Ross Gabrick, board vice president, stood-in for Board President Sheldon Mains, who was out of town. Treasurer Diann Anders was also out of town.

Seward Youth Peace Garden recap, questions for the board:

Anna Sonmore-Costello, coordinator of the Seward Peace Garden, said despite learning at the last minute that the program lacked McKnight Foundation funding this year, the project was still a success. “We were able to put together a program this year under very, very short notice,” she said, adding that the community and local businesses were critical in raising the necessary funds. Although the program length was shortened by a day this year, Sonmore-Costello said all of the important educational elements were retained.

On Sept. 6, the Peace Garden participants, their families and others celebrated the kids’ work at an end-of-the-year banquet reception. Pizza Luce donated food. Though invitations were sent to SNG board members and the SNG office, no one from the organization attended the celebration, she said. “It might have been nice, [if you had],” Sonmore-Costello told the board.

Sonmore-Costello brought letters from parents of some of the participants for board members to read. She said Anders had done a great job keeping track of accounting for the project. The Seward Peace Garden’s current vendor license expires in April 2009, Sonmore-Costello said. She said she also called the Secretary of State’s office recently to inquire about whether it would be necessary to report the kids’ personal profits from the produce sales for tax purposes. The person she spoke with said it only mattered if the kids made more than $800 each, and they made far less than that, Sonmore-Costello said. Today’s report to the board was just a “snapshot” of how the program went; an annual report will be ready in time for SNG’s annual meeting in November, she said.

There are a number of issues that still need to be addressed regarding the project’s future, Sonmore-Costello said, including who is the best fiscal agent and how the program might best be structured in the future. “I’m not sure how strong we are in writing grants and getting them in the [organization’s] current state,” she said. Sonmore-Costello also said it would be nice to have a specific contact at SNG to work with and that she would like to start working with SNG on formulating a plan for next year and the future, to keep the project sustainable.

Board member Charlie Hoffman expressed his personal thanks and also thanked Sonmore-Costello on behalf of the executive committee for keeping the Peace Garden project afloat this year. “I consider your efforts outright heroic,” he said. Hoffman invited Sonmore-Costello to the next executive committee meeting Oct. 13.

Sonmore-Costello asked if the board knew if there would be money in next year’s budget for the program or whether they would have to fundraise. Gabrick and Hoffman said they would look into the answer, but Hoffman said he assumed there would be an effort to fundraise with McKnight and other sources. Dick Westby, history committee chair, said the project might also need the help of the broader community, including businesses, too.

John Macy, who worked with Sonmore-Costello on the project, said he had a number of questions about this year’s Peace Garden program he wanted answered. Among his questions: “We were promised a contract from the beginning and we want to ask why we didn’t get one.” How did we go from an employee to an independent contractor? Does SNG have liability insurance? How are independent contractors covered under SNG’s liability insurance? “You took $855 of our money for administrative fees.” Where did that go? “We were just told the money was taken, we never got an explanation,” Macy said.

Gabrick asked Macy for a copy of his list of questions and told him he would make sure the executive committee got him those answers. “We’re in the process of cleaning up a lot of things that have been messy,” Board Member Anne Cronmiller said.

Macy said both he and Sonmore-Costello felt bad that “no one from SNG bothered to come” to the end-of-the season celebration and that no one from SNG came to see how the project was going, or “what it was.” Sonmore-Costello said she did want to acknowledge that Dick Westby had been there and that Anders stopped by once with paperwork.

Gabrick, attempting to explain the organization’s position, said “this year has been a very extraordinary one for SNG.” Without any staff, volunteers and board members had to assume those roles and Gabrick said there were things that fell through the cracks. He apologized for SNG’s lack of involvement with the project this year and said that while he isn’t trying to excuse the organization’s behavior, he wants people to understand its position. “We do respect the project. We do respect the work that you put in,” he said.

“We need to have a [specific] person [from SNG] that will work with us,” Sonmore-Costello said.

Board Member Marne Zafar said she was willing to be that contact. Zafar told Sonmore-Costello she already has some ideas of who they could go to for support. Referring to the prospectus/ annual report Sonmore-Costello brought to the meeting, Zafar said, “I can see how this can translate to a presentation.”

Political hostility in Seward:

Hoffman took over Gabrick’s role so Gabrick could address the organization, temporarily, as an individual. Gabrick said he and his fiancé, and his downstairs tenants recently put McCain-Palin and Obama-Biden lawn signs in their yard to display their political beliefs. In the two weeks since the signs have been up, Gabrick said he’s been verbally harassed by a number of people over the McCain-Palin sign and that his “direct neighbors [are] beginning to feel heat” because of the sign, too. The high school-aged son of Gabrick’s neighbor was recently verbally accosted by his peers for the sign, Gabrick said. The sign has since been stolen, he said. “I am not asking you to protect me as an individual,” Gabrick said. “[I would] like to ask for your assistance to end a certain amount of intolerance [in our neighborhood]…” Gabrick said he was drawn to Seward because of its openness and tolerance and was alarmed by the events that transpired.

Hoffman said he was “at a loss as to anything we can do, other than acknowledging this is a very real issue.” He added that he was sorry to hear about the intolerance, but wasn’t sure a statement from SNG would effectively address the problem. “My take is [the people who are saying these things] are the people who couldn’t give a good goddamn what the SNG board of directors says,” Hoffman said.

Board Member Adrienne Hyde said she is a firm believer in calling 911 or 311, and said Gabrick should do that to document the behavior.

Zafar proposed the idea of having an open discussion about political tolerance, and tolerance more generally, at SNG’s annual meeting, which happens right around the election. The board subsequently passed a motion approving a statement advocating for tolerance during the election season. The statement will be disseminated in SNG’s Oct. 1 newsletter and on The Bridge’s website, in the neighborhood group notes.

News from City Hall:

Ward 2 Council Member Cam Gordon said he has concerns about MPD and law enforcement performance during the Republican National Convention. He was dismayed to learn recently that he didn’t have many allies on the City Council who also wanted more information.

Gordon said there are several witnesses who are talking to police about the homicide that occurred in the ward this week. It appears that the victim was the intended target, and that this was not a random shooting, he said. This is the third such shooting death of a young male in the neighborhood in the last six months. Leaders from Augsburg College, Brian Coyle Community Center and the city intended to meet this week to discuss recent the violence.

Financial report: Hoffman said the monthly financial report does not appear much different than the previous report. The 2007 audit is nearly complete, Hoffman said, and it will likely be discussed at the next board meeting. Certified Public Accountant Mike Wilson, who conducted the audit, is expected to attend the meeting to explain the audit and field questions from board members.

Collection agency threatens to take SNG to court over copier lease:

Hoffman said SNG was notified by a collections agency that it owes $22,000 for a copy machine to the company it leased the machine from. SNG has contacted a Minnesota nonprofits assistance organization, Hoffman said, and thinks the organization will be able to help SNG find an attorney who will take the case pro bono. “Nobody should lose sleep over this yet,” Hoffman said. Cronmiller said Brian Miller of Seward Redesign indicated several months ago that it would take care of the lease. The situation is still being looked into, she said.

Community Coordinator Position:

Hoffman said SNG recently authorized the use of some of its McKnight funding to hire a temporary office coordinator. Hoffman revealed a file folder brimming with resumes and cover letters and said the response to the posting for a part-time position was overwhelming. Candidates ranged from a person with a PhD in comparative literature to a current barista. Hoffman already reviewed some of the applications and said he planned to give the stack to Cronmiller to look through. The two hoped to whittle down the list of candidates and interview a select few, he said.

SNG’s newest board member:

Patrick Campbell, who rents a place in the neighborhood with his wife, and is currently a member of the Seward History Committee, was nominated to become the organization’s newest board member.

SNG to solicit neighborhood opinions for Bystrom Brothers project: Seward Redesign recently received a grant to look at how the Bystrom Brothers property should be redeveloped in the interest of the neighborhood. Redesign recently told SNG it had money in its budget, $1,000, to contract a community organizer to solicit neighborhood opinion about future redevelopment, Hoffman said. No motion is necessary from SNG, Hoffman said, but Bernie Waibel will be contracted to do the work.

Volunteers needed for November annual meeting:

Volunteers are needed for the nominations committee, which is charged with finding new board members and developing a slate of officers. The process also involves calling current board members who are up for reelection to see if they’re interested in running again, Hoffman said.

Pat Rosaves and Don Barton are heading the committee to organize the annual meeting and would like any assistance they can get, Hoffman said. Waibel said he volunteered last year and had a good time and plans to do volunteer again this year, too.

Volunteers needed for Wine Tasting to benefit SNG:

Pi Bar and Restaurant, Zipp’s Liquors and SNG are hosting a wine tasting with food at Pi Bar and Restaurant on Oct. 22 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Tickts are $25 and proceeds will benefit SNG, Hoffman said.

Seward History Walk:

SNG’s history committee will host its History Walk on Oct. 18 from 1 to 4 p.m. Board chair Westby said his committee has been meeting every two weeks and plans to meet with SNG’s executive committee about raising some money to fund the event. One idea, he said, is to put envelopes at some of the sites included on the tour, so participants can donate that day. Westby said his committee is hoping to raise about $500 to cover costs associated with purchasing and putting together historical markers that will be staked in the ground at the sites, and have waterproof casings, so they can stay up for awhile. The event is totally outdoors, Westby said.

Seward Art Festival is on: The Seward Art Festival will take place Nov. 7–9, Hoffman said. Erik Riese will get paid for some of the money he raised, but the festival will be based almost entirely on the work of volunteers.

Restorative Justice update:

Cronmiller said Restorative Justice is in the process of reviewing nine or 10 applications it received from candidates interested in a part-time, temporary position with the organization, similar to what SNG is currently hiring for. The position could become permanent in the future.

Development committee:

The board voted to approve three separate motions brought forward by the development committee. The first was a motion urging “the Met Council to plan for the safe and effective movement of both pedestrians and bicyclists” and both the city and the Met Council to invest effort and resources into resolving LRT trail safety issues. The second was a motion requesting that Public Works remove the two-hour parking signs from the south side of East 25th Street between 27th and 28th avenues. A number of neighbors have complained about the two-hour parking restriction there, according to Hoffman. Gabrick said it was his understanding that the signs were installed when there were businesses in that location, and there aren’t currently. The third motion recognized SNG’s support of the formulation of a Bystrom Brothers task force and directed the SNG executive committee to explore funding for such work.

A motion regarding zoning issues and the use of the lot owned by Coastal Seafoods, was tabled.

Crime and Safety:

Crime and safety had no August meeting because of National Night Out. The next meeting is scheduled for Oct. 6.

Franklin Avenue Planning test projects:

Waibel said Redesign and SNG will work on interactive test projects as part of “Testing a Community Vision for Seward’s Franklin Avenue” this Saturday, 2–5 p.m. Anyone who’s interested can meet at Crown Video or Zipp’s, he said.

The next SNG board meeting will tentatively take place on Wednesday, Oct. 29, 7–9 p.m. (THIS IS A DEPARTURE FROM THE NORMAL SCHEDULE.) Location to be determined. Contact SNG for details.

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

last revised: September 29, 2008

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