Meeting was called to order at 6:30 pm by Mary Andres who opened with the ice breaker of saying your name and saying something you like about the neighborhood.
Alderman Murphy
Alderman Michael Murphy let us know the Highland Avenue bridge would be completed by November 15, 2009 and that there would be a ribbon cutting ceremony and he would let us know the date and time for that as soon as he had confirmation. He also mentioned that Martin Drive Neighborhood is etched into the bridge.
Alderman Murphy’s 2010 City Budget Report
· Two year salary freezes
· Early retirements without those positions being refilled
· 200 jobs being eliminated this year and next
· Fire Department reducing ladder companies
· Upper management in the Police Department furloughed
· Police station on Vliet is having the 2nd floor remodeled so it can house more staff
· Squad cars will soon be off the bridge on Vliet
· Funds collected for wheel tax are strictly used for street repairs
Resident Requests of Alderman Murphy
· Hidden Driveway sign at the end of the exit ramp off Hwy. 41 at State Street/Vliet/Martin Drive
· Changing signage for exit ramp off Hwy. 41 at Washington Blvd. – Terry
· Sidewalk repair – Bonnie M. (city only looks at sidewalks every 25-30 years but residents can repair themselves or city can ramp it)
· Bicycle lane on Martin Drive – Terry
· AT & T U-verse (check to see if they are cherry picking where they add services) – Kim
· Recycling (everyone agreed it would be a great idea to have a set day every month for them to collect and he will follow up with management regarding complaints of recycle collectors only doing every other house or so when they do come)
· Speed Bumps (they do affect snow plowing, the city will charge everyone on the block for them so whichever blocks want them will have to poll all the neighbors and a meeting with the city engineer will be required before further action can be taken)
Welcoming Committee
Lynne Grages distributed a survey
Business/Finance Committee
· Pat Mueller planning to hire an intern – too much for her to maintain alone
· Linda Devitt is the treasurer and her husband Pat Devitt takes the minutes
· Per Sharon, they will present a financial report at the next meeting
Planning and Project Committee
· Project ideas will be submitted in this committee
· Bonnie made a graphic of how the committee structure should be and this model will be followed for future meetings
· Annual Planning Meeting suggested to discuss how new model is working and to determine whether or not changes in structure will be necessary
· Topics of interest for this committee: Red Ribbon Project Replacement, Neighborhood Pride, Needs on individual blocks
Pat Mueller and Dave Weber reported on the success of our being a part of the Healthy Neighborhood Initiative with the summer stimulus project. Money was invested by us as a neighborhood and numerous neighborhood improvements resulted (Ex. - Vliet Street Green Market, Neighborhood Garden, individual home improvements, etc…).
We received funds from the Healthy Neighborhood Initiative and from that budget, at the Healthy Neighborhoods Initiative’s urging, the Budget & Finance Committee agreed to spend a small sum on neighborhood promotion by Cherry Homes Realty. They will promote our neighborhood to real estate brokers to attract potential buyers to the neighborhood. This model has proven very successful in other healthy neighborhoods across the country. Dave Weber used Baltimore as an example. A lot of residents were unaware of this venture and expressed confusion and concern but after some brief discussion, the Project and Planning Committee agreed that they would provide more details at next month’s meeting.
Neighborhood Garden
Steve Falsetti reported that the garden was a huge success and that there will be two more beds added next year. He said the benches will be stored for the winter and he plans to start earlier next year with planting.
Annual Night Time Trick-or-Treat Halloween Event
Pat Mueller said the event will take place on Friday, October 30th and registration would be October 21, 24 & 28. Each child that registers pays $1.00 and each family that participates donates a bag of candy. She anticipates that there will be 350 children participating this year. Barricades will be set up about 5 minutes before the 7:30 pm start time and the houses that have pumpkin luminaries are the homes that the children know to go to in order to get their one piece of candy.
Newsletter
Pat Mueller informed us that the newsletter was done and should be circulated to all the neighbors. She also handed some out to block contacts who said they would make sure they got to everyone.
Meeting adjourned at 8:00 pm.
Minutes respectfully submitted by:
Kim Jackson
4210 W. Juneau Avenue, Apt. 2