HAND staff: Rental Issues

GANA Speaker Series (no regular meeting)
Wednesday, October 25, 2006, 7:00 – 8:30 p.m.
First Christian Church on 3rd Street

TOPIC: RENTAL ISSUES Ordinances and Compliance Procedures for Over-occupancy, Weeds and Trash.
With Carol Jack, Lisa Abbott, and Vickie Provine of the city office of Housing and Neighborhood Development (HAND)

Seventeen people present, including several from Elm Heights and East Side Neighborhood Associations

Summary
Carol Jack, the HAND Compliance Officer, described the ordinances for both over-occupancy and weeds and trash, detailing the numbers of citations between August 1 and October 25, this year. Vickie Provine stressed the importance of communication, both between neighbors and between neighborhood associations and city offices. Carol, Vickie and Lisa, the Director of HAND, those took questions and those present got into a vigorous discussion.

The Process
This was a meeting with a lot of technical information. Please bear with me, as it is all interesting and gives food for thought.

Compliance Officer Carol Jack began by showing us a map of Bloomington with four color-coded zones. Five HAND people rotate through these zones every three months, one person per zone, with the fifth person rotating off. Between August 1 and October 25,388 tickets were issued for trash, and 116 tickets for weeds. Twenty-four complaints were filed for over-occupancy, with eight determined not valid and sixteen ongoing.

As of 1985, over-occupancy zoning changed from five to three unrelated persons (and any dependents), except for grandfathered rental units, which continue to have a five-occupant limit, even if the ownership of the structure changes hands. The occupancy limit for a particular rental unit is governed by the zoning ordinance and the property maintenance codes (based on the number of square feet of bedrooms), and is supposed to be posted somewhere inside the house. If the occupancy load on the lease is three people, then the tenants can purchase parking permits for three cars plus one car for visitors.

The procedure to determine over-occupancy can be long, involved and difficult to prove. HAND staff first needs to interview the tenants, and may have to make six or seven visits to the home before they even find anyone there. Tenants almost always answer the questions, though sometimes the landlord has coached the renters as to what questions HAND will ask.

HAND then sends a letter to the landlord asking for a copy of the lease and the occupancy load. If HAND determines that there are too many people living in a rental unit, and the situation is not corrected, HAND requests permission from the Board of Public Works to go on to the property to abate the situation. If still not corrected, a memo is sent to the Director of HAND (Lisa Abbott), who then passes it on to the city for suit against both landlord and tenants in small claims court. As of January 1, 2007, the fine for a first offence will be $2500 and for a second offence $7500.

There are 21,562 registered rental units within city limits. Each unit is inspected for conformity to the property maintenance code once every three, four or five years. This year 1,592 inspections have been done to date.

Triggers for complaints are usually parties, trash, cars and noise. Complaints can be made anonymously, though if you want to know the result, then you need to leave your name, which does then enter the system.

Though some long-term landlords coach renters, new landlords are not usually a problem, and some old ones have been fined enough that they’ve stopped renting to too many people.

In terms of defining over-occupancy, if someone is living in a place and not on the deed and not a dependent, then even if that person is not paying rent, that place is still counted as a rental and must be registered. In some neighborhoods 50% of new sales are to parents who buy them for their college age kids; these are also considered rentals and must be registered. It costs $62 to register a rental, and that money goes for an inspection for the permit plus one re-inspection. It’s easier to prove a rental is unregistered than to prove it over-occupied.

The discussion that followed brought up a host of examples of problems relating to compliance with these ordinances. For example, one person in Green Acres counted 32 cars at the end of Roosevelt and Clark one weekend. The problem is compounded by the fact that parking is not enforced on weekends.

Another Green Acres resident said that this semester the rental house next door to him has loud parties every Friday and Saturday nights that can last until 5 A.M. So far not even a call to the police has produced results.

Several suggestions were made, all of which involved the point that Vickie Provine stressed in her presentation. Communicate! Lots of suggestions from participants, to wit:

• Meet your new neighbors when they move in, hand them the city regulations on quiet nights, trash days, etc. Welcome them to the neighborhood! They may not have any idea that they are actually in a neighborhood where people that don’t go to college actually live until you let them know. Give them a gift.
• Ask a young neighbor to help you with a small task, with the idea that everybody loves to feel useful.
• Invite them to neighborhood meetings and events.
• When a loud party goes on too long, walk over there in your pajamas! One man even takes his pillow, asks "Can I sleep here, since I can’t sleep at home . . ."
• Do a neighborhood intervention in the middle of the night—all of you at their door in pajamas!

The point is with all of these ways of dealing with parties—it helps to establish communication with students. Once we resort to the police, we’ve lost the chance for creating a greater sense of neighborliness in the place we live.

Though situations involving how to work with the wild, unfocussed energy of student renters occupied most of the discussion, some time was also spent on the issue of "naturalized" lawns. In Lisa Abbott’s opinion, if you want to have grass over eight inches high, or a messy yard, then go live in the country rather than the city. This was countered by the idea that some in Green Acres would like to work with nature in a way that involves less grass and more gardening—with a corresponding drop in noise and fumes from gas mowers.

All HAND staff agreed that people take the state of their lawns very personally, and said they have been threatened by people who didn’t want anyone telling them what to do with their property!

According to Lisa Abbott, a "naturalized" lawn should look intentional and planned, not just trashy and messy. But of course one person’s mess may be another person’s permaculture garden.

In order to address this issue the city will soon launch a pilot project, details still to be worked out. The thrust of it: if you wish to have a naturalized lawn you will need to contact HAND or the Environmental Commission and let them know your intent.

There was lots more, but hopefully at least this information can help us work constructively with renters and landlords.

Thanks to HAND staff for agreeing to spend the evening with us. One final note: they and other city officials are there for us if we need them. Ideally however, they are the court of last resort, rarely needed if we can communicate with each other in a truly neighborly fashion.

Ann Kreilkamp GANA scribe

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Ice Cream Party

GANA Ice Cream Party
2-4 p.m., August 5, 2006
213 S. Bryan

Our “second annual” ice cream social drew at least 50 people, and what struck Georgia Schaich, who was there the whole time, signing people in and talking with whoever sat next to her, was the variety. Life-long residents, IU students, young families, adult children and grandchildren of long-time residents — all of us swirling about or sitting on lawn chairs with our cups of ice cream softened in the heat.

Georgia and I felt particularly happy to see students arrive, and mingle, and discover that they live in a location that is not just a a temporary dive from which they commute to and from classes, but one that is beginning to remember itself as an old-fashioned neighborhood and beginning to envision itself long-term as a sustainable village.

Actually, we were lucky; the heat wasn’t all that bad that day, and in the shade of Tom and Charlotte Zietlow’s side yard next to their large gracious, two-story house I could almost imagine us as at a garden party in the south. Or, taking a slightly different angle of view, the occasion felt like an extended family reunion, with people of different ages, interests, occupations, and so on, some of whom know each other well, some don’t; some of whom met for the first time at our Solstice party six weeks earlier, others regulars at GANA meetings.

Lots of us greet each other by name now, genuinely eager to say hello, and catch up on each other’s lives. Nathan Harman and Maggie Jesseph came with their quiet, vibrant little one, Laurelynn, as they have brought her to monthly GANA meetings since her birth four months ago — and she, with electric black hair and startled, intense, calm gaze, was passed from hand to hand, with us old ones amazed, as usual, at just how fast these young ones grow.

At around three o’clock, we announced that the new GANA tee-shirts, piled on the table next to the ice cream, were FREE — so of course, there was a general movement in that direction, sticky fingers pawing through small, medium, large, and extra-large.

I didn’t stay for the whole event, but was there long enough to note that, in comparison to last year’s first ice cream social, I sense an increased level of relaxation in each other's company that reflects our increasing sense of connectedness. I hope there will be a “third annual” — and, if we are to continue the tradition, it will depend on whether or not we win next year’s “Two Scoop Salute” contest from Edy’s Ice Cream. (Thank you Edy!) Last year, Diane Dormant penned the winning essay; this year, we basked in Charlotte Zietlow’s eloquence (thank you Charlotte!), and next year? Who will rise to the occasion, for we certainly like the ice cream, and the company, not to mention being the-neighborhood-that-won-the-prize-two-times-in-a-row on a hot, humid, leafy, summer Indiana day.

Ann Kreilkamp
GANA scribe

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GANA Meeting Minutes

GANA (Green Acres Neighborhood Association) Meeting
7/26/06, 7-8:30 p.m.
First United Church on 3rd St.

Attending
Betty Byrne, Stanley Routon, Noriko Hara, Ginny Kleindorfer, Julia Jackson, Jelene Campbell, Rob Turner, Kathy Ruesink, Marian Shaaban, Kadhim Shaaban, John Gaus, Jessica Gaus, Georgia Schaich, Nathan Harman, Maggie Jesseph, Ann Kreilkamp

Agenda
• Adopt-A-Sign
• Ice Cream Social update
• GANA tee-shirt update
• Garage Sale update
• CERT (Community Emergency Response Team)
• GANA brochure
• Block captain update
• Neighborhood Plan with City update
• Fire Extinguishers
• 3rd and Atwater Corridor

Summary
With Georgia Schaich as meeting chair, we went through the whole agenda list quickly until we got to the agenda item called “fire extinguishers,” when we entered a rousing discussion that spilled over to the final agenda item as well. See below:

The Process
Adopt-A-Sign: Ann Kreilkamp suggested that we divvy up the responsibility for putting out and taking up the signs for our monthly meetings and other events. (You find them at intersections from the day before to the day after a GANA event.) I think it was Nathan Harman who then suggested that we divvy the signs up among the various folks who come to meetings, so that for each event they can be responsible for putting out their sign on their block and taking it up again. Great idea! We passed around a sign-up sheet and these people did: Stan Routon, Julia Jackson, Jelene Campbell, and Nathan Harman. (Come on folks! We’re going to need more people to adopt a sign, since there are 17 of them. Anybody interested? If so, please email me.)

Ice Cream Social (aka Two Scoop Salute): Ann reported for Charlotte Zietlov, who was attending another meeting. The party is on for August 5, between 2 and 4 p.m. in Charlotte’s driveway at 213 S. Bryan. She will make cookies, and will contact those who signed up to help. So come one and all, and bring your friends too, for our second annual summer ice cream social.

GANA tee-shirts: still not here! The internet company from whom Georgia ordered them keeps promising quick delivery, and in fact they were supposed to be here in time for this meeting.

Garage Sale: Julia Jackson reported that it will take place some Saturday in September, but not in a central location. Instead, each household will put their stuff out in front of where they live throughout the neighborhood. Jelene Campbell suggested that we follow the example of another Bloomington neighborhood, and hand out maps of the neighborhood with locations of our various garage sales. Great idea!

CERT: Green Acres is going to be the first Bloomingtion neighborhood to have a CERT-trained team prepared to instantly respond in the event of a community emergency. (For more on the importance of the training and what it involves, see Mark Brostoff’s talk in the Speaker Series Report for June, 2006, GANA website archives). This training has been tentatively scheduled to take place over two weekends, October 21- 22 and November 4-5. Several people objected to Sunday morning, since they go to church, so Georgia will communicate that to the Mark Brostoff, the CERT team organizer. We need ten people from this neighborhood to sign up. So far the list includes Rob Turner, Lois Sabo-Skelton, Brian Boyer, Georgia Schaich, Julia Jackson, Betty Byrne, John Gaus and Ann Kreilkamp. If I’ve forgotten anybody, please let me know; and let me know if you now wish to join the team and take the training.

Block Captains: Georgia has been busy moving this project forward, as she realizes its importance for the continued vitality and growth of GANA. She has made list of 19 short blocks in the eastern half of the neighborhood (where, at least at this point, most GANA participants live), has made phone calls to people who live on those blocks, and so far she has signed up 12 block captains who have agreed to be the eyes and ears and voice of their little neighborhood parcel. They will be the ones to let their immediate neighbors know what’s going on with GANA, and will seek input from them for GANA. The block captains have agreed to meet at 7 p.m. next Tuesday, August 1, at Georgia’s house, 202 South Hillsdale. They include Kim Fernandez, Kathy Ruesink, Nathan Harman and Maggie Jessephs, Marian Shaaban, Timi Sharkey, Jelene Campbell, Betty Bryne, Ann Kreilkamp, Georgia Schaich, Phil Askew and Noriko Hara, Betty Hardy, and Ed and Irene Hartke. Please be there, all you block captains! Georgia was thrilled to tell us that we already have 179 houses covered from the 12 who have signed up. That’s almost half of Green Acres.

Neighborhood Plan with City (for more info this, see archived meeting reports for May and June on the website): We set tentative dates. The first meeting will be on September 9, from 1 to 4 p.m., when we will walk the neighborhood together and then meet at the firehouse on 3rd street to talk about when we’ve seen and what we need. The other dates are all evenings, from 7 to 9 p.m., hopefully at the First United Church, as follows: September 27 (Tuesday), October 18 (Wednesday), November 8 (Wednesday) and December 5 (Tuesday). If you’re interested in helping to plan the future of Green Acres, then please participate in at least some of these meetings.

Fire extinguishers: Nathan brought up the idea of having Corson Fire and Safety (the only remaining fire extinguisher service outfit in town) come to the neighborhood and check our extinguishers for a reduced fee. (Fire extinguishers are supposed to be checked on a yearly basis, and then every five or six years serviced more thoroughly.) It sounded like a great idea, until Kadhim Shaaban interjected an even better one. Actually, he said, we can check them ourselves, so no need to pay anything! He spoke at length about what it takes to check one (it’s not difficult, though complicated to explain here), and he will bring his extinguisher to the August meeting to show us how. So if you want your fire extinguisher to be part of that meeting, bring it with you.

3rd and Atwater Corridor: Georgia said that the neighborhood associations of Elm Heights, East Side and Bryan Park have asked us to join them in solidarity to reject all nine plans that have been put forth by the Indianapolis consultant to the city regarding how to deal with the worsening traffic congestion on these two streets. (See the Herald-Times last week for a big report on the packed meeting at the City Council chambers where most speakers roundly criticized the whole endeavor as way too car-oriented, unsustainable, and terrible for bikers, walkers, and the neighborhoods affected.) We spent some time discussing this whole subject, but since there were only a few of us at that meeting, more of us need to become familiar with the plans. You can do that by going to city website www.bloomington.gov, click on Planning Department, then Public Works Projects. The 3rd and Atwater Project will then come up, so you can see for yourself and hopefully enter your comments in the space provided there. However, just what it would mean to “join” other neighborhoods, we don’t really know. Would we write a letter from the neighborhood association — or what?

Finally, Kadhim and John Gaus briefly championed the idea of re-opening 7th street to go through, which they say would lessen the pressure on both 10th street and 3rd street.

By the way, if you gave any in-kind contributions to GANA during this year (time, talent, stuff, food, etc.), then please let Georgia know before August 10 so she can complete her documentation for the Small and Simple Grant.

The meeting adjourned a full half hour later than usual, but a few hardy souls did stick around to watch the DVD that Maggie Jesseph and Nathan brought to educate us on why it is so important to nourish a sense of community in our neighborhoods. “The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil” tells the story of how the Cuban people responded when the Soviet oil spigots turned off in 1990 and forced an immediate withdrawal from that island’s addiction to oil for food, transportation, and so on. Now that the phrase “peak oil”(and the disruptions it will undoubtedly cause) is finally seeping into our national awareness, this movie is a very timely, cautionary, and yet beautiful and hopeful tale. The DVD is available for rental at the county library. See it. It motivates.

Please note my new email address: ann.k1942@sbcglobal.net

Ann Kreilkamp
GANA scribe

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GANA Meeting Minutes

GANA (Green Acres Neighborhood Association) Meeting
6/28/06, 7-8 p.m.
First United Church on 3rd St.

Attending
Betty Byrne, Stanley Routon, Noriko Hara, Susie Velasquez, Judy Serebnick, Julia Jackson, Timi Sharkey, Georgia Schaich, John E. Gaus, Jessica Gaus, Nathan Harman, Maggie Jesseph, Kim Fernandez, Ann Kreilkamp

Agenda

• Solstice Party wrap-up
• Set date for first meeting with Planning Department
• What’s next for sustainability
• New GANA brochure
• Tamantha Sharkey request for small business in home
• Garage sale update
• Ice cream party update
• Block captains
• History of neighborhood project
• CONA update
• Quiet Nights

Summary
With Georgia Schaich as meeting chair, we went through the whole agenda list quickly, made a number of decisions, and some headway on ongoing concerns. See below:

The Process
SOLSTICE EVENT: everybody agreed it was a great success, is glad we did it, and especially happy to see so many children there.

PLANNING MEETING DATE: We decided on Saturday, September 9, for the first of six meetings with the Planning Department to help us plan the future of Green Acres. On this day we will assess our needs, in part by walking the neighborhood to help identify what we like and what we’d like to see more of.

SUSTAINABILITY: Ann Kreilkamp reported that Lois Sabo- Skelton, who was ill the day of the Solstice party, felt thrilled when she heard the parade drums and horn coming down the street. She said that the passing parade made her feel “safe,” and that Green Acres “once again feels like a real neighborhood.” She also mentioned that for the past year on walks with her dog Sammy she has noticed that people are more friendly (unlike before, she said, when they “seemed suspicious of each other”)—that she can feel the energy of the neighborhood changing. Ann showed her the visual presentation of the permaculture visioning process (these materials were laid out on a table at this and the May meeting), and she grew so excited that she “wants to make it part of the permanent record of the city”—and will see that it’s introduced at a city council meeting. Plus, she knows a documentary film maker whom she will get to film that presentation with the aim to document the process over the next few years as we work towards transforming Green Acres into a sustainable village. Also, the Center for Sustainable Living has asked Green Acres to make a sustainability presentation at the Simple Living Fair in October (Alert: I found out that this event date had changed from September to October when I got home from our GANA meeting.)

GANA BROCHURE: Tim Mayer has volunteered to design our new GANA brochure. Julia Jackson, Timi Sharkey, Kim Fernandez, and Ann Kreilkamp signed on to brainstorm the content for this brochure.

TAMANTHA SHARKEY HOME BUSINESS REQUEST: Timi Sharkey, a single mother with four children who lives on 8th Street, is a hair dresser who wants to put in a single chair for a home hair styling business in her basement. Her clients will be by appointment only, will park in her driveway, and she's thinking about offering a discount day for seniors, especially those who walk around the neighborhood! We were all solidly behind her request, noting that we support single moms who wish to work at home, that the business will not bring in a lot of traffic, and that home businesses are in line with sustainability goals to have people work and live in their own neighborhoods. Ann Kreilkamp agreed to write a letter of support on behalf of GANA to the city .

GARAGE SALE UPDATE: Julia Jackson heads this committee for a neighborhood garage sale sometime in September, for neighbors to sell their stuff out of their own front yards. So get ready! You've got two months to clean out those closets and basements!

ICE CREAM PARTY: Our second “Two Scoop Salute” winning entry to Edy’s Ice Cream contest—thanks to Charlotte Zietlow’s no-doubt-eloquent essay—will be held on Charlotte’s South Bryan Street driveway on August 5th. Details still in the works. Maggie Jesseph, Julia Jackson, Jessica Gaus, Timi Sharkey, and (maybe) Stanley Routon all signed on to help. We decided that we will again bring food to this event to donate to the Hoosier Food Bank. Last year our $500-worth donation was much appreciated.

BLOCK CAPTAINS: Georgia keeps promoting this idea, vital to create infrastructure for the continued growth and vitality of our neighborhood association. However, the idea has been slow to catch on. She went over some of the block captain’s responsibilities, and they include the following: get to know neighbors on your block; alert those who don’t have email to any neighborhood events and other important information; come with block report to monthly GANA meetings and report on block; report needed info to and from your block to GANA. (In other words, become the (benevolent) “gossip” of your block! (The now maligned word “gossip” comes from the Middle English “godsib, “ or “god-sib” (sib as in sibling, kinsman), and meant “godparent”— one who looks after another!) Kim Fernandez (Edwards Row) and Betty Byrne (200 to 100 South Overhill Street) signed up as the first two block captains of Green Acres! Thank you Kim and Betty! And may there be many, many more. Please email Georgia (gschaich@yahoo.com) if you wish to take on this responsibility and connect more fully with your nearby neighbors.

NEIGHBORHOOD HISTORY PROJECT: Georgia brought up this idea, something that Prospect Hill, among other neighborhoods has done. Is there anyone who wants to take on this project? You could begin by researching, through county records, the ownership of your own home. It would be a wonderful way for all of us to begin to connect with the roots of our neighborhood. (Suzie Velasquez, a new person to the group, remembers moving to a little house on 8th Street when it was surrounded by fields. Stanley Routon, who has lived on Edwards Row for 50 years, remembers when you could see fields all the way to K-Mart—and there was no K-Mart!)

CONA (Council of Neighborhood Associations) REPORT: Georgia attended the latest CONA meeting and was saddened to see that only four of 37 possible Bloomington neighborhoods attended. CONA wants to get back on its feet, so that neighborhoods can continue to support and inspire each other with what they are each doing. Anyone want to be our CONA representative, and attend once-monthly meetings? A great way to network with others oriented towards encouraging vital and secure communities within the larger Bloomington umbrella.

QUIET NIGHTS: Once again, in September, the IUSA (IU Student Association) will leaflet all neighborhoods with the Quiet Night rules (11 p.m. week nights, 1 a.m. weekends), hopefully, with GANA volunteers to help in Green Acres. More later.

We adjourned at 8 p.m., for refreshments prior to our Speaker, Mark Brostoff of the Community Emergency Response Team.

Next Meeting
(last Wednesday of each month): July 26.

Happy summer!

Ann Kreilkamp
GANA scribe

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Summer Solstice Party Report

4 p.m – 7 p.m. (actually, more like 8:30 p.m.)
East end of 7th Street

Photo by Georgia Schaich

Dear neighbors,

As usual, with any first-time event, planning for our first Summer Solstice party was filled with “what ifs.” What if nobody comes? What if it rains? What if it’s too hot? What if everybody’s out of town? What if they don’t find out about it? And on and on. Not that we voiced our fears that audibly, but they did simmer sotto voce—at least my mind.

Georgia Schaich and Stefano Conard and their committee are to be congratulated for their meticulous planning—two workshops to make decorations, hand-outs for 250 houses, signs on 20 Green Acre intersections, Jiangmei Wu’s new Green Acres logo on three new banners, and so on and on—they, and we, pulled it off! And we can thank Lady Luck, who had the state of Indiana come and mow the long weeds down on the morning of the very day that Stefano was going to load up his big mower way out in the country and haul it into town; and who scheduled a terrific thunderstorm that didn’t release until exactly the minute we finished cleaning up.

All in all, somewhere between 50 and 60 people came for all or part of the event, including some friends of Green Acres residents and—our fondest wish!—many, many children. And it was hot, as hot and humid as we had hoped it wouldn’t be. But it didn’t seem to matter; trees on the state-owned empty lot at the east end of 7th street provided plenty of shade. Amazingly, nor did it matter that this lot abuts the bypass. Greenery shielded us from its visual impact, and, as for the car noise, one person remarked, “just think of it as the ocean.”

As people walked towards the party area, they were greeted by wonderful music from Rob Turner and two other musicians and by “GANA babies” that lined both sides of the street (merry little critters atop sticks made of old CD’s that glinted in the sun, straggly, multicolored yarn, sprouts of orange curled paper, and other sundry recyclables). As each entered and signed in, he or she was invited to make a wish to string onto the Wishing Tree. “Public? Or private?” We asked, pointing to a large banner type piece of paper or a tiny slip of paper to be rolled and inserted into a tiny bottle. Most people chose a private wish. A few declined altogether, one with the remark, “If I got started I’d never stop!…”

The Center for Sustainable Living had an informational table there presided over by Lucille Bertuccio, Gina Weir and her son Sam. Next door stood the table for the Monroe County Citizen Corps Council, manned by Mark Brostoff and an I.U. intern, Kevin Caress.

Sylvia Von Bruggen stood under the shade of the largest tree with a table full of recycled odds and ends for kids to decorate flags and their bikes. Some of us put ivy garlands in our hair. A ping pong table set up for food began to groan under the weight of cole slaw, potato salad, hot dogs, fixings for “schmores,” fruit, several pies (including one from Green Acres mulberries — edible GANA!), plus drinks and chips. (Some of this food came thanks to our Small and Simple Grant from the city.)

Photo by Georgia Schaich

Stefano had cleared a circle and stacked wood for an open fire, and around 5 p.m. he lit the fire, so that it would reduce to glowing coals by the time we returned from our parade (Val Fernandez stayed back to tend the fire).

And what a parade! Led by children holding the Green Acres logo banners aloft and heralded by Nathan Harman’s incredible, booming marching band and Todd Davison’s clarion trumpet calls, we paraded with flags on foot and with bikes up 7th street to Hillsdale, over to 5th, then looped back to Overhill and 7th. A short haul, but then there were all the children, some of them carried, others wobbly on bikes, still others recalcitrant—so it took awhile.

By the time we returned the Sun was not so hot, and we all took turns with sticks at the fire with our hot dogs. Lots of visiting ensued, friends greeting friends and others meeting for the first time.

As the meal wound down, Georgia asked children to draw names for the door prizes that had been donated by local area businesses, making the five winners surprised and happy. Rob Turner, who received a fire extinguisher (!) as his prize noted in an email later, “First door prize I have ever won!”

As the Sun descended into the west, and while still licking sticky fingers from schmores, we were called to gather around the Wishing Tree. Spontaneously, the group formed a circle and held hands. Ann Kreilkamp talked about the ancient significance of Summer Solstice as a time of manifestation and renewal, where the Sun, the giver of life on our planet, stands still in the sky at its northernmost point, prior to turning back to the south. Summer Solstice as the point of most illumination, the longest day and shortest night. She compared the Wishing Tree and its hanging wishes to our neighborhood which joins earth to sky and supports us all, “no matter how weird we may be!” Then, to the beat of Nathan’s drum and a chant to thank the Earth and the Sun she led us in a spiral dance to the center of the tree, ducking under the branches with their waving public wishes and tinkling tiny private bottled wishes.

Four people had written out the larger, visible, public wishes. We read them aloud:

I wish that…

• “Humans learn to live sustainably and share the earth with other people and other species.”

• “GANA will continue to grow and come alive, and be an amazing prototype of a sustainable community within a sustainable community… A source of inspiration for other communities!”

• “For the interaction of many-a-neighbor through the exchange of fruit and other Green Acres local edibles. May our days be sweet.”

And finally…

• “May all beings be happy and create the causes for HAPPINESS.”

A fitting finale to a great GANA party—which however, didn’t end, but instead continued, people drawing up chairs in a circle to listen to Nathan and his Dad (who have been playing music together since Nathan was ten years old) drum and strum in such total harmony that they seemed like one being.

(By the way, your secret is safe. As the party wound down, all the wishes were cut off the tree and buried in an undisclosed Green Acres location.)

Be merry!

Ann Kreilkamp
GANA scribe

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Backyard Wildlife Habitat

GANA Speaker Series
Lucille Bertuccio
Director of Bloomington's Center for Sustainable
Living 8:00 – 9:15 p.m., May 31, 2006
(after our monthly meeting, see meeting report)

Summary
Lucille introduced us to the concept of a "Backyard Wildlife Habitat" and its benefits.

The Process
The Center for Sustainable Living has endorsed the National Wildlife Federation concept of wildlife habitats in people's yards as a part of a nationwide movement to encourage natural surroundings for birds and butterflies. At this point, the city of Bloomington itself has been registered but not certified as a wildlife habitat. So far, 140 Bloomington homes have had their yards certified, and we need 60 more for the 200 yards required for Bloomington to be officially certified. To get certified, backyards must provide food, water, shelter, and places for birds and butterflies to raise their young.

The certification process is not difficult. See www.nwf.org/backyardwildlifehabitat/

Lucille presented a number of slides to show what backyard habitats can look like, and described their benefits to birds and butterflies. Two keys:

• Work with different levels (canopy trees, understory trees, bushes and shrubs, plants, moss)—so that the critters can have a diversity of places to shelter and nourish themselves.
• Work with native plants that are adapted to this environment (including its insects). This eliminates the need for water, chemical fertilizer and pesticides.

The point is, she says, "we need to work with nature rather than against her."And "when we increase biodiversity, we heal the fabric of nature." Monocultures, for example, large green lawns with but a single tree, are wastelands to wild creatures, take up huge amounts of resources (including gas for terrifically polluting lawnmowers), and poison the earth’s soil, air and water supply. Instead, Lucille says, rather than call it a "weedy lawn," rename it "flowery mead"!

Lucille brought up a number of details that few of us know. Like the fact that certain creatures require a single plant for a certain function: for example, the zebra swallowtail butterfly eats only the paw paw leaves and the monarch butterfly larvae can only live on the swamp milkweed. So it’s good to know which native plants are necessary if you want to attract certain species of butterfly.

Most birds need cavities or holes to raise their young. So build birdhouses (which need to be species-specific), and keep those old trees with holes in them. Also, if you want birds, then don’t deadhead your plants, as birds eat their seeds.

Lucille told us of packets of seedlings sold by the Department of Natural Resources specially designed to attract certain species. (Google DNR to get more info on these inexpensive packets that neighbors of which could share the cost: 50 each of 4 species of your choice, all for $90. Nathan Harmon agreed to spearhead this idea in Green Acres.)

In conclusion, Lucille told us that as time goes on, fewer and fewer butterflies have been visiting her yard. She implored us to help her own backyard habitat by creating habitats in Green Acres so that the butterflies won’t have as far to fly from one nourishing spot to another.

Ann Kreilkamp
GANA scribe

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GANA Meeting Minutes

Photo by Georgia Schaich

GANA (Green Acres Neighborhood Association) Meeting
5/31/06, 7 – 8 p.m.
First United Church on 3rd St.

Attending
Betty Byrne, Lucille Bertuccio, Tim Mayer, Sue Mayer, Jan Ley, Becky Hrisomalos, Frank Hrisomalos, John Stuckey, Peggy Stuckey, Kathy Ruesink, Noriko Hara, Phil Eskew, Stefano Conard, Diane Dormant, Nathan Harmon, Maggie Jessephs, Georgia Schaich, Kadhim Shabaan, Marion Shaaban, Kim Fernandez, Maggie Sullivan, Rachel Johnson, Vicky Provine, Laura Jesseph, Sylvia Van Bruggen, Ann Kreilkamp

Agenda
• New GANA logo
• Summer Solstice Event Update
• Sustainability Proposals
• City’s intro to Green Acres Neighborhood Plan Report
• Intro to Green Acres Permaculture Vision

Summary
We viewed the new GANA logo and decided to purchase signs. Stefano Conard reported on pre-event workshops for the upcoming Summer Solstice Festival. HAND and Planning Department officials conveyed the city’s framework for the collaborative neighborhood planning process. Ann Kreilkamp and Sylvia Van Bruggen gave a quick visual presentation of a short- and long-term permacultural vision for Green Acres.

The Process
This meeting felt very energetic, partly due to the larger-than-usual number of people present, and partly, I feel, to our deep satisfaction at the clear, warm feelings and beautiful design of the new Green Acres logo. Over the meeting hour the momentum seemed to build, so that by the time of the final agenda item, when we viewed a presentation for a possible long-range permacultural vision for Green Acres, we seemed to have collectively entered an unusually expansive atmosphere where we could more fully embrace the idea of devoting our time, talent and skills in various projects to further build and enhance community in our little corner of the world.

Logo: Georgia Schaich, who facilitated the meeting, introduced the beautiful new logo created by Green Acres graphic artist Jiangmei Wu with Julia Jackson. Our Small and Simple Grant money will pay for logo banners as well as logo signs with event notices to be placed at key neighborhood intersections before events.

Summer Solstice Festival Report: Stefano Conard and Georgia reported on the first pre-event workshop, where we made little “GANA babies” to decorate the festival grounds for our parade and potluck July 17th. Another workshop to finish the job is scheduled for next Wednesday, June 7. (So if you want to get wild and creative with your neighbors and assemble hilarious objects out of recycled materials, let us know!) Nathan Harmon and Rob Turner will coordinate and provide music for the parade and dinner afterwards. We will also have tables to make masks, create garland crowns, decorate flags and bikes, plus a “wishing ceremony”—for children of all ages!

Sustainability Proposals: Adam Lowe and Stefano both came up with sustainability proposals to send to the Sustainability Commission (due in June 2). Adam’s proposal, still in the idea stage, is to retrofit a Green Acres home for green design to be sold to a single mother. Stefano’s proposal—to build solar/greenhouse additions to three Green Acres homes—is more detailed, and he read it to the group. This proposal includes a pledge by Worm’s Way for a 40% discount on all materials for a hydroponic greenhouse system and will cost approximately $989 per greenhouse. (If anyone else has a sustainability idea, email sustain@bloomington.in.gov or drop your idea off at Showers (401 N. Morton St.), the officer of the mayor.)

Neighborhood Plan Report: Vicky Provine of HAND and Rachel Johnson of the Planning Department presented a time framework that they hope to use to work with us to prioritize our values and devise strategies to implement a long-range vision for Green Acres. The process will begin in September, take about six months and involve six meetings, with a formal or informal presentation and public release of the plan at the end. Any Green Acres resident or stakeholder is invited to participate. The planning documents for McDoel, Broadview and Prospect Hill neighborhoods are on file at the library, and can be accessed through the www.blooming.in.gov site.

Permaculture Design for Green Acres: Ann and Sylvia Von Bruggen attended their final week of a two-week Introduction to Permaculture course held at McCormick State Park where they and Kevin Polk (who will move to Green Acres in August) spent five days in intense walks and conversation to envision a long-term sustainable future for Green Acres that transforms it from a suburban neighborhood into a vital village that is at least in part self-sufficient and very productive, both in terms of human and natural values. In order not to get bogged down, the three participants in this thought-experiment decided to give themselves permission to act as if there were no obstacles, that whatever they wanted they could have. The results were shown to the group at our meeting in the form of a giant paper wheel that encompassed a number of sectors (e.g., community values, food production, transportation, education, etc.) and ranged in rings outwards from short to near to long-term goals.

Ann and Sylvia brought up one example to show the process. Agreeing that one of the things that Green Acres lacks is places for neighbors to meet, they came up with the idea of “pocket parks.” On a map of the neighborhood they pointed out small corners of land that jut out into the street, or seem to be otherwise unoccupied and uncared for and that could be loaned to GANA as an experiment to place picnic tables and swings or slides for children so that people who walk the neighborhood could have a place to meet and sit. The idea was eagerly received by others and Kadhim Shabaan pointed to one intersection where four pocket parks on each corner could constitute the beginnings of a village center. The visuals for this visioning process will be available to peruse — and discuss, correct, and add to — at the July 17th Solstice event.

The meeting then adjourned for fruit, nuts, cheese, lemonade and conversation before our Speaker, Lucille Bertuccio, gave her presentation at 8 p.m.

Next meeting
June 28th, 7 p.m. (last Wednesday of each month).

Happy Summer, and see you at the Solstice event, if not before (bring children, bring your friends, join the parade!)

Ann Kreilkamp
GANA scribe

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Emergency Preparedness

GANA Speaker Series
Mark Brostoff
Chair, Monroe County Citizens Corps Council

8:00 – 9:00 p.m. April 28, 2006 (after our monthly meeting, see meeting report)

Summary
Mark described the history and purpose of the Citizens Corps Council and its CERT training for emergency preparedness in neighborhoods.

The Process
"CERT" means Community Emergency Response Team. Mark wants to put these teams in place in every Bloomington neighborhood, with Green Acres as the first neighborhood to model this idea in action.

Citizens Corps (with its motto, "Uniting communities, preparing the nation") was instituted in the wake of 9/11 by the newly formed Homeland Security Department as a way to bring emergency preparedness to cities and neighborhoods. Monroe County has received $50,000 for this purpose over the past three years. Its most popular program is CERT, started in 1985 in LA after the Mexico City earthquake when 100 rescuers died because they weren't trained.

The CERT mission is to "do the greatest good for the greatest number." CERT training prepares regular citizens to work during the first 72 hours of a disaster, before professional first responders (EMT, police and firemen) arrive.

Certified CERT teams work in pairs; they wear special gloves, helmet, vest and backpack full of first-aid and other needed equipment (like a big wrench and a crowbar) and go door-to-door to ascertain the condition of each home and its occupants. (Their equipment comes at no cost, via Homeland Security Department.) They identify who needs help, administer basic first aid, turn off gas, put out small fires, and are trained to help psychologically with people in shock and otherwise suffering. CERT teams do not self-deploy, but respond when called upon by the local CERT captain.

Google CERT to find out more information about this program that can help us help each other during any emergency.

As Mark presented the CERT program, one by one he removed all the equipment from a CERT backpack (besides crow bar, wrench, first aid, also a mask, goggles, space blanket, and so on). The training takes 21 hours, can be done in a variety of time frames, and concludes with a simulated disaster.

Mark has trained three local teams so far, two for IU, and one for a local company. Green Acres would be the first neighborhood to have a CERT team in place. To get our imaginations going, we discussed what, for example, might happen if a train full of toxic gas derailed in Green Acres.

Fifteen people are needed for a training, in our case about ten people from Green Acres and Mark would fill in the rest with others on a CERT training waiting list. He stressed that Citizens Corps prefer intergenerational teams, to include older people and even teenagers. By the time he was done, and we asked for a show of hands, to our surprise seven people wanted to sign up: Georgia Schaich, Kim Fernandez, John Gaus, Betty Byrne, Julia Jackson, Nathan Harmon, and Ann Kreilkamp. Even this many, Mark says, is probably enough for him to fill out a team, but I hope that there are a few teenagers in the neighborhood who would like to do this with us! Anyone out there?

We decided that the best way for us is to do the 21-hour training in one weekend plus another half-weekend, sometime in October. He will let us know what dates are possible.

If you wish to be a member of this team—learn a valuable skill, bond with your neighbors, be on call to help the rest of your neighbors, sport a spiffy CERT backpack and vest and helmet that remains in your possession unless and until you move out of Monroe County, let me know. Thanks.

And thanks, Mark, for arousing us to appreciate the necessity and availability of this timely training. I, for one, was stunned to realize that I wanted to join the Green Acres CERT team.

Ann Kreilkamp
GANA scribe

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Prospect Hill

GANA Speaker Series
Bill Sturbaum
Prospect Hill Neighborhood Association

8:00 – 9:00 p.m. April 26, 2006 (after our monthly meeting, see meeting report)

Summary
Bill, who moved to Prospect Hill in 1964, inspired us with his story of how Prospect Hill evolved into a vital, flourishing, highly-sought-after neighborhood.

The Process
Bill began by passing around a photo of a pretentious two-story house on a tiny lot amidst modest bungalows. His neighborhood, Bill says, faces this very real possibility right now, and the outcome of the current situation in Prospect Hill may set a precedent for all of Bloomington.

The background
A house was sold to someone who wanted to demolish the house according to a plan that would have a new house in character with the existing neighborhood. Then it was sold to another owner who wants a new plan with a 70-foot-long, two-story house on a block where all the existing houses are one-story. In order to do this he will need a variance. Prospect Hill has invited the new owner to meet with them, and on the basis of what happens at that meeting will decide to support or fight this project. In any case, they will all converge at the next Board of Zoning Appeals Meeting on May 18th where a decision will be made.

Besides the precedent-setting character of this situation, Bill wanted to emphasize that his neighborhood is quite familiar with and used to the idea of working with city officials—the Mayor’s office, City Council, HAND, to the Board of Zoning Appeals, the Traffic Commission, the Planning Office—whichever office appropriate for whatever they need done. Given their experiences over the past 20 years, they “have a lot of confidence” he said, that they can make things happen when they work with the city. And by the way, he added, we need to realize that we are very fortunate to live Bloomington where the city government is so very responsive.

In this and every issue that comes up, Prospect Hill proceeds as follows: the executive committee meets, comes up with two or three suggested solutions to the problem at hand, and then gives it to the whole group to debate, with whoever serves as a facilitator taking no position on the issue. One of those suggestions may be taken, or some other solution entirely may emerge. They follow Roberts Rules of Order, and “in a gentle way, keep to the topic.” If an issue continues to be contentious, they table it for later.

Prospect Hill got going in 1987, in response to a mayoralty campaign in which one candidate wanted to put an east-west corridor through 3rd St. They discovered that if they could get their neighborhood designated “historic,” then there would have to be a study before the government released the money. This indirect approach to the problem at hand proved successful. In three years they had gotten national, state, and finally, local designation as a “historic district.”

There used to be 500 semi-trucks a day going up Prospect Hill, (loaded with TVs from Mexico!). In order to get that stopped, they had the ingenuity to measure the decibels which, it turned out, were equivalent to an airplane taking off! So they just took that fact to the city and got the truck traffic stopped

Many times now, Bill has bought and rehabbed old houses—seventeen in all—“never,” he says, “with the intent of making money, but of changing the neighborhood.” He bought the first house with a credit line from his own home, and just kept going. He rents the houses until he finds a renter that he wants to sell to, and at times has offered the house to them at below the appraised value and/or carried the contract on the mortgage himself. Through the years, he says, he has “come out even” financially in these neighborhood-enhancing ventures.

After the original three-year push to form an “historic district,” Prospect Hill residents realized that they had learned to work together. Meanwhile, other people got wind that something special was going on in Prospect Hill and wanted into the neighborhood. (Plus, at that time, big old houses there could be had for very little money.) Their neighborhood association is now 20 years old, and keeps a waiting list of people who want to buy into the neighborhood. They are organized into “block captains,” who, among other things, keep track of when a home owner is going to leave town, and report in at every meeting. They call and ask the seller to hook up to a willing buyer before the realtors can list it, thus saving both seller and buyer realtor fees.

Bill suggests that in order to begin to do the same thing in Green Acres, we need to think of money “as a tool, not and end.”

“For any vacancy,” he says, “find out who the owner is, and then offer a three to six month option (for $500 to $1500). During that time, take care of the property, paint and clean it up, and then sell it to a new home owner.” And, he adds, “if an owner doesn’t appear in that time, then buy it!”—since you can deduct the interest on the mortgage, plus insurance, depreciation, and any repairs. He suggests these three ways of getting capital: 1) Bloomington Restoration—BRI will lend money interest-free for six months (beyond that, you must pay interest and have the loan paid back in three years); 2) Investment Groups: these invest in contracts and will lend money— find or form one of your own; 3) a home equity loan on your home; and finally, 4) refinancing your home.

Many of the Prospect Hill homes have front porches, which fosters neighborliness, and many of the blocks are very narrow, through which cars must move slowly. This neighborhood is also close to downtown, another drawing card.

Over the years, Prospect Hill Neighborhood Association has moved reached out to the streets with tiny houses that were not part of the original Victorian milieu, and their email list (it used to be a snail mail newsletter) goes out to hundreds of people. Like Green Acres, Prospect Hill also includes about 400 homes.

Both Bill Sturbaum’s long-time vision of Prospect Hill as a caring, close-knit neighborhood and his courtly, gracious manner has, no doubt, helped ease their way forward through any number of difficult issues. We thank him for giving us so much food for thought as we ponder how to help Green Acres Neighborhood Association grow into its own unique maturity as a model of urban sustainability.

Ann Kreilkamp
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GANA Meeting Minutes

GANA (Green Acres Neighborhood Association) Meeting
4/26/06, 7 – 8 p.m.
First United Church on 3rd St.

Attending
Kathy Ruesink, Jelene Campbell, Noriko Hara, Phil Eskew, Stefano Conard, Diane Dormant, Nathan Harmon, Maggie Jessephs, John Gaus, Georgia Schaich, Kadhim Shabaan, John Gaus, Jessica Gaus, Ann Kreilkamp

Agenda

• Pick-It-Up
• PlantShare
• Summer Solstice Festival
• Trees
• Neighborhood Plan Request
• CONA dues
• Sustainability

Summary
We received updates on plans for the three summer events—Pick-It-Up, PlantShare, and Summer Solstice Festival. We heard an update on the Neighborhood Plan Request, and decided to pay CONA dues. We discussed our sustainability goals.

The Process
Georgia Schaich facilitated the meeting which took the usual hour, with break for refreshments afterwards prior to our scheduled speaker, Bill Sturbaum of Prospect Hill Neighborhood Association.

PICK-IT-UP: This Saturday, April 29th, from 10 a.m. to noon. Meet at Phil and Noriko Hara’s, 2415 E. 4th, to receive trash bags and block assignments. Afterwards we will gather at Diane Dormant’s house, 316 N. Hillsdale, for a light brunch. (Rain date is Sunday, April 30.) PLEASE COME HELP PICK UP TRASH FROM OUR NEIGHBORHOOD. THE MORE OF US WHO PARTICIPATE, THE FASTER WE CAN GATHER AT DIANE’S!

PLANTSHARE: Saturday, May 13th, at Jelene Campbell’s, 2521 Eastgate Lane. Also pots, tools, other types of garden stuff. She has a garage in case of rain, and is willing to pick up plants if needed. We will put posters at neighborhood intersections to announce the event.

TREES: No report at this time as this committee has not met.

NEIGHBORHOOD PLAN REQUEST UPDATE: Besides Green Acres, two other neighborhoods are vying to be the one picked by the city—Bryan Park and Elm Heights. The three plans have been passed on to the mayor’s office with a decision due shortly.

CONA DUES: We agreed to pay $30 annual dues to CONA (Council of Neighborhood Associations).

SUSTAINABILITY: This discussion involved three separate aspects:

First, we began with a review of Stefano Conard’s draft of an overall, long-range, visionary flow chart for GANA sustainability that shows possible interrelationships between our neighborhood and other entities. These include the following: the City of Bloomington, Indiana University (SPEA/HYPER); IUPI (for technical support); Community Projects (e.g., community gardens, storm water use, trees, traffic control); Home Projects (e.g., P.V. electricity, green roofs, passive solar heating, food production); Outreach (e.g. newspapers, TV, other community groups); and U.S. Government and Indiana State grants. We then brainstormed about other possible additions to this chart, and added Bloomington businesses and schools as other future partners.

Then, Phil Eskew told about the short presentation on “Sustainability 101,” by the Sustainability Commission at the library during Earth Week that they attended along with about 30 others. The speaker discussed negative impacts (e.g., pesticides and burning fossil fuels) and positive impacts (e.g., local food, recycling), with the goal of getting a community-wide discussion going this year to prepare for a visioning process in 2007. Afterwards, a panel discussion featuring members of the sustainability commission discussed “the three E’s,”—economic, environmental and social equity—as all being equally important. If you wish to see this power-point presentation, log on to www.bloomington.in.gov/sustainable.

And finally, we disccussed the Sustainability Commission’s Proposal for Solicitation of Sustainable Ideas, due in June 2, to be reviewed by the commission and one of them selected by June 8.

By the way, here’s our Mission Statement: The Green Acres Neighborhood Association fosters commitment to our place, promotes vitality, builds resilience to stress, acts as a steward, and forges connections beyond the boundaries of the Green Acres Neighborhood.

Next Meeting
MAY 31, 2006
(Last Wednesday of each month)
7-8 p.m., First United Church on 3rd St.

Ann Kreilkamp
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