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August 12, 2004
Board of Directors
Summit Hill Association
District 16 Planning Council
Members Present: Barrera, Breymeier, Brostrom, Flahaven, Konstan, Johnson,Lindner, Odman, Orman-Awe, O’Toole, Rathman, Sanders, Siekmeier, Wichman,
Members Absent: Clapp-Smith, Dobson, Hardy, Harrison, Preus, Reding-Galarneault, Smith, Zoltai
Guests: Elliot DeMerell, John Baxter, Bill Skally, and Jane McClure
Wichman called the Meeting to order at 7:00 PM
1. Additions to the Agenda
Several items were added to the agenda and will be discussed towards the end of the meeting under old business/new business, if there is time.
a. Carriage House
b. Signage Guidelines
2. Approval of both June/July Meeting minutes
A motion was made for the approval of the June and July meeting minutes. The motion was seconded and unanimously approved.
3. 2003 Audit Presentation
John Baxter from the accounting firm Weber & Deegan Ltd. presented their audit of SHA financial statements. The summary of significant accounting policies stated that there were no significant errors or material misstatements. The financial statements present fairly the position of the Summit Hill Association in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.
The Statement of Activity and Changes in Net Assets reports all changes in revenue and expenses. Under the provisions, net assets and revenues, expenses, gains and losses are classified based on donor-imposed restrictions. Accordingly, net assets of the nonprofit organization and changes therein are classified and reported as unrestricted, temporarily
restricted, and permanently restricted, based upon the following definitions:
Unrestricted--general operating expenses
Temporarily Restricted--neighborhood assembly grants, registration fees and other money set aside for specific uses for activities
Permanently Restricted--put in trust, where the organization cannot touch the principal but can use the interest, as directed or designated by the donor.
The revenue from special events needs to be reported net of expenses. The expenses and revenue need to be allocated differently, as temporarily restricted.
The Statement of Expense is a listing of expenses. The miscellaneous expenses listed are pretty self-explanatory, all seeming to make sense.
The Statement of Cash Flow indicates the change in cash position over the year. The $31,000 change in net assets shown is for the District 16 planning activities. The 1999 loss was from the construction of the bus shelter.
Statement of financial position indicates that everything seems to be consistent year after year, with one exception. The fund-raising revenue needs to be listed net it’s expenses. The fund raising years spike when not reported in this manner. The number should never exceed 30% for fund raising and it does if looked at yearly. When averaged between the two years, it works out. Not-for-profit organizations are not supposed to make money and this money is supposed to go towards achieving the mission and goals of the organization.
There is discussion about requiring district council’s to have audits yearly. This would be a great expense. Currently audits are not required by the city. We did it for our own interest and accountability. The audit for SHA District 16 cost $2,500, which is pretty reasonable.
At Roy’s last place of work, the treasurer did the reconciling and depositing of funds. The Executive Director only received the checks. SHA policy has a safeguard in its by-laws that states that two people sign off on depositing and issuing checks.
Motion was made, seconded and approved to accept the Charitable Organization’s Annual Report to the Attorney General and the IRS 990 that were prepared by the auditor for year ending 12/31/03. These documents will be sent to the State soon.
4. Presidents report
Vice-President Wichman presented the President’s Report in Clapp-Smiths absence.
No news to report on the Formula Business. Clapp-Smith will be back next month and can provide an update. The study has been getting lots of publicity, receiving mention in the article published in USA Today. The question was brought up whether to have monthly reports made at the executive meeting. Clapp-Smith believes it is a little premature and ahead of itself.
No news to report on the District 16 plan. No comments have been received from the City. Districts 17 and 5 submitted their plans. Only District 10’s Plan has been approved.
Committee Reports
A. Communications Committee
Everything is working well. The website is up and running. We are listing information regarding the house-tour on site.
B. Environment Committee
Sanders provided the report on behalf of the Environment committee. There are many different people in charge of taking care of landscaping around Linwood Community Center. A neighbor, Judith has been coordinating maintenance efforts. There is another person who is in charge taking care of the watering. The committee is trying to establish a plan so everyone knows what everyone is doing.
There seems to be a lot of litter around the neighborhood. Maybe an adopt a block type of program could be established to help take care of there own blocks. This could be published in The Summit or through the block leaders that meeting with Amy. Does Grand Ave. have block leaders? Parts of Grand Ave. may or may not have block leaders. The businesses really do a good job trying to upkeep in front of their building. There are only a few, such as Jimmie John’s that patron’s litter.
Barrera stated that some rental properties need to maintain their exterior and sidewalk. SHA can apply for a star grant to have extra trashcans provided along grand. Additional trash cans for businesses to maintain would be an added expense. The businesses may be willing to dispose of the trash if the bags are small and easy to dispose of. Jimmy Johns, Wild Onion, Brueger’s Bagels, and a couple of rental properties on Chatsworth are known for trash and litter outside their building.
A motion was made to send letters to problem properties, the main business office of franchises and the property owner. The motion was seconded and passed unanimously. The Environment Committee will take this on and get the letters out. They will also explore the “adopt a block” proposal.
C. House Tour Committee
Things are moving along well. Ticket sales are being sold on line and are selling well. The House Tour is receiving lots of good publicity. There are two TV stations giving it some PR. Better Homes and Gardens is running a little article but not in time for the event. The Star and Tribune will be running a big article the week before the event, this is great PR. We have not heard from the Pioneer Press as of yet.
We still need volunteers to help set up the Saturday before the event. We also need people to set up signs on busy locations.
Barrera is storing the house and is looking for a new place to store it. It is easily put together. It is about 12’x12’. Is there a place at Linwood such as the shed? Jim Newman would be the one to contact about storing it in the shed. People suggested storing it in a storage locker but that would be cost prohibited.
D. Pedestrian Safety and Traffic Calming Committee
Siekmeier reported on subcommittee meetings held in July and August. The city has helped us take care of some signage needs such as a reminder to stop for pedestrians in crosswalk at the intersection of Summit and Lexington Ave.
The traffic calming signs have been produced. They should be made available for sale at the house tour.
The committee drafted a letter to support the “Liveable Lexington” proposal. It would essentially say that we would like to see a more pedestrian and bike Friendly Boulevard. A motion was made to submit the letter, seconded and approved.
Last year we spent between $1,500 and $2,000 to have “speed bumps” installed behind blockbuster. Today they are almost non-existent. We did not get our money worth. Siekmeier made a motion that the Summit Hill Association write a letter requesting they be correctly installed as speed bumps so they will last a lot longer. The motion was seconded and approved.
In 1997, a uniform parking plan was proposed for Grand Ave, but never approved. SHA has supported this plan in the past. Some revisions were made to bring it up date. Parking would be restricted to 2 hours during business hours. It is to create more uniform parking from Dale to Lexington Avenue. It was originally proposed to extend to Ayd Mill, which is a change. Permit parking would be available for all residents and any business along Grand Avenue. The city will consider it a permit zone with a fee structure that is consistent with other areas. Businesses can petition for 15-minute zones outside their business. Those currently in effect would stay.
Discussions regarding the uniform parking plan came up during the District 16 plan and either the city or GABA did not want it. This should be opened up for greater neighborhood discussion. The proposal by the Pedestrian Safety and Traffic Committee to the Executive Board to support the unified parking plan came out of the blue.
A motion was made to support the plan. The motion was not seconded. The Executive board made the decision not to take action at this time when most have just heard of it. Brostrom stated that we are not saying that it should be re-written, only that we cannot make an educated decision. Siekmeier looked at the original proposal and thought all but two things remain the same as when it was originally author
A new motion was made to table voting at this time due to lack of knowledge and neighborhood input. The motion was seconded, receiving 14 ayes and 2 nays. This was tabled and a meeting will be set up towards the end of September. It would be good to have it on the regular subcommittee meeting night.
E. District 16 Plan
There is really no update. Yong Chang has been assigned to read the plan. Not much has been done. There is no deadline to review the plan. It took 1 1/2 years to approve Merriam Parks. The committee would like the plan sooner then later so there are some guidelines for the neighborhood. Clapp-Smith would like any comments so they can be worked on.
The District 16 plan is not showing up on the website. The latest edition should be posted. It was just missed.
F. Zoning and Landuse
The Zoning and Land-use committee held two hearings. One was a non-controversial, minor variance that seemed to improve the property. The neighbors supported the work. The ZLU Committee recommended approval of the variance.
The second was to create a 4-plex out of an existing duplex at 673 Lincoln. Past owners previous years request was denied. Two of the units have already been sold as condominiums. No one understands how these properties get a PID without an application. We received 4 letters in opposition, one call and one email.
The developer and lawyer did not show up at the first hearing. The committee discussed the Request for Variance submitted to the city by the developer. Based on this information and input from neighbors, the committee denied their request. The developer and lawyer showed up at the city zone meeting and they said it was a mistake on their behalf that they missed the Zoning and Landuse meeting. The city’s Zoning and Landuse committee laid over it’s decision so we could have another hearing so that the petitioner could be heard. This meeting is scheduled for Sept 1, 2004 at 7 pm.
6. GABA Report
Breymeier presented the GABA report. There was considerable conversation at the last meeting whether to propose 2 hours vs 3 hours for the Unified Parking Plan along Grand. At GABA’s last meeting, they tabled this proposal. This meeting could be combined with the one proposed by SHA. Zone 9 refers to all existing permit parking.
The historical start to the Unified Parking Plan came at a public meeting, when this parking idea was proposed. It went in front of the city committee and it became controversial. It then sat at the city level. The current proposal to increase permit parking, brought up the whole issue again. Most are in support of some type of plan.
Formula Business information has been circulated via email there has been a positive response.
7. Executive Director’s Report:
A brief executive Director’s report was provided. A newsletter was distributed to get more volunteers signed up for the Summit House Tour.
8. Treasurer’s Report:
Brostrom made a quick treasurer’s report.
The swings in the budget are due to house tour expenses. This is pretty typical.
9. Old Business/New Business/Announcements:
The carriage house is not going anywhere at this time. There was an amendment that was laid over and the planning commission was going to make it top of there agenda. It is still laid over. There was some clarification in the code that had passed already. The carriage house issue will not be brought up anytime soon. SHA was the only district that had any concern regarding the Carriage House Amendment, therefore is not a burning issue for the city.
Signage guideline language-
Breymeier and Bostrom are creating language for the signage guidelines. It is really a part of the district plan. It will be presented at the next meeting. We should be getting it in the next week or so.
New Business
Feedback is requested on the newsletter’s format and color
Those that are interested in the LRT, there area facts available in the SHA office.
10. Adjournment:
A motion was made to adjourn the meeting at 8:55 P.M. The motion received a second and passed unanimously.
Next meeting will be held Thursday, Sept 9, 2004 at 7:00 P.M. at the Linwood Community Center Meeting room.
Minutes recorded by Deborah Rathman, Secretary
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