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Minutes of the April 17, 2007 MHNA General Membership Meeting
University Lutheran Church of Hope, 60113th Ave SE

1. Meeting called to order at 7:35 pm by Deb Girard, president.
2. The March minutes were approved.
3. Board actions from earlier tonight:
Safety & Livability Committee – The committees resolution regarding
Council Member Cam Gordon¹s Maximum Occupancy Work Group was tabled
until chair Tom Lincoln can craft a joint motion with the Land Use
Committee, which also had a motion on this matter.

The board approved a motion from the committee relating to the Rental
Licensing Ordinance. It asks CM Diane Hofstede to investigate and sponsor
changes to address properties with outstanding orders.The changes would
restrict the issuance of annual Rental Licenses to a property owner or
manager if:
€ the property owner has any open Housing Inspection orders;
€ the property owner has any unpaid Housing Inspections administration
citation and any District Court judgments against the owner related to the
property;
€ the property owner has open occupancy issues;
€ the property owner has any unpermitted work citations.

The ordinance change would also prohibit occupancy of a rental property
that does not have a Rental License.

The Safety & Livability Committee¹s motion to use $9000 in NRP funds for
additional police patrols in late April , May and June was approved by the
board.

NRP – The owner-occupied deferred loan program matrix of applicants was
reviewed. We have enough to possibly fund the top 11 applicants if they all
take the maximum amount. If there is money left over, we may be able to
fund more. A motion to approve going forward with the order on the list for
funding (A Fraser) was passed with one abstention (Paredes). The list
ranked properties¹ overall condition, if rehab included exterior lights, if
rehab preserves or improves architectural integrity, and if it was first a
time applying for NRP funds.

A motion (Distad) to approve of the Executive Committee approval of the
NRP $9000 Police Buy Back program, earlier discussed, also passed.

Executive Committee – Due to scheduling, the Executive Committee had to
act upon the Land Use Committee¹s resolution to support the application for
non conforming use for signage at the University Inn ( formerly Gopher
Motel). The motion asks that the previously approved site plan be completed
and that the current signage requirements for a motel in a residential
district be followed.

Land Use Committee – MN Internship Center Charter School, located within
U- Tec Center, 1313 SE 5th St, made a request for support for a conditional
use permit to operate a school in a business facility. Once approved,
remodeling of part of U-Tec¹s basement into a classroom and office space for
the school will begin. All remodeling will conform to Dept of Education
requirements for classroom space. Egress needs for special exit doors, HVAC
air transfers in classrooms and an added bathroom (ADA compliant) are
needed. Once completed, the $140,000 cost of the project will be reimbursed.
Forty – sixty students attend classes in the morning and intern at
businesses in the afternoons. The principles will be resenting to the
Dinkytown Business Asn next week. The Land Use Committee recommended that
the MHNA Board support the application for a conditional use permit to place
a school in business facility located at 1313 SE 5th St. Motion passed
unanimously.

A proposal for reuse of the Pillsbury Library/ Fitterman Gallery
building, was heard by the committee. It will retain historic character and
use ³green² technology with energy efficiency and minimal impact to the
environment. The project was approved by HPC with certain conditions. The
developers are not pursuing the parking canopy on their original plans.

The Land Use Committee recommended that the MHNA Board send a letter to
Deborah Evenson of Domain Architecture & Design, welcoming the Phillips
Foundation to the neighborhood and noting how pleased we are to have this
historic building restored according to environmentally friendly standards.
Motion passed unanimously.

4. Kathleen Reilly spoke to those assembled about the Mpls and Hennepin
County Library merger. There are several issues stalling the merger,
including wage and benefit differences between the two agencies. It still
looks like the merger will go through. Once approved, the three closed
libraries will get funding to be open the limited hours they had most
recently. Then in 2008 the Southeast Library will be in line for improvement
- most likely a new facility.Watch the newspaper for new information. A new
committee will be forming soon.

5. Council Member Diane Hofstede announced that the T-Mobile/ Andrew House
antenna issue will be heard at Heritage Preservation Commission in May. The
earlier suggested changes to Rental Licensing Ordinance will have to be
reviewed by city attorney. A request to increase maximum occupancy at the
Varsity Theater in Dinkytown was answered by way of fire safety. The current
capacity (300) is dictated by the size, number of sprinklers;etc. The
property would have to make necessary improvements in order toincrease
occupancy limits. Board Member Leonard Paredes has been working on
strengthening the ordinance concerning Dangerous Animals and passed his
research and suggestions to CM Hofstede. The CARE Committee is looking at
problem properties in the third ward. CM Hofstede is concerned about
Minneapolis representation on the library board if the merger with Hennepin
County is approved.

6. Mike Mulrooney, owner of Blarney¹s Pub, presented his new management
plans to the association. In 2005 Blarney¹s was found to be in violation of
the law regarding underage drinking. For the past one and a half years, he
has been working with the city on revamping the business. He has added new
security, an electronic i.d.. reader, changed the focus to his menu, and
increased the area his crew cleans after closing. He would like to encourage
more MHNA members to try his establishment. He would like to work with us to
end vandalism, underage drinking, binge drinking, etc. in Dinkytown. He want
to be a valuable part of our community. To that end, Mr Mulrooney has helped
fund the MSA van service, which provides safe, free transportation for
students from 10 pm – 2 am Thurs, Fri and Sat.

Several questions were asked. Full food service ends by 11 pm – after that
only appetizers are served. His marketing was questioned – why not advertise
in the Bridge if that s the audience he is now courting? Mr. Mulrooney is
paying a fine and closing for 30 days over the summer. CM Hofstede said that
he has been cooperating with the city. A downtown bar owners group could
serve as the model for one in Dinkytown that could address issues related
to drinking. Blarney¹s is open for breakfast at 9 am.

7. NRP Elections – The committee was re-elected: Louise Huebner, Ardes
Johnson, Skott Johnson, Marni Loven-Bell, Erin Steva, Ted Tucker, Dan
Zielske, JJ Glover.

8. The Garden Committee met to decide this summer¹s activities. It was
decided to concentrate on the gardens we already have, rather than start any
new ones, due to our budget. The Boulevard Garden Program will be limited to
permanent planters in Dinkytown – we have enough money to fund 6
applications. The 5th St. bump out gardens and 8th St SE garden will get a
small amount of funding for plants . The rest will be plants donated by
neighbors. A date/place for the annual plant swap/potluck has not ben
decided.

There is one Bump-out Garden that needs adopting – 8th Ave SE * 5th St SE.
Call the office if you are interested. Clean out date for the 8th St garden
is May 8th at 4:30 PM.

The MHNA Garden Blog is operating now – send your garden questions or tips:
www.marcy-holmes.org

Kathleen Really was the winner of a gift certificate donated by Tugg¹s
Saloon, Main St

Meeting adjourned at 8:55 PM. Melissa Bean, MHNA Executive Director.

MHNA 415 4th Ave SE #209 Minneapolis, MN 55414 612-623-7633