Meetings

Next Meeting

 

Starting in June, the monthly EPNIA meetings will be held at Third Presbyterian Church (please note the change of location).  You can enter through the west doors. 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!

May 2013 Meeting

Michelle Roberton, the principal from McClernand Elementary School and Kira Mulvany from Westside Christian Church were the guest speakers. Westside has chosen McClernand as their partner school for this year’s Sharefest project, which runs from July 27 to August 3. They anticipate having 1200 volunteers on site during that week and investing $250,000 into improvements at the school in the form of an extreme school makeover. They talked about some of the planned projects as well as other ways that the neighborhood could support efforts at McClernand.

April 2013 Meeting

Bonnie Douglas from Third Presbyterian Church and Rev. Joe Eby from Community Mission Network spoke about their interest in becoming more involved with the neighborhood. Third Presbyterian has decided to begin holding weekly “Meet & Eat” dinners at the church, free of charge. The idea is for church members to get to know the people in the neighborhood, as well as further engaging the families whose children come to the Northside Children’s Library. The Community Mission Network plans to hold “Second Saturdays in the Park” in June, July, and August which will be a cookout and kid friendly activity for children in the neighborhood.

March 2013 Meeting

Dr. David Steward, Chair of SIU School of Medicine’s Community Service Committee, spoke about their interest in addressing health needs in the community. SIU has been holding focus groups to find out more about the areas of greatest need and what SIU might be able to do to help improve the overall health of Sangamon County.

February 2013 Meeting

The meeting was held at the new County Market at Second & Carpenter. The store manager gave  tour of the new store before it was open to the public.

January 2013 Meeting

Several guest speakers addressed the topic of “Deconstruction vs. Demolition” and the way that many parts of a house can be salvaged rather than traditional demolition. Joe Dobbs shared his experience of deconstructing the house at 925 N. 8th, next door to his property, and turning it into a garden. Chris Becker talked about architectural salvage efforts in the neighborhood and showed several items that have been saved from houses slated for demolition.

November 2012 Meeting

Michael Dunbar spoke about plans to create a sculpture garden on the two vacant lots to the east of his art studio at 711 E. Enos. He showed examples of sculpture gardens he has helped put together in other parts of the country.

August 2012 Meeting

The meeting was held at Susie Qs to provide a sneak peak at the newly renovated restaurant.

July 2012 Meeting

A group of Robert Morris Univeristy students from Dan Savery’s Facilities Management class presented their projects they completed on behalf of the Springfield Art Association and EPNIA.

June 2012 Meeting

Our June meeting featured three new business owners in Enos Park. Mike Meyer spoke about renovating Susie Qs restaurant and getting ready to reopen, Michael Dunbar spoke about turning 711 E. Enos into his art studio, and Robert LaBonte spoke about opening The Bike Doctor in his new location on 5th St.

March 2012 Meeting

Sarah Mackey, the Executive Director of Habitat for Humanity Sangamon County, spoke about a new partnership with EPNIA. Habitat has committed to building one new house a year for the next five years, according to our design standards,  on land provided by Enos Park Developement. Additionally, Habitat is launching a new program called “A Brush with Kindness” that will provide exterior repairs to current homeowners who meet Habitat’s qualifications. Habitat hopes to break ground on the first house in Enos Park later this year.

February 2012 Meeting

Interns from Robert Morris University gave a presentation regarding the podcasts they are putting together for a series of historic walks throughout the neighborhood. Almost 90% of the houses in the neighborhood were built between 1850 to 1900, a time when Enos Park was known as the “Jewel of Springfield.” A series of four different walks will provide information about the historically significant and and architecturally unique homes in the area.

January 2012 Meeting

Ericka Holst, Curator of Collections and Historian for Edwards Place, revealed a scandalous secret…one that erupted in the 1860s, affecting the lives of dozens of Springfield’s most prominent citizens. Before Edwards Place was Edwards Place it was Houghan’s House, where prominent local physician Thomas Houghan lived with his wife and stepson from 1833-1843.  But Thomas Houghan was concealing a previous marriage and abandoned wife. When he sold all his properties, including his home to Benjamin Edwards, his first wife still had rights to 1/3rd of all his possessions. After his death she came to collect!

It is ironic that today, almost 170 years later, as the Enos Park Development LLC is acquiring property as part of its land banking efforts for the Enos Park Master Plan, we are confronted by property with multiple liens and lost owners. We have pointed to Edwards Place as the beacon for Enos Park’s historic past and now we find we are living with the same problems Benjamin Edwards and his family encountered during Springfield’s earliest days.

November 2011 Meeting

The guest speaker was Karen Lee, Executive Director of SIU School of Medicine Community Support Network. She updated 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.

September 2011 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 2011 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 2011 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.