DRAFT MINUTES

Meeting time and location – September 22, 2015, 6:30PM, Ukrainian Event Center

  1. Call to Order – The meeting was called to order by President Grambsch on at 6:35pm (Sign-In Sheets)

    1. Verification of Quorum — Directors Present (Beddow, Clegg, Folliard, Grambsch, Guncheon, Hondros, Mead, Rosenberg, Schneeman, Sheran, Stellar, Upton, Watkins, Weldon); Directors absent (Casey, Johnson,Larkey, Lehman, Meehan, Melzer). Quorum is 7 Directors — quorum verified.
    2. Approval of Agenda — approved unanimously
    3. Approval of  July 2015 Minutes (text here) — approved unanimously

  2. Presentations

    1. Council Member Report  (Council Member Jacob Frey) – CM Frey updated the Board on various topics and the status of projects of interest to the neighborhood.
    2. Park Board Presentation and Discussion (Cliff Swenson, MPRB) — Cliff presented plans to improve landscape and paths on the east side of Nicollet Island south of Merriam Street. No Board action taken.
    3. Revised Nye’s Site Development Proposal presentation (Maureen Mickalski) — design details here  — Maureen presented  a revised proposed development for the site. Presentation was for information only, no Board action taken.

  3. NIEBNA Administrative Matters

    1. Financial and Business Matters
      1. Treasurer Report – Treasurer Hondros reported that the Association is solvent and that there were no financial transactions requiring Board action since the prior Board meeting,
      2. Approval of Expense Payments — approved payment of $300.00 to Ukrainian Event Center to cover costs of September and October Board meeting.
      3. Other Financial and Business Matters – None
    2. Response the NCR Neighborhood Survey (details here) — President Grambsch distributed for the information of the Board hard copy of a survey he recently received from Minneapolis Neighborhood Community Relations (NCR) department regarding NIEBNA operations and how NCR might possibly better interact with NIEBNA.  He noted that while some of the questions were routine, some involved more general issues (“what are the 3 biggest  problems in NIEBNA”, “what could NCR do for NIEBNA in the future”, etc.) that may require comment and input from the Board. It was left that Board members would send any comment on such question to President Grambsch who would complete the survey sometime before in the next Board meeting.
    3. Policy on response to “Neighborhood Partnership” inquiries (sample-1 here, sample-2 here) —The Board adopted the following policy:
      1. The email will be distributed to the Board on an FYI basis;
      2. On an individual basis and with no power to commit the Board, any Board member may contact the inquirer to discuss the proposal or refer the email to other parties;
      3. Inquirer would be informed that NIEBNA, as an all volunteer organization, does not have the capability to participate with outside groups on an on-going basis.
      4. The inquirer would be notified that at periodic all-member meetings (like the Annual Meeting) brief presentations by groups, new businesses and others to address the membership and to distribute literature are allowed; inquirer can sign up on the NIEBNA email list to receive notice of such meetings meetings.
    4. Grain Belt Sign Tax Forfeiture Matter (Edna Brazitis) — Edna discussed the somewhat convoluted tax status of the land on which the Grain belt sign sits and noted that there is an opportunity for the Board to comment on the eventual disposition of the land. Edna provided draft resolution language in the matter. The Board decided by unanimous vote to delegate sending a comment to the  Association Executive Committee and a response was  sent (text here).

  4. NIEBNA Project and Status Reports

    1. Comment  on status of proposed new US Bank building — President Grambsch noted that on September 21, 2015 the Planning Commission approved the application by US Bank to build a small building at the corner of 4th St NE and 1st Ave NE, an idea not supported by NIEBNA. This effectively ends any contact with US Bank on the matter of their new building and formally separates the US Bank project from the adjacent Mortenson project.
    2. Consideration of recommendation by (renamed) Mortenson Task Group (MTG) – the MTG, by unanimous vote, recommended that the full NIEBNA Board support the design proposed by Mortenson  (text here). After a extended discussion, the Board (by a vote of 8 to 6) passed the resolution to accept the MTG recommendation and support the design (resolution letter here).
    3. Consideration of NRP Phase 2 application

      1. Current status & date for final termination of NRP funding — it was noted that while the cut-off date is not imminent, it is being talked about at the City as being sometime in 2016. Therefore, it would behoove us to move reasonable quickly with an application, if we are going to apply at all.
      2. NIEBNA application status — what we have, what we need, plan for submission — it was noted that with the exception of current input from Association members on neighborhood priorities, we already have all or most of the documentation needed for an application as a by-product of the recent Small Area Plan project.
      3. Plan for “Neighborhood Priorities” public meeting — no decision made.
      4. Appointment of ad hoc “NRP Phase 2 Application Committee” — no decision made.

  5. NIEBNA Committee Reports

    1. Technology (Michael Guncheon) – Michael reported that the web site is running well; he also reported on the great progress on building the NIEBNA Archive (most documents from 2003 and later are archived and indexed).
    2. Transportation (Dore Mead) — Dore reported that the process is underway for a formal study by the City traffic folks to restore two-way traffic flow on all street passing through the NIEBNA East Bank. The Board has appointed Pete Goelzer and Jack Schneeman as NIEBNA representatives on the Citizen Advisory Committee (CAC) for the project; Michael Guncheon has been appointed a one of two NEBA representatives; CM Frey and Hennepin County Commissioner McLaughlin will each appoint  two representatives on the CAC. Results of the study are expected sometime in the first half of 2016.
    3. Livability (Barry Clegg) — first meeting has been held, but these is nothing that requires Board action at this time.
    4. Communication & Outreach (Matt Lehman) — No report
    5. Economic Development (John Larkey) — No report.

  6. Other Business and Announcements — None

  7. Adjourn — at 8:15pm

Minutes Prepared by P. Victor Grambsch