Meeting Minutes, Feb 3, 2009
Bonnie Anderson, filling in for Karen Doty
The Board convened at 6:35 PM on February 3, 2009, in the office at St. George’s Greek Church on High Street. President Joaquin Garofalo reviewed his notes from the last meeting since no minutes were taken. His summary was accepted by the Board.
Joaquin updated the Board on the status of David Oberstein’s remodeling project for the old hospital on Central and Elm. David received City Council approval for his request for industrial revenue bonds and construction is expected to begin in April.
After a lengthy discussion about traffic and parking problems on streets a couple blocks either side of Central, Joaquin agree to head up an inquiry into parking permits for residential streets. The possibility of a traffic round-about at Edith and Copper to slow traffic moving from Martin Luther King to Central, down Edith, was also mentioned. There was consensus that we want to respect the rights of people who live in our neighborhood without discouraging commercial activity along Central that adds vitality to life in Huning Highland. One possible way to do this would be to have residential permits on one side of the street only and leave the other side of the street for other parking.
The next newsletter will go out on March 20, and the deadline for articles will be March 13. March 28, the last Saturday in March, will be a neighborhood clean up day and plant exchange. The newsletter will also promote the next neighborhood meeting on April 7.
For the last few months, the Board has been meeting at St. George’s Greek Church. Joaquin led a discussion of how the Board could benefit from using a regular meeting space that was specifically for the neighborhood. With permission from TACA, use of the Horn gas station is possible. The Board approved the expenditure of $500 to install a heating system, and agreed to pay the water and gas bills for the location, while TACA would continue to pay for the electric bills. The Board agreed that the new name of the location will be Huning Highland Preservation Station and Community Center. The next Board meeting (first Tuesday of the month) will be at the new location, on March 3 at 6:30 PM. Neighbors will be invited to help paint the building, inside and out, on the clean up day (March 28). Board members will volunteer to clean out the bay and front office before that date.
Steve Grant reported that the sidewalk project was almost out of money and that he was in the process of asking Representative Rick Miera if additional funding were available for the rest of the sidewalk repair and for street lighting upgrades. Amberley Pyles and Joaquin volunteered to meet with City officials to review how the sidewalk funds were actually spent. There is some concern that funds may not have been used wisely.
Ann Carson shared a picture from 1942 of the building at 101 Broadway, showing its use as a music school. Amberley has spoken with the current owner and is not optimistic that it will be renovated soon. She requested that Board members think about new uses for the cluster of buildings on both sides of Broadway on that block, including the Storehouse, the church, and the now boarded up music school.
The Victorian Ball was discussed next. A deposit has been made for the event on May 2. A dinner is planned from 5:00 – 6:30 and the Ball will follow from 7:00 to 10:00. We expect to sell 100 tickets to neighbors, former Dickens patrons, and regional guests from Colorado and beyond who support Victorian balls around the Southwest. Kay Adams is taking responsibility for arrangements for the Ball and agreed to meet with Joaquin to discuss the best way to provide for the dinner. Tickets for the Ball will be $40 per person and will include a dessert, served at intermission. Ticket price for the dinner will depend on whether the meal is catered by an outside group or prepared by neighbors in the large kitchen adjoining the recreation hall at the Greek Church where the Ball will be held. Kay reiterated that the event will be an enjoyable evening netting approximately $2500 for the neighborhood association.
Noise complaints directed against the bus station adjoining our neighborhood are being addressed with the City by affected neighbors.
The Board brainstormed a mission statement and came up with the following: Creating an historic community for now and the future. This draft statement will be revisited at the next Board meeting.
After a brief discussion of the email string involving neighbors who leave their trash cans out on the street after trash pick up day, the Board decided to take no action.
Jerry Adams, Joaquin, Ann and Cindy Carson are planning to attend an LUCC work session focused on the appropriateness of certain new building materials for historic structures.
Amberley volunteered to head up the Mother’s Day tour of our neighborhood on May 10.
Signage was discussed next. Cindy volunteered to bring a prototype of the sign topper she proposes for neighborhood street corners. Steve said he would talk to Councilor Isaac Benton about having the City install a welcoming sign to our neighborhood at Locust and Central. The Board agreed that we would like to see many welcoming signs throughout the neighborhood but made no decisions about this matter.
Ann passed around an artist’s rendering of how the boarded up house at the corner of Silver and High may have looked during earlier times. She cautioned the Board to keep watch over this property that seemed to be neglected.
The meeting adjourned at 8:05 PM.
