Seward Neighborhood Group (SNG)
COMMITTEE REPORTS
Crime and Safety
Crime and Safety meeting news was delivered by Dick Westby, though he did not attend the last meeting. Westby said beginning next month, SNG Vice Chair Ross Gabrick will take over as chair of the Crime and Safety Committee. Though he’s now going to chair the Seward History committee, Westby said he plans to continue some of his work with Crime and Safety, including graffiti removal. “This will allow me to put my energy into this committee that’s been dormant for awhile,” Westby said of dedicating his time to Seward’s history.
Westby informed those at the meeting about the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program, a disaster response training offered for community members. Six Seward residents are currently CERT certified, Westby said, including the board’s newest member, Susan Andre. Westby said “we would like to have about 20 more” people in the neighborhood trained. A 21-hour training (over the course of several days or a weekend) is likely to be offered in April or May, he said. Board members and meeting attendees were urged to think about attending the spring training. The training will be advertised on the Seward e-democracy group and in the SNG monthly newsletter. SNG treasurer Diann Anders suggested recruiting volunteers from the Seward Towers for certification. Board President Sheldon Mains said SNG should be “casting a wider net” when seeking out volunteers.
Gabrick said the issue of pedestrians crossing Franklin Avenue, especially since the 35W bridge collapse, had been a major topic of discussion at the last Crime and Safety meeting. A representative from the city suggested the installation of temporary road signs or an increase in “random” traffic enforcement on the busy avenue, as ways to mitigate the problem.
Gabrick presented a motion asking for the board’s approval to continue pursuing solutions to the traffic issue. The motion passed unanimously.
Development
Community garden plot: Charlie Hoffman presented a motion asking for permission from the board to continue researching the issue of the community garden at 26th and 28th avenues South, and for general support in keeping the plot of land as a garden. (The community garden Hoffman referred to is a plot that the city of Minneapolis wants to sell to the neighborhood group for $1.) The motion carried.
The issue now, Hoffman said, is to figure out how SNG would maintain the property (i.e. shovel the walkway, pay property taxes and liability insurance) if it did decide to take-on the garden. Hoffman said the plot is “essentially not a buildable lot” so it would probably have to remain a garden if it became SNG’s property. Board member Kevin Brown said he didn’t think liability insurance would be more than a few hundred dollars and suggested that a small fee be charged to individual gardeners to cover the cost. Based on his preliminary research, Hoffman said last year the garden “was fully occupied during the growing season.”
The Development committee is beginning to plan for how SNG will use the $30,000 cooperative grant it received with Seward Redesign for Franklin Avenue revitalization.
FINANCE REPORT
FINANCIAL AUDIT: The audit that was to have been presented and discussed at this month’s meeting will have to wait until next month’s meeting. “The audit was not at a complete enough stage to come to the board,” Anders said. She added that the audit has expanded from 2006 to include all the issues that came before the board in August.
Robin Westcott, an independent CPA, is now a member of the finance committee, Anders said. She and Westcott recently worked together to amend the organization’s financial procedures manual, to essentially “fix” some of the problems leading up to SNG’s recent financial crisis. One such change now requires board approval to extend the organization’s line of credit. The amendments to the financial procedures manual were brought before the board and passed unanimously.
OFFICE SPACE, UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE: In reviewing the 2007 financial statements and the 2008 budget worksheet, Anders mentioned that SNG currently owes $14,000 on unemployment insurance. Anders also said that in preparing the preliminary 2008 budget, she only accounted for half of the office space when budgeting for rent — in anticipation of another tenant taking over Seward Redesign’s space. If there’s no one to split the rent with after Redesign leaves, “we’ll be in really bad trouble, really fast,” Anders said.
Hoffman said he met with Heather Cusik from Sierra Club about subleasing office space after Seward Redesign leaves. “The bottom line right now is they are not ready to make a decision right now,” he said. Sierra Club hired a real estate broker and is looking at offices around the Twin Cities. Cusik said she expects to be able to tell SNG two weeks from now whether Sierra Club is interested in the space. Hoffman told the board he mentioned to Cusik that “timing on [SNG’s] part is almost infinitely flexible.” SNG is hoping to lease half of its space for $8.50 per square foot. “It’s damn reasonable,” Hoffman said, noting that the building Redesign is moving to is several dollars more than that.
Several board members told Hoffman that Brian Miller from Redesign said he has a lead on a possible tenant. While Miller told him Redesign would likely move by the beginning of February, Hoffman said it now appears the move might not happen until March.
Gabrick said the informal committee that was formed last month to negotiate office inventory, made an inventory list. He said from speaking with Miller that it “sounds like Redesign is not planning on taking much.”
COORDINATOR POSITION NOT IN 2008 BUDGET: While there has been talk in the past about hiring a part-time, contracted coordinator, Anders did not include the position in her 2008 budget. “As treasurer, it’s my recommendation that we don’t have any money to hire anybody… we can’t hire a community organizer,” she said. Anders said the $10,000 from NRP is being spent on community organizing activities “as we speak,” meaning there wouldn’t be anything left to spend on a coordinator.
If a coordinator position is not in the budget, Mains said, an office volunteer or multiple office volunteers are needed. Brown said he would like to see the organization recruit a grant writer to help the organization maintain a certain level of activity to avoid becoming “stuck.” Anders and Mains disagreed. “That’s precisely how we got into this mess in the first place,” Anders said. “We can’t write grants to pay off our debt, we’ve got to deal with that.” Anders and Mains said SNG needed to evaluate its priorities and the needs of the neighborhood to make decisions about what programs to fund before it started pursuing grants. Brown pointed out that certain grants can fund general operating expenses, which could be worth going after immediately. Hoffmann suggested that individual committees assess programs in their purview, to move along the process of program assessment. Mains said he would talk to Bill Svrluga, who was not present at the meeting, about McKnight’s grant criteria. (Svrluga has worked with McKnight in the past, on behalf of SNG.)
Mains said an office volunteer or several regular volunteers are necessary, if a coordinator position is not feasible. Anders said a team of volunteers would be helpful for routing information, opening mail and answering e-mails. A regular commitment of 2-4 hours per week spread out among a few people would work, she said.
One audience member asked if there was anything that Augsburg students could help with. Augsburg professor Garry Hesser mentioned the college’s work-study program and told the board there was possible funding available to send a student to the neighborhood group. The board decided to “advertise” the volunteer office positions on Seward e-democracy, at Augsburg College and via The Bridge newspaper.
MEMBERSHIP, COMMUNICATIONS, AND DONATIONS COMMITTEE REPORT: Brown asked for suggestions about locations for the Membership, Communications and Donations committee lunch meeting. Those with ideas should let him know, he said.
FUTURE OF SNG PROGRAMS:
Seward Towers organizing contract: Mains, Anders and Nasra Noor attended a Towers meeting together this month at which Mains said “there was nothing but praise for Nasra.” Mains said he had heard rumors that residents were unhappy with Noor’s lack of supervision by the neighborhood group, but Mains said he didn’t see any evidence of that at the meeting.
While Noor, who conducts the Towers meetings, had been translating some of them into Somali, Anders said she asked her to discontinue the practice. Anders said other people had complained that they didn’t want to translate the meetings into other languages, citing that Noor was being paid to translate, while they were not. Anders said technically Noor was not paid to translate either, but rather, to facilitate the meetings.
Garage sale: In the past, the garage sale was designed to break even, Anders said. She went on to say she thought the sale had the potential to make money. According to SNG’s records, the sale made $73 for the organization last year. Hoffman said the decision about whether to hold the sale should be based on its value to the community, rather than its ability to make money.
Seward Youth Peace Garden: Westby said the Peace Garden has a long tradition in the neighborhood. “I think it’s a real good program that ties school kids with neighborhood kids,” he said. Anna Sonmore Costello, who led the program in the past, is eager to begin working, Westby said. It’s critical to find out about the program now, he said, because the students usually begin working on the garden when they’re still in school. Westby conveyed that funding for the program might already exist as part of a three year grant, and that Costello was “just waiting for us to apply” it. Brown said he, too, thought the program had been funded through 2008. Mains said the organization would pursue the issue and how it should be funded, if the grant is not applicable through 2008.
CITY COUNCIL REPORT: Ward 2 Councilmember Cam Gordon briefly delivered the news from City Hall. Gordon highlighted two issues, the first being the Central Corridor project. Gordon said that while it looks like a tunnel under Washington Avenue is not going to be funded, there hasn’t been much talk of the implications for the surrounding neighborhoods. Franklin and Cedar avenues will no doubt be affected if light-rail is built at-grade, he said. Gordon also mentioned the city’s informational sessions on the future of NRP. He said it would be “worthwhile” for SNG and people from the neighborhood to make formal comments at the meetings.
The next SNG board meeting will take place on Wednesday, Feb. 27, 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.
Contact
Seward Neighborhood Group
2323 East Franklin Ave.
Minneapolis, MN 55406
Phone: 612-338-6205
last revised: February 8, 2008