Westcott East Neighborhood Association Dec. 12, 2011 Meeting minutes NEXT MEETING: Monday, Jan. 9, 2012 Persons registering as in attendance: WENA Board: Lori Brown, Starke Donnally, Alice Honig, Barbara Humphrey, Jill Ouikahilo, Doug Roth, Charles Tremper, Damian Vallelonga, Marilyn Zaleon WENA members and guests: Jane Begley, Officer Bruno Daniele, Kate Hamamer, Paulette Johnson, Harry Lewis, 5th District Councilor Nader Maroun, Susan Rainey, Norman Roth, Lindsay Speicher 1. Barbara Humphrey called the meeting to order at 6:30; those attending introduced themselves. 2. Presentation of Nov. 14, 2011 minutes for approval: Charles Tremper. Alice Honig moved and Jill Oiukahilo seconded their approval; passed unanimously. 3. Financial Report: Starke report a balance of $1818.24, reflecting $50 WENA donated to the Bulb Project, but not $50 received at meeting in dues. 4. WENA election of board members and annual meeting. Barbara Humphrey will call to solicit volunteers for a nominating committee which will have the responsibility of coming up with a slate of candidates (all present were urged to consider nominating themselves), as well as a date and place for the annual meeting. Alice Honig asked that the committee avoid the week of SU’s spring break (Mar. 12-18), although she later said that Monday, March 12 would be okay. The following board members’ terms end in 2012: Tony Gigliotti, Alice Honig, Barbara Humphrey, Charles Tremper, and Marilyn Zaleon. 5. Police storefront update: Officer Daniele reported the expected burglaries from student apartments, with iPads, lap-tops, and televisions among the items stolen. Both SU and the police department have reached out to students concerning safety issues and the need to lock doors, etc. In the larger area, cars have been broken into to steal packages and other items visible through the windows. The quality of life discussions were deferred until the rest of the agenda was finished. 6. Program/Outreach initiatives a. Networking with Other Neighborhood Organizations and the City i. WCC Newsletter Insert: None for January. ii. Westcott Leadership Roundtable (WLR): Barbara raised the fact that the Mayor had committed to involving stakeholders in the redevelopment of the former JWV, but the neighborhood had not bee consulted; Councilor Nader Maroun said there would be a meeting Wednesday at noon at which comments would be welcome; a vote on the proposal will be held Dec. 19. Next meeting of WLR will be 1/12/12 (moving from 4th to 2nd Thursday). b. UNP: Kate announced that a series of community leadership programs is being planned under the auspices of the Maxwell School, leading to a certificate upon completion. Next meeting is 1/23/12, and the group is also focusing on neighborhood safety issues, so WENA’s effort in this area fits with what UNP is focusing on and will be shared. c. Westcott Business District: Norman Roth reported that the parking waiver for the 7-Rays restaurants proposal would go before the Syracuse Planning Commission on Dec. 19; he asked WENA for support, or that members and those present show their support by signing a petition as individuals. Concerns were raised about the sale of alcohol in the context of neighborhood businesses. The two restaurants are primarily eating establishments, but they would sell beer and wine. Councilor Maroun responded that the issue of serving alcohol was looked at as part of the planning commission’s process. Damian moved and Starke seconded that WENA support the Roth proposal. The vote tally: 7 in favor; 1 oppose; 1 abstain. Barbara will draft the letter stating that a majority of the board supported the project. 7. Old/New Business a. Remembrance area: Discussion picked up from the last meeting on the idea of how to memorialize folks contributing to the neighborhood and who to honor. Marilyn proposed a larger brick with the text: Westcott remembers; and smaller bricks with individual names on them. Florence Carmen and Lil Kinney were mentioned as initial honorees. b. TNT Escrow project: $5,000 of City funds (not CDBG) is available to each TNT for capital improvement projects; funds must be spent by June 30 for work anywhere on Eastside. Loguen Park was proposed; folks were encouraged to attend the Dec. 13 TNT meeting. c. UNSAAC project updates: i. Westcott Merchant Association: Chris Fowler will be introduced at Taps, Jan. 4, 2012 at 7 pm. Everyone urged to stop by. ii. Historic Walking Tours: Sam has proposed 4 dates; Barbara will share them via email. The following proposed dates added after meeting to minutes: Date Rain Date 3/25 4/1 4/15 4/29 5/6 5/20 6/3 6/10 8. Announcements and good news: Deferred; quality of life discussions began. NOTE: The summary of these discussions is attached as an addendum to the minutes. 9. Upcoming Events: a. Eastside TNT: Dec. 13, 7 p.m., at Levy. b. CDBG public meeting: 12/15; public hearing Jan. 4, 5:30 Common Council Chambers. c. Introduction of Chris Fowler: Jan. 4, 7 p., at Taps. d. Thornden Park Chili Bowl: 2/18 e. WENA annual meeting: TBA ADDENDUN to WENA 12/12/11 Minutes: WENA Neighborhood Safety/Quality of Life Discussion December 12, 2011 Barbara suggested the following process for this discussion: 1. At this 12/12/11 meeting, we will brainstorm the issues and identify WENA board members who will take the lead to do fact finding on each issue, including reaching out to others as needed. The purpose of the fact finding will be to determine the extent of the issue (where, when, how long/often), who is impacted, what is the impact, and the severity of the impact. 2. At the 1/9/12 and perhaps at future meetings, we will bring fact finding results back and identify issues that need WENA advocacy, suggestions of potential resolutsions, etc. The following issues were brought to light during the brainstorming session, with the WENA board member(s) who have volunteered to undertake fact finding: * burglaries/robberies o Crimes against people and property, including street assaults and home and car break-ins are included. o Officer Daniele will continue to report incidences at WENA meetings and all WENA board members and meeting attendees will participate in the future discussions to identify potential actions to resolve the issue * Community Parking Lots o The following issues were brought to light with regard to these lots: tailgating parties, alcohol use, noise, bus/RV idling using diesel generator, lack of lighting, trash, public urination. Dates of incidences are especially important, so they can be correlated to Westcott Theater events. o The following WENA Board/members will fact find: * Harvard Lot: Lori Brown and Joanne Waghorne * S. Beech Lot: Susan Rainey will fact find * Illegal Parking o The following issues were identified in this category: odd/even parking violations, illegal parking in tow-away zones (and cars not being towed), and parking on specific streets: Cambridge, South Beech, Harvard, Victoria, Columbus/East Genesee, and Westcott near the credit union and community center. Cars parking in driveway right-of-way locations was also cited as an issue. Of particular note was information from Officer Daniele that, although tow-away zones were designated, not cars have been towed due to lack of SPD manpower. o The following WENA Board and members will fact find illegal parking on streets: * Cambridge: Lori Brown * South Beech: Susan Rainey * Harvard: Doug Roth * Victoria: Barb Humphrey will ask Library to let us know * Westcott: Barb Humphrey * Columbus/East Genesee: Charles Tremper o All WENA board members will fact find illegal parking in driveway right-of-ways * Illegal parking/exiting from Graby’s Market at Westcott/Euclid o Cars exit the market on to Euclid directly from the market, bypassing the Westcott/Euclid traffic light and park where sidewalk should be designated. o The following WENA Board members will fact find: Damian Vallelonga, Barb Humphrey * Sidewalk Snow Removal o Failure of residents and business owners to clear snow from their sidewalks creates a hazard for pedestrians, especially children, who walk in the street. It was pointed out that the City is upping its enforcement of its sidewalk snow ordinance, but has still not agreed to embrace the “Rochester model” of sidewalk snow removal. Councilor Maroun indicated that the Common Council has entered into discussions with former Assessment Commissioner John Gamage regarding the Rochester model at this time. o All WENA Board members need to note locations as we head into the snow season. * Motorized vehicles are not sharing the road with cyclists and pedestrians, making biking and walking hazardous. o Motorized vehicles frequently turn into cross walks when pedestrians are crossing, as well as driving in shared bike lanes. Lack of legal cross walks in the Westcott Business District results in illegal pedestrian crossings. We need to follow up with Paul Mercurio regarding the progress of getting a crosswalk at Westcott/Beech and improving crosswalk conditions and visibility at Harvard/Westcott. o All WENA Board members need to note incidents and locations. * Speeding o Motorized vehicles speeding on main thoroughfares, such as Westcott, Euclid, Columbus, South Beech o All WENA Board member should note incidences and locations. * How to report illegal activities o We are getting mixed messages about whether to call 911 or the SPD non-emergency number, 442-5111 and whether calling both numbers directs the caller to 911. o Is there someone why who is willing to fact find this on behalf of WENA?