February 2023 Board Meeting Minutes

Tangletown Neighborhood Association February 20th 2023

February 20, 2023 TNA meeting:

Attendees, board members: Claire Blanchette, Pat Collins, Kyle Goldschmidt, Heather Grovum, Richard Harris, Kellie Hansen, Ben Levy, Dan Treinen, and Will Young

Attendees, non-board members: Emily Koski and Andrea Siegel

Called to order at 7:03

  1. Fuller Park updates:
    1. New park director was recently assigned
  2. Councilmember Koski updates:
    1. Monthly meetings:
      1. March agenda is open forum
      2. April agenda is community safety
      3. Would love to hear other topic ideas by email
    2. Intersection news
      1. TH 62/Bloomington will reopen in about 4 to 6 weeks
      2. Working with partners to boost safety at Edgewater Boulevard and Cedar Avenue
        1. Will be a pilot project in the spring/summer to test different safety measures and traffic calming ideas in the area
    3. Winter parking restrictions
      1. Snow emergency will supersede the one-sided parking
      2. Will revert to single-sided parking after snow emergency ends
    4. $30 tree lottery
      1. Trees area already about six feet tall 
      2. If selected, go early to pick up the tree
    5. Land Use evaluation is currently underway and open for public comment through March 26
      1. Time to give questions, suggestions, thoughts, and ideas
      2. She is newly on the planning commission is of this month
    6. City’s traffic calming program
      1. City has not selected which projects they will work on in 2023
      2. Received more than 800 submissions
        1. Not enough funding to cover all of the various projects that were submitted
        2. If not selected, there will be another timeframe to resubmit next year for the 2024 cycle
      3. An equity lens is being used to review the submissions
    7. She recommends never calling 311
      1. Faster response either using email (minneapolis311@minneapolis.gov) or use mobile app (and can send a picture)
      2. Also cc her staff at Ward 11 to make sure getting proper response
  3. Secretary update
    1. Kyle Goldschmidt moved to approve January minutes; Claire seconded
    2. Motion passed unanimously
  4. Treasurer update
    1. Current report looks unusual because there is not an active budget
    2. Some of the expected grant money from 2022 is finally coming in this year, so those grant amounts are higher than expected
    3. No other outliers with the budget
  5. 2023 Citywide Neighborhood Network Fund and Equitable Engagement Fund
    1. No changes to the Citywide Neighborhood Fund
    2. EEF funding increased to $20,000
      1. Some is earmarked to a focus group
      2. There is $2,250 earmarked to facilitate focus groups
        1. This is about 1/8 of the annual budget
        2. Kyle would like to find volunteers to get the work covered by Board members to not only save that funding but also to boost engagement with renters
        3. Equity committee is prepping the questions and will do post- feedback
        4. Focus groups will be recruited in March and conducted in mid- to late-April
  6. 2023 Budget
    1. Motion to move the $2,250 for focus group within the EEF into staff time.  Heather moves to approve, Kyle seconded.  Budget passed unanimously.  (This is all captured within line 8 of the income in the budget)
    2. Motion to approve updated FY23 budget by Kyle; Dan seconded.  Motion passed unanimously.
  7. Board vacancies
    1. Bylaws required 10-day notice to board members before removed from the Board
      1. Pat emailed Kadeer Omar more than 10 days ago 
      2. Kadeer did not respond
    2. Anthony and Michelle resigned from the Board due to time commitments
    3. Looking for more Board recruitment to fill these vacancies
  8. Committee updates
    1. Livability and engagement
      1. Currently no Board member to chair the committee
      2. Pat would be willing to chair if we preserve the committee
      3. Remaining community members recommend skipping a Tangletown Thaw event that had been discussed
      4. Considering moving food drive to the equity committee
      5. Winter Fest will be February 25 
      6. Idea to temporarily dissolve and reassign actions between Equity and Building, Land Use until the March meeting
      7. Pat and Andrea will create a list of their initiatives to discuss further in March meeting 
    2. Environmental
      1. Applying for the Green Partners grant through Hennepin County
      2. Trying to boost county’s “electrify everything” initiative that pairs with attempts to boost solar power
      3. Received first rebate application for solar power
      4. Lawns to Legumes Program will be mid- to late-March for design consultations for residential participants to have more sustainable lawns
    3. Equity
      1. Committee has been in favor of taking on the food drive from the Livability Committee
      2. Beyond Land Acknowledgement had about 30 attendees and all feedback was very positive about the conversation
        1. The event was recorded and can be found on the website
        2. The Native Governance Center also provided free resources to share on the website
      3. Donations more than covered speaking fees and is being passed along
    4. Building and Land Use
      1. Still gathering information about the Lyndale Mill
      2. Claire wrote a Sustainability Sam entry regarding radon and radon mitigation
      3. Hoped to discuss intersection issues with Councilmember Koski at this meeting
    5. Merger Task Force
      1. Still some funds left in the collaboration fund
      2. Pat proposes having our Executive Committee meet with Kingfield’s to discuss if there is still an interest in merging even without Lyndale
        1. Kyle notes we would still gain efficiencies of scale
        2. Biggest sticking point would be Executive Director position because Kingfield’s is shared with Lyndale
          1. Sarah has resigned from Kingfield and will only be with them through the end of May; she will only be working with Lyndale going forward
      3. Ben moved to merge with Kingfield; no second
      4. Kyle moved to pursue a merger with Kingfield; Heather seconded.  Motion passed unaminously
      5. Southwest Neighborhood Collaborative movement with Armitatage, Fulton, Kenney, Windom, and Lynnhurst
        1. Pat would be willing to be the representative if she can have some backup when she is busy
        2. Ben moves to collaborate; Heather seconded.  Motion passed unanimously
  9. Board Bylaws
    1. Heather moves to remove Kadeer Omar from the board for lack of participation; Claire seconded. Motion passed unanimously
    2. Bylaws do not clarify if vote is needed for member absent from three consecutive meetings
      1. Motion to amend bylaws.  Ben moved to amend bylaws with language from agenda; Will seconded.  Motion passed unanimously.
  10. Executive Director
    1. When emails come in with questions, will send to relevant committee and then we can use templates of previous responses
    2. Strategic planning
      1. No timing requirement for when it must occur
      2. Not many volunteers for strategic planning
        1. Not much feedback from committees about any priorities or goals
      3. Want to push it until June when the new Board starts
  11. Meeting adjourned at 844
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