Board Meeting: October 9, 2007

PRESENT: *Gregory Hession, Chair, *Stephen Gray, *Luzed Guzman, *Walter Kroll, *Denise Moccia, *Demetrios Panteleakis, *Rodrick Shubrick, *Liz Stevens, *Ben Swan Jr., *Cindy Williams, *Marianne Winters, Deborah Albury, James Florek, Sandra Hession, Alonzo Kenney, Ceil Lewonchuk, Jamie Morace-Gray, Stephen Thibeau, Michael Wiersma, Kat Wright, (*Members of the Board)

Guests: City Councilor James J. Ferrera III; David Gaby

Meeting called to order 7:07 p.m. 10 Board members present

PRESIDENT'S REPORT: Pres. GH described structure for this meeting will be as each committee reports out, there will be discussion among the board and then from public in attendance, and then a vote if one is required; asked that each person keep comments limited and to the point. Also:

* Proposed for this and future meetings when a presentation is made and a decision requested that the board hear the issue and vote in the same meeting unless further information is needed for the vote.
* Sent letter to owner of Cozy Courtyard, 666 State St., regarding neighbor complaint about noise.
* Reported that the Historical Commission denied property owners (Sowamco XXIX Ltd., Waco TX) permission to demolish the former Byron's Funeral Home at 684 State Street; several MNC board members, including Pres. GH, spoke against the demolition.

SECRETARY'S REPORT: Minutes of Sept. 11, 2007: Board member BS noted correction to clarify his amendment to the motion to find a new location for MNC, Page 4 of 4, to read "that the purpose is to better allocate our resources." DP moved to approve minutes of September 11, 2007, with correction; BS seconded. Motion passed.

TREASURER'S REPORT: MW presented current budget status as of Aug. 31, 2007; once board committees determine goals, including possibly moving to less expensive quarters, MNC can adjust and submit the budget to reflect those changes. MW met with I.Cruz re: MNC's billing to the City for first quarter (July 1-Sept. 30, 2007). City will pay first quarter and advance on second quarter, total of $6,126.43, within about 10 days. Bank balance is about $115. Report and notes attached. LS noted she has in her possession a computer donated by Baystate Medical Center to MNC. LS moved to accept financial report; WK seconded. Motion passed.

COMMITTEE REPORTS:

* OFFICE RELOCATION (Liz Stevens, chair): Proposed short-term plan to terminate current office rental and find alternative meeting places; several sites were proposed. Long-term plan is still at question stage. Terms of current lease require 30 days' notice to vacate. DP moved to consider STCC Enterprise Center for permanent location for MNC meetings beginning with December 11, 2007; WK seconded. Discussion: objections were raised against STCC EC because some see the fence and guarded gateway as a barrier. Objections were also raised against holding MNC meetings in a religious building, in a building where alcohol consumption and smoking occur, or in a building without handicapped access. GH asked for more information on other possible sites within next 2 weeks before making a decision; asked DP to amend his motion. DP withdrew motion. SG moved to terminate current lease by end of November 2007; DP seconded. Motion passed. Treas. MW will write letter to landlord as soon as possible; GH asked that a caveat be added asking that if MNC needs one more month the owner can accommodate. BS moved to send the work back to the committee for speedy action; MW seconded. Motion passed. Committee report attached.
* COMMUNICATION (Sven Martin, chair, not present): BS reported he and KWright met without other committee members SM, WK & LS who were unable to attend. BS agreed to upgrade the MNC website at www.mcknightcouncil.org ; New email address is This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ; 2 Yahoo groups have been set up, one for the board and the other for general public at mcknightfriends-andneighbors; digital phone answering machine has not been installed. Committee proposes McKnight newsletter in print be replaced by news on website, although a print version could be made for those who want to receive it; also MNC should print & distribute a contact card with contact and website info. Discussion: Printed newsletter is a powerful tool; consider income possibilities from ad sales; going door-to-door is a good way to keep in contact with neighbors. GH asked committee to come back to next meeting with a viable proposal on how to keep the MNC newsletter alive. Committee report attached.
* DEVELOPMENT & PLANNING (Demetrios Panteleakis, chair): DP reported he is working on a master plan for McKnight that will include paving, sidewalk renewal and street lighting upgrades along major arteries (Bay Street, Worthington Street & St. James Ave., in addition to the State Street project), as well as long-term, on-going processes for continued such projects. City is open to a partnership with MNC to deal with a derelict properties list that MNC supplies and prioritizes, and to the rehabilitation of one house per year, not on a street already being rehabbed. RFP process for houses in tax title will continue. Question was raised whether to trust the City since they recently increased efforts to enforce code and forced property owners to face large expenditures to remedy, so will the City approach as aggressively properties the City owns. This council needs to make sure those untended properties in McKnight are high on the list, including City owned properties. DP said he will also create a business overlay for McKnight; MNC will have control of the properties list, that MNC has been given control of the process, not the substance; and that other MNC committees have parts of the process (e.g. Housing committee); reported that Development office can redirect demolition funds to restoration, but they don't have the criteria on what to preserve and what to demolish; those standards should be laid out in MNC's master plan. No committee report available at this time.
* HOUSING (Denise Moccia, chair): DM reported she is working on the list of dilapidated properties to submit to the Office of Housing for action by the City; should be completed next week. This committee has not yet met, but will do so soon. GH asked if resources are sufficient, and said the council should share the load on this committee. DP suggested people email information on specific houses to DM, then that committee can organize the list; Office of Housing has resources to look up ownership and tax records. RA suggested a standardized form be developed that all could use to designate houses needing attention. SG suggested a group walk-about with a map and such forms. DM also reported City completed soil test on 79-81 Princeton St. and should proceed with demolition process.
* FINANCE & FUND RAISING (Marianne Winters, chair): MW reported first meeting began with establishing guidelines for working together, and she is willing to do the same exercise with other committees if they wish. Focus was on understanding of the financial reporting methods and practices, and coming up with a fund development plan for the council. Strategic plan will support the goals of the council as a whole, based on goals of the committees and the consensus of the board. Committee report attached.
* PUBLIC SAFETY (Walter Kroll, chair): WK met with SPD Deputy Chief W. Cochrane and community liaison Kathy Brown to establish a friendly working relationship and a continuing dialog with McKnight. Encouraged MNC to continue to attend Sector F beat team meetings, but also to contact Dep. Cochrane directly for immediate response; is willing to meet bi-weekly with this committee; is aware of on-going issues on Brown St.; will get an electronic speed sign up on St. James Ave. Committee report attached. NEXT BEAT TEAM MEETING 5:30, THURS, OCT. 18, AT BERGEN CIRCLE, 15 GIRARD AVE.

OLD BUSINESS:

* ELECTION OF ASST. SECRETARY - Deferred
* BY -LAWS CHANGES - GH distributed modified changes to By-Laws, asked that everyone read and be prepared to discuss at Nov. MNC meeting.
* COZY COURTYARD - Letter sent (see Pres. Report, above)
* BAY STREET CORRIDOR PROPOSALS - Deferred; DP noted Bay Street is one of the first targets of a neighborhood master plan.
* WEMCo PROPOSAL TO UPGRADE ISO CABLE INFRASTRUCTURE ALONG BAY ST. - GH will invite representative to next MNC meeting

NEW BUSINESS:

* RAIL TRAIL - LS is organizing a HIKE & CLEAN UP from State Street to the Dingle for Sat. afternoon, Nov. 17, to include neighbors and students from Springfield College (in lieu of SC's Humanics Day in Action, which we missed out on in Sept.) GH will set up an ad hoc committee to work on it.
* COMMITTEES' SCOPE OF ACTIVITY, MISSION, DUTIES - GH asked each committee chair to bring to next MNC meeting a statement of their committee's responsibilities.
* COMMITTEE REPORTS ON WEBSITE - BS asked each committee chair to email their report to Kat Wright to place on the MNC website.
* NON-PROFIT ENTREPRENEURIAL SEMINAR - GH is attending an all-day event Oct. 19 at WNEC on this subject.
* CDBG CONTRACTED GOALS & ACTIONS - KW noted there are specific actions MNC has contracted with the City to accomplish for receipt of the grant from HUD. GH will meet with KW and send list to committees and board members.
* 50th ANNIVERSARY - DGaby noted it is 50 years since first association of McKnight association, proposes an event to celebrate. BS noted 30th anniversary of the incorporation of McKnight Neighborhood Association is next year, 2008. No action was taken
* ALARM GOING OFF TOO FREQUENTLY AT GIRARD STREET - ST asked if Public Safety com. Could take it up; BS said he would bring it up at next beat team meeting.
* NEWSLETTER ADS - SG offered to speak to Federal Sq. Business Assoc about advertising in newsletter
* 25 ST. JAMES AVE - CL asked what work is going on there; Replacing some windows, strip and paint exterior.

9:25 pm - Adjournment:

DP moved to adjourn; DM seconded. Motion passed.