Pursuant to prior notice, the meeting of the Board of CIDNA came to order at 7:05 p.m. on Wednesday, June 6, 2000, at Jones-Harrison Residence on Cedar Lake Avenue.

Present at the meeting were the following directors:

Also present were:

Chair David Shirley opened the meeting by welcoming the Board’s three new members (Mssrs. Corrick, Olson and Sohlen) and invited all members present to introduce themselves to the many guests attending the meeting.

Mr. Shirley then invited those members who had been present at the April Board meeting to review the draft minutes for that meeting, as prepared by Glenna Case. After a brief discussion of the content of the April minutes, and with a correction made pursuant to a comment by Kathy Hendricks, the following Motion was made by Marsha Porter and seconded by Judy Berge:

The foregoing Resolution of the Board was passed unanimously by those members who had been in attendance on April 5.

The Board then turned its attention to Minneapolis City Council Member Lisa Goodman, who began her comments with two brief announcements. She encouraged CIDNA residents to register their bicycles with the Minneapolis Police Department, noting that it could be done easily at the Lake Harriet Bandshell on June 10 from 11 am to 3 pm; and she acknowledged that she was aware of a recent increase in noise from the Calhoun Beach Club and had been told that the increase was temporary, due to one chiller unit having to work harder to make up for another chiller unit that was not working.

Ms. Goodman then introduced Clara Schmit-Gonzalez, Assistant Director of the City’s Licensing Department, who used the CIDNA meeting as a forum for the public hearing required in connection with any liquor license application. The application described by Ms. Schmit-Gonzalez was submitted on behalf of the new Sri Lanka restaurant that is preparing to open in Calhoun Village.

After the application was explained in detail, and after a number of questions from Board Members, including questions about the proposed hours of the restaurant’s operations, the following motion was made by Glenna Case and seconded by Angie Lillehei:

The foregoing Resolution of the Board was passed by the affirmative vote of 9 of the 10 members present. Desmond Whitney abstained from the vote.

Before moving on to other matters, some discussion ensued about the traffic flow in Calhoun Village. It was noted that the main intersection, which connects the sorth, east and west parking lots to the road that brings traffic from Lake Street, currently has only 3 stop signs in a 4-way intersection. A number of members and guests indicated concern about the dangers that this arrangement poses. Lisa Goodman noted that the intersection is on private property and beyond the purview of the City’s traffic department. It was agreed that the Board would re-visit this issue at a future meeting.

Ms. Goodman concluded her comments with a brief discussion about prospects for the Midtown Greenway and Kenilworth Corridor. There is widespread concern that the Metropolitan Council may use either or both routes for express buses, although Bob Corrick indicated that the state legislature did not include any funds for the project in its recent bonding bill. Desmond Whitney asked whether CIDNA might want to reconsider its longstanding opposition to the freight trains that are currently running on the Kenilworth Corridor. He wondered whether the use of the corridor by ponderous freight trains, which pass an average of twice each day, might be preferable to constant operation of high-speed commuter buses. Ms. Goodman suggested that George Puzak would be the best one to consult on this question.

Following the conclusion of Ms. Goodman’s remarks, Specialist Elizabeth Harris distributed crime maps for the month of April that showed 5 thefts from motor vehicles, most of which followed the ususal pattern of valuable items being left in plain view by owners who do not live in the neighborhood.

Ms. Harris also underscored Ms. Goodman’s earlier comments encouraging residents to register their bicycles.. The City recovers nearly 3,000 of the 5,000 bikes stolen each year, but only 10% of the 3,000 find their way back to their owners because, without registration, the City has no way to know who owns the bicycles that are recovered.

Ms. Harris also encouraged parents to register childrens’ bicycles because most children do not carry identitfication and, if they are injured in an accident, bicycle registration may be the only way for the police to know who to call.

Ms Harris concluded her remarks by reporting that she finally has a permanent SAFE officer to work with. His name if Officer Scott Downing and he can be reached at 673-2820 or [email protected].

After Ms. Harris’s departure, the floor was turned over to Treasurer Angie Lillehei for her financial report. The first order of business was to reveiw the Category Detail Report for the 4th quarter of CIDNA’s fiscal year ended May 31, 2000. After brief discussion about the expenses set forth in the report, the following motion was made by Marsha Porter and seconded by Glenna Case:

The foregoing Resolution of the Board was passed unanimously.

The Board then turned its attention to various year-end reports prepared by Ms. Lillehei and, after Ms. Lillehei answered a number of questions, the following motion was made by Marsha Porter and seconded by Judy Berge:

The foregoing Resolution of the Board was passed unanimously.

Finally, the Board reviewed CIDNA’s $2,175 MCDA budget for the current fiscal year. After brief discussion of the proposed budget, the following motion was made by Kathy Hendricks and seconded by Glenna Case:

The foregoing Resolution of the Board was also passed unanimously.

Ms. Lillehei then concluded her presentation by distributing copies of CIDNA’s recently developed financial procedures to the three new board members.

While on the subject of finances, former Board Member Lavita Briones explained that she had presented a request to CIDNA’s NRP Implementation Committee for $3,500 of NRP funds to be used by the Environment Committee for plants, transplantings, and tools for Park Siding Park. Glenna Case, Chair of the NRP Committee, noted that the Environment Committee will subsequently be requesting additional funds for other planting projects in CIDNA, but that this Park Siding Park request arose at the present time in order to be ready for planting season. Ms. Case also noted that the NRP Implementation Committee had reviewed and approved the request and was now bringing the matter to the full Board. After a number of questions about the proposed expenditures, the following motion was made by Glenna Case, on behalf of the NRP Committee, and seconded by Marsha Porter :

The foregoing Resolution of the Board was passed unanimously.

Ms. Briones was then followed by Helen Rubenstein, a CIDNA resident who, with her neighbors, created the South Cedar Lake Neighbors Association (the SCLNA) in 1999 in order to address the spate of development of new houses in the neighborhood between Sunset Boulevard and Lake Street, and between Chowen Avenue and the railroad tracks. Early on the SCLNA recognized that its only real power to influence the development was through the power of persuasion and, accordingly, it worked closely with the City’s planning department to develop construction guidelines that it hoped builders would consider as they design new houses for the neighborhood.

Ms. Rubentstein distributed copies of the new guidelines to the Board and explained that, working through Lisa Goodman’s office, the SCLNA had persuaded the City’s building department to provide a copy of the guidelines to anyone applying for a building permit in the neighborhood. She acknowledged, however, that the guidelines would probably be more influential if builders knew about them earlier in their development process. Ms. Rubenstein explained that SCLNA planned to distribute the new guidelines to each house in the neighborhood and asked if CIDNA might be able to pay for the mailing and photocopying costs.

The Board thanked Ms. Rubenstein and the SNCLA for all of their work on the guidelines, but the Board was reluctant to accede to Ms. Rubenstein’s request for funds. As David Shirley explained, CIDNA has very limited financial resources. Others suggested that the SCLNA avoid the mailing costs by distributing the guidelines by hand. Both the guidelines and the funding request were referred to the Variance Committee for further consideration.

Desmond Whitney, Chair of the Variance Committee, then reported on two variance requests he had recently received. The first involved a single-family house proposed for a lot adjacent to Park Siding Park, and it was determined that the Variance Committee would review the application in more detail and report back to the Board with a recommendation. The second variance request involved the installation of an 8-foot-tall neon sign marking Dixie’s restaurant in the Calhoun Beach Club. Many members felt that the sign was reasonable and Kathy Hendricks explained that the variance was required not because of the size or style of the sign itself but only because it would be the second sign on the property, the first being a sign identifying the beach club itself.

Former member Lavita Briones expressed strong opposition to approving of yet another neon sign in the neighborhood, but most of the Board felt that the Dixie’s sign was reasonable. After

some extended debate, the following motion was made by Glenna Case and seconded by Marsha Porter:

The foregoing Resolution of the Board was passed by the affirmative vote of 8 of the 10 members present. Bob Olson and Desmond Whitney abstained from the vote.

Glenna Case then read from a letter to CIDNA written by one of her neighbors living on Sunset Boulevard who, with two small children, is increasingly concerned about the speed of cars using Sunset, as well as the frequent disregard for the stop signs at the intersection of Drew Avenue and Sunset Boulevard. The letter specifically requested that the City restrict the volume of cars on Sunset by restricting access to the street during morning and afternoon rush hours. Ms. Case indicated that the concerns expressed in the letter were shared by many of her neighbors on Sunset, but others on the Board expressed concerns about how changes to traffic patterns on Sunset would effect other residential streets in the area. The matter was referred to the NRP Implementation Committee, which will solicit advice from the City’s traffic department.

The discussion then turned to a proposal to change CIDNA’s monthly meetings from the first Wednesday of each month to the first Tuesday of each month to avoid the frequent overlap with the meetings of the Park Board. By switching to Tuesday evenings it is hoped that Park Board members will ocasionally be able to attend CIDNA’s meetings. Consideration was also given to the idea of dropping CIDNA’s August meeting each year unless there was specific business that needed addressing. After considerable discussion, the decision to cancel August meetings was postponed until the July meeting, but the following motion was made by Kathy Hendricks and seconded by Marsha Porter with regard to Tuesday meetings:

The foregoing Resolution of the Board was also passed unanimously.

The final order of business for the evening was the election of officers for the new year. Kathy Hendricks was asked to serve as Chair, Glenna Case as Vice Chair and Angie Lillehei was asked to continue her fine work as Treasurer. Marsha Porter agreed to serve temporarily as Acting Secretary. After little discussion, the following members were elected by acclamation to the following offices:

The business before the Board being completed, the following Motion to Adjourn the meeting was made by Kathy Hendricks:

The foregoing Resolution was passed unanimously and the meeting was adjourned at 9:16 p.m.

Meetings of the CIDNA Board are generally held in the Craft Room at Jones-Harrison Residence on the first Wednesday of every month. The next meeting is scheduled for July 5, 2000 at 7 p.m.. All residents of the Cedar-Isles-Dean neighborhood are welcome to attend.

These Minutes were prepared and submitted by Desmond Whitney, and adopted at the Board Meeting held on _________________, 2000.

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[A COPY OF ANY FINANCIAL REPORT PRESENTED AT THE MEETING WILL BE ATTACHED TO THE MINUTES ONCE THEY ARE APPROVED BY THE BOARD]

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