Meeting Minutes May 5, 2010

Joaquin Garofalo, presiding. Started 6:40 PM

Attendance:

Term ending August 2010		Term ending August 2011
Adams, Kay	X	Austin, Lauren
Anderson, Bonnie	X	Bromberg, Ryan
Doty, Karen	X	Carson, Ann	X
Garofalo, Joaquin	X	Grassel, Kathy	X
Grant, Steve		Hoch, Liam	X
Pyles, Amberley	X	Thornton, Karla	X
Spittler, Lee	X

Minutes from April 7, 2010 were approved

Next Meeting  June 2, 2010, at 6:30 at Preservation Station

Historic Tree Project—Nick Kuhn, the forester for the City, explained a new project he hoped we would help him pilot.  He wants to create an online tree tour of our neighborhood, featuring special trees and their stories: oldest, biggest, most unusual, etc.  He wants us to “get out the word” to neighbors, asking them to email him pictures of special trees (and measurements, if unusual) and the stories or anecdotes attached to them.  If this project goes well, Nick hopes to expand the project to the whole city.  His email is nkuhn@cabq.gov. Ann agreed to write a story for the HHHDA website on this project.

Increasing Website Effectiveness—Salley Trefethen requested Board members and other interested neighbors to increase their contributions to the website.  She explained that people will only be drawn to the site if the content is fresh.  It can be a great instrument of communication among neighbors and increase the participation in community events. 

Every committee head will post updates to the website.  All ads in the newsletter will go on the site.  Joaquin will work with Salley to post and maintain a community calendar.  We will start a section of “classifieds.”  Liam will head a new committee on advertising.

Yard Sale—Ten houses paid to be on the map.  About 50 people picked up maps.  There were many visitors to the Preservation Station and the community garden.  We netted about $100.

The next yard sale will be the first weekend in October.  We might invite vendors to add excitement.

Neighborhood Signs—The City has modified the design we submitted so that it somewhat parallels the sign toppers being proposed for Nob Hill.  Cindy Carson has been working with Mary Ellen and is very pleased with the new design.

Lease Agreement between TACA and HHHDA—Ann reported that the lease is almost done.

Preservation Station Repairs—Ann reported that she was working with a contractor to remove the paint on the interior surfaces but not much progress is being made.  Joaquin said he had another contact who might be able to remove the paint more easily.  Ann is hoping to get the station ready for the TACA 30^th birthday party on May 22.

Adopt a Park—Karla reported that she and her daughter Iris worked for a couple hours to clean up all the trash resulting from the big wind storm.  They found some needles and broken glass in the children’s area.  Amberley said Councilor Benton’s staff is preparing cost estimates for our priority list for renovating the park. 

Old Creamland Dairy Building—Peter Grahame and David Donaldson reviewed the root of the noise problem (newly installed rooftop compressors that run 24/7) at the old Creamland building.  They reported that the owner’s efforts to address the noise pollution were ineffective.  They also reported that the equipment and methods used by the City to monitor compliance were not state-of-the-art and may explain why satisfactory readings were obtained despite the aggravation the noise is causing neighbors around the building. 

The Board agreed to support Peter’s and David’s efforts to address this noise complaint.  Amberley suggested we wait to decide on future action until Mary Ellen returns to her office on Monday and can respond to emails on this matter.   If Mary Ellen has no way to address the problem, the next step might be a letter from HHHDA to Councilor Benton.

Sector Plan—Some Board members felt that the time and effort needed to change the sector plan was not necessary and that we could move our neighborhood forward without any modifications.  Other Board members questioned whether our neighborhood might be vulnerable to multi-unit development without changes to the sector plan, adding that the City prefers we not make changes so that they can move toward a more streamlined model for zoning.

Board members need to read the sector plan before a decision is made.

Design Guidelines—Board members who had reviewed the new design guidelines proposed by Mary Ellen were pleased with them.

Mary Ellen will be on the agenda for our next meeting to move forward with implementing the design guidelines.

Parking Problems—Emails since the last meeting have highlighted some division among Board members with regard to the best approaches to solving parking problems that exist in parts of the neighborhood.  The City wants to meet with us next week to resolve some issues, but the parking committee probably needs to meet first to be sure the position we present to the City is united. 

The Board agreed to have Joaquin send out an email to the Board adjusting the membership of the parking committee and setting a meeting early next week, before the meeting between HHHDA, EDo, and the City.

Summer Activity—A big successful summer activity could be a catalyst for wider community participation in other projects. The best idea floated was to have a block party during the weekend before Labor Day (August 28-29) on a block away from Lead/Coal.

David agreed to write an article for the website on inviting renters in the neighborhood to join in activities.  Joni was given permission to buy five $10 realtor boxes to place around the neighborhood to hold newsletters or flyers or other notices.

Proposed Downtown Event Center—The board reviewed its opposition to a downtown event center due to the negative impact on the quality of life for our neighborhood.  Joaquin is working to be appointed as a liaison from HHHDA to the City panel considering the event center. Karen will write a letter to the appropriate entity expressing the Board's opposition to the event center.

HHHDA leadership—Some Board members have not been attending meetings regularly.  This requires some members to take on a greater share of the work.  Joaquin is willing to continue to lead the meetings and Amberley agreed to back him up with agenda preparation and leadership when he must miss a meeting.  Bonnie will produce an attendance list as part of the minutes.

There have been seven meetings since the last election.  The number of meetings attended is summarized below:

Term ending August 2010		Term ending August 2011
Adams, Kay	3	Austin, Lauren	3
Anderson, Bonnie	7	Bromberg, Ryan	4
Doty, Karen	5	Carson, Ann	7
Garofalo, Joaquin	7	Grassel, Kathy	5
Grant, Steve	4	Hoch, Liam	4
Pyles, Amberley	6	Thornton, Karla	5
Spittler, Lee	7

Meeting Adjourned at 8:15 PM