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413-746-6206 mcknightcouncil@yahoo.com McKNIGHT NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCIL, INC. Previous Meeting Minutes
McKnight Neighborhood
Council Board Meeting: September 9,
2008 PRESENT: *Gregory A Hession (President) Chair,
* Tony Anthony, * Jeri Gardiner, *Chip Gorra, *Jim Llewellyn (Vice Pres.), *Stephen
Gray, *Walter Kroll, *Denise Moccia, *Demetrios Panteleakis, *Rodrick
Shubrick, *Liz Stevens, *Ben Swan Jr. (Secretary), *Marianne
Winters (Treas.), Frank Buntin, Jesse Carman Jr., Archie Emmanuel Jr.,
Lisa Gaudreau, Sandra
Hession, Eunice Kirby, Mary Kirby, Ceil Lewonchuk, Dimry Lovejoy, Filicia
Mack, Phylicia Mack, Dimry Mack, Karan Parkin, Ricardo Rodiji, Stephen
Thibeau, Kat Wright (*Members of the
Board) Guests: Darryl E. Moss, Springfield Mayoral
Aide; Norma Hicks, Donna G. Seymour Meeting
called to order 7:10 p.m. 13
Board members present
PRESIDENT’S REPORT: Pres. GAH
announced formation of new board committee, Good Neighbor Committee (see
below); Looking for people to volunteer.
GUESTS: Neither scheduled guest was
present. SECRETARY’S REPORT: Minutes of Aug 12, 2008: DP moved to accept minutes as written, SG
seconded. Motion
passed. TREASURER’S REPORT: Treas. MWinters: Reported MNC
received $6,000 from the City, representing the 3rd &
4th quarters of last fiscal year. No written report submitted;
her computer is down; will send report when computer is running
again. OLD BUSINESS: ·
BROWN STREET:
Re: S Thibeau’s proposal to block off Brown at Bay: Referred to Public
Safety Committee to find out what the City requirements are.
o
Several Brown
Street residents were present to oppose the proposal; presented a petition
in opposition signed by several residents; believe it is unsafe to block
it, need access for ambulance and fire trucks; cited 13 elderly residents;
changing Brown to one-way has slowed down traffic; SPD has equipment to
keep drugs & drinking down. o
ST argued in favor
of blocking, citing stopping drug traffic would improve property values.
o
LS described the
process of getting this kind of change, including homeowners’ petition,
notification by Traffic Commission; and suggested asking someone from the
blocked streets in Forest Park how they did it and how they feel about it
now. o
WK proposed a
meeting between Brown St. residents and Traffic Commission, SPD Lt. Trites
(Sector F liaison) and Public Safety Committee to work out a solution that
makes Brown Street safer. o
BS Noted Sector F
Police beat team meeting, which he chairs, meets on 3rd
Thursday of the month; also available is Sheriff’s neighborhood watch
group on first Wednesday of the month; argued for responsible ownership of
our own community, cleaning up, cutting overgrowth where illegal
activities can hide, etc. o TA moved to move the question of blocking Brown Street to the Public Safety Committee to discuss and report back; LS seconded. Motion passed. Mayoral Aide Darryl Moss was introduced at this
point. ·
MASON SQUARE
LIBRARY: (Liz Stevens, Chair, MSL Advisory Committee):
o
Reported MSLAC, a committee of the 5
neighborhood councils surrounding Mason Square, has been meeting since
2004 with one goal, To get a library back for this
neighborhood. o
Recently Mayor Sarno made a site
selection, Mosque #13, and announced and then went to the Library
Foundation for money from the Annie Curran Trust Fund, which the Library
Foundation was set up to manage.
o
Library Foundation approved an
architectural report on Mosque #13 be made on possibility of renovation,
at what cost, and whether there are any environmental concerns. The
building has a large open ground floor space and a second floor in the
back. We will know all of that with the architect’s report, due in a month
or so. o
JG asked about the architect’s figures
in the Library Site Search Committee report; LS noted there were general
figures included, but it was not an actual architectural
report o
Question was raised about
eminent domain taking of the former library
building; D Moss responded that eminent domain could be a long process and
the issue is getting a library as soon as
possible. o
CL asked, since Domenic Sarno was a
City Councilor when the original sale of the library was done in secret,
why was he so secretive about this deal; he could have notified the MSLAC.
LS concurred that a press conference was held in public without telling
anyone in the MSLAC and the deal was announced before he asked for
funding, although he has now talked with the Library Foundation; D Moss
responded that we had every right to be hurt, but that a number of things
were happening that were politics & not on the up and up, that the
Mayor had to proceed that way so other elements would not destroy the
deal; Mayor worked off the package from the site search
committee. o
DP noted private parties were involved
in the transaction & probably had a confidentiality
agreement. o
JG asked about
cost, with a purchase price of $950,000 plus renovation, is there a limit
to cost? Also noted Springfield citizens are still paying off the bond for
renovating the library building. o
CG moved
that in the interests of time the chair not entertain any additional
comment from the floor and recognize only board members. TA seconded.
Votes 5 Aye, 6 No; motion failed. ·
FOLLOW-UP
C.A.P.E.R. (Consolidated Annual Performance & Evaluation Report
FY08): Annual report filed by the City with H.U.D. on disbursement
& outcomes of the CDBG grant. Treas. MW reported she read the report
and does not think there is anything we need to comment on, except that
there ought to be more transparency on the work of each neighborhood
council. The entire CDBG grant to Springfield was $7
million. ·
STRATEGIC PLAN
PROCESS – Treas. MW called for volunteers to develop and do the
survey; second meeting of the committee scheduled for next Thursday;
charged each committee of the board to name key pieces of the process.
Hopes to have a draft plan ready in 5 – 6 months and completed this fiscal
year. ·
SPRINGFIELD
KIDNEY WALK – RS & KW reported: Sat., Oct. 18, from 9:30-Noon,
Forest Park – MNC board has voted to support and has a
team. ·
GIRARD AVE.
CLEAN-UP – LS reported: Thurs., Sept. 18, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. – In place
are trash pick-up, yard work on tree belt, painting 7 garages; white paint
donated by graffiti task force (Mike Cass), also lending brushes &
rollers; still need ladders. WK reported: idea came from Public Safety
Committee; Park dept will cut grass, City will take trash; partnering with
Springfield College students, Bergen Circle residents; good example of our
walking the walk; did get letters of permission from owners for the
work. ·
McKNIGHT RAIL
TRAIL – LS reported: She & DP met with UMass professor &
students, sent specs re trail surfaces; date will be set for public
presentation, focus is to get a design package and field measurements;
2-mile ‘linear park’. DP offered staff at MassMutual to do engineering;
need to go back to City for FY09 budget inclusion.
·
NEW:
Complaint about overgrown lot behind River Inn (State St.) between
Thompson and Westminster, and back to the duplex on Thompson. BS
moved to contact Code Enforcement to cut & clean up that lot;
TA seconded. Discussion – lot is being used to park large trucks. BS
amended the motion to refer to Housing Committee to take action; TA
seconded. Motion as amended passed
unanimously. ·
REBECCA JOHNSON
SCHOOL PLAYGROUND – LS, nothing yet to
report. ·
380 BAY ST.
– Update: ST reported it is in the process of being shut down. Noted
this is key to the rail trail. ·
25 ST. JAMES
AVE. – DM asked if Mr. Bruce would be present at another MNC board
meeting to present his plans for this property. GAH will look into
it. ·
DEP. DIR. OF
NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES – Pres. GAH noted new Dep. Dir. will be present
at next MNC board meeting; job description attached. Asked that members
get any issues to GAH so that questioning is done in an orderly
fashion. COMMITTEE REPORTS:
§
OFFICE RELOCATION – LS – No
report. §
PUBLIC SAFETY
COMMITTEE – WK
reported: Vandalism rate has gone up in late afternoon, the time of day
when kids are walking home from school, does not want to see repeat of
last year; noted MNC has a good relationship with SPD through Deputy Chief
Cochrane and Lt. Trites; have done good job responding to complaints;
still have to get issues reported and we will follow up; welcome
participation from the people in the neighborhood. Report attached. §
HOUSING (Denise Moccia, chair): DM suggested
dividing up responsibilities to monitor code enforcement by neighborhood
districts, each person to give her a short list to forward to City, in
order to relieve her of covering the whole neighborhood; noted she is more
focused on moving abandoned properties. GAH offered to coordinate with the
Good Neighbor Committee to address issues before code enforcement is
brought in. JL noted Housing Office has become more responsive over past
few months. No written
report. §
GOOD NEIGHBOR
COMMITTEE: Pres. GAH
reported: Divided G.N.Com into 3 parts: (a) Welcome, CL will coordinate,
asking for volunteers to prepare welcome packets, get funding from local
businesses, welcome new neighbors; (b) Emergency Help, ST will identify
emergencies arising for people (elderly, infirm, truly needy) who need
help with their property (cut grass, paint, clear sidewalks, shovel show,
etc.); (c) Neighborhood Improvement, GAH will chair subcommittee to beat
Code Enforcement to the problem (litter, overgrowth, junk & trash,
etc.), will present items to MNC board to approve any letters citing code
problems to owners/renters before they go out. Report
attached. §
FINANCE & FUND
RAISING – Treas. MW
reported this committee is open to any new volunteers; will be working
with auditor to audit last 2 years before we make the case that we are
viable; There is a parallel track between Fund Raising and Strategic
Planning efforts. No written
report. §
DEVELOPMENT &
PLANNING – DP
reported: D&PCom now meets 3rd Thursday of the month, but
may have to move it; Met with David Panagore (report attached); Met with
Al Chwalek (Spfd DPW), will meet with him & WK re crosswalks and
flashing lights on Bay, Worthington, St. James at entrances to
neighborhood, noted that time-frames are behind but money is in place with
state matching funds; Also addressed paving of Worthington, St. James,
Dartmouth & Bay; will meet with WMECo on street lighting. BS suggested
we could volunteer to paint traffic light poles. Report
attached. §
COMMUNICATIONS: JL reported there is a dire need for
more volunteers on this committee. Committee raised price of newsletter
ads (from $25 to $35) with no objection from regular advertisers, found it
non-productive to leave piles of newsletters at advertisers’ places of
business; agreed compiling the neighborhood business directory is a high
priority, goal is to publish a booklet as soon as possible, including
neighborhood businesses, at-home businesses and trades people; began
exploring MNC conducting other events and activities. Report
attached. NEW BUSINESS: §
104 PRINCETON ST.
– BS asked that since the house burned down & it’s now a hole
in the ground, do the owners have a grandfather clause to rebuild a
2-family; DM noted the property is not in the local or national historical
district, so there is no design review process at all. §
ARISE – Pres. GAH asked if MNC should
invite this community activist organization to make a presentation; tabled
to next meeting. §
FORMAT – DP asked if agenda could put
committee reports first; agreement was to put guests first. §
McKNIGHT N.C. – Sec. BS noted MNC is seen as one of
the most organized of the 17 neighborhood councils – all volunteers -
& therefore have strength in the City; encouraged all to come back,
join committees, participate. §
BUCKINGHAM ST. PARKING – SH noted the letter of complaint
from Ms. Sypher; WK has spoken with her and will meet with her to try to
resolve the issue. §
PRIMUS MASON LOT – DP reported that Development Dept
wants to know if we will re-address what to do with this city-owned
property; JL reported he brought the question to the Springfield
Preservation Trust for consideration, & they are interested. ANNOUNCEMENTS: ·
PRESERVATION TRUST House tour, Sunday, Oct. 19, 4-7
pm, 5 houses around Thompson Triangle; registration a JL’s house, 108
Dartmouth. Need one more house. BS
moved to adjourn; TA seconded. Motion
passed. 9:10pm -
Adjournment McKnight Neighborhood
Council Board Meeting: August 12,
2008 PRESENT: *Gregory A Hession (President) Chair,
* Tony Anthony, *Chip Gorra, *Jim Llewellyn (Vice Pres.), *Stephen
Gray, *Walter Kroll, *Denise Moccia, *Demetrios Panteleakis, *Liz
Stevens, *Ben Swan Jr., *Marianne Winters (Treas.), Karen
Bogdanovich, Anne Bradley, Walter Crutchfield, Buddy Crutchfield, Caroline
Cunningham, Marjorie Guess, Sandra Hession, Mary Kirby, Ceil
Lewonchuk, Donald Mitchell, Ray Talbot, Stephen Thibeau, Michael Wiersma,
Kat Wright (*Members of the Board) Guests: David Panagore, Springfield Chief
Development Officer; City Councilor Tim Rooke; John Slosek; Ruth B.
Loving; Morris Jones; John Malone Meeting
called to order 7:10 p.m. 10
Board members present NEW DIRECTOR: Pres. GAH swore in Namer
“Chip” Gorra, who assumed his seat on the board.
PRESIDENT’S REPORT: President GAH
cited need to restaff the standing and ad hoc committees of the board,
tabled until later in the meeting. Then introduced guest David Panagore.
GUEST: D.Panagore addressed the subjects of (a)
Housing related issues, (b) the Primus Mason historical lot, (c) UMASS
Dartmouth Urban Initiative project, and other issues. Notes on Mr. Panagore’s remarks are attached to these
minutes. GUEST: John Slosek offered to forego his
presentation on insurance for older Victorian homes because of the
Council’s time constraints; GAH thanked him and agreed to place him on the
agenda for October meeting. SECRETARY’S REPORT: Minutes of July 8,
2008: JL moved to accept minutes as written, LS
seconded. Motion
passed. TREASURER’S REPORT: Treas. MWinters: Proposed FY09 budget
attached: MWinters
moved to approve the FY09 Budget, which
began 7/1/08 and runs to 6/30/09; TA seconded. Discussion: MWinters
explained changes and new line items – reduction in insurance premium
because MNC no longer maintains an office, reduced telephone cost,
increase in communication costs include all printing and website, increase
in stipend for office manager and addition of consultants. The budget as
approved will be submitted as part the Council’s CDBG funding contract
with the City of Springfield. In the current FY08 budget, although MNC
anticipates a surplus by the end of FY09, current cash flow is negligible
because we are still waiting for 3rd and 4th quarter
payments on our FY08 CDBG grant. Vote was called. Motion to approve the FY09 budget
as proposed passed unanimously. Budget
attached. FY09 CONTRACT WITH CITY OF SPRINGFIELD:
a.
Objective 2, Action 1: Asked to change
“involving 20% of residents” to “involving 5% of residents” as being more
achievable. Consensus
was to make the
change. b. Objective 1, Action 1:
Asked that number of properties to be improved be changed from “10” to “5”
as being more achievable. Some discussion ensued; final consensus was to change the number to “5 to
10”. c.
Objective 1, Action 1: Asked that list
of ‘Partners’ also include Department of Economic Development, other city
departments and other agencies; final consensus was to add to the list, “and others
as appropriate”. Vote was
called. Motion was
amended to approve the contract with the changes to the Scope of Service
as cited. Motion passed unanimously. 2.
JL
moved to authorize President Gregory A.
Hession to sign the Contract with the City of Springfield for FY09; SG
seconded. Motion passed
unanimously. OLD BUSINESS: ·
MASON SQUARE LIBRARY:
(Liz Stevens, Chair, MSL Advisory Committee):LS made the following
motion, M.Winters
seconded: Whereas: The Mason
Square Branch Library does not have enough space in its current location
to house its full collection nor to fully service the Mason Square
community; And earlier this year this council supported the
acquisition of the McKnight Home at 684 State Street for a new location
for a branch library, using the power of eminent domain if necessary.
And at the request of the Springfield Library
Foundation, an architectural review was done of the McKnight Home and the
former Mason Square Fire Station.
And that architectural review of the McKnight Home
and the former Mason Square Fire Station indicates that neither building
is suitable for a public library branch,
I move that the McKnight Neighborhood Council
support acquiring the former Mason Square Branch Library by the City of
Springfield, using the power of eminent
domain.
Discussion: Former City Councilor Morris
Jones, Ruth Loving and Marge Guess addressed the issue positively; LS
noted that library site search committee had looked at all available
options and had run out of suitable possitilities, and that the one
building that fits and suits is the one constructed to hold the weight of
a volume of books, i.e. the former library building at 765 State St. Marge
Guess noted that as citizens we are still paying off the bond raised to
renovate that building for public use eight years ago. It was also noted
that the African American collection built up over the years is in storage
and unavailable to the community. Asked how the eminent domain taking
would be financed, LS informed that the money would come from the Annie
Curran Fund managed by the Springfield Library Foundation. Noted that the
process regarding eminent domain is for a City department (e.g. the
Library Dept.) to make the request to the Executive (i.e. the Mayor) who
then files the eminent domain taking. Vote was called. Motioned passed
unanimously. President GAH will write letter
to inform the Mayor, City Council, Finance Control Board., and copied to
Springfield newspapers. ·
FOLLOW-UP ON
380 BAY ST.: Car repair business – Cars are moved from city property
but the business is on-going; operator has been served by DEP & OSHA;
R.Talbot noted that Bay Area council is also concerned, as this is on the
border between our councils, and they will press for compliance as
well. ·
ZONING
ORDINANCE CHANGES TA volunteered to read and report back next
meeting. ·
REBECCA JOHNSON
SCHOOL PLAYGROUND LS volunteered
to represent MNC on the steering
committee ·
SPRINGFIELD
KIDNEY WALK KW passed around a sign-up / pledge list; noted MNC board has
already approved participation; date Oct.
18. ·
GIRARD AVE.
CLEAN-UP BS asked for additional volunteers to work on Humanics in
Action Day project; City departments and resident group from Bergen Circle
are signed on. COMMITTEE REPORTS:
§
HOUSING (Denise Moccia, chair): DM reported
33 Florida St was taken by the City; Lot on Dorchester St did not sell in
the recent auction, but an abutter wants to buy it; and the City GIS
website has changed so that some information is not longer available,
which is not a good thing. §
FURTHER COMMITTEE REPORTS
TABLED §
COMMITTEE CHAIRS: Pres. GAH asked committee chairs to
reach out and recruit people to serve on each committee §
GOOD NEIGHBOR
COMMITTEE: GAH will
call a meeting soon, wants at least 10 members; reiterated that in
addressing problem properties there will be no unofficial communication by
members of the GN committee or by individual board members. NEW BUSINESS: §
BROWN ST. S.Thibeau asked that his proposal to
block Brown St. be included on the next agenda. TA
moved to adjourn; JL seconded. Motion
passed. 8:55pm - Adjournment
Notes
on Remarks by David Panagore at August 12, 2008 Meeting of McKnight
Neighborhood Council David Panagore,
Springfield Director of Economic Development, was invited to address the
subjects of (a) Dep. Dir. of Neighborhoods, (b) McKnight Rail Trail, (c)
Housing tax title & other related issues, (d) the Primus Mason
historical lot, (e) UMASS Dartmouth Urban Initiative project, (f) zoning
modifications, & (g) next city property auction. The following notes
are from that portion of the meeting: a.
Neighborhoods – His department will hire soon a deputy director of
neighborhoods who will report directly to him; wants strong neighborhoods,
to attract business & revitalize the
city. b.
Rail
trail – There is money in budget for UMass student design department to
study the 2-mile rail trail site this fall. c.
Housing – tax title process – The city as landowner wants to move
these properties along; city has moved to RFP, especially the larger
properties. McKnight is special because the historic district already has
an RFP process the other neighborhoods do not; noted that every property
in the historic district will have to go through the Historic
Commission. Through zoning
modifications that are being worked on, there will be a site plan review
process, the community will get to comment on the look of any development,
something McKnight already has through Historical Commission. Planning
department is trying to expedite the process so the city is not left with
empty lots or dilapidated houses; they are developing a ‘pattern book’ of
house designs / ‘general principles’ guide for developers. Cited 3 basic
categories: (1) gable front vernacular (standard New England design in
Victorian, Colonial or Craftsman styles), (2) bungalow, and (3)
duplex. In CDBG FY09 grant a
total of $150,000 (city-wide) is set aside for historic rehabilitation for
“significant properties” – so the city does not lose housing stock,
considering it will cost $150K-$200K to build new. Over time, department
hopes to identify more sources of funding (but has not done so to date)
for purpose of doubling staff in housing department, residential
development in tax title department and more
outreach. Q from DM: In or out of
the historical district, what standard applies? Can we extend the historic
district to the rest of McKnight? A: It is tough to impose strict rigorous
standards; barring that, the pattern book (cited above) can give design
review on tax title properties, tell developers to follow good design
principles & confer with neighborhood associations on design. Hopes to
get people to adopt good design voluntarily over time; has asked for money
for consultants to develop more house designs (up to
12). d.
Primus Mason lot, 294 Bay Street, as an historic site. The right
sort of house should be built there because it is in the historic
district. Q from SG: The question
was whether the lot can be developed as a park incorporating the history
of Mr. Mason, perhaps including a model based on Mason’s home. A: Can take
it up with Pat Sullivan (Director of Parks and Buildings Management). This
year McKnight will get money for the rail trail so there will not be funds
for a park not on the city plan; with tax title properties there are
approvals required (not so on non-tax title properties).
Q from LS: McKnight
council requested that the Primus Mason lot be taken out of the recent
auction (which it was) because we have a long-term idea for a park there;
several years ago UMass design students incorporated the lot as a park in
their design studies for the Bay Street project. A: City planners ask the
neighborhoods to tell them their priorities. Q from D. Panteleakis:
Last thing we need is another park, rather have a new neighbor build a
house, live in it and pay taxes; suggested the discussion be tabled to
another meeting. ST noted a park would be better than another 2-family
house that failed. e.
Urban
Initiative by UMass Dartmouth: through Mass Insight think tank - $200K to
study how to help mid-sized cities; doing analysis to assess the strengths
and weaknesses of Springfield to answer question of what will the next
economic driver be for Springfield. Comparing to ‘like communities’
(150,000 people, “center of our own universe”) to establish benchmarks,
create some targets. Second phase next year will be to build a roadmap to
a model healthy community, from the community itself, wide spread process
of community engagement to develop a consensus. By September, hope they
will be doing more visible outreach. f.
Zoning modifications: It is a process, will move forward only with
community input; in 45 days, have received 225 comments so far; will go to
Planning Board not before October. g.
Next
city property auction - date not set, will be posed on website, hope to
have each month. McKnight Neighborhood
Council Board Meeting: July 8,
2008 PRESENT: *Gregory A Hession (President)
Chair, *Abdullah Abdul-Rahim, *Jim Llewellyn (Vice Pres.), *Stephen
Gray, *Walter Kroll, *Denise Moccia, *Demetrios Panteleakis, *Rodrick
Shubrick, *Liz Stevens, *Ben Swan Jr., *Marianne Winters (Treas.),
Deborah Albury, Kwesi Albury, Tony Anthony, Jeri Gardiner, Lisa Gaudreau,
Sandra Hession, Ariel
Perez, Kat Wright (*Members of the Board) Guests: Susan Bernardy; Tammie Streeter,
strategic planner Meeting
called to order 7:15 p.m. 11
Board members present
INTRODUCTIONS BOARD ELECTION REPORT:
1.
Pres
GAH reported a Nominating committee had not been formed in time to prepare
a slate; asked KW to conduct the election of
officers. 2.
KW
reported that in the absence of a Nominating Committee, nominations for
officers will be accepted from the
floor. 3.
TA
moved to postpone vote to August 12
meeting; WK seconded. Discussion: Purpose of motion is to give a
Nominating Committee time to meet & report back. LS volunteered to
serve, asked anyone interested in being an officer contact her to put
their name on a list. DP noted the open meeting mode fits this
organization and that last year nominations were taken openly from the
floor, each candidate having a chance to speak. JL strongly urged the
election be held at this meeting, using the same format as last year,
giving each candidate one minute to state his or her position. TA
withdrew his motion; WK withdrew his
second. 4.
Nominations were then taken from the floor as
follows: a.
President: Greg Hession, Demetrios
Panteleakis b.
Vice
President: Jim Llewellyn, Walter Kroll c.
Secretary/Clerk: Ben Swan Jr. d.
Treasurer: Marianne Winters e.
Assistant Secretary/Clerk: Denise
Moccia f.
Assistant Treasurer: Tony
Anthony 5.
Voting was by secret ballot; members D. Albury and L. Gaudreau
tallied the votes 6.
Results announced: a.
President, Greg Hession b.
Vice
President, Jim Llewellyn c.
Secretary/Clerk: Ben Swan Jr. d.
Treasurer: Marianne Winters e.
Assistant Secretary/Clerk: Denise
Moccia f.
Assistant Treasurer: Tony
Anthony PRESIDENT’S REPORT: President GAH
noted two items: (1) Gov. Patrick’s important proposal to fix Armory
Street from Genesee to Federal streets, including the two bridges (DP
reports Development Dept will have a plan to share as soon as it is
available); (b) GAH spoke with Davis Foundation representative about their
receipt of City funds to study establishing a Local Educational
Foundation, reported they say they have already spent $10million in
Springfield, they intend to put together a staffed organization to
establish educational benchmarks, and are willing to appear before this
Council at a future meeting. SECRETARY’S REPORT: Minutes of June 10, 2008, Annual
Meeting: WK moved to accept minutes, LS seconded.
Motion
passed. TREASURER’S REPORT: Treas. MWinters: Financial report and proposed FY09
budget attached.
FINANCE & FUND
RAISING (Marianne
Winters, chair):
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
§
COMMUNICATIONS (Jim Llewellyn & Ben Swan Jr.,
co-chairs): JL reporting. No meeting last month. Next meeting scheduled
for 6 pm, Fri., July 11, at 108 Dartmouth St. No written report. §
DEVELOPMENT &
PLANNING (Demetrios
Panteleakis, chair) DP reported committee has not met since MNC annual
meeting; also reported D. Panagore, Development Dept., has told him it is
expected that $30,000 will be allocated for an engineering study of the
rail trail FY09; has meeting with same Fri., July 11 re dates of
execution; has meeting with DPW director Chwalek re McKnight 2008
Revitalization Plan on signage, flashing lights, crosswalks, etc., and
what has been done and what we expect from the City; proposed this
committee meet within next 60 days to look again at business organization
to keep money in the neighborhood and to use a business overlay (re
physical appearance of businesses) similar to that at the X. DP confirmed
he has presented the McKnight 2008 Revitalization Plan to Mayor Sarno and
4 City Councilors. No
written report. §
FINANCE & FUND
RAISING (Marianne
Winters, chair): See
above - Treasurer’s Report §
GOOD NEIGHBOR (Greg Hession, acting chair):
o
GAH reported this committee is not fully formed yet
and has not yet met; intends to meet before next monthly meeting;
envisions at least 3 subcommittees (a, contact people in neighborly way to
keep their properties up; b, encourage commercial entities to keep a neat
appearance; c, welcome new neighbors and help people who need help; hopes
this will allow MNC to be more visible and more effective in the
neighborhood. o
Humanics Day in Action Project: Springfield College
wants project proposals by next Saturday, June 12; KW asked if MNC could
choose one or two. Discussion postponed to end of
meeting. §
HOUSING (Denise Moccia, chair): Report attached. o
DM reported on guidelines recently released on
IN-FILL HOUSING CONSTRUCTION; -
DM
and JL attended meeting of Planning Dept.; both found the document too
non-specific, attempting to cover whole city with general guidelines for
contractors without taking particular needs of different neighborhoods
into account. -
DM
noted that single and 2-family homes are not required to do a design
review according to this plan; if MNC wants this to change, we would have
to get the City Council to pass a design review ordinance, which it has
never done before. DP volunteered to draft a design review
proposal to the City Council.
-
SG
suggested MNC get permission to place signs in lots to be auctioned
stating buyer would have to come to MNC for design
review -
TA
noted low housing market and high gas prices are driving City’s need to
increase its tax base with taxable properties over those in tax title;
looking for young families to become property
owners. -
DA
noted with regard to higher construction costs these days, a number of
designs can be chosen as examples for builders, showing what would be
acceptable to MNC design review -
DP
iterated that MNC is against speculation in housing market (buy low &
sell fast for a profit) and for increasing family home ownership in the
neighborhood -
BS
noted we will need to be diligent and object whenever it is needed; MNC
needs to put a STOP in place, e.g. for the historic Primus Mason lot at
the corner of Dartmouth and Bay streets – which should be reserved for
public use. o
City HOUSING AUCTION is scheduled for July 15 –
five buildable lots in McKnight are included, as well as 5 McKnight houses
in tax title, 2 or 3 of which were on the MNC list discussed with C.
Dietz, Spfd Housing Dept.; DP noted that this is a good example of how
MNC’s work over the past year has affected the work of the City in our
neighborhood. §
PUBLIC SAFETY (Walter Kroll, chair) Report attached. o
WK reported committee is still seeking community
feedback/ information, asked that council members encourage that in our
neighbors; visited monthly meetings of a community watch group, sponsored
by Hampden Cy. Sheriff’s Dept., that meets at Mt. Zion Church & Indian
Motocycle Bldg, feels we can work with them as their goals are the same as
ours for public safety; Also reported more break-ins of vacant houses,
arrests made and need for neighborly vigilance; JL noted usually an
increase in crime in the summer; DP reported Spfd Parking Authority has
been ticketing illegally parked cars on Bay, Brown & Catherine
streets. §
OFFICE RELOCATION (Liz Stevens, chair) LS moved that MNC relocate monthly meeting
place to Rebecca Johnson School beginning August 12, 2008; WK seconded.
Motion passed
unanimously. Asked that
a letter of thanks be written to S.T.C.C. for letting us meet at Scibelli
Hall this past several months. OLD BUSINESS: §
MASON SQUARE LIBRARY: LS asked that her motion regarding
MSL be postponed to Aug. 12 meeting, and be taken up as the first issue.
Consensus was to comply because time was
short. §
380 BAY STREET, CAR REPAIR BUSINESS
(Corner of Gifford St.): Update, GAH reported the business is
still not in compliance, most but not all the cars have been moved from
the rail trail, area has been cleaned up somewhat. Consensus was to allow
time for the City to pursue their
citations. §
ZONING ORDINANCE
CHANGES: GAH asked
for volunteers to study the document and report back to the
Council. NEW BUSINESS: §
REBECCA JOHNSON SCHOOL – Playground
Steering Committee:
To volunteer to serve on this committee, members are to contact
KW. §
SPRINGFIELD KIDNEY WALK – Oct. 18,
2008: RS asked for
MNC support for this fund-raising event. KW moved MNC field a team to walk; MW
seconded. Motion passed
unanimously. §
MASON SQ. FARMER’S
MARKET – MW
encouraged all to use this resource, starts Sat. July 12 in parking lot of
Mason Sq Health Center. §
THOMPSON TRIANGLE
FOUNTAIN: DP reported
it was damaged by kids playing in it & the affected parts sent out for
repair. §
HUMANICS IN ACTION DAY PROJECTS –
Sept. 18, 2008:
Suggested projects: o
Girard Ave./ Bergen Circle Clean-Up:
LS moved to accept this as our project and
have KW submit its proposal to Springfield College; DP seconded. Motion passed
unanimously. o
52 Westminster St., house in tax title, badly
neglected, overgrown, damaged roof; and 47 Westminster St., vacant, make
it look more livable (both referred to Housing Com for action before
Sept.) o
Corner Bowles & Bay; BS is going to follow
up o Primus Mason lot, corner Dartmouth & Bay; historic lot; is on Cit |