November 20, 2012 Minutes

Armatage Neighborhood Association Meetings

ANA board members in attendance: Kelly Falsani, Steve Johnson, Nikki Lindberg, Betsen Philip, and Keith Swanson

Others in attendance: Tina Erazmus, ANA staff member; Jen Swanson, Ward 13 Aide; and Matt Perry, NEHBA.

Called to order at 6:31 by Betsen Philip

Safety Update – Keith Swanson

Armatage has continued to experience low crime, however, many surrounding neighborhoods have seen notable increases in certain crimes, so please stay alert. Jerry Peterson from the Park shared about bike thefts taking place just over the boarder in Edina. Because some of these bikes made appearances at the park, Jerry and the Edina police have been in contact and have helped return several to their rightful owners. Please keep a description of your bike and your bike serial number on file to help recover stolen bikes.

Park Update – Jerry Peterson

Halloween was a big hit again with about 1,500 people coming through in two hours. Fall sports are wrapping up right now. Winter program information will be available online November 30 and registration opens December 3. A Park survey is available online right now. He was also excited to share about their recently installed dishwasher.

Creek Path Letter Response

The ANA wrote a letter along with Lynnhurst and Fulton neighborhoods in support of expanding pathways along Minnehaha Creek. The proposed project is currently slated for 2018. Some discussion will be forthcoming about the planning. Our new coordinator, Tina, will attend any meetings regarding this project on our behalf.

Airport Changes

Strong feedback helped delay the MAC decision for at least 16 months in regards to the proposed airport traffice “highway” over south Minneapolis. The future for this situation, however is very unclear. Be sure to request to be on the Ward 13 email list to keep up to date on future changes. Matt Perry suggested the neighborhoods work together on this issue to create a better front.

Coordinator Transition – Tina Erazmus

Tina has been getting all the pieces handed over from Jen. She is excited to on board (and served on the board for many years in the past). Jen added that although many things have been transitioned over, there are a few things still remaining, but expected it to be completed in the next week or so.

Treasurer Report

None.

Secretary Report

October minutes accepted with no changes.

New Business

  • Matt Perry, NEHBA, still needs to finalize the contract with ANA and NEHBA for the facade grant management. They have applied for facade grant, and should know in February for final decisions. The city said we could arrange on our own agreement, and we all expect this will be done soon.
  • Jen Swanson, Ward 13 Aide, updates: Our area of Minneapolis experienced an 88% turn out at the election. Single sort recycling cans have been delivered to most of our neighborhood, with the remainder to be delivered in the spring. Budget hearings taking place soon. Penn Ave. will try to accommodate Settergren’s and Wagner’s businesses, and their busy spring season, and will start on the area between their nodes in April, moving closer to their businesses by June. Redecking of the Penn Ave. bridge should take place in July. There will be a final public hearing regarding the assessments (notice will be sent to affected residents). Currently 69% have opted out of the lighting portion, and 70% is required to stop that portion of the project. Although costly, it is cheaper to do now, and provides more efficient lighting and less light pollution (see examples on Lyndale Ave. ). Approved design available online. For future reference, “Slow down signs,” are still available. For concerns with traffic re-routing through the neighborhood (especially on Upton), these may be good to use in larger quantitiy, and it might be a good idea to call 3-1-1 to request the speed wagon once increased traffic levels are seen.

Meeting adjourned at 7:11 p.m.