Spring Neighborhood Association Meeting Summary

Interested residents gathered for 1 of 3 annual meetings of the Tech Terrace/UNIT neighborhood.

For those of you who did not attend, the best part of the April 28, 2011 UNIT Neighborhood Association Meeting was sitting next to Jeff Lee, aka Windyman, and Dudley Winn of the Bros. Winn.  

President Susan Tomlinson opened the meeting in the Hutchinson Middle School Cafeteria at 6:00 sharp. 37 residents attended.   An agenda was posted and minutes were available.  There were no guest introductions.  After approval of the minutes from the January 2011 meeting, President Tomlinson requested each speaker to give their name.  The president presented an update of the 34th Street Project.  34th Street is envisioned to be the "Main Street" of the area with the street resurfacing from Q to Indiana, widening of the streets to include bike lanes, and the improvement of lighting and sidewalks- steps to make the area more pedestrian and bike friendly.  Parkhill, Smith and Cooper will prepare designs for the enhancements.  The Association is working with the 34th Street Merchants on this project.  Some ideas include a Farmers' Market or some other destination event or festival for the area.  President Tomlinson also mentioned the possibility of a 10% discount for residents of UNIT at 34th Street businesses. 

President Tomlinson then addressed the East of Boston Initiative.  The homes east of Boston Avenue have "unique issues" and the UNIT board is committed to addressing them.  The board will host a meeting with East of Boston residents at 2:00 on May 15th at J&B Coffee.  John Winker will distribute flyers to all of those residents. 

The Lee and Marjorie Manning Garden of Honor project is on schedule.  It includes a bench and mini garden spot.  12 donation slots are still available.  Folks interested in donating should contact Laurin Prather at lwprather@sbcglobal.net.

Helen Liggett coordinated her presentation outfit with the cafeteria.

Helen Liggett then presented the Aesthetics Committee update.  She reported that Shakespeare in the Park will return to Wagner Park this summer with the production of Merry Wives of Windsor.  She then turned the floor over to Zac Garth for an update on the Wagner Park Pavilion.  He was asked to design a renovation for the pavilion as an alternative to the City razing the existing historic structure and replacing it with a less maintenance intensive pavilion.   Zac detailed the main issue with the existing pavilion is the flat roof.  His design adds a sloped roof to the existing structure and preserves the original design.  He described the design as "basic, simple and elegant."  The City allocated $80,000 to replace the pavilion.  Zac clarified it should be more than enough to renovate and update the Pavilion.  Helen Liggett added that the design includes an upgrade to the bathrooms, but she recommends that the Association not pursue that step at this point.  No mention of current restroom access was discussed.   Holle Humphreys asked if the existing lighting would be removed and if additional exterior lighting would be installed.  Zac replied that no lighting would be removed and the design allows for exterior lighting.  Helen then requested a motion to approve the basic design and submit it to the City.  Motion was approved.

Design submitted to City Parks and Rec by Association.

Helen then asked for volunteers for the garden and for gardening ideas.  She requested suggestions be sent to her email at helenlig@yahoo.com.  Helen reported that the Association has $4,000 to maintain the three garden beds in Tech Terrace and Wagner Parks.  There was some discussion about the adequacy of that amount.  Paul Pare asked if the possibility of sponsorships had been discussed.  He specifically mentioned Little Red Nursery and Home Depot.  Holle Humphreys asked if an internship for a student studying landscape design had been considered.  After some more discussion, the Association voted to approve $4,000 for garden bed maintenance and for Helen to pursue sponsorship opportunites. 

President Tomlinson then reported that Laura Andersen stepped down from her position as Social Chair.  That position as well as the chair of the newly created City Relations Committee need folks.  The City Relations Committee will work with City Staffers to address issues such as codes enforcement. 

At the start of new business, Melanie Barnes requested that the Association increase its donation to the Westwinds Brass Band from $500 to $750.  Kirk Rodriguez reported the Association has $19K in the bank.  John Winker and Mary Vines reported that the Holiday Home Tour only takes in between $5K and $6K per year and that the event may be becoming tired.  Dudley Winn suggested a new fundraiser but did not mention anything specific.  The motion to increase the donation to the Westwinds Brass Band to $750 was approved. 

Dudley Winn likes the Tech kids.

Eileen Dean asked about the chili cook off that was proposed for the fall.  It just fell through the cracks.

Jerry from 31st and Boston reported that a property owner renovating a house near him was promoting to rent his 3BR property by the bedroom- in violation of the more than Two Unrelated Residents Code.  Jerry also said the property owner was marketing an unregistered apartment.  UNIT News vows to investigate.  President Tomlinson said this issue is a good example of the types of items the City Relations Committee would consider.  She then told the group that the board has ideas on how to address permanent resident/student resident relations and that the culture of the neighborhood must change.  People are less likely to act in a disrespectful manner if they know their neighbors. 

Dena Pearson suggested that residents call 311 to report code violations.
Paul Pare floated the idea of a neighborhood event at the end of Tour de Tech Terrace as a means to develop rapport with our student residents. 

Carolyn Jones (left) 24th Street resident and a guest YWCA staff member.

Carolyn Jones promoted the aquatics programs available at the YWCA and Sun-n-Fun.

Holle Humphreys reported that since April 24th, 6 bounce houses have been erected in Wagner Park- damaging the grass and sprinkler heads.  President Tomlinson and Holle discussed the damage to Bermuda Grass from the bounce houses.  Holle reported she has compiled three years worth of data on the effects of bounce houses on Wagner Park and forwarded her report to the City for possible ordinance consideration.  UNIT News will request a copy of this report. 

Dena Pearson asked the Association to approve $900 for Movies in the Park this summer.  Motion passed. 

No reports given from Safety, Communications, Holiday Home Tour, or Social Committees. 

The next regular Association meeting is scheduled for October 27th.

President Tomlinson adjourned the meeting at 7:30 pm.