Minutes of October 2022 LHNA Board Meeting
Lowry Hill Neighborhood Association Board Meeting Minutes
Date: October 11, 2022
Location: Zoom
Time to Call Meeting to Order after Quorum: 7:04 PM by President Charles Scheiderer
Board Members Present: Charles Scheiderer (President); William Goodnow (Secretary); Jacquelyn Brown-Baylor; Vickie Gilfillian-Bennett; Fran Davis; George Montague; Tyler Ecklund-Kouba; David Bjork; Jennifer Wirick Breitinger; Thomas Regnier; John Lillehei, MD.
Other Attendees: Lt McCree (MPD); Al Swintek; Larry Matsumoto; Hannah Gullickson; Miriam Segall; Susan Hiestand; & Several Neighborhood Zoom Participants.
Minneapolis City Council Update
7 th Ward Council Member Lisa Goodman provided an update. The last Lunch with Lisa of 2022 will be held on October 26th at the University of St. Thomas Terrence Murphy Hall and the topic will be Election Integrity. Starting on Wednesday December 7, 2022, the Later with Lisa event will resume which is a community evening cocktail hour that will most likely be held at the Dayton’s Project. Fall street sweeping will begin on October 18 and will take about four weeks. Yard waste collection will be one to two weeks later this year. The last yard waste pickup is scheduled for November 28. Early voting for the November 8 Election has started and mail-in ballots are available by request. There will be a public hearing on the changes of government structure in the City Charter on October 18 at 1:30PM at City Hall. Lisa argued that the changes in government structure have been effective thus far.
Minneapolis Police Department Update
5th Precinct Inspector Katie Blackwell was not able to attend the meeting, however LT McCree filled in for her. LT McCree provided a brief crime update for Lowry Hill. For the month of September, there were two robberies and eleven auto thefts. There was a carjacking at 1700 Dupont – the suspect had a BB gun, fled, and was later apprehended. LT McCree reiterated that it is important to lock your cars, leave nothing of value in them, and leave nothing visible that might motivate a break-in. Hyundai and KIA vehicles have been targeted more than other makes. There was a rape at Dupont & Mt. Curve on 9/1/22 at 1:17AM. The encounter began as an attempted robbery with a firearm and progressed to sexual assault. The victim was unable to give a detailed description. LT McCree stated he would follow-up on whether the cameras we approved NRP funds for have been ordered. Temporary barricades and a temporary camera may be placed at Franklin & Colfax to alleviate traffic, LT McCree stated he would follow-up on these plans as well. The bench on Hennepin near Sebastian Joe’s was removed which reduced loitering on that street corner according to MPD and nearby residents.
Crime & Safety Update
Crime & Safety Chair Sue Westerman was not present and therefore did not provide an update. Crime and safety were covered during LT McCree’s update from the Minneapolis Police noted above.
CenterPoint and Minneapolis Public Works Update
Larry Matsumoto from Minneapolis Public Works provided an update on the planned resurfacing of the streets in the Douglas Ave North Residential Neighborhood in 2024 (the section of Lowry Hill north of Douglas Ave). The streets will be milled and overlayed to replace the existing asphalt. There will be an assessment to property owners in the Douglas Ave North area on the basis of total property square footage under the Uniform Assessment Rate (the 2022 rate is $0.22/square foot of property). The work will be low impact resulting in road closures of a few hours on two separate days. Prior to the resurfacing in 2023, the street corners along Douglas Ave and in the Douglas Ave North area will be replaced with ADA compliant street corners at no cost to residents. Larry suggested that residents flag their sprinkler heads to avoid damage.
Hannah Gullickson, a CenterPoint Communication Specialist, provided an update on planned replacement of gas meters in the Douglas Ave North area in Spring/Summer 2023. Indoor gas meters will be moved outdoors and replaced with a new meter. Service lines from the gas main may be replaced as well depending on age and other factors. Technicians will make appointments with property owners by knocking on doors and/or calling the number listed on the owner’s CenterPoint account. The meter moves will take 2-3 hours during which time the home’s gas supply will be turned off. Restoration of sidewalks and grass will occur within two weeks. Any questions can be directed to Hannah Gullickson reachable at hannah.gullickson@centerpointenergy.com or 612-321-5546. More information is available at <CenterPointEnergy.com/Construction>. Hannah suggested that residents flag their sprinkler heads to avoid damage.
Treasurer’s Report
Treasurer Sue Westerman was absent from the meeting and thus did not provide a report, however President Charles Scheiderer discussed the 2022 LHNA Budget approval at Sue’s request. Although the 2022 LHNA Budget was reviewed by the board and approved by the city months ago, the board never officially motioned to approve the 2022 LHNA Budget at a meeting.
Approval of 2022 LHNA Budget: John Lillehei motioned to approve the 2022 Budget which had previously been reviewed by the board at large over email. The motion was seconded by Fran Davis. There was no discussion and the 2022 LHNA Budget was approved unanimously.
Events Update
Events Chair Jackie Brown-Baylor gave an update. Fall in the Park Event: There will be a bluegrass trio in Thomas Lowry Park on Sunday October 16 from 2-4PM. Jackie thanked Tyler for the work he did to get the word out to the neighborhood. Jackie suggested that we buy sandwich boards that can be reused to increase attendance at events and draw in walkers. Jackie noted a special thank you to Friends of Thomas Lowry Park for their initiative to clean up the park prior to the music event. Jackie is working with East Isles to revive the Ice Skating Event at no cost.
Communications Update
Communications Chair Tyler Ecklund-Kouba provided an update. There is an advertisement going out in the Hill & Lake Press for November/December events and news. The Instagram account has been helpful in providing notifications about events.
Zoning
Zoning Chair Fran Davis gave an update. There are currently no zoning issues as far as Lisa Goodman’s office is aware of. The 1218 Summit Ave variance was not approved.
Neighborhood Engagement Plan 2023-2024
President Charles Scheiderer discussed our need to create a Neighborhood Engagement Plan if we want access to funds set aside specifically for “Engagement Initiatives.” In order to be granted these funds, the board will need to identify a group or groups of people to increase LHNA engagement with via Engagement Initiatives (aka events or projects that target the group in question). We do not need to specify the initiatives currently as it would be sufficient to identify a group (E.g. renters, seniors, youth, crime victims) and propose that we meet with them to discuss ideas. Using renters as an example, LHNA could target renters to determine how to get them to participate more in LHNA and gather information about why they do not participate more. We could put on an event or distribute flyers. Ideas were discussed, most notably renters, seniors, crime victims, new residents, and youth. President Scheiderer indicated he would send out a follow-up email as a proposal is due by 10/31/22.
Governance
Approval of September Board Meeting Minutes: Fran Davis moved for approval of the secretary’s minutes from the September 13, 2022 board meeting. The motion was seconded by George Montague and passed by unanimous vote. It was briefly discussed that the Hill & Lake Press plans to discontinue printed neighborhood association minutes in their monthly publication. In the future, the LHNA board minutes will be posted on our website www.lowryhillneighborhood.org.
President Charles Scheiderer indicated he would follow-up on the installation of the plaques at Thomas Lowry Park.
Other Issues
The board needs a Vice President who intends to become President next year. Chas is willing to discuss the job over (free) coffee or ice cream with anyone interested.
As there was no further business,
Meeting adjourned by President Charles Scheiderer at 8:45 PM by motion carried.
The next LHNA Board Meeting will be help on November 1, 2022 at 7PM.
Minutes by William Goodnow
Secretary, LHNA Board