2-8-2018,
6:30 – 8:50
Phillips Park Cultural & Community Center, 2307 17th Ave
S.
EPIC web
address: eastphillips-epic.com
Office: 2536 18th
Avenue S., Minneapolis, MN 55404
Phone: (612) -280-8418
Board Roster:, Rosie Cruz, Laura Dale, Mary Gonsior, Tom Harris, Cassandra Holmes, Linda Leonard, Carol Pass,
Linda Vermillion, Marc Trius
Board Members Present: Rosie Cruz, Laura Dale, Mary Gonsior,
Cassandra Holmes, Linda Leonard, Carol Pass, Marc Trius, Linda Vermillion
Board Members Not Present:, Tom Harris,
Members: Brad Pass
Guests: Shirley Heyer, Cassandra
Meyer, Kameron Lindsey
6:30 Social Time/ Greetings and Introductions
6:50 Approval of Proposed Agenda: CS, LD, Approved.
Approval of December
14th General Membership Draft Minutes: BP,
RC, approved.
7:10 Announcements:
· Next EPIC Board Meeting, Saturday, March 3rd, 10:00 am-noon, EPIC’s office 2433 Bloomington Ave. S.
· Next EPIC Community Meeting, Thursday, March 8th, 6:30 - 8:45, East Phillips Park
- Annual Meeting will be April 28, 2018
- SummerFest will be June 24, 2018
- Midtown Phillips Annual Meeting Thursday, Feb. 22, 2018 (5:00 meeting) at the Midtown Global Market
- Phillips West Winter Social Thursday, Feb. 22, 2018 (5:00 Social) at Lutheran Center for Changing Lives
- Green Zones is meeting monthly for 8 months. There is a citizen’s board that meets the 4th Tuesday of the month. You can find their sustainability project with CPED. Their meeting calendar is on the City website.
- VW Meeting. CH is working to reserve the EPPCCC community room, to meet with Ned Brooks and neighbors to discuss the VW money and opportunities to garner funds to reduce pollution related to the Roof Depot and neighboring sites. Note: we have learned that individual companies can apply for funds. Ask for Ned Brooks to provide all grants available with deadlines for filing.
7:15 Q&A about
where the Roof Depot and Indoor Urban Farm has arrived at present. Bench mar
Presented a history of EPIC’s efforts to reduced and eliminate
pollution and develop a vision for a better use of this site for residents of
East Phillips. Showed a PowerPoint presentation from 2014 showing how studies
have tied PAHS emissions to ADHD in children. Discussed the city’s purchase of
the property, EPIC’s efforts to have a voice in the future of the site, the failure
of the city to follow its policy of engaging residents in decision-making, the history
of EPIC planning leading to a vision for building an indoor urban farm,
legislative funding of the EPNI collaboration, and its work to date. The large
community meeting held to present the city’s plan, and the EPIC plan, resulted
in a nearly unanimous vote in favor of the EPIC project. Public Works had
informed residents they planned to take down the Roof Depot building and be “in
the ground” in Spring, 2018. Since then, the City decided they had to take a
2-year hiatus. Our work stopped the Public Works project for two years. EPIC
will now be working on a business plan for the overall concept and the
individual businesses that will operate in the property will be creating their
own business (sustainability) plans, and all will begin the capital campaign…raising
money to further fund this project.
7:45 Pollution
Problem
Cassandra works for MPCA, long history in South
Mpls. She has been personally affected by the health problems that result from
pollution. Trying to address this, she studied engineering and sustainable
design.
Discussion of various permit requirements, testing
standards, etc. related to permitting Bituminous Roadways and neighboring
sites.
8:00 Swimming Program Financing
The situation: The Swimming pool will open soon. Let’s build a
program so that we are not pushed out of access to this new amenity in our
community. Large pool will open in spring, small pool will open this summer.
Funding has come in from public schools and Augsburg. Scheduling for the pool
has been turned over to the Park Board and these large donors are already
promised large chunks of accessibility. EPIC needs to find partners and funding
for an East Phillips Swim Program NOW if we don’t want to miss the boat. LL has
done some research.”
Previous
Board MOTION: EPIC
will guarantee that East Phillips children have access to the pool for which we
have already invested $75,000, therefore, EPIC will set aside a minimum of
$10,000 for an East Phillips
Children and Youth swim program. LL, MT. Approved.
MOTION
changed the amount at GMM on Jan 11th: EPIC will allocate $20,000 of the new youth
programming money of $51,970.04
toward beginning a swimming program for Phillips youth at the new pool. MG, RC,
approved. Requires a second vote. Quorum was present.
NEW MOTION 2nd
Vote: EPIC will allocate $20,000
of the new youth programming money of $51,970.04
toward beginning a swimming program for Phillips youth at the new pool. LL, LD,
Approved.
8:30 Crime
and Safety – Bus Shelter Report
EPIC wants to change the direction of
the bus shelter on Lake St. and 17th to face the street. The city
responded that this is impossible because of accessibility issues. The design
is also intended to shield from cars spraying pedestrians with water, etc. Additional
research is needed, as RC noted a shelter already on Lake St. that is facing
the street. EPIC will continue to work on this, but we seem to need a different
solution.
8:40 Committee
Chair Positions Open
If you want to make something happen on your
own, you can propose a committee to work on specific projects, etc. The
opportunity to serve the EPIC neighborhood does not stop with the board.
8:50 Adjourn
