Recap of November 18, 2025 General Neighbors of Gresham Park Meeting

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Hello Gresham Park Neighbors!

Thank you to everyone that was able to attend the final 2025 regular meeting of Neighbors of Gresham Park. There are some important and exciting initiatives on the horizon that we would love to engage more members of the community in.

A simple thing you can do is help spread the word of our growing association (help us hit 100 members – 84 and counting!) with your friends in the neighborhood.

Not a member yet? Get involved by becoming one on our website www.greshampark.org. Your participation keeps our community vibrant and helps propel NGP forward.

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DEKALB COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT

The DeKalb County Police Department provided a safety update on Gresham Park and South Dekalb. Dr. Paula Tate, the Public Education Specialist for South Precinct, introduced the department's leadership and community engagement initiatives. Lieutenant Stahls, the evening watch commander, provided crime statistics, noting a decrease in residential burglaries and an increase in motor vehicle thefts. The department is actively recruiting new officers to address staffing shortages, with plans to open a real-time crime center in December. Dr. Tate and Lieutenant Stahls then took questions and concerns from the residents making an important note that they cannot respond to or address issues that have not been reported to them. They ask for the community’s help in reporting crime and provided a new app called tip411 that allows individuals to provide anonymous tips. Information on how to provide tips and download the Dekalb County Police Department Mobile App can be found here.

OLD BUSINESS

Tommy Travis tended his resignation on October 20, 2025 and Leisa Stafford has assumed the role of President per the NGP bylaws. 

NEW BUSINESS

Officer elections

Sherian Feaster was nominated and approved as Vice President. Kathryn Rusche was nominated and approved as Corresponding Secretary. 

Introduction of Special Committee: Bylaws

We are immediately forming a committee to revise the Neighbors of Gresham Park bylaws to ensure they are clear and effective and that there are no operational issues moving forward. A draft of the revised bylaws will be presented to membership for comment at the January 20, 2026 meeting. 

We hope members with expertise in the legal or non-profit sectors, or individuals experienced in organizational bylaws, can join us. This is a critical process that will ensure NGP runs smoothly and efficiently moving forward. We also intend to make membership meetings monthly in the revision. 

This process will be a series of Zoom meetings lasting no more than 1 hour a piece. After the  initial Zoom meeting, subsequent meetings will be scheduled on an as-needed basis. If you are willing to serve on the bylaws committee, please email us at NeigbhorsofGreshamPark@gmail.com.

Introduction of the 2026 Master Plan Initiative

In 2026, we intend to create a comprehensive plan and vision for our organization and Gresham Park. Under the master plan, we will create committees to address the issues most pressing to our community. 

If you are interested in helping craft the master plan, please indicate so via email. If you have any input regarding the committees formed under the plan, or general ideas/suggestions for NGP or the greater Gresham Park neighborhood, we want to hear from you! Please email us anytime at NeigbhorsofGreshamPark@gmail.com.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Cups & Connections is December 7th, 2025 from 1:00 - 4:00 PM at 1570 Boulderwoods Drive SE.

The next NGP General Meeting is January 20th, 2026 at 6:30 PM the Gresham Park Recreation Center. Please mark your calendars to join us as we start the New Year off with a bang!

Frontline Response – Frontline is an amazing homeless services provider in our neighborhood. They need both donations and volunteers, especially with the holidays coming up and as we enter the cold weather months. You can learn more about Frontline here.

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