General Membership Meeting Minutes 11-10

November 10th, 2011, 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

Attendance:

Board Members: Earl Simms, Jennie Bjorgo, Chiffon Williams, Carol Pass, Linda Leonard, Steve Struthers, Mary Gonsior,

Members: Nicolas Collard, Ali Macalm, Jose Alvarez, Susana Luque, Margaret Weaver, Bayessa Didi,, Carlyle Bowker, Hannah Lieder, Brad Pass, Gabriel Pass, Margaret Kirkpatrick, Rosie Cruz

Guests: Jana Metge, Shirley Heyer, Al Bangoura,

6:45   Introduction:

·        Greetings and Introductions.

·        Approval of Agenda  (Nicolas Collard, SS)

·        Approval of Minutes from EPIC 10/13 /2011 General Membership Meeting (BP, CP)

·        Agenda additions: Chicago Corridor Public Hearing

·        Minutes corrections: missing website and mailing address

6:40    Announcements:

·         November 14th, Monday, 9:30 – 10:30 am, Bii Di Gain Dash Anwebi (Come in. Rest.) Elder Housing Groundbreaking Ceremony, Note about T Alley layout. Carol has plans, include short discussion. EPIC will go to the groundbreaking and raise our questions.

MOTION: EPIC contact Mike Goze and any other leaders of the development and request that all documentation at the groundbreaking and any subsequent documentation mentioning donors, must include EPIC’s contribution of $---. (BP, ES) Passed.

·         November  17th, Thursday, NRP Policy Board Elections: Jenny Bjorgo is our elector.

·         November 21st, 4:30, 23rd Floor, Henn. County Government Center, Final Passage of our Postponed NRP Phase II Action Plan  

·         Friday Nov. 11, 2011, St. Paul’s Church, 6:00 pm, Big Party, Honoring Wendell Phillips (birthday was 11/11/1811) and the Alley Newspaper

·         Chicago Corridor Public Hearing, Tuesdays, Nov. 15, 2011. This is the FINAL public hearing on the Chicago Corridor. 24th Avenue connects to the corridor, and streetcars on Chicago could connect to EPIC. Anyone can attend, the plan is on the internet.

·         Open Arms, Director resigned (Kevin Winge); having a big party. EPIC will send out an email about the date/time. Thurs. Dec. 1, 5 PM, RSVP requested.

7:16     Plan Modification of NRP Phase I dollars to assist with completion of the park baseball and soccer fields. 

community meeting to recommend passage of the following Plan Modification:

Motion: EPIC membership moves to transfer $52,280.54 from the following listed categories, consolidating them in the goal named Environment/Transportation/Parks, strategy 6.5.7.1 Playgrounds, to facilitate completion of the East Phillips Park soccer and baseball fields. The categories to be consolidated are:

1. Housing  Resource Center                                                                                         $35.09

2. Home Ownership Assistance, 1.2.1                                                                         $30,228.31
3. Housing, Vacant Housing, 1.5.1                                                                                  $257.17
4. Crime and Safety, 1.1.1                                                                                              $474.25
5. Lifespan, Early Learning Center 2.1.1                                                                        $7,078.30
6. Lifespan, 24-Hour Youth Center 2.1.2                                                                        $1,000.00

7. Environ/Transport/Parks,‘Green Economy' 3.4.1                                                           $92.30
8. Environ/Transport/Parks, Transportation 4.1.1                                                           $1,495.17
9. Environ/Transport/Parks, Midtown Greenway 4.2.1                                                   $10,017.61
10. Environ/Transport/Parks, Bike Paths 4.2.4                                                               $17.61
11. Environ/Transport/Parks, Stewart Park, Safety 5.3.1                                                $1,495.17
12. Environ/Transport/Parks, Forest Management 5.6.1                                                 $71.94
13. Include Environ/Transport/Parks, Playgrounds 5.7.1                                                 $17.61
 Total                                                                                                                         $52,280.54

PASSED: (BP, SS)

7:30      Issues with the politics of the Phase II Plan and the Policy Board. Crafting EPIC’s Response.

Two claims as to why the EPIC Phase II was tabled at the meeting:

1. Legal issues (could be approved pending legal review.)
2. Not an approved citizen participation plan.

Documents distributed to EPIC members: 

1. Waite House Executive Director’s letter
2. NRP Exec. Director’s Memorandum
3. NRP NRP Exec. Director’s recent letter (response to issue related to the citizen participation plan. Confirms that the EPIC citizen participation plan was approved on February 17, 2011.
4. Documentation of EPIC’s Phase II Process.
5. EPIC Phase II Plan 

Discussion:

Jana Metge, as a resident of Midtown, and as a staff person at NRP stated: “There was nothing inappropriate in Carol’s comments regarding the Midtown plan, and as a neighborhood representative she was elected to make these types of comments. What she did was GOOD.”

Nicola supports Carol’s comments and the actions of EPIC in responding to the setback of our Phase II plan. Question of the amounts listed in Robert Miller’s letter: Jana and Carol will review the numbers and report next month.

Shirley recommended correction of motion to list “Director” of Waite House. She reported that at a Midtown meeting subsequent to passing of their NRP Phase II plan, she was not permitted to even raise an issue or discuss possible changes.

Steve is concerned about the motion, He is not convinced that EPIC should put our members at risk as a result of Midtown neighborhood’s process.

Carol responded that we don’t need to act on this motion immediately, but we work with Midtown Phillips and even though we are separate neighborhoods, we want to partner to serve our communities.

Motion: Support the letter from Waite House Director Francisco Segovia, and the concerns of the ethnically diverse families of Midtown Phillips.

Motion: Call upon NRP and the new NCR to take the grass roots effort to be responsive to the ethnically diverse people more seriously on a neighborhood level. Support our NRP and NCEC rep in pressing this as a grass roots ethical issue.

OMNIBUS MOTION encompassing the 2 motions (LL, ES) Motion Passes, 1 opposed (SS); 1 abstain (NC)

7:45      Neighborhood Crime Control: Ideas, Plans, Decisions, Block Clubs, Volunteers

            Luther Krueger’s letter, map and example of crime report.

            - A Central Repository for Crime

            -Block Clubs

If you are a block leader or if you want to receive alerts, send an email to Luther Krueger and request MPD Action Alerts. We asked to receive a larger circle of notification, and we were told no. Krueger wants to send the information to the most local source. However, in EPIC we have blocks that aren’t organized, and we don’t have block leaders.

EPIC can serve as an arms-length representative for residents with problem properties. Residents should bring neighboring problem properties to EPIC, as well as attend meetings to assist with crime problems for properties a little further away.

Motion: EPIC requests notification of all crime data for the neighborhood. Point out that other neighborhoods (with staff) receive this information. (BP, LL) Passed.

Invite Lauretta to speak to EPIC about forming block clubs, hooking up with block clubs already formed, and disseminating information about crime prevention.

The City of Minneapolis is holding a block club leader training on Nov. 17.

Plan of action: Create Block Clubs and request crime reports from the police. Make a Plan to consolidate and coordinate crime reports and problem properties. Centrally locate this information and circulate it to residents. Work with Block clubs on the other side of Bloomington Ave. Arrange Network Meetings.

8:15      Digital Design workshop- spring class for teens at Waite House

From: Julie Graves

Waite House is seeking some financial support around a 12-14 week digital workshop teaching design software during our spring semester at Waite House. The final project will include doing some professional design work for the Dakota Jazz Club. Phillips teens will get the chance to add this comprehensive learning experience to their resume and portfolio.

While we have students and teachers from MCAD spearheading the project (therefore the in-kind contribution for staffing is thousands of dollars J), we don’t have any supply income. I would like to approach the neighborhood orgs for a modest contribution to help make this project happen. The name of the project is “Diseno para el Comunidad” or Design for the Community and will be led by MCAD senior Daniel de la Torre. We will have ample slots for any teens residing in Phillips. I see this as an awesome opportunity for the neighborhoods to collaborate on a project that will bring dozens of talented MCAD staff and students to Phillips while supplying a quality academic/job experience for Phillips teens lacking job opportunities. Each neighborhood that contributes could designate slots for youth from their neighborhood, and we could also do a huge recognition party this spring for our “graduating” students. I’m hoping these students could eventually help with graphic design for each group, in fact we could make that a condition of the funding.

Motion: EPIC will dedicate $500.00 or up to $750.00 to sponsor spots for 5-7 teens from East Phillips who would participate and produce a graphic design proposal representing the East Phillips Neighborhood. (LL, SS) Passed.

8:25      Henn. County Care Project   - Contract Info  

There is an effort to support and enhance development in the corridor along the Light Rail (Hiawatha Avenue.) EPIC was included in a project to receive a grant of up to $2M, in partnership with Longfellow neighborhood and Karen Clark’s Women’s Environmental Health organization. Carol has signed the partnership agreement with Hennepin County and if we are able to complete all the terms, we will receive a stipend of $500 over two years.

9:00       Adjournment

EPIC web address: eastphillips-epic