EPIC Board Meeting - November 2005

PRESENT
Mary Gonsior (MG), Hannah Lieder (HL), Linda Leonard (LL), Carol Pass (CP), Rosie Cruz (RC), Earl Simms (ES)

Directors not Present: Cynthia Aquirre (CA), Aden Awil (AA)

Meeting was called to order as Committee of the Whole at 10:09 by CP. Agenda was distributed. MG was designated as recording secretary.

AGENDA
The agenda was approved with the addition of property announcements.

MINUTES
Minutes were not available for the October 1, 2005 EBM.

ANNOUNCEMENTS
Vigil on Columbus Avenue for 11 year old girl found dead. CP reported that the Mayor was not at the vigil. Attending were Dean Zimmerman, McManus, Gerlicher, McLaughlin.
Grand Opening Midtown Safety Center, Thursday, Nov. 10th 3-6 pm.
Garden Party was a success, and a lot of fun was had by more than 50 attending.
Greenway Design Charrette was attended by 40-50 people. So much input was received that planners decided another charrette was needed.
Public Safety Legislative Initiative is tackling two issues: 1. Take multiple misdemeanors and make them a gross misdemeanor, and 2. Have a policy to limit the number of sex offenders in Phillips because we have more than our share.

NRP Elections
LL is the official voter for EPIC to the Thursday, November 17 meeting to elect NRP Reps. CP is running to retain her seat on the board. Issues include Legacy Fund Repayment, and the general lack of financial support for neighborhoods by the Mayor.

QUORUM
Sulemon Mohamed has moved out of EPIC area; Quorum was established (6 of 8 directors present.)

CDBG funding
CP had to revise the budget so that all CDBG funds are spent in 2005. EPIC to re-submit budget to Robert Cooper. Cooper made suggestions regarding EPIC bylaws, to be reviewed at future board meetings.

Motion (CP, MG)
Accept revised Budget for CDBG funds as submitted at 11/01/05 EBM. Motion passed unanimously.
New Directors
Suleman has moved, so we do need to find another Director. CP and LL will invite new residents to EPIC meetings.

East Phillips Commons Development
The two lots just south of the new 29th & Bloomington apartment building. Parking for the businesses on Lake Street is a concern. Owner of Cadillac Pawn was paving his own lot for parking (without a permit.) Sherman Associates wants to build the townhomes requested by the neighborhood and is working with Cadillac Pawn owner trying to work out an agreement about parking. There is a dispute about the planning (also with the city.) CP has already sent a letter stating EPIC’s motion rescinding the motion to support temporary parking in this space, and will contact the principals and try to find out where the situation stands.

EPC 17th Ave. Garden Committee
CP, BP, HL met with GI and asked that EPIC not deal with Corrie Zoll regarding garden. CP wrote a Memorandum of Understanding which was not accepted by GI. CP has written a second memorandum incorporating changes:

Garden group is not a legal entity and so is removed from the memorandum.
Clarification of the voting process was incorporated into the memorandum.
Stipulated that gardeners must agree to abide by the memorandum.
Stipulated that the memorandum will stay with any future ownership of the garden.

BP tried to contact Corey Brinkema to find out what GI told Corrie Zoll. Corrie Zoll phoned Cynthia; was he asked to stay out of it?

Crime Report
Discussed Community Impact Statements. Judges are unwilling to give appropriate sentences without these statements from the community. It is best to have an ID number assigned for reporting, rather than using your name. Chronic offender reports were distributed. If you see these individuals acting illegally, you can complete an impact statement even though they are not under arrest, etc. CP will inquire whether it is okay to post these flyers on bulletin boards, web sites, etc.

GMM Agenda
Invite Don Greeley to GMM to present community impact statements.
Invite Jim Roth (MCCD) to present entrepreneur training and consulting.

Commodore Bar Site
Jason Geshwin is no longer the principal developer of this site. It has been handed off to Mark Welna. Discussed ideas for the corner, including a potential site for a community center.

Neighborhood Event
Discussed holding another garden bonfire or neighborhood event on November 28.

Survey
LL has made additional copies of the survey.

The meeting was adjourned at 12:00 pm.

Respectfully submitted by Mary Gonsior, Secretary

CDBG = Community Development Block Grant
EBM = EPIC Board Meeting
EPC 17th Ave. Garden Committee = East Phillips 17th Avenue Community Garden Steering Committee
EPIC = East Phillips Improvement Coalition
GMM = General Membership Meeting
GI = Green Institute
NRP = Neighborhood Revitalization Program
EPIC BOARD MEETING
November 5, 2005
2526 18th Avenue S, Apt. #5