Meeting was called to order at 6:35 by board president Denis Houle

ANA board members in attendance: Denis Houle, Sarah Broich, Nikki Lindberg, Kelly Falsani, Tom Alagna, Jeff Forss, Bri Keeney, Lance Custer, Keith Swanson, Betsen Philip

Others in attendance: Tina Erazmus, ANA staff member; Nikki Friederich, Armatage Park Director; 2 interested neighbors

Update from Denis Houle and NCEC:

• New Fund: Community Innovation Fund (partnership with community organizations and neighborhood organizations)- applications are available now
• NCEC has formed a sub-committee to discuss “Neighborhoods 2020” (visioning for when neighborhood organization funding goes away): the first meeting is coming up

Ward 13 Summit Review:

• Denis, Tina, Bri, and Tom attended
• It was a valuable experience; neighborhoods shared how they welcome new neighbors
• Other neighborhoods very dynamic, proactive
• Question posed to our board: how can we be more proactive?
• Denis suggested forming subcommittees to meet in between meetings and reporting at monthly meetings (we are one of the only neighborhoods without these committees right now)
• Question was asked: what were the common committees that other neighborhoods had? Answer: Environmental, Financial, Communications and Outreach, Safety, Neighborhood Concerns
• There was a discussion about getting these subcommittees going with the ANA board.
  • Bri offered to chair the communication, outreach and engagement committee for Armatage. Bri, Nikki, and Denis will be on this committee
  • Will increase efforts to encourage participation in board/neighborhood and work to increase diversity in participation
  • The other subcommittees we hope to implements are: Environmental, Safety, and Financial (Education about neighborhood finances could be part of this to make neighbors aware of the funding that neighborhoods make decisions about). No one was able to commit to chairing these committees at this time.

Park Update:

• Activity guide is out; registration is open for spring and summer
• New job postings on Mpls Park website (FT entry level position and also lots of seasonal positions)
• Question from board member: now that we have nicer weather, any behavior problems at the park? Nikki was unaware of any problems as of now.

Treasurer Report:

• Treasure reported on numbers in accounts
• There was a question about getting a debit or credit card for neighborhood accounts. Lance will pursue this (will be helpful for online ordering).

Coordinator Update:

• Tina communicated with Karen about ending newsletter commitment
• Coordinator shared an email from Emily (assistant to Councilmember Palmisano): Do we want to request a Nice Ride station in the 54^th and Penn area? Board agreed to send a letter to Nice Ride in favor of this.
• Coordinator needs permission to pay for a master address list for all future mass mailings ($250). Nikki made a motion to approve $250 for the neighborhood to have a master address list of all the residences in the neighborhood. Sarah seconded. There was a brief discussion and the motion carried.

Coordinator Transition:

• ANA Coordinator submitted her resignation. She will stay on until the end of May (through garage sales and annual meeting).
• Executive subcommittee will interview potential candidates to fill the position.
• There was a discussion on starting wages: Tina will research what the past job posting said for this
• A board member recommended having a prepared list of interview questions and we agreed it would be ideal to have someone hired before the annual meeting
• Betsen will pass along interview questions and rating scale. We will communicate via email regarding the job posting and scheduling interviews with potential candidates.

Annual Meeting:

• Blank ballots for board elections will be prepared
• Bees Knees is available: charges $100 to speak
• Motion made by Lance to pay the $100 to have her speak. Seconded by Kelly.
• There was a brief discussion: some members uncomfortable paying for it.
• The final vote was 4 ayes; 3 abstain; 1 nay; Motion Carried.
• Chief Harteau is a maybe depending on her schedule
• Inspector Loining and Crime Prevention Specialist Jennifer W. coming
• Coordinator is still talking to Settegrens about coming with food

Summer Festival:

• Signage- Nikki prepared and distributed cost estimate sheets for board to review
• Linden Hills festival is May 17^th– board president encouraged all board members to attend to get ideas. Councilmember Palmisano shared about her experience with the Linden Hills festival.
• Board formed a summer festival subcommittee to work on details of the event: Nikki, Kelly, Sarah, Bri, Lance

Councilmember Update:

• 54th street construction:
  • Layout approval is done; there will be a website and facebook page regarding this project.
  • Lighting petition will be mailed mid-may. Letters not returned are votes in favor. Lighting assessment per sq. ft. is $1.18. Assessments can be spread out over 20 year period. There was a discussion on whether or not contribution from neighborhoods would make an impact. There will be 2 neighborhood conversations about this topic (one spring, one winter).
  • Discussion on contribution from neighborhood. Councilmember reported that Lynnhurst decided to make no contribution.
  • There was a question about why 54^th is not considered a pedestrian priority corridor. Councilmember explained this and said the city is trying to install lighting in any new projects regardless of pedestrian status.
• Upton Ave update: Councilmember office received calls in support of traffic calming there. Data from trial was fairly even across the board. Public works recommended permanent traffic circle there plus curb cuts to make curbs accessible. Councilmember Palmisano plans to door knock 4 blocks on Upton to inform neighbors of this.

New Business:

There was a motion for approx. $150 for a gift certificate to thank ANA coordinator. Motion was seconded and carried.

There was a motion to adjourn. It was seconded and carried. Adjourned at 8:22 pm.