EPIC
Board Meeting Draft Minutes
August 6, 2022, 10am – 11am
EPIC web address: eastphillips.org
Email: sarah@eastphillips.org
Office: 2433 Bloomington Ave., Minneapolis, MN
55404
Phone: (612)
354-6802
Board Roster: Mary Gonsior, Cassandra Holmes, David Ingold, Shontal Lajeunesse, Steve Sandberg, Schuyler Sellars, Karen Townsend, Nikolas Winter-Simat, LR Young
Board Members Present: Karen Townsend, Nikolas Winter-Simat, Steve Sandberg, Schuyler Sellars, David Ingold, Cassandra Holmes
Board Members Not Present: Mary Gonsior (E), LR Young (E), Shontal Lajeunesse
Members:
Guests:
10:00 Review vision and mission
Welcome guests/intros
Approve agenda, NWS,
ScSe, Approved
Approve minutes, NWS, StS, Approved
Reminders:
●
Next
Community Meeting will be: Thursday, August 11 from 6:30 to 7:30 at Cedar Field Park and
online (link to join meeting can be found at eastphillips.org)
●
Next
Board Meeting will be: Saturday, September 3 from 10am to 11am at the EPIC
office and online (link to join meeting can be found at eastphillips.org)
o
Board
Meetings are open to the public
●
Letters
of Support signed since last month:
o
LERA
LOS for their applications for financing to effect a substantial rehabilitation
of the property
●
Next
Saturday, August 13 is Open Streets from 11 to 4:30
o
We
will have a table and be offering environmental justice yard sign and cloth
sign making. People can make their own free hand or use a stencil. We will also
have Green Zone signs available for people and information about our programs
and events
o
Anybody
able to join for a bit?
▪
We
will be on Lake Street in front of Hi Lake Liquors across from the YWCA, near
22nd Ave
▪
Steve
after noon can join
▪
Nikolas
around 1pm
▪
Schuyler
around 11am
●
Roof
Depot
o
City
asked for another mediation session - August 16th tentatively
o
City
passed MoU
▪
Neighbors
and EPNI didn’t understand the MoU
▪ refused to extend the deadline so EPNI could alter the MoU
10:20 Report/Update
from Executive Coordinator
1) Report on
progress of Equitable Engagement Fund programs/initiatives
a)
Events
i)
Carnival - had
approximately 300 attendees
ii)
July Larger East Phillips
Community Meeting - had over 50 attendees
(1)
An opportunity to grieve,
process, heal and celebrate together - we had healing services (massage etc.),
food, an art activity and a community conversation facilitated by Nonviolent
Peaceforce
(a)
We’ll have another on
September 8
b)
Staff are hired - all 4 are
East Phillips neighbors - including a Somali speaking Outreach Worker
c)
We have our welcome bags
with our new EPIC logo on them - if you have a new neighbor let Sarah know and
she can get you a Welcome Bag for you to give to them
d)
Microgrants
i)
Block Party Reimbursement
Program - 2 received so far
ii)
One Cleaning Captain
application received, one interested
iii)
One Public Art application
from an artist, one property owner interested
iv)
One Skill Share proposal
submitted
v)
Only a few people have
signed up for the Alley lighting program - talk to your neighbors - if they
want one have them fill out this form.[1] [2] [3]
e)
Community Hub - Project
Manager Hayat is working on putting together events for the space on 27th and
Cedar - putting together a MOU with Phillips Garden and getting Phillips Garden
added as additional insured for the use of the lot
f)
Community Infrastructure -
process is started, still waiting on updated budget from NACDI to finalize
contract
2) Use of
funds - housing grant that was on the use of funds proposal that we got
feedback on in May and June
a)
Wording from proposal:
i)
Home grants: Approximately $20k. Provide approximately two grants of
$10k each for housing rehab projects.
b)
Discuss whether to put into
housing program or create housing grant program (note CEE charges $500 for
admin per grant)
c)
If decide to go grant
route, need to discuss:
i)
Use of funds - how funds can be used
(1) Consider broad uses-
maybe exterior and interior
ii)
Who is eligible
(1) Owner-occupant?
(2) income limit?
(3) matching fund
required?
iii)
Amount of grants
(1) Probably get more applicants than
there is funding
(a) Making sure applicants can come up
with remaining funds
(2) 3 grants of $6,000, leaves $2K for
admin
iv)
How people apply - lottery, first come first serve
(1) Lottery takes longer, need to get
bids or don’t follow through, get next applicant etc. slowest part is getting
bids for grants
(2) If EPIC runs lottery, can do it
faster
d) To note about our housing program:
Failed applications for emergency
loans
-2 people
weren’t eligible
-have done 10 since 2020
-since 2020
5 drawn up and people didn’t follow through with bids
Home buyer program is out of funds
-can
put some of the existing funds into homebuyer
e)
Concern about capacity
and starting a new program
i)
Decide to put funds towards
current program
ii)
Bring to community
meeting:
MOTION: Move 20k from Home
Grants to the current CEE Housing Program, DI,
NWS, Approved
3) Schuyler
a) Meeting with Jason
Chavez on Thursday August 11th 10:30 to 11 city hall room 307
b) Proposed
resolution, would like to bring to Community Meeting as well:
i)
Housed neighbors,
especially elders are burdened by our unhoused neighbors on sidewalks
MOTION: The EPIC board and community will work
with Behavior Crisis Response, TOUCH/Office of Violence Prevention, and
MetroTransit PD. These offices and organizations will share to the Board and to
Community Meetings updates of how they are working to keep us safe and will
answer our questions, ScSe, DI, Schuyler
withdrew motion, will take below action
Discussion: Tangible effect of
this motion?
Ask Chavez to come
share about his work especially with encampments
-ask if want to come to September 8 Community
Meeting
Ask TOUCH to have table
at September 8 meeting
Ask Behavior Crisis
Response too?
4) Update on LifeStyle
Recovery Community Groups
a) Meeting with the
drafters of the proposal and the city next week
b) Bringing proposal to
the August 11 Community Meeting
Report from Departments
10:55 New business and delegate to proper spaces
(work group, department etc.)
1) Clean Sweep - anybody
able to help organize this Phillips wide event?
a) Is $1,000 in the budget
for Clean Sweep[4]
i)
Table to next meeting - see where
spending is - pull from Cleaning Captains
b) Pay someone to organize
for Clean Sweep through Cleaning Captain
i)
Nikolas will reach out to a few neighbors
to see if interest
ii)
Give Nikolas MATCH
2) LR will be unable to
attend meetings and fill Vice President role until December.
a) Somebody to fill the Vice
President role temporarily until December
i)
Schuyler Sellars
MOTION: Schuyler Sellars will temporarily fill
the Vice President position until December 2022, NWS, DI, Approved
3) Review Pressure Produced
Clean Streets proposal[5]
a) Bio and
more details about the budget
b) Would need to take it
from somewhere else - i.e. lighting, community infrastructure, microgrants
c) If LifeStyle goes
through, then pause Pressure Produced
d) If LifeStyle doesn’t go
through or other programs don’t spend as plan, move forward with Pressure
Produced
e) Encourage them to apply
for City Partnership Fund
4) AIOIC, MVAT and others
putting on Governor forum at Takoda on September 20
a) Sarah will be out of
town - anybody able to table?
i)
Nikolas will be able to be there by 4:30
b) Contribute cost for
canopy rental and chairs? Approximately $1,000
i)
Use miscellaneous Community Events
5) Asphalt plant - what
can EPIC do?
a) Put out a request for
an environmental science committee? Someone to monitor air and water?
b) Proposal to Green Zone
fund?
c) Ask for community
members to form environmental science committee/liaison
i)
Ask to work on a proposal for Green Zone
fund
ii)
Or University or High School course
iii)
Inquire about led testing of water
(1) Add to email too
d) Get more people to sign
up for air monitoring sensors through the city
i)
Why not on Greenway? - Closer proximity
to industrial pollution, anyone on waitlist for a monitor in this area? - Steve
will check on
ii)
Get one at apartment or hope at 28th and
Cedar/Longfellow
6) Next month: review
policies and procedures (must do annually)
a) Finance and Legal - put
together recommendations?
b) Schuyler will set up
meeting
7) August Community
Meeting facilitator - David - yes
8) Any funding or community decisions we want larger community
input on?
a) Prep for larger September Community Meeting
i)
Location?
(1) Try for Urban Farm
location
Executive
Committee/Legal and Finance Department - Karen, David, Nikolas, Schuyler (VP),
Mary - stay on
Executive
Committee
●
Cleaning
Captain update - Chiffon
●
Sarah
still has not received an evaluation from the Executive Committee that was to
be provided back in February
○
Nikolas
will draft something up and send to David and Schuyler to review
●
Nikolas
- charge for use of vacant lot? - likely no, just use as can no charge
○
Send
certificate to both Ed and Tyler
Legal/Finance
Department - Schuyler, David, Mary
●
review
MoU with Phillips Garden, approve?
○
Phillips
Garden is being added as an additional insured
○
Approved
○
Ask if additional charge from insurance?
Planning on no extra charge.
●
Public Art proposal, photos of artists previous work here - Mary, do you approve?
○
Schuyler
abstains, the artist is his tenant/friend
○
David
approves, waiting on Mary
○
Next
steps if approved:
■
Contract with artist
(Program Manager putting together)
■
Partner artist with a
property owner of a property that has experienced tagging or graffiti and
artist would work with them to hear what kind of mural they would like to see.
■
MOU with property owner
(Program Manager putting together) along with an honorarium for use of the
space
○
Draft
flyer for workshops
○
Note that this is an EPIC
employee
○
Was told the applications for
skill shares go to the Legal/Finance Department for review
○
A reminder that this program is on a
reimbursement basis and speaker honorariums. Anybody we are paying over $600 in
a year, we need a W9 from.
○
Can pay for speaker and materials
■
Participant stipends - can’t be used
under microgrant but can use under garden budget
○
Approve pending that they keep within the
above criteria - supplies and materials
■
Could raise amount to $2000 within
criteria
■ Speaker can’t get more than $100/day
11:00 Adjourn
