Draft of Minutes of the January 3d, 2002 meeting, held at Denise Grzech's home
Attendees: Rita Arnstein, Tim Bannister,
Bud Bernstein, Dorothy Conrad,
Bill Dow, Bill Duffy, Ken Gorski, Denise Grzech, Joan Heinicke, Jeff (sic)
Hockman, Jean Holland, Jim Neuhard, Paul Reagan, Joan Ritter, Ralph Seger
The meeting was called to order at 7:00 by Tim Bannister
David Bloom (Stanley St.), Joe Wolf
(S. Glenhurst), and Joan Ritter (new
delegate from Howarth-St James N.A.) were introduced. David gave an update
on his neighborhood's efforts to resolve their sewage problems.
Operations:
Minutes. Minutes from 11/29/01
were amended to read: "the City Commission
will be meeting with business owners on January 22nd" in the Business
District Liaison report.
Treasury. Three of seventeen
associations have paid; current balance is
$883.18. Ralph Seger notes that we pay $10 per month in service charges.
After discussion of alternatives, the Council requested that Ralph
investigate local banks and credit unions for possible free checking. If
available, individual neighborhood associations may wish to move their
accounts as well.
Media Coverage. Lee Snider
has become the Eccentric editor. Since he
started, Dorothy Conrad and Jean Holland have noticed a more even-handed
treatment of city matters. Dorothy also reports that the announcements of
public hearings are being published in a more prominent location. Although
Jean suggested that we write letters to express approval of the changes, a
majority of the Council felt we should not do so yet. Ralph and Paul
Reagan were approached by Larry Ruehlen, the city reporter, about coming to
this
meeting. They suggested a special meeting with the executive council
instead, and our feedback can be given at that time.
Old Business:
Business District Liaison. Jeff (sic) Hockman was asked to comment on current PSD actions.
He notes that promotions and holiday
events were well-attended.
There have been mixed reports from merchants on holiday sales. Jacobson's
remains a concern. More activities designed to promote the downtown are in
the works.
Even though Adams Square merchants are not members, the PSD is using
their resources to help find a tenant for the Farmer Jack space. The lease
is very restrictive. Jeff explained that, although a Downtown Development
Authority would give the area more ability to creatively solve its
problems,
Adams Square is likely too small to qualify. He explained the differences
between a PSD and DDA, and notes that the state is in the process of
creating a new type of downtown organization.
Code of Ethics. Our draft
is being reviewed by the City Attorney. Tim
Bannister will write a letter urging early action on the Code, requesting a
projected date for it to appear on the Commission agenda.
Round Table. The following
dates have been proposed in a meeting between
Paul Reagan and Mayor Diane McKeon: 1/24, 4/25, 7/25, 10/24. The Council
agreed that traffic, sewers, historic preservation, and the Parks and Rec
plan be addressed during this year.
Discussion followed on goals and guidelines for the meetings:
1. The Presidents' Council needs to define precise problems to be
addressed rather than proposing general topics.
2. The City presentation needs to
be time-limited and focused on
obstacles which are preventing resolution of the problems.
3. Minutes should be taken at each
meeting, and these should be
circulated to all interested parties.
4. The final part of each meeting
should be devoted to suggestions for
action.
5. The first half hour of each meeting
should consist of followup on
prior suggestions.
Dorothy Conrad moved that the first
round table deal with sewers, and
that the date be moved to 2/21/02 to allow time for problem definition.
Joan Heinicke seconded. Paul reminded everyone that our survey showed
traffic is the residents' biggest problem. Other Council members were
concerned about the difficulty of defining specific traffic issues and want
this topic to be scheduled later in the year.
Jim Neuhard noted that the Mill Pond
N.A. is sponsoring a seminar on
historic preservation to be delivered by the new president of Cranbrook.
The target date is in March or April. The Presidents' Council expressed
a unified desire to co-sponsor the event.
Ralph Seger amended the motion to
set topics for the entire year. Bill Dow seconded.
The motion was
restated: that the round table meetings should focus on sewers on 2/21,
traffic on 4/25, historic preservation on 7/25 (using the seminar as a
background session), and the Parks and Recreation Master Plan on 10/24. It
passed unanimously.
New Business
Review of 2002 Objectives Deferred
Policy on Council Participation.
Our bylaws only address who may vote and
hold office. Attendance at meetings has become an issue now that the
Birmingham Residents for Responsible Government (a PAC formed during the
last City Commission campaign) has gone on the Internet with the Birmingham
Buzz. Council members expressed concern about misrepresentation of what
went on at the 11/29 meeting, and Dorothy Conrad stated that she was
misquoted. Jean Holland noted that the PC minutes were accurately
reproduced, although the 11/29 draft had not been approved.
We reviewed our mission, which is
to give the residents an organized
voice and to enhance communication between residents, the downtown, and
City government. The consensus was that meetings should be open to all
Birmingham residents, but discussion will be limited to presidents of
neighborhood associations and their recognized delegates, with inclusion of
others at the discretion of the chair, as stated in our bylaws.
Slate for New Officers. Paul
Reagan will become President in February, and
Tim will move to Past-President. Nominations for elections to be held on
January 31st were taken as follows:
Treasurer: Ralph Seger
Secretary: Jean Holland
Vice President: Bill Dow and Ken Gorski
Other New Business. Dorothy
Conrad asked that all neighborhood associations
decide whether to support the creation of tavern licenses (beer and wine by
the glass) for downtown Birmingham restaurants, and report results at the
next meeting. If there is sufficient support, a committee will be formed
by the Commission to study this issue. Jeff and Dorothy clarified why prior
attempts to create non-Class C licenses in Birmingham failed (tavern
licenses in 1992 because there were still available Class C licenses, and
resort licenses in 1995 because no specific proposal received adequate
support).
The meeting was adjourned at 9:25.
The next meeting will be on Thursday,
January 31st, at Dorothy Conrad's
home, 2252 Yorkshire (enter Yorkshire from Eton).