ANA Meeting Minutes
ANA board members in attendance: Tom Alagna, Denis Houle, Steve Johnson, Nikki Lindberg, Betsen Philip, Noah Schuchman, Alicia Strowbridge, Keith Swanson. ANA staff member: Jen Swanson.
Others in attendance: Jeff Forss, David DeNamur, Kevin Crane, Sandy Cleland, and Betsy Hodges
Welcome – Alicia Strowbridge called the meeting to order at 6:33
Safety Update – Keith Swanson
Not much to report. We will be losing Amy at the end of the year. No information has been given as to how we will keep connected with the MPD in the future.
City Council Update – Betsy Hodges
Tuesday, November 29 at 7pm will be the 6th Annual Ward 13 Budget Meeting, held at Armatage Park. This is our chance to discuss the budget and air ideas and concerns. Several other budget dates are upcoming, with a public hearing on December 14. More information is available at the city website.
Although a 0% property tax levy was proposed, many will see some increase due to changes in property values and the elimination of the homestead credit. These changes will affect commercial and rental property most. The average increase was about 2.5%.
Regarding the stadium discussion, she is not a supporter of public funding for stadiums. Another topic being discussed is an expansion of gambling by the State, but until Native peoples are included in the discussions, she doesn’t see this is a discussion we can have and is not supportive of an expansion of gambling citing the many social costs.
Resurfacing of the streets between Penn and Xerxes, from 54th to 58th, is in the Mayor’s budget for 2012. There will be a public hearing about the assessment for this road work which will be posted online. Penn Avenue resurfacing is currently in either the 2013 or 2014 public works plan.
It was asked by Steve Johnson how a resident would go about having a “No parking without a permit” sign removed. She recommended calling her office and submitting the request.
It was asked if a stop light at 60th & Xerxes was in the works. She wasn’t certain, but she believed it was.
It was asked if the city saw a role for the NRP after the end of the year. As this program has been cancelled, and other programs taking up much of their former responsibilities, no, the NRP will cease to exist as of the first of January.
It was asked how the WiFi program was doing for the city. She made it clear that it is not owned by the city, but rather contracted to USI Wireless, and she didn’t believe they were making money on the system. Initial concerns regarding areas of poor coverage have been improving, and they are looking at ways for the city to use it more to make their use of it more cost-efficient.
CPP Program Guidelines (Final Comments) – Jen Swanson
(Posted separately.) Updates were made to the Program Guidelines based on comments from the last ANA meeting. It was moved to approve our comments, with the addition of some minor corrections; seconded and approved.
2011 CPP Budget Revision – Jen Swanson
Because of the submission extension, can hold off reviewing the CPP budget until next June.
NRP Policy Board Revision – Jen Swanson
Three separate documents were presented (available at: http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/ncr/changes.asp):
- NRP Ordinance Revision
- NRP Policy Board Resolution
- NCEC Resolution
Based on the meeting Jen attended, no further revisions were recommended.
2012 ANA Meeting Calendar – Jen Swanson
Meeting will continue to be held in the Armatage Park building on the third Tuesday of the month with quarterly safety meetings. The only exception is the change of the ANA Festival, reflected below.
January 17 at 6:30
February 21 at 6:30
March 20 Safety Meeting at 6:00, ANA Annual Meeting at 6:30
April 17 at 6:30
May 15 at 6:30
June 19 Safety Meeting at 6:00, ANA Meeting at 6:30
July 17 at 6:30
Monday, August 13 – ANA Festival
September 18 Safety Meeting at 6:00, ANA Meeting at 6:30
October 16 at 6:30
November 20 at 6:30
December Safety Meeting at 6:00, ANA Meeting 18 at 6:30
The board will decide after the December meeting whether to hold a December meeting in 2012.
Secretary Report – Nikki Lindberg
A motion was made and seconded to approve the October minutes. Motion carried.
Treasurer Report – Tom Alagna
A motion was made and seconded to accept the treasurer’s report. Motion carried with one abstention.
New Business
It was asked if the ANA was still offering low interest loans. Yes they are still available and we are in our 4th year of accepting applications.
Noah was asked about the 365 project. Other than our first missed submission last Friday, it has been going well. The website has consistent traffic. It was raised as to how we can thank/recognize their work. Several suggestions were raised including: creating a photo book from their photos (which we could sell); having a gallery exhibit; asking local businesses to hang photos; and having the photos on display at annual meeting.
Armatage resident, Kevin Crane, presented an opportunity for the Park to apply for a $10,000 grant through General Mills which can be used to support efforts relating to hunger (such as the lunch program at Armatage Park.).
Meeting adjourned at 7:22 p.m.