Kingfield Neighborhood Association Board Meeting, July 14, 7 PM, MLK Park!
Crime Prevention and Safety Committee, Summer Meeting Potluck Date To Be Announced!
Youth & Schools Committee, Co-hosting a Minneapolis School Board At-Large Candidate Forum, July 21, 6:30 PM, Ramsey School. See Blog Roll for More Info!
Redevelopment Committee, July Meeting moved to August 4, 7 PM, MLK Park
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Nov
30
Present: Beckie Alexander, Lianne Knych, Meg Hoyt, Jane Onsrud, Becky Dankowski, Scott Bordon, and Sarah Linnes-Robinson Director of KFNA, Chris Sur, KFNA President
The committee meeting was called to discuss a proposal coming from KFNA Staff to hold an informational table for school choice at the KFNA table at the Kingfield Holiday Farmers’ Market. Some committee members felt this promotional opportunity should be used for Lyndale School only. There was a feeling from many committee members that KFNA is not promoting Lyndale School strongly enough as the neighborhood’s guaranteed school.
Many committee members expressed their fears at neighbors not giving Lyndale School a fair look as an option by families. According to Hoyt, “My biggest fear is people not looking beyond the front of the door.”
KFNA Staff stated the problem she was hearing in the neighborhood was people feeling disenfranchised from the entire public school system. She stated that she feels that encouraging families to look at all their options and not feel forced into any one would serve the larger goal of getting them reinvested no matter which school they attend.
Alexander stated that she felt that as a community our responsibility is to the local school. If we were going to expand to promote all the educational options it should also include private.
Staff restated the mission of the committee which was developed at the last meeting which is to “advocate for youth and the schools they attend.”
There was debate that the support from the neighborhood association for Lyndale should be stronger than for other schools since historically the neighborhood had no neighborhood school, and now that it does it has a responsibility to support the neighborhood school. Some committee members and Staff disagreed with this and felt the neighborhood should support the schools that children attend, and this could be done alongside celebrating the new postion of Lyndale as a community school guarentee.
A discussion was held about information on the KFNA website. Many wanted this to be used a promotional spot for Lyndale School. Dankowski and Knych argued that information on all the school choices should be provided. Agreement was reached that Lyndale should be at the top with information about it as the community school choice for the neighborhood. It should also include a link to the school. Other information could include tour dates and a school button. Other public schools would also be listed, however. It was decided that high school should be included on the website too. Please note that at the time of writing these minutes high school, information has not been put on the website yet.
Discussion was also held about the upcoming Holiday Farmers’ Market—the school committee stated that they had requested to be present at this final market. This request was not reflected in the previous committee minutes, nor had staff recalled this request when she put forward the proposal for all schools to be present. The committee reaffirmed they would like to be the group that staffed the table at this final market. Although many felt that it should provide information exclusively on Lyndale since everyone in the neighborhood is aware of their school choices, the group agreed to making available information on all public school choices K-8 at the table also.
Linnes-Robinson said she had already pulled this information together for elementary school choices for Kingfield residents and it had been proofed by District staff. She will expand it to include middle schools for the market.
Committee members said that the Lyndale School Transition Team is working on marketing including info in newsletters, events, and open houses and tours and a school-led PR campaign for Lyndale; they asked how KFNA will support this marketing. Staff responded that as with all groups, the school can request inclusion in email notices as events come up, but the newsletter is ready to go to print and another will not come out until March. The current issue does contain a story on Lyndale School which announces and celebrates its new status as a community school guarantee for Kingfield. There was strong interest from some committee members that KFNA play a stronger role in this marketing and a discussion was held on the difference of marketing for the school vs. community building at the school and the difference of promoting Lyndale School as the neighborhood school vs. promoting Lyndale School as one of the options. No consensus was reached on the differences or the manner in which KFNA should be involved.
There was a brief discussion about how the neighborhood association could assist with identifying and informing non-choosers about school options. There was a discussion about marketing vs. disseminating information. No next steps were indentified or committed to besides providing information for people to attend the choice fair held by the district DT on January 9.
There was interest expressed by Bordon in investigating “safe routes to school” for the neighborhood.
A next meeting date was not decided on due to the impending holidays and staff’s over-committed schedule due to the project organizer hiring process.
Minutes provided by Linnes-Robinson, 12/1/09.
Nov
30
KFNA Board Minutes 11-09
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Board members present: Arthur Knowles, Dave Saddoris, JobyLynn SassilyJames, Chris DeParde, Chris Sur, Alex Bauman (new member), Marshal Onsrud, Scott Bordon, Tom Parent
7:03 Meeting called to order by Chris Sur, President
Community Forum:
None present. In absentia, Sarah Linnes-Robinson relayed the concerns of one neighbor regarding traffic at 39th & Pleasant. Linnes-Robinson contends that overall traffic calming measures need to be examined. Saddoris asked if this was 35W-construction related, but Linnes-Robinson did not seem to think so. The Redevelopment Committee was determined to be the appropriate place to address some of these issues. Scott Bordon commented that the easiest way to create safer streets is by increasing pedestrian usage, bringing up the discussion of “Safe Routes to School”, a national organization that promotes walking to school.
Appointment of new Board Member:
Jeff Bajek & David Potosky have resigned from the board. Alternate board member Alex Bauman appointed to the board by Sur. Diana Schleisman, the other board alternate, has been notified about the additional vacancy. Sarah Linnes-Robinson will follow up with her for December’s board meeting.
Secretary’s Report
November minutes: Parent commended Bordon for the thoroughness and clarity of last month’s minutes. Sur noticed several minor grammatical corrections which he will correct via e-mail with Linnes-Robinson. Motion by Arthur: Approve minutes. Second: DeParde. Unanimous (Sur abstains).
September minutes: Motion by Arthur: Approve September minutes with notation that all votes recorded in minutes are accurate, but records of whom voted which way have been lost. Second: DeParde. Unanimous (Sur abstains).
New Business:
Approval of Direct Mail Letter:
JobyLynn moves approval. Second: DeParde. Unanimous (Sur abstains).
Project Organizer Hiring:
Linnes-Robinson reviewed 23 potential candidates, brought 7 to the Executive Committee for review. Three candidates were interviewed. The board approved an offer to the strongest candidate. If she declines, an offer may be made to the secondary candidate.
Review of Publicity & KFNA’s role re: School Choice:
Sur recapped that issue came up at Youth & Schools Committee (YSC) meeting last night, as the broad scope of the Committee, particularly in this time of Changing School Options, dictates a fair amount of information distribution. There are some concerns about whether this information should be coming from the neighborhood, whether it represents a particular agenda (pro-Community School v. general information).
Knowles thinks the two different articles slated for the Kingfield Newsletter is appropriate for KFNA, as it both promotes the community school while accurately conveying options. Onsrud likened the dichotomy to the Farmers Market: while there are many markets in the City, KFNA promotes the local one and it’s critical at this time of transition to actively promote the community school. Sur believes that information is key and an informed neighborhood helps prevent some disenfranchisement of those that aren’t aware of the options, so full information should not be precluded in an attempt to push the community school. JobyLynn likes both articles, but has concerns that the Lyndale school article might seem too subjective and opens up the newsletter for criticism as being biased. DeParde states that it was important to remain neutral during the CSO process, but now that Lyndale is the neighborhood school KFNA should actively advocate for Lyndale. Bordon says that while there was a difference of opinion at the YSC meeting, he felt that there was no confusion about direction for the newsletter articles. Linnes-Robinson was trying to clear up confusion about what the focus of the Committee is (promote community school or try to represent all options available to Kingfield residents).
Bordon shared that direction from YSC was that primary responsibility was to community school. YSC is concerned that misinformation might come from KFNA and information should be supplied by School Board. Onsrud thinks that school information should come solely from YSC. Knowles reiterated the importance of the Board’s guidance and the autonomy of all committees, such as the newsletter. Sur shared that he has concerns that the credibility of the YSC and KFNA will be compromised if there is a perception of bias or of withholding information. Bordon thinks that staff should not be spending time writing articles that should be coming from Minneapolis Public Schools and the article should only point people to district resources.
Linnes-Robinson wants clarification on why she needs to be seeking approval for an article about an issue that has written about many times in years past, as she does not do this for any other committee. What is role of the neighborhood association in sharing the changing options? Onsrud shared his displeasure that the board did not wholly support the community school, a characterization which Sur, DeParde and SassilyJames immediately objected to.
Bordon would like to see confirmation from MPS about veracity of information contained in Linnes-Robinson’s informational newsletter article, but otherwise is fine with the direction, and inclusion, of the article.
Role of Committees in KFNA
Bordon asked for clarification of role of Committees within the structure of KFNA. He and some YSC members feel as though the Executive Director has free reign in regards to actions regarding the schools issue, sometimes at the detriment to Committee direction. DeParde referred Bordon to bylaws for relationship of Committees to Board, Staff to Committees and Staff to Board. Sur recommends that role of Committees would be best explored at the next board meeting, as some research and reflection (and additional time) would benefit the discussion.
Email Policy Amendment
Amend item #6 “It concerns Kingfield as an Open Area for public schools;” to “It concerns public schools for Kingfield residents” Motion by Parent. Second: Alex. Bordon asked if intent could be wrapped up in another existing item; group decision was that it could not, with the possible exception of #3, but it could not hurt to enumerate. Unanimous (Sur abstains).
NRP Electorate:
Motion by DeParde: Arthur to be NRP electorate. Second: SassilyJames. Unanimous (Sur abstains).
Treasurer’s Report:
Linnes-Robinson ran through monthly balance sheet. New reimburseables are due in November. Linnes-Robinson asks for direction from board to ask for return of money repaid for housing loan program by end of year. General direction for the organization is to contract as much money by year end.
Redevelopment
Bauman discussed BFIP grants at most recent meeting and recapped the plans for the SE corner of 38th & Grand. Linnes-Robinson shared that the mayor announced at the Nicollet Square ground breaking that Nicollet Avenue will be re-done in 2012. Linnes-Robinson and Mark Hinds, the Executive Director of the Lyndale Neighborhood Association, will be meeting with public works soon to discuss process.
Dog Park
The “triangle” option seems to have the most traction. While members of the Park department were present, formal process of including the Park Board has not yet begun.
Green
Explored ways of contracting the CEE and green commercial building money at the last meeting. Community Garden site planning begins this week.
Newsletter
Should be at printer by the end of the week.
Youth and Schools
Committee staffed the Farmers Market twice, with 8 different volunteers, with good results. Promoted movie nights at King Park with 60-75 people showing up. Efforts to make movie night a monthly endeavor. Committee to staff holiday Farmers Market.
CPAS
With Bajek’s resignation, DeParde to make a point to attend CPAS meetings. Committee had bonfire last weekend, with about 30 attendees.
Motion to adjourn by Arthur, 8:57 p.m.
E-vote Addendum
Chris Sur presented the following:
Board members, I am making the following motion:
“Whereas the Board of KFNA is accountable and responsible for the actions of the its committees and employees;
Whereas KFNA has historically provided information to the neighborhood about school choice options and whereas the school choice process has changed dramatically this year; and
Whereas there is disagreement among the committee and the board as to the content of a Kingfield Newsletter article on school choice;
I hereby move that, if the content of the Newsletter article on school choice is approved by Jackie Turner of the Minneapolis School District, then Chris Sur, president of the board, and Sarah Linnes-Robinson have authority to edit the article to shorten it, and to submit the article to be published in the Kingfield Newsletter with a notation that the article has been approved by the Minneapolis School District.”
If there is a second for the motion, Board member please vote via e-mail, replying to all.
Votes in favor came from:
Tom Parent, Marie Wolf, Chris DeParde, Dean Muldoon, Scott Bordon, Alex Bauman, JobyLynn Sassily, James, Arthur Knowles
Comments:
(And just want to add that, although I wasn’t at the meeting last night, I believe that KFNA has been consistent throughout this process that our role is to provide Kingfield residents with the best and most accurate information. That was our goal before the current attendance plans were settled on, and should be our goal now. I have heard many positive things about Lyndale, and believe that it can readily stand on its own merits).
Marie Wolf
I believe had this article been distributed to the Youth & Schools Committee at our Monday Night meeting we could have resolved the issue at the committee meeting. Knowing Jackie Turner/MPS approved the article I believe addresses the committees’ concern about providing such information (I apologize to committee members if this is not accurate reading). I said at Board Meeting if Jackie Tuner approved it was okay with me.
Scott Bordon
Further, I believe that we are “dusting up” over a relatively minor difference of perceived emphasis. I believe that we are all in essential agreement. We want to support our new community school and view it as a great asset for the Neighborhood. We also have many students from the Neighborhood attending some other schools and while promoting Lyndale school we should not ignore these other schools. The Board created (with the help of volunteers) a “Youth and Schools” committee, not a “Youth and Lyndale School” committee. The larger question of the relationship between the Board, its committees, and staff needs further elucidation, but again, I do not believe that we have basic disagreement.
Lastly, I would like to again apologize for my extended outburst at the last Board meeting. It was sincere, to the point, and, I believe, justified. But it was not in “good form”.
Arthur H. Knowles
Jul
7
Board Minutes
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Here are the KFNA Board Meeting Minutes, February-May 2009
Nov
15
November CPaS Minutes
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Notes – Kingfield Crime and Safety Meeting
Tuesday , November 18th, 7:00-8:00 p.m. , MLK Park
Announcements made:
Project Organizer for KFNA, Sarah Gleason, has been hired.
Beth Larson and Chris deParde met with Sarah.
Court Watch Program meets at 5:30 p.m. on 3rd Monday of month at 5th Precinct; 31st and Nicollet.
Open Forum:
Park – Surveillence cameras are being installed inside and outside the park building. Footage will be digitally recorded. Park will be able to simultaneously view all cameras on a single screen.
Impact statements are still needed for the Mars/Thornbury shots fired incident. So far, only one has been received by Court Watch. Instructions for completing the form are at http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/attorney/impact-statements.asp
CPS Tom Thompson reported that overall crime is down 18%, however, theft and auto theft are both up. With holidays coming up, it is a good idea to review Crime Prevention Resources at http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/police/crime-prevention/
The MPD 2008 Neighborhood Policing Plan for King Field Neighborhood is available online at http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/police/outreach/Pct5NeighborhoodPolicingPlans.asp . CPS Thompson and Lt. Jack Kelly would like input to the plan.
Lt. Kelly reported that he attended Working with Somali Community training. Topics discussed were culture; gang activity; clan feuds; and transient behaviors.
Participant that attended a West of King block club leader meeting reported that door-to-door begging was discussed. Lt. Kelly and CPS Thomson advised:
- Don’t give money
- Offer telephone numbers for assistance agencies: 612-338-0113 for Salvation Army or 211 for United Way
- person(s) asking for money may be trying to gain information about your property and/or schedule
Upcoming meetings/events:
December 11, 2008, 6:30-8:00 p.m. Youth Appreciation Dinner at MLK Park (info on KFNA website http://kingfield.org/)
December 15, 2008 5:30 p.m. Court Watch Program meeting 5th Precinct
December 16, 2008 7:00 p.m. Crime Prevention and Safety meeting MLK Park
Jun
30
Board Meeting Minutes 6/08
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KFNA Board Meeting Minutes 6/11/08
Board members attending: Jobylynn Sassily,Tom Parrent,Jeff Shaw,Chris Sur,Chris DeParde,Karen Pieper,David Buchanan, David Saddoris, Marie Wolf
Elizabeth Glidden
Discuss urban partnership:
- Topic was congestion relief for 35W
- MNDOT will be beefing up shoulders, installing HOV lanes, bus lanes, re-striping from 42nd St to Lake St.
- New info: Sound walls will be installed from 32nd St to 42nd St. This is a major issue for residences close to the project and noise complaints may be received.
- The time frame for these projects has been compressed and they are projected to be complete by 9/09. This has become a fast moving project.
- Neighbors may be given opportunity in choosing type of sound walls installed
- Does the KFNA board have any thoughts on these projects?
- The door is open to hear KFNA concerns.
NRP Update:
- Elizabeth has a lot of questions
- TIF districts may be re-starting going forward for 10 years.
- City of Minneapolis is only participant. School districts, Parks, and Hennepin Co. will not participate.
- Elizabeth’s question is the amount of money that will be generated by the city portion. This amount will be known by June or July this year. The City of Minneapolis has to O.K. spending and has to be given local consent.
- Frame Work for the Future-Life After NRP – Present plan is for more comment and purpose definition. Citizens need to vote on different components. Chris Sur commented that we need to re-craft frame work. Tom Parrent will look for updates.
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Jun
23
Board Meeting Minutes 5/08
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Board Members Present
Chris DeParde, Dave Saddoris, David Potosky, Karen Pieper, Tom Parent, Chris Sur, David Brauer, Mark Brandow, JobyLynn Sassily James (arrives at 7:25 p.m.), Marie Wolf
Board Members Absent
Amy Joe Gracyalny, Jeff Shaw, Robyn Bipes, Diana Schleisman
KFNA Staff Present
Sarah Linnes-Robinson, Joanna Hallstrom
Others: Jake Weyer.
Meeting Called to Order
David Brauer called the meeting to order at 7:05PM
Secretary’s Report
April 2008 minutes are accepted and passed unanimously.
David S suggests that notation be made when board members arrive late to meeting; it should be noted if a board member is “absent for vote”.
Treasurer’s Report
The IRS had formally questioned our 1998 financial reports and was asking for both a 990 tax filing and employer taxes for employees for the 3rd and 4th quarters of the year. The IRS was told we did not have nay employees during this time and had wrongly filed for an extension to file our 990 and then discovered that KFNA’s income averaged over a three-year period was under the $25,000 annual threshold to require filing.
Financial Bookkeeping Update
We are switching from Peachtree to QuickBooks software. TechSoup provides cheap software to nonprofits and the software switch will cost about $50 and allow for simpler financial reports. Sarah explains reimbursement principle and how it applies to the balance sheet of June 1-May 31 in response to the question if the board should be concerned that income was lower than expenses for the year in review.
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Apr
21
Board Annual Meeting Minutes 4/21/08
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Kingfield Neighborhood Association
Annual Meeting
April 21, 2008
Minutes
Attendance:
Approximately 125 neighborhood residents and 25 children, various elected officials, and neighborhood staff.
Meeting called to order:
David Brauer, President, called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m., welcomed the community, gave a brief overview of KFNA and it’s committees and highlighted activities of the year. He introduced Board Member and NRP Steering Committee Member Arthur Knowles, who gave an overview of the requested NRP Plan Modifications that had been published in the spring KFNA News and were printed with the agenda at the meeting. He answered questions pertaining to the plan mods and the organizational budget. It was then moved that the group approve the plan mods, which was does so by voice vote by a majority of members present. Next Chris Sur, another board member presented the requested by-law changes and after questions were answered, these were also approved by voice vote.
Plan Modifications:
The community voted on, and approved, the following NRP Plan Phase I Modifications.
• Reallocate the remaining $20,081.63 of Streetscape Program funds from the Nicollet Avenue Lighting Project (Phase I Strategy 1.1.3.2) and reallocate the funds into administration (Phase I Strategy 1.2.1.2).
• Request the final sum of $10,213.78 that came from returned home loan payments from the Kingfield 2000 Home Loan Program (Phase I Strategy 2.3.2.1) and reallocate the funds into administration, (Phase I Strategy 1.2.1.2).
By-Law Changes:
Amend the KFNA Bylaws to allow up to 33% of non-Members to serve on select committees of the board, such as the Farmers’ Market Committee, whose reach extends beyond the boundaries of the neighborhood. Additionally, clarify that the President and Treasurer shall continue their service as officers and, in the case that their term has expired, Ex-Officio Board Members between the April Election and the first regular meeting of the Board of Directors in May.
The specific Language changes regarding these amendments is as follows:
Article 6: Board Officers
B. Election and Term of Office (excerpt)
The officers shall be elected by the Board of Directors at its first regular meeting following the annual meeting of the Members. The officers shall be elected for a term of one (1) year and serve until their successors shall have been elected or until their earlier resignation, removal from office or death. In the case that their board term has expired, the President and Treasurer shall serve as Ex-Officio members of the board and officers until the first regular meeting of the board.
Article 7: Committees of the Board
G. Committee Membership (excerpt)
Committee members are appointed by the President must be Members unless otherwise specified in a resolution of the Board. The Board may specify by resolution that up to 33% of the committee members can be non-Members of the association. All committee members, unless otherwise specified in these Bylaws or by resolution of the Board of Directors, must be appointed by the President.
Board Elections:
Ten candidates ran to fill the eight open board positions. Those elected for two year terms which will expire in April 2010 include: Chris DeParde, JobyLynn Sassily James, David Buchanan, Mark Brandow, David Potosky, Dave Saddoris, Jeff Shaw, and Marie Wolf. Robyn Bipes and Diana Schleisman will serve as alternates until April 2009.
Public Officials:
State Senator Scott Dibble, Hennepin County Commissioner Gail Dorfman’s Aide, and City Councilmembers Elizabeth Glidden and Scott Benson addressed the meeting. Brian Elliot, Staff person for US Representative Keith Ellison also addressed the crowd.
Meeting Adjourned:
The meeting adjourned at 8:50 p.m.
Minutes respectfully prepared and submitted by Sarah Linnes-Robinson.