WECAN Board minutes 7 January 2010

 

WECAN Board minutes 3 December 2009

 

WECAN December 2009 Board Meeting Minutes • Draft

West End Clingman Avenue Neighborhood Board Meeting Thursday December 3, 2009 at Merritt Park. 

Board Members present were: Byron Ballard, Jessie Coleman, Joe Fioccola and Pattiy Torno. Not present were: Bret Frk, Lisa Hadden, Yuri Koslen, Laura Loftis, Floree Lowery, Geraldine Melendez and Jose Ruiz. Also present was Marsha Stickford and Officer Evan Coward..

Pattiy called the meeting to order at 6:33 pm. --------Owens-Bell Volunteer Maintenance “contract" Marsha reported there will be a meeting next Tuesday to iron our details regarding insurance needs.--------Homeless Camps: Officer Coward reported on more homeless camps in the area the recent ones are on DOT property and some are on city property near the railroad, interstate and both sides of the river. Marsha advised the city is seeking a blanket trespass letter to cover all sides of any interstate inside the city limits, which would help the police to keep these areas camp-free. Officer Coward reported that highway-solicitation signs are planned for all ramps along Highway 25(Hendersonville Rd/ Biltmore Ave/Merrimon Ave) and 25-A (Sweeten Creek Rd/ McDowell St/Southside Ave/S Charlotte St) which will deter begging at those intersections..--------Aston Gateway Community Board Pattiy advised there was an unconfirmed report that the hired coordinator Roxy Wynn has resigned. Pattiy also reported obtaining a domain name for ASTONGATEWAYCOMMUNITY.ORG. This should cover the area from Patton Avenue to AB Tech and from Coxe Avenue to the river. It will have a page for WECAN, one for S French Broad Neighborhood, one for River Arts District, one for the APFit Grant, and room for other pages such as Aston Park, Bethel Seventh Day Adventist Church, Senior Opportunity Center, etc. Updating a community watch section weekly or biweekly could serve as a community building tool. Officer Coward reported that more people are using Aston Park with their families and reporting unruly young people (aka skateboarding punks). Pattiy announced that another Twilight Together at Aston Park would be held on Sunday December 13 from 3-6 p.m. with sparklers, food and caroling. Laura will be there from 2p.m since the facility will be closed and perhaps as a rain location we can be inside? We talked about hot food like turkey or hot dogs or marshmallows and agreed that snacking foods would be better given the time between lunch and dinner****Food contributions as follows: Byron will call Atlanta Bread; Pattiy will bring cheese, fruit, cups and napkins; Jessie something like chips and dips and plates; Marsha: crackers; Joe Spiced cider; Pattiy will also ask the Café for coffee or hot chocolate; The Aston Gateway Community Board is not set to meet in December. There has also not been a steering committee meeting since July. Marsha will talk to Laura and Frank about calling one.--------Marsha reported the city has an intern organizing the Community Garden Project and there is a meeting scheduled for next Monday. Byron has an article about a community garden recently established near Atlanta.-------- Suggestions for At Large Members: Jean Boyd and Elaine Robinson are interested if WECAN becomes a fiscal agent for any other non-profit. Marsha Stickford and Floree Lowery were also mentioned. With the current board membership at nine we can have 3 at large members. They serve a 1 year renewable term beginning in January.--------Joe read the rest of the WECAN 2010 Plan goals (See Addendum).: Future Land Use goals appear to be met. Utilities: Water improvements have been made. Sewer improvements are more complicated. Traffic Circulation: Some sidewalks have been added. Some truck traffic has been limited. There is in process a streetscape plan for Clingman Avenue from Roberts St to Hilliard Ave. Parks and Recreation: there is a group established continuing development of Aston Park. Owens-Bell Park was added in the study area. Neighborhood Enhancement: a formal neighborhood organization has been celebrating its 12^th year and has been called one of the most organized neighborhoods in the city. Police have been successful in solving problems with drug dealing, prostitution, and winos in Aston Park and eliminating prostitution and other illegal activity on Jefferson. Approximately equal numbers of new single family houses and demolished ones. Three new multifamily condos built by MHO. (Merritt Park, Prospect Terrace and Clingman Lofts.) Some new and proposed housing may not be in keeping with neighborhood character. We should contact City Planner Alan Glines about new construction meeting city codes. --------Pattiy reported some frustration with Mike Lewis of Coalition of Asheville Neighborhoods calling her at night to find out who to send an invoice for dues from WECAN. Byron had attended meetings until her frustration with the petty problems of prosperous neighborhoods dominated C.A.N.’s attention. Discussion of what C.A.N. has done and should do followed covering being a voice for neighborhoods, what representation means, doing what is best for the entire city, not being a personal soap box or fiefdom. Problem with focusing on limited-interest stream buffer issues instead of more widely concerning sidewalk issues. Joe moved that WECAN refuse to pay the $50 annual dues as an unfair burden. It is not in our interest to raise funds for C.A.N. when we don’t even raise funds for WECAN. The motion passed unanimously. Byron volunteered to talk to Mike Lewis about broad concerns, speaking from communities and personal agendas.

The meeting adjourned at 7:58 pm.

Minutes submitted by Joe Fioccola

SUN 13 Dec 3-6 p.m Twilight Together at Aston Park caroling food and sparklers

THU 17 Dec 5-6;30 Asheville Middle School Natl Jr Honor Society Spaghetti supper (See Below)

7 Jan 2010 6:30 WECAN Board Meeting Merritt Park

WECAN General Membership minutes 17 November 2009

 

WECAN November 2009 General Membership Meeting Minutes • Draft

West End Clingman Avenue Neighborhood General Membership Meeting Tuesday November 17, 2009 at Merritt Park. Board Members present were: Jessie Coleman, Joe Fioccola, Bret Frk and Pattiy Torno. Not present were: Lisa Hadden, Erin Jasin, Laura Loftis, Floree Lowery, Geraldine Melendez and Jose Ruiz. Also present was Mike Vance.

Following a general conversation about homelessness, practical options to middle school, community gardens, secret supper clubs, the profitability of writing speeding tickets, the future of Aston Park and setting a date for Holiday Caroling at Aston Park with the SFB Neighbors on Sunday December 13th from 3-6 p.m. featuring inclusive songs and sparklers, Pattiy called the meeting to order at 6:25 p.m. ----------Joe read a summary of activity since the last General Membership Meeting. The summary included participation in the formation of the Aston Gateway Community Board dating back to December of 2008, Officers elected in January: Alphie as Chair, Pattiy as Vice Chair and Joe as Secretary and Treasurer. Alphie left the WECAN Board in February and Pattiy became Chair, Floree Lowery and Laura Loftis were selected as At-Large Board members. On March 28, 2009 the newly refurbished part of Aston Park was officially dedicated. In April the board met with city planners to provide input on the future of the area surrounding Aston Park. In July the board officially appointed Joe Fioccola and Jeff Carnivale to represent WECAN on the Aston Park Community Board. A clean up date for Owens Bell Park was held on Labor Day. October 13th WECAN, SFBNA, WITO and APD came together in Aston Park to celebrate Safe Communities Month complete with hot dogs and sparklers. Changes at Parks, Recreation and Cultural Arts Department are looking for a more formal agreement for the future maintenance of Owens-Bell Park. November the board began reviewing the goals set in the WECAN 2010 Plan.--------Election of Board Members: The Class of 2009 whose terms are about to expire are Joe, Jessie, Erin and Bret. Thanks to all for their continued service. Bret is eligible to serve another term but Joe and Jessie must rotate off the board for 1 year. Pattiy nominated and Jessie seconded the re-nomination of Bret and the nomination of Byron Ballard and Yuri Koslen. Nominations were closed and approved by acclamation.--------Ideas for involvement: what is important for present board members is the monthly gathering and keeping in touch, and sharing with people we care about. Try to get Pete Basset involved. Byron will check with Montford for what they did to get a sense of being a cohesive neighborhood.(i.e. fundraising, banners, welcoming committee.) Joe suggested that since only a fraction of the neighbors currently in the neighborhood were here before we were redeveloped that we may need to go back to square one and go door-to-door and block by block and street by street to introduce ourselves, and who we are and what we have done and what they would like to see in the neighborhood and what is their email address and the best way to contact them. Byron suggested regular events like the Saturday morning coffee gatherings that we used to do. Other ideas mentioned were movies in the park (if it gets dark enough) live music, Byron suggested getting in touch with Arts2People's Kitty Love. What can we do to build community? Things like walking downtown as a group to Jack of the Woods. (for example) Social gatherings in the neighborhood need a place and Owens-Bell Park, Aston Park and the future Community Garden are the most important ones. We need to communicate better and do things together. Ask the Wedge Brewery to create a WECAN Beer. Pattiy insisted that everything printed must have the WECAN logo on it. Tee Shirts were also suggested as was monthly singing in Aston Park.--------A draft of Future events for 2010 include Jan: elect officers, Feb update mailing list, Mar: Aston Park equipment, Apr: Aston Park reopens, May: Memorial Day Celebration OBP, Jun: ?, Jul: Pool Party?, August:?, Sept: Labor Day Celebration OBP / newsletter, Oct: Safe Communities Celebration Nov:Gen Mem Meeting? Dec: Caroling--------Other ideas: The Community Garden will be a way to build a community with common interests. There are organizations which can help: Kids Farming, Appalachian Sustainability, Urban Gardening, etc. We need to mention the Community Garden to any neighbors we may run into and ask them what they want and need and how they would use it. The board will put together a list of criteria for the CG to include: Water? Yes, Keep the Wall? Yes, Fence? No?, Lighting? Maybe?

The meeting adjourned at 7:10 p.m. Minutes submitted by Joe Fioccola.

Dec 3 6:30 WECAN Board Meeting at Merritt Park

WECAN Board minutes 5 November 2009

 

WECANNEWS 2009