June 2012

TANGLETOWN NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION
REGULAR BOARD MEETING MINUTES
Monday, June 18, 2012 7:00 p.m.,Fuller Park

Board members present: Mary Jane Mitchell – President, Tony Proell –Vice President, Ryan Fisher – Treasurer, Carolyn Dungan – Secretary, Steve Bieringer, Janine Allison, Birdie Cunningham, Jane Elias, Jeff Gears, Andrea Siegel, Charlie Siftar, Dylan Sirny, Lynell Voigt

Also present: Amanda Vallone – TNA coordinator, Tjody deVaal – Designer, Matt Perry – NEHBA President, Lance Knuckles – Community Participation Program (CPP) Specialist, Ta-Coumba Aiken – Muralist, Don Hall – resident with memorial plaque proposal and various other residents

  1. Call to Order 7:04
  1. Margo Ashmore from South Minneapolis Housing Fair Committee described the goals of the fair are to maintain and improve houses in South Minneapolis neighborhoods by bringing together home owners and local businesses involved in home improvement.  The fair has been going for 18 years and is held in late February or early March at South High School.  The fair is self-sustaining as the vendors pay for their booths.  Margo asked that the board respond to her at 612-867-4874 or email at manager@housingfair.org with input on the following:  1. Where are residents getting their referrals for building resources?  2. Are people remodeling?  3. What event formats have been successful for Tangletown events that the housing event could borrow on?
  2. Don Hall a Tangletown resident presented a proposal for a Fuller Park memorial plaque dedicated to those who were instrumental in getting the land converted to a park.  When Fuller School (named after suffragette Margaret Fuller) was removed the School Board was against selling the land to the Park Board. There was a proposal to convert the land to housing.  A group of residents worked to get the neighborhood’s preference for a park approved by door knocking and interviewing.  The park design is based on questionnaires completed by residents that indicated preferences for no high intensity lighting, limited parking, no baseball backstop.  The proposed plaque will be aluminum with a short dedication.  Mary Jane suggested including some of the history of the park on the plaque.  Janine suggested attaching it to the building so it will not get stolen like the first plaque.  Ryan offered that if the suggested modifications increase the expense that the board would consider partnering with the costs.  Mary Jane suggested that Don talk to Tom Balcom in writing the history and suggested using Tjody for the design.  Steve volunteered to plot out a mock up to put on the wall to see what it will look like.  Carol Anderson noted that the board needs to take the proposal with a detailed description of the project to the park commissioners for approval.
  3. Ryan made a motion that the board support the memorial plaque project and continue to work with Don.  The motion passed unanimously.
  4. A Mural Project update was presented.  Tjody introduced Ta-Coumba Aiken, the renowned local mural artist that is leading the first mural project at Artescape.  Ta-Coumba spoke about the project at Artescape stating that the goals are to make people safe, prevent graffiti and create beauty.  The project is about love and peace and healing.  Many different ages contributed to the design of the mural and Ta-Coumba pulled the designs together.  He is mentoring youth who are working on the project and believes that the mural belongs to the community. It is 14 feet by 48 feet with two smaller pieces on each side.  The paint was donated by Valspar.  There will be two other murals – the Blue Cross Animal Hospital at 5328 Lyndale and another to be determined.
  5. Lance Knuckles spoke about how he can help with CPP submission.  He informed the board that the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) Policy and the Equal Employment Opportunity Policy must be approved before any funds will be distributed for the 2012/2013 funding cycle.  Since Tangletown Neighborhood Association does not have a cash flow problem, Lance suggests taking our time to get the CPP submission right.  We need to include the bylaws, a budget for the organization and the EEO and ADA policies.  Lance suggested using a resource from the CPP Access and Outreach staff to address the community engagement goals.  Mary Jane said that the board’s NRP committee will complete the submission and have it to Lance for approval before the next board meeting so that the board can vote to approve it.  Lance then encouraged board members to complete the NCR feedback survey.  Currently, 276 have completed the survey and they are hoping to have 400.  Lance mentioned that CPP offers board member training.  There was much interest expressed by the board.  Lance will forward the information so that we can set up some formal training for our board members.  Finally, Lance announced that the NUSA conference will be held in Minneapolis next year and he will be looking for volunteers to help.
  6. Secretary’s report consisted of a motion by Tony to approve the May minutes.  The motion carried and the minutes were approved.
  7. Treasurer’s report by Ryan noted that the dwindling NRP account stands at $47.64, the CPP account is at $2,415.66 and the Tangletown Neighborhood account is at $11,403.07.
  8. The utility box wrap project update by Carolyn reported that the 1st phase of the application process for the micro-grant requires a listing of the proposed utility boxes, their location, measurements and photos.  Carolyn had sent an email with the listing to the board members for review and approval so that the application can be completed and submitted.  The next phase of the application project will include the proposed artwork for each box.  The city is putting together standard designs which we can consider along with any of our own ideas for artwork.
  9. Steve made a motion to approve the list of utility boxes for the application for the micro-grant.  The motion passed unanimously.  Carolyn will complete the application and submit it before the July 9th deadline.
  10. Communications Committee update by Ryan reported that we will use E-News to reach out to residents for the 4th of July event including a call for volunteers.   E-News reaches approximately 500 residents.  Ryan also submitted an announcement to the Southwest Journal.  Ryan would like to see us getting back to a monthly E-News posting.
  11. 4th of July event update by Ryan reported that the volunteer meeting will be on July 2nd and the all board members are requested to attend.  Tjody passed around her draft of the postcard and suggested that we have the post office print and mail because they will mail next day at about the same cost as our annual meeting postcard mailing.  Tjody will proceed with this and get the .xls spreadsheet of the mailing list from Ideal Printers.  Mary Jane reported that there are nice canopies for sale at Menards and suggested we buy at least one.
  12. Façade improvements are approved for two businesses for $1,000 each – Simply Jane Open Artist Studio and Hwa Rang Do  Martial Arts Academy.  There are two other applicants – Sweet Shop and Café Ena.  Mary Jane suggested that board members look for places that need improvements and encourage those businesses to apply.  She also suggested we get more funds for this initiative.
  13. Coordinator update by Amanda reminded board members to revisit the CPP submission.  Amanda will provide a report via email on the NUSA conference that she attended.
  14. Nominations for officers opened by Mary Jane.  It was noted that we won’t elect an editor since we are contracting that work and that we may need to update the bylaws for this change.  Jane nominated Andrea Siegel for president.  Andrea declined.  Tony nominated Steve Bieringer for president.  Mary Jane nominated Ryan for president.  Ryan accepted the nomination for president and Steve was nominated for vice president.   Carolyn was nominated to continue as Secretary and Sandra Batsias was nominated as Treasurer.  All nominees were approved unanimously.
  15. Fuller Park update by Carole reported that the Ice Cream Social was a success, that there are many camps in session, that there is an open Pottery Workshop on Mondays and that the carpenters will be starting soon on the building improvements (front counter and cabinet doors).  Carole stated that she always welcomes suggestions for the park and its programs.
  16. Matt Perry handed out the new Spring/Summer Experience Southwest brochure and announced that NEHBA will be expanding to Xerxes which will increase the number of business nodes to fifty.  He asked that we distribute the Experience Southwest brochures at the 4th of July event.
  17. Adjournment  8:40pm

Next Meeting:  Monday, July 16, 2012 at Fuller Park.

 

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