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MINUTES of the MHNA General Membership Meeting
Nov. 20, 2007

University Lutheran Church of Hope, 601 13th Ave SE, Minneapolis, MN

1. Meeting called to order at 7:45 pm. A motion to approve the agenda (B.
Distad) was passed.

2. A motion to approve the October minutes ( B. Distad) was passed.

3. Third Ward Council Member Diane Hofstede wished all a happy holiday. She
reported that traffic experts have listened to our concerns and it looks
like the stoplight at 6th & University is underway. Our concerns about the
35W bridge project have also been considered. The T-Mobile cellular antenna
issue is still being negotiated. Things are very busy at the city with 2008
budget, truth in taxation, etc winding down the end of the year. She is
looking for MHNA involvement in an internal task force addressing underage
drinking.

4. Michele Harvet, city licensing inspector for regulatory services,
explained the process for the Kitty Cat Club public hearing tonight. The
Kitty Cat Club is in the same building, with the same owners,as Annie¹s
Parlour in Dinkytown. They share one Class C2 liquor license, which allows
three musicians, karaoke, taped music but no dancing. The owners wish to
upgrade the license to allow any number of musicians and patron dancing.
The club was found to be in violation of their license and since then
regulatory services has been monitoring the business while the new license
application progressed. In that one year there have been no complaints from
neighbors.

Once an application is received and all requirements met (health, building,
etc) a public hearing is held. Then the item goes to city council where it
can be approved, denied or approved with conditions. Once passed at city
council, the new license goes into effect approx 1.5 weeks later.

Owner John Rimarcik wrote a brief history of the establishment which was
passed out by his son, Tom. The Rinarciks have operated their Dinkytown
businesses for 30 years. .They also own Rachel¹s ( formerly Bobino on East
Hennepin), the Monte Carlo, Convention Grill and Havana.

The owners do not expect to have dancing every night, but they do have
wedding parties and other events there and would like to be able to offer
dancing legally.
Nearby restaurant owner Fred Vescio complimented the owners, their great
operation and strongly supports their request. Others in attendance spoke
about the mix of ages, nice atmosphere and overall quality of operation.
They received a letter of support from the police department as well. A
show of hands of all those present indicated unanimous support for the
license upgrade.

5. News form the MHNA Board meeting held earlier n the evening:

The board voted to have a neighborhood-wide meeting Jan 15, 2008 to
reallocate approximately $150,000 in NRP funds. Any change over $25,000
requires a neighborhood vote. The change would allow MHNA to establish a
revolving loan fund for property improvements ­ details to be determined.
People¹s input is welcome and will be discussed at the Jan 15 meeting. This
is largely a ³clean up² plan modification allowing a revolving loan fund
that would return some of the repayment money to our organization as an
endowment. Since the future of NRP funding is uncertain, this would provide
a source for continued MHNA operations. The board is also working on ways to
streamline our organization, now that our NRP projects are winding down.
MHNA is the fiscal agent for Marcy-Holmes NRP.

Safety & Livability Committee – Eric Nauman,, chair, reported that his
committee is looking at neighborhood foreclosures and the city¹s lighting
policy. The committee meets the First Monday of the month at 7 pm, First
Congregational Church, 500 8th Ave SE. To get on their email list, call the
office.

Land Use Committee -

Flour Sack Flats, Phase II: The development team presented us with a copy
of the land use transmittal (same as submitted to City). After much
discussion among land use committee members it was decided to acknowledge
that Marcy-Holmes wishes as presented in the letter of September 5, 2007 had
been overridden by the City Council (on appeal by developer of the HPC
decision). The committee felt that it might be better to admit defeat
gracefully and hope to improve our reputation of working with developers. A
letter dated November 13, 2007 to the Planning Commission was submitted to
the MHNA Executive Committee for action in an effort to reach the Planning
Commission prior to its committee of the whole meeting of November 15. The
letter was not acted upon as (Executive Committee) majority was not
attained.

At tonight¹s board meeting the Land Use Committee¹s letter was reviewed and
discussed. Because our original concerns about safety, height and setback
have not been satisfactorily resolved, the board voted to not approve of
sending the letter that was recommended by the Land Use Committee chair.
(Vote was 2 approved letter, 4 opposed, 2 abstained)

6. MISC -
MHNA was asked to officially nominate board members for SEMCOL (SE Mpls
Council on Learning). The board approved the following: Scott Bean, Don
Fraser, Laurice Jamieson, Ardes Johnson, Harriet Johnson, Kathleen Reilly.

MHNA intern Andrew Bender Dahl spoke about his recent trip to Philadelphia
where he met with a U Penn vice president about the improvements in
neighborhoods surrounding the university. Improvements to housing, safety
and business districts helped school enrollment. The University City
District publishes an annual report card that is used as a marketing piece
for developers. They also publish neighborhood guides and are responsible
for other innovations like a safety ambassador program, improving grade
school and high schools and generally making the university area of West
Philadelphia one of the most vibrant and sought after in the city.
Neighborhood reinvestment became a campus-wide priority when a new
president, Judith Rodin, came in.

Arvonne Fraser mentioned that the newly formed Alliance ( U campus
neighborhoods, city, U of MN) is looking to places like Penn for
inspiration, especially regarding how best to use the legislated $750,000 in
neighborhood improvement funding next year.

MHNA member Kathleen Reilly reminded all that once the merger is official,
the SE Library will reopen and ideas are sought for the grand re-opening
celebration. New library hours will be Tues, Thurs from noon to 8 pm, Sat.
10 ­ 6.

This was the last meeting for NRP Coordinator Elissa Cottle who is leaving
her position at the end of December. MHNA presented her with a bouquet of
flowers. She thanked everyone for her experience here, citing her work with
the Master Plan committee as a great success. Elissa is enrolled in graduate
school studying poetry.

People were reminded that there will be no general membership meeting in
December.

Meeting adjourned at 8:45 pm Melissa Bean, Executive Director