September 19, 2017 Minutes

Armatage Neighborhood Association

Monthly Meeting Minutes
Armatage Rec Center

Date: September 19, 2017

Called to order: 6:32pm

Presided by: Denis Houle, President

Note taker: Ryan Antkowiak

In attendance: Board Members — Ryan Antkowiak, Tara Brown, Kelly Falsani, Joel Federer, Jim Hoch, Denis Houle, Bri Keeney, Michael Kootsikas, Laurel Luxenberg, Judy Vecere, Stephanie Vigen
Other — Nikki Lindberg – Coordinator; Nikki Friederich – Park Director; Jessica Kawas – 911 Dispatcher, Linea Palmisano – City Council Member

Residents – Annique London, Jenny Custer, John & Lynn Prokop  

 

Guest Presenter

  • Jessica Kawas – 911 Dispatcher
  • Updates on changes coming to the service
    • New phone system with questioning; pro-QA is the new system. In the midst of training – all questions will be standardized based on the responses.
  • 10,000 calls per week. Staff of 70 fielding the calls.
    • Minneapolis primarily but the majority are cellphone calls
      • Satellite determined placement
  • If you question whether or not you should call 911, just call 911
    • Trained for Triage if the call is more trivial relative to other events
  • Armatage specific 911 activity – a better question for Jennifer Waisanen
    • She will have the data
      • Data collected however is transmitted to local police to provide the most responsive coverage.
  • Question on response timing; dependent on other activity but in our area of Armatage a 3rd responder call has averaged roughly 10 minutes (Linea Palmisano commentary)
  • Has protocol changed since the Fulton incident
    • No, pro-QA was in motion over a year ago

 

City Council Update – Linea Palmisano, City Council Member

  • Last night, zero waste event at City Church – community feedback forum
    • Goals
      • 2017 — Less waste being added to the waste stream this year compared to 2015
      • 2020 — Recycle or compost 50%
      • 2023 — Recycle or compost 80%
    • Online survey is still accepting responses for another week. Request to blast out.
      • Goal is to firm up how important this is to take it from residential to commercial
  • Armatage public safety
    • Armatage will only receive one officer specifically assigned to our zone. This is of concern to Linea and to our residents.
  • New police chief – Chief Medaria Arradondo
    • Discussion surrounding former chief settlement package
      • Non-disparagement clause is likely to be removed
  • Mayor presented budget
    • 5.5% Levy increase this year
      • What this amounts to in SW MPLS; this will feel like $100-$200 for a 300-350k home
        • Concerns voiced about pattern of increases and the impact on those on a fixed income
        • Frustration on how high our taxes already are vs. other communities
  • Lots on utility construction conversation
    • Now three vendors – Comcast, CenturyLink and
      • This competitive landscape is good for consumers but has created a construction nightmare. SW actually has handled this better than other parts of the city.
    • Centerpoint Energy has had 3 massive projects that are coming to a close but it has been messy and frustrating for residents
  • Body camera audit
    • Linea is front-and-center as she heads up the audit team
      • Help ensure there are staff directions for police to improve the use of body cameras

 

Presidents Report

 

  • Nothing new to report. 311 is a good resource for break-ins, etc….
  • Reminder to lock your car doors.

 

 

Secretary Report – Ryan Antkowiak

  • Electronic Votes
  • Reconfirm interest in our Rain Garden proposal ($450 to homeowner, ANA the rest)
  • Creation of Small Business Facade Improvement Grant Program
  • Approval of July minutes

 

Treasurer Report – Judy Vicere

  • Current financial statements sent via email. Update on contracts sent via email.
  • Establishment of clear tracking between two bank accounts (one for the City monies (Restricted), the other for program income (Non-Restrictive)).

 

Committee Updates

  • Community Engagement
  • Happy Hour – Red Wagon, Tuesday 10/3 – 7-9pm
  • Washburn Park – Project has begun
    • Met with a consultant and the plan is moving along. A formalized plan is forthcoming. There is also a webpage for this project.
    • Goal is to have this done by the end of next summer.
      • Signage will be prevalent so we can have communication with the project manager along the way.
  • Green Team – additional garden funding or remaining at 10
    • Neighborhood takes on less of the burden; owner takes on more
      • Capacity to fund up to 15
        • Motion passed
  • Safety Update
    • New Safety Coordinator
      • Interact with the crime prevention specialists
      • Dispell amplified social media attention
    • Personal Safety Workshop, Saturday 9/23
  • Summer Festival Recap
    • Rearranged due to the weather
      • Strong turnout considering rain
    • Financially we covered our costs
      • Made a little bit of money
    • Finding volunteers continues to be a struggle
    • Food was great
    • Car show was great

 

Park Update – Nikki Friederich

  • Fall sports are underway and the fields are packed
    • Flag football is crazy; record numbers – 16 Armatage teams!
      • Coffee Truck will be here now because it is so packed
  • Volleyball Clinic will be hosted here during MEA
  • Playgroup – Saturday morning / Monday evening
  • Looking for toys for the events
  • Halloween Trunk or Treat – Friday, October 27th – 6-8:30pm
  • Activities
    • Horse and carriage ride
    • Bounce House
    • Music
    • Bonfire
    • S’Mores
    • Pumpkin Carving Contest – pumpkins to be donated
  • Still need people/groups to decorate cars – they will provide the candy
  • Motion to approve continued support of this event at $900

 

Coordinator Update – Nikki Lindberg

  • October newsletter
  • Tara to be featured board member in the newsletter
  • Inquiries about advertising and business notifications
    • Will consider announcing new business but need guidelines so not to discriminate
  • Accountant services
  • Mike Wilson, pointed out some things to consider
    • Judy has us in a great place but the concern is what happens when she steps down or is no longer involved
  • Nikki contacted a local CPA firm that specializes in non-profit work
    • If we wanted to hire them; they would charge us $100/month for management
      • Will review a proposal so we can further vet the CPA firm
  • Air quality survey
  • 13 coordinators met to discuss air quality throughout our city
    • Grant program to test for air pollutants.
    • One per zip code; discussed where to place
    • At this point, all outdoor; not indoor
  • Bylaws – Judy, Joel, Jim, Kelly, Laurel
  • October 9th sub-committee
  • Construction Updates: Upton, 54th
  • Variance notices
  • Concerns over new home building generally being larger than the previous home which reduces the amount of space for water to go. This can compound over time so standardizing rules is being discussed and more discussion to follow.
  • November Event – charity, tree lighting, activities
  • Discussion surrounding doing this again.
    • Difficult to book any entertainment because it being the day after Thanksgiving.
  • Last year we did two trees – $650. ~ $300/tree if we add more.
  • Diaper and formula drive; partner with same charity again?
    • Motion to approve up to $1,000 to repeat the event.
      • Will look at adding more trees.
      • Possibly getting a food truck.
      • Booking some other type of event; sleigh for photo op.
  • Court Watch?
  • Have a presentation to learn more
  • Lucky Oven Bakery – going in old dry cleaner; next to Settegrens.

 

New Business

  • Consider inviting Mobile Menders to a meeting/event.
  • Volunteer group to sew clothes for those in need.
  • Consider arranging community meeting and greet with members of the MPLS Muslim community.
  • Partner with Armatage Montessori

 

Meeting adjourned: 8:20pm

 

Submitted by: Ryan Antkowiak, Secretary