4/17/2008 WHO Block club leader/residents meeting minutes

James — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 00:22:38 +0000

Block Club Leader/Resident mtg 2/21/2008

James — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 20:03:34 +0000

Meeting minutes for Block Club and Resident meeting on 2/21/2008 taken by James Nelson

Present: 15 Willard- Homewood Residents (including 5 Block Club Leaders): James Nelson, Martha Chatelein, Liz Samuels, Rob MacIntrye, Michael Tabor, Al McFarlane, Beverly Propes, Glenn K., Kathy Godfrey, Michelle Lewis, B. Hardemen, Charlene Tate, Ernestine Walton-B., Natonia Johnson, Carol Olson. Randy Staton
Guest: Henry Crosby (YMCA speaker)
[NOTE: apologies for any misspellings and incomplete information!)

Call to order: 6:30 Al stated current chair, Francine Chakolis, would be coming shortly. Several members requested we nominate temporary chair so we could start on time. Mike nominated Beverly Propes, James seconded. Beverly requested we have co-chair. Randy nominated Al, Ernestine seconded. 13 yeas, 0 nays, 2 abstained. Motion carried.

1) Approval of agenda: 6:40 Beverly made motion to approve agenda, Al seconded, motion carries unanimously.

2) Guest Speaker, Mr. Henry Crosby, from YMCA: 6:45 Survey done showing community not willing to pay high membership prices for current program. Better product needed. 1^st phase of new facility will focus on family and community needs. New model will allow multiple functions in building focusing on youth and family. Gym and pool will remain. Middle will be gutted to make room for younger kids. Second floor for technology and other rooms for community use. There will be a rock climbing wall and a stage for the arts and community meetings will be added. There will be much more glass to utilize natural lighting and create a more open feel. Youth is a priority to provide a safe zone for kids. The 2^nd phase of the project will work with North Point to build a 17,000 ft. facility next to north point. The idea is that if health and fitness center is closer to North Point, folks will see value in both health AND fitness. These two phases of renovation were needed because a YMCA needs about 2,000 paying customers daily to succeed. Currently only about 200 come daily. Also, there is a financial goal of helping people fund coming to the YMCA with about $76,000 annually. Instead they are giving out about $336,000 in financial support. They don’t want to turn away community members so they needed to create a more workable model for the community. The time table is 1^st phase done by 10/08 and 2^nd phase by 2009/2010. The YMCA is collaborating with area services to make sure services are not overlapping. Mr. Crosby did want to convey his disappointment and apologies that the use of the pool at the Boys/Girls club did not work out for the community swim teams as originally intended. There was a plan in place but communication broke down and the community suffered. The new facility will have a pool but not a steam room and some other amenities other facilities have in other cities. People can go to other YMCAs for those features. This YMCA wants to focus on family and youth. To get current updates and to give your input on this project, please go to www.twincityymca.org or WWW.ymcampls.blogspot.org.

3) Year end reports: 7:15 Mike gives Crime and Safety Committee Report, James gives Communication report, nobody present to represent the Economic Development Committee but copies of last meeting minutes were passed out. Bill asked if these committees were working independently or working together or just what the structure of these committees was. Mike said that the by-laws we have yet to pass outline the structure goals of the organization but we have yet to pass the laws. So, in answer to Glenn’s question, these committees are working quite independently for now. Beverly made a motion that these yearend reports be posted to the www.willard-homewood.org web site. Motion 2^nd and passed with a majority (The meeting was moving quite fast now and I did not get who made 2^nd and vote numbers, sorry about that). Mike ( Crm./Sfty.) and James and Michelle (Communications) will post reports on web site prior to next meeting. There was discussion about communicating other than by email. We lack funding to do flyers. Mike mentioned we have a bulletin board so people can post comments and carry on dialogue rather than mass emailing. Michelle said that would cost more for the web site or we would need to take something out of the web site It was also suggested that we have a membership fee for WHO members. However, this may keep people from participating. People have been paying out of their own pocket for web site, flyers and other expenses. Michelle mentioned we have tried soliciting donations without much response. Our group needs 403C (non profit org) status to receive funding of any kind. Al suggested we utilize NRRC, Urban League for funding for things like mailings to people without email. Michelle pointed out that many of these things require money up front . James mentioned he does not have upfront money as others may not have either. Beverly mentioned that it would be advantageous to have a vision for expenses for WHO. Mike said we need to pass by laws first then we need to submit a budget, then we need to elect officers as is all outlined in the bylaws. Glenn asked why we don’t just pass our bylaws so we can get our own funding for our unique needs and events. Glenn made a motion that we devote our entire next meeting to passing our by-laws so we can move forward more effectively. Many people 2^nd the motion simultaneously and the motion was carried unanimously.

4) Old Business: 7:35 Mike made a motion that we have no old business. James 2^nd motion and passed unanimously.

5) New Business: 7:40 Beverly mentioned that we need to address issues like radon that is in our community and foreclosures in our area. She also mentioned that you can access smaller crime information, like purse snatchings. Beverly will send out instructions on how to do this via email but if you want to do it right away it is available on the city of Mpls web site. As far as the foreclosures, the economic committee is addressing this and all are welcome to attend these meetings.

Natonia asked if any classes on gun rights were being looked at. Mike said that Tim Hammett with the MPD would be the one to answer that question. Michelle said that the martial arts demonstration at the crime/safety fair last year at Plymouth Youth Center was very helpful. Mike said that these were all great ideas and the fair had lots of great feedback. However, we need to look at getting financing set up.

Mike mentioned another issue we should keep in mind is to provide resources where people can go for essential issues like home heating and heat bills during winter. Natonia and Beverly said they would lead efforts to form a task force to lead this effort to explore issue. Mike also mentioned that we follow up on the race issues that confront our communities as evidenced by the flurry of emails after last month’s meeting. Natonia mentioned the Harrison Neighborhood had a good program. James brought a flyer “Undoing Racism” done by Harrison and passed it out. James will check with Harrison folks to see about duplicating their program.

6) Adjourn: 7:50 Mike mentioned that we should adjourn. Mike made a motion that we have Beverly and Al co-chair next meeting again since it went extraordinarily smooth, professional and efficient. There were many 2^nd motions and a unanimous passing of the motion for Al and Beverly to be temporary co-chairs again for next meeting.

GREAT COOPERATIVE, PRODUCTIVE MEETING. THANK YOU ALL FOR COMING. HOPE TO YOU NEXT TIME, ON MARCH 20^TH, IF YOU COULD NOT MAKE IT THIS TIME.

These minutes will be reviewed, amended and passed at the 3/20/2008 meeting chaired by Al and Beverly THANK YOU!!

2008 willard-homewood paving project

jodi — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 20:05:43 +0000

download pdf version

Background

The City is preparing to restore the pavement on all residential streets in the Willard Homewood neighborhood sometime during the summer of 2008. Details can be learned from the February 5 City Council reports (scroll down to item #3):
Residential property owners will be charged $0.16 per square foot of their property.

Description

Pavement on streets will be scraped down about 2” to 3”. New pavement will be installed. The City budget will contribute the remaining $0.05 per square foot.
Typical lot will be assessed approximately $1400 (some will be more and some will be less). Assessments can be paid back to the City over time on tax statements. More information is on City webpage at http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/special%2Dassessments/
Retired people and people with permanent disabilities can defer assessment until their house is sold.

Project DOES NOT include:

Repair curbs

Traffic calming

There will be a public hearing before assessments are approved by City Council.

Pros

Pavement is over 30 years old and will deteriorate rapidly over time. It is cheaper to improvement pavement now than wait until pavement is in worse condition in future.
Oil prices will affect cost of asphalt; assessments will likely be much greater in future.
All neighborhoods will see similar projects over next 15 years.

Cons

No opportunity to request other neighborhood improvements, such as traffic calming.
If neighborhood opposes project, then future project to be more expensive.
If neighborhood requests more improvements, then assessments likely to increase.
Project is not green or sustainable.

minutes: econ dev committee (2.19.2008)

george — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 15:39:22 +0000

WHO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE
February 19^th, 2008
RESIDENTS: Corbin Connell, Crystal Christianson, Daniel Jackson, Beverly Roberts, George Roberts, Carol Olson, Henry Ford, Heather Frazier, James Nelson, Nicole Doran, Peter Wright, Toni Huggar
CITY REPS: Elfric Porte [CPED], Don Samuels [5^th Ward Alderman]

Download pdf version here.

1. Introductions
2. Background
• In the past year, Committee met with block club leaders, GMHC, City of Lakes Community Land Trust, Neighborhood Housing Services, and the City of Minneapolis CPED concerning the foreclosure issue.
• A plan for creating partnerships around goals our community develops began to emerge
• These meeting focused on (a) understanding the scope of the problem on the Northside, and (2) developing a plan for a pilot project in our community
3. Scope of Foreclosure Issue in North Minneapolis
• Elfric Porte presented a map of the whole Northside, indicating (1000+) 2007 foreclosures and all homesteaded properties, and gave a brief overview
• Elfric suggested we expand our consideration of “problem properties” to include any home which is derelict, unoccupied, or in need of repair
• Resources available through the City, to our community include:
    - Housing Ownership Center – contract w/ Habitat for Humanity to do foreclosure counseling [located at Neighborhood Housing Services]
    - Ordinance 249 which lists boarded/vacant houses, and gives City authority to
        1) rehab sub-code home and assess owner [not currently utilized]
        2) demo structure and assess costs to owner [utilized but less preferred]
        3) resolution agreement w/ owner to remove blight [most preferred option]
- $10 million pool of funds (GMCH) plus $1 million from Family Housing fund and $1 million from City to purchase, rehab and market homes
• After overview, review potential pilot project: Homewood Artists Cluster map
    - Penn Avenue to Upton Avenue North; Plymouth Avenue to 14^th Street North
    - Nine foreclosure properties in this area: City resources could be brought to bear
    - Build community consensus on pilot project goals and area designated
4. Discussion of Community Goals - General Questions/Comments
• Corbin Connell: empty houses seem an improvement over difficult tenants. Can City and community work together to insure absentee landlords and speculators do not introduce a whole new cadre of problem neighbors to our community?
• Crystal Christianson: Is there a mechanism for notifying community before homes get demoed by the City.   Can we get the 249 list?
• Peter Wright: is there a way for homeowners who have decided to stay to recoup some of their lost investment?
• Beverly Roberts: what we are trying to do, locally, is develop a pilot project to show viability of identifying a group of homes to rehab, identifying a target market (i.e. young artists and their families), creating a list of goals, establishing partnerships with organizations and agencies who can assist us in reaching those goals
• Elfric Porte: let’s look at the suggested target area and see if it fits our needs. General agreement at first, then discussion.
• Daniel Jackson: let’s be sure the proposed area is a good place to start.
• Corbin Connell: enumerated several reasons for supporting this target area, including
   - the symbolic importance of beginning with the area of most immediate impact from Uncle Bill’s
   - the area includes the Russell-Sheridan-Thomas homes discussed earlier this year with GMHC
    - the area contains several parcel ready for economic development
    - going with this selection allows us to get moving quickly
    - the area is not in Homewood proper but gains stability from the existing stability in Homewood
    - proximity to Penn/Plymouth (U of M and NorthPoint development projects)
    - not entirely foreclosed (there is some existing homestead stability within area)
    - proximity to the park and bike path
    - centrally located w/in the neighborhood (benefits tend to radiate outward).
• James Nelson: Plymouth is a main avenue. We should look at both sides of street.
5. Action Plan
• Community members will do a walk-around survey of all boarded, vacant or derelict homes in a slightly larger area than target area
       Queen Avenue North / 12^th-16^th: George & Bev Roberts
       Russell Avenue North / 12^th-16^th: Toni Huggar
       Sheridan Avenue North / 12^th-16^th: Corbin Connell
       Thomas Avenue North / 12^th-16^th: Daniel Jackson
       Upton Avenue North / 12^th-16^th: Crystal Christianson
• Information will be gathered and forwarded to Bev Roberts (bev@homewoodstudios.com) by Friday, February 22^nd
• Report will be sent to Elfric who will get new maps made for next meeting
• Final decision on target area and goals will be made at next meeting
• Community members invited to “think big” about goals for target area: what defines our wishes for this area? Who can we bring on as partners to help us make it happen?
6. Next Meeting – Thursday, February 28^th, 6:30p at Homewood Studios
[residents not able to attend encouraged to e-mail / phone questions and concerns to Bev Roberts for inclusion at next meeting]

thanksgiving photos!

margie — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 04:17:21 +0000

Here are the pic’s from the open house at Anne and Jim Long’s. (Here’s the Open House invite that I sent out to the list from them.) I missed a few neighbors…and did not get to stay long, but it was very nice!

Margie

robert’s rules of order

Michelle — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 17:49:13 +0000

WHO’s monthly block club leaders & resident’s meetings are held in accordance with Robert’s Rules of Order.

Here is a handy chart of motions, for reference.

young artists have a home in north minneapolis

george — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 03:34:23 +0000

Homewood Studios, your neighborhood place for art, announces the opening of Gallery 1 x 1 x One, our new “window gallery.”

We offer one piece of art, for one month, by one of our young community artists to catch your eye, to slow you down, to nourish your spirit.

If you are a young artist (under 18 years of age), or if you know of a young artist whose work ought to be on view in our gallery, please contact us at gallery1×1xone@homewoodstudios.com or come in and talk with us about showing your work

November Artist:
Wendy Rivera Perez, age 12
P.Y.M.P.ed Skirt

Homewood Studios
2400 Plymouth Avenue
612 587-0230
www.homewoodstudios.com
Hours: Tues 5p – 9p, Wed & Fri 1p to 6p, Sat 1p to 4p and by appointment

download pdf version

photos from the cp&s fair (10.27.2007)

Michelle — Sun, 28 Oct 2007 16:21:59 +0000

Hi neighbors!

I just wanted to tell all of you, that if you were not able to make the event on Saturday, you truly missed out. It was a lot of fun and very informative. My personal favorite thing was the fire truck. I have never seen a fire truck do what these ladies and gentlemen did for the kids. They actually raised the ladder 100ft and had a firefighter climb all the way up in to the bright blue sky. It was amazing! They also let the little kids use a fire/water type extinguisher. What a highlight for the little ones. And what could have been better than a real life bomb dog drinking out of the drinking fountain and sniffing out bombs. What a hoot!

I would also like to thank EVERYONE who helped, came to the event or supported our event in any way. It came together perfectly in the end. A super big thank you to Mike Tabor…I was supposedly the “chair” of this event, but Mike was the real organizer. Please go and check out the pics on the blog and see what you missed. Also…try not to miss the next event. We need to always remember to support our neighborhoods.

Margie Degen

The K9 officer (and her handler) arrive at the Crime Prevention & Safety Fair.

The personal safety workshop, based on martial arts principles, was phenomenal!

Tinkerbell learning how to use fire truck equipment.

Godiva demonstrates her bomb-sniffing abilities. She trains every day and is certified to detect thousands of different kinds of explosive materials. She wasn’t fooled by this locker.

It seemed to me that Carter’s Dad and McGruff were never in the same room at the same time . . .

Detecting bombs is hard work. Godiva needs a drink!

Godiva sits down next to the correct locker, just as she has been trained to do!

She waits for more instructions.

McGruff the Crime Dog picks up a few arts and crafts tips.

Sharing a book, in the arts & crafts room.

Yes, if this were a bus stop, I’d be a little concerned about this guy, too . . .

nov 15 bcl mtg: bylaws & articles of incorporation

Michelle — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 15:40:56 +0000

Dear Willard-Homewood residents:

Please download an advance copy of DRAFTS of the WHO bylaws and Articles of Incorporation, which will be the subject of the November 15th Block Club Leaders & Residents meeting.

Nov 15th: Discussion of proposed bylaws and Articles of Incorporation.
See the message from the Organization & Structure Task Force below.
In the meantime, help get the word out to your neighbors by printing the attached flyer (front) and (back), and distributing to your block!

Message from the Organization & Structure Task Force:

NOVEMBER 15th meetings:
This is an exciting time for North Minneapolis: development on Plymouth and Penn is getting under way with the massive expansion of NorthPoint, and the University Northside Partnership’s redevelopment of the shopping center property promises much-needed jobs and economic development assistance. Along West Broadway, changes are already apparent, with more on the way.

But we are not without challenges, either. Record foreclosures, violence, drugs and unemployment and a rash of burglaries in the area drew the community together at Theodore Wirth in December of last year.

What was clear at that meeting was that the residents of Willard Hay neighborhood felt under-served by the city and demanded action on those issues. The Willard-Homewood Organization was reborn that night.

Since then, we have held regular meetings to address the concerns discussed at Theodore Wirth. Members said ‘no’ to the problems associated with Uncle Bill’s and worked hard to close it down. Summer events of an ice cream social and a bbq were well-attended and allowed neighbors to meet one another. Later this month, our Crime Prevention & Safety Committee will partner with NRRC on a community event focusing on crime-prevention. Our Economic Development Committee is working hard to attract businesses to the area, while the Communications Committee is putting together packets to welcome newcomers to the neighborhood.

The new W.H.O. is moving on to the next phase in its development, the adoption of bylaws and Articles of Incorporation, a requirement for it’s 501c3 status.

To this end, the Organization and Structure Task Force has been laboring since February to create a document that reflects our needs and the desires of the community.

On November 15th, neighborhood residents will meet to ratify these documents. This is your opportunity to vote on the adoption of the rules governing the organization that will ultimately serve you, which is why your input is so important.

Thank you . . . and we hope to see you on November 15th:

Block Club Leaders & Residents Monthly Meeting
November 15th (6:30-8:00 pm)
NORTHPOINT Health & Wellness Center
1315 Penn Ave. N. , Room 101
(Human Services Building, not the clinic)

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