A Popular Program is Back!

Marie Logothetis | Brick Sidewalk Committee Member

The German Village Society’s Brick Sidewalk Committee is delighted to share some good news concerning our ongoing efforts to engage the entire neighborhood in the preservation, repair, and maintenance of German Village’s brick sidewalks.

We are pleased to announce the resumption of the Brick Sidewalk Grant program. This initiative, established in 2017, has awarded to date $13,400 with 22 homeowners receiving grant funding. The program was suspended in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. However, thanks to the dedicated efforts of GVS staff and Sidewalk Committee volunteers, a grant in the amount of $10,000 was secured from the Gordon Chandler Memorial Fund for historic preservation at the Columbus Foundation in late 2022. This funding along with $3,000 from a generous anonymous donor allows for the reactivation of this important and popular initiative. Many thanks and kudos for everyone’s efforts in making this come to pass.

For those who are unfamiliar with the grant program, this initiative is designed to provide financial assistance to homeowners embarking on sidewalk repairs. While many German Village sidewalks are in excellent condition, others pose safety and accessibility challenges. Here is a brief overview of the program:

  • Both members and non-members of the German Village Society can apply. Renters are encouraged to share information about the program with their landlords who can then apply.
  • The repairs made must comply with design guidelines and do require a Certificate of Appropriateness from the German Village Commission.
  • Applicants are eligible for an award of $500 for brick-to-brick repairs or $700 for concrete-to-brick conversion.
  • All applications submitted are subject to review by a volunteer-led Brick Sidewalks Grant Committee.
  • Location, pedestrian traffic, and degree of deterioration will determine the applicant’s eligibility to receive sidewalk repair funding.

The brick sidewalks of German Village serve a vital role, marrying an aesthetic appeal that contributes to the distinctive character of the neighborhood with their function as the very pathways that connect neighbors and sustain community. We are excited to see the resumption of this important work that aligns so closely with the mission of the German Village Society.

Applications and more information can be found online at germanvillage.com/sidewalks.

 

Neighbors4Neighbors – April 27, 2023 

Contribute to Columbus’ Parking Planning for German Village

Opportunity to Contribute to City’s Parking Management Plan

Tim Bibler | Board of Trustees & Parking Committee Chair

Here is an additional opportunity to express your thoughts regarding parking and mobility in the German Village area.

The following link is to a map showing what was learned from the public meeting kickoff for the German Village Parking Management Plan on April 4th.

 

The stickers and Post-it notes are represented by color-coded points on the map. Clicking on the points will display the comment from the meeting. Additional comments can be added by clicking ‘Post comment’ in the upper right-hand corner of the website.

Here is the link: https://tinyurl.com/GVParkingMap

Please note that this information will be used as one guide when the Division of Mobility and Parking does its comprehensive study.

To view more information about the City’s Parking Plan for German Village, including a timeline for the study, area maps, virtual permitting information, and more visit German Village Parking Plan (columbus.gov)

 

Neighbors4Neighbors, April 20, 2023 

Thank You GVS Volunteers!

Sean Kessler | Executive Director

Seeing as it is National Volunteer Week, I want to take this opportunity to thank all those people and organizations that volunteer for the German Village Society. As you know, we are a small organization with limited resources, so we truly could not function without volunteer help. It takes a village… see what I did there?!

Staffing our Visitors Center, planning and staffing our many events throughout the year, our many committees, and our Board of Trustees (yes, they are volunteers too!). Countless hours go into these volunteer activities, and we cannot begin to repay you for the time you have given us and will give us in the future. Great communities and events are built on the dedication of volunteers, and we are lucky to have some of the best in our city. So, from the staff at the German Village Society, we thank you and we will do our best to make sure you feel our gratitude every day.

Now, I will take this opportunity to call on you for MORE volunteering opportunities! As you know, our signature event is the Haus und Garten Tour and we will need even more of you to fill these spots. House volunteers, house captains, Meeting Haus volunteers, bus docents, mail brigade, photography, etc. These are all positions that we will need to fill in the next two months, so keep an eye out for sign-ups soon.

-Sean

Neighbors4Neighbors – April 20, 2023 

Thank you to the hundreds of volunteers that make the German Village Society hum! Here are just a few of the many familiar faces that volunteer their time, talents, and voices on Committees, the Board of Trustees, the Visitors Center, and all the events. You are what makes this place the one-of-a-kind neighborhood it is. Thank you!

Haus und Garten Committee — Planning Your Summer of Love Weekend

Haus und Garten Committee —

Planning Your Summer of Love Weekend

Rachel Lewellen | Communication & Membership Engagement

Last Sunday the Chairs of the Haus und Garten Tour weekend gathered with lead committee members, at the lovely home of Bill Mains (who makes these cheesy crackers hor d’oeuvres that he described as crack; it must be true because I’m still thinking about them today!). Just like all productions things are coming together, bit by bit (cue your best of Sondheim playlist). Much was discussed and accomplished! This is one dedicated group of GVS devotees, and we couldn’t be more grateful.

I’m excited to announce this year’s H&G Tour weekend theme is…

‘Summer of Love.’ This theme celebrates the joys and beauty of summer in German Village and our shared love of this community. Knowing this group of neighbors, this theme will inspire those generous folks who are hosting PreTour dinners to create amazing nights of fun, food, and fabulousness.

If you are interested in being part of this year’s weekend, we need you! Not sure what or how you could help… call me, let’s figure it out! Want to host a private dinner celebrating music, art, and our shared humanity while serving up delicious food? Reach out to PreTour Co-Chair Tyler Mason. Interested in having your home or garden on Tour? Please reach out to Sean.

Want to be a Patron for this year’s tour? For $350 per person, you get first dibs on your choice of private dinners, sponsorship recognition, enjoy the cocktail hour, and of course preview all the homes and gardens. Become a Patron here!

Peace, love, and community,

~ Rachel

Gathering Ideas and Energy to Spring into the Year

Gathering Ideas and Energy to Spring into the Year

Elizabeth Newton | Board of Trustee Vice-President

The German Village Society Board met Sunday, February 26 for a Retreat to develop a shared view of priority Board actions for the year.

Over lunch, we considered where the German Village Society is as an organization today, reviewing our original charter and Constitution and considering recent changes swirling around our neighborhood — changes that represent challenge and opportunity, sometimes all rolled into one. Sean Kessler, our new Executive Director, also described his impressions after the initial weeks on the job.

For many of us, it had been a long while since last reading the object and aims of our organization, “dedicated to retaining the character and distinction of the past, while creating a thriving and contemporary community in German Village.”

This statement and ensuing discussion made it very clear that we are stewarding a German Village way of life: urban, communal, rich with diverse experiences and people, healthy, and sustainably historical. This is no fabricated Disneyland; this is our home, work, and play.

We then split into four discussion groups matched to our constitution’s mission areas: preservation, community quality of life, advocacy, and fund development. Each group considered:

  • What is the simplest thing we could do to have the greatest possible impact?
  • What should we stop doing?
  • Which experiments should we run? What are we willing to get wrong or risk?
  • Bonus points were offered if action owners and costs could be identified. ????

There was no lack of excellent ideas — email me if you’d like to read all the details! — but the essential takeaway is: we are committed as a group to clarifying and communicating how all our activities link to the founding object and aims — preservation and community.

Our next steps are to work with Board committees to detail and prioritize the retreat’s ideas and develop implementation plans that will be reported quarterly.

Dear readers, please consider investing your time, talents, and treasure with us on one of our committees as Spring blossoms! We are organized, aligned, and neighborly!

N4N March 20, 2023

A Night to Remember

A Night to Remember

Marie Logothetis | PreTour Host Committee

You might make the case that a Haus und Garten PreTour dinner is the quintessential German Village event—delicious food and good wine in a comfortable, welcoming setting that one shares with friends and neighbors, all in support of a most worthwhile cause. Many years ago, my husband and I first experienced a PreTour dinner as guests at an evening inspired by the film La Dolce Vita and hosted by our neighbors. While one of the enduring memories of that evening was, undoubtedly, the strength of Barb and Ed Elberfeld’s limoncellos, we also remember it fondly as sparking our desire to trade the role of guests for that of hosts.

We have now hosted six PreTour dinners in all, from a culinary Greek odyssey to the Canadian-inspired “Northern Lights Over Schiller Park” to a Cajun and Creole-themed “Midsummer Mardi Gras” celebration. Hosting a PreTour dinner is one of the best ways to be involved and give back to our German Village community. The experience, from start to finish, is perhaps best characterized by a word we so often associate with this neighborhood…fun!

Along the way, you will find the enjoyment of hosting punctuated by a series of rewarding “moments”, the memories of which will last a lifetime. For instance, there will be that moment when your menu comes together, coalescing around that year’s PreTour theme. That exhilaration born of exercising your creativity and the sense of excitement and anticipation of formalizing the experience you have planned for your guests stands as a highlight of the hosting experience. Then, there will be that moment—that “golden hour”—on the evening of PreTour itself. The table is set, the food is ready, the wine and cocktails are chilled and German Village finds itself bathed in the soft glow of a glorious summer sunset. Your guests will begin to arrive. Some you will know, others you will not…but will soon. The evening is off and running. But perhaps most rewarding of all will be a moment a little later that evening. You’ll look around and see people thoroughly enjoying themselves and the food. You’ll draw that particular satisfaction as you see acquaintances and friendships literally form in front of you, all to the background of the clinking of glasses and silverware and the pleasant hum of multiple ongoing conversations and frequent peals of laughter.

At the end of the day, it is this combination of creativity, fun, and friendship joined with a palpable sense of community pride and philanthropic commitment that makes hosting a PreTour dinner such a rewarding experience and one that you and your guests will never forget.

If you are interested in learning more or hosting a Haus und Garten PreTour dinner, please contact this year’s PreTour Chairs Anthony Meyer and Tyler Mason.

 

N4N March 23, 2023 

Message from the Meeting Haus: Haus und Garten

62nd Haus und Garten Tour

Sean Kessler | Executive Director

We made it! Spring is here! I know, I know… in Ohio we could still have snow for at least another month, but I am so excited about what the arrival of Spring means in German Village. Flowers are starting to pop up – out of the ground and in planters along our streets – and planning is really starting to heat up for this year’s 62nd Haus and Garten Tour and other events. One thing I have learned in my three months at the German Village Society is how passionate the residents and businesses are about the neighborhood. There is so much pride and generosity of time through volunteerism. I am one lucky person to be able to lead GVS and witness the work that goes into each detail that makes German Village unique.

Soon, we will call on even more of you to volunteer for one of our signature events, the Haus and Garten Tour. House volunteers, house captains, Meeting Haus volunteers, bus docents, mail brigade, photography, etc. We will need to fill these positions in the coming months, so keep an eye out for sign-ups. We also have many advertising and sponsorship opportunities, so if you would like to engage in that way, please feel free to contact me – skessler@germanvillage.com.

We are also happy to announce a new partnership that GVS has with German Village Tours, as they will now be providing the tours that historically were booked through the Visitors Center. Please visit our website to book the tour that best suits you, your friends, or your business!

I look forward to seeing many of you walking the bricks as the sun starts to shine more and as we head into Farmer’s Market season – don’t forget to renew your membership or if possible up your membership level! If you don’t know if you have yet, please reach out to Rachel Lewellen and she can give you any information you need – rlewellen@germanvillage.com.

Happy Spring!

-Sean

N4N March 23, 2023 

Public Parking Meeting Scheduled for April 4th

Tim Bibler | Board of Trustees & Chair of GV Parking Committee

After reviewing and discussing the parking concerns of residents and reports from the German Village Parking Committee the German Village Society Board of Trustees requested that the Columbus Division of Mobility and Parking conduct a parking study for the German Village area.  The purpose of this study is to identify parking issues with the overall goal to improve parking conditions for residents, businesses, and visitors. The area proposed for the study would include German Village and one or two blocks, around the perimeter of German Village.

 

Some issues of concern are:

  • The lack of on-street parking in some areas for residents who do not have off-street parking.
  • Where needed parking solutions for high volume business.
  • A review and update of Loading Zones to determine the appropriate use, location, and time of day.
  • Review the relevancy of the current parking permit zones. This would include determining the necessity of current parking zone(s) and the restrictions regarding the day and time in the permitted parking zones.
  • Review all the traffic/parking signage. Is the signage necessary, properly placed, easy to understand, and consistent?
  • Review/solutions to downtown workers using parts of German Village as a parking lot during the day.

The Division of Mobility and Parking has agreed to perform a parking study for the German Village area this summer. A public meeting will be held at the German Village Society Meeting Haus at 6:00 PM on April 4, 2023. The purpose of this meeting is for you to express your parking concerns and thoughts to improve parking. More information will be provided about the meeting in the coming weeks.

March 9. 2023 – Neighbors4Neighbors available here.

Caretakes of a Legacy, Call for Nominations

The Caretakers of a Legacy is an awards program that is jointly presented by the German Village Society and the German Village Commission. This program honors people, projects, and organizations that contribute to the preservation and enhancement of the historic fabric of German Village.

The Caretakers President’s Award is chosen by the German Village Society and is awarded to a property owner, an individual, an organization, or a business entity in recognition of an outstanding contribution to the historic, architectural, or aesthetic character of German Village and to the community’s way of life. The Board of Trustees is asking for nominations for this award. Please submit your nomination to Marcus Watson by March 31, 2023.

Neighbor 4 Neighbor March 2, 2023