Meeting Minutes, June 6, 2018

Preservation Station, Bonnie Anderson presiding, Start time 6:30 pm

Board Member Attendance:

Term ending August 2018		Term ending August 2019
Anderson, Bonnie	x	Leverick, Pam	x
vacant		Carson, Ann	x
Sturge, Ben	x	Grassel, Kathy	x
Moisés Gonzalez/Karla Thornton		Oakley, Patricia
Grant, Steve	x	Tanner, David	x
Spittler, Lee	x	Vogle, Susan	x
		Trefethen, Salley

Minutes—Minutes of the May meeting were read and approved.

Officer Report—Our new crime prevention specialist is Laura Trujillo  ljtrujillo@cabq.gov  The two highest crime rate days are Tuesday and Saturday, 2 – 5 pm. The officers discussed recent criminal events in our neighborhood and the outcomes.

Lead/Coal—Councilor Isaac Benton reviewed the history of studies on these two streets and the pending installation of traffic signals at Walter.  Due to the high cost of these traffic signals, Benton suggested that the City might be willing to return these two streets to two-way status, between Broadway and I-25, if the neighborhood wanted that.  A discussion followed with some residents agreeing that the “friction” of two way traffic would slow down the speeding, while other residents were concerned that it might be impossible for pedestrians to cross.  Others suggested cross walks should be put in at every intersection, along with some traffic speed monitors.  Another suggestion was that we could try it for a trial period, to see if making the streets two way again would slow down traffic as expected. Councilor Benton welcomed feedback from interested neighbors.  No decisions were made and discussion will continue at future meetings.

205 Edith NE—Owners of 205 Edith NE are asking for a zoning amendment so that they could use the house for business purposes only. Several neighbors spoke against this request, pointing out that we would be setting a precedent if we supported this zoning amendment.  The practice in the neighborhood has been that if a resident wanted to conduct a business out of their home, it was allowed as long as they continued to live there. That is not the case with the current owners of this property.  The Board voted to send a letter to EPC to oppose this request for a zoning amendment.

Block Party – August 26—Kathy agreed to contact our favorite acoustic band to see if they were available to play.  Lee and Kathy agreed to (again!!) head up the food for the event, and Steve agreed to handle the raffle.  Jennifer said she would design, print, and distribute flyers for the event, with text provided by Bonnie.  The annual election will be conducted at this event, as usual.

Neighborhood Signage—Susan presented the latest dimensions, costs, and material samples for three signs: one on Lead, one on Coal, and one on Edith and MLK.  There was some discussion of purchasing a fourth sign to use as a replacement if one of the signs were damaged, but it was agreed that it was an unnecessary cost. As a final precaution before we order the signs, Susan agreed to check on the ease with which tagging could be cleaned off the signs.

Vacant properties in the neighborhood—None of the owners we invited showed up to this meeting.  Further discussion of proposed action was postponed to a future meeting.

Vision Zero—Carrie presented a new project happening nationally that focuses attention on pedestrian safety.  We should agree that it is never acceptable to lose a loved one through preventable traffic accidents.  We need to look at road design, crosswalk design, and how bicycles are accommodated.  We need to invest in this, along with targeted enforcement, in order to change behavior.  Our city is one of those with a high rate of pedestrian and bicycle fatalities, so we are going to be supported with some outside funding for this project.

522 Edith SE—David and Fernando informed us that they are remodeling this property, a Spanish mission revival bungalow, between now and the end of September.  As part of this remodel, they are adding an awning above the front window area.  They showed pictures of the proposed awning.

Meeting adjourned 7:30 pm

There will be no meeting on July 4, and the August meeting will be the Block Party.

The nextregularly scheduled meeting will be 6:30 pm Wednesday, September 5, 2018.