BHNA - january 27, 2004 General Meeting Minutes

Barton Hills Neighborhood Association General Meeting Minutes January 27, 2004
Call to Order	President Don Long called the meeting to order at 7:05 pm. Approximately 42 BHNA members were present. Long welcomed everyone and thanked the volunteers who delivered 1,400 newsletters to every address in the neighborhood. He encouraged participation by everyone, noting that there are many opportunities to work, lead, and inspire, and we are so fortunate to have such high levels of participation. He introduced the other Executive Committee (EC) members, and each in turn explained his or her role on the board: Debby Kalk, recording secretary, explained that minutes are posted to the BHNA website soon after each general and executive committee meeting, usually within two weeks. Lance Schriner, newsletter editor, encouraged neighbors to support advertisers who pay the costs for our newsletter. Derek Stuart, treasurer, encouraged everyone to pay their dues and announced that members can pay online using PayPal. Rayma Chase, vice president, is responsible for membership and will be compiling the member surveys. Robert Botto, BHNA rep to the Austin Neighborhood Council (ANC). Long asked for a motion to approve the minutes for the General Meeting on October 14, 2003. The motion was made and seconded and the minutes were approved.
Treasurer's Report	Stuart presented the financial report. He said that the EC is working diligently to trim costs and to raise revenues to offset expenses and lower revenues from last year. This will enable BHNA to continue to fund the activities that neighbors say matter most to them.
Candidate	Judge John Hathaway, running for judge in District 200, introduced himself and distributed literature. He said that issues he has been most concerned with are child abuse and family violence.
Police Liaison	Long introduced Officer Dawn Leonard who is the new community liaison to our neighborhood: dawn.leonard@ci.austin.tx.us Phone: 947-4405 Officer Leonard has been on the force for three years and was with Travis County law enforcement prior to APD. She said she is excited to be working in this area. The biggest issue is speeding on Barton Hills and Barton Skyway – interestingly, most offenders live in the neighborhood. Robberies are also a concern. Leonard explained that residents can look up crime reports on the city’s web site. Leonard reminded residents to call 911 if you see an immediate threat or a suspicious person, and call 311 to report any non-emergency activity including property crime. She noted, for example, that teens cut school to commit robberies in the daytime – she encouraged residents who see teens in the daytime on a school day to report this to 311. Neighborhood Watch is no longer active in the neighborhood but Leonard said she can help re-establish it with neighbor support. Leonard answered questions on specific locations regarding traffic, parking, vandalism, stop signs, and obstructed views. She also introduced Lt. Robert Hernandez who is the night patrol commander for the area.
Sidewalks	Sidewalks committee chair Cindy Bogard gave an update on the committee’s work: Cleared the sidewalk on Barton Skyway from the gas station to Westhill Drive, generating 100 bags of trimmings and trash. Identified homes with landscaping that interfered with passage on the sidewalk; sent letters to homeowners encouraging trimming and offering assistance; got 100% cooperation from homeowners. Investigated the costs and issues associated with completing the sidewalk on Barton Hills Drive from the market to the school. The cost is $15/linear foot of sidewalk and the city will do 300’ at a time, per year, with matching funds. This is approximately equivalent to two lots. The committee has identified as priorities for sidewalks the school side of Barton Hills Drive; the school side of the streets that wrap around the school (Homedale and Briarcliff); and the other side of Barton Hills Drive. The committee asked the association for authorization to hold a fundraiser to support these efforts. Motion was made, seconded, and carried. There was discussion about the long-term nature of such a sidewalk project if the city can only do two lots a year. The consensus was that two lots are better than none. Botto suggested that BHNA generate a letter to the city stating our support for the sidewalks effort. Long will follow up on this.
Grow Green	Elizabeth Drozda-Freeman, City of Austin coordinator for the Grow Green program, introduced the principles of the program and discussed the following: Explained and distributed brochures on landscape plant and tree choices, toxicity ratings of products, and planning a sustainable garden and yard. Integrated pest management (IPM) which involves a hierarchy of responses beginning with cultural solutions, mechanical solutions, targeted biological controls, and only lastly, chemical controls. Austin soils tend to be high in phosphorous and potassium, but low in nitrogen. As a result, we should avoid most fertilizers which contain all three. In addition to serving the Grow Green program, Drozda-Freeman is the storm drain coordinator. She encouraged residents to call her with their garden and environmental questions Monday through Thursday at 974-2550.
Universal Living Wage	Schriner introduced a resolution for BHNA to support the Universal Living Wage which proposes a rise in the minimum wage so that all full-time workers could earn enough to support living costs. This follows presentations last year at BHNA meetings on homelessness and the problem of people living in the Greenbelt. Discussion followed on how this could be seen as a neighborhood association issue and whether it was permissible in the Bylaws, which prohibit endorsement of candidates. Long explained that this does not constitute an endorsement of a candidate. He read from the Bylaws regarding the purpose of BHNA and stated that, while the Executive Committee found this resolution worthy of consideration as within the scope of that purpose, the burden of proof should be on the person who introduces a resolution of this type. Other comments focused on the complexity of the issue and that it was beyond the scope of the association to provide the appropriate level of study and discussion. Neighbors suggested that people sign the resolution on an individual basis (http://www.universallivingwage.org). Art Stone moved that BHNA take no position on the Universal Living Wage resolution. The motion was seconded and carried with 25 voting in the affirmative and 5 against. The proposed resolution was withdrawn.
Member Dues	Long introduced the motion to change the Bylaws (Section 1V. Membership, 2. Dues) to raise member dues from $5 per year to $10 per year. He explained that dues have not changed since BHNA was founded in 1979. Long read the proposed changes. Nan Clayton moved to accept the changes, motion was seconded and carried unanimously. Long introduced the motion to change the Bylaws to add Section IV. Membership, 4. Barton Hills Pioneers. This would provide an opportunity for members to donate an additional $10 to BHNA and to be recognized for this level of support. Discussion followed to change the name to “Friends of Barton Hills.” The motion was made as amended, seconded, and approved unanimously.
Greenbelt Guardian	Glee Ingram encouraged everyone to participate in the next Greenbelt Guardian workday which will be Saturday, February 7, 2004, at the Homedale entrance. She said there is something for everyone of every level of strength and knowledge. Participants can work one hour or all day. Those who can’t volunteer on Feb 7 can help out in other ways. Contact Glee at gleeful@earthlink.net. She will notify volunteers if there is a need for a rain date. The plan for the February workday is to continue planting the area with native vegetation. There are about 20 trees to plant. Ingram also announced that the Homedale entrance has been identified as an exemplary urban trail and will be the site of a field visit by participants to the National Trail Conference which will be held in Austin in August. The Greenbelt Guardians maintain the trail from Campbell’s Hole to the Gus Fruh entrance. Long thanked Glee and the other Guardians for their great work with this program.
Bylaws	Kalk explained that she is heading a committee to review the BHNA Bylaws and make any recommended changes to the April General Meeting. The Bylaws have not been thoroughly reviewed since 1995. Anyone who is interested in joining this effort can contact Kalk at debby@cortexlearning.com.
Neighborhood Planning	Long explained that although it’s been on and off again for three years, it looks like Barton Hills will finally participate in the city’s neighborhood planning process beginning in October. Barton Hills will participate along with three other South-Central neighborhoods. The process will review zoning, land use, lot sizes and density, retail and mixed use, and environmental concerns among other issues. Long is seeking volunteers to join a planning committee. He envisions a survey process, house meetings and other informal sessions, in order to develop a consensus about the neighborhood’s future. Kay Killen supported the effort saying that the city always looks at the neighborhood plan whenever there is a contentious issue.
Barton Skyway Entrance	Kalk is serving as interim chair of a committee that will explore how we can improve the appearance of the wall at the entrance to our neighborhood on Barton Skyway. The committee will look at issues of developing a mural, selecting the artist(s), reviewing the durability of materials, costs, maintenance, and the possibility of getting funding from retailers and businesses on Lamar.
Austin City Limits Festival	Long reviewed the report submitted by past-president Robin McKeever about meeting with the city park department’s Jesus Olivares and representatives of the production management company that produced the ACL festival. Long mentioned his surprise that the turf was restored and actually improved by the producers following the event. Neighbors continue to complain about noise, parking, and trash and Long promised to continue to raise these issues this year. One suggestion is to have a parking lot south so that residents don’t have to drive north to the state parking lots and take the shuttle from there. Another suggestion was to investigate whether the festival could use renewable energy credits. Long will draft a letter to the producers outlining these concerns.
Miscellaneous	Neighbors asked that the city clean the trash left in the neighborhood after the Trail of Lights. Long will invite Les Tull with the city to report on remediation ponds for Barton Creek at the next meeting. Scott Johnson mentioned that because Robert E Lee has been coated with a skid-resistant material, accidents have dropped from an average of 13 to 4 annually.
Next Meeting	The next Executive Committee meeting is scheduled for March 9. The next General Meeting is April 13.
Adjourn	The meeting adjourned at 9:10 pm. Respectfully submitted, Debby Kalk Recording Secretary

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