Seward Neighborhood Group (SNG)
OPENING REMARKS: Board President Sheldon Mains said he will continue to urge board members to make at least one financial contribution to the neighborhood group this year. As SNG seeks grants and other donations from the community, Mains said it’s important that board members give something too, regardless of the amount. Mains said he’ll continue to mention donations at each meeting until all board members have donated something.
Last month’s meeting minutes could not be approved by the board because they were not available. They will be brought before the board at the next meeting, Mains said.
CONCERNS OVER BOARD DIVERSITY: Mains called into question the makeup of the SNG board, which he said is not representative of the Seward neighborhood. “I’m concerned about the diversity of the board,” he said, mentioning that the neighborhood’s demographic includes high percentages of non-white residents, low income residents, renters and people under the age of 30, while board members are mostly white, middle-aged homeowners.
In brainstorming how the board could reach out to underrepresented populations, board member Adrienne Hyde said the community’s large immigrant population might be so busy transitioning to life in a new area that it could be difficult to attend neighborhood meetings.
Similarly, board member Charlie Hoffman said, “A lot of our minority communities aren’t that grounded yet.” Hoffman also said that the board likely attracts a lot of homeowners because SNG “deals with many issues oriented toward home [and] business ownership.”
Bernie Waibel, a community organizer, said he could provide the board with a copy of the neighborhood demographics at the next meeting for review.
While no definitive plan was made to address the diversity issue, Mains said, “It’s just something I want us to keep thinking about.”
NEW BOARD APPOINTMENT: Susan Andre, a Seward resident at the meeting, was nominated to the board by Kevin Brown. Brown told the board Andre expressed interest in becoming a board member. Andre’s appointment was confirmed by a vote of the full board.
MIDTOWN ECO ENERGY REQUEST: Following a recommendation from the SNG environment committee, the board voted to go on record seeking an environmental assessment worksheet for the proposed Midtown Eco Energy biomass burner.
Environment committee chair Carol Greenwood said an informational meeting about the biomass burner featured some “very nice marketing, but left a lot of unanswered questions.”
Because the public comment period ends Jan. 14, Greenwood and Waibel said they would generate a letter the following day (Jan. 3).
Mains and Hoffman said the letter should specifically state Seward’s proximity to the burner site and address specific concerns, so as not to be an ineffective “cookie-cutter” memo.
Ward 2 Council Member Cam Gordon said he was glad to see that SNG was seeking an environmental assessment worksheet to get more information about the proposed project.
CITY COUNCIL REPORT: Council Member Gordon presented the latest news from city hall. Gordon said Council support for a continuation of NRP (Neighborhood Revitalization Program), or a similar program, has been growing. A report on the future of NRP, “that came forward recommends, among other things, that $2 million a year be set aside to assist neighborhood organizations [in] cover[ing] basic administrative costs,” according to a handout from the council member.
“I was actually pretty pleasantly surprised,” Gordon said at the SNG meeting, about the administrative cost assistance recommendation.
Gordon also said that the Youth Violence Prevention Steering Committee, which he helped to create last year, will present its recommendations at a public hearing of the Health, Energy and Environment Committee on Jan. 7 at City Hall.
A roundtable discussion on the new Youth Violence Prevention Plan will take place Jan. 22, 7–9 p.m. at Matthews Center, East 24th St. and 28th Ave. S, according to Gordon’s handout.
FINANCIAL REPORT: SNG Treasurer Diann Anders presented the monthly financial report. We “still have 5–10 percent to go,” Anders said, reporting on how much work remains in figuring out the true extent of the organization’s liabilities.
Anders said the financial audit is nearly complete; only December of 2007 has yet to be “closed out.” She told the board that the auditor, Mike Wilson, has recommended that the organization get a more reliable balance sheet. (There is still a question of whether all of SNG’s liabilities are listed in the current grid.)
From speaking with Wilson, Anders said she has a better understanding of the financial crisis the organization has found itself in. “My sense of where the audit is going seems to be uncovering that there wasn’t malfeasance there, but gross incompetence,” Anders said. She added that the audit will be done soon and that Wilson will make his recommendations at the Jan. 30 meeting. “Mike is truly auditing everything, not just NRP,” Anders said, after mentioning that the audit is being paid for by NRP — not SNG.
SNG raised $1,100 in end-of-the-year donations, Anders announced. Including the year-end donations, the organization has raised $6,822 since Executive Director Lori Stone resigned at the end of the summer.
Former interim treasurer and current board member Kevin Brown noted “there’s a few more [looming financial liabilities] that could rear their ugly heads.” Among them, Anders and Brown said, is the contract for the copier lease, unemployment insurance, $900 owed to the Restorative Justice Coalition and a small portion owed to the Wedge Community Co-op.
OFFICE SPACE UPDATE: Hoffman discussed two issues regarding SNG’s current office space. First, he said that early this fall the organization automatically entered into a five-year lease renewal. Hoffman has already looked into whether the organization is now irrevocably bound to the contract for five more years. He said a lawyer who took a look at the agreement thinks SNG might only have to give 12 months notice to get out of the lease.
The second issue is that SNG’s current office partner, Seward Redesign, plans to move to the Smiley’s Point building in February. Still not sure about what SNG will do about future office space, Hoffman has contacted the Sierra Club about possibly taking over the space if SNG finds a new office location.
A discussion ensued and Hoffman agreed not to give the 12 month notice about leaving the office space until he has met with the Sierra Club representatives. One person pointed out that subletting the space could prove to be a valuable asset for the organization.
Brown mentioned that SNG and Seward Redesign will soon have to divide up their shared assets, including phones and other office materials.
“There’s no written agreement on any of this,” said Mains and Anders, indicating it could be a difficult process. Subsequently, a “division of assets committee” was formed. Hoffman, Waibel and SNG Vice Chair Ross Gabrick volunteered to serve on this new committee. Board member Anne Cronmiller agreed to be a substitute. The committee will send a letter to Redesign about setting up a meeting to talk about how the assets will be split.
COORDINATOR POSITION: The board approved a motion to delegate the further development of a temporary coordinator position to SNG’s executive committee. The executive committee will also be responsible for posting the employment ad in the appropriate places, interviewing candidates and bringing a recommendation back to the full board.
A draft description of the job indicates the contracted position will pay $20 per hour, for an average of 10 hours per week, beginning Feb. 1, 2008 and ending Dec. 31, 2008. Mains, who created the job description, said he must still write-up specific qualifications and deliverables before an ad can be posted.
SNAPPz PROGRAM: SNG sent a letter to the attorney of a former staff member, Jocinda Gaynor, requesting that Gaynor prove she paid for materials she kept from the youth photography program (SNAPPz) that was run through SNG. In the letter, the neighborhood organization also indicated that materials produced by the children in the program are not Gaynor’s sole property. Hoffman, who has been handling the correspondence, said he hasn’t heard anything back from Gaynor’s attorney. (Anders said she has uncovered evidence in the SNG office that Gaynor did, in fact, reimburse the organization for the printer that once belonged to SNG.) As for the estimated $600 worth of SNG’s camera equipment that Hoffman claims Gaynor still has in her possession, the organization plans to seek the advice of a non-profit attorney about taking the matter to conciliation court.
Anders recommended the legal consultation wait until the financial audit is complete.
SEWARD TOWERS UPDATE: Anders, who had taken on the task of supervising SNG contractor Nasra Noor, reported that Noor facilitated the annual meetings of Seward Towers board members last month.
Also, sewing circles at the Towers have been canceled indefinitely. The circles were not held during most of December because the sewing teacher, a woman by the name of Marilyn, was hospitalized. Anders reported that Marilyn did not feel up to continuing to lead the circles. “If there’s no Marilyn, there’s probably no sewing circle,” Anders told the board, explaining that the issue of continuing the program was more difficult than just finding a new teacher.
NEWSLETTER AND E-DEMOCRACY: Brown announced that in three or four more months SNG might be ready to launch a publication. Brown described the publication as a regularly scheduled newsletter that would be sent to all financial contributors. It would include information beyond just meeting dates and times, Brown said, and focus on what the organization does in terms of broader issues.
Mains gave a brief update about Seward’s e-democracy project. There are currently 125 members on e-democracy, he said.
The next SNG board meeting will take place on Wednesday, Jan. 30, 7–9 p.m at Seward Towers East, located at the intersection of East Franklin and 30th avenues. Enter on the north side of the building. Inside the main doors, take the door to the left that reads “Advantage Center.” Walk along the hallway and within the office at the end; take the stairs to the second floor.
The board’s regular meeting schedule, on the fourth Wednesday of every month, will resume in February.
Contact:
Seward Neighborhood Group
2323 Franklin Ave. E
Minneapolis, MN 55406
Phone: 612-338-6205
last revised: January 7, 2008