TANGLETOWN NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION
REGULAR BOARD MEETING MINUTES (DRAFT)
Monday, August 15, 2011 7:00 p.m., Fuller Park
Board members present: Mary Jane Mitchell – President, Carolyn Dungan – Secretary, Janine Allison, Steve Bieringer, Tjody DeVaal, Jane Elias, Jeff Gears, April Heers, Lynell Voigt
Also present: Rhea Sullivan – Coordinator, Dan Fearn, Amy Lavender, Tom Balcom, Carol Anderson
1. Meeting was called to order at 7:02 p.m.
2. July meeting minutes were approved without change.
3. Treasurer’s Report – none. Ryan is out of town and will send a report to the board members when he returns.
4. Council Member Updates – None present.
5. Community Crime Prevention Update – A new Crime and Safety committee was formed with members Steve Bieringer, Jeff Gears and Janine Allison. Amy Lavender our Crime Prevention Specialist was present and distributed a Tangletown crime report for the period 6/1/2011 to 8/15/2011. Crime in general is very low for Tangletown, however, there was a rise in burglaries. The Crime and Safety committee will coordinate with Amy to set up a Crime Prevention workshop for the neighborhood. Amy will provide safety tips to Rhea for publication in our next newsletter. Rhea asked if we could have a list of block leaders. The list is protected under the data privacy act but may be given to Crime and Safety committees for the purpose of recruiting block leaders and crime prevention. Amy said that the list she will send the list to our new Crime and Safety committee. Amy will attend as many of our Crime and Safety meetings as she can. She will put us into contact with Dave Delvoye who is the best C&S coordinator she knows so that we can model his initiatives.
6. NRP Subcommittee Report – The board agreed that this subcommittee would have a standing meeting time going forward. Jane and Rhea will finalize the mural project documents this week. Tom Balcom is still working on the Lyndale bridge restoration project and has met with Bruce Chamberlain the new Assistant Superintendent for Planning Services. Mary Jane invited Ralph Sievert of the Minneapolis Park Board to make a presentation about Emerald Ash Borer at our next meeting on September 19. Mary Jane is asking for ideas from board for the NRP Crime and Safety budget. Some possible uses of the funds: hire one or two people to door knock the neighborhood to recruit block leaders, obtain contact information and encourage TNA participation; a program to promote pedestrian and bike traffic in the neighborhood; Halloween safety presentation and possible distribution of glow sticks or flashlights. The communications committee will gather ideas and draft a proposal for the possible door knocking initiative to present to the new Crime and Safety Committee and the Board. Scott from Tangletown Gardens has offered to partner with TNA on landscaping around the water tower and planters on Nicollet Avenue bridge. Scott will be invited to the next NRP Subcommittee meeting.
7. Committee for the Arts – Tjody and Jane were not able to set up a booth at the Color Wheel Block Party on August 14. No other updates.
8. Tangletown Halloween Home Tour – The subcommittee distributed ideas that were documented at their first meeting. The tours will take place the weekend before Halloween and there will be a daytime tour and an evening tour. There will be several categories for the house decoration prizes. The hayride cost was prohibitive but the committee will look into other possibilities such as one of the antique buses from the Minnesota Transportation Museum. Rhea will forward cost information from a recent quote. There will be no charge for the Home Tour. We may charge a $5 entry fee for the house decorating contest to pay for the cost of being included on the map. The Halloween Home Tour will be a cover story in our September newsletter. Tjody asked that all of the board members each come up with a ghost story to include in the newsletter as well. The committee will put together a start up budget to present to the board at the next meeting.
9. Dog Park – Tony is attending the Sixth District Dog Park Citizen Advisory Committee (CAC) meeting tonight, August 15, and will email a report to the Board after the meeting.
10. NEHBA Update – Matt Perry of NEHBA forwarded the recent initiatives. NEHBA expanded its boundaries and it now includes all of Tangletown. They are planning to contract with the city for the $15,250 marketing grant for the Lyndale Avenue South reconstruction project. The funds would provide for marketing the area before, during and after the bridge projects to support the businesses affected by the construction. The funds would also support the drafting of a Road Reconstruction Survival Guide. NEHBA is still looking for involvement from the four neighborhood organizations representing the Lyndale road reconstruction project zone to explore their interest and ability to contribute to the capital cost of enhanced streetscape elements for the new road. Mary Jane will be working with Matt and Roger to continue to promote the Business Façade Improvement Program. NEHBA is still looking for new members. It costs $100 per year to join.
11. Public Service Announcement (PSA) guidelines for TNA publications (newsletter and enews) – Rhea and Tjody will pull these together using Fulton guidelines as a template. The guidelines will speak to things like article word counts and submission deadlines.
12. Fuller Park Update – Carol Anderson reported that the Music in the Park event on Thursday, August 11 had a good showing. This event requires sponsorship. It’s the last week of summer programs and the fall programs are online. There will be another Red Cross blood drive on Monday, September 12 from 2pm to 7pm. Regarding the Halloween party, Carol is starting to gear up for this event. Last year it was very well attended. The Fuller party is geared for younger kids. Older kids might be interested in the Armatage party that includes a haunted house and a hay ride.
13. Other Business Announcements – Mary Jane noted that we would like to increase neighborhood involvement. Andrea Siegel suggested that we recruit a block to adopt parts of an event or we could make and distribute I
14. The meeting adjourned at 8:28 p.m.