Steering Committee Minutes – October 8, 2019

10.8.2019 Steering Committee Meeting

Present:

• Omar Elhagmusa
• Laura Bidwa
• Chris Micciche
• Joe Swora
• Bridget Tharp
• Rebecca Baldwin (guest – visiting friend of Bridget)

Update on Childcare / Youth Development

• Jennifer Cheeks and Kauwe Caldwell both recently earned Community Health Worker certifications from the Ohio Board of Nursing, which they want to use to lead youth development programs. At the steering committee’s request, Laura proposed to Jennifer to reduce childcare spending to $75/month and to find ways to incorporate youth directly into the monthly membership meetings. Jennifer said this was doable; teens may take turns being leaders with the kids in some way. Jennifer wants to solicit more neighborhood involvement with youth.
• The committee discussed how to suspend the expectation of childcare at future meetings

Safety on Summit and N 4th

• September general membership meeting was really animated about child safety crossing Summit and N 4th
• Hit and run biker, Topher, on N 4th in SoHud last week
• Update on interaction with the city
  • Katherine Cull requested a meeting that took place this morning with the Public Service staff 10 people, Laura B and Laura Kogan of PTO took time off from work and went. Meeting lasted over an hour. Laura B said they talked about both various quick fixes and longer term plans.
  • Immediately will add painted arrows in lanes on Summit Street to indicate where you can turn from each of the lanes; there have been accidents from people turning across both lanes of traffic at the last minute.
  • Lit/enhanced crosswalks: Researching UIRF and TIF money to use for lit crosswalks and other changes that could be made to timing of the traffic lights, all of which city says are too expensive.
  • Immediately city will repaint crosswalks on both streets. The block of E 6th that meets Summit without a sidewalk are now in design phase — good development as a result of neighborhood advocacy, because 6 months ago city said they weren’t going to happen at all.
  • Laura K was terrific. The city can have meetings for months and years with no movement but this meeting felt promising.
  • There are slow-down signs on 7th by the elementary.
  • Omar thanked Laura for sending email to Katherine Cull with the neighborhood history and the mobility study.
  • Holding the city accountable is important. Signage up north and by campus are lit. Need to identify productive strategies for neighborhood involvement and keep pushing. What’s the right way for civic association to participate in this? How can we engage neighbors who wanted to get involved at the September WPCCA monthly meeting?

Housing committee update

Zoning variances for new double on Hamlet St, disposition of Campus Partners doubles, Dennison Place Civic Association rep led discussion about new development proposed at King and High (committee discussed if we should offer a formal opinion and decided against it, but was glad to have new communication channel opened with DP). Lot of diversity on the committee about how people felt re: the King/High project. Home Team has a new illegal parking attempt off the alley behind Indianola between 7th and Euclid; the old one on Euclid is still unresolved after more than 2 years, cut down trees, paved all the way up to sidewalk, and included too many parking spots. Wagenbrenner Realty updated committee about continuing activity in Grant Park. Some Community Gardens may go back to land trust due to lack of volunteers.

The next six months

• Laura believes very much in the purpose/value of the civic association, but participation in steering committee and other work to lead the civic has declined, and Laura is overwhelmed. Civic’s general membership meetings are friendly and developing good relationships among neighbors, but participation in them seems to be decreasing rather than growing. September’s monthly meeting was 25 attendees including 7 first-timers from Seventh Ave Baptist Church; last year it was 60 attendees and that was a typical number 5 years ago.
• Chris raised whether general membership meetings should continue monthly. Suggests a housing update at the monthly meeting. The most popular meetings are based on issues, maybe lack of participation just indicates there isn’t a crisis.
• Laura suggests we could do anything from a wide range of solutions: change leaders and keep everything else the same, reduce number of general membership meetings, make the housing committee meetings the “general membership” meetings rather than holding separate series of monthly meetings, dissolve association entirely.
• Constitution was amended two years ago to require four general membership meetings a year. In election years (like 2020), three of the meetings are prescribed by constitution: Feb is annual meeting where president and treasurer report on previous year’s activities. March presents slate of candidates for office. April is elections. So only one additional general membership meeting would be required by constitution in 2020.
• Laura said next month’s gen membership meeting could be a discussion about whether we continue this format and how to recruit more leaders
• Discussion about changing the constitution again to allow for fewer meetings.
• Discussion about the viability of the WP Collaborative, last meeting was six months ago.
• Laura said last year the holiday potluck was more lightly attended than previous years -if this gathering isn’t important to the community, should we still be doing it? Planning is a lot of work.
• Discussion about the challenges of not having regular meetings during construction season.
• Bridget to canvass for more communications add emails
• Chris said Italian Village Society used to distribute fliers to remind about street sweeping
• We have a grant of $10,000 annually for the next two years to fund civic activities
• Omar explained the capacity to do outreach in the neighborhood used to be mostly shouldered by paid people working for agencies who provided services in the neighborhood. Those roles are no longer tasked with this. We are all volunteers. What we’re talking about is necessary; because the neighborhood is better people don’t see the value of the civic. The amount of work that used to be done isn’t sustainable anymore.
• Laura said OSU Extension’s Community Connectors used to do a phone bank to alert about civic meetings and activities; this seems to have stopped. Omar said it had dwindled to only one person doing it.
• Zumba conversation – seems like lots of cancellations lately. Can someone talk with Julia about possibly intern from summer could teach if needed, not all expectations from the MOU are being met right now, Joe to contact Julia.
• Ohio Strength is nearby and could be another activity option, Omar to ask if they would have a community hour

October 24 meeting

Talk about civic association changes at the next general membership meeting, invite whoever emerges as a leader to come to November steering to continue discussion.

Do we not have the potluck this year? Do we do it in the spring instead? More potlucks may not be the answer; Laura cooked for the spring 2019 potluck and it turned out to be 10 people

Alternate activity for Nov/Dec neighborhood holiday gathering: Godman Guild WinterFest December 12, 5 to 8p

OCTOBER AGENDA

• Call for leadership
  • Share ideas about changes/restructuring
  • Invite anyone interested to a steering meeting and see what its like
• Announce no holiday event, Godman Guild Winterfest December 12 instead
• Legal status of the WPCCA – should we pursue 501c3 or other nonprofit status? Chris and Omar to present. (they will meet with Omar contact about this on October 17)
• Huckleberry House? Bridget will contact
• VITA income tax services at GG
• Tyler/Matt announce litter pick up — meeting at the Weinland Park shelter house at 10am Sun 10/27

OCTOBER MEETING PLANNING

• Omar will order pizza and get waters
• Joe will lead
• Laura music
• Laura will reach out to Jennifer about childcare, let her know that some of the upcoming months we won’t meet
• Bridget will reach out to see if Huck House just want to do announcements or if they are a full speaker

(BRIDGET- CONTACT BEXLEY ABOUT THE NEIGHBORHOOD PACKS)