January 18, 2022 Minutes

ANA Meeting Minutes

1/18/22 / 6:30 PM / Zoom

BOARD ATTENDEES

Vikisha Goberdhan, Eli Johnson, Ethan Komoroski, Nikki Lindberg, Sharla McIntosh-Ziegler, Kevin Ross, Judy Vecere

NOT IN ATTENDANCE: Samantha Bild, Adriana Dobrzycka, Janhel Leandre

OTHER ATTENDEES

Lauren Anderson (Coordinator), Jordan Nelson (Armatage Park Director), Tara Brown, Council Vice President Linea Palmisano

THE MEETING

December meeting minutes approved via email. Updated financials were sent via email.

6:30    Welcome and Introductions (Kevin Ross)

6:35    Park Update (Jordan Nelson, Armatage Park Director)

  • Buildings have returned to more restricted operations due to the recent Omicron surge, and will be open for programs but not open to the public. Warming room hours have been scaled back, but will still be open 7 days a week (4-7 weekdays; 1-5 Sat; noon-5 Sun)
  • Winter programs are underway (basketball, skating, gymnastics, adult yoga)
  • Fire & Ice event on Fri the 28th 6-7:30, skating, bonfire, s’mores, ANA tabling, mutual aid winter gear table, Armatage PTA tabling
  • Movie in the Park — probably in June (10/11 our first choice, later in June second choice), SEO plans to table and would like to hand out popcorn, movie selection TBD (suggestions: Back to the Future, My Girl) Watch for a list to generate ideas.

6:50    Ward 13 Update (Council Member Linea Palmisano)

  • Announced the addition of a new member of her team, Ruth Olson (long-time neighborhood coordinator and Armatage resident).
  • First public forum for 2022 will be focused on public safety, details in the works.
  • As the newly elected Council VP she hopes to work closely with Pres Andrea Jenkins (Ward 8). She thinks they will make a great team, as Andrea thinks big and she thinks details.
    • Working on committee assignments (some 60+)
    • Voters chose to change the government structure, and will be put in place in phases
    • Her office has received questions about a Snow Emergency not being declared after the  recent snowfall. The city crew felt it wasn’t necessary. If you have areas that are problematic, reporting through 311 will help prioritize where clean up is needed.
    • Linea asked how best she can connect with us and work with the neighborhood — the ANA is looking at a comprehensive plan for connecting with several of our representatives and will let her know the plan (see notes later in the meeting)
    • A question was raised as to the function of the audit committee and how it can be used for police oversight. This has been a priority and activity during her involvement on the audit committee and she’d like to see it as part of the system no matter the leadership. There is also an added legislative audit function (as a check on the mayor). Ultimately the audit committee’s key feature is its independence.

7:00    Special Election for Open Board Seat

  • No candidates applied. Will address again at a future meeting.
  • Ideally the seat would be filled asap, but we are able to have an on-the-spot election if someone steps forward.
  • Board needs to work on recruitment (are there people serving as committee members or parents from the community school who might be interested)
  • Seat term runs through May 2023 (and must be 18)

7:05    Vice President Midterm Election

  • Sharla was nominated to serve as Vice President. The nomination was accepted. Sharla was elected VP.

7:10    Lawns to Legumes Grant Opportunity – Tara B., Sarah, Eva

  • This is a state sponsored grant similar to the rain garden program, and focuses on plantings to support pollinators in both residential and park settings (includes plants, shrubs, trees, etc.) https://bwsr.state.mn.us/media/16491
  • The Green Team is seeking board approval to apply for the grant. If we are awarded the grant, we will address the financial commitment and whether or not we can meet the 10% match.
  • They see 2-3 projects in the park: The park would need to approve the plantings and agree to 5 years of pesticide-free maintenance. 1) Tot lot on Washburn (at the request of neighbors) for vegetation between park and alley; 2) Triangle on 58th St; 3) Area around the playground that would include signage about the rusty patched bumblebee
  • We have to have residents sign-up to be a part of the program (home owners that can display successful yardscapes) and expect we would need at least 7 and ideally between 7-10 participants.
  • Project management is still managed by Metro Blooms and the ANA. The grant would pay for the plants (with our 10% match) and would cost about $1,500 to the participant. Finance details will be finalized if the grant is awarded (these numbers are an educated guess).
  • Grant deadline Feb 5
  • We live in a priority 1 zone, so while very competitive grant, this does improve our chances
  • This would be in addition to the rain garden program, though we could slide some of our rain garden funding to this program.
  • Motion to support the green team grant application. Seconded. Motion carries.

7:25    Armatage.org Updates – Ethan

  • Joel, Lauren, and Ethan have been looking at the website. At this point, just looking at the top nav bar and where to house certain pieces of information.
  • Recommendation:
    • Home — running blog style
    • Donate
    • Get Involved
      • The committees
      • Board meetings
    • Events & Programs
      • Art Journal
      • Board meetings
      • Community helpers
      • Movie
      • Food truck nights
      • Clean ups
      • Rain gardens
      • Safety rebate program
      • Welcome bags
      • Light tours
      • Etc
    • About
      • News
      • Board & other meetings
      • Accomplishments
      • Financials
      • History
      • Policies
      • Our community
    • Resources
      • Need to clean up and trim down this section
    • Contact Us

7:50    Coordinator Report

  • City Contract – all of our policies were accepted. Now an approved scope of work is needed before work can begin. Lauren is meeting tomorrow to clarify what this means. A financial summary is posted to the website as part of these new city policies.
  • 2022 Annual Meeting Topic (May 17)
    • City-wide election day has been discussed but no details have been given to neighborhoods, so we recommend our regular 3rd Tuesday of the month meeting date
    • Who do we want to invite to speak? Should figure out our topic first
    • What topic do we want? Consider the categories from the equity sign / could do a Facebook poll to get some community feedback for the topic
    • We need to allow for nominations from the floor, so will need to tweak the voting process
    • Venue: hope we can host it outside at the park, masked indoors if weather is poor
  • Neighborhood Traffic Calming Process — Ethan is willing to look at the survey, and come back to the board with suggestions for an ANA response
  • Zoom Account — recommended that we share a Zoom account with Kenny which will give us more features
  • Fire & Ice (request for board members for tabling and helping volunteer)
  • Monthly meeting schedule (each quarterly)
    • Palmisano, City Council
    • Abene, Parks
    • Waisenen, Crime Prevention Specialist

8:00    ANA Committee Updates

  • Green Team
    • Have developed subcommittees to help focus on certain things: Lawns and Legumes, Slothful Book Club (“Overstory”), Movie/discussion (Kiss the Ground) around soil health and regenerative farming (March 24 panel discussion); Rain Garden program is in contact with renters; Senior workshop in May, gardening as you grow older
  • Safety, Equity & Outreach
    • Next meeting Feb 1 – Lauren met with Cyber Seniors regarding our April event
    • Will be working on sharing some tips for public safety, especially about the car jackings
  • Community Engagement
    • Welcome bags, mini grants (pausing), finalized fall Senior Workshop focused on home maintenance; Pet Fest (May 14) from 2-4pm at the park with parade, contest (open to ideas: person who most looks like their pet, best dressed, best trick); committee members are reaching out to tons of area business that support pets, as well as could do other event treats for non-pets, etc.

8:25    New Business

  • Reminder for some board members to get bios to Lauren.

Meeting adjourned at 8:25

UPCOMING MEETINGS/EVENTS

  • February 1 – Safety, Equity & Outreach Committee (6:00-7:00pm, Zoom)
  • February 3 – Community Engagement Committee (6:00-7:00pm, Zoom)
  • February 10 – Green Team Meeting (7:00-8:30pm, Zoom)
  • February 15 – Monthly Meeting (6:30-8:30pm, Zoom)