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MINUTES of the MHNA General Membership Meeting, Sept 17, 2002 University Lutheran Church of Hope, 601 13th Ave SE, Minneapolis

1. Meeting called to order after board meeting ended, approx 7:45 PM.
2. The minutes of the August meeting were approved. All were reminded to renew their membership. This must be done annually. There are no dues. People can mail in the card sent to them, or register online at: www.marcy-holmes.org
3. NRP News – Tonight a Master Plan meeting is underway at another location, the next round of meetings will be Focus Groups. Sat Oct 5, 10 – noon at First Congregational Church, on “Social & Cultural Needs”. The second one will cover “Historic Preservation & Design Standards”, Wed Oct 23 at 7 pm, St. Lawrence Church.
4. Our recent Clean Sweep was discussed. We do not have the figures yet on the number of tons we hauled. Janet Myles, coordinator for this program at the city, suggested next time we do three packer trucks and two city flatbeds, one for metal and one for tires. Then we could use our own trucks for oversized and construction debris like cement. Many, many thanks to all the volunteers who made this event a success.
5. We got a letter from another neighborhood association urging us to support police buyback programs, like Cops on Bikes, in the new budget. This program was discussed. This summer we switched our NRP Cops on Bikes money to party patrols on weekends. The effectiveness of this strategy was discussed. Many felt there was not enough patrolling last weekend. There were complaints that the police did not respond to 911 calls. There were parties on 7th St, 8th St and 11th Ave SE. Paula Kamrath made a motion to support police buyback programs to be used as seen fit by neighborhoods for programs like Cops on Bikes and Party Patrols, which passed unanimously.
6. Chris Wilson reported on the recent Stadium Task Force meeting that brought together the neighborhoods, city officials, University staff, representative of the Vikings stadium consultants and a facilitator. Melissa Bean and Chris Wilson attended for Marcy-Holmes. There appears to be no positive aspects to the on campus Vikings/Gophers stadium proposal, except for possible road upgrades. Traffic, parking, rowdiness, increased drinking ,the looming visual blight of the stadium itself, the number (between 6 and 300) and caliber of events and the image that this concept projects about what was previously billed as a world class research institution were mentioned as objections to the stadium. There is another session of the task force later in October. Businesses are having their own meetings. We got a letter from the SEED committee expressing concerns about the stadium, basically re: appropriateness of land use; adverse impact on existing and future developments; ongoing influence of professional sports teams. They favor instead, remodeling the Metrodome. We can have up to 4 reps there; call the office if you wish to attend the next one.
7. Misc- NRP Elections will be held at the October MHNA meeting. If you wish to serve on our Implementation Committee, call Elissa Cottle at 379-3812.

Meeting adjourned at 8:35 pm Melissa Bean, MHNA Staff

NEWS of the Sept 2002 Board Meeting

1. Zoning & Planning – Our Z & P committee met with t he new owner of Bobby Z’s, across from the Chateau on 13th Ave SE. They wish to erect a new sign perpendicular to their building, near the top. They are seeking a variance to get a size large that what is allowed, 24 sq. ft (vs 12). Steve Swanson reported that the committee toured the facility, and the owner seemed to run a tight ship. Currently there is a small version of the sign they want in place. We asked Gary Ellis, of the Chateau, to the meeting, since his residents are going to have to live with it. He did not have a problem with the size. The sign will have some neon, with the letters “halo” lit from behind. Kelly Carver made a motion to approve the sign variance for Bobby Z’s as presented by owner Tony Patterson, which was unanimously passed.
2. Tony Nicklow, of the Steak Knife, asked for our support for the restaurant to extend their hours of operation, until 2 am. They are considering hiring a bouncer. They plan to serve limited finger foods in baskets. Finding staff to work those hours may be difficult. Their current hours are 11-9, but they can stay open until 1 am with current license. He hopes to attract the after bar crowd, offering food to sober them up. Mr. Nicklow was unsure what the ordinance says regarding ending the serving of alcohol – whether the time for last cal was 1 am, or before, and what the time was for “off the table”. He or his partner will be on hand at all times. The Dinkytowner and Santana are now open these same extended hours. He will not be submitting his application for two weeks. He was thanked and then he left. Gordon Kepner continued the conversation. He wanted to ensure that open until 2 does not mean ordering multiple drinks at 1, and extending the drinking time. It would be helpful if we knew what the ordinance stipulated. By consensus, it was decided to support the longer hours if the ordinance states “off the table” at 1 am.
3. Melissa Bean explained a proposal for an All Wars Memorial, planned for the east side of the river, in the Marshall Terrace neighborhood, just north of NSP’s Riverside Plant. Ed Karbo, resident and tireless tree advocate, is heading the drive for this. There is no such memorial in Minneapolis, and Mr. Karbo wishes to commemorate NE & SE Mpls. residents who are World War II vets before they are gone. He furnished us with many letters of support. The project would require legislative assistance. It was decided to send a letter of support for the NE All Wars Memorial.
4. Former Mayor Don Fraser made a presentation to the board about the creation of a SE Council On Learning. The group would be made up of representatives from all three SE neighborhoods and would tackle education issues. No actions were taken so far, but we may hear more from him at a later date.