We have some very dedicated neighbors! Despite showers & drizzle and a forecast for thunderstorms, 32 people showed up at the Gus Fruh Greenbelt Trail on Saturday morning and put in a collective effort of 95 volunteer work hours!

The meadow and trailside have been relieved of a massive infestation of hitchhiker sticker weeds (two truckloads full of plastic bags), rock borders along the trail were repaired, several of the cross-trail water bars were reconstructed, and massive piles of nandina and ligustrum now serve as water filters, erosion control devices, and wildlife habitat shelter. The weed wrenches have lost their new bright orange gleam and sport mud streaks and small nicks, marks of honor. It was a great day of convivial, collaborative work.

Thanks to all who came and shared their energy, innovativeness, humor, and dedication. And thanks to the Austin Parks Foundation for helping to promote the day and provide snacks and tee shirts. And thanks to the BHNA for so consistently and enthusiastically supporting the program.

We will be at the Gus Fruh trail on our next workday also, which is planned for Saturday, July 17.

Glee Ingram
BHNA Greenbelt Guardian Coordinator
443-7522

Did you miss the BHNA General Meeting on April 13? If so, you can catch up by reading the meeting minutes. Find out about crime reported in our neighborhood and efforts to form a neighborhood watch program, plus what's happening with the city's neighborhood planning process for Barton Hills, plans for next year's Austin City Limit's Music Festival, and more.

Dear BHNA Members and Members-in-Waiting:

1. Your Attendance Needed!

We have a very important neighborhood meeting this Tuesday, April 13th, with a full agenda and I am strongly encouraging your attendance. While there are no crises with banner headlines in the American-Statesman to excite interest, I am concerned that we have a very good turnout for this next BHNA meeting in particular. We have two important presenters--a City of Austin Principal (Neighborhood) Planner and Charlie Jones and Jody Goode, Capitol Sports Entertainment, the producer of the Austin City Limits Concert--and we need to impress them with our strength in numbers. These are two issues of vital interest to our community. Our influence is ultimately based on how active and large our membership is.

So please do come. And please help us with turnout by strongly encouraging friends and neighbors to attend as well.

2. New Service: Babysitting at April 13th BHNA General Meeting

I am very happy to announce that thanks to Father Bill and staff at St. Marks Episcopal Church, we will provide babysitting at the April 13th BHNA meeting. Michelle Parilla, whom many of you know as the babysitter for St. Marks, has offered to take care of your children during the meeting. She and her 13 year-old daughter will babysit the children in Miss Becky's classroom, the nursery. Her fee is very reasonable and, when divided among the participating families, it is by far the best deal in town!

So now families with young child can attend these meetings. Make it a special family occasion by coming for the Green Mesquite barbecue that starts at 6:00 pm., and then relax and enjoy two hours of the most topical meeting in Austin. It is not necessary but if possible, please let me know in advance how many children you will bring for babysitting. Michelle has offered to do this at all four BHNA meetings during the year, so let's get this off to a great start.

Thanks. I look forward to seeing you this Tuesday evening.

Don Long
President
Barton Hills Neighborhood Association

Spring is a busy time at Barton Hills Elementary. We have many great activities happening at our school that I want to share with you. If you have a chance, please check out the newly planted area by the back parking lot. On March 6th, we had a Spring Planting Party and planted a variety of ground cover and bushes to make the terraced area attractive and low-maintenance. We are also working on sprucing up the interior atrium area with potted flowers and plants.

We have several events happening in April that you might consider joining us for:

· On Saturday, April 3rd, Zilker Elementary school and community will hold their annual ?Fun Run/Walk (5K) and Parade? through the Zilker and Barton Hills neighborhoods. They have invited all Barton Hills families and neighbors to join in this community-wide event. It will start at 9:00 am and begin and end at Zilker Elementary. What a great way to meet new friends, or just come out to support our communities.

· The week of April 12 ? 16 we will have our Spring Book Fair. Proceeds from this annual event are returned directly to our Library to support the purchases of new library materials. You are welcome to shop at our Book Fair!

· May 4th is Kindergarten Round-Up from 9:00 ? 10:00 a.m. We invite all students (and their parents, of course) who will be kindergarteners beginning in the 2004-2005 school year to visit that morning. Students will have the opportunity to tour our school and visit the classrooms. Parents will have the opportunity to fill out the necessary registration paperwork and hear a presentation about the Kindergarten curriculum and meet the teachers.

Soon, you might be reading about an anticipated bond election for the Fall 2004 as recommended by an AISD Citizen?s Bond Advisory Council. While we don ?t have an exact figure at this time, the bond will be somewhere around $400 million. Based on a facilities needs survey, Barton Hills has needs of close to $2.5 million dollars in basic facilities upgrades, renovations, and repairs. This includes items such as replacing and repairing our heating and air-conditioning system, constructing drainage improvements around the building, installing exterior security lighting, repairing the cabinetry and doors in the building classrooms, addressing some ADA compliance issues, and replacing the ceiling grid in the cafeteria. If the bond is passed, the money dedicated to Barton Hills elementary would enhance our facility.

Since the last newsletter, we have experienced fewer acts of vandalism. Thanks to an anonymous tip, we were able to recover our Barton Hills sign. Thank you for watching out for our school. As always, we are proud to be a part of this great neighborhood.

Kati Achtermann
Principal, Barton Hills Elementary