Meeting was called to order at 6:35 by Board President, Denis Houle.

ANA board members in attendance: Tom Alagna, Nikki Lindberg, Denis Houle, Jeff Forss, Kelly Falsani, Sarah Broich, Lance Custer, Steve Johnson , Keith Swanson

Others in attendance: ANA Coordinator Tina Erazmus, Minneapolis Police Inspector Todd Loining (presenter), Crime Prevention Specialist Jennifer Waisanen (presenter), 18 interested neighbors

Introductions

It was announced that Councilmember Palmisano and Minneapolis Police Chief were unable to make it due to conflicts.

First presenter: Minneapolis Police Inspector Todd Loining: In charge of 5^th precinct

• Apologized for last meeting he attended. There has been success with the case from the spring.
• 2014 was a successful year. There was an overall crime drop. Goal is to do better in 2015.
• Staffing is good- always working to ensure adequate staffing
• Most are property crimes in this precinct
• There are weekly meetings to discuss and strategize regarding crime trends in the precinct
• Block clubs are crucial in disseminating information

General safety tips:

• Lock your house
• Lock your garage doors
• Improve your lighting
• Consider installing security system
• Become a block club leader; join your block club
• Don’t be afraid to call 911
• Don’t put yourself in danger to get information (i.e. don’t chase a suspicious person or vehicle)
• Consider pinning ground level and first floor windows

Questions from neighbor- about the “broken windows theory” (not addressing the small problems leads to bigger problems)

• These “smaller” problems can be reported through 311
• Cleaning supplies for graffiti can be requested through city or fire dept.

More safety tips:

• Anything that can deter theft is supported (wheel locks, etc.)
• Auto theft- increase during winter months when people are starting cars to warm up
• Don’t leave cars unlocked, don’t leave valuables visible in cars, put them in trunk
• Load cars not at destination
• Shoplifting is an issue in business areas (Uptown, Lake Street)
• Safety in numbers- walk in well lit areas, be aware of your surroundings
• Don’t walk with your purse if you don’t need to; don’t carry lots of cash
• Don’t walk and talk on your phone
• Question from neighbor about marking valuables with serial numbers-answer: this doesn’t exist anymore
• Bicycle theft- these can be licensed; just call 311.
• This precinct is going to do a trial run on GPS tracking system for bicycles
• Consider doing a home valuables inventory form
• Apartments and condos- people are breaking into storage units and laundry facilities

Anyone can do a ride along if requested- request this through inspector (these can be any length of time- a couple hours to all day)

Question about door to door solicitors- don’t invite them in; can call 911 on this.

Question about 5900 block of Penn (SWAT team was at a house on that block). Resident believes there are drug deals going on there. 911 call was not responded to. Officer apologized and advised that people should call precinct to talk to a supervisor if something like this is noticed.

Another woman commented about good experiences with 911 and 311 calls

Body camera question- there are officers in the 5^th precinct trying this.

2^nd Presenter: Crime Prevention Specialist Jennifer Waisanen

Crime Prevention Specialist- has been with this precinct for about a year.

• Re-emphasized call 911
• She also gets forwards from 311 calls for suspicious activity
• Main goal is recruiting block club leaders
• She brought burglary prevention materials and other safety info; she can do an individualized safety assessment of homes by request
• Question about rental property owners workshop- anyone interested can email Jennifer for information about this

Raffle drawing: 10 neighbors won safety themed prizes

Safety portion concluded- Regular ANA business followed

Home Loan Program Discussion

Suzanne Snyder from GMHC was present to answer questions regarding this.

• A motion was made to form a housing committee to review terms and to establish a plan for an Armatage only home loan program. The motion was seconded. Discussion: Board discussed how this would differ from partnership plan (current plan allows funds available to only Armatage residents for the first 6 months). There was discussion about the timeline and interest in being ready to move forward by the spring of this year. The neighborhoods involved can’t move forward until the draft proposal is finalized. Discussed that the City Council is concerned about “sitting money” at the neighborhood level. The board voted on the motion. 2 ayes, 7 nays.
• There was another motion made to accept the emergency repair loan draft program as written. Motion was seconded. There was no more discussion. The board voted on the motion and it passed: 9 ayes.
• Another motion was made to accept the Home Improvement loan draft.  The motion was seconded. There was some discussion and questions: Clarifying: funds will be dispersed proportionate to the amount each neighborhood put in. Question: What happens to the money coming in from interest? Answer: This needs to be directed by the board and the board will receive a monthly report from GMHC to show progress and interest. The board voted on the motion and it passed: 9 ayes
• A motion was made to put $40,000 of the total funds to the emergency loan program and the rest to the home loan program. The motion was seconded and passed: 8 ayes, one abstention
• The board agreed to brainstorm about how to publicize the home loan program and to bring ideas to the February meeting, or to email the ideas to the board prior to the meeting. Marketing already in the works: there will be an article in the SW Journal Each neighborhood is contributing $2000 toward marketing the program
• A motion was made for ANA to also contribute $2000 toward marketing the home loan program/partnership. The motion was seconded and passed: 9 ayes

Update from NCEC

• Relayed by board president Denis Houle- NCEC would like to send postcards encouraging participation in the neighborhood and wants the board to proactively recruit resident participation.

A motion was made to adjourn the meeting. Motion was seconded and passed. The meeting was adjourned at 8:32 pm