually causing many of the demolitions. Thankfully those days are over.

We do have one problem that all of you can help us solve. We've stabilized and mothballed these structures, but we need to find them a "forever family" willing to spruce them up and live in them. So far we've found one home a new owner, but we have other properties seeking loving families. The only restriction is that you have to fix it up, not demolish it. Please contact me or any of the other PSOS members if you are interested, so we can arrange a tour.

It is easy to forget that not all SPAR Council members, on the board or not, feel the way of the controlling few.   SPAR Council members are as often kept out of the loop as everyone else.  When a new board member gets elected or appointed, they are always hopeful that they can help make changes that will make SPAR Council and the community better.  Most of the time, the controlling few shout the new members down so often and badly that they leave.  It is a shame, but we have seen it time and time again.

There are today several positive newer members on the SPAR Council board that have the ability to make the needed changes on how the organization is run and to make it an organization that actually represents the residents and their real needs to not only the city but also groups like the HPC and LISC. Those members need to post their concerns publicly on forums and garner the support from the residents and groups like PSOS to help them accomplish that change. Hopefully they have the strength and wisdom to do just that.