RESULTS OF BOARD ELECTION:

The following people were elected to the board, with term limits ending as noted:

*Diann Anders (term ends 11/08) *Kevin Brown (term ends 11/08) *Bill Svrluga (term ends 11/08) *Brian Hughes (term ends 11/08) *Adrienne Hyde (term ends 11/08) *Jack Hillenbrand (term ends 11/08) *Anne Cronmiller (term ends 11/09) *Ross Gabrick (term ends 11/09) *Charlie Hoffman (term ends 11/09) *Hal Johnson (term ends 11/09) *Sheldon Mains (term ends 11/09) *Marne Zafar (term ends 11/09)

Outgoing Board President Jean Johnstad told those at this month’s meeting that personal health issues contributed to her decision to leave the board. Johnstad said she would likely continue attending some committee meetings.

NEW EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE: The board accepted nominations for the new executive committee and voted to confirm the appointments. Six positions were filled.

New SNG Board President Sheldon Mains will chair the 2008 SNG executive committee. Ross Gabrick is the new vice chair. Diann Anders will serve as treasurer. Charlie Hoffman is the secretary. Marne Zafar and Anne Cronmiller are the two board appointments to the executive committee.

CITY COUNCIL REPORT: Robin Garwood, policy aide to Ward 2 Council Member Cam Gordon, presented the news from City Hall, on Gordon’s behalf. Garwood highlighted the fact that the groundbreaking for the new Seward Co-op will take place on Tuesday, Dec. 4 at 1 p.m. Gordon, Mayor Rybak, co-op staff and members of the community will be on hand at the site of the new store, on the corner of Riverside and Franklin avenues, for the event.

The proposed “biomonitoring” project near the South Minneapolis Arsenic Contamination Site includes part of Seward, Garwood said. A community meeting on the subject is set for Thursday, Dec. 6, at 7 p.m. at the Midtown YWCA, 2121 East Lake Street.

Gordon is appointing former SNG board member Becca Vargo Daggett to the Capital Long-Range Improvement Committee (CLIC). The person who previously held the position is moving, Garwood said, about the reason for new appointment.

Also, Garwood said that the Public Safety and Regulatory Services committee voted to no longer require small coffee shops and restaurants to have a “Place of Entertainment” license in order to have three or fewer non-amplified performers. In the past, many businesses avoided obtaining the license altogether, but hosted small performances anyway. “It’s basically just making legal what is the current practice out in the field,” Garwood said.

FINANCIAL REPORT AND AUDIT PROGRESS: Kevin Brown presented his last financial report as interim treasurer. Brown told the board that SNG received some “unexpected income” last month. The neighborhood organization was given close to $10,000 from NRP, Phase I money that was “sitting in the pot,” he said. Although its use must be carefully documented, the money can be used for more general things, such as administration and overhead, Brown said.

The $4,921 that came from Preservation Alliance as Milwaukee Avenue Home Tour proceeds and the close to $5,000 that was raised at the annual meeting via the silent auction and membership donations, gave the organization a financial boost. “There was definitely a show of community support,” Brown said, about the large amount of money to come from the annual meeting. “We’ve got some money now, but this is our opportunity to take a chunk of that and see how we’re going to move forward,” he said.

Brown said that a two to three month window should be the time frame for figuring out major issues such as hiring a temporary staff member or consultant and determining if the organization should leave its current office space. The current space is the organization’s biggest expense, Brown said.

The organization’s debt was estimated to be close to $50,000, including the line of credit. Brown said that figure could actually be several thousand dollars less, if SNG can find a way to get out of an expensive copier lease. Several board members are talking to the company that issued the lease to try to negotiate a deal.

Johnstad spoke with Mike Wilson, who’s conducting SNG’s financial audit. Wilson told Johnstad he wants to talk to NRP about possibly expanding the scope of the audit. Currently Wilson is working on a 2006 audit. After that he’ll do the first seven months of 2007, Johnstad said. Johnstad said Wilson told her he expects to complete the 2006 audit by the end of December 2007.

In the past, Wilson did audits every year up through 2004. Tim Dornfeld, who used to be the bookkeeper for SNG, is also helping conduct the audit, Johnstad said. Sheldon Mains said it was problematic that two people formerly involved with SNG’s financial situation were conducting an “independent” audit. Johnstad said she asked Wilson about that very issue: whether his conducting the audit gave the impression that he was “investigating himself.” (Johnstad didn’t indicate what Wilson’s response was.)

COMMITTEE REPORTS: Crime and Safety committee: Dick Westby said the Crime and Safety Committee will meet Dec. 10. They did not meet in November. According to recent crime maps, there have been a large number of robberies around Matthew’s Park. A meeting was held last month at the 3rd Precinct about a particular family in the neighborhood that has been causing considerable problems, according to Westby. About 40 people attended the meeting, Westby said, including law enforcement officials and representatives from the Hennepin County attorney’s office.

Environmental committee: Bernie Waibel said the City of Minneapolis has offered SNG a community garden plot for $1. The size of the site is 2, 760 sq. ft. The board made a recommendation to the environmental committee to send a letter to the city indicating that they were looking into the idea and considering a range of options, including the possibility of adding a new property to the site. The environmental committee will invite the gardeners who currently use the plot to their next meeting, to hear their thoughts.

Revitalization committee: The Revitalization Committee has not met for a month, Mains said. A discussion ensued about working more extensively on a membership and funding committee. Gabrick, who does public relations work for a living, brought up the idea of creating a “cohesive public relations plan” for SNG.

The board talked briefly about this year’s Seward Arts Fair and who should take control of the project in the future. The board will invite Leah Stob, the director of the Vine Arts Center, to the next board meeting to talk about how this year’s fair turned out.

Seward Towers: Johnstad attended the Seward Towers West meeting. She said residents were concerned that BINGO was not going to be held anymore, due to a lack of funding for refreshments. SNG will likely provide the $20 per month that was needed to keep the program operational.

The board also discussed what portion of former staff member Nasra Noor’s cell phone bill is being paid for by the organization. Anders is meeting with Noor to discuss how much of her cell phone bill will be covered for work purposes in the future, and confirm whether she received a laptop computer from SNG when she was on staff.

Several board members briefly mentioned that Jocinda Gaynor, a former SNG employee who ran a youth photography program, still has several cameras in her possession that belong to SNG. The board has contacted Jocinda several times about the property, through her attorney, Hoffman said. If SNG does not receive the cameras in the near future, the matter could be taken to small claims court, Hoffman said.

SNG is not holding a December board meeting. The next meetings will take place on Wednesday, Jan. 2, 7—9 p.m. and Wednesday, Jan. 30, 7—9 p.m; call for location.

The board’s regular meeting schedule, on the fourth Wednesday of every month, will resume in February.

Contact:
Seward Neighborhood Group
2323 Franklin Ave. E
Minneapolis, MN 55406
Phone: 612-338-6205

last revised: January 7, 2008

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