BROOKFIELD HERITAGE NEIGHBORHOOD BOARD MEETING

MINUTES, JANUARY 16, 2013

     The January 2013 board meeting was held at Dawn Parker’s home and called to order at 7:40 P.M. by president Rhoda Wolff.  Members present were Beth Blythe, Wayne Claycombe, Dave Betts, Nancy Knupfer, Alan Munn, Rhoda Wolff, Dawn Parker, and Judy Cunningham.

1. SECRETARY’S REPORT.  Minutes of the October, 2012 board meeting were distributed by Judy Cunningham.  There were no additions or corrections, and it was moved and seconded to accept the minutes as written.
2. TREASURER’S REPORT.  Alan Munn reported that we have a checking account balance of $1674.69 and a savings account balance of $1859.70.  Since our last board meeting we have had an expense of $121.87 to renew our web space for the year, and received membership dues of $154.12.  We moved and accepted this report.
3. OLD BUSINESS.  A. We continued our previous discussions regarding city requirements for informing the neighborhood residents of important matters such as changes in by-laws, membership drives, annual meetings, etc., and after much discussion, we decided to first send information by email to all members belonging to the neighborhood association.  Mailings will be sent to those who are not members.  Dawn clarified for us after talking with Laurie Hoffman, clerk for the city, that they don’t care how we notify people.  It was moved and seconded and passed that we notify neighbors however we want to.
   1. We next talked about the huge street work beginning in March and how we will be impacted by it.  Dave mentioned that the MDOT engineers are the best people to contact if there are concerns, and that the Brookfield area should be completed in August.  Rhoda will write a letter to MDOT with our concerns about traffic cutting through the neighborhood.
   2. The neighborhood history was the next topic.  When the by-laws changed in September, the secretary became the one to keep items pertaining to history of our neighborhood for three years and pass those on to the next secretary.  We all talked about this and felt we should abide by the by-laws.  It was also mentioned that the E. L. Library has an extensive history of our neighborhood.
   3. Dawn reported on the E.L. City Council’s reaction to  ordinance 1288, having to do with rent without rental licenses for two years.  It was sent back to the housing commission and we moved and seconded to check the city council web site and read about it before we take a stand on this.
4. ADJOURN. 9:05 p.m.   Next meeting April 17, Rhoda’s, 7:30 p,m.

BROOKFIELD HERITAGE NEIGHBORHOOD BOARD

MINUTES, APRIL 17, 2013

     The April meeting of the Brookfield Heritage Neighborhood Board was held at the home of Rhoda Wolff, and called to order at 7:40 P.M.  Members present were Erica Windler, Wayne Claycombe, Rhoda Wolff, Dawn Parker, Alan Munn, Dave Betts, and Judy Cunningham.

1.  SECRETARY’S REPORT  - Copies of the January board meeting were distributed by the secretary, Judy Cunningham, and the minutes were accepted as written.

2.  TREASURER’S REPORT -  Alan Munn, the treasurer, reported that there were no changes at all since last month’s meeting.  See the January minutes for a full report.

3. OLD BUSINESS -A.  There was discussion about whether or not to have a membership drive at this time of the year but we decided that since it’s getting close to the picnic date it would be best to wait until after the annual meeting.

     Alan Munn agreed to put together a complete list of members on a Google Doc for  

     board members to have.  Alan and Nancy have the most up to date information.

2.  Last month we talked about writing a letter to MDOT voicing our neighborhood concerns regarding extra traffic issues on our streets or other problems that may arise with the road and sidewalk work being done on Grand River.  That letter has not been written, but will be if traffic becomes a problem.

3.  Dawn mentioned Charettes that are being held to discuss long range plans for development of Michigan Ave. and Grand River area, and the City Center II project.

IV..NEW BUSINESS

1.  The annual picnic and meeting has been set for September 8 with a rain date of September 15.

2.   We discussed having a neighborhood wide garage sale in late August.  Rhoda will send an announcement out to see if there is enough interest to do this.

3.   Our neighborhood web site was the next topic of discussion and it’s use and purpose.  We talked about the possibility of having a Facebook link to our web site, and also having it more usable by people in the neighborhood to put their own notifications on for the other neighbors to see.  Alan suggested that we set up a computer at the annual meeting with the web site available for everybody to look at and see what’s on it.

We adjourned at 8:40 P.M.  The next meeting will be June 25 at 7:30.

Respectfully Submitted,

Judy Cunningham,  Secretary

BROOKFIELD HERITAGE NEIGHBORHOOD BOARD MEETING

MINUTES,  JUNE 26, 2013

The June (summer) board meeting of the Brookfield Heritage Neighborhood was held at the home of Judy Cunningham at 1511 Roseland Ave.  Members present were Beth Blythe, Judy Cunningham, Nancy Knupfer, Alan Munn, Dawn Parker, and Rhoda Wolff.  The meeting was called to order at 7:50 by president Rhoda Wolff.

The first item of business was to create an agenda which we formed immediately to be the format for our meeting. 

1.  SECRETARY’S REPORT   - The Secretary’s report was distributed by Judy Cunningham for review from the on-line copy.  There was one correction made to the date of this meeting.  Minutes were then moved, seconded, and accepted as corrected.

2.  TREASURER’S REPORT   Alan Munn, Treasurer, reported that as of June 26, 2013, our treasury has a balance of $1674.69 in the checking account, and $1860.47 in savings, for a total of $3,535.16.  There were no expenses or receipts since the last meeting.

3. OLD BUSINESS

1.  After talking about having a complete list of neighborhood names and addresses for the board, Alan put together a Google Doc which has that information.  He then emailed it to all members of the board for our use when necessary.
2.  Possible garage sale -  This topic was brought up again and we discussed the possibility of having a neighborhood wide garage sale over the weekend that MSU students come back for fall semester, August 24 - 25.  After discussing it, Rhoda volunteered to send out an announcement to find out if there is enough interest to have one, or not.  She will let us know what the results are.
3.  Historical Brookfield Files -  Nancy Knupfer brought two posters and one box of historical information about the neighborhood to the meeting, to be kept with the secretary from now on.  We thanked her and Peter for the safe keeping of these important documents in the past.

4. NEW BUSINESS

1.  Little Free Library - Judy Cunningham brought up a question to the board asking      their opinion about a Little Free Library somewhere in our neighborhood.  It was felt that that was something better to be brought up at the annual meeting.
2.  City Council news -  Dawn Parker brought us up to date with news about the Park District and the final two choices by the city, DTN and Lurvey White.
3. PICNIC/ANNUAL MEETING

Following the annual meeting guidelines from Sally Lloyd, which were distributed, and helped greatly, our plans thus far are as follows:

PICNIC DATE IS SEPTEMBER 8, 2013, RAIN DATE IS THE 16TH.

In the past few years, the picnic has been a pot luck and board members provided the main dishes, while others attending brought any other kind of dish to pass of their choice.  All table service and beverages were provided by the association.

From 4:00 until 5:00 people arrived and mingled, got to meet candidates for school board and city council, and started eating.

At 5:00 activities for kids started, and other speakers who were invited until 5:30.

The formal business meeting was called to order at 5:30, beginning with a roll call.

THINGS THAT NEED TO BE DONE FIRST!

1. Dawn volunteered to pick up the petition from the city for signatures of residents on Oakland to sign in time for the August City Council meeting, along with a $50. check, by August 20.  Other board members will help with getting signatures.
2. Line up speakers ASAP, if not already done, the balloon man, someone to watch kids.
3. Announcements to the neighborhood need to go out by August 25, whether by email or by flyer.  We can divide up by streets to distribute as prior years.
4. Visit Asana online that Alan set up for us to see tasks and to find your own tasks.  Thank you Alan!
5. We are meeting again on August 28, 7:30 at 144 Oakland with final plans and preparations. Thank you Beth Blythe.
6. Be thinking of someone to fill a slot on the board.  We need nine members, three have to be replaced either by continuing  or getting new members.
5.  ADJOURN

     The meeting was adjourned at 9:38 P.M.

Respectfully submitted.

Judy Cunningham

Secretary

BROOKFIELD HERITAGE NEIGHBORHOOD BOARD MEETING

MINUTES, OCTOBER 3, 2013

1. Roll Call

The meeting was held at Beth Blythe's home and was attended by Board members John Boughman, Beth Blythe, Dawn Parker, Wayne Claycomb, and Dave Betts. Heather Robertson also attended the meeting to provide an update to the board about Halloween event planning.

Allan, Rhoda, Erica, and Nancy were unable to attend due to other commitments.

2. Halloween Event Planning

Heather Robertson of 240 Hagadorn represented a group of residents intending to organize a Halloween event for kids. The other organizers include Erin Compton, Teagen Drayton, Michelle Fulton, and Julie Polleys. They are planning to have a kids’ costume parade at 2 pm on Sunday, October 27. They also are looking into such activities as face painting, pumpkin painting, and having cider and donuts donated. The process for requesting a neighborhood road closure for the festivities was discussed. The request needs to go through the city clerk’s office. There is a $50 deposit for the barricades which is refunded once the barricades are returned. Methods for getting the word out to the neighborhood were also discussed. Dawn Parker offered to write some messages about the event on the neighborhood Facebook page. The board affirmed that it could provide some support for this event with Association funds subject to a more detailed request from the organizers.

3. Approval of Minutes

The minutes of the September meeting of the Association were approved with corrections.  

4. Treasurer’s Report

Dave Betts gave a report of the recent dues and expenses forwarded by Nancy Knupfler. A more complete treasurer’s report will be distributed to the Board before the next meeting.

5. Old Business

Picnic Procedures Follow up - The procedures for holding the September association picnic were discussed briefly and minor changes were suggested. Dave will revise document and send it to the secretary for her records. The signs for the event are stored at 205 Oakland. Dawn has three tables for the event. The possibility of purchasing or renting a wireless microphone for the event was also discussed.

Neighborhood Directory - The discussion of the Neighborhood Directory and the Mayor's Meeting was deferred. Dave will meet with Nancy and work up a plan for completing and distributing the directory. The board agreed to work on a mailing the directory to non-members explaining the benefits of being a member of the neighborhood association. Dawn will look for a copy of a letter used within the last three years for this purpose.  Judy has an Excel spreadsheet with directory data.

Mayor’s Meeting – Rhoda will provide an update on the Mayor’s Meeting at a future date. Dawn provided an update on a number of town meetings and provided a reminder about the upcoming election on November 5.

6. New Business

Under new business, Dave will be meeting with Carl and Stewart to discuss the future of the website and other means of improving communication with the neighborhood.

There was general agreement that the Board's work program for 2014 will consist of a review of the tree planting program, improving internet use, more outreach efforts such as a welcome wagon for new residents, a neighborhood garage sale, a garden tour, and staging more holiday events. These are items for further discussion and neighborhood feedback.

The board agreed to continue to meet each quarter. Dave will use the Google scheduling application to get a consensus on future meeting dates as was started last year.

7. Adjournment