Tangletown Neighborhood Association
Regular Board Meeting
Monday, September 20, 2010
7:00 p.m.
Fuller Park
Minutes
Members present: Mary Jane Mitchell – President, Tjody DeVaal, Carolyn Dungan, Jane Elias, April Heers, Lynell Voigt, Mary Davidson – Treasurer
Guests: John Quincy, Ward 11 Councilman
1. The meeting was called to order at 7:08pm.
2. The August meeting minutes were not approved since we did not have a quorum at the start of the meeting. We will approve them at next month’s meeting.
3. Mary Jane reported that the Board had a good showing at the CEE Energy Audit organizational meeting on August 24 at Mayflower Church. There are three PDF’s on the Neighborhood Association website that board members can forward to neighbors, however be sure to note that the location has changed from Ramsey to Washburn. Tjody will create a Tangletown postcard to sent out – approval was received from Ashley Robertson to do so.
4. The group revisited the issue of hiring a part-time paid staff member. Ryan had asked Mary Jane to put a motion to the Board to set aside $6,000 for the next 6 months to fund this position. It was decided by the group that first the subcommittee should meet to determine job description and hours requirements. The group suggested some job duties and possibility of offering it to one of the other neighborhood association administrative assistants– Fulton and East Harriet were mentioned- or someone in the Tangletown neighborhood or even one of the board members if there is the interest and qualifications. The subcommittee is: Lynell, Carolyn, Ryan and Tony.
5. Instead of a group picture of the board, Tjody will put together individual photos.
6. Business Directory is getting good feedback – a couple of suggestions and corrections have been passed on to Tjody. Janie graciously volunteered and completed the distribution of the directories to the local businesses as well as the welcome pack to businesses new to the area. Janie has another box of the directories if anyone is looking for some.
7. The group discussed the value of having a neighborhood business association similar to NEHBA. It was mentioned that businesses are reluctant to participate (example: business façade program). It was suggested to present the businesses of others who participate and how it benefits those businesses. It would also be helpful to have a business association leader – one suggestion was the manager at Caribou on 46th. It was also suggested that along with the welcome packet that provide to businesses new to the area that we also look into the possibility of including coupons from local vendors.
8. Ward 11 Councilman, John Quincy, was present and asked what we would like to include in the Ward 11 newsletter. The group had two suggestions: 1. an article on the CEE Energy Audit workshop and mentioning that registration materials are available at Fuller Park 2. A link to the Tangletown business directory pdf.
9. There are more funds available for the business façade project and it would be nice to get more businesses to take up this opportunity. Businesses are allowed up to $1,000 if they are approved for the project. Jane offered to talk to the landlord at Simply Jane’s new location. Mary Jane offered to propose the project to Town’s Edge – it was agreed that they need a facelift. It was noted that the Animal Hospital and Carlson’s Cycle are both considering it. It was noted that we should include landscaping in this matching grant program.
10. The group discussed initiating the formation of several subcommittees within the board. Possible areas of focus would be: The Arts (possibly organize a holiday arts and craft sale and call local churches to host it), The Greening of Tangletown (composting, bike rentals, rain garden, rain barrels, trees (ash bore treatments), The House Tour, 4th of July Event, Garage Sales, Newsletter Reporting.
11. Tjody is working on the Fall Newsletter. It was noted that the deadline for the fall newsletter is Friday, September 24th. Tjody asked if she should include a crossword puzzle again and noted that it was a lot of work to create it and wasn’t sure if it was valued. The group agreed that the crossword puzzle is a nice item to include in the newsletter even if we send the same one as last quarter – Tjody will continue to provide the puzzle.
12. The group discussed the value of obtaining block leader information. Amy Lavender has stated that she can’t provide this list. The suggestion was made that the board request that Amy send an email to the block leaders asking them to contact the neighborhood association.
13. Mary Davidson gave a brief summary of the financials. It was noted that we need to get reimbursement from NRP for several projects: water tower railing, business directory costs, store front enhancements (Kramer Electric, 46th Street Salon, New Central Auto Body). We have money available for NRP phase 1 and 2 that is not part of the main financial statement. There was a suggestion was to include more information on this statement such as all available funds and the incoming/outgoing transactions.
14. The meeting adjourned at approximately 9:00 pm.