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

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

Others in attendance: Tina Erazmus, ANA Coordinator; Jennifer Waisanen- Crime Prevention Specialist; Inspector Todd Loining; Nikki Frederich- Park Director; Councilmember Linea Palmisano; Kristy Lynn Allen from Beez Kneez; 5 interested neighbors and 2 children

Park Update:

• Free Summer Lunch program, starting June 8^th. 12-12:30, M-F kids can eat lunch for free
• Also free snack 3-3:30, M-F
• Park is available to rent for events like birthday parties and grad parties- no alcohol allowed in park

Guest speaker City Council Member Linea Palmisano:

• She has 2 staff members: Emily and Ken who field calls- anyone should feel free to contact them
• Environmental update:
  • Curbside Composting- city is rolling this out starting this fall
  • 4% of people citywide have signed up so far; Armatage is currently at 11% participation; Neighbors can currently participate at Armatage drop off site
  • City completed study on construction waste/demolition- this is online and available to read
• Airplane Noise update:
  • Anyone can sign up for email updates on this; there is a lot of information available; city staff and Fairskies have coordinated on this
• Upton Bikeway update:
  • Handed out traffic study results regarding traffic calming on Upton
• Piloted traffic circle- collected data; recommended installing permanent traffic circle. Letters went out to neighbors on Upton regarding this. It is currently a non-planter circle (doesn’t need to be maintained by residents)
  • Adding ADA approved curb ramps
  • Not losing any parking
  • A resident requested that this project be put on hold and another public hearing be held to further discuss. He stated he wanted the ANA board to make a motion regarding this.
  • Another resident expressed the opposite view- that there have already been several opportunities for resident input.
  • Council member talked about doing their best to incorporate feedback from residents. She said they are working with school to possibly change bus route.
  • There was a discussion on the history of this issue. Board member talked about having this on the agenda the last several months and the history of the issue, saying the roundabout seems to be the final decision and best the solution for now. Board member suggested an ongoing conversation between residents on Upton and councilmember, which councilmember said she was open to. However she said it is unlikely that there is enough time to change the decision that has been made. She said she would look into it and follow up with the ANA board president.

Presenters Inspector Loining and Jennifer Waisanen:

• Reported that current staffing numbers are solid
• This part of the city has mostly property crimes. Need assistance from neighbors- block club leaders; people reporting suspicious activity
• Crime PREVENTION is key- gave some tips for this; Crimes of opportunity are most common
• Jennifer talked about security and block clubs; alerts; need to report even small crimes to 311 or 911. Reporting it to Jennifer only doesn’t put it on the crime mapping system.
• Jennifer is available for free security inspection of houses
• There was a question from a neighbor about egress windows and safety. Presenters encouraged adding lighting to improve visibility and keep window locked. Also suggested the window pins to prevent windows from opening far enough for someone to fit through.
• Ongoing message from presenters: Don’t be afraid to call 911 to report suspicious activity.
• There was a question from a board member about the body camera program. Answer: Department is in process of selecting the camera product to go with. Body cameras are going well- will probably be purchasing more in the next year. All cars have cameras.
• There was a question from a board member about the population of criminals- (i.e. are they from the neighborhood?) Answer- both. Most are not from the neighborhood, but some are. Yes, casing does happen.

Kristy Lynn Allen, Beez Kneez Presenter:

Presenter is a Beekeeper with a bicycle delivery honey business

• Talked about history of her business
• Bee population in decline since early 90’s
• Campaign- Healthy Bees, Healthy Lives- may have seen signs around town (signals commitment to bee conscious yards)
• Has advocated at capital- influential in getting bee friendly laws passed
• There was a question about what plants/flowers are bee friendly- answer: it is important to ask at any greenhouses you are purchasing plants from (mint family, dandelions are examples but greenhouses know what to recommend)
• Presenter emphasized it is dire environmental issue- pesticides are interacting and causing negative outcomes
• Another question- are the problems affecting just honey bees or all bees? Answer: It is an issue for all bees
• There was a question about safe alternative for weed killer (one example is salt)
• A question about organic fertilizer- answer: not harmful to bees, but possibly harmful to other creatures
• Presenter talked about her bicycle delivery business (Thebeezkneezdelivery.com) is open for people to check it out.

Board Elections:

Steve Johnson, Tom Alagna, and Kelly Falsani were voted back onto the board. There are currently 2 open slots.

Summer Festival Update:

• Nikki has been trying to convene the group to plan
• Nikki ordered signs and prepared a map of the new layout
• Planning group will meet and bring an update to the next board meeting

NCR Report:

• Denis, board president, gave history of NRP funding (NRP- neighborhood funding that neighborhoods have control over)
• City now wants opinions on what neighbors think should happen with this money (wants feedback from boards)
• A handout with information was distributed to all the board members for review
• Neighborhood Coordinators are collecting feedback from boards and are hoping for collective feedback
• Armatage is doing fine- we don’t have any uncontracted funds
• We will expect a request for a spreadsheet that must be submitted to show where all funds are
• Key concerns- what happens to neighborhood funding if it doesn’t get allocated? (This is not clarified) Also, there wasn’t a deadline initially- city shouldn’t implement now with short notice
• The city sees 27 million as they amount they are discussing, but the amount of this that is uncontracted is actually smaller.
• Board members should do survey that was emailed out regarding this
• There is a meeting coming up in June where coordinators will share feedback from boards. Tina plans to attend the June meeting and share the ANA feedback.
• Question from a board member- need clarification on “expending” funds

New Business:

• There was a suggestion regarding a memoriam from the ANA for the death of a young person from the Armatage Neighborhood. A motion was made to send a memoriam of $100 to family. Seconded. There was a discussion about this and the motion was withdrawn.
• Coordinator Hiring: we have received 13 applications that the hiring committee will review and interview. Will provide an update at next month’s meeting.
• There was a motion to approve the minutes from last month. Seconded and carried.
• The board presented a gift to our current coordinator, Tina Erazmus, to thank her for her service.

Motion to adjourn at 8:38 pm. Seconded and carried.