MHCA Area Directors' meeting minutes

Midvale Heights Community Association Board Meeting Agenda
Tuesday, January 27, 2015 – 6:45 p.m. – Sequoya Branch Library

Area directors present: Chuck Kreimendahl, Ron Rotter, Gary Poulson, Floyd Stautz, Ed Rogers, Peter Schell, Jenny Chipault, Denise Lamb, Mary J. Armstrong, Paul Haskew, Jonn Lager, Kay Reuter-Krohn, Tom Jarvis
Other community members present: Cathy Rotter, Nan Lager, Steve Fitzsimmons

1. Call to Order & Introductions - C Kreimendahl
   1. Highlights news reports about the break-ins and S Fitzsimmons' neighborhood watch meeting being shown on two TV channels. There was follow-up about the arrests of the burglars. We’ve been in the news, in a good way.
2. Prior Minutes Review/Approval Board
   1. October minutes taken by J Chipault; November minutes by D Lamb
      1. Motion to approve both months passes
3. Treasurer’s Report - R Rotter
   1. Provides a hard copy of logs; roughly $38,000 in the account
   2. On the last couple of pages, he arranged finances by month to show what was spent for each activity; new way to show where money goes in and where it comes out.
4. Legislative Reports Maurice Cheeks/Carousel Bayrd
   1. Not present
5. Officer Elections - C Kreimendahl
   1. Couldn’t be done last month because didn't have enough area directors present
   2. There is a motion to re-elect the current slate, passes
6. Neighborhood Watch Report - S Fitzsimmons
   1. Purchased a few things, e.g., workbooks, and thanks board for funding
   2. 160 people signed up on email list for notifications. Try to keep it to two emails per week. We're getting better at what we’re doing. People are submitting tips about suspicious activity.
   3. Good support from Chief Koval. S Fitzsimmons communicates with lieutenant, captain, or chief almost daily.
   4. Working with 160 people keeps him busy. But we live in a community of 1800, so could still get more people. Got good attention from news media.
   5. Possible expenses coming up. A neighborhood watch sign is $2,500 (including the fee to post it). Not sure where it would be, but something we might want to consider. There’s a citizen that wants to pay for that sign if it goes up on her block.
      1. M Armstrong says there are several in Orchard Ridge.
         1. S Fitzsimmons thinks we'd want to do more than one and we’d have to think about where to post them
      2. T Jarvis said you have to have a lot of people in an area be part of the neighborhood watch in order to post sign.
   6. R Rotter says Midvale Heights owns engravers.
      1. S Fitzsimmons says no one is asking for them yet.
      2. M Armstrong got something back; engraved her camera and it was stolen and was recovered by Middleton police department. She engraved email address but they suggest drivers license number.
      3. T Jarvis said police officer said Madison Police Department has invisible ink that they’ll let people borrow, but that was 2009, not sure if they still do it.
   7. Rodney Wilson will be speaking at watch meeting next month, then the canine unit, then district attorney.
      1. M Armstrong says we could have one of these meetings at the park
   8. Bought 150 participant handbooks and stickers – he’ll bring these to future meetings. Had 110 people at last meeting; workbooks didn’t go fast.
      1. J Chipault points out that 110 people probably represent fewer households than 110
      2. There’s another workbook that would cost us some money.
   9. There’s a lot of crimes that happen that people could avoid by locking their doors and cars. Rodney Wilson will do a home audit and show you what things are vulnerable.
   10. Board thanks to S Fitzsimmons for his efforts.
7. Segoe Park - E Rogers
   1. Displayed a map of Segoe Park
   2. There’s a lot of ways it could be improved and be more used
   3. During 2014, we put out a survey to neighborhood.
      1. Majority responded by mailing it back with a stamp
   4. Playground is mostly metal and in full sun. Showed pictures comparing Segoe Park to Slater Park. Park said they couldn’t do trees because there’s a softball field and it would interfere with outfield play. E Rogers looked at scale and determined that there’d be a 200’ buffer and could still add a couple of trees.
   5. Water fountain and light post on northeast side of park pointed out as facilitating an ice rink.
      1. E Rogers talks to Park Dept, they get back to him, they say it’s a no go, E Rogers offers work-arounds, e.g., E Rogers calls MGE and determined wouldn’t need to meter light pole because of standing agreement. Another example: large rinks are filled by tanker trucks which Streets lends to Parks for beginning of ice season and they have two trucks and last April one rolled on the beltline and caught fire and was a complete loss but E Rogers estimates that we’d be able to just do a spray on rink (takes 40 coats) by coming out every night for a week (spend 45 minutes a night). Water fountain has water main so frost-proof hydrant could be put on water main, or they could build a utility shed with an electrical hookup and door and lock and space heater to keep it at 45 degrees in the shed. Parks has said capital investment would be $25,000 but E Rogers found planning document but that indicating this might be the number for building a floating rink from scratch (e.g., Garner); large rinks where you open a hydrant year-round. And some cost might be for taking out trees, leveling ground, etc.. But don't know how it would be $25,000 for Segoe. That’s when Parks stopped talking to him about ice rink.
      2. Question about annual cost of upkeep.
         1. Westmorland spends less than $1,000 per year for electricity. They also have a massive warming shed. E Rogers put in his original proposal a request for converting concrete pavilion already at Segoe Park into a warming shed.
   6. Make Music Madison requires no interaction with the Parks department. We got 2 bands last year: accordion player and children's' music. Roughly 50 people attended, counting kids. E Rogers would like to do this again in 2015.
      1. Last time we told artists that they couldn’t amplify, but maybe this year we consider changing this policy.
      2. Top response in neighborhood survey about Segoe Park was live music so a couple other things we could do would be ask Parks to forego their $900 per cart zoning fee for food carts. E Rogers talked to the woman who runs Let’s Eat Madison and she said they have other carts that could be at Segoe (i.e., not stealing business from Tuesday night Midvale). Big no-go is Parks' $900 fee.
   7. E Rogers went to December Parks meeting and gave them these ideas. No response.
   8. Another idea is to pay Parks $2,000 fee and give them 6 months notice, and they will allow you to park food carts, and that will help you recoup investment for one-time event. Would allow for amplified music. All parks close at 9pm so that might be sunset for your permission. Have to have full put-together plan to do this so maybe something for 2016. Could host event, food cart sells food, we vend beverages,
      1. D Lamb wonders if we did 3 concerts over the summer and then we just sold food or get HyVee on site, could we do that? Concerts in June, July, and August on same Thursday or Friday night. Would need volunteers and could ask for donations. Could encourage people to bring their own food, like Opera in the Park. Maybe 7-9pm
      2. F Stautz asks if it would replace the annual picnic.
         1. No, need more social events in neighborhood
   9. G Poulson suggests copying Alder Maurice Cheeks on emails to Parks.
      1. E Rogers has been, and Ald Cheeks was very supportive, and E Rogers would often get an answer from Parks when Ald Cheeks copied
      2. E Rogers spoke at Parks meetings during public comment for items not on agenda (did this a couple months in a row); he was notified that Parks can’t speak to what he's saying during meeting if he's not on the agenda. E Rogers asked to get on October agenda, but wasn’t on the agenda, so gave another public comment. Tried to verify that he was on the agenda for November, but then Parks canceled November meeting. In December he did another public comment.
         1. G Poulson can ask what the process is for considering options. There must be a process to get away from influence of Alders, some sort of scoring system that gets projects in the queue.
            1. E Rogers hasn’t received information that he’s below some qualifying threshold.
   10. M Armstrong says these are not huge projects, can we do them as a neighborhood association?
   11. One person at Parks said Segoe Parks playground is on a list for replacement but essentially they put every piece of playground in Madison on a big list and then they march through it in order of need and Segoe is not particularly near the top.
   12. D Lamb said there was this big deal where we couldn’t put a garden in a park. But then a couple of years ago it became a good thing.
   13. E Rogers says that he’s an officer on the Midvale Heights board and that at our June meeting we passed a motion of support for ice skating rink.
       1. R Rotter motioned that E Rogers becomes head of a Midvale Heights Park Committee.
   14. P Haskew brings up art in the park program promoted by MMOCA. They might put us on the list twice if we get a good enough turn out. If we were to advertise that to the neighbors, it might be successful.
   15. P Haskew also recommends we look for some sort of parks foundation or Friends of Madison parks group - they must have some influence so maybe we should ally ourselves with them and maybe bring up some money.
   16. C Kreimendahl suggests we focus our efforts and give E Rogers and whoever else the support they need to move forward. Use neighborhood survey to choose a couple projects to push for, but first have our ducks in the row. Suggests we develop a committee. It's in our neighborhood plan that Segoe Park has picnic shelters and splash pad. Also information about improving the park for adolescences and for younger kids. By next meeting, present the 3 things we really want to push.
   17. M Armstrong says maybe we consider contacting a food cart and put them on contract for a year.
       1. T Jarvis asks are any carts paying money?
          1. No one pays fee from the one co-op E Rogers talked to. But they are going to pay $2000 for one night at a park.
       2. P Schell says a neighbor had a food cart park in their driveway to cater their party.
   18. Is the ballpark used at Segoe Park?
       1. Yes, for Mike Pressman’s league.
   19. P Schell says playground is for older kids, e.g., ultimate frisbee, basketball.
   20. D Lambs asks if we do it 2-3 concerts this summer, could we pay the bands? Suggested rate of $500 for 2-2.5 hours.
       1. J Chipault says we have money and she's in support of using funds to make our neighborhood more interactive.
   21. P Haskew and C Kreimendahl bring up westside Kiwanis group as people to talk to about help with spearheading effort
   22. P Schell asks if we should start a petition.
       1. Probably no clout.
   23. E Rogers to start a park committee via email
   24. D Lamb will find 3 bands that might be available over the summer.
       1. P Schell says it was hard to hear without amplification last year (had to be within 15’ of band). Is there an electric outlet?
          1. Might need a gas generator to get amplification.
   25. J Chipault thanks E Rogers for his persistence on this topic.
8. Other announcements
   1. J Chipault says there's a meeting about community orchard on Thursday, February 5th at Willy St Coop West
   2. G Poulson says on February 17 and April 7 there are elections. Midvale Heights has had high voter turn-out recently (89% voted, second only to Westmorland).
   3. T Jarvis thinks area directors should subscribe to neighborhood watch list so they get the email messages. If someone replies it goes to T Jarvis, R Rotter, and S Fitzsimmons. Other board members could see replies if they'd like. T Jarvis gets copied when S Fitzsimmons responds.
      1. S Fitzsimmons says people could also just email directly to stevefitz at charter.net.
9. Adjourn: 8:05pm

Notes by J Chipault, Secretary

MHCA Board Meeting Minutes
November 25, 2014

Presiding: Chuck Kreimendahl, President

Attending: Area Directors Denise Lamb, Tom Jarvis. Ron Rotter, Floyd Stautz. Ed Rogers, Jonn Lager. With no quorum, the board was unable to complete any official business.

Also attending: Steve Fitzsimmons, Neighborhood Watch representative.

Minutes from the October board meeting/annual meeting were unavailable.

1. Treasurer’s report: As of November 25, 2014, the MHCA account had $$35,997.37. Most significant recent expenditures were to replace neighborhood signs on Odana and Mineral Point Road and to produce and mail membership materials. Chuck Kreimendahl noted that a city fund had contributed $1000 to the sign payments.
   Brief discussion about the treasurer’s report: Board members asked Treasurer Ron Rotter how he determines how much is in any account category at any given time. Board members instructed treasurer to reduce PayPal balance to minimum necessary to maintain the account.
   
2. Neither Maurice Cheeks nor Carousel Bayrd were in attendance, and there were no legislative reports.
   
3. Neighborhood Watch: Steve Fitzsimmons reported on November NW meeting: 23 neighbors attended; speaker was Neighborhood Officer Dustin Pailing. Several neighbors have completed ride alongs with police, and Fitzsimmons attended an Allied Drive neighborhood meeting in November. Thanks to Tom Jarvis for setting up NW website. Discussion of NW finances: Some designated funding in account; board instructed Fitzsimmons to use this as needed.
   
4. Segoe Park: Ed Rogers reported on his efforts to improve Segoe Park in response to survey results. The Park District has been unresponsive to efforts to establish a skating rink or plant shade trees near playground. Several board members agreed to attend the December 10 Park District meeting to support Rogers’s presentation. Board discussed possible summer events, including participating in Make Music Madison again, other concerts, and food cart picnics.
   
5. Officer elections: Because there was no quorum, the board was unable to elect officers for 2014-2015.
   
6. Other business: We still need an Area 7 director. Denise Lamb asked for permission to facilitate any candidate forums for the spring election proposed by other neighborhood assns.

Meeting adjourned at 8:30 p.m.

Minutes taken by Denise Lamb

Midvale Heights Community Association Annual Meeting Agenda
Tuesday, October 28, 2014 – 6:30 p.m. – Sequoya Branch Library

Area Directors present: Chuck Kreimendahl, Ron Rotter, Gary Poulson, Floyd Stautz, Jim Thoreson, Ed Rogers, Greg Fischer, Jenny Chipault, Denise Lamb, Mary J. Armstrong, Paul Haskew, Jonn Lager, Kay Reuter-Krohn, Tom Jarvis

1. Guest Speaker - Police Chief Mike Koval
   1. Gary Poulson introduced Police Chief Mike Koval. In 1997/1998, Gary Poulson was an alder and met Officer Koval. Officer Koval spent most of his career as a training officer and by doing this he has impacted 70-80% of officers who are walking the streets today. Officer Koval has learned and lived and taught the Madison method of policing. We're grateful to have someone who has spent most of his career on the streets protecting us as our officer.
   2. Police Chief Koval speaks.
      1. We have roughly 120 neighborhoods in Madison. He's concerned about quality of life in those neighborhoods. He has lived in this particular area of Madison for years. Madison has been growing into an urban center with many of the same problems we see across the US. but he thinks we have a handle on things affecting our quality of life benchmarks. We have lower than normal crime indices.
      2. However, at 9am this morning, there were two cars exchanging gunfire at Whitney way and University - one round went into interior of a room of a house with a 70-some year old man on Flambeau Trail. This is a canary in the coal mine. As we become bigger, the sleepy-eyed town goes in rear-view mirror.
      3. Epidemic of heroin overdoses. 1 gram of heroin is $150; never been more potent or more accessible. Narcan is drug that counteracts overdoes. Every 8 hours he gets updates from phone - usually at least once every 8 hours there's an overdose. Getting some traction because talking about it long enough, but if not for Narcan, would be hearing about heroin more. Our police are responding to a pulse-less, non-breather; they do CPR to keep heart alive and in collaboration with Madison fire (6 minute response time), they administer by syringe the Narcan dose and then 30 minutes later the person that overdosed is walking and talking. We would have had 100 deaths in last few years in just city of Madison without Narcan. So if deaths were being reported, we might take this more seriously. Met expectations of protocol; street level will be trained on nasal Narcan. That is one of the issues that we have to confront.
      4. Awful lot of guns in our community. Finding shell casings or things hit by bullets. Some have asked if Madison is looking at shot technology to triangulate where a fire arm is discharged. But we're getting reports from our neighbors and we're calling in real-time. Talked with Chief Flynn from Milwaukee. Milwaukee hosted gun conference. There's been 3 homicides in 6 months that he's been on in Madison; 59 in Milwaukee. Community is galvanized in wanting to reclaim neighborhoods, but in Milwaukee they have to use shot technology because in 85% of cases, the technology told them because neighbors didn't call. He doesn't want to see us become that sort of resigned populace.
      5. He's been asked, "What do you see as your benchmark indices as future of Madison?" Two domains. One is played out in Madison metropolitan school district where there's 27,000 enrolled students, of which 65% qualify for federal subsidized meals (breakfast, lunch, or both). The Madison he was raised in had greater sense of plurality. Have-nots becoming more and more pronounced. In competing headlines over last 72 hours, there's been talk of BEP (Behavior Education Plan), which runs under the premise that we want to improve high school graduation for those of color especially. We support BEP until the point when public safety is compromised. So as we go through growing pains together, delighted to see ongoing dialogue.
      6. Other domain is the neighborhoods. Roughly 120 neighborhoods in Madison. He's a disciple of David Cooper, who hired him twice. He thought the FBI was better and tried that for two years. Under the Cooper regime, he got it right in that policing is done best when done proactively and relationally. Want to see a return to yesteryears. We had 18 neighborhood officers, we're at 11 now. Budget-wrangling is happening right now and he asked for 5 more. Give us a chance to be relational and looking at things besides crime. Yes, they are addressing crime issues but also quality of life issues - landlords, teens, etc. What he did in early May was ask staff to tell him if they have neighborhoods in their district that would benefit from neighborhood officers; 9 districts gave him a minimum of 6 hot spots. Looked at a map. 30 identifiable neighborhoods where things are on a slow boil and could go either way depending on what resources we give them. West-siders might know distinction between neighborhood officer (e.g., Allied Drive - they report there every day, West Mifflin, Williamson St.) and neighborhood resource officer. He took his niece to Chuck E Cheese and he describes whack-a-mole; that's his job in the neighborhoods. Neighborhood resource officer would get 2-3 of these hot spots.
      7. Just a couple of blocks due north is where we will be citing the Midtown Station - on Mineral Point by Mount Olive Lutheran church. This mayor has 7 years left until we fully annex the town of Madison. My concern is if we're keeping up pace of annexation. West District office is on McKenna Boulevard and it has outgrown its domain - 26 square miles, 85,000 residents - they would be 5th largest stand-alone city in Wisconsin. Luckily Midvale Heights in a safe place because people would have to go a long way to get to an emergency. 2020 or 2017 are proposed date for opening of Midtown. Scheduled for 2017, which will give us a resource that's more relational to your needs. These are the things that are percolating.
      8. Koval's armored tank was acquired before he took oath of office. But got a "win" from that albatross - had guy with a rifle that shot 8 rounds indiscriminately and we were able to get closer to the guy and could have vacated neighbors if needed to.
      9. Question from audience: What do you see as problems for this neighborhood?
         1. This is a pristine and wonderful neighborhood. Problems might be traffic related, e.g., bad driving. Have domestic violence in every quadrant of the city. This neighborhood has been very committed to being neighbors. We get calls asking if we would check on welfare, e.g., my neighbors haven't taken in their paper. Calling us about that stuff is a good thing. Gun violence is close, that's hard to get your head around.
      10. Question from audience: What about breaking and entering - 11 in the last couple of months.
          1. Burglary has gone up, but not as here pronounced as far west. 20% is far west (McKenna district station) between midnight and 4am. A lot is being seen as pattern related to drugs - taking stuff that can go to pawn shops to translate to addiction. Commercial based burglaries have been more sophisticated. Opportunistic in houses. He still does the cop thing and walks the streets - recently found keys in the ignition in unlocked cars in 3 cars in 6 block radius.
      11. Question from audience: Obviously the politics of gun control are against this, but is there anything the department can do to get guns off the streets?
          1. Trying to find the sweet spot with those people that believe we are out to hurt 2nd amendment rights, but clearly we have gun offenses every night. When he came on in 1983, they had an alert tone every time there was a crime in progress that involved guns or knives and would hear it 2-3 times in 6 day rotation. Now, 2-3 times in 8 hour shift. Cops work 6 days on and 3 days off. He's a big guy on having federal regulation that is stringent and background checks that are not artificial. Would like to bring pressure on gun manufacturing industry to do "smart guns" in which trigger would only pull if the gun recognized the palm print.
      12. Question from audience: Socioeconomic issues: you said 65% of kids in Madison on subsidized meals; how does that compare to the nation?
          1. Relative to the state we're probably ok, but Milwaukee is not a benchmark we want to be compared ourselves to. Likes metaphor of Tale of Two Cities: nice cars driven by 16 year olds at Memorial but 12 buses staging outside of Gammon and 75% of people getting off buses are people of color. Are police engaged in racial profiling? But think what you'll see if we have good people, through no fault of their own, trying to eke out a living, inviting you to come in and we want to you take riffraff out of here. Asking people to take a good look at faces of those we're arresting but also want to see places where we're making those arrests. All officers go through class given by Patricia Divine enlightening our officers about subconscious bias. Having said that, our workforce in Madison is more diverse. Around the country, complaints come from outside, whereas in Madison complaints come from co-workers who will not sit idly by. Average class in Madison is 29 years of age, all have bachelors degrees, 1/3 have masters degrees. Women are 12% on force nationally; Madison is 30% women. If you look at this class, you'll see interests in zoology, classic literature, Spanish, political science; there's diversity. A lot of free spirits.
      13. Question from audience: Article in paper about our teachers in public schools bombarded by unruly students.
          1. They have a way to vet their staging. They have an escalating staircase and some things are so significant they jump. Each high school has security guards (4 per school), ERO (education resource officers). I'm all for BEP but you have to let cops know that a teacher was threatened with a chair, or there's talking. Need to have an emboldened Superintendent to make ERO equal partner in real-time for those encounters. Not just there for ticket/arrest/escort; want them to be relational and work in tandem with principals. Have to iron out real-time communication gaps.
      14. Question from audience: We're told that the crime rate in Midvale Heights in pretty low, but what has tended to happened is that we have a rash of break-ins and Neighborhood Watch will rev up, but then winter happens and things die down. Do you suggestions for keeping Neighborhood Watch going?
          1. Have at least quarterly meetings. Be mindful of CPTED (Crime prevention through environmental design): back porch without light, overgrown shrubs, we need to take some measures as homeowners. Bring in guests speakers.
      15. Question from audience: Explain a bit more about Midtown police station - how will it impact us?
          1. When it first starts, you'll have 8-9 officers there. You can do stuff in-person, like register bike, report a theft, etc.
             1. Alder Maurice Cheeks speaks and says he supports it and will vote for it. But sooner we bring it online, sooner we have to pay for it and don't want to raise people's taxes. Also have fire station on east side that's scheduled to open in next couple of years. Do we prioritize both of these and figure out how to put it in operating budget?
          2. Koval says he'd sleep in his car in Midvale Heights. Allied got bad in 2008/2009 at height of cocaine. We were all-in on Allied. Raymond and Schroeder are a bit different now than 10 years ago; while we were all-in on Allied, that hose sprung a leak downstream. There's now displacement that we have to be careful about.
      16. Question from audience: Read that in states where marijuana is legal, heroin overdoses are down 35%.
          1. Suspects he'll be tarred and feathered about one sentence on marijuana. There are public policy debates to be had. He's influenced by the fact that there's been some fairly interesting studies being done on medicinal purposes. Are we ready to have a discussion as a state? Law enforcement is not a stick-in-the-mud about moving forward with that dialogue. But they are following the law.
2. Call Business Meeting to Order & Introductions - Chuck Kreimendahl
   1. This meeting is for members primarily, but everybody is welcome.
3. Board of Directors Election- Chuck Kreimendahl
   1. Even-Numbered Areas are up for election this year.
      1. Board members present, say name and what street you live on.
         1. Gary Poulson, Charles Lane
         2. Peter Schell, Togstad Glenn
         3. Paul Haskew, Togstad Glenn
         4. Tom Jarvis, Tokay Boulevard
         5. Floyd Stautz, Hillview Terrace
         6. Jenny Chipault - Hilton Drive
         7. Greg Fischer - Berwyn Drive
         8. Jonn Lager - Constitution Lane
      2. All have agreed to serve another 2-year term but floor is open.
      3. Move to elect slate of even-numbered board members. Second. Discussion? No opposition. Motion passes.
4. Neighborhood Watch Report - Steve Fitzsimmons
   1. We live in a beautiful community. He used to be president of bird club and he'd struggle to get 20 people; nice to see turn-out. He did work with Fitchburg police dispatcher. Also has been neighborhood tornado spotter for last 10 years. Can't prevent tornadoes but can help ourselves regarding crime prevention. There have been 18-19 residential burglaries. Roughly 5 homes in his immediate area: couple doors down, couple doors behind, and across the street. He talked to board to figure out what to do to fight this trend. We're going to have a meeting November 11, 6:30-7:30 at Midvale Community Lutheran Church. We'll talk about strategies for how we can protect ourselves and protect our neighbors. Common sense things. Some things that might have us step outside of our comfort zone. He can facilitate working with police. Call 911 if see anything specific. On www.Midvaleheights.org, there's a link on left to neighborhood watch page, which has tips and suggestions, and his contact information. There are a lot of things we need to watch for. Trust your instincts. Neighborhood police officer, Dustin, will be coming to our meeting on November 11. Also want to point out that there's a Madison Police Department survey where you can express concerns about your neighborhood. We have a forum and email list and you can sign up for this email list via www.Midvaleheights.org. As soon as he finds out about something, he emails list and it raises our awareness. Try to get everyone to get more comfortable with the police. Dustin is happy to do ride-along for 4 hours. Keep lights on at night, garage doors closed, keys not in car. We'll be training during winter and when things warm up, our eyes will be on our streets and we won't be intimidated by our police.
5. Elected Representative Reports - Maurice Cheeks/Carousel Bayrd
   1. Maurice Cheeks wants to talk about a few things that he's working on right now via budget that we're trying to pass.
      1. Restoring funding for crossing guard program. We haven't looked at policy regarding crossing guards since 1990s, so need to look at ways to have neighbors walk their children to school.
      2. Also supports creation of Midtown Station. Chief brings renewed energy to the role. He represents 10th district, which includes Orchard, Dunn's marsh, Allied Drive, Midvale Heights, Nakoma, and Summit Woods so it's been important for him to ensure that MPD is thinking about his district holistically. We've made strides at Allied, but at the same time we can't allow our other neighborhoods to slide from receiving attention from the police. While often times the break-ins might be neighborhood kids, that's not acceptable. He will continue to support request for neighborhood officers. The most effective way to ensure safety is to put neighborhood officers in place. We have 19 right now and want 5 more.
      3. Also looking to add wireless to the metro buses starting next year. Our public transit is the 9th most used public transit in the country - per capita - and every bus system that is used more heavily than ours has a regional transit authority. We're doing phenomenal work with relatively limited functionality and funding, but as we see more ridership and encourage ridership, next step is to add convenience of wireless.
      4. Something that hasn't gotten a lot of attention but that he's proud of is that city is going to invest in a tool that will make the budget process more transparent. There's technology to make this happen. Should go live spring of next year.
      5. Emerald ash borer is something we're concerned about as a community. Continuing to fund supporting or replacing our trees is something that will help us maintain our quality of life. Important to maintain vista.
      6. Advocating for participatory budgeting. There is a process that some cities have adopted to allow public to have direct input to how monies get spent in their neighborhoods. Allows citizens to have a more direct relationship with the budgeting process. Hopefully in the next year, we'll invest in the start-up cost and planning process for how we should roll this out. The more we're transparent and the more we can engage our citizens, the better off we are as a community.
   2. Carousel Bayrd notes that it's budget season. The county is really hurting. We're out of money. We're making horrible decisions. We're cutting things that aren't reflective of our values. We don't' want to make these cuts but we don't have money. We aren't providing as many meals to senior citizens, we're not providing as many facilities to people with disabilities, less on alternatives to incarcerate, less slots in drug court, crisis funds, etc. In general, county does human services, criminal justice, and environment. Big debate on the county board about covering up; her concern is that we hide the pain, the average person doesn't know anyone with disabilities so wouldn't notice if someone with disabilities isn't getting outside to walk around the block or not. But she thinks that, on some level, we need to make a statement about what's being cut. Most cuts come from state government.
      1. This is her 9th year. She's vice chair of county board.
      2. Big picture issue #1 is education, access to quality education. Top initiative in last year's budget was crisis mental health services in public schools. They call police, as they should, and then they are in jail; alternatively, they could call a crisis team. City is doing after-school programs; she's the county representative on that committee.
      3. Big picture issue #2 is criminal justice reform. Racial disparities. Big conversation about re-building our jail. She doesn't support building a new jail. We've done a good job of ignoring our jail and it's falling apart and it's a disaster. What she wants to address is mental health; some people are having a mental health crisis and need to be in jail, some don't. Help establish conversation about incarceration, can we incarcerate somewhere other than jail. Most crisis centers are voluntary. Working with teens on justice issue, e.g., have teen talk to homeowner they've wronged and apologize. Doing a pilot in south side of Madison.
      4. Big picture issue #3 is affordable housing. There's a housing co-op for youth struggling with homelessness. Space with wraparound service for youth that are homeless. Creating a community, sort of like a college dorm. There are 10 rooms and a waiting list within a week.
      5. Used to stay home two days a week, but now that her youngest is in kindergarten she's working with YWCA. Doing restorative justice at East and West high schools. She was just in an ad for Planned Parenthood for Mary Burke. Became chair for training democrat women to run for office.
6. Announcements - Board
   1. State of the Neighborhood. There are a lot more kids and families and it's nice to have a community that's vibrant with youth. There's an ongoing t-ball program that we support, run by Michael Pressman. It's an alternative to little league that is more inclusive and fun. New program this year for us in Kids Clubhouse, which ran Tuesday afternoons and a couple dozen kids with supervisors participated. Program was developed in Nakoma neighborhood and it was successful there, so we started it here in collaboration with KEVA. Kids can sign up for whole summer or just a day and do games, sports, crafts, and educational things.
   2. No other announcements
7. Adjournment to Social Session Board, Members and Guests

Minutes recorded by Jenny Chipault, Secretary

Midvale Heights Community Association
Sept 23, 2014 – Board Meeting
Board Members Present: Chuck Kreimendahl, Floyd Stautz, Cathy Rotter, Jim Thoreson, Ed Rogers, Greg Fischer, Jenny Chipault, Denise Lamb, Paul Haskew, Jonn Lager, Tom Jarvis

Others in Attendance: Kris Schutte, Steve Fitzsimmons, Paul Medenwaldt

1. Meeting called to order by C Kreimendahl
   1. Happy National Voter Registration Day
   2. Introduced ourselves
2. Prior Minutes Review
   1. C Kreimendahl has two corrections: Add "Still" to Debora Jackson Still's name and in paragraph 7 (about neighborhood sign) should be neighborhood sign AND Piper Park sign, just said Piper Park sign
   2. August minutes approved with amendments
   3. J Chipault will make changes and re-post August minute to website
3. Treasurer’s Report
   1. Hard copy distributed.
   2. Library sold 10 more copies Midvale Heights history books
   3. T Jarvis says we have 462 members this year, all paid
   4. E Rogers noticed $1,600 increase in PayPal from one month to another; could be memberships or could be donations. E Rogers suggests remove money from PayPal to an FDIC insured bank account.
      1. C Rotter will mention moving PayPal money to other account to R Rotter
      2. C Kreimendahl notes that it is odd that money would all hit in one month because surely members paid earlier in the summer
      3. D Lamb suggests we only keep minimum in account and move rest
   5. T Jarvis says 89 people paid online via PayPal and some paid more than dues, so looks like Ron has not removed money from last year (note: PayPal charges a transaction fee).
4. Legislative Reports Maurice Cheeks/Carousel Bayrd
   1. None
5. Neighborhood Watch
   1. Steve Fitzsimmons has offered to chair an effort to get activity in neighborhood watch program. Many houses near his on Odana Road were burglarized in July and August. There was a meeting in November that a lot of people attended and there have been several attempts in history of neighborhood to do Neighborhood Watch. Overall, our area is relatively safe, but need some place to go where we can communicate with neighbors; e.g., report suspicious vehicles, share ideas about crime prevention. Could have in-person meetings, even if low turn-out. But wants something that’s consistently there for neighbors to access and to have consistent communications with police department. Working with T Jarvis to get web forum up and plans to promote Neighborhood Watch via newsletter. Possibly start foot patrols, both as a form of exercise and a way to get to know people. Possibly put notes on people’s doors if you notice garage doors open, etc. More eyes we have more likely we can catch what’s going on in our neighborhood. However, don’t want to hit it too hard because don’t want to burn out
   2. T Jarvis thinks that the last time it failed was because head of group didn’t schedule meetings anymore
      1. D Lamb says her experience is that there’s a rash of burglaries and people are interested but then it dies down. D Lamb likes that Steve is in for the long-haul and willing to have meetings even if low attendance.
   3. C Kreimendahl says when he asked at November meeting for someone to step forward to lead a Neighborhood Watch, no one did so we’re glad that Steve is stepping forward now.
   4. P Haskew thinks this is an ideal subject for online publication of some sort. Could distribute Midvale Heights crime report via emails regularly
      1. If they went to eWatch forums right now on Midvale Heights website, there’s screen print of crime in our neighborhood.
      2. P Haskew says that when his street was hit, his neighbors installed lights, locked doors, and talked about putting out trail cameras; would be good to communicate these steps to neighbors
      3. If people sign up under forums on www.MidvaleHeights.org they would get email.
      4. P Haskew suggests that we have people opt out of forum
         1. T Jarvis says can’t opt out because he has to prove that it's not spam and people are signed up for email
   5. D Lamb suggests S Fitzsimmons gives presentation at annual meeting next month
      1. S Fitzsimmons agrees
   6. C Kreimendahl suggests a bit of caution, e.g., if someone is repeat hit, they might not want that information publicized because makes them look like easy target
      1. D Lamb says people on forum can say as much as they want so might get more information than from police
6. Sherwood Sidewalks
   1. C Kreimendahl got email that went to city engineering and city council representative from someone in our neighborhood. Email was request for feedback about sidewalk use. They’re doing some sidewalk repairs and neighbor thought opportunity to ask city to put in sidewalks on properties that don’t have them.
      1. C Rotter thinks this area encompasses 3-4 houses on either side of the street.
   2. C Kreimendahl says it’s in our neighborhood plan that this be done but charge goes to property owners. It is in our plan that sidewalks be installed when significant street renovation is done.
      1. C Rotter says this area is near park so makes sense to have sidewalks
      2. G Fischer says sidewalks in front of home increases assessment value
7. Senior Volunteer Opportunity
   1. Kris Schutte spent about 12 years on MHCA board in 1990s and early 2000s and was very active when community developed plantings on Tokay and installation of bison sculptures. She has lived in Midvale Heights 25 years and is retired now so looking to get active in community. RSVP (Retired Senior Volunteer Program) helps 55+ people find volunteer opportunities and K Schutte went through that program and is now volunteering for Triad. Triad planning committee started on southwest Madison and they are looking for new members. Triad is a national, state, and local organization that promotes personal safety and crime prevention for seniors. Triad is not an acronym but represents sheriffs, police, and AARP at national level, but at state and local levels, each triad group has own three legs (e.g., law enforcement, RSVP). Only three chapters in Dane County so far (Verona and Cottage Grove and southwest Madison). Southwest Madison is neighborhood south of beltline but not necessarily what it’s limited to and they are trying to add other areas so it would be valuable to have someone from Midvale Heights on Triad committee. K Schutte hopes for more official representation of MHCA; she’s just a volunteer neighborhood resident but would like MHCA board member. Committee meets once a month, Wednesdays, 9:30-10:30am, to talk about what’s happening, what community needs, what speakers they plan to have. They try to get a full year of speaker presentations that start at 10:30am (right after meeting); topics include social media scams, fall prevention, power of attorney, funeral planning scams, etc. Hand out has listing of upcoming events, like free car safety check in weekend after next.
   2. C Kreimendahl doesn’t think it’s a problem to have someone on Triad that isn’t a MHCA board member but could keep board informed. Need to spread word to our membership.
      1. D Lamb will put information in next newsletter.
         1. K Schutte would like to do write-up and that will indicate who to contact (her or RSVP)
8. Annual Meeting Planning
   1. Gary Poulson checked with police chief Koval and it is confirmed that he will speak at the annual meeting. He has asked to speak right away, at 6:30
   2. D Lamb will send out post cards to all members and will put S Fitzsimmons on the agenda.
   3. Treats
      1. D Lamb brings cider and G Poulson brings coffee
      2. D Lamb will make two kinds of cookies
         1. F Stautz, C Rotter, and J Lager also volunteer to bring cookies
      3. J Thoreson suggests we see if The Market has cider we can buy; would be nice to support them
   4. D Lamb takes postcards to Kinkos, makes them cut them, and then she labels them and takes them to post office
   5. D Lamb asks C Rotter to ask R Rotter for mailing labels
   6. G Poulson will introduce speaker
   7. F Stautz suggests we advertise on website
      1. D Lamb says meeting is technically for members because they are the only ones that vote
   8. Steve Graham resigned as Area 7 director because he doesn’t have time.
      1. Looking to recruit and appoint someone to fill that seat until voted on next year
      2. T Jarvis needs to send out a test email to make sure email accounts for members work; he will ask for people interested in Area 7 directorship
         1. He has 25 email addresses for Area 7
         2. Will send two emails - one directed at Area 7 and separate email announcing annual meeting and speakers
         3. Others should submit to Tom by Friday anything else they want included in general email
9. Announcements
   1. E Rogers gives quick skating rink update. He received a promise from Parks Dept that they will get back to him at end of August, he prompted them in September, no response, so he went to parks commissioners meeting but mayor had rescheduled the meeting so no one there. Will keep trying.
   2. D Lamb asks status of Santa visits
      1. T Jarvis sent information to Peter Schell but hasn’t heard back from P Schell
   3. Oak Park Heights/Piper Park Name Change
      1. C Kreimendahl received another email from person who launched this effort and sign has since been replaced with another Oak Park Heights Park sign.
   4. Laura Brown who has worked on bison prairie wonders about getting T-shirt as a volunteer. Motion to offer funds for purchasing t-shirts for volunteers.
      1. Motion passes
   5. C Kreimendahl participated in work day at Bison Prairie in June and will be out there again at 9am this Saturday, September 27.
      1. J Thoreson took pictures of holes in bison statue. C Kreimendahl emailed Bill Grover (bison artist) and hasn’t heard back.
         1. P Haskew patched it last fall
         2. J Thoreson offers to call someone to get an opinion about repair.
   6. D Lamb says October 18 is Tokay median clean-up
10. Adjourn at 7:55pm

Minutes recorded by Jenny Chipault, Secretary

Midvale Heights Community Association
August 26, 2014 – Board Meeting
Board Members Present: Chuck Kreimendahl, Jenny Chipault, Ed Rogers, Jonn Lager, Nan Lager, Tom Jarvis, Jason Butler, Mary J. Armstrong, Floyd Stautz, Paul Haskew, Gary Poulson, Denise Lamb, Ron Rotter, Cathy Rotter, Greg Fischer, Peter Schell

Others in attendance: Maurice Cheeks

1. Meeting called to order by C Kreimendahl
2. Prior Minutes Review
   1. June minutes approved
3. Treasurer’s Report
   1. R Rotter gives summary, details distributed in hard copy
   2. Received $1,000 check from the city toward the replacement of our neighborhood sign on Mineral Point
   3. Bought new signs for neighborhood Garage Sale this year for $400, but sale is usually profitable
   4. T-ball made over $4,000 this year, which is down a bit from last year
      1. Suggestion for sign that says “Pressman Stadium” or “Pressman Field” when new backstop goes up in Piper Park
         1. Would need to get permission from the city before we put up a sign
   5. Bills coming in for postcard mailing
4. Legislative Reports
   1. None
5. Membership Drive Epilogue
   1. It was complicated this year, possibly in part because P Haskew wasn’t available to head a committee. C Kreimendahl believes it will go smoother with a committee.
   2. T Jarvis relays that we have 444 members (plus recent adds), 13 addresses asked not to be included in directory, 18 asked not to have their kids included in directory, 7 marked as not paid. Had 482 last year. We’ll probably get a few more so we’ll be close to last year’s numbers.
   3. T Jarvis had the idea that we should print a membership card with every members name on it, which means 1 to 3 cards per household. However, it turns out that the only way printer could put different numbers of cards in different envelopes would be to print in multiple batches. They wanted to stuff envelopes. Only the envelopes with two cards could be shipped bulk and having 1 card difference between envelopes would not allow us to ship bulk.
      1. C Kreimendahl says that when he mailed postcards, they weighed pile to the thousandths of a pound
      2. T Jarvis told printer to just do one card with one name and then P Haskew and T Jarvis will create other cards and have block captains distribute them.
      3. D Lamb can put information on front page of newsletter to let people know that directory and card with first names will be coming soon.
         1. Messengers will be back to D Lamb Wednesday after Labor Day
         2. P Haskew wonders if additional cards might be distributed before or at same time as Messenger so Messenger should indicate that members might already have all their cards
      4. MJ Armstrong asks if we can put a sticker on cards for our areas
         1. P Haskew says this is too cumbersome
      5. C Kreimendahl asks if we can time it with messenger
      6. E Rogers brings up people who get digital messenger won’t be on delivery roster
      7. J Chipault wonders if it’s worth the fuss to distribute additional cards
         1. One card with “adult 1” is already printed and some females have different last names so necessary this year
      8. Suggestion for next year to print multiple cards with multiple names, e.g., 2 names on each card and 2 copies of the card for every household
      9. E Rogers suggest we could put in dummy “thank you” cards to make up difference in weight if different number of personalized cards required
      10. P Schell says that every household should get two cards
      11. R Rotter says we should not put names at all
          1. P Haskew says businesses need way to check back to card holder; temptation is for wait staff to apply discount and pocket money
      12. C Kreimendahl asks how much it will cost to print extra cards
          1. Additional cost will likely be less than 3 figures
      13. Motion to approve printing of extra cards for up to $200.
          1. Motion passes
   4. C Kreimendahl did post card mailing (as reminders after membership Messenger goes out) and we’ve always assumed that expense of that is worth it. Cost is $150 postage, $225 for post cards.
      1. Some directors think that in previous years we only sent to people who had previously signed up and didn’t in current year, others think we only take off people who already signed up in current year
      2. Did not get a big bump in memberships this year (around 60), but did recoup costs
      3. MJ Armstrong says it’s also about getting people involved so while it’d be nice to reduce the cost, that might not be most important goal
      4. MJ Armstrong wonders if we could only print postcards every couple years to reduce those costs (stockpile them)
      5. D Lamb wonders if we’re distributing information to new neighbors?
         1. C Kreimendahl says no, nobody has asked for new neighbor kits
      6. E Rogers says based on engagement vs. cost ratio, Facebook post provided a noticeable bump in survey completion when assessing interest in activities at Segoe Park
      7. T Jarvis sent email to everyone who was a member last year, and that did result in more registrations
      8. D Lamb says someone she talked to couldn’t remember whether they had registered and D Lamb suggested they check the website but they didn’t want to go online, so there’s still some part of the community that needs hard copy postcards
      9. M Cheeks brings up door-to-door
      10. 21 of our block captains aren’t MHCA members
      11. MJ Armstrong introduces herself to people when she’s on a walk and relays that she’s a representative for their part of the neighborhood
          1. She has 138 houses and that can be overwhelming
      12. M Cheeks suggests that all block captains do door-to-door in the same weekend and there could be prizes, perhaps leading up to the neighborhood picnic
6. Mayor’s Neighborhood Conference
   1. D Lamb sent a copy of the city’s notice of the neighborhood conference, registration is $15, anyone in the neighborhood can come, D Lamb will put it in the newsletter, D Lamb has attended most of these for the past 10 years, it’s a great way to meet people from other neighborhoods that are doing the same things we’re trying to do, great keynote speaker, you don’t have to commit to the whole day, she comes out of it with about 85 good ideas!
   2. Motion to pay registration fee for directors that want to attend neighborhood conference
      1. Approved
7. Neighborhood Sign and Piper Park sign/name
   1. C Kreimendahl started talking to city about neighborhood signs back in February, even though it was just replacing a sign that had already existed, took a while. Prices went up since last July when R Rotter had received an invoice from the sign company. At March meeting, we approved pursuing $1000 from city to help purchase replacement sign. Getting the Odana sign location approved was difficult. Location is triangle by bus stop, across the road from HyVee. That whole area is a right-of-way. Long and short of it is that 2-3 departments had to approve it. Finally, in July they said it was approved, but that did not involve digging holes in right-of-way, which is engineering's department and need also need sign permit from zoning. C Kreimendahl now has digging permit. This board had never approved expense for larger sign at that location: 8 foot sign now will cost $3,800. Total for two signs is over $5,000 so with new price tag, C Kreimendahl wanted to re-visit issue.
   2. MJ Armstrong wonders if the sign company can guarantee the signs for any amount of time
   3. Where Odana Rd. sign was before was more at risk (where Tyberius Terrace apartments are now)
   4. MJ Armstrong asks how tall posts would be
      1. Tall enough to put hostas or rocks underneath it so that it’s less likely to get hit by mower
   5. J Chipault asks if smaller sign was considered
      1. Yes, but it’s too far from road to see a smaller sign
   6. MJ Armstrong wonders if there’s care-taking involved (e.g., should sign be oiled or clear coated)?
   7. P Schell wonders if we can offer sign company advertising in our Newsletter as barter
   8. Motion to approve larger sign at Odana Rd with $3,800 price tag
      1. Approved
   9. Someone who lives on Piper (he thinks) sent C Kreimendahl an email saying that existing sign at Piper park says Oak Park Heights. Neighbor wonders why we can’t just get a sign that says Piper Park. Sign looks bad (or is gone?). C Kreimendahl doesn’t know history.
      1. G Poulson says there’s a process through the Parks Dept for naming or re-naming.
      2. Do people on the board want to pursue it or should C Kreimendahl let her know that she should pursue it on her own
      3. Suggestion to have her to talk to her neighbors and come to a board meeting to get a motion for support
8. Garage Sale
   1. C Kreimendhal got email from Jill Carlson regarding cost of signs. We had approved $200 but cost went up to $446 so need to approve that cost. They are reusable.
      1. Motion approved
   2. P Schell wonders if anyone knows who to talk to about putting out Garage Sale signs (big sandwich boards)
      1. MJ Armstrong says need permit
         1. T Jarvis looked at rules for lawn sales and didn’t see need for permit
      2. M Cheeks doesn’t know if there’s ordinance about garage sale signs specifically, but generally it’s not allowed on public property.
      3. MJ Armstrong wonders if they’re more appealing and are getting stolen by private individuals
      4. Usually put them up Thursday night, take down Sat/Sun
      5. M Cheeks says Matt Tucker from zoning is the best person to talk to about this
      6. D Lamb offers her yard (private property) for sign if needed
      7. T Jarvis says website says can’t have more than one sale every 3 months and can’t hold sale for more than 4 days at a time.
9. Announcements
   1. T Jarvis wonders if he can use our Midvale Heights gmail account to register for Google maps.
      1. Use of group's email address to get map for group seems reasonable
         1. Lots of head nodding
   2. Person who has coordinated neighborhood Santa visits is stepping down so can T Jarvis contact people who signed up as interested when filling out membership form. He will contact Stephanie Mikesell first to see if she has recommendations.
      1. Similar situation for people who signed up to volunteer for neighborhood watch; can we contact them
      2. Group thinks this is ok, members were asking to be contacted
      3. C Kreimendahl asks that T Jarvis keep us informed so that we know status of leadership
      4. P Schell offers to organize Santa visits, will talk with Stephanie first, and T Jarvis and P Schell will stay in contact about this topic
   3. R Rotter has been paying T Jarvis quarterly for website server
      1. Motion to continue these payments
         1. Approved
   4. Kids Club
      1. There will be a short write-up and pictures in the newsletter. C Kreimendahl went to park in June during Kids Club. It was held on Tuesdays and there were 10 sessions planned. Had good turn-out, about 20 kids in June, roughly 12 signed-up ahead of time and then more as drop-in. Overall, C Kreimendahl thinks it was a great success. If people have questions, can contact C Kreimendahl or Deborah Jackson Still about it.
   5. Mayor Candidate Meeting
      1. Bridgette Maniachi contacted C Kreimendahl a couple of months ago and she asked if she could come to a board meeting. We’ve had candidates speak before.
         1. G Poulson suggests we limit it to 3-5 minutes. C Kreimendahl will contact her.
   6. D Lamb reminds us we have an annual meeting in October. Can put save-the-date in newsletter and then we’ll have to send postcards out
      1. Sarah Day from APT as speaker? We asked her last year but she was in rehearsal. G Poulson will contact her again.
      2. If people have ideas for speaker, send them to D Lamb.
      3. D Lamb will make sure we have space reserved at library for that annual meeting
   7. Alder Report - M Cheeks
      1. Has anyone been to IdeaScale website? This is something city has started doing (as of last year) as way to host public feedback forum at www.Madison.ideascale.com. Soliciting feedback from community. Alders are taking input from website seriously, e.g., biodigester, metro bus suggestions, etc. What pilot programs should we start?, what big goals should be pursued?
      2. MJ Armstrong asks if there are updates for HyVee area.
         1. M Cheeks brought possibility of HyVee being a community center up but it’s a long-term project
         2. Another thing to be aware of is that DOT is going to be looking at that intersection next summer, which might affect our new neighborhood sign.
      3. E Rogers wonders what timeline is regarding ideas being submitted via website.
         1. Council starts budget process in July where Alders start talking to mayor and neighborhoods provide input and then in July-Sept, a lot of discussion happens, and things get written down in October.
   8. F Stautz brings up Mike Koval, new police chief, as possibility for annual meeting speaker.
      1. M Cheeks says he’ll be doing speaking engagements in every district. Our district (west) is on September 18th at 6-7pm, Our Redeemer Church, 1701 McKenna Blvd
   9. C Kreimendahl says research park is proposing to create a lot for commercial development on 45 Science Drive (11 acres).
      1. P Haskew says it’s Ultratech and they will be doubled in size with mirror-image buildings. Area was hit by tornado. They are putting in sloping garden that will be beautiful and open to the public.
   10. Adjourned 8:20pm

Minutes recorded by Jenny Chipault, Secretary

Midvale Heights Community Association

June 24, 2014 – Board Meeting

Board Members Present: Ed Rogers, Tom Jarvis, Floyd Stautz, Jenny Chipault, Jonn Lager, Kay Reuter-Krohn, Jim Thoreson, Greg Fisher, Paul Haskew, Peter Schell, Denise Lamb, Ron Rotter

1. Meeting called to order by E Rogers
2. Prior Minutes Review/Approval
   1. Motion to approve April and May minutes passes.
3. Treasurer's Report
   1. Details distributed in hard copy
   2. MHCA membership fees and T-ball money are coming in
   3. The bill from HyVee for the neighborhood picnic seemed reasonable.
      1. Picnic started right at 6pm, Hyvee had huge roasters on site (they did not want to grill because of weather).
      2. Pretty good showing, especially given the weather. F Stautz thinks about 100 people in attendance; Jill Carlson had relayed that she thought around 200 people attended.
      3. R Rotter was the one that set up picnic tables
4. Legislative Report
   1. Alder Cheeks communicated that it's budget time for Madison so forward ideas/requests to him.
5. Membership Drive Update
   1. T Jarvis says, not counting new forms, all memberships have been entered; 181 registered, 11 not paid, 169 returning members, 33 were not members last year (but might have been in previous years), 118 used online registration, 129 mailed in registration form.
      1. R Rotter had lots of new mailed in forms in hand (counted 115)
      2. 43 members made donations in addition to their membership fee
   2. D Lamb wonders if we want to send out another postcard. Or just do a word of mouth push?
      1. Postcard deemed best idea. Will wait and extract mailing list after this round of forms is entered into system so only sending postcard to relevant households.
      2. D Lamb will also add something about membership to the next newsletter. D Lamb reminds us that we don't meet in July so need to make these decisions now
      3. R Rotter says postcards printed through Econo Print previously were relatively inexpensive.
   3. T Jarvis will be in charge of entering data. D Lamb will design the postcard. R Rotter will run labels.
   4. D Lamb asks P Haskew if he's doing discount cards again.
      1. Confirmed.
      2. P Haskew says Nonno's Italian restaurant has agreed to be added to discount card, also another store in that strip mall. F Stautz is asking Taco Bell.
      3. When businesses sign up, the agreement is a hand shake. P Haskew will go around with blank cards to distribute to each participating business this year
6. Segoe Park Update
   1. Make Music Madison
      1. E Rogers signed up Segoe park as venue and two musicians showed up to play. About 50 people in attendance.
      2. If anyone else wants to get another park in the neighborhood involved in Make Music Madison in future years, E Rogers can tell people how it's done
      3. D Lamb wonders about sponsoring a music series for summer one night a month in Segoe Park.
         1. E Rogers thinks people would enjoy this and also the lay of the land is conducive in that there's a higher spot that's a natural stage of sorts. Parks Department would likely be on board.
      4. D Lamb wonders what rates bands would charge.
         1. P Haskew says $150 for 6 member band. Musicians getting paid less and less. $50 a head for musicians is probably a good rate
      5. J Thoreson wonders about renting amplification.
         1. E Rogers said would have to work with Parks regarding that because doesn't think there's an outlet right now. E Rogers thinks it's a necessity. We would have to talk to neighbors in that area.
      6. J Thoreson wonders about tying music to the picnic
      7. R Rotter brings up arranging food carts for nights when we have music. Or ice cream trucks.
      8. R Rotter says first thing is to see if we can get power. Generator might be louder than music so would be good to have outlet.
   2. Ice Rink
      1. Had meeting in which two people from Westmorland came and talked to our neighbors about the possibility of bringing an ice rink back to Segoe Park
      2. Parks would need to get the ball rolling because they provide the opportunity for neighborhood to maintain a rink. If they get commitment from neighborhood, they'll set up heated utility shed with hydrant and hose, porta-potty, light, and do some snow removal. They wait until a neighborhood approaches and asks for a rink.
      3. Last week had another meeting on site at the park with the Park Dept and our alder. Westmorland experts showed up to that meeting, too. Plan is to put in a recreational rink on east side of park.
      4. P Schell asks if there have been any neighborhood champions.
         1. E Rogers says someone that lives just a few doors down creates rink in his yard every year. About a dozen people showed up to the meeting about the ice rink. If neighborhood has a core group of volunteers every year, we could keep quality ice.
      5. F Stautz not sure about having a hockey game going on the recreational rink. Might want to keep them separate
      6. J Chipault wonders what repercussions would be if Parks builds it and we can't maintain it.
         1. They wouldn't flood it the following year.
      7. J Thoreson wonders how late lights would be on? We should talk to neighbors about lighting.
      8. P Schell's would like at least 3 dedicated people.
      9. F Stautz reminds us that neighborhood survey results indicate a lot of support
      10. J Thoreson brings up that Garner park ice rink is closed
      11. P Haskew mentions that demographics in neighborhood are changing so more likely to get young families using the rink
      12. Motion by J Thoreson that MHCA supports a recreational ice rink in Segoe park. Motion passes.
7. Announcements
   1. D Lamb made it to the tail end of the bike rest stop dedication ceremony on Saturday. Quite a crowd of bike federation people. Dedicated bike rest to a man who was killed on bike in Mississippi. Already a little kid with a flat tire so it's getting used. Still a possibility that we could get water installed at this site later.
      1. R Rotter said there were 5 people stopped there when he went by the other day
   2. Jill sent D Lamb an application for the garage sale and it will be in newsletter
   3. J Thoreson and C Kreimendahl spent some time at bison prairie recently, weeding.
      1. C Kreimendahl sent out email about volunteers from a church to MHCA board, but D Lamb worried that kids won't be able to tell weeds from perennials
      2. J Thoreson and C Kreimendahl talked about hiring a company to do work at bison prairie site next spring.
      3. No responses from posting on master gardeners list
      4. High profile area so we should keep it looking nice.
8. T Jarvis wonders if he put membership directory online, would that be a problem. Someone who is a member would be able to see it online. Also wonders about how to make email addresses of neighbors more available to members - not this year, but maybe something to think about in future.
   1. There was discussion about whether or not directory still valuable given can find information online
   2. Should we password protect the directory, or not?
   3. D Lamb says if we put newsletter online (didn't have to print it), it could be done monthly
   4. D Lamb brings up discussion about what kind of things we send out emails for. What D Lamb likes it for the best is something that we hear about from the city that will miss the deadline for the newsletter.
      1. E Rogers says we could make an off-month email that gives a summary of events
      2. E Rogers suggests that we put it on August agenda to determine if/when to send emails
9. R Rotter got mailer at his door from police saying there's been a burglary in the neighborhood
10. F Stautz says there another insurance option for the water line (similar to the situation we saw with the sewage lateral line)
11. Yesterday was 10 years to the day since the Midvale Heights tornado
12. Meeting adjourned at 8:00pm

Minutes recorded by Jenny Chipault, Secretary

May 27, 2014 – Board Meeting

Board Members Present: Chuck Kreimendahl, Tom Jarvis, Ron Rotter, Cathy Rotter, Floyd Stautz, Jenny Chipault, Mary J. Armstrong, Jonn Lager, Kay Reuter-Krohn, Jim Thoreson

Others Present: Jim Vannes (new neighbor)

1. Meeting called to order by C Kreimendahl
2. Decision to delay approval of minutes because minutes long, no hard copies brought to meeting, and not many board members present
3. Treasurer report
   1. No report because not much has changed.
   2. May Membership Messenger mailing went out. $210 through post office.
   3. Picnic postcard notice arrived at most homes in neighborhood today. Picnic mailer done through Econo print, no bills yet.
4. No legislative reports
5. Odana/Segoe Sign Replacement
   1. City has some money available that could defray our cost. C Kreimendahl contacted city a few months ago and received a reply recently requesting a quote.
   2. Part of approval was finding a new site for sign because used to be by what is now Tyberius Terrace but had been damaged so much at that site. So thinking it could be moved across Odana, in triangle of grass by bus stop and Odana Lane.
   3. City said it would have to go through approvals but they don’t foresee a problem.
   4. R Rotter says quote we got last fall for replacing the sign on Mineral Point was around $2100-3100
   5. C Kreimendahl wants board approval to ask city for money.
      1. MJ Armstrong thinks good idea because the triangle is clear and she enjoys seeing signs around the neighborhoods so thinks it’s a good investment in our neighborhood. Increased visibility at proposed corner: apartments are quite a ways away and city changed parking there too. And she hasn’t seen any vandalism in that area.
      2. Motion to move forward and ask city for funds carries.
6. Membership Drive Update
   1. 145 memberships via USPS mail, 40 online
   2. C Kreimendahl asks if picnic mailer had information about membership.
      1. Group doesn't think so but not many have read it thoroughly yet
      2. C Kreimendahl wonders if we should send reminder post card about membership
   3. R Rotter looking for volunteers to enter membership data
      1. T Jarvis says volunteers would have to log in via MHCA website, but not hard to do
      2. C Rotter says task is easy to do but time consuming
         1. MJ Armstrong and K Reuter-Krohn offer to help.
      3. T Jarvis thinks he’ll send out test email about once a week to see if member email address accurate ###If same member information as last year, then just have to confirm that they’ve paid
      4. Rotters will keep the checks and give volunteers the form
   4. Chuck will set up something for at the picnic so that people can register there or at least get information on membership
   5. Couple people volunteered to help renew vendors for discount card
      1. P Haskew concerned that don’t always have person in charge of business present (could be teen managing cash register), so suggestion of mailing out form with C Kreimendahl contact information and then we’d just follow-up with people who don’t reply to mailer.
      2. F Stautz wonders if it would be of interest to find out who uses cards at the different places
         1. Yes, if we can task an MBA
      3. Dental office on the list has already inquired to see if they are part of program still.
      4. C Kreimendahl will work with P Haskew to create letter
      5. R Rotter says that they should be asked to contact us if they want to opt OUT. Easier for everyone.
      6. T Jarvis wonders if businesses want to update their blurb on our website –suggestion to put that in the letter to send to businesses
      7. T Jarvis brings up auto subscription for members
         1. Deemed not really necessary
7. Member E-Mail Use Policy
   1. Board gets emails asking us if people can use our database to send out notices (e.g., student house painters) or from city asking to distribute information
   2. We assume neighbors give us email addresses because they want to be updated on things in neighborhood
   3. We can tell people to post on Facebook or put an ad in our Midvale Messenger if they want to reach members
   4. T Jarvis says he sent email about dog missing last year and did Kids Clubhouse email this year
      1. Some people will get reassigned to email list when re-register
      2. T Jarvis concern that he’ll get kicked off his server if too many spam reports
         1. T Jarvis could prove that the person registered on such and such a date to his server provider
   5. R Rotter reminds us that there many ways to opt out – don’t have to give email address during membership and can unsubscribe to email
   6. C Kreimendahl doesn’t want us to cry wolf too much and have people not read emails
   7. J Chipault wants more emails and would read them but T Jarvis reluctant to send out lots of emails
   8. C Kreimendahl thinking about contacting other neighborhoods to see if they have a policy
   9. T Jarvis says anyone can already set up forums on topics and "watch" whatever topics they are interested in via Midvale Heights website
8. Announcements
   1. New neighbor, Jim Vannes, wanted to get a sense of what we do so decided to attend a meeting.
      1. Thinks forums would be great.
      2. Concerned about radon in houses in our area. He purchased house in January and tax assessor said radon problems very common.
         1. Could have someone from city give presentation.
         2. J Chipault will contact city to see if someone can do write-up for future Midvale Messenger.
   2. C Kreimendahl will email board regarding picnic if we need help with set up. Believe that HyVee is catering the main course.
   3. E Rogers sends updates via email during meeting and MJ Armstrong gets updates via smart phone.
      1. The meeting for the Segoe Park Ice Rink is scheduled for this Monday, June 2nd, 6:45pm at the Sequoya Library Room A. Alder Maurice Cheeks has been invited, and many others have expressed interest.
      2. Make Music Madison has registered Segoe Park as a venue for the June 21st event. So far, two performers have agreed to appear, but we are free to recruit more between now and the final event. We specified that amplification was not an option for performers.
   4. J Thoreson says should set date for Bison Gateway clean-up. He received no responses from master gardeners website post.
      1. J Lager says on there's some people near block 9 that are working on one bed of Tokay median.
      2. C Kreimendahl and J Thoreson to talk about what day of the week is best and will let Janice Gary know. Janice sent C Kreimendahl a summary about what we needed to do at Bison Prairie but no one taking the lead yet.
      3. Someone emailed C Kreimendahl regarding Bison Gateway to ask who is in charge of decorating bison for holidays. C Kreimendahl will ask Janice.
9. Meeting adjourned at 7:30pm

Minutes recorded by Jenny Chipault, Secretary

April 22 2014 – Board Meeting

Board Members Present: Chuck Kreimendahl, Ron Rotter, Cathy Rotter, Tom Jarvis, Nan Lager, Floyd Stautz, Jim Thoreson, Jenny Chipault, Denise Lamb, Steve Graham, Kay Reuter-Krohn, Ed Rogers, Greg Fischer, Gary Poulson, Paul Haskew

Others Present: Jarrod Bogucki (new neighbor), Joe Parisi (Dane County Executive), Melissa Malott (Dane County Executive Assistant), Carousel Bayrd (Dane County Supervisor)

1. Meeting called to order by C Kreimendahl
2. County Executive Rap Session - Joe Parisi
   1. Joe Parisi has been county exec since 2011.
   2. Wants to talk about lakes work, seems especially appropriate because of Earth Day.
   3. Challenges lakes face are from phosphorus run off and we know how to address that now (urban and agriculture)
      1. One pound of phosphorus results in 500 pounds of algae.
      2. Science tells us that reducing phosphorus input by 50% will results in noticeable difference in lakes.
   4. Created a coalition (farmers, gov, nonprofit, business) to support phosphorus reduction efforts.
      1. To comply with federal phosphorus regulations, MMSD (Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District) is required to reduce phosphorus by a certain amount by a certain time
      2. Can install pollution control equipment at the source, but very expensive and doesn't address phosphorus levels in chain of lakes (north of Lake Mendota).
      3. Via Adaptive Management approach, MMSD and other entities are allowed to reduce phosphorus in northern watershed and get credit for that instead of reducing phosphorus from pipe at plant.
      4. Partnerships with farmers to implement practices that reduce phosphorus involve roofs over field lots, buffers along streams, etc. has so far prevented 4600 lbs of phosphorus from entering watershed.
   5. Manure digesters - Waunakee open, Springfield officially open in another couple of months.
      1. Digesters reduce methane, create renewable energy (2500 homes worth of power), and reduce phosphorus in manure by about 60% during digestion.
      2. Digester "tea" still has 40% of phosphorus in it and trying to figure out what to do with tha
      3. Springfield will make tea into pure water. Fiber will be used as fertilizer, which can be sold to areas that are phosphorus deficient.
      4. Vast majority of run-off occurs in 29 days of year; spring thaw.
      5. Many farmers run out of storage space for manure in winter so digester solves that problem, too. In budget is also manure storage spot in winter that connects to Waunakee digester.
      6. Also in budget is funding to look for other storage spots and/or acquire some of the farms that perhaps should be restored to wetlands.
      7. "Yahara Pride" farmers have set up their own certification program.
      8. G Poulson asks how much the digesters cost.
         1. J Parisi says 12 million dollars for digester - County 6.6 million (via two separate 3.3. million grants made available to investors). Springfield is owned by Gunderson (renewable energy and 8% return on their investment). County doesn't own it or run it, just facilitates partnerships.
         2. Looking to open more. Currently, one digester in Alliance area and one in MG&E area; utilities need to pay decent buy-back rate to make digesters money-makers.
      9. Natural gas generated at landfills; can compress it and then use it to run county vehicles (for about $1/gallon) so perhaps digesters could provide compressed natural gas for vehicles too.
   6. P Haskew asks about rapid transit.
      1. J Parisi says we don't have funding to run mass transit; municipalities run their own transit systems. Almost able to form an RTA (rapid transit association) but disappeared when new governor took office.
   7. C Kreimendahl asks about white privilege discussions.
      1. J Parisi confirms that there has been a lot of work done regarding racial disparities. He sees a lot of focus on schools, but wants to look at homes, too.
      2. He has asked the human services department what role county could play. 500 million dollar budget, half to human services. "Early childhood zone" builds on programming already in place and works with families, as soon as mother is pregnant, to stabilize situation (school, stable rent, drug/alcohol programs, etc.). Program used to be birth to age 3 and expanded to age 4 so that kids will be enrolled in 4K. Working with United Way to help parents.
      3. Money in 2014 budget for youth eviction prevention.
      4. Also doing lots of work regarding employment - Urban League, building trades, MATC, etc. - matching unemployed minorities with construction trade jobs. Project Big Step matches jobs/trades with people looking for work. Helps guide people through apprenticeship process.
      5. Final disparity involves criminal system in that it's hard to find employment after criminal record. 2014 budget has re-entry coordinator that works in the jail to help plan for re-entry. On state level, we spend more on corrections system than entire UW system.
   8. E Rogers asks about slow 911 dispatch times and wonders what county is doing.
      1. J Parisi says much more complicated than mayor displayed. Soglin criticized protocols, but protocols were created by people who are complaining. Mayor never asked Joe about it. Response time average takes into account low priority calls. Joe feels system is good. 80% of calls come in from cell phone now so can't tell where call coming from, only know nearest cell tower, so have to ask people to describe their location and that takes time.
         1. C Bayrd says Public Protection and Judiciary committee oversees 911 board and they see call times quarterly and, in general, times have been the same for years. There are two issues: 1) Madison fire chief wanted more information about fire before dispatching crew, while new fire chief wants to send right away and 2) Location is hard to figure out due to increased cell phone use so that is adding to time.
   9. People are welcome to contact J Parisi or M Malott with further questions.
3. Prior Minutes Review/Approval
   1. Board Approved
4. Treasurer’s Report
   1. R Rotter relays that we have a little less than $40,000
   2. C Bayrd is on PTO at Van Hise and they are trying to rebuild playground (multiple year project), so she might ask for donation in the future.
   3. D Lamb brings up that Midvale school also needs new playground.
   4. N Lager needs to ask for money for Tokay plantings.
      1. She has a few people interested in replanting bed in front of their houses.
      2. Last year the city offered $500 that we did not use; city hasn't responded this year.
      3. She's also interested in getting rosebed at Woodside Terrace corner in honor of Jean Sweet.
      4. D Lamb wonders if we can find people that know about gardening design to create plans.
      5. Motion to make Tokay planting allocation up to $1000.
         1. T Jarvis says total donations came to $791.
         2. Motion carries.
5. Legislative Reports
   1. C Bayrd is hoping that her public protection and judiciary committee meeting can be moved off Tuesday nights so she can be at Midvale Heights monthly meetings.
   2. Regarding manure digester, a complaint she has heard from city residents is that we pay money in city to clean up rural farms for MMSD via water utility bill. Alternative is to clean up at sewage district but that's not as effective.
      1. D Lamb asks if we have combined sewers. No.
      2. Leaves on ground in city also add phosphorus.
      3. Also issue of salt (e.g., water softeners).
   3. Racial disparities and mental health are issues she's continues to work on.
6. Make Music Madison (6/21/14)/Segoe Park Survey Update
   1. Segoe Park survey deadline approaching; 208 surveys completed (128 online, 76 mailed, 4 emailed).
   2. E Rogers distributed hand out that had graph showing demonstrable efficacy of multiple routes of advertisement based on peaks in survey responses happening after reminding neighbors about survey via email, Facebook, etc.
   3. Most popular are live music, picnic tables within a pavilion, more benches, better/more playground equipment, and ice skating rink.
   4. Live music is top of list and, conveniently, Make Music Madison is coming up.
      1. Program mimics what happens every year in France. Event is Saturday June 21st, summer solstice.
      2. Registration deadline for venues and musicians is Thursday May 15th. Matchmaking board online pairs musicians with venues. No park permit fees.
      3. E Rogers also distributed handbook for becoming a venue. Ed suggests we sign ourselves up on the website, put a notice in the Midvale Messenger, etc.
         1. D Lamb wonders how we provide power to musicians. C Bayrd thinks we could use this as way to test if we get a crowd - maybe only list narrow window of time for performances? Should promote it at the annual neighborhood picnic. Can't list bands in newsletter because won't know in time, but might be able to put that info on postcard announcing picnic.
            1. C Kreimendahl suggests small group should meet to make these decisions.
         2. G Poulson voices his uncomfortableness regarding the fact that there is no payment to professionals for performing art. Also, Isthmus Jazz Festival is same day. J Thoreson says musicians can advertise themselves - promote next paying gig or pass around tip jar. Saturday concerts at Segoe Park might be good way to go in future and G Poulson would like to get involved with that.
         3. Motion to MHCA to put forward Segoe Park for Make Music Madison venue and that E Rogers lead a committee to work out details.
            1. Motion carries.
            2. Ed will send follow up email asking for participants for committee.
         4. Suggestion to put MHCA membership booth at event.
   5. Ice skating rink was also high on "want" list.
      1. Adopt Ice Partnership is what city has established to keep ice rinks in parks. E Rogers met with two people from Westmorland and they looked at parks (Westmorland, Segoe, and Nakoma) together. They could tell where rink was previously at Segoe. Segoe already has lot of what is necessary for an ice rink but we'd need a bit of help from the city. City creates rink and clears it after there's more than 2" of snow (and after they've cleared everywhere else). We would need volunteers to keep ice nice. Westmorland has good crew that maintains rinks. We'd need better water hook up (frost proof hydrant, or shed with heater and hose hookup). Regarding lights, the pole is already there at Segoe.
      2. 48 people that replied via survey that they wanted a rink also provided email addresses. About 6 people also put in comments how much they wanted a rink.
      3. E Rogers proposes that in a month or two we host a volunteer meeting to discuss possibility of maintaining rink and see who shows up. Have Tim and Dave from Westmorland there. Advertise meeting in newsletter? And can email people who said they are interested.
      4. Move that a meeting be scheduled at a later date to discuss ice rink at Segoe Park and that payment for 4 pizzas be included (roughly $50).
         1. City pays for water and electric.
         2. Westmorland actually has two rinks - one hockey, one not.
         3. Motion carries.
7. Membership Drive
   1. Proposed schedule provided.
      1. 4/29 Final draft of Membership flyer to printer
      2. 5/6 Address flyers to be ready for mailing
      3. May-June Monitor website/mail registrations
      4. 6/19 Promote membership at picnic
      5. June-July Contact Discount Card vendors for renewal (Committee? Or each director take two?)
      6. Early August Update Directory
      7. Mid-August Mail directory/discount card to members
   2. D Lamb passed out Membership Messenger for review.
   3. Can put C Kreimendahl as contact in Messenger because no membership board. D Lamb changed date on form and nothing else.
   4. D Lamb will email PDF to group for review.
   5. D Lamb got letter from person who wants to offer 10% discount.
   6. C Kreimendahl will call a meeting to assemble flyers for mailing.
8. Announcements
   1. T Jarvis sent out an email blast to members about Kids' Clubhouse, etc. and 54 people clicked on link.
   2. We should create policy on what we email out. Maybe an agenda item next meeting? D Lamb thinks that things that are of general interest and time-sensitive should be emailed out.
   3. C Kreimendahl says he heard that 10 kids are signed up for Kids' Clubhouse.
   4. Stephanie Mikesell is retiring as Santa visit coordinator. She says she has a good group of volunteers but they need a coordinator.
9. Adjourned at 8:45pm

Minutes recorded by Jenny Chipault, Secretary

March 25, 2014 – Board Meeting

Board Members Present: Chuck Kreimendahl, Tom Jarvis, Ron Rotter, Cathy Rotter, Jonn Lager, Floyd Stautz, Jim Thoreson, Jason Butler, Jenny Chipault, Denise Lamb, Peter Schell, Steve Graham, Kay Reuter-Krohn, Ed Rogers, Greg Fischer

Others Present: Deborah Jackson Still, director of Kids Clubhouse

1. Meeting called to order by C Kreimendahl
2. Kids Clubhouse
   1. Deborah Jackson Still, director of Kids Clubhouse, came to talk about program to bring to Midvale Heights.
   2. Program started when Nakoma neighborhood realized they had kids going to different schools/pools but had underutilized neighborhood park. Came up with idea for summer program for kids that is unstructured, monitored play. She contacted KEVA to get program off the ground; they had 3 dozen kids in the park within 5 weeks of the inception of the idea. Program is one afternoon a week for three hours, ages 4-12. They do scavenger hunts, water games, etc..
   3. Expanded program in second year by about another dozen kids. Last fall they realized they could expand to other neighborhoods; targeting Orchard Ridge and Midvale Heights this year. Alder Maurice Cheeks helped them navigate. Thinking about potential multi-neighborhood, "'tween" program in future.
   4. Use newsletter and Facebook to advertise. KEVA handles registration, confirmation, liability, coaches, games, etc.. Tracy and Kevin Schmotzer have lived in Midvale Heights neighborhood for 12 years and are interested in being point of contact for Kids Clubhouse program in Midvale Heights. Since Nakoma has done this for a couple of years now, they can share their outreach products to distribute to our neighborhood.
   5. Kids can sign up for 8 weeks at $96, or drop-in rate is $20 for one afternoon.
   6. Midvale Heights board not being asked to put in any money as a neighborhood; just looking for support and help spreading the word.
   7. D Lamb thinks $20 for one afternoon is high compared to t-ball team sign-up fee.
   8. Piper Park is likely best park for this year. Piper has shelter and is more shaded and has playground. Have talked to Mike Pressman.
   9. KEVA arranges for porta-potty (which stays in park for whole summer) and covers park fee
   10. J Butler asks about dates. Registration opens tomorrow. Tracy can send out emails to our neighborhood soon.
   11. Next Midvale Heights newsletter is first week in May.
   12. E Rogers asks about approaching elementary schools. Deborah wants program to be neighborhood driven, not through schools.
   13. E Rogers suggests putting signs right in the park.
   14. D Lamb asks if there’s a minimum number of kids needed. Deborah says 12-20.
   15. Kids Clubhouse facilitated re-doing playground equipment in Nakoma.
   16. Tuesdays 1-4pm is Midvale Heights time slot
   17. Motion to support Kids Clubhouse and provide resources for getting program off the ground in 2014. Motion carries
3. February minutes approved
4. Treasure report
   1. R Rotter distributed printed copy
   2. T-ball money is coming in. Also recently made $280 from history book sales at library
5. No Legislative Reports
6. Park survey
   1. E Rogers put together 2 quick charts. 70 responses and counting. Data are preliminary (e.g., R Rotter just passed E Rogers a stack of surveys that were sent via USPS mail that are yet untallied).
   2. Better playground equipment is currently most demanded, then live music, then ice skating rink, outdoor movies, more benches, and picnic tables in pavilion.
   3. Some problems with Midvale Heights website seems to be preventing some people from submitting surveys; if people having trouble with website, they can email E Rogers directly at Area11 at midvaleheights.org.
   4. C Kreimendahl asked if we’ve contacted the city park department yet regarding distribution of survey. Plan was to gather data to figure out what has support before contacting city, but good idea to give them copy of survey now. Good contacts would be Kevin Briski (superintendent) and Chris Pedretti (dog park) would be good to contact.
7. Bison prairie gateway
   1. D Lamb has not talked to Westmorland yet regarding their prairie burning, but will.
   2. J Thoreson has not posted notice regarding Bison Prairie work to master gardener website yet because need dates. Rachel Martin should be contacted about possibly heading Bison Prairie work. Could post general notice for now because we don’t know what times are best, but we do know that need someone to coordinate work. Could add April 19, 9-12 for Tokay median clean-up for Tokay.
8. 4910 Ascot Lane Conditional Use Permit
   1. Owner of apartments wants to put in another dwelling unit in one of the buildings for a resident manager. This addition was approved when brought to MHCA board years ago. C Kreimendahl will forward email about specific meeting to J Chipault and G Fischer (area 12).
9. Membership Drive
   1. D Lamb is going to be gone for a month. P Haskew doesn’t want to chair the membership committee this year. Normal time table is that in late April we get the membership stuff together and June 30th is deadline for registration. We sent out 4-page newsletter about membership, then month later sent out postcards. D Lamb will have 4-pager ready by end of April this year.
   2. C Rotter suggests that we push online sign-up to reduce data entry.
   3. J Thoreson wonders if we have emails to contact business participating in membership discount cards. R Rotter suggests that we send letter to businesses that says that they have been automatically re-enrolled and to call us if they’d like to be taken off the discount list.
   4. C Kreimendahl wants people to let him know if they can help on the membership committee. He will head committee unless someone else wants to. C Kreimendahl will send out information before our April meeting.
   5. To get more members, need face-to-face contact. What’s our door-to-door plug? J Chipault wondered how many "I heart Midvale Heights" bumper stickers are left from last year - likely only 50-70.
   6. Need to remember to put our website URL on KEVA Kids Clubhouse signage.
   7. E Rogers asks about recurring donations so that people don’t have to remember to sign up as Midvale Heights members every year. T Jarvis thinks too complicated for current system.
10. Picnic Planning
    1. Jill Carlson is willing to head up both picnic and garage sale again this year. She has helpers but is looking for more.
    2. June 19 picnic with rain date following Thursday.
    3. C Kreimendahl contacted Carl Haidar from HyVee. Carl passed task to kitchen manager. J Carlson will follow-up
11. Garage Sale
    1. J Carlson says garage sale signs were removed last year so she wants to order more. P Schell suspects that when you put signs in median that police will remove them; signs were removed from Midvale median last year. J Carlson wants four new signs made. P Schell thinks J Carlson envisions new signs as cheaper and lighter than old ones. G Fischer suggests that we contact police liaison to see if we can get permission to put signs in median. J Thoreson suspects kids are taking signs and suggests that we pick them up at night so perhaps we need a group of people to pick up signs.
    2. Motion to authorize purchase of new signs, up to a cost of $200. Motion carries.
12. Mineral Point/Midvale Intersection Project
    1. D Lamb went to meeting about intersection development. In top 30 for accidents of all intersections in the city, despite comparatively lower volume of traffic. Three people have been killed. This project will be 90% funded by federal gov. Plan is to slightly widen Mineral Point road to accommodate left turn lane in both directions and left turn signals in all four directions. Also plan to flatten hill so that cars can’t get air when speeding through intersection. Sidewalks will stay all in same places they are now but some terrace will be removed. Traffic lanes that are currently 11.5 feet wide will become 10 feet wide, which will make people go slower. People west of Midvale will lose about 5 feet of terrace; east of Midvale, north side of road, terrace will likely be gone but sidewalk stays. There will be one lane open each way all the time through construction. Not going to start construction until next year and will wait until after school gets out, so start around June 2015 and done by Labor Day 2015.
13. Announcements –
    1. G Fischer reports that a couple of constituents in area 12 have noticed erratic mail delivery. One resident has kept a log. Found out that USPS is subbing delivery out to outside vendors. We should be mindful of potential associated privacy issues. P Schell reports that there has been more wrong mail going to wrong houses than usual in his part of the neighborhood as well and he has noticed different carriers than normal.
    2. J Thoreson suggests we add a write-up about spring clean up of dog poop to the next newsletter. Also, a reminder to neighbors to not let their dogs bark continuously.
    3. C Kreimendahl checked on food carts. There are food carts at research park. C Kreimendahl plans to put info on Midvale Heights website to promote it. D Lamb talked to vendor about parking by Segoe Park but carts would have to pay high fee.
    4. C Kreimendahl talked to city about placement of neighborhood sign. Will continue discussion.
    5. C Kreimendahl reminds us that he had thought about setting up DOT beltline meeting, but DOT is hosting so many public meetings about transportation so now thinks probably don’t need to hold a specific neighborhood meeting. J Butler wonders about diverted traffic onto Odana impacting his part of Midvale Heights. C Kreimendahl will stay updated.
    6. T Jarvis reports, after consulting spreadsheets, that of 482 members there were 89 with kids and 73 of those members have provided email addresses. J Butlers suggests we send out Kids Clubhouse information from MidvaleHeights.org and bcc people to maintain privacy.
14. Meeting adjourned at 8:15.

Minutes recorded by Jenny Chipault, Secretary

February 25, 2014 – Board Meeting

Board Members Present: Chuck Kreimendahl, Tom Jarvis, Gary Poulson, Ron Rotter, Jonn Lager, Paul Haskew, Jim Thoreson, Jason Butler, Jenny Chipault, Denise Lamb, Peter Schell

1. Meeting called to order by C Kreimendahl
2. January minutes approved
3. No treasurer report
4. City council is meeting tonight about Doyle square project– no news from Carousel Bayrd or Maurice Cheeks
5. Segoe Park survey
   1. Discussion about how to distribute: put it in newsletter, hype it up online, mail survey to only parts of neighborhood, or mail to whole neighborhood. Survey can be taken online through Midvale Heights website already; suggestion to add PDF to website in case people want to print it out and give it to neighbors. J Butler suggests adding plug for Midvale Heights Facebook page. Also add info on how to become a MHCA member.
   2. Motion to approve funds for mailing survey.
6. Bison prairie gateway
   1. Janice Gary emailed C Kreimendahl about prescribed burn (usually happens in April) and potentially replanting native plants. Good Oak usually does burn. D Lamb to contact person in Westmorland about permit process. Might be able to get plants by donation.
   2. J Thoreson talked with someone in master gardener group and found that there's a place on their website to list “opportunities" for volunteer hours. J Thoreson will list opportunities for bison prairie and Tokay boulevard work on master gardener website.
   3. R Rotter to run a report on general maintenance costs for bison prairie restoration and maintenance.
7. General Announcements
   1. P Haskew is communicating with Maurice Cheeks regarding yield signs on Ames St. Absence of sidewalks on Tocora and Rushmore also brought up.
   2. Hy-Vee store manager (Carl Haidar) called C Kreimendahl and asked about possibility of talking to MHCA board again because applying for liquor license to serve alcohol on patio on NW corner of store. He’s already spoken with Alder Cheeks.
   3. New liaison for west police district is Dustin Pailing. Suggestion to invite him to neighborhood picnic this summer.
   4. Replacement of neighborhood sign will not happen until spring. Discussion of replacing sign that used to be where Hy-Vee is now. C Kreimendahl will contact city to figure out placement options.
   5. Possibility of neighborhood residents to meet with DOT to get information about transportation plan. C Kreimendahl will talk to Westmorland and reply to DOT to see about possibilities of joint meeting. Probably separate from MHCA monthly meeting.
   6. G Poulson reminds everyone about April 1 election, which will be at Sequoya library. Midvale Heights (all in one ward) consistently has high voter turnout compared to other Madison wards.
   7. N Lager has information on cheap mulch.
   8. T Jarvis reports that a resident of Tyberius Terrace apartments registered as MHCA member.
   9. T Jarvis received email from someone new to neighborhood who is an editor with Isthmus and she asked why we don’t have a link to Isthmus on our Midvale Heights website. Tom told her about neighborhood meetings. D Lamb wants her contact information for potential help with newsletter.
8. Meeting adjourned at 7:45pm.

Minutes recorded by Jenny Chipault, Secretary

Board Members Present: Chuck Kreimendahl, Jason Butler, Tom Jarvis, Peter Schell, Ed Rogers, Jim Thoreson, Ron Rotter, Cathy Rotter, Nan Lager, Jonn Lager, Kay Reuter-Krohn, Floyd Stautz, Greg Fischer, Paul Haskew, Jenny Chipault, Denise Lamb

Others: Alicia Lux (sp?) (moved to Travis Terrace in March)

1. Meeting called to order by C Kreimendahl
2. September minutes approved, October (annual meeting) minutes approved, November minutes approved
3. R Rotter gave Treasurer's report
   1. Mike Pressman has started T-ball application process (printing, insurance).
   2. Discussed possible need for insurance policy to cover board. Think parents sign a waiver when kids sign up and parents are on site for almost all games and practices. R Rotter offered to provide insurance company contact info to anyone who wants to look into further coverage (another ~$750/year). J Thoreson will follow up.
4. Neighborhood plan. C Kreimendahl suggests that unless someone is pushing the developments outlined in our neighborhood plan the city might ignore them. C Kreimendahl extracted transportation goals (short- or mid-term) from plan for board review because city is conducting survey on transportation currently (survey due Jan 31).
   1. Discussion regarding forming sub-committee to focus on some of the more pressing transportation issues from our neighborhood plan. D Lamb suggests having a presence at transportation meetings. Discussion about various possible priorities ensues. C Kreimendahl asks people to think about whether we should start a transportation committee
   2. J Butler says survey is opportunity to praise city for what it does well with regard to transportation, too.
5. N Lager reports that University is done with Tokay boulevard landscaping plan and, due to funding restrictions, it will likely be better to approach re-plantings median-by-median instead of implementing University plan.
6. D Lamb mentions neighborhood grant program but not much money available and lot of criteria to meet. No projects ready to implement that meet criteria.
7. Make Music Madison was brought up as a way to increase use of parks. J Chipault encourages board to ask musicians they know to register to play at a Midvale Height's park via MMM website.
8. A block captain retired in P Schell's area (area 4) - thank you for a dozen years of service, Glenn Hoffman!
9. C Kreimendahl says welcome packets for new neighbors are now available. 47 of 60 units at Tyberius Terrace are rented. C Kreimendahl will deliver welcome letter (2 page) there.
10. Discussion about pond at Odana Gold Course. Pond filled in by clubhouse and now it's an ice rink. Neighbor has emailed with concerns/questions. J Thoreson forwarded email he received on the topic to Alderman Cheeks.
11. C Kreimendahl has started a blog on Midvale Heights website.
12. Backstop at Piper Park will be replaced.
13. The topic of how to increase utilization of Segoe Park was discussed, mostly focused on the possibility of developing a community garden. It was also noted that there were signs on the southwest bike path regarding a meeting to discuss gardening along the bike path; no one knows any further information. E Rogers has talked to community garden leaders and it's his sense that there is enthusiasm for another community garden in the area; Sheboygan Ave community garden will be closed during reconstruction of DOT building and there's a waiting list at Midvale Elementary. Would need committed individuals to form committee to establish rules. Plan to survey neighborhood about what they would like to see developed at Segoe Park. Discussion of what to include in survey and how to distribute. Survey to be sent to residents via mail, included in next newsletter, and made available online. J Chipault will send draft survey to board for edits.
14. Motion to adjourn 7:40pm

Present: C. Kreimendahl, G. Poulson, J. Thoreson, P. Schell, D. Lamb, P. Haskew, S. Graham, T. Jarvis, R. Rotter, J. Chipault, M. Armstrong, J. Lager

1. J. Thoreson called the meeting to order at 6:45 p.m.

2. A presentation was made on the new zoning code and its treatment of accessory dwelling units. Amy Klusmeier from the Design Coalition made the presentation outlining the standards and requirements of adding an accessory dwelling on a residential property.

3. The Board was updated on the status of the T-ball program by Commissioner Michael Pressman. The program served @ 240 kids in 2013 from within and outside of the neighborhood. Pressman indicated that Little League is now starting at an earlier age and may have some impact on our program. The Commissioner pointed out that our program has a different emphasis than Little League and that focus on learning skills and having fun will continue to keep our program solid. Registration forms will be available in January with opening day to be June 11th. The Board expressed our appreciation for the great work and leadership by Commissioner Pressman.

4. Minutes of the September and October meetings will be deferred to January.

5. Treasurer Rotter indicated that the financials were about the same as last reported.

6. Charles Bunge asked the Board to find a replacement for him on the Research Park Design Review Board. P. Haskew expressed an interest.

7. Elections for Board Officers took place and elected were the following: President C. Kreimendahl, Vice President E. Rogers, Secretary J. Chipault, Treasurer R. Rotter

8. Kreimendahl reported on the neighborhood watch meeting. The main message by the Police is that a successful program requires strong neighborhood involvement. There was discussion on how to utilize social media to communicate within a neighborhood on issues such as crime incidents.

9. M. Armstrong reported on a very upsetting encounter with City workers removing a tree on the terrace. The required notice seem to be not provided before the removal.

10. Alder Cheeks reported on some issues raised about the Hy-Vee intersection (Odana, Segoe and Whitney Way). A number of residents have complained about traffic and its movement in that area. Issues relating to turn lanes at the Mineral Pt. and Midvale Blvd. have resurfaced and will be explored with the Traffic Engineer.

11. Meeting adjourned at @ 8 p.m.

Minutes by Gary Poulson, Secretary