The summer heat is still with us, and we have a packed month ahead. From community events to neighborhood projects, there’s plenty happening around here. Whether you’re catching up with neighbors or checking out new improvements, you won’t want to miss what's coming up. Let’s make the most of this month together!
July Yard of the Month
Congratulations to Barry and Angelyn Cannada of Pinehurst Place for being awarded Yard of the Month! They say, "A well maintained yard reflects how one feels about their neighborhood, yard, home, neighbors, and city."
Want to submit a neighbor to win Yard of the Month? Let us know!
Make the Clean Curb Commitment
With long hot days and occasional thunderstorms, this is peak grass-growing season. Sometimes that grass grows over the curb and into the street. Take some time to cut and edge that grass and remove any grass growing in the street for a cleaner look. You will be amazed at how much better the neighborhood will look if everyone keeps their curbs clean and tidy.
Mid-Summer Gardening Tips
The hot and humid temps this time of year can take a toll on your plants. Our friends at the MSU Extension Service provide these tips for beating the heat in the garden. Make sure you are giving your plants at least one inch of water per week. Apply postemergent herbicides on weeds as they try to take over your garden. Crapemyrtles are in full bloom and you can prune fading bloom clusters to encourage the development of additional blooms and to extend the flowering season. This is a good time to take root cuttings for plants like azaleas, boxwoods, camellias, and gardenias. These cuttings can be planted in a fine sand mix to encourage new growths.
Over 20 Abandoned Cars Removed from Belhaven Streets
Abandoned vehicles impact the aesthetics, safety, and moreale of a community. Since November 2023, GBF has partnered with active neighbors and the Jackson Police Department to reomve over 20 abandoned cars from Belhaven's streets. If you notice an abandoned or non-running vehicle, let us know if we can assist in having it towed or removed. Keep these cars out of our footprint improves quality of life for our residents and visitors.
Have any abandoned homes or cars to report? Add it to our Tracker!
Being Belhaven Art Series Continues!
Movie in the Park will be rescheduled!
Due to wet and rainy weather on July 27th, we will reschedule this family-friendly event for a future date. Follow along on Instagram, Facebook, and on our website for updates!
Greater Belhaven Parks Survey
We want to hear from you! How would you like to see our three Greater Belhaven Parks develop and grow? Let us know how you’d like to see these funds put to work by completing the survey.
take the survey HERE!
Mississippi’s First Keith Haring Fitness Court
Set to Open in Belhaven Heights Park this August
PROGRESS PICS:
The National Fitness Campaign (NFC), Greater Belhaven Foundation, Community Foundation of Mississippi and Jackson Heart Foundation are excited to announce that Belhaven Heights Park has been selected as one of only ten locations nationwide for a one-of-a-kind Keith Haring outdoor Fitness Court® as part of the 2024 National Fitness Campaign. NFC is an award-winning initiative that welcomed its 500th healthy community in 2023 and is now funded to deliver vital outdoor wellness programs to 1,000 healthy communities by 2025 to help get people moving outdoors and to fight the rising fiscal and humanitarian costs of physical inactivity.
The Keith Haring Fitness Court initiative was born in 2020 as part of NFC’s Arts and Culture Series, uniting the world-renowned art of Keith Haring, one of the most influential modern artists in American history, with the world’s best outdoor gym in the Fitness Court. Jackson was originally selected by the Keith Haring Foundation as one of the national sites for the court in 2019. Its original site was the pocket park on Woodrow Wilson across from the Children’s Hospital. The project stalled after the equipment was procured during the COVID emergency. The equipment has been in storage since2019. GBFproposed relocating the fitness court to Belhaven Heights Park to link the park to the Museum Trail and to add to the neighborhood’s outdoor recreational assets. GBF facilitated a letter-writing campaign, after which the City of Jackson agreed to relocate the project. We owe a huge thanks to our Ward Seven Council woman Virgi Lindsay for her leadership in this effort! GBF’s CID committee provided a design for the court in the Belhaven Heights Park as well as funding to construct the concrete pad for the equipment.The new Keith Haring Fitness Court at Belhaven Heights Park allows users to leverage their own body weight to get a complete workout using seven stations in just seven minutes. Created for people aged 14 and over and with all abilities in mind, the workouts are adaptable for all fitness levels, allowing participants to move at their own pace. The location at Belhaven Heights Park offers a significant tie-in with the existing outdoor recreational amenities in Greater Belhaven, including a direct physical connection to the Museum Trail and close proximity to the Belhaven Mountain Biking Trails, and will energize the park as a community center.
Community Improvement District
In 2020, the Legislature enacted Mississippi Code § 19-31-17, allowing the creation of Community Improvement Districts. CIDs are special taxing districts that let neighborhoods raise funds for projects like traffic calming, combating blight, and improving greenspace. CIDs must be administered by a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Property owners within a CID contribute to the CID through their property taxes, an example of which is illustrated below. In this example, a property with an appraised value of about $125,000 contributes about $75 a year to the CID (Line Item MS1). You can find the CID assessment for your property by looking at the Hinds County Landroll.
Helpful links in learning more about CIDs
https://www.wlbt.com/2021/02/02/ordinance-would-spell-out-procedures-allowing-community-improvement-districts/
https://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/politics/2019/04/05/cid-community-improvement-district-jackson-neighborhood-self-taxing-authority/3298071002/
https://law.justia.com/codes/mississippi/2020/title-19/chapter-31/section-19-31-3/
https://law.justia.com/codes/mississippi/2020/title-19/chapter-31/section-19-31-17
