About 30 people turned out for a meeting last week to determine if there is interest in reviving a civic association for the Beaumont neighborhood.

They decided, albeit some of them hesitantly, that there is sufficient desire among those present to resurrect an organization that went out of existence four years ago, and that another meeting toward that goal will be held on March 22.

But ...

The people who showed up were practically all white and most were well past 50, not exactly representative of a neighborhood that, in recent years, has become home to growing numbers of refugees and immigrants.

Northland Community Council president Emmanuel V. Remy, who spoke about the benefits of having a civic association, acknowledged that some sectors of the Beaumont neighborhood were not present.

Nevertheless, those who attended consented to continue the effort at breathing life into an association that was down to only four members when it ceased to exist.

“It’s not going to be easy, but we can do it,” insisted Ned Cameron, who presided over the meeting with longtime Beaumont resident Sandy Baker.

Cameron, a retired state probation officer who heads the neighborhood Block Watch, volunteered to act as the leader during the formative period for the association and to stay on as president, if asked.

The effort at reviving the Beaumont Civic Association arose from a series of Nonprofit Summits organized by Northland Alliance chairwoman Joyce Bourgault. These gatherings for officials with organizations that provide services in the Northland area led to a decision to focus efforts on a particular neighborhood that faces special challenges, such as the Beaumont area, where single-family homes dating to the late 1950s have in recent years had to share the area with large, inexpensive apartment complexes. Immigrants from Mexico and refugees from Somalia and Nepal have settled in the apartments in increasing numbers.

Officer Scott Clinger, the neighborhood liaison for the Columbus police precinct that covers a large section of Northland, praised the efforts and diligence of the local Block Watch and said he was pleased to be involved in the attempt at neighborhood-building.

“We need you guys to be our eyes and ears,” he said. “We certainly will catch very few without your help.”

Baker asked people to say why they had come to the meeting.

“I live in the neighborhood and wanted to see what’s going on,” was one response.

One woman said she was preparing to move out of the Beaumont neighborhood because of unruly youths who hang about at the large apartment complexes and drug deals taking place in broad daylight.

“It’s getting scary for my boys,” she said. “Can they just tear them down?”

By a show of hands, none of those in attendance lives in any of the neighborhood’s apartment buildings.

One woman said she routinely sees drug deals take place in front of a nearby house, but has hesitated to bring it to anyone’s attention.

“The thing is, we don’t want to get any retribution,” she said.

Clinger advised her to fill out a neighborhood complaint form providing as much detail as possible about what the woman had witnessed.

“This goes for anybody with a problem like that,” he said. “That’s the information we need. This stays within the law enforcement community. It only goes from one police officer to another.”

Remy, a Realtor, said he knows organizations such as Block Watches or civic associations help to preserve property values. Just as significantly, they provide a means for neighbors to get to know one another, something he said society has shifted away from in recent years.

“There’s no one right way to run a civic association or a Block Watch,” Remy said. “It’s just getting people out to be involved.”

Elected president of the NCC earlier in the month, Remy also told the Beaumont residents about what the larger organization does.

“We’re really working hard as a community organization to do things that benefit you and your community,” he said. “We’re here to help this organization grow. The Northland Community Council is willing to provide whatever we can to get your organization back up and running.”

“We certainly need your support and we certainly need your ideas,” Cameron said, adding that an effort must be made to make others living in the area feel welcome and want to be part of reviving the association.

Baker then asked the audience to provide ideas on what would make the Beaumont neighborhood a better place to live. Suggestions included:

• Get rid of the drug traffic.

• Take care of the empty houses.

• Add more streetlights and sidewalks.

• Remove graffiti from street signs.

• Enforce speed limits.

• Get to know one another.

One of the younger women in the audience said she had tried to interest the people living near her in having a community yard sale and other group activities.

“We’re just not getting much of a response at all,” she said.

“Apathy is always going to be the toughest thing you fight,” Remy told her. “If you think of small things as gains, that can help.”

The next meeting will be held on Thursday, March 22, at 7 p.m., probably in the in the community room of the Franklin County Dog Shelter and Adoption Center or at the old Beaumont school.