Westcott East Neighborhood Association June 13, 2011 DRAFT Meeting minutes NEXT MEETING: Monday, July 11, 2011 Persons registering as in attendance: WENA Board: Starke Donnally, Tony Gigliotti, Barbara Humphrey, Alice Honig, Grace McNamara, Doug Roth, Damian Vallelonga, Paul Walsh, Marilyn Zaleon WENA members and guests: David Atherton, Phil Bossert, Bruno Daniele (SPD), Kate Hammer (SU), Helen Hudson, Harry Lewis, Nader Maroun (Syracuse Common Council), Christina Olivieri, Bronnan Pilcher, Francesca Pignoni, Norman Roth, Lindsay Speicher. 1. Welcome and introductions (no news please) Barbara called the meeting to order at 6:35. 2. Presentation of May 9, 2011 minutes for approval: Barbara Humphrey Moved by Grace McNamara, seconded by Barbara Humphrey; passed unanimously. (NOTE: following the meeting, Barbara made a change to the minutes, listed as present under WENA Board the names of Tony Gigliotti and Grace McNamara, who has been listed as WENA members and guests.) 3. Financial Report: Starke Donnally Starke reported that WENA has $1,988 in the bank, having taken in one dues payment in May. He noted that since WENA moved its account from SCFCU to Summit, instead of paying a $5 fee for the month, WENA earned $.17. 4. Police Storefront: Officer Daniele gave a brief update on criminal activity in the neighborhood: gunfire in the Westcott/Lexington area that appears to be gang related and had been prevalent in the 900 block of Salt Sprints and is moving west. Also a robbery in front of 748 Westcott, where the suspect appears to be the same one who robbed the Sunoco gas station—black male wearing all black and white sneakers. It is hoped he was caught on their surveillance camera, but we were advised to be on the lookout for someone fitting that description. The electric service for Westcott Theater performer buses has been installed on the building, and users will be expected to cover the cable with mats to prevent tripping. Reminder: To contact Officer Daniele on his cell phone: (315) 454-2575 5. Program/Outreach Initiatives: maybe hold discussion a. Networking with Other Neighborhood Organizations and the City i. WCC Newsletter Insert: Not enough news for a July insert. ii. Eastside TNT: next meeting is June 14 and Baye Muhammad, Syracuse Parks & Rec Commissioner, will be the meeting’s guest. iii. University Neighborhood Partnership: not meeting again until August 15. The membership designated safety, security and health as the topic for next year and it was noted that the group is looking for highly collaborative, not divisive, topics to address. Paul Walsh offered front porch/house lighting one example. At the May meeting, he asked Joe Russo, as an employee of National Grid, to look into whether or not NG could bulk buy LED lighting to distribute/sell to neighborhood residents to light front porches in a uniform way as a safety/security measure. iv. Westcott Leadership Roundtable (WLR): next meeting June 30. Ideas for topics to bring to the group include: beautification plans for gateways and common spaces and Westcott Business District signage to make the district more enticing and informative to shoppers. v. UNPA Housing Plan: Group met on June 6 and will meet again in mid- July to try to create a plan that would be brought to organizations such as WENA for endorsement (or not vi. Westcott Business District Update: Taste of India is ready to sign and build out of the interior should be completed shortly. An announcement for the second floor space of the Taste of India building, as well as the two spaces in the former Seven Rays building, are expected shortly. Second Story Books has left Westcott, and Melo Vello Bike Shop is taking over that space and intends to continue a café. Westcott Theater is doing façade work. New business at the corner of Westcott and South Beech selling African peanut brittle and Blue Tree Studio fair trade baskets from Ghana. b. Neighborhood Outreach: approximately 91 Welcome to the Westcott Nation postcards were sent to those who bought property in the WENA area from 5/10 to 5/11 thanks to lists from Lindsay and labels from Jill. 6. Old/New Business a. Garage Sale: it was agreed that we would do the sale on August 27. Barbara will bring that date to the Westcott Leadership Roundtable and she and Marilyn agreed to serve on a WENA committee (and more WENA members are welcomed). We need to generate income for WENA this year from this event. b. Westcott Fair donation request: WENA received a request via email for a donation to support the 2011 Westcott Fair. On a motion by Starke and second by Alice, a donation of $150 was approved. c. Petit Library Summer Reading Program: on a motion by Tony and second by Damian, a donation of $200 was approved. d. Jewish War Veterans redevelopment: Barbara summarized the two proposals for redevelopment of that structure, which is also being called the Babcock Shattuck House. UNPA is proposing the four condominiums, while University Hill Reality is proposing rental units. Nader Maroun, 5th District Councilor who has taken portions of the 4th District under his wing, provided information on “iconic property” legislation being considered by the City that would facilitate redevelopment of structures such as JWV that are outside of CDBG target areas. Nader said that he and Councilor-at-Large Jean Kessner would convene a meeting shortly and extend an invitation to participate to WENA prior to the next WENA meeting. Barb suggested that if no meeting happened prior to July 11, or if the WENA board felt an additional meeting was needed to talk about the iconic property legislation or specifically about JWV, perhaps this could happy at 5:30, one hour prior to the next WENA meeting. e. UNSAAC Update: prior to discussing the three WENA projects, Nader explained that the Common Council did not appropriate the UNSAAC funds to the agencies on June 6, as anticipated, due to a request by 4th District Council Tom Seals for an additional discussion of the appropriations. The Council has put the appropriations on it agenda for June 20, and Nader assured us that it would be approved at that meeting. Nader also reported that the City and SU agreed to a delay in the renegotiation of the UNSAAC agreement and decided to do a two-year extension, giving UNSAAC three additional years of funding at existing levels. In terms of WENA projects: i. Doug Roth will be the WENA liaison to this project, which received half of its request or $2,500. He has begun talking to Westcott merchants and is convening a planning group to have the merchants advise WENA as to how they would recommend allocating the funds to accomplish the goal of establishing a merchant’s association. Eventually, a facilitator will be hired to assist with the process. ii. Sharing the History of the Westcott Nation: Barb has talked to Sam Gruber, who has already gotten started. A more detailed report will follow. iii. Harvard Community Garden: they want to install a picket fence, and will explore the possibility that this gets done with city forces or the city deals directly with a contractor. If the money has to flow through WENA, we will need to work things out because WENA does not have the cash flow to pay the entire amount ($4,500) at one time. f. Retreat Follow Up: i. Lori Brown is heading up the Quality of Life effort. She has been mostly focusing on the Westcott Theater (tour bus idling, partying in the Community Parking Lot, street parking) and suggestions for issues are welcomed. ii. Fundraiser: Barb just reminded everyone that, while fundraising is not crucial for WENA’s survival, having additional money in the bank would help with the management of the UNSAAC grants. g. Gifford Foundation “What if” mini grants: Tony reported that the Westcott Area Cultural Coalition will likely apply in July for an extension of the Michael Moody mural to the facades on South Beech Street. h. Bike Rack and Public Spaces Projects: Damian reported that after talking to Kosta at Dorians, who did not want the bike rack in front of his plantings on Westcott, he is now looking at the south side of Harvard, just west of the driveway between Mom’s Diner and Recess Café. Both projects were approved for TNT escrow fund support at the requested levels, and Damian and Brendan are pricing things out and expect installations by the end of July/early August. In terms of the Public Spaces Project at Westcott/South Beech, Nader announced that he had talked to Paul Mercurio, who was looking at traffic studies, and that he did not have any information regarding the incorporation of rain water capture at the site as of yet. It is also unlikely that changes to that intersection or any others to slow Westcott traffic would happen this year. i. I-81 challenge: nothing new at this time. j. Syracuse First: rather than make a decision now as to whether or not WENA should spend $50 to join, she suggested that WENA members join her in attending a networking event on June 29 at Way Off the Beaten Path to get a better sense of whether or not there is value in joining. k. Syracuse Stories: this event on July 30 at the Everson Museum welcomes eastsiders to tell their stories. Barb will send the information she received directly to everyone. l. Remembrance Place/Action: it was noted that WENA and our eastside neighborhood has lot a number of people and it was asked—could we and should we find a place or a way to remember the people we have lost. In particular, on one day recently, we lost both Art Kumar, Alice’s partner, and Frances Carmen. It was suggested that we think about this, email ideas to Barb, and then get a few people to work on it. It will be kept on the agenda for more discussion in July. 7. Announcements and good news a. Harry Lewis noted that Khalid Bey, candidate for 4th district councilor, came to SEUNA’s meeting recently. 8. Upcoming Events: a. Eastside TNT: Tuesday, June 12, 7 pm, Levy School