Next Meeting
The next meeting will be held on Tuesday, November 8 at 7 p.m. The guest speaker will be Karen Lee, Executive Director of SIU School of Medicine Community Support Network. She will be updating us on the Hope Springs Apartment project, where work has already begun at the site of the former Hardees on Ninth St. This $4.4 million construction project is scheduled to be completed next year and provide 36 units of supportive housing for the disabled.
Steve Combs
EPNIA President
The monthly EPNIA meetings are now held in the Assisi Conference room at St. John’s Hospital (please note the change of location). You can enter from Ninth street near Carpenter or from the Carpenter Street side. The Assisi Conference Room is right next to the library in the Main part of the hospital, NOT in the Carol Jo Vecchi Women and Children’s Center. When leaving the parking garage, turn right (west) to the Main entry, instead of left (east) to the Children’s Center. As you enter the Main entrance go down the hall to the elevators and turn right. Go to the end of that hall and make a slight jog (left then right) and go past the library. Assisi is on the left hand side of the hall and is clearly marked. There will be signs marking the way once you enter the hospital.
Monthly Association meeting dates are on the second Tuesday of every month. Meetings start promptly at 7 p.m.and last about one and a half hours.
Meetings typically begin with a Treasurer’s Report, President’s Report, Police Report/Neighborhood Watch Report, Public Works/Housing Inspector Report and then a guest speaker for the evening, an open discussion session, and finally a 50/50 drawing.
We hope to see you there!
September Meeting
At the September meeting, members of the Robert Morris University architectural CAD class presented their preliminary work in mapping the neighborhood. They utilized information from the previous Fever River Research survey and prepared maps and overlays showing the historical significance and condition of the homes. We will be using this information as part of our application to be recognized as a National Historic District.
August Meeting
The August meeting featured guest speaker Tim Rowles, Executive Director of The Springfield Project. He provided an update on the efforts currently underway to revitalize East Springfield, specifically the “Neighborhood of Hope” surrounding Feitchans Academy. The Springfield Project’s planning efforts are very much correlated to many of the changes that Enos Park is seeking at the city level to encourage redevelopment in the older neighborhoods.
June Meeting
The June meeting featured Anthony Rubano with the Illinois History Preservation Agency. Anthony recently toured the neighborhood, along with the consultants from Mansur and Lakota, to assist us with our efforts in applying for recognition as a National Register Historic District. Enos Park would be the first area in the City of Springfield to receive this designation, and preliminary discussions indicate the Historic Sites Commission is very supportive of the idea. The EPNIA is currently conducting additional research and gathering the necessary documentation as we move foward with preparing an application. Anthony spoke about this process and the potential advantages of being recognized as a Historic District.
May 2011 Meeting
The May meeting featured John Milhiser, Sangamon County State’s Attorney, as the guest speaker. He updated us on the status of current projects his office is working on, as well as the newly implemented Drug Court program for non-violent offenders. Also, a special “Cleaning up the Neighborhood” award was presented to our NPO, Officer Ryan Irwin, and his partner, Officer Bob Oglisby.
