Tuesday,
February 26, 2008
Neighbors
of Belknap Lookout: Minutes
Meeting
was called to order by Chair, Pete Stieler at 6:05pm
Welcome
Mrs. Vander
Hof presentation. Dale Robart from Image Architecture concerning a
zoning change: their primary interest was to have an address sign
for their business on 619 College Avenue Northeast. They wanted to
tear down the existing sub-standard house that is on their property
and add green space, along with the desired address sign. Phil
McConahy made the motion to approve, Andy Johnson seconded…the
motion was carried.
Sunny Sodhi
presented his plans for the improvement and expansion of the L&L
Party Store. He requested two letters of support from the board:
one for the zoning variance that he needs to expand and remodel the
store; and another letter to extend the hours on a conditional
basis, from 9am to 12 midnight (Fridays and Saturdays only): the
condition being, that if he cannot control or reduce the noise, gang
activity and drug dealing around his store, the board has the right
to rescind these hours and reduce them back to their previous state
after a 6 month period. He also reminded the board that just
because he is from India, he is not related –in any way –to
the nefarious Nick Singh, (the previous owner of the L&L
Party Store).
Sunny Sodhi
handed out his Conditional Letter for Approval to the
board members, once again reaffirming his commitment to remodel the
store in 3 to 5 years. Dr. Roosenberg suggested that for the time
being, the board give a letter of support for the zoning variance
for expansion only, and table the discussion for an increase in
hours until after that particular variance is approved. Dr.
Roosenberg motioned for a letter of support for the variance to
expand the store and Joe Berens seconded…the motion was
carried.
Jayne
Johnson is appointed by our Chair, Pete Stieler, as a member of NOBL
Board; as well as Safety Committee Chair.Pete Stieler
offered to create and donate 1000 address booklets for NOBL. He
plans on seeking sponsors that will pay NOBL to place their
advertisements in this booklet. The booklets will be 40 pages
long, showcasing an A-Z listing of pertinent information; such as
addresses, telephone numbers, and business sponsorship information.
The cover will reflect the history of the Belknap Neighborhood and
why it’s so important to become a member of NOBL, and on the
back of the book, will be a two-year calendar; a move-in/move-out
checklist (to make it easier for folks to relocate in the
neighborhood), as well as a contact page regarding all the
neighborhood services and citywide programs that there are
available.Pete Stieler
has also created new receipt and donation forms for NOBL.With regards
to The Lookout Newsletter: Kristi DeKraker reminded us
that we are contractually obligated by the city of Grand Rapids to
publish 8 safety articles and 8 articles of neighborhood
improvement per year. The vehicle for the dissemination of that
information was up for discussion. Should it be a newsletter, or a
flyer? Who will write and publish it? How will it be delivered?
(By mail, or by hand?) Pete suggested that only NOBL members
receive The Lookout, whereas Kristi proffered that by
doing so, the rest of the neighborhood might then go unserved. Phil
McConahy suggested instead, that a flyer be created; one with the
information printed on both the front and back. Pete sought to look
for sponsorship, and will continue to look into what the costs will
be to mail a single-page flyer. The topic was then tabled.The NOBL
website was brought up: It is still in the creation stage.
Walter Taylor still needs to add contact links, graphics, NOBL
Minutes and Agendas, photos of members, fundraising information and
events, if any. Pete will bring his digital camera on March 11th
to take pictures.Update from
the BBC: Becky Karwoski mentioned that the potluck was canceled.
The Mid-Winter Raffle ends on March 30th. March 8th,
the BBC will have its ATT Technological Grant and Asset Mapping work
session. Chris Thompson is working on the trash ordinance with
Anita Jones from the city. BBC didn’t get the NGA Grant, but
they are working on other grants, such as the ATT
Technological Grant and Captain Planet. The
Home Depot awarded the BBC a deep discount with regards to garden
supplies, and Scholastic is giving them a discount on books. BBC
filed its grant with First Books; those that will be needed for
their Cultivating Hands Garden Project. The BBC is
still researching the history of the neighborhood. The results
so far have determined that Samuel Dexter purchased our neighborhood
back in December 2nd, 1833. It was called White Pigeon
Prairie at the time, and was part of, “The Michigan
Territory.” An Act of Congress approved the sale and the deed
was signed by President Andrew Jackson. It was finally recorded on
September 8th, 1921. .…Thus the reason why the
BBC unanimously decided to approve the pigeon as its official
logo...Walter
presented his statement regarding NOBL Board member participation
within the community. A discussion was held…Jayne
Johnson mentioned that there is a need for Police Chief Belk, Deputy
Chief James Farris, and Captain Pam Carrier to discuss our funding,
community policing issues, neighborhood crime statistics, police
response time and curfews. What can we do (as community members) to
assist the Grand Rapids Police Department to further in their
efforts to curb crime in our neighborhood? (There was even talk of
creating a fundraiser to pay for additional police officers,
primarily for the Belknap Neighborhood.)Kristi
DeKraker said that we might be able to get more Radon test kits for
the neighborhood, but it may depend upon the budget of the Healthy
Homes Coalition.Meeting was
adjourned: Phil McConahy motioned, Joe Berens seconded: 7:46pm
No comments:
Post a Comment