Meeting Minutes, January 7, 2015

Preservation Station, Bonnie Anderson, presiding. Start Time: 6:30 PM

Board Member Attendance:

Term ending August 2016		Term ending August 2015
Anderson, Bonnie	x	Karafonda, Mary	x
Boyd, Joe		Carson, Ann	x
Ben Sturge	x	Grassel, Kathy	x
Gonzalez, Moisés		McGivern, Elaine
Grant, Steve		Sam Kochansky	x
Spittler, Lee	x	Thornton, Karla
		Trefethen, Salley	x

December minutes were read and approved.

Guests: APD Officer Seibel and two associates, David and Fernando, David Smee, Patrick McKinney, Steve Vaughn, Mark Blea of Payless Shoes, Mike, Mark  

Dickens of a Dinner—Ann Carson reported the Dickens dinner was a big success and made $2,500, not including the cost of house plaques ($250) for the featured houses. First- and second- and third-place winners of the lighting contest were Lee and Penny Spittler, Dave and Audra Carrillo, and Annabelle and Josie Candelaria.

Tree Project—The deadline for signing up for a tree is past, and the number of respondents has been deemed satisfactory, thanks to the outreach efforts of Amy and Ben, Mary, Fernando, and Salley. David Day and Fernando were on hand to report progress thus far. The grant of $50,000 will go to the company contracted by the City. Planting of the 14-ft. trees is scheduled to begin in January and go through February, so by March the planting part should be finished. The north/south streets are slated for shade trees, with east/west streets getting ornamentals. Thanks went to Sam Kochansky for donating the cost of printing two banners, which were displayed to publicize the project to people in the neighborhood. Removal of dead trees and stumps are not factored into the grant, so David plans to target corporate money in the near future to finance that aspect of the total project. David will have a report with photos of trees and their planting for the website, which he says will be useful for fundraising.

Crime report—Officer Seibel announced that area officers are now required to visit at least two neighborhood association meetings per year, so Huning Highlands will be seeing all the valley officers over time. Officers Hernandez and Postik introduced themselves and briefed the board of their APD experience. Officer Seibel stated that all crimes were down during this reporting period, except for 9 DUIs. He advised again to lock your cars and don’t leave them running, adding that car owners can themselves be cited if their car left running is stolen. Salley asked about the absence of the speed trailer on Coal. The officer said they have to be moved around for greatest efficiency and effectiveness.

Speeding, lighting, and noise on Lead/Coal—Bonnie read a letter that she wrote to Councilor Benton’s office, asking what options the neighborhood might pursue to alleviate said problems.

Old Fire Station #2—Much of the meeting was devoted to a presentation by a volunteer firefighters charity group called Random Acts. Fire Fighter Patrick McKinney, who is also a chaplain, described the history of Random Acts and told the board of many good deeds performed over the years to help out fire fighters, and especially their families in times of trouble. They want to convert the abandoned and beloved Fire Station #2 into a facility to house these families who may have to stay in the city for extended periods during treatment and convalescence of a loved one, a concept based on the Ronald McDonald houses established all over the country. They wish to maintain the exterior fire-station appearance and remodel the interior into three studio apartments, an office, and a display area for a 1940 vintage fire truck, which, because fire stations are already “lived in,” should not require extensive renovation. They also wish to upgrade the grassy area behind the building into a children’s playground. Many bureaucratic details lie ahead for the group, but they wanted to first get the backing of the neighborhood before proceeding.  The board enthusiastically voted to support this proposed use for the space. Bonnie will write a letter of support to Councilor Benton’s office, adding the Board’s recommendation that the City be willing to sell/lease the property for minimal cost. If this hurdle can be overcome, the firefighters are confident, based on experience, that volunteer workers and generous donors will be in abundance to accomplish the remodel and any additional tasks required to open and maintain Fire Station #2 to its new use.

Neighborhood Watch app—Salley is encouraging neighbors to download a free app to their smart phones that is similar to Neighborhood Watch. It’s call Village Defense and is useful for alerting neighbors, in real time, of crime or suspicious activity. Different from Nextdoor, also a useful tool for neighborhood communication, it is specific to potential and actual criminal activity. The key to its success, according to Salley, is that as many neighbors as possible need to be using it. Free download is at www.villagedefense.com/app and enter Village ID 48986.

Brittany Turnbough’s fence—Ann Carson has been advising Brittany Turnbough, who owns the house at 608 Coal across from Preservation Station, about possibilities for a different fencing to help alleviate traffic noise and provide protection for her pet dog. At first Brittany wanted a 6-ft. wall, which would be problematic per zoning, so Ann was at the ready to work with her about alternatives. Brittany would want to be able to see through it and be high enough to protect her dog, so Ann designed a fence based on a composite of Sam Kochansky’s at Walter and Coal and her own on Walter; i.e., a concrete base, two tall pickets next to one short, supported with intermittent metal posts. A motion was made and passed that the Board will support a 4-ft. high picket fence, including 1-ft. base with varying picket heights in front of 608 Coal SE.

Meeting adjourned at 7:25. Next meeting is Wed., Feb. 4, 2015.