Thursday, November 7, 2013

WECAN November 2013 Board Meeting Minutes • Draft


WECAN Board Meeting November 7, 2013 at 64 Clingman Ave.
Board Members Present were:   Joe Fioccola, AnnaBeth Hardcastle, Yuri Koslen, Rachel Larson and Pattiy Torno . Board Members not present were Byron Ballard, Jeff Carnivale, Jessie Nell Coleman, Tom Gibson,  Mike Kenton,  Luke W. Perry, JoAnn Skinner, and Suzanne Willis.  Also present were: Django Quetzal Shalom Koslin, Officer Evan Coward and Marsha Stickford.
    Vice chair Rachel called the meeting to order at 6:40 p.m.  
MINUTES: The Draft October minutes were discussed. Bret added the following via email: Just as a follow up.  We were the ones that requested the stop sign on Park Ave/West Haywood Street given the speed of people going through that intersection, people cutting the corner going down the hill behind our house, and folks going the wrong way on Club Street.  Having a ‘pause’ at that location will help people understand that intersection better and approach it safely.  A few weeks ago, a person went through that intersection at about 45-50 mph and totaled our car in front of our house.  The meeting with the city resulted in them accepting our suggestion to add the stop sign and some additional striping. Stephanie had a correction also by email : that the roaming in the raw is on Depot St by Pizza Pura. With those changes the minutes were approved.
TREASURERS REPORT: The check from the Half Marathon has not been received. Was Alphie the contact? Also the IRS still doesn't have AnnaBeth's address after several corrections were sent.
BLOCK JESSIES: Rachel printed some pictures of the Festival of Neighborhoods Showcase, the YMCA 5K fun Run, the ADC Bridge being craned into position, trees being taken down on Jefferson and the RAD Lofts conceptual drawing. The trees on Jefferson are part of the 100 Park Avenue site preparations. Those also include a reestablished drainage swale from the Park Avenue level down to Clingman next to All Souls Pizza which took out park of the pedestrian trail at the end of Jefferson to Park Avenue and is dangerous and the seed blankets were not secured and are slipping away.  Joe said that the Showcase display including over 700 photos could be used for an educational event showing the history of WECAN over the last fifteen years. Pattiy reported the 5K run was a bigger success than planned and brought out over 800 runners--mostly girls. She also noted that NEXTDOOR.COM had 30-35 members so far and would be adding River Arts District for those residents.  She liked the opportunity to schedule a Halloween route and thinks it  is a growing idea that could become an annual community builder and social event. The block party on Jefferson may also expand next time and become an annual event. Pattiy reported new folks joining Facebook.
GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING. The General Membership meeting will be on December 5. The main order of business is the election of board members. The Class of 2013 consists of : Jessie Coleman, Joe Fioccola, AnnaBeth Hardcastle, Jeff Carnivale and Tom Gibson. All are eligible for a second term. There is also a vacancy in the Class of 2014 replacing Luke W. Perry. Judy Daniels and Stephanie Monson will also attend to discuss how we can work together with planning in our area. There may also be some drawings of 14 Riverside Drive and ideas for affordability from East of the Riverway.
WECAN PROCLAMATION: Pattiy will be at the City Council meeting on Dec 10 and wants to work on a proclamation recognizing outgoing Mayor Terry Bellamy's contributions to WECAN as a native daughter who was instrumental in the formation of WECAN, Inc. and who is honored with a maple tree in the Owens-Bell Sunny Cultural Garden.
NEWSLETTER: Articles have been assigned as follows: Rachel: Ice House, Club House, Historic assets; Pattiy: ADC Pedestrian Bridge and Half Marathon; Byron: Jefferson Baby Boom;  Evan: NextDoor.com;   Joe: Fifteen years after Terry;. 
COMMUNITY GARDEN: The best time of year for clearing the land is coming up which will also make it easier to patrol and to deter campers.
APD CRO Update: Several campers were cleared from sites along the river. Also the second small brick house on Yarrow Place may have an open door. The brick pointing has been completed and the graffiti on the IceHouse Smoke Stack will be removed soon.  The question of lighting came up and it may require landmark designation. That is an idea for next years goals. Lighting may also be needed on the new pedestrian bridge. as a public safety issue. One goal of the bridge was to expedite the completion of the greenway on the east side of the river which is planned to be complete by the time New Belgium opens. Evan reported that Next Door was doing well and rachel observed that it was doing the job of the Block Jessies and should be looked at to identify block leaders.
WHAT'S IN A NAME?: Discussion of the idea of renaming Swannanoa River Road and Meadow Road and Lyman Street and Riverside Drive as The Wilma Dykeman Riverway. This would be a huge undertaking over 500 businesses would be affected. Marsha reported that name change requests are usually initiated by property owners who will pay to make the changes. There may be some advantages such as branding and trade marking which suggests that the Chamber and other parties may need to be involved. Pattiy observed that is isn't right to name a paved road after Wilma Dykeman and instead naming the greenway would be much more appropriate. Joe suggested that if a new name was called for it would almost be better to officially rename it what it is commonly known as--'River Road'.  
The meeting adjourned at 7:55 p.m.
DRAFT Minutes submitted by Joe Fioccola.

UPCOMING EVENTS:
November 9-10                          River Arts District Studio Stroll  
November 14                             ADC Bridge Ribbon Cutting 3 pm next to Jean Webb Park.
November 14                             Deadline for submission to Newsletter to Pattiy
November 21                             Newsletter mailed
November 23                             Holiday Parade?               
November 28                             Thanksgiving
December 5                                6:30 WECAN General Membership Meeting 6:30 at 64 Clingman Avenue

WECAN Board Meeting Minutes 4January 2024