EPIC Board Miinutes 05 - 06

May 6th, 2017, 10:00 am -12:00

East 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: Jenny Bjorgo, Rosie Cruz, Laura Dale, Mary Gonsior, Linda Leonard, Carol Pass, Tom Harris,

Linda Vermillion, Cassandra Holmes

Board Members Present: Jenny, Laura, Linda V, Carol, Tom, Linda L, Cassandra

Board Members Not Present: Rosie hospital; Mary conference

EPIC Members: Brad Pass

Guests:  Shirley Heyer

10:00   Introductions:

·       Greetings and Introductions.

·       Approval of Agenda:  Linda moved to approve and Jenny second; approved

·       Approval of Minutes from April 1st, 2017 Tom  moved and Laura 2^nd to approve; approved.

10:30   Announcements:

• May Day Parade: TOMORROW!!! May 7^th Bloomington Ave closed
• EPIC Community Meeting, May 11^th, Thursday, at East Phillips Park, 6:30 to 8:45; Adam will come from the Park /Board to explain the boards and plans for Cedar field.
• Little Earth 18^th Annual PowWow, Saturday, May 13th, Cedar Field from Noon to 9 PM. Free! All are Welcome
• Garden Meeting, May 13th– 9:00 AM at the Community Center.
• Summer Festival, Sunday, June 25, 2017.
• Cinco de Mayo closed today and tomorrow parts of Lake Street

Crime and Safety letters: 2533 Bloomington is Air Scan Filter on corner of E 26^th.  Back stairway crime site.  Letter to ask the company to remove the stairway to closed door. Copy Brett and Aisha,   By concensus

2532 Bloomington is an empty white house;  Send information to Midtown. Send letters to Brett Nyman and Aisha about problem property . Write listed property owner.  By concensus.

10:40  Joe Beaulieu, presenting the Native Youth Arts Collective proposal, needs to match Grant
            Joe did not show up. The motion should be contingent on his needing the money.. He said he needs a match  right away.

MOTION: Sustain the fall program of the Native Youth Arts Collective up to $999. Laura and Jenny   made the motion. Passed  

Joe didn’t come so Carol is representing the project. She went to Little Earth last Thursday and spoke with Carol Peterson, Joe, Fran, and Lupe. They have spent most of the $26,000 and are applying for another grant.  Cassie will check with Joe to see what the amount is because he may need only $500.

Pillsbury United budget changes. All the k-5 funding cut from United Good Way. The field trips and hours from her proposal have to be dropped without additional funding.  She will write an amendment to the current proposal.  She can write us some detail about what she could add back in for what price. We need to have documentation before the community meeting next week. Linda is authorized to speak with Julie ASAP and get the amendment and new proposal written and off to the Board.

11:00   Getting to know each other…Where did you grow up….Life Story to date…future Plans…why did you volunteer for EPIC?…Major neighborhood  concern? This was a delightful piece of story telling  

11:40    EPIC…..How does EPIC work? A look at the Bylaws and Policies. Q and A

11:50   Traffic Changes on 24^th St. Opinions

MOTION:  LL and L  to have traffic safety rep come to the membership meeting and explain what is happening on 24^th from Hiawatha to I 35.  Consensus. Tom will call 311 and follow up to get a speaker.

Cedar Bridge and one way:  Cedar will be closed on Monday.  Cedar will be closed going north from Lake Street. 

Shirley made a report about the walk/plaza concept Midtown Greenway funded for E 29^th Street. Activities. Pedestrians. Cars. Etc all together as a crime deterant. They got a grant to do this but neighborhoods weren’t consulted.  IT IS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN BECAUSE OF THE CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS AND TRAILERS  DURING THE BRIDGE CONSTRUCTION.

THEY NEED ANOTHER SITE TO DO THE CONCEPT DESIGN.

Shirley reported 90 minutes of discussion about public art with the Greenway and the project for the I 35 transit station between Lake street and 28^th.  There is a motion that the Midtown Greenway wants all the neighborhoods to pass a motion.

MOTION: EPIC requests that the plans for the Greenway for entry at 28^th near I 35 NOT include wooden stairways .
Linda V and Cassie for the motion. Motion passed for letter of support to the county; greenway; and neighborhoods.

12:00   More Traffic =

Barricade Issue:

Speed Bumps on 2500 Block of 18th Children are coming out of the park on 18^th Avenue speed bumps needed

  There is fundraising possible maybe at the powwow.
  Annual Summer Fest Planning

12:00   Adjourn

EPIC Community Meeting Minutes 04 - 13

04-13-2017, 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: Jenny Bjorgo, Rosie Cruz, Laura Dale, Mary Gonsior, Linda Leonard, Carol Pass.

Board Members Present: Rosie Cruz, Laura Dale, Mary Gonsior, Linda Leonard, Carol Pass.

Board Members Not Present: Jenny Bjorgo.

Members: Jolene Jones, Julie Ellis, Linda Vermillion, Brad Pass, Steve Sandberg, Tom Harris, Susan Harris, Westin Martin, Alfonso Cruz, Alima Abdi

 Guests: Tammy Williams, Bret Nyman, Julie Graves, Mahamed Cali 

6:30     Social Time/ Greetings and Introductions

6:45     Approval of Proposed April 13th Agenda: MG, BP, approved.Approval of General MembershipLD, MG, Approved as amended  (correction to spelling, Marian Gavin).

6:55     Announcements:

o  EPIC Annual Meeting- Saturday, April 22 – 9:30 AM at the Community Center- We are seeking additional board members. Members of the East Phillips Improvement Coalition seeking election to the Board of Directors, whether nominated by themselves or another person. You can find Applications online at EPIC website: www.eastphillips-epic.com. Click on “About EPIC”. See the application forms -middle of page. Turn in completed application forms to any EPIC board member.

o  Next EPIC Board Meeting will be May 6th, 2017, Saturday at the Park 10:00 am to 12:00 noon.

o   Next EPIC Community meeting will be May 11^th, 2017, Thursday at the Park 6:30 to 8:45 pm.

o  Third Garden Meeting of the Year. Gardening will be starting a month earlier this year. Next meeting is Saturday, May 13^th. 9:00 am at the Community Center. Come if you want to garden. Some open plots; there are 33 plots total.

o  Little Earth Mother’s Day PowWow onMay 13 (Saturday) from 1-9 pm.

o   Summer Festival, Sunday, June 25, 2017. Planning meeting on Tuesday, April 25^th, at the Park, at 11:30 am. Lunch is served.

7:10    Introducing New Crime Prevention Specialist, Brett Nyman.

Brett has been serving in this position for 2 months, replacing Don Greeley. Eager to work with everyone in the community and help make a positive impact. Can inform neighborhood about activities, trends, data, and can work with neighborhood to problem solve.

Works out of the 3^rd Precinct serving Ventura Village and 3 Phillips neighborhoods. Brett is not a police officer, and his role is relationship building, information gathering. His email is brett.nyman@minneapolismn.gov.

Discussion of problem areas included 17^th and Lake St. Prostitution, the bus stop, drug dealing. Can police move the camera from 16^th Ave to 17^th Ave. Is this camera effective? Does it help improve the situation? Do cameras even work? Do they take images at night? Are they too old? Residents are experiencing long waits for response to phone calls to 911. What is the precinct’s plan to monitor and break up prostitution occurring overnight under the bridges on 29^th street? EPIC wants to work together to address a couple of specific issues and see a positive impact on drug houses, negligent landlords, etc. The 2800 block of 16^th Ave has seen drug dealing, graffiti, people trying to force their way into homes, cars racing down the street, and more. Police response to calls takes 1-2 hours.

3^rd Precinct is getting some more police officers this summer. Resources do get distributed based on incidents so continue to call in crimes. Give lots of details and describe the criminal offense. Ask for an incident number. Give the address where the crime is happening (not your address, if not at your home.) Precinct is in the process of building a “fusion center” ramping up their camera operations.

Our neighborhood has some issues unique to Minneapolis. Many people don’t speak English and many children are making 911 calls. Some of laws have been relaxed (loitering for example) have contributed to less relief and more safety for the community. We want to partner with the police to communicate vital information about the police and their work to our entire diverse, multi-lingual community.

Just as EPIC was about to provide a camera to the Police, we were told Police couldn’t manage the camera. We’d like to know if that situation has changed.

Block leader training is coming up (flyer distributed).April 20^th and May 10^th.

7:30    Board Training for prospective EPIC board members: Mary Gonsior

See Handout and Q&A.

7:50    EPIC partnership East Phillips Youth - Waite House All Summer Day Camp-Julie Graves- Final Vote.

Julie has been surveying the neighborhood and has learned that there are a number of programs that will NOT be providing services this summer. She is already receiving calls from outside the neighborhood looking for services. Waite House can only serve 80 kids, and the majority of these live in East Phillips, Midtown and Ventura Village. This summer program is more needed than ever. See Handout for details on benefits. Julie’s team is willing to make house calls to find kids who are at loose ends this summer. This will be a robust, fun and safe program this summer.

2^nd and FINAL VOTE

Board Recommended Motion: $5,000 memorandum of understanding Spring and Summer, 2017

March MOTION: Support youth programming for East Phillips kids with Waite House Summer Youth Program. LL, LD, Approved.
April MOTION: EPIC WILL support youth programming for at least 30 East Phillips kids by providing $5,000 to support the 2^nd Annual Waite House Summer Youth Program Partnership . MG, LD, Approved.

8:05    EPIC partnership with MPRB drop-in youth summer program, Tammy Williams.

There are about 65 kids who are here at the Park daily, through the summer. These children are not involved in the many existing Park, Waite House, Banyon, or other programs. EPIC asked the Park Board to consider how EPIC could help provide meaningful activities for these children this summer. Prop;osal page 2 was amended to read “at least 30 East Phillips” participants, and the budget was increased to $3,290. See proposal for more information.

Board Recommended Motion: EPIC will fund Tammy Williams’ program East Phillips Youth Extraordinary Summer Partnership Proposal through the Park Board –for Summer 2017, $3,290 for program expenses for drop-in participants, with at least 30 East Phillips youth, with programs running from early June to August. LL, JB, Approved.

Final MOTION: EPIC will support the partnership with Tammy Williams’ program East Phillips Youth Extraordinary Summer Partnership Proposal through the Park Board –for Summer 2017, $3,290 for program expenses for drop-in participants, with at least 30 East Phillips youth, with programs running from early June to August. MG, BP, Approved.

8:25   Annual Meeting Planning and recruitment of Board Members: We need volunteers to help. Also EPIC needs New Board Members.  Nominations for the Board:

Members of East Phillips seeking election to the Board of Directors, whether nominated by themselves or another person, find Applications on line at EPIC website: www.eastphillips-epic.com. Click on “About EPIC”; see middle of the page for Application forms. Turn in completed application forms to any EPIC board member soon.  Individuals seeking to serve on the board must be eligible for EPIC membership and must have attended at least one general membership meeting during the year previous to the annual meeting.

Nominations can come from the floor, but application forms are also available online.

EPIC Received applications to serve on the board from:

Thomas Harris, 16^th Ave. S.

Julie Ellis, 18^th Ave. S.

Cassandra Holmes, E. M. Stately

Linda Vermillion, Omega

Planning meeting for food: Contact Brad Pass

Pancake breakfast (Brad has appropriate licenses.)

Solicit donations for food, decorations, etc.

Mary will serve at the welcome table.

Setup on Friday at 7 pm, Michael Green will provide plates, napkins and utensils, Tom will provide tablecloths.

Door prizes. Mark Welna, Little Earth, others?

8:40   EPIC sponsorship - EPIC/KALY Radio Station Programming Partnership, 2017. Mahamed Cali

2^nd and FINAL VOTE

Board Recommended Motion: EPIC approved the SAC Kaly Radio LP 101.7 proposal to underwrite sustaining costs for the remaining months of 2017 for KALY Radio programming for $10,000.

March MOTION: Accept the memorandum of understanding, and the board motion: JJ, MG, Approved.

April MOTION: Accept the memorandum of understanding, and the board motion. MG, LL, Approved.

8:58     Adjourn

EPIC Board Meeting Minutes 04 - 01

April 1st, 2017, 10:00 am -12:00

East 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: Jenny Bjorgo, Rosie Cruz, Laura Dale, Mary Gonsior, Linda Leonard, Carol Pass.

Board Members Present:. Jenny Bjorgo, Laura Dale, Mary Gonsior, Linda Leonard, Carol Pass.

Board Members Not Present: Rosie Cruz (E)

EPIC Members: Brad Pass, Linda Vermillion

Guests: Shirley Heyer

10:20   Introductions:

·       Greetings and Introductions.

·       Approval of Agenda with addition of Little Earth item. JB, LD, Approved.

·       Approval of Minutes from March 4th, 2017. MG, JB, Approved.

10:10   Announcements:

• Community Connections Conference. 2017 TODAY, Saturday, April 1^st. This a Free Conference to us, paid for by the Neighborhood Community Relations Dept. Many of the Workshops will involve getting input from folks. It’s our board meeting day.
• Rental of the Office. Lease has been signed. Cleaning Day to be announced.
• EPIC Community Meeting, April 13^th, Thursday, at East Phillips Park, 6:30 to 8:45. Anyone who wishes to serve on the board must have attended one Community Meeting in the year prior to the Annual Meeting.
• Garden Meeting of the year, April 8, 2017 – 9:00 AM at the Community Center.
• Annual Meeting April 22 – 9:30 AM at the Community Center. We are seeking additional board members; visit the website for information and application forms.
• Little Earth 19^th Annual Mother’s Day PowWow, Saturday, May 13, 2017 at Cedar Field from Noon to 9 PM. Free! All are Welcome
• Summer Festival, Sunday, June 25, 2017.

10:30   Summer Drop-In Youth Program and Event Coordinating for SummerFest – Tammy Williams   
There are about 65 kids who are here at the Park daily, through the summer. These children are not involved in the many existing Park, Waite House, Banyan, or other programs. EPIC asked the Park Board to consider how EPIC could help provide meaningful activities for these children this summer. Proposal page 2 was amended to read “at least 30 East Phillips” participants, and the budget was increased to $3,290.

Motion: EPIC will fund Tammy Williams’ program East Phillips Youth Extraordinary Summer Partnership Proposal through the Park Board –for Summer 2017, $3,290 for program expenses for drop-in participants, with at least 30 East Phillips youth, with programs running from early June to mid August. LL, JB, Approved.

Motion: EPIC will fund Tammy Williams’ program, Standing Solid Rock Event Coordination for EPIC Summerfest 2017 for $700. LL, LD, Approved.

10:50   Little Earth 19^th Annual Mother’s Day PowWow – Linda Vermillion

Little Earth 19^th Annual Mother’s Day PowWow, a free event for the public will be held Saturday, May 13, 2017 from Noon to 9 PM. Requesting funding of $999 toward their $10,000 budget.

Motion: EPIC will fund Little Earth 19^th Annual Mother’s Day PowWow for $999 toward eligible expenses. JB, LL, Approved.

11:00   Commitment to use EPIC Funds for Speed Bumps on 2500 Block of 18th

Children are coming out of the park on 18^th Avenue and additional speed bumps are needed. Summer is upon us, and if this. LV reported that Little Earth will not receive funds from their Grant project for safety projects until Fall 2017.

Motion: EPIC will spend $7,500 to get additional speed bumps on the 2500 Block of 18^th Avenue, and will seek reimbursement from donations. LD, LL. NO VOTE.

Discussion addressed concerns about a perception of conflict of interest, and whether EPIC should fully fund any speed bumps in light of past discussions/decisions. Does the Park Board have any liability for the safety issues related to the park’s location? Can the speed bumps be included in the redesign for the pocket park? The second to the motion was withdrawn, and the motion is tabled for further research.

11:20   Commitment to deal with the barricades, Crime committee for Lake, 2900 and Bloom and around SA.
LL presented photos of planter barricades that exist on Crosby Place and 34^th Avenue. In addition, this intersection has limited parking on Crosby Place. EPIC

Motion: EPIC will pursue funding and permission to install 3 planter barriers similar to those that exist on Crosby Place and S. 34^th Avenue. LL, JB. Approved.

Discussion of crime and whether EPIC should hire police officers to patrol the trouble spots in the neighborhood. Also discussed Wolf Security. 3^rd Precinct has a new crime and safety officer, Brett Nyman, replacing Don Greeley. EPIC will invite him to the Community Meeting in April to introduce him, and present information on police plans for safety this summer, and to discuss funding from the city, Little Earth, and other organizations, etc.

11:40   Recruitment of new board members.
Tom Harris and wife, Susan Harris; both are interested. Potential board members must attend a Community Meeting (general membership meeting). Several residents of Little Earth have expressed interest. Flyer for both apartment buildings on 29^th and Bloomington. Will announce on KALY radio.

11:50   Agree to meet some night next week to finish work on Bylaws

Thursday, 6:45 PM at Perkins, on Franklin Ave.

11:55   Annual Meeting Planning

Volunteers are needed to setup and cleanup, Friday evening (7-9), serving breakfast (planning), setting up tables and chairs.

12:00   Adjourn