GANA Meeting

Time: 7:00 p.m.
Location
2621 E Edwards Row

Agenda

pedestrian/bike access to Sahara Mart from Green Acres

neighborhood GANA membership due

new community permaculture garden

Attending
Kevin Polk, Kimberly Wagner, Ann Kreilkamp, Chris Huntington, Valerie Cox, Kathy & Al Ruesink, Katie Zukof, Sabrina Grossman, Daniel Matisoff

The Process
We began the meeting with three handouts Kevin had prepared: a google map of Sahara Mart and its relationship to the neighborhood, a record of the emails Kevin has received on the topic of ped/bike access to Sahara Mart and a copy of an email Dan Matisoff sent out detailing his research into the matter. We began by looking through these background materials, noting the interest in this topic and the controversy surrounding it.

There are two obvious ped/bike routes to Sahara Mart through the neighborhood, plus another two less obvious ones These are:

1)Go east on DeKist, and cut through the unkempt, 10-feet wide swatch of private property through to the back of Sahara Mart.

2) Go east on 3rd Street from Overhill Drive.

3)Alternative routes: go east on either 5th Street or DeKist Street, crossing the right of way through to the commercial district (Jiffy Lube, Red Lobster, Travelodge) that parallels the west side of the Bypass, then go west on 3rd St. to Sahara Mart. All three of these have the advantage of not driving a car, as well as the advantage of not having to negotiate two left turns: from any Green Acres street that fronts 3rd Street, and into Sahara Mart entrance.

All three of the principle alternative routes also have both disadvantages and obstacles standing in their way.

What follows is a list of the pros and cons of each possible path, including elements from our discussion at the meeting.

Edwards Row

Pros:

• 100 ‘ shorter than 3rd St path
• safer at present than 3rd St.

Cons:

• no path now

You really have to watch your step, or you will stumble and it’s very difficult to take bike or stroller or cart across the 10-foot stretch.

• the 10’ swatch is privately owned

We apparently haven’t got permission to use this access: someone has put up “no trespassing” signs. Who? We also wondered who cut down the pine trees that used to shield the back of Sahara Mart from Edwards Row (cut down at least 1.5 years ago, but perhaps not long before then), who took down the fence that was there, and who put the gravel in back of Sahara Mart that looks like a parking space?!? Chris Huntington, who grew up on Edwards Row, remembers that the private 10’ swath is owned by the three home owners directly across from it, jointly, each with 1/3 ownership. Kevin is one of them, but has not been able to verify ownership with the Recorder of Deeds or his neighbors. He is still chasing down a couple of leads and may have more to say on the subject soon.

• Extra car traffic/steep street raises safety concerns

A number of people both at the meeting and through emails mentioned that once access to Sahara Mart through Edwards Row was made official by sanctioning some kind of an obvious path, then the situation might escalate into people people driving down that narrow street and parking there while shopping, or for eight hours as employees — especially if Sahara Mart’s way-too-small parking gets crowded. Also, an official path might lead to more lights on the street for safety's sake, which would disturb neighbors who want to sleep without more ambient light. Plus, the steep portion of this street ices over in the wintertime. And, one email pointed out, pedestrians create trash as they walk along, discarding candy bar wrappers, etc.

Third Street from Overhill to Sahara Mart and beyond

Pros:

• Would support pedestrian access to many businesses across the bypass and 3rd.
• Would provide safe route for foot traffic from East-side neighborhoods.
• It’s lighted.

Cons:

• No sidewalk now.

And the possibility of getting one is iffy. Dan spoke with Eric Greulich of the planning department, who mentioned right-of-way issues: the city might have to buy private property in front of three houses. Plus, the steep slope might necessitate a retaining wall. Dan also heard from City Council member Tim Mayer, who lives on Bryan Street, who said the city is looking at the idea of possibly taking out one lane of 3rd Street for ped/bike access. But Tim and Eric cautioned that any path there would take until at least 2010 to be constructed. We pointed out that any new sidewalk should continue from the new sidewalk that went in from Hillsdale to Overhill,and that the intersection-from-hell of 3rd and the Bypass should also be changed to make it easier for pedestrians and bikes. Also, it would be great if there were a crosswalk from Overhill to the other side of 3rd Street to allow for walking access to shops on the south side.

Another alternative was discussed: that of seeing if the Sahara Mart owner would undergo the expense of creating a set of steps leading up from the back of the Travelodge Motel up to the Sahara Mart parking lot. This would also require permission from the Travelodge owner. These steps would make access from either 5th Street or DeKist much easier.

When discussing the 3rd Street path, Dan Matisoff stressed that the city planning department is now putting a great deal of emphasis on neighborhood input for any planning decisions. He said that if we want to move forward in asking for a path on 3rd Street, then they would like an official letter from GANA. Kathy Ruesink volunteered to move that idea forward.

In general, though people’s feelings were very strong about the idea of working with the access problem to Sahara Mart as an on-the-ground example of moving through obstacles to create a walkable, sustainable community as stated in our neighborhood plan, and although participants arrived with strong feelings about which path idea was best, we all listened respectfully to each others’ ideas and came away with a pool of shared knowledge of just how many factors there are to consider, just how difficult it is to solve this problem, and how much time it will take to get what we all agree we want.

Other Agenda Items:

Dues
Voluntary membership dues for GANA are due now. $5 per household. We collected dues from five households at the meeting and a promise from one other to send by mail to Ann K. at 134 N. Overhill Drive, Bloomington, IN 47408. Ann will also graciously welcome others’ dues!

Permaculture Garden
Ann K. has purchased the property on the corner of DeKist and Overhill with the intent to create a permaculture community garden on its enormous, sunny side lawn. The house will stay as is, a rental, for the time being. This project will hit the ground running in 2009. More info to come.

Next Meeting
December 10, potluck 6:30 p.m., Al and Kathy Ruesink’s house, 2605 5th Street.

Ann Kreilkamp
GANA scribe

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Found Kitty!

Hi, I am Norma Jean! I usually live with Ann Kreilkamp or the Sarkissians on North Overhill Drive, but I panicked during a cold storm and was gone for nearly three days. Now I'm safely home again after Scott and company heard me mewing in their crawl space on the corner Dekist and Overhill and Armen and Aggie coaxed me out. Thanks, everyone for your concern.

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Green Acres One of the Most Walkable Neighborhoods in the U.S.A.

It's true! According to independent rating service WalkScore.com, our neighborhood ranks as "very walkable", placing it in the company of the trendiest neighborhoods in Chicago, Boston and New York City.

When long-time Green Acres resident Georgia Schaich read about WalkScore in a recent Bloomingfoods newsletter, she found the site and entered her address. WalkScore instantly used Google Maps technology to compute a score based on her distance from schools, churches, restaurants, stores, parks and other amenities. On a 100-point scale, scores below 50 mean that most destinations are too far to walk. But scores above 70 suggest that you most likely could get by without a car.

WalkScore does not pretend to be a perfect measure: scores don't take into account actual road design (such as the lack of crosswalks on 3rd and the Bypass), and they vary somewhat by address within a neighborhood.

Nevertheless, Georgia was elated with her score: 80 points. By comparison, Lincoln Park in Chicago was only 76, and even trendy New York City neighborhoods scored only 83. "We're sitting pretty in Green Acres!" said Georgia. "I think we should boast about it more."

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French & Spanish Classes

French & Spanish Classes IN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD!

for children and adults, ages 4+

Instructor: Katie Zukof

Katie Zukof is a former high-school teacher and a creative & dynamic instructor who incorporates songs, games and stories into every lesson.

Children's French: September 1 - December 17; meets 2x week for 45 min.

Mondays 5:15 - 6 pm & Wednesdays 4 - 4:45 pm.

Children's Spanish: September 2 - December 18; meets 2x week for 45 min.

Tuesdays & Thursdays 4 - 4:45 pm.

I am asking for a 6-week commitment from parents for the children's classes; at that time parents can decide whether or not to continue through December.

Adult French: September 1 - October 27; meets 1x week for 1 hour.

Mondays 6:05 pm - 7:05 pm.

Adult Spanish: September 1 - October 27; meets 1x week for 1 hour.

Mondays 7:10 - 8:10 pm.

Location: My home; 2615 Dekist St.

Cost: Children's Classes: $6/lesson. $72 (cost for the first 6 weeks) due on or before the first lesson.

Adult Classes: $8/lesson. $72 due on or before first lesson.

Private lessons & tutoring also available.

For more information or to register, call 812-339-8198 or e-mail katie.zukof@gmail.com

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Ice Cream Social on gorgeous afternoon

Twenty-five GANA neighbors gathered on Sunday, August 10 for our annual ice cream slurping party.This year we met in the shade at Ann's house on Overhill. The afternoon was gorgeous, not too hot or humid, and we circled our chairs near the ice cream which, of course, got pretty soupy after two hours. We were old, college-age, and middle-age, plus three dogs who got along pretty well, considering that one was a lot smaller than the others. Rather than grabbing ice cream and wandering off, most people stayed to talk and laugh and breathe in the sweet summer air. No children this time, unfortunately, but we heard there was some special event for kids on this day that probably took them away. Our event was supposed to end at 4 p.m., and didn't. We finally pulled out the chairs from a few, Kevin loaded up his big ice cream table on his workhorse of a bike, Georgia loaded the chairs into her tiny car, Ann's puppy Emma finally got exhausted from all her running around, and it was with real regret that we finally went our separate ways.

Edwards Row residents meet new 4th Street residents

Jessica and John Gaus

GANA sign with Ann K.'s street bench

Gilbert and Shirley Bushey

Bill Schaich and Ignacio Lledo

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Where are all the "For Rent" Signs in Green Acres?

My little white puppy Emma and I walk to and from campus regularly in the early mornings. A couple of months ago, while walking I noticed that unlike other years since my 2003 arrival in our wonderful town and neighborhood, there are hardly any "For Rent" signs displayed. This surprises and puzzles me. Why? Usually these signs are up most of the year, scattered throughout the neighborhood, as many as four or five on each side of most blocks, creating a decided "temporary" feel to the place. Many of us have disliked the signs for that reason, and especially dislike it when landlords leave them up for all or most of the year.

So, it was with great surprise and astonishment that this year I see hardly any "For Rent" signs up in the entire neighborhood. You'd think that especially in spring and summer they would appear, in time to attract new renters for the usual August IU arrival.

I brought this subject up at our potluck meeting at my house in early July, and asked for opinions as to why this is the case. One neighbor said she thought that maybe the economy is so sluggish that people aren't getting out-of-town job offers when they graduate, and so elect to stay on.

I'd like to think it's because renters like where they live and for that reason elect to stay on for more than one year. Or even better, that some houses that were formerly for rent are now occupied by their owners, or by new owners, the houses having been sold. I know that's true in a couple of cases, and would love to extrapolate but know that's foolish.

Any other theories on this subject? I'm going to contact the city's HAND department (Housing and Neighborhood Development) to see if they have any clues. It may be a city-wide development and not just Green Acres.

Ann Kreilkamp

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Sign Toppers Have Arrived

Here's a photo I took today of Kevin Polk with the new sign toppers and his bike. He called me this morning with the news that the sign toppers had arrived and he was about to ride them down to our dear neighborhood cheerleader Vickie Provine at Bloomington's HAND Department. The signs are to be installed by the Public Works Department sometime this summer on top of all 38 intersection street signs in Green Acres. This excites me, this very first physical manifestation of our growing neighborhood awareness, and our ultimate aim to nourish neighborly feeling in Green Acres to the point where it morphs into its own unique and sustainable little village in concert with other neighborhood villages throughout the city of Bloomington.

A few facts from Kevin about the signs:
Total cost for the signs + mounting brackets: $917.70. GANA paid $346.35, and a Bloomington Small and Simple Grant paid $571.35 in matching funds. Kevin wrote the grant, and the toppers were made by Hall Signs, Inc.. Thanks so much, Kevin!

Kevin also sent along a few facts about his fabulous bike. Says its a "Bridgestone MB-4 with about 20,000 miles on it. In April, I installed a Free Radical hitchless trailer from Xtracycle. This involved lengthening chain and replacing rear brake and derailleur cables. The FreeRadical moves the rear wheel back 15 inches, which lowers the cargo and spreads the weight between the wheels. I have transported fencing, 6-foot garden stakes and a 4-foot, 80-pound wooden swing several miles safely with this rig. I routinely transport 4-6 bags of groceries smoothly and comfortably. Past mods include: front fender, comfortable saddle and a Nitto Albatross handlebar from Rivendell Bicycle Works.

"Two weeks after installing the FreeRadical, I saw someone else riding one in the neighborhood!"

Nothing like a great idea whose time has come. Ditto for the signs. Prospect Hill neighborhood has them. It's about time we had them too. To me, these signs symbolize our desire to re-cultivate the near-sacred "sense of place" that has gone missing in the U.S. for several generations and that, as we bring it back, helps us feel safe, connected, and welcoming.

Ann Kreilkamp

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GANA Meeting: 5th St., Bypass, HAND Grants

7-9 pm First United Church on 3rd St.

Agenda
Sign toppers, 5th street construction, Neighborhood Cleanup, meeting dates, Bypass widening, Neighborhood Improvement Grant projects, blog and list serve access

Attending
Georgia Schaich, Ann Kreilkamp, Kevin Polk

Outcomes
Our next meeting will be a potluck at Ann's house at 6 pm Wednesday, July 2. Please RSVP by comment to this article with the dish you plan to bring. (We'll remind you closer to the date).

We invite neighbors to become blog authors and post their own announcements.

The Process
Was it the severe thunderstorms and tornado watches that kept attendance down this time? Or was it summer, or the new meeting date? Or the fact that we didn't announce the "speaker" (a DVD on the eco-theologian Thomas Berry) until two hours prior to the meeting? In any case, attendance and meetings were our first topics of the meeting.

Does it make sense to meet monthly? After all, South Griffy Neighborhood Association only meets twice a year. Georgia pointed out how valuable it was two years ago to have monthly speakers as a way to self-educate and build a vision. Somehow, though, our energy seemed to dissipate the following year as we labored with the city to craft a neighborhood plan that force-fit our permacultural village vision into official bureaucratese. Ann commented that now it seems time to regroup and take a fresh look at what we're doing and how we're doing it. We could meet for three months each spring and fall, when people are here and not yet so busy. Or we could meet quarterly, or bi-monthly. Kevin wanted fewer meetings but more events, with the host of each event empowered to call meetings specific to planning that event.

Does it make sense to meet in the church when the huge room dwarfs our tiny group each time? Everyone present(!) enjoyed the home potluck and meeting events that we held last November and December. Maybe we should host meetings at private homes until participation starts to overwhelm those venues. Ann offered to hold the next meeting as a potluck at her house at 6pm, Wednesday, July 2.

Kevin noted that the blog needs more authors. Ann and Georgia thought the blog would make a great internet kiosk where neighbors could post announcements (workshops, baby sitting, pet sitting, homes for sale, rentals, services, trades, free stuff etc.). Kevin agreed, and will invite all neighbors from the discussion list on as authors.

Kevin said he has received many requests to post kiosk-type announcements to the discussion list. He pointed out that the list is not moderated, so anyone who receives GANA email should address the list directly by sending email to gana@lists.gaiome.com. But the best place for neighborhood buy/sell/trade/giveaway announcements is our virtual kiosk, http://greenacresneighbors.blogspot.com/ and all GANA members will receive invitations to participate.

The GANA sign toppers will be manufactured by mid-month and handed over to Public Works to install sometime this Summer. GANA paid $346.35 for the toppers and the City of Bloomington chipped in $571.35 for the project.

Ann called the City about the work on 5th Street and was told it would be done in a month, weather depending.

The Neighborhood Cleanup went well. Workers from the City's HAND department praised the high volunteer turnout, and many participants and neighbors said they were pleased with the help and the end result: very much cleaner streets. Thanks to all who participated and especially to the volunteers who distributed fliers to the whole neighborhood and spent the morning directing traffic and picking up trash from neighborhood streets: Ann Kreilkamp, Katie Zukof, Eric Schedler, Jelene Campbell, Kimberly Wagner, Kevin Polk, Ignaci Lledó, Georgia Schaich, and George and Linda O'Donnell.

Ann and Kevin have been in contact with Brandon O'Leary, President of South Griffy Neighborhood Association (SGNA), regarding action on the Bypass widening project. CAC has drafted a letter to INDOT about the situation. If the State does not show signs of cooperation on pedestrian/bicycle safety and noise issues in the community the bypass no longer bypasses, GANA, SGNA and others may consider stronger action.

Letters of Intent for the Neighborhood Improvement Grant are due September 26. Will we be ready? The grant provides 50-90% matching funds for projects from $3K-$40K: parks, public art, physical improvements, playgrounds, amphitheaters, kiosks, plantings, etc. We have submitted two letters of intent in the past year, but not pursued it due to lack of support within the neighborhood. Georgia felt that an artistic entrance feature such as an arch would really set us apart as something unique. Other suggestions in the past have included a neighborhood compost/chipper area, a grape arbor over the walk between Roosevelt and Jefferson on 4th, and pocket parks. What's exciting enough to galvanize neighborhood involvement?

We adjourned at 8 p.m.

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The David Gohn Band to play at Max's Place

Jelene Campbell, who hosted the PlantShare, invites you to hear her band play live at Max's Place on Saturday, May 24th.
"We'll play under our former name, The Other Side, at 7pm," says Jelene. "We'll play all the tunes on our CD, Brand New Ride plus a few favorite covers. Then we'll play our other set at 8pm under our new name, The David Gohn Band. We play roots/americana which is a combination of blues, folk, country, and rock and roll so there should be a little something for everybody."

Neighbors can sample some of the band's original music at www.myspace.com/theothersidegroup and www.myspace.com/davidgohnband

Max's is an all-ages place for music, pizza, calzones and local brews. For discount pizza coupons, visit www.maxsplace.info.

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Plant Share

2521 Eastgate Lane
8:00-9:00 a.m. bring any plants you wish to donate
9:00-10:30 a.m. PlantShare (donations not necessary!)

The annual tradition continues at Jelene Campbell's house:

• Share your leftover seedlings, plant divisions, indoor houseplants, etc. Also extra garden tools, gloves, materials, etc.
• Put plant in a pot or a plastic bag with roots wrapped in wet paper towels.
• Provide the name of the plant and, if possible, planting instructions (e.g. sun/shade, size, color, annual/perennial/season of bloom).
• Bring plants to the PlantShare between 8-9am. If you need a pickup, leave a comment below.
• If it rains, the PlantShare will be held in Jelene's garage.
  

Join in the fun and help make Green Acres Beautiful!

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