GANA Meeting

Time: 6:30pm
Location: Kindly hosted by Georgia Schaich, 202 S. Hillsdale

Topics Discussed: meeting locations, meeting speakers & topics, neighborhood events, City of Bloomington grants and programs, City of Bloomington neighborhood projects, advertising homes for sale, service learning projects, and the Dekist garden project


Neighbors Present: Jelene Campbell, Valerie Cox, John and Jessica Gauss, Ann Kreilkamp, Kevin Polk, Kathy and Al Ruesink, Georgia Schaich, Jane Spearman, Kimberly Wagner, and Katie Zukof
Guests: Mike Satterfield (Bloomington City Council Representative - District III)

Meetings and Gatherings:
* Meeting Day and Time - GANA's monthly meeting and potluck will be the second Tuesday of each month.
* Meeting locations - possibilities include Sahara Mart (no heat and not yet set up for use), IU's Raintree House (Ann will talk with Dave Parkhurst), neighborhood homes, and returning to the church facility. There is concern that potlucks would not be allowed at some of these locations and many neighbors feel this is an important part of the meetings. This conversation will be continued at the March meeting.
* Future meeting speakers/topics - Georgia and Valerie started a list of possible speakers and topics. Possibilities include: The Bloomington/Monroe County Metropolitan Planning Organization (topic: Complete Streets Policy), Parking Services, Fire Department (topic: get to know your local), City of Bloomington (topic: get to know your elected officials), Planning Department (many topics possible), and the Commission on Sustainability.
* Non-meeting gatherings - Georgia and Valerie started a list of possible non-meeting gatherings, which would be in addition to the plant share, ice cream social, and other events that are already regularly planned; possible ideas include a renters party at the start of the IU school year and a fall party.

From the City:
* Small and Simple Grants - ideas discussed for this year's grant request include creating premanent yard signs for announcing GANA events, materials for the Dekist garden project, and the painting the signal boxes at neighborhood entrances (similar to downtown BEAD project). Kevin has written these grants requests for us for the past few years and would like to get others involved.
* Neighborhood Improvement Grants - ideas discussed for this type of grant were improvements to the path between Jefferson and Roosevelt, purchasing benches to place at key areas in the neighborhood, and creating signage/sculpture at neighborhood entrances. Volunteers are needed to work on this grant.
* Neighborhood Clean-Up Grant Program - GANA received this grant last year and it was incredibly well received. Volunteers are needed to work on this grant and to participate in the actual clean-up.
* Trees on 5th Street Dead End - Jane has been in contact with Lee Huss (COB Urban Forester), Justin Wykoof (COB Manager of Engineering Services) and Jeff Heerdink (COB Engineering Department Project Manager) regarding these trees and they report that the plan is to complete the plantings in April. Jane will continue to follow this project and will find out additional details, as requested, for the next meeting.
* 3rd Street Sidewalk - Joe Fish (COB Transportation Planner) will join the March neighborhood meeting to discuss the possibilities.
* Pick It Up - Kevin has bags for this; he will bring some to the next meeting.
* CONA - the February meeting will be brainstorming for ideas on the future direction of CONA and neighborhood involvements. The meeting will be February 18 at 7pm, City Hall. This is a great way to make your voice heard with the city, so don't miss out!
* Bypass Extension - Mike reports that there isn't much to report. He is getting no real answers and plans keep changing. Mike will update us if and when more information is available.
* Blooming Neighborhood Awards - nominations are due April 24th
* Vickie Provine(HAND) and Nate Nickels (COB Planning) will join for our April meeting to discuss our neighborhood plan.

Neighborhood Association Updates:
* Timeline - Georgia is working on a neighborhood timeline, this will include meeting dates, social events, volunteer opportunities, and other regularly occuring neighborhood events.
* By-laws - Georgia reported that our by-laws haven't been updated since the early
'80s and neighborhood direction has changed since then. Part of this process is reviewing other neighborhood's by-laws and our own purpose statements.
* Green Acres Real Estate - Jane is working on a project to get neighborhood real estate info out to interested owners. We also discussed ways to get the word out about the benefits of living in Green Acres. Shirley Bushey (Green Acres Neighbor and HT columnist) and Carol Knause (HT columnist)are both good contacts for this. One of the homes for rent is being adverstised as a great party home, which seems contrary to several GANA goals. Georgia spoke with Tim Mayer (City Council At-Large Representative) about this issue. Tim reports that this wording is okay by City Legal and suggests that GANA speak with the homeowner about the concerns as well as the stress that this type of activity would put on the property; Georgia is planning on doing this. Enforcement of parking restrictions and Quiet Nights Ordinances are also able to assit neighbors if this home were to be a problem.

Project Updates:
* Service Learning/Partnering with IU - Kevin shared updates from recent meetings with IU contacts and reported that there are many oppotuntities for engaging with IU students including student interns, living learning centers, and service learning courses.
* Dekist Garden - the permaculture project begins March 28th and it still needs a name. The Dekist committee will meet seperately to focus on naming the garden and spreading the word to other interested people/groups.

NEXT MEETING AND POTLUCK: Tuesday, March 10th at 6:30pm; Al & Kathy Ruesink's home E. 5th Street

Respectfully submitted by me