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Wednesday, April 04, 2007
OHNO Bi-Monthly General Meeting — February 2007
What transpired at the general meeting of OHNO for February 2007.
Click on MORE…. (below) for the secretary’s report on the meeting of Old Historic Northside Organization (OHNO).....
OHNO Bi-Monthly Meeting - 02/06/07 - Minutes
Meeting called to order at 6:45 PM
Treasurer’s Report (Georgine Booms): There is a balance of $377.20 in the account.
Secretary’s Report (Janet Dash): A thank you note was sent to Judy Weaver for attending a portion of the OHNO retreat in January.
President’s Report (Susan Pelto): Because of a scheduling conflict, tonight’s meeting had to be held at the Pelto residence, 425 W. 18th, instead of Temple Emmanuel. The April meeting will be held at Temple Emmanuel.
Susan suggested some ideas that the group needs to address: 1) does OHNO need to collect dues, 2) should OHNO require registration of members, 3) does OHNO need a P.O. Box, and 4) how should OHNO solicit funds for programs. Membership dues would help defray costs of the newsletter and allow us to go from 2 to 4 pages. It could be $10/year for household, with additional donations accepted. Last year $450 was collected for the block party and about $300 was used for materials and supplies.
SRDA did the meeting reminder calling on the previous Friday and Monday for tonight’s meeting. It was apparently successful since many in the room indicated they had received a call.
Miscellaneous Reports:
OHNO Retreat (Janet Dash): The retreat was held on Jan. 20th and was fairly successful. The group of about 15 people identified major concerns that included: better communication, goals for 2007, needs of the neighborhood, help Mineral Palace Gardens, work on Historic Preservation, enforce codes, slow down traffic, establish a walkable community, and determine the OHNO organizational structure. OHNO needs to develop community liaisons, especially with Parkview Hospital and the Parks Department. We also need to encourage block captains for newsletter distribution. We would really like to have a neighborhood clean up day and a social event this year.
Standing committees and solutions teams were outlined at the retreat and key individuals were listed for each team.
Clean Up Day (Susan Pelto): A meeting was held earlier today to organize dates for neighborhood clean up days. Our neighborhood was not given a clean up day but neither was the group organizing the neighborhood to the west of us. The City/County Health Department has no money for major projects other than those already committed to. It costs the department $5,000 for a major neighborhood clean up and they usually make about $600. Angela Giron asked whether we really need a clean up day and if so why we couldn’t organize a smaller scale one of our own. Spring is an important time for this type of event so planning needs to get underway immediately. Anyone interested should contact Angela or Carolyn Lowry.
Committee/Team Reports:
Communications (Chuck Pelto): The web site/blog will be developed to include a calendar, committee reports, the secretary and treasurer’s reports, and the agenda for the next meeting. Tonight’s meeting attendees were encouraged to check Chuck’s bounced email list for their name. The phone call system got off to a good start with the SRDA calling last week to remind people about tonight’s meeting. Other phone options are being considered. Block captains are being recruited. Ideally each block will have a person responsible for distributing the newsletter, as well as identifying potential neighborhood problems, neighbors that might need a helping hand, or even new neighbors that could receive a welcome gift from OHNO. The newsletter will be ready the Monday before the OHNO meeting. Currently it costs 0.08/page to produce. If we increase the page size to 11 x 17 then it can be folded to 4 pages that will cost 0.15/page. Block captains will be the likely people to fold the newsletter before distribution. The group would like a permanent sign(s) to set up and announce an upcoming meeting or other events. A suggestion was made to begin listing the city codes in the newsletter.
Programs/Code Enforcement (Heather Norton): A sign up sheet was passed around the room for ideas for future program presentations at the meetings. Marge Patterson of the Pueblo Pioneer Cemetery Organization will be speaking at our next meeting. Other suggested topics/individuals include Rich Zajac of the Parks Department and C.W. Smith of Parkview Hospital. Heather also encouraged people to contact her if something irksome is occurring in the neighborhood such as parking across sidewalks, weeds and trash, or graffiti. Heather will then report to the Police Department.
Finance (Kerri Farmer): We need to raise money for the organization. All the great ideas we have require money. If we want to develop a walkable neighborhood, traffic roundabouts, host a concert in the park, or even another party we need some money. This group is researching how to become a non-profit (501-c3) in order to take advantage of various grant programs. Some of their other ideas include a booth for the Stomp-On, selling advertising in the newsletter, and improving our relationship with businesses in the neighborhood.
Social (Carolyn Lowry): A sign-up sheet was passed around to provide refreshments for meetings. The committee has started a list of ideas for upcoming events such as a block party, a plant sale, a rummage sale/flea market, and a clean up/recycling day. Let the committee know of any ideas you might have. The goal is to have a social event in the months without an OHNO meeting.
Membership (Angela Giron): A membership form is being developed. A copy was passed around the room and Carolyn Lowry was the first to fill one out and pay $10 dues. Some thoughts on the form were to have different categories of membership: resident, non-resident property owner, business (with one free ad per year in the newsletter). It was suggested that block captains could deliver membership forms with the newsletter. Angela would like to develop a welcome wagon for newcomers to the neighborhood and present them with items donated by local businesses or OHNO members (perhaps fresh baked goodies from a list of neighborhood bakers). Block captains would inform Angela of new neighbors. This would allow us to meet the neighbors, improve and provide safe routes to school for children, and improve safety and aesthetics of the neighborhood overall. No one would be denied membership into OHNO if they can’t afford to pay dues. Membership will be announced at each meeting.
Traffic (Steve Nawrocki): Steve pointed out that Captain Tim Nawrocki of the Colorado State Patrol is also on this committee. Concerns of this group include speeding on all streets, not just Greenwood and Elizabeth, accidents, parking, especially near the hospital and blocking sidewalks, and possibly reverting the one-way streets back to two-way (Elizabeth and Greenwood). Susan commented that there is talk about changing the bus routes/schedules and that we need to keep informed about that issue. Ami Nawrocki pointed out that their children take the city bus to school daily and they will maintain contact with the city transportation department. Steve suggested we might become a transportation district whereby our local taxes are raised to help subsidize bus service and the citi-lift (para transit) services.
Mineral Palace Gardens (Yolanda Butler): Several major goals and short-term accomplishments this group hopes to achieve include holding a plant sale in the spring with donated plants, resurrecting a farmers market, having a concert in the park, developing oral histories about people using Mineral Palace and the historic gardens, developing an interpretive center in the old greenhouse, sponsoring an adopt a flower bed program, planting trees, and preserving the historic architecture. Jean Latka of Trees Please was contacted for information about tree planting, and the group plans to get in touch with Pueblo Beautiful and the Arbor Day and Earth Day Foundations for ideas. The group realizes they need to cooperate with the Parks department to preserve the park.
Historic Preservation (Susan Pelto): Susan is president of HPI, a non-profit organization in Pueblo dedicated to preserving the historic structures and is also a member of the Pueblo Historic Preservation Commission. She will mention the Mineral Palace oral history interest to her groups because that is an interest of theirs as well. The Historic Architecture Report for the Northside Neighborhood is now complete and in review. As a result of a section 106 review for the I-25 widening 900 historic structures were found to be in the way. Because the highway project will not be completed for many years these structures are not in immediate danger but they are now at least identified. Susan would like anyone interested in the historic district designation activities in the northside neighborhood or helping to develop a list of firms or contractors that work on older homes to please contact her.
Meeting adjourned 8:15 PM
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