2019: A new year and some changes have been made to the GLNA board. Brian Scroggin, who was President, is now the Treasurer. Eli Zarfati is the Vice President and Dianne Francis has remained the Secretary. I, Linda Sillery, am now President.
I have lived in GL since the winter of 1993. I was Linda Hanson then. I have been on the board, I believe, more than I have been off. In those 25 years I have seen a lot of changes in our neighborhood and the surrounding community. Boehringer-Mannheim owned all the property south of 96th St. and west of Village Way down to the homes in The Villages. Roche bought the property and soon Meijer, Galaxy 14 Theatre, and the other stores followed. I was one of the homeowners who went to protest the zone changes. As they say, “You can’t fight city hall”.
Throughout the years, I believe, some of the main goals of the board were to keep the neighborhood property values up and communications open. We have added street lights for safety and are addressing the possibility of adding more. In the past we have hosted block parties, held Community Clean-Up Days and garage sales. Yard of the Month recognizes those homeowners who spend a little extra effort in making their properties ones the other neighbors admire. Now, we have a website and a Facebook page for neighborhood and community information. And we hire professionals to plow the snow off our streets.
Other concerns are the constant battles with the re-zoning of the properties on the south side of 96th St. We have been fortunate to have representatives who agree not to change it to commercial; at least for now. The roundabout at Lantern Rd. was another issue the board addressed and we were able to make some changes in the exit from Falkirk.
We just recently sent an application for a grant for the repair of some of our sidewalks. We expect to hear the decision later this spring.
Of course, most of our accomplishments would not have been possible without our homeowners. We appreciate those who participate in our community events and do their part to help keep our neighborhood a wonderful place to live.
If you have any questions or concerns, you may call me at home: 317-841-0741 or email me at president@geistlanding.com.
Looking forward to a great year!
Linda Sillery
