General Membership Meeting Minutes 12-12

December 12th, 2013, 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

“The world needs dreamers and the world needs doers,

but most of all the world needs dreamers who do.”

Board Members: Earl Simms; Carol Pass; Rosie Cruz; Aisha Gomez; Linda Leonard

Members: Margaret Kirkpatrick, Brad Pass

Guests:  Shirley Heyer

7:45            Introductions:

·      Greetings and Introduction

·      CP moved to meeting of the whole; Aisha second; passed

·      Aisha volunteered to chair

·      Approval of Agenda ; add Midtown Global Market; murder of Ali Noor; Saturday Youth Conference; 4H Friday night; approved as amended with motion by Brad and second by Carol

·      Approval of 12/12/13 General Membership Meeting Minutes the fact that we passed a motion to support Midtown in that endeavor. Carol will send a letter from EPIC so Bob Albee can send a request to the parking signs on park board property.  Minutes need to reflect that. This is to prevent parking of any kind on the north side of the street from 11^th to 13^th.  Approved after motion by unanimous vote.

6:55            Announcements:

            Midtown Market: apparently the committee recommended that the Global Market loan be turned to a grant. Everyone should send email to council member tonight before the council vote tomorrow.  The parking garage financing will be discussed.

            Murder of business man who owns the Safari was murdered near his home. He had several rental halls. There will be a gathering so watch for the announcements.

            Youth Unconference is Saturday at Joan of Arc. It’s for anyone who cares about youth. 45^th and 3^rd Ave.   11-12:45 about gun violence.

            4H Friday 20^th for neighborhood

7:07  Linda moved and Brad seconded that we move to a regular meeting from the meeting of the whole and approve the agenda and minutes as passed by the committee of the whole. Passed

.

7:10            Greenway Heights Apartments – Closing on land and loans

 They will wait to start unless there are funding reasons to begin soon. All the funding is secured.   We are using BKV which is a national company. We don’t know its business practice in regard to minority contractors. There are usually quotas about employing women and people of ethnic diversity. Those decisions are out of the neighborhood’s hands. Discussion about how to get local people who are qualified employed.   

Chair answered a question  about 2931 Bloomington, owned by Sherman and Associates. It was planned as live/work units for immigrant families of means [300,000] but the economy slumped.  A person did finance the foundation but the building did not get further because the investor was arrested for prostitution and gun running.  Sherman gave the money back, but no other investors or owners have been found. We never have approved the current plans and the city council member would not approve any proposals.  The site was approved for a flat roof, two side by side units.   Can we stop it for an alternative buyer? It is zoned commercial and residential.

Let’s invite the builder/developer to the next meeting . . . Contact Sherman to get the name and contact information.

7:25            SWIMMING POOL UP DATE –Dean Dovolis, DJR Architects

MOTION EPIC will provide funding of $10,000 to Minneapolis Swims organization for the             purpose of facilitating fund raising for the development of the Phillips Aquatic Center, contingent             on signing a contract acceptable to each party, MplsSwims.org and East Phillips..

Linda moved and Carol seconded the motion after Pat withdrew his second. Discussion: Margaret wants to know where the money comes from. The treasurer and the president will clarify this as we go through the process.  The conditions of the contract have to meet the criteria set by “downtown”. This may require a Plan Modification if it comes from NRP Phase 2. Aisha wants more detail and will ask Carol outside the meeting. The opportunity to act on this comes up because members of the pool fund raising team could be understood to be engaged in a capital campaign and EPIC did this before with Arthur Himmelmann for the EPPaark building. There are some issues surfacing concerning MplsSwims recently so the contingency is in order.

7:25            A Fitness Center for Phillips people- Brad Pass- Progress-Creation of Phillips Fitness, Inc. Future of a Phillips Fitness Center which could be affordable to all.

Brad explained that the current Running Wolf is moving out at the end of the month and its new location is a bit ambiguous. People who have belonged to it don’t have a clear alternative for if/when/where Running Wolf might be in the future. Brad explained that the concept of the Phillips Community Center was to have tenants that serve the entire community. The Park Board needed to know how to proceed especially because the investment in making the facility compatible with a fitness center. Brad paid for the filing fees for a nonprofit that was quickly formed to secure the space for another fitness center. A fitness equipment supplier may replace the equipment as a donation. Bob Albee wrote the new 501 c 3. The budget is about $200,000 a year as a base. A business plan is in the works.  EPIC has no investment at this time, but a letter of support would help. A business plan is expected within a month.

           

Linda moved and Rosie seconded: MOTION EPIC will support Phillips Fitness, Inc. with enthusiastic letters of support and fund raising.

A lengthy discussion ensued questioning funding the new Phillips Fitness, Inc. A member had not noticed that the motion does not say ‘funding’, rather it says ‘fund raising’, …the Chair explained that currently this organization does not meet our funding guidelines for a 501©(3) under  the IRS, since this may involve ‘re-granting’, because it is neither a capital expense nor a program in collaboration with EPIC.

Shirley added some history about the desire that the four neighborhoods work together on things like this.

Motion Passed

7:45  Lost the quorum when Rosie left.

Brad moved and Linda seconded to move to a committee of the whole. It passed.

7:50            Support for EPIC Soccer: Ali Micalin needs help with transportation, shin guards, etc.

             MOTION  EPIC supports a $500.00 stipend for organizing, transporting  and coaching East             Phillips kids soccer.

The Board can act on this without a vote of the membership.  Linda suggested that the Board be instructed to investigate whether or not we already gave $1,000. Pat urged that as well. Aisha suggested the board have a particular work session. There were several requests for financial documents and reports about bookkeeping.

There was a discussion about finances and how monies are available under what circumstances.  The general tone seemed to be that the board bring simplified reports to the membership each month. The Chair offrered to bring the policy for Collaboratives to the next meeting and discuss the new push toward creating Priority Plans

8:05            New Construction to fill vacant lots: Prepare for a plan. Block Clubs and/or individuals locate  vacant lots. (Henn. Cty. Prop. Info) Possible partnership with PRG to fill vacant lots with new             construction homes and/or to rehab. Need some focus groups for Priority Plans.

8:07             EPIC Home Loans: Some changes. Marketing EPIC’s home loans to our neighbors and how to             make it more effective.  Carol explained that the contract is six copies and we changed the income limits to encourage more people to apply. She reviewed the changes we made at prior meetings including emergency repair funding and a limit to one per person in their life for homebuyer assistance.

8:10            Crime, Public safety – Impact statements

Carol was unable to get hold of Don Greeley and he apparently is out of town. We need to know how to write impact statements for businesses. La Buena is the business in question. There is a new chair of Lake Street business association and that person may take more action than the prior chair. There was a drive by shooting and there seems to be cartel activities. Law Enforcement seems under pressure to postpone action in deference to FBI. Pat pointed out that licensing has new powers and seems to be enforced downtown. We should talk with our new city council member about this.

8:22              Adjournment

Linda moved to adjourn and Aisha seconded. Passed.

Carol Pass, Board Chair, East Phillips Improvement Coalition

2536 18th Avenue S.

Minneapolis, MN 55404

Phone: (612) 280-8418

cpass@runbox.com

EPIC General Membership Meeting Minutes 08-08

August 8th, 2013, 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

“The world needs dreamers and the world needs doers,

but most of all the world needs dreamers who do.”

Board Members Present:  Carol Pass, Mary Gonsior, Linda Leonard, Earl Simms, Rosie Cruz, Aisha Gomez

Board Members Not Present: Jennie Bjorgo, Ali Micalin, Sherdl Kordian

EPIC Members: Brad Pass, Laura Dale, Rob Czernik, Luce Guillen-Givins, Anna Zabinski, Kim Haden, Margaret Kirkpatrick

Guests: Shirley Heyer, Don Greeley

MOTION: Meet as a committee of the whole. (BP, CP) Passed.

6:45            Introductions:

·       Greetings and Introduction

·       Approval of Agenda. Passed with addition of Midtown announcement, and move up Crime concerns to follow NNO Report.

·       Approval of Minutes – tabled pending clarification of minutes concerning committee of the whole vote (p. 3) and the discussion of the motion on page 4.

6:55            Announcements:

·       Community Garden Day-this Saturday, 24XX 17^th Avenue. Meeting is 10-11 am, open house 11-1 pm, refreshments.

·       Clean Sweep- October 12^th, first meeting yesterday; this is about our 15^th year; give away 400 t-shirts each year (kids design); this is a great community event.

·       Rafael Gonzales (Waite House) is organizing a Phillips Music Festival on Saturday, Aug. 17^th Noon – 8:00 pm. Hosted by all the tenants in the building.

·       Midtown Crime Meeting, next Thursday at 6:30 pm at Steward Park; meeting will mostly be devoted to discussion of neighborhood crime. All from surrounding neighborhoods are welcome.

7:00            National Night Out Report

Various residents reported on neighborhood celebrations of NNO events. We had many NNO Block Parties, but only  some asked for reimbursement. Seven reimbursements came to $437,92.

7:15            Crime Concerns

Police were able to attend about a dozen events in Phillips before the rain came along. There were about 1,400 events scheduled for NNO.

1.     What strategies will we as citizens employ to address these concerns, and partner more effectively with police?

2.     We have decided to invest in one or more crime cameras; this will take some research and probably won’t be decided tonight.

3.     Discuss or list problem properties.

Problem properties

Progress-Van is gone from Lake Street!

·       2900 16^th Avenue – problem properties and undercover are looking at this one.

·       2916-18 17th Avenue – reported incorrectly last month as 2816-18. DG recruited a block club leader; thinks this is a building full of men only; DG will follow up.

·       1808 E. 26^th St. – two drive by shootings in May; not one issue reported since end of May. Tenants probably moved; no problems since.

·       2527 18^th Avenue – State of MN owns the property, in foreclosure; Henn. Cty getting an injunction – Alex Mehralian is not allowed to live there. If he moves in, Police will move him out when the court issues the order. Residents asked what to do if he moves in; can’t the state post “no trespassing”; residents want the county or state to secure the property (board it); residents reported there is a new car in the back; no point in reporting because there is nothing that Police can do until the judgment comes in.

·       Stop N Shop/– DG met with Capt. Trejo and he has met with owners; Stop N Shop has been very cooperative and will post “no trespassing” signs; they are willing to call police. Businesses are required to keep property clean within 100 feet from the store. CP is writing a Letter to Gas Station Owner.

·       Salvation Army – DG met with SA management and he is upset about the prostitutes in the parking lot, but reported that he was out checking every day. He is unwilling to add a fence, but agreed to check lights to make sure they work. DG working on getting to the bottom of who owns the building and getting “no trespassing” signs posted.

·       DG suggested we invite Capt. Trejo to a meeting.

·       Greenway hot spots: Columbus, 12^th and Bloomington; Greenway task force are working on this, bringing together city, county etc., and getting commitments from everyone to improve lighting and camera situation there. Statistically, the crime rate is very low. Violent crimes are typically late at night, not during daytime hours.

·       2605 17^th Avenue – new house has been abandoned; opened up and has people inside. DG says that neighbors need to call 9-1-1; the police can board the building if used for criminal purposes.

Issues with 3-1-1

Reporting housing issues through 3-1-1 who reports this to inspections. LL reported that renters have trouble reporting these issues because of language barriers. 2-3 years ago the city attorney decided that inspections cannot order an inspection unless the landlord approves, or the tenants report a problem.

Community Cameras

We are thinking about getting a camera for the Stop N Shop/Salvation Army area, but the city doesn’t have a Wi-Fi hot spot there; JD agrees that the Wi-Fi

7:50            Housing- Change in income cap.

Housing grants aren't moving. Spread the Word! Income cap was too low. The income guidelines are now 100% of the HUD median income. We found that the cap was too low, and many people are supporting extended family and as a result, we are excluding many people who need this funding, but don’t qualify. A second factor contributing to ineligibility is any late mortgage payment within the previous year. Distributed our housing brochure, that still shows the 80% of HUD median income. BP will try to print stickers to place over this information so we don’t need to reprint brochures.

We also are learning that these funds are being processed like any other loan. This means there are other qualifications that must be met, as would be with a typical loan.

Q and A:

Who is turned down, and why?

·       They won’t let this money go out if you are in arrears on your mortgage, or could lose your house.

·       You have to have one year of timely mortgage payments.

·       You must be current with your taxes.

·       You must have a “loan-worthy” credit rating.

Foreclosures. Workshops are a good place to start to get information to get starting in reversing foreclosures. Dawn Williams, PRG’s foreclosure counselor, can meet with individuals and assist with folks who are struggling.

Home purchases. EPIC is looking at and trying to get a handle on foreclosures, so we can assist with matching foreclosures with buyers who wish to live IN these homes. Investors are snapping these up, so you must act quickly.

8:00            Development Concerns:

Daycare at 2830 Cedar Avenue. The project doesn’t seem to be moving forward. EPIC has done everything we can to hold this property for the developers, but with neighbors complaining, we need to check up and make sure there is progress being made.

New Housing possibilities. CP asked PRG to look into building single family homes on some of our vacant lots. We found some funding to help with the gap between building and selling these homes, which is now $85,000. This has made it almost impossible to find funding.

Greenway Heights. Laura expressed concerns about the development planned on the Greenway Heights site. She only learned about the project a couple months ago, even though she has lived in her home across the street for years. She dropped off a letter for EPIC voicing her concerns.

8:10            Youth Sports-  

Board recommended MOTION: EPIC recommends that we support Ali Micalin’s soccer program up to $1,000 based on EPIC’s collaborative funding criteria, and provided that there is no duplication in the program budget by other agencies, along with a signed memorandum of understanding with the Park Board. Passed

Funding for EPIC individuals, Groups and Collaborative Organizations (Policies and Procedures addition)

8:20             Blueprint for Equity Report: Discussion of the progress on the previous motion.

CP distributed a copy of a letter she wrote under her signature as District 7 Commissioner of NCEC, to the 7 neighborhoods. Bancroft neighborhood is actually holding a meeting as EPIC is meeting, to

MOTION: EPIC requests a calendar of these public meetings, including who will making the presentation/survey. (LL, MK) Passed.

Midtown Greenway Survey

MK distributed surveys to EPIC residents and noted that surveys are also available in Spanish.

8:45              Adjournment