NOBL
Meeting Minutes
July 8, 2008
Welcome to all!
Meeting was
called to order at 6:03pm. Present were Joe Berens, Phil
McConahy, Acting- Chairman Bob Roosenberg, Safety Chair
Jayne Johnson, Housing Chair Andy Johnson, Treasurer
J.D. Formaz and Executive Secretary Walter Taylor.
Meeting Minutes
from June: Phil McConahy made a motion to accept the NOBL
Meeting Minutes, Andy Johnson seconded and votes were cast. All
were in favor, and the motion to accept the Meeting Minutes for June
was approved.
Financials:
Copies of NOBL’s financial statement were provided at the
Board Meeting. J.D. Formaz brought up the fact that NOBL Board
Members need to come together and work on ways to raise money
through fundraisers, activities, a Farmer’s Market, etc.:
anything that might bring some money into the NOBL coffers. Joe
Berens made a motion to accept the idea, Jayne Johnson seconded and
votes were cast. All were in favor and the motion was carried.
Safety: We
have National Night Out coming up on August 5th at 5-7
pm. Kristi DeKraker and the Board Members of the BBC are working on
pulling together resources for the event.
Suspicious
Activity: Kristi DeKraker mentioned that we have a Hispanic male,
approximately 5’8” to 5’10” tall, with a
military-style buzz cut going around and throwing rocks at windows,
then exposing him self to the women that respond. These incidents
happen in the early morning; usually between 3 and 5am. Everyone
should be on the lookout for this person. If you see anything out
of the ordinary, please call the police department. Block contacts
should also be notified of the situation.
Housing:
Housing Chair Andy Johnson presented a list of properties to
Kristi DeKraker that need repair.
It was brought up
that property owners are responsible for maintaining the back area
of their lot all the way to the alleyway; this means overgrown
brush and debris. Letters need to be sent to landlords in the
Belknap Area regarding their roles and responsibilities. Most of
the landlords on the 600 block of Coit need to work on maintaining
their properties. The NOBL Board will follow up on this matter at
the next Board meeting.
There are
concerns about trash pickup and brush removal. If you miss your
regularly scheduled trash day, you cannot dump your trash.
Neighbors must be apprised of the day and times for trash removal.
Perhaps an article can be placed in On The Hill to remind renters
and new homeowners. The number for Streets and Sanitation is:
456-3232
Executive
Report: No Executive Report for this month.
BBC: The
Cultivating Hands Children’s Garden received a visit from
Grand Rapids Magazine and from Spectrum’s Healthier
Communities; both were very impressed and Grand Rapids
Magazine wishes to do a story on the garden!
BBC Executive
Secretary Chris Thompson went to the Citizen’s Planner
Conference in Lansing, as well as Green Grand Rapids that
was held at Devos Place.
Chris Thompson
would like to introduce the idea of having a Farmer’s Market
in the neighborhood. Hopefully once the gardens begin to bear their
fruit this vision can be realized…
The BBC made over
$108 (net profit) by selling glow sticks, pop, chips and water
during the 4th of July.
BBC’s Yard
and Garden Contest is still in full swing and runs through
September. Everyone living in the Belknap Area is automatically
entered to win. There are First, Second and Third Place cash
prizes; along with 10 Top Honorable Mentions. Winners will receive
their names, addresses and pictures in upcoming editions of On
The Hill.
Staff Report:
July 1st started our new contract year with the City.
Funding for
Fiscal Year 2010 will most likely be decreased.
If you are
interested in volunteering for National Night Out and the Back to
School Bash, please contact Kristi DeKraker; she is in the process
of organizing the events. There will be an information booth at
the event; as well as the GRPD, the GRFD, EMS and Safe Kids…
There is also a
block meeting coming up at Newberry Place.
Old
Business
Acting-Chairman
Bob Roosenberg brought up last month’s Board vote
concerning (then Chairman), Pete Stieler’s behavior and the
recommendation that he be removed from office. Shortly thereafter,
Bob Roosenberg stated he received Pete Stieler’s resignation
from the NOBL Board.
Block
Captains/Contacts are a source of information and distribution. Do
we have representation on all blocks?
There are some
blocks that don’t have a contact person at all. We need to
work on filling those positions; it will be an ongoing task.
There is also
no block contact on the 800 block of Coit. J.D. Formaz said that
he would be willing to be the Block Contact for that area.
New
Business
Phil’s
McConahy’s Presentation: Phil presented a proposal
regarding the unwritten policies of NOBL and requested that it be
adopted by the NOBL Board. A discussion was then held and two (2)
motions were presented to the board:
Jayne Johnson made
a motion that the NOBL Board table voting on the proposed policy
until further input from all Block Captains in the neighborhood
could be made.
Walter Taylor
motioned that the proposed policy be passed tentatively (as a means
to safeguard NOBL and the Belknap Neighborhood): whereas afterwards,
reactions and revisions from the Block Captains/Contacts concerning
its wording could be thoroughly and thoughtfully adjusted.
Joe Berens
voiced his reservations regarding some of the wording in the
proposal.
Walter Taylor’s
motion was brought to a vote: J.D. Formaz seconded the motion and
votes were cast. All in favor were: J.D. Formaz, Phil McConahy,
Andy Johnson, Walter Taylor, and Jayne Johnson. All opposed were
Joe Berens… The motion to accept the proposal as the
tentative policy of NOBL was passed. The Tentatively
Proposed NOBL Policy will be sent to the available Block
Captains/Contacts for their conscientious and deliberate
assessment.
Sunny Sodhi’s
Presentation: Sunny Sodhi requested a Conditional Letter of
Approval from the NOBL Board to extend the hours of L&L
Party Store from 10am-10pm Monday through Saturday, to 9am-11pm
Monday through Saturday for 6 months. He added that if it didn’t
work out, (i.e.,: he couldn’t control the loitering, drug
traffic, or the noise in front of his store, that he would –
on bequest of the NOBL Board - go back to his regular hours. A
discussion was held:
Jayne Johnson
mentioned that when the store is open, troublemakers stay away. But
when the store is closed, people from all over begin to loiter, deal
drugs, etc.
Dr. Roosenberg
questioned approving an extension of hours in consideration of
school hours.
Andy Johnson
reminded everyone that Sunny has done a lot for the community.
Becky Karwoski
mentioned that the activity around Sunny’s store is not so bad
anymore.
Dr. Roosenberg had
concerns about winter time and people driving up with boom boxes.
(Could Sunny put up additional parking?) Roosenberg offered
to table the discussion.
There was a
caveat made by Sunny that if anyone notices anything out of the
ordinary around his store to come to him first to address the
situation before going to anyone else.
Phil McConahy made
a motion that Sunny Sodhi’s hours be extended and Jayne
Johnson seconded. Votes were cast. All in favor were: Joe Berens,
J.D. Formaz, Phil McConahy, Jane Johnson, Andy Johnson and Walter
Taylor. The motion was carried.
The Conditional
Letter of Approval from NOBL regarding the request from the
owners of the L&L Party regarding their extension of hours was
passed.
Concerns by
NOBL Board Member Joe Berens: Joe Berens brought up recent
E-mails that Executive Secretary Walter Taylor sent to Grand
Rapids City officials, as well as to neighbors regarding the
development group and the people involved. He was disturbed by the
fact that not all NOBL Board Members received copies of these
E-mails. Moreover, he felt that Walter Taylor misused his official
NOBL Board position by recklessly sending his personal commentary to
City officials and signing his E-mails using his official NOBL Board
title. He requested that the NOBL Board censure Walter Taylor at
the very least, or remove him from office altogether. A discussion
was held:
Phil McConahy
mentioned that the NOBL bylaws are too vague and that they need to
be amended to accommodate more definitive information: such as a
censure or an expulsion from the NOBL Board for violations of such a
nature. Under the current bylaw guidelines, as they now stand,
there is no written mention of using one’s title or
status errantly.
Jayne Johnson
concurred with Phil McConahy in that there are no true definitive
written rules prohibiting the use of one’s official status
with regards to contacting City officials in the NOBL bylaws,
although there may be an unwritten, “understanding.”
She then offered up a motion: that if a NOBL Board Member’s
statement is not one approved or supported by the NOBL Board, they
cannot sign any letter or E-mail with their elected NOBL title or
designation, and must also mention within any document to offered to
City officials that they are writing on behalf of their own accord
(as a private citizen, and in their own opinion).
Phil McConahy
seconded the motion and votes were cast. All in favor were: Joe
Berens, J.D. Formaz, Phil McConahy, Jane Johnson, Andy Johnson and
Walter Taylor. The motion was carried.
Concerns by
J.D. Formaz: J.D. Formaz asked if there was a way we could come
up with a moneymaking opportunity or fundraiser for NOBL: whether
that would be a Car wash, a Farmer’s Market, or an Art Fair;
anything that might bring the community together and make money for
NOBL.
Roosenberg made a
request that a public committee be formed to work with J.D. Formaz
on this concept. He then asked if anyone at the meeting would be
willing to help.
Becky Karwoski,
Sondra Wilson, Chris Thompson, Jayne Johnson and Brian Bremer all
raised their hands in support of the idea.
J.D. Formaz will
present his fundraising ideas at the next NOBL Board Meeting.
Neighbors
Interested in Becoming NOBL Board Members: Dr. Roosenberg
brought up the fact that we need to fill the empty seat on the NOBL
Board as soon as possible. He stated that if any of us know of
someone who might be a good candidate for the position to let him
know immediately by sending him an e-mail with their name, their
qualifications and their reasons for wanting to join. He [Dr.
Roosenberg] stressed that the position of Chairman must be filled
and that he will stay on as Acting-Chair of NOBL until the elections
in November.
There will not be
a vote for vice-Chair until the November elections.
Dave Shannon
mentioned that he is interested in becoming a NOBL Board Member.
Jayne Johnson
wants to know when the block captains will get their Area Specific
Plan Draft/Information Packets so that they can disseminate that
information to others. Are we going to mail them or distribute
them by hand? We have to wait for the information from the
City. Once the packets are made, Kristi DeKraker will contact
Jayne.
Public
Comments:
Angel Gonzalez was
bothered that NOBL passed the motion to write a Conditional
Letter of Approval to extend Sunny Sodhi’s hours at the
L&L Party Store. He felt that the Belknap Community was not
given the opportunity to express their concerns regarding the
extension of said hours, and also went on to say that the
Tentatively Proposed NOBL Policy was rushed into a vote
without initial neighborhood input. He feels that the NOBL Board
is, “putting the cart before the horse…”
Walter Taylor
mentioned that Angel Gonzalez didn’t seek a, “ true
consensus of community opinion” when it came to his public
redevelopment/rezoning charrettes; so why was he so concerned with
public opinion now regarding the extension of the L&L Party
Store hours?
Jayne Johnson
responded to Angel’s comments.
Sondra Loukes
Wilson stated that we all should be proud that we have so much
passion about our neighborhood, and that what is going on now, is
democracy in action. She encouraged us to take the energy and the
commradery that we feel and put it to good use within our community.
Phil McConahy
motioned to end the meeting and J.D. Formaz seconded. All were in
favor and the motion was carried. The meeting was adjourned at
7:45pm.
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