Crossroads neighbors lobby to join Eagle Crest

ST. PETERSBURG -- After burglars hit four homes in the vicinity of Eighth Avenue N and 69th Street several months ago, neighbors got together and huddled.

"I said, "Hey, guys, I'm sorry it happened to you because it happened to me, too,' " said Candy Lavoie. "Then we got to saying, "Do we have a neighborhood association?' "

No one was sure. Lavoie, who owns a painting and construction company with her husband, Peter, asked another neighbor, who gave her a phone number for the president of the Eagle Crest Homeowners Association.

It seemed logical enough. Most of the neighbors who have been attending Eagle Crest meetings for the past six months live on the trademark red brick streets of the Eagle Crest real-estate subdivision, between Fifth and Ninth avenues N, from 66th Street to the Pinellas Trail. The Eagle Crest Homeowners Association encompasses the area between Fifth and Ninth avenues N, from 59th to 66th Street N.

Though they live west of the association's boundary, Lavoie and about six to 10 of her neighbors have been accepted with open arms, said Eagle president Lance Lubin, who even gave the new group a nickname: the West Cresters.

It turns out, however, that most of the West Cresters already live within the boundaries of the Crossroads Neighborhood Association. Crossroads covers homes north of Sixth Avenue from 66th Street to 70th Street N.

"I've been here six years," Lavoie said. "We've never had any contact from Crossroads. I've never been informed of a meeting. I didn't even know we were in Crossroads."

Past president Morton Sherman, who has headed the association for several years, said fliers were circulated to all homes before meetings, which were held on an as-needed basis at a street corner.

"We have not had any large outcry," Sherman said of the defector group. "I think it's a handful."

Lavoie has begun circulating a petition among her neighbors to see how many would like to secede from Crossroads and join Eagle Crest. So far, she has gotten close to 30 signatures but needs to make contact with more homes, she said.

Current Crossroads president Jeffrey Phillips, an optometrist who has been in office only one month, and Lubin have exchanged phone messages but not made contact. Phillips said he will encourage Crossroads members to go to quarterly meetings, preferably at an established location more convenient for all-weather uses and for the elderly. He said he had no objection if some residents wanted to move to Eagle Crest but added, "I would like an opportunity to talk to them first."

Despite sometimes winning grants funds from the city, neighborhood groups are private and can work out their own problems, city officials say. Planner Bernice Darling, who works with the city's Neighborhood Partnership, said neighborhood associations have split, or merged, in the past. Melrose-Mercy and Pine Acres, once separate, merged years ago and may have gained strength from the move.

Fellow planner Andy Garr, who oversees the Crossroads and Eagle Crest areas, said that the solution to the question of West Cresters' affiliation would have to come from the parties involved, not from the city.

Even without its own neighborhood's backing, the group has gotten no-parking signs for daylight hours put up by a lake along Eighth Avenue N and 66th and 67th streets N. They have met with the representatives of the city and St. Petersburg College to share concerns about parking for the college, which often spills into their streets.

Now, Lavoie said: "People are starting to fix up their yards, and their homes. They're looking at ways to spruce up the area. They're more involved in each other's lives."

September is renewal month for membership in the Eagle Crest Neighborhood Association. "I guess we'll see how many people from that side pay their dues, and that will define where they are," Lubin said.

It's time to jump on board for the Lake Maggiore Shores Neighborhoodfest, a celebration of community spirit. The festival, set for 6:30 p.m. Oct. 24 at the Enoch Davis Center, welcomes all comers and hands out an award each year to a neighborhood that has contributed significantly to the event or to some related cause.

The event, sponsored by the Lake Maggiore Shores neighborhood Association, will showcase any local talent daring to take the stage. The first two years brought singers, mimes and jazz musicians, among other acts. For more information, contact Bernice Darling at 893-7473.

Meetings

BIG BAYOU: 6:30 p.m. Thursday. Trinity United Methodist Church, 2401 Fifth St. S. Open forum.

EUCLID-ST. PAUL: 7:30 p.m. Thursday. St. Paul's Catholic Church school cafeteria, 1900 12th St. N. Judy Lambdon, Center Against Spouse Abuse; officer nominations.

SNELL ISLE: 6:30 p.m. Thursday. St. Petersburg Woman's Club, 40 Snell Isle Blvd. Halloween costume party. Games and treats for children.

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