Near West Side Neighborhood Association

Minutes from April 11, 2011, 7pm, Kirkwood Cafe

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1. Traffic Calming Committee – report from Wayne
–plan is in place for 2 islands and a crosswalk to be added at Rogers/7th! Hooray!
–there is an upcoming meeting planned to propose alternate side of the street parking on 7th St

2. Gardening Committee – report from Veda
–will be planting Indiana native perennials in 3 existing traffic circles, 2 on 6th/1 on 7th
–going to ask neighbors for flower/plant donations to help make the traffic circles beautiful
–more info to come on a plant exchange

3. Trees in the Hood – report from Burhan
–plan is to talk to someone in the city about working with them to plant more trees, especially fruit trees, in spaces in the neighborhood that could handle more trees (as assessed by SPEA grad students)

4. Elder Committee – report from Sophia
–would like to know if people have elders/retired on their block, so we can get in touch with them and help as needed
–upcoming event on the 3rd Friday in April at 11am
–please let Sophia know if you have any retired folks on your block that might like to be involved with this! Thanks.

5. Social Committee – report from Veda
–We’re going to have a spring neighborhood potluck party! Save the date – May 21, 4-7pm at Butler Park.
–2 bands will be at the party, Burhan’s group and Shahyar’s group

6. Presentation by Jacqui Bauer, the city’s sustainability coordinator
–Jacqui is interested in working with the neighborhood on various initiatives, including Hoosier to Hoosier, a community sale to encourage people that would otherwise throw away furniture when moving to donate it
–We might have a neighborhood yard sale on the same day, August 20, 2011
–Discussed new city bike/ped initiatives, some proposals might affect our neighborhood streets
–Please contact the sustainability committee chair, Sandi, sandinwsna@gmail.com, if you’re interested in being involved with sustainability issues!

7. Miscellaneous
–Sarah and Brenda discussed creating window cling stickers that will be given to businesses and community members when they pay the membership fee…will research the cost and design
–Membership fee will be slightly higher for local businesses
–Near West Side Neighborhood Assoc. wants to encourage donations from local businesses, and would be happy to put information about businesses in the newsletter
–We had plenty of volunteers for newsletter distribution, I’ll be sending out an email to everyone with the names of people who volunteered and which streets they’re responsible for soon.

Near West Side Neighborhood Association Meeting
Mar 7, 2011 7pm at Banneker Center

Introductions
-17 neighbors in attendance (2-3 came in later on)

History (Bill Baus)
–Bill gave a general overview of the history of the association. More on this will be available on the website.

Elections
Slate was nominated and confirmed as follows:
President: Veda Stanfield
Vice President: Bill Baus
Secretary: Sarah Kaiser
Treasurer: Burhan Elturan

Committee Chair Reports
–Veda asked for committee sign-ups
–we need someone to volunteer to be the neighborhood community activity chair! (This could also be known as the party organizer – someone to set up social activities.)

1. report on committee public gardening
–will talk to Vickie Provine about small and simple grant (under 1000) for herb and butterfly gardens for the community
–Neighbors interested in gardening are invited to sign up for this committee, co-chaired by Veda and Sarah.

2. traffic calming circles report
–Burhan gave this update, for Joan (the committee chair) who was absent.
–Committee decided that city already made promises, and we need to get what they promised us. (Which is another traffic circle that has not yet been installed near Fairview school.)
–We just need to push for this – that is the committee and neighborhood’s plan, to push the city to do what they promised.
–Neighbors who care about traffic calming should sign up for the committee!

3. trees for the neighborhood – Burhan chairs this committee.
–SPEA did a survey of our neighborhood, what kind of trees there are and what kind of trees there could be
–150 spots for trees in public areas, according to SPEA survey that Burhan passed around
–forestry services do bring saplings and give them away free…so that could be an option
–community orchard mission is to extend fruit trees to existing neighborhoods! something to think about, we could work with them
–Anyone interested in more trees for the neighborhood should sign up for the tree committee!

4. historic preservation & sustainability – Sandi is chair of both committees
–Jackie Bauer could come and speak at next meeting, or at a special event, about sustainability options for neighbors and ways we can improve our homes efficiency
–neighborhood sale the same day as Hoosier 2 Hoosier sale was mentioned as a possibility
–Green Drinks is another activity, David goes to all of them, it’s a social event for people interested in sustainability, 4th Wednesdays at Upland in the banquet building in the back. This month (March 23) Eleanor Olstrom is going to come and speak for Green Drinks, cheap beer, free food, $5 suggested donation
–Rogers St firehouse may be converted to an arts center of some kind (? per mayor’s state of the city address…we aren’t sure on the timeline)
–coca cola donated plastic barrels to use as rain barrels, so next month someone might come in to talk about it!
–If you’d like to join the historic preservation or sustainability committee, sign up with Sandi Clothier!

5. walking group and elder issues – sophia hauserman is chair
–2 different types of walking groups, one at a strolling pace and one at a quicker pace
–sophia is on commission on aging, and wants to be a resource for others
–we in the Near West Side are a “Naturally Occurring Retirement Community” (NORC) because it’s so walkable–wants the school to let us walk inside during the bad weather (?)
–another idea involves looking for elderly people who need assistance, using the walking group as a resource!
–mentioned importance of getting transient students involved in the organization
–To get involved with neighborhood walks or elder issues, sign up with Sophia Hauserman.

6. social committee – Alex Maverick was nominated as a chair
–this position is really for a party organizer, Robin has offered to help
–We could promote our neighborhood as part of the BEAD district
–had artist studio tours in the neighborhood to get peopl ein to the area in the past
–chicken tour was another idea
–To help plan social events and get to know your neighbors, join the social committee.

7. Robin Hobson is garden manager for Butler Park
–Butler park was accepted as community garden area
–gardens open April 16 for people to rent out plots, around 40-50 new plots available, all large spaces have been rented but there are lots of little spaces
–10×10 spaces available for $26 in-city, $40 for larger spaces
–mother hubbard’s cupboard will be doing programs, there is a greenhouse on site
–For those who don’t know, the farmer’s market starts next month on Tuesdays and Saturdays