April 25, 2015

EPIC Annual Meeting Minutes 2015


                  EPIC 16th Annual Meeting Minutes
                          April 25th, 2015
                     East Phillips Park Cultural & Community Center
                 2307 17th Ave. S.


Board Roster: Jenny Bjorgo, Rosie Cruz, Mary Gonsior, Jean Howard, Linda Leonard, Ali Micalin, Carol Pass, Earl Simms
Board Members Present: Jenny Bjorgo, Rosie Cruz, Mary Gonsior, Jean Howard, Linda Leonard, Carol Pass, Earl Simms
Board Members Not Present: Ali Micalin,

EPIC Members: Cassandra Holmes, Chana Ware, Laura Dale, Mary Juanita Leonard, Allen Cruz, Angela Cruz, Fatima Mohed, Craig Siefert, Alfred Johnson, Sherzad Kordian, Sderdl Kordian, Jana Metge, JoseLuis Vilasnor, Fred Jack, George Kennedy, Dan Johnson, Luce Guillen-Givins, Simon Cecil, Margaret Ortega, Jhamke Sori, Mohamed Abdi, Andre Fahlstrom, Aden Awil,  Mickey Scheu, Roberta Rock, Margaret Kirkpatrick, Guadelupe Mesado,  Alfonso Cruz,  Calib Coggina, Cedric Wash, Gloria Reyes, Doug Zimmerman,  Kyla Sisso, Lee Samelson,  Jinan Maya, Tek Motai, Tulsi Mainali, Vivian Argz, Gabriel Pass, Amy Pass, Birbor Poudel, Chiffon Williams,  Gloria Kordian, Claara Emma, Greg Wright, Puma Poudel, Maggie Ewing, Linda Leonard, Michael Green, Dan Orban, Rany Lynn Leonard,  Rosa Garcia, Lenora Fayant, Kim Hayden, Troy Benjecbrebe, Dawn Segura, Jolene Jones, Tagi Hebendser,


Guests: Christine McDonald, CM Alondra Cano, Ashley Sartorius, Carrie Aspinwall, David Rubedor, Comm. Peter McLaughlin, Jana Metge, Phil Duran, Barb Clare


9:30 – 10:00   BREAKFAST, MEET NEIGHBORS,

10:00-10:10    WELCOME - Introductions
                       
10:INTRO INFORMATION
·      AGENDA, DISCUSSION OF THE ELECTION
·      NOMINATION APPLICATIONS, REQUIREMENTS/OBLIGATIONS OF
            A BOARD MEMBER: Must be an EPIC Member and have attended at least one       EPIC meeting in the previous year.
·      BALLOTS

10:35 –10: 50     EPIC’s FUTURE AND THE GROWING INDUSTRIAL ZONE AT CEDAR AND 28TH STREET – THE ROOF DEPOT SITE   . Concept Drawings of East Phillips Indoor Urban Farm Neighborhood project. MOTION to endorse Proposal BP, LL Approved with one abstention

10:50 –11:00        EPIC AMBASSADOR PROGRAM

10:50 -11:00       SOME EPIC ACCOMPLISHMENTS 

DOOR PRIZE

11:10 – 11:20  THE HOME REHAB/HOME BUYER PROGRAM

11:40       RESULTS OF VOTING – Linda Leonard, Mary Gonsior, Margarita  Ortega, Jean Howard, Gloria Reyes

FINAL DOOR PRIZE – THE BEST ONE                                               

12:00        ADJOURN

 

April 9, 2015

EPIC General Membership Minutes 04 - 09 - 2015


April 9th, 2015, 6:30 p.m. – 8:45 p.m.

East Phillips Park Cultural & Community Center, 2307 17th Ave S.
EPIC web address: eastphillips-epic.com
Office: 2536 18th Avenue S., Minneapolis, MN 55404

1. Right to be involved – Public participation is based on the belief that those who are affected by a decision have a right to be involved in the decision-making process.   (Mpls. Principles of Community Engagement, 2007)

Board Roster: Jenny Bjorgo, Rosie Cruz, Mary Gonsior, Jean Howard, Linda Leonard, Ali Micalin, Carol Pass, Earl Simms
Board Members Present: Jenny Bjorgo, Rosie Cruz, Mary Gonsior, Jean Howard, Linda Leonard, Carol Pass,
Board Members Not Present: Ali Micalin, Earl Simms

EPIC Members: Carrie Ann Johnson, Michael Green, Margarita Ortega, Brad Pass, Dave Moore, Margaret Kirkpatrick, Andrew Fahlstrom, Dana DeWilde, Harry DeWilde, Kyla Sisson, Patty Zanski, Ben Fisher, Prem Poudel, Balmaia Rai

Guests: Dean Dovolis, Mark Stenglein, Kurt Schreck, Shirley Heyer, Jason Spiller, Aisha Gomez, Christine McDonald

6:35     Introductions:

·       Greetings and Introductions – share your name and the year of your “penny”; Jean Howard “won” with 1969 (the oldest) and received supplies to make a tuna-noodle casserole.
·       Approval of Agenda: Approved by consensus with addition of 5 minute presentation of neighborhood plan.
·       Approval of Minutes from March 12th EGM: Minutes approved by consensus.

6:45     Public Safety Issues: – Handouts (not available.)


6:50     Announcements:
  • Annual Meeting April 25th, 2015 Board Elections
  • Next Financial Literacy Class in SPANISH, On-Going, Tuesday, April 14th; 6:30-8:00 pm.
  • Next EPIC Board Meeting, May 2nd, Saturday, 10:00 am,  EP Park Building
  • Next EPIC General Membership Meeting, Thursday, May 9th, 6:30 pm, EP Park Building
  • 1st EPIC Garden Meeting, April 11th,  9:00 am Plots will be handed out
  • This Saturday, at the Youth Center/Little Earth, folks will be gathering to organize canvassing of the neighborhood with petition related to tonight’s topic. Canvassing of the neighborhood will begin at noon. 
  • Public works has proposals for accommodating bike lanes on 26th and 28th. City is organizing a public meeting, probably on April 20th or 21st. Contact Aisha Gomez, CM Cano’s office, to sign up for updates.

7:00     EPIC UpDates: - Progress on the Roof Depot Site and effort to De-Industrialize the Heavy Industry site.

Short presentation by Carrie Ann: Worked on a plan for an indoor playground in East Phillips, has been looking for a location for 3 years. There is no single indoor playground in Minneapolis. Her idea consists of a center with a central circle where pre-school children can play. The outer circle can include meeting spots for parents, employment networking; a business area with printing and other services available.  Two wings could contain a multi-cultural library, story-telling station, continuous multi-language story telling time, halls decorated with local artwork; ending with a café. 2nd story could contain rental space for non-profits; options could be tied to parenting, seeking employment. A large space could provide even more opportunities. Another wing could provide community space for use by the public. Building exterior could be done with limestone on the outside, and partnering with a vendor could be a “mountain-climbing” surface.

 Carol Pass presented the history of EPIC’s work and research regarding the news that the Water Works purchase was under review, working with  Bicicletas & Tamales, and EPIC’s consensus with BYT for six basic negotiation points as our focus in negotiating a Community Benefits Agreement with the City of Minneapolis.
           
    • EPIC has been meetings since late fall, where we just started to consider De-industializing the area between Cedar Ave and Hwy 55 on 28th St.
    • We did not know of the City proposal to bring in the Water Yard at the time..
    • When we heard about it…we began a response
    • We found that JoseLuis villasenor and  his organization, Tamales y Bicicletas  had come to the same conclusions.
    • Enter Rep. Karen Clark; a bill in the legislature for the removal of the “grandfather clause in this one case. We agreed we needed a visual aid to foster our plans.
    • We contacted Dean Dovolis to do a series of community engagement meetings to develop some precision and concreteness around the community’s ideas. EPIC moved at our March community meeting to offer Dean $10,000 for helping us to accomplish this.
    • Last Saturday after our EPIC Board meeting- the groups met and agreed on a series of basic commitments.
    • This is the second of three EPIC Meetings with Dean Dovolis, the final will be our Annual Meeting on April 25th, Saturday morning.

7:10     Presentation – Elements of a Master Plan.
-Dean Dovolis:  the rendering of the Plan.

- Mr. Shreck: Possibilities regarding Urban Agriculture

- Mark Stenglein: Feasibility

8:00     Questions and Answers

8:30     Do we need any motions?  We need our second vote for the $10,000 to pay Dean as a consultant. The motion from the previous meeting, which needs a final vote, is as follows:

MOTION: EPIC will support KC proposal for state law changes to deal with the “grandfather clause” regarding the heavy industry along with forming a master plan that we will produce, according to the presentation and discussion tonight with Dean Dovolis. This plan embraces the following:
  1. use of the part of the Roof Depot building un-needed by the Water Yard for Urban Agriculture and Green Jobs,
  2. a place for a bike and coffee shop on the southeast corner of the building,
  3. a solar array on the Roof,
  4. managing negotiations re: the truck traffic with the neighborhood, moving to the cleanest truck exhaust,
  5. City support for our environmental bill in the legislature and
  6. eventually the City help clean up and make room for additional multi-family housing on the Greenway.

We also agree to an initial process, which would be consistent with a minimum of at least three meeting with Dean: Sketch/Plan, Refine, and approve a resolution. This schedule of meetings could try to occur over two week increments, We affirm the Board’s plan to use $10,000 for a contract with DJR Architects for this purpose. BP, MK
Motion passed with one abstention.


8:50     Adjournment

April 4, 2015

Board Meeting Minutes 04 - 04


April 4th, 2015, Saturday, 10:00 am
East Phillips Park Cultural and Community Center
EPIC web address:  www.eastphillips-epic.com
Office: 2536 18th Avenue S., Minneapolis, MN 55404

“Those who say it cannot be done should not interrupt the people doing it.”
                                                                                          –ephemer, inc

Board Roster: Jenny Bjorgo, Rosie Cruz, Mary Gonsior, Jean Howard, Linda Leonard, Ali Micalin,
Carol Pass, Earl Simms
Present board members: Mary Gonsior, Linda Leonard, Carol Pass, Jenny Bjorgo, Rosie Cruz,
Absent board members: Jean Howard, Ali Micalin, Earl Simms
Members: Brad Pass, Andrew Fahlstrom, Patty Zanski

10:00   Introduction:
·       Approval of April Agenda  
·       Approval of March 7th Board Minutes, with corrections to discussion on Bylaws.

MOTION: Meeting as a committee of the whole.

10:10   Approve EPIC Garden Motions

BP presented the 2015 budget for the garden, which lists EPIC as providing $450 toward the garden budget. LL served as the ad-hoc EPIC board representative and approved the budget provided by the garden steering committee.

10:15   Business Report-  
1) We managed to get the Park Board to approve the Swimming pool. This is a great achievement of the EPIC Board and Mpls. Swims. This will include Plan B including the warm water teaching pool.
2) We did not get the $10,000 Headwaters Grant for the environment project.
3) We are progressing the grievance with Michael Green. Michael has agreed to extend the timeline, giving EPIC time for responding until EPIC’s May general membership meeting.
4) We had two meetings (including presentation on March 28th) with Dean Dovolis to work on the Land Use Plan for the Roof Depot site.
            LL. We need to be proactive and invite the ethnic communities to the April membership meeting for this presentation. We need to provide more time for this presentation so that there can be translation provided.
            AF. What exactly are the deliverables from DD.
            MG. The minutes from March indicate that the current process of community engagement is to identify the deliverables.

Quorum has been achieved: 10:50 am.
MOTION: Accept the agenda and minutes as approved. (LL, RC) Approved.

5) 25th Street blockade. We received correspondence from Aisha G. saying the city wanted to open 25th St. for various reasons. After some community feedback, the city no longer wants to re-open this street. EPIC has allocated up to $1,500 for beautification, however, this will not cover the cost of a berm. JB attended the 16th Ave block club meeting and wants to lead an effort to bring together the community to create a proposal.

6) An update on NCR’s requests regarding four recommendations. The secretary has drafted a response to the four recommendations, the timeline, and the executive committee needs to review and finalize. The deadline was missed because the board didn’t have a meeting before the deadline.

10:20   Housing Projects-

·       MOTION for Questions for New Construction.
CP distributed plans for the new construction for a single family home at 2424 16th Ave S by PRG, Inc. There are some questions from PRG that need answers in order to complete the contracts.

1. Grant or loan?
2. Rental or Homeowner
3. Income limits?

MOTION: EPIC will add to our motion to set aside $120,000 to build 8 new houses on 8 empty lots and seek contracts with PRG and GHMC, to include the requirements from EPIC’s NRP Phase II Plan, Home Construction Strategy, which are; (1) this is a grant, (2) properties are to be home-ownership. In addition, EPIC will require an income cap for purchase, of $96,845. (CP, JB, Approved unanimously.)

·       Program Guidelines and Scope of Service for Loan Program

We need the scope of services to include a fee schedule. EPIC may need to request authorization from the City of Minneapolis to use program income to fund loan origination fees.

·       Greenway Heights building

Community feedback regarding the exterior of the building: It is ugly and appears to be incomplete; people can’t believe this is the final exterior; it doesn’t match the neighborhood; it looks like Halloween; the exterior does not look like the drawings that were approved by the neighborhood.

Write a letter to Kathy W at PRG, protesting the exterior treatment. It is not what the neighborhood asked for, wanted, or funded. Ask who made this decision, and ask PRG to work with EPIC to find resources to improve/remedy the exterior appearance of the building.

CP will contact traffic control about the parking problems that have arisen adjacent to the building.

10:45   Petition Vote for Water Yard-       

MOTION: EPIC agrees that this petition prepared by the Longfellow Block group supports the goals of EPIC and is offered by EPIC members. It also conforms to the commitments stated in the Motion that came from the EPIC Community Meeting of March 12th, 2015, therefore the board endorses the petition and will print as needed. (MG, RC, Approved unanimously.)

10:55   2900 block of 16th Ave. S.
-       Need speed bumps to slow speeding cars. Determine how this can happen.
-       2927 16th Ave. major prostitution and drug sales. Police response slow or not at all.
-       Parking issues

MOTION: Research funding for Speed bumps, pressure police for focused patrol, do our own patrol and calling.

11:10   Bike Lane Issue: Congestion at the two blocks coming off  Hwy 55 on 26th and 28th Sts. 
It was a consensus that changing the traffic to 'one-way' on 28th St. would compel the asphalt plant and foundry trucks to come through the neighborhood, either down Longfellow or Cedar. This was completely unacceptable.to the Board and neighbors present.

11:28   The Disposition of the Roof Depot site, Removal of Asphalt Plant and Foundry and Environmental justice Issue (Discussion) What now? There is a meeting of stakeholders in the neighborhood scheduled right after the EPIC Board meeting. This will involve a response to this question.

11:40  Annual Meeting-Plan
            Recruit Board Members – Board nomination forms were passed out and discussed. It was announced that the forms are on the website.
            MOTION Contract for Shirley Heyer to Coordinate the Event- $300. passed by consensus. 

11:55   Self Evaluation- the self evaluation forms were not available. Note: It was announced that Cesar Prado was sent a letter stating that his prolonged absence without contacting to the board caused him to lose his position on the EPIC board. Note Cesar Prado has had to leave the board due to absences

12:00   Adjourn