Brookfield Heritage Neighborhood Association

Meeting Notes from January 29, 2015

Roll Call

The meeting was attended by Board members Judy Benedict, John Boughman, Jeff Johnson, Nancy Knupfer, Alan Munn, and Ed Swanson. Beth Blythe, Jennifer Castner, Dawn Parker, and Kay Ruekberg were unable to attend.

Treasurer’s Report

Alan Munn presented the BHNA Treasurer’s Report. Account balances as of 29 January 2015 are $661.79 in the BHNA checking account and $2543.59 in the BHNA savings account. Dues brought in $720 last year. Expenses include web hosting, annual picnic, and the donation of a brick to the refurbished Partriarche Park. The board also discussed some ideas for getting more residents to pay dues. This subject will be revisited at the next meeting.

 

Communications Report

The Communications Report was tabled until the next meeting.

President’s Report

Ed Swanson attended three city council meetings and reported back on issues relevant to the BHNA.  

At the October meeting, the following items were discussed:

• The park district vote
• East Lansing received positive feedback on their quality of life survey
• Dormant neighborhood associations can be taken away or absorbed by other neighborhood associations

At the November meeting, the following items were discussed:

• Infrastructure improvements including work on sewers that will result in upcoming lane closures on Michigan Ave
• The city updated its website; it is now more searchable
• Residents can now recycle textiles, toys, and electronics at the curbside

At the January meeting, the following items were discussed:

• New ice and snow removal ordinance, specifies time to remove snow from sidewalks and fines for not doing so
• Closure of the Bailey Community Center

 

Old Business

There was a brief discussion about emergency preparedness for the neighborhood, and various ways to communicate with neighbors during an emergency. Use of the website, Listserv, and Facebook page were discussed, along with a phone tree. Alan and Nancy will work together to get up-to-date contact information for the neighbors and bring this to the next meeting.

New Business

 Our webmaster Carl Lira asked that the following items be added to the agenda:

Would anyone on the communication’s committee be interested in learning how to post items of interest on the web page? I try to watch the East Lansing news lists and post stuff to my blog that I think is of wide interest, but I would welcome someone else who would want to watch the lists.

The communications committee has been contacted and will meet separately.

Also, the forums have never been used very much except be me. Should we take down the forums?

The board agreed that the forums should be taken down as they are under-utilized.

Other business

None.

 

Adjournment

Brookfield Heritage Neighborhood Association

Meeting Notes from April 29, 2015

Roll Call

The meeting was attended by Board members Judy Benedict, Beth Blythe, John Boughman, Jennifer Castner, Jeffrey Johnson, Dawn Parker, Kay Ruekberg, and Ed Swanson. Nancy Knupfer and Alan Munn were unable to attend. In addition, East Lansing City Manager, George Lahanas, Department of Public Works Director Scott House, and candidate for East Lansing City Coucil Erik Altmann attended.

Treasurer’s Report

The treasurer’s report was tabled until the next meeting pending Alan Munn’s availability.

Communications Report

The prior meeting’s minutes were approved. They are posted on the BHNA website.

President’s Report

Ed Swanson attended city council and neighborhood meetings and reported back on issues relevant to the BHNA.  

The following items were discussed:

• Tighter restrictions on taxis being instituted by the Greater Lansing Taxi Authority to curtail abuses.
• Upcoming vote on charter amendments, including the sale of city property and easing of anti-marijuana laws in East Lansing.
• A new CATA bus fast transit lane scheduled to be built on Grand River Ave beginning next spring.
• New building at MSU to provide family housing.
• The Bailey community meeting, at which the future of the Bailey Community Center was discussed.

Special Presentation

Following the president’s report, East Lansing City Manager, George Lahanas, provided the board with an interesting presentation about East Lansing’s aging infrastructure and the need to invest in upgrading now or be forced to pay much more later. Both agreed that, while not ideal, the upcoming vote on a gas tax was the best way forward.

Candidate of East Lansing City Council

At the conclusion of the presentation, Erik Altmann, a candidate for the City Council was introduced.

Adjournment

Brookfield Heritage Neighborhood Association

Meeting Notes from August 12, 2015

Roll Call

The meeting was attended by Board members Judy Benedict, Beth Blythe, John Boughman, Jennifer Castner, Jeffrey Johnson, Alan Munn, and Ed Swanson. Nancy Knupfer, Dawn Parker, and Kay Ruekberg were unable to attend.

Treasurer’s Report

BHNA Treasurer Alan Munn presented the treasurer’s report. As of August 12, 2015 the association held a balance of $681.79 in its MSUFCU checking account and $2,545.09 in its savings account.

Secretary’s Report

The prior meeting’s minutes were distributed and approved. They are posted on the BHNA website.

President’s Report

Ed Swanson attended city council and neighborhood meetings and reported back on issues relevant to the BHNA.  The following items were discussed:

• Upcoming changes to the city’s recycling program.
• Refrigerator cards containing medical information available for free from the commission on aging.
• The summer picnic/neighborhood meeting. The meeting will be held on Sunday, September 13^th, with a rain date the following Sunday, September 20^th, from 4:00-6:00pm on Oakland. The picnic will once again be a pot-luck affair. The board discussed the various tasks to be performed prior to the meeting and assigned responsibilities.

• Judy Benedict offered to get the paperwork from city hall for requesting closure of Oakland for the meeting. She will also work on gathering signatures.
• Beth Blythe offered to put up the signs.
• John Boughman offered to pick up drinks and ice on the day of the event and bring some coolers. He will also contact Patricia Robinson to see if she will discuss the trees in the neighborhood. John will also bring copies of the meeting notes from the prior year’s event.
• Jennifer Castner offered to assist Dawn Parker with the announcement newsletter. She will also send the email reminders out on September 6^th and 11^th. Jennifer also offered to look into authorship issues occurring with the neighborhood Facebook page.
• Alan Munn offered to contact the balloon man.

• Three current board members terms are expiring including Vice President Nancy Knupfer, Treasurer Alan Munn, and Judy Benedict. A number of potential replacements were discussed.
• It was agreed that the board will meet again on Tuesday, September 8^th at Beth Blythe’s house to go over last minute details.

Adjournment

Brookfield Heritage Neighborhood Association

Meeting Notes from September 29, 2015 Board Meeting

Roll Call

The meeting was attended by BHNA Board members Mike Benedict, Beth Blythe, John Boughman, Jennifer Castner, Jeff Johnson, Alan Munn, Dawn Parker, Kay Ruekberg, and Ed Swanson.

Treasurer’s Report

Alan Munn reported that $540.00 in dues were collected during or soon after the annual meeting and neighborhood picnic.

Approval of Minutes

Minutes of the previous meeting were approved. The minutes are posted on the BHNA website.

Election of New Board Officers

The Board elected the following officers:

• President - Ed Swanson
• Vice President – Jennifer Castner
• Treasurer – Alan Munn
• Secretary – John Boughman
• Communications – Dawn Parker

New Business

BHNA President Ed Swanson discussed information he learned while attending various city meetings, including:

• Excess deer population mitigation efforts
• New recycling bins.

Next Meeting

The next meeting will take place at BHNA Vice President Jennifer Castner’s home on November 11, 2015 at 7:30pm.

Other business

None.

Adjournment

Brookfield Heritage Neighborhood Association

Meeting Notes from November 18, 2015 Board Meeting

Roll Call

The meeting was attended by BHNA Board members Mike Benedict, Beth Blythe, John Boughman, Jennifer Castner, Philip Eisenlohr, Jeff Johnson, Kay Ruekberg, and Ed Swanson.

Treasurer’s Report

Alan Munn was unable to attend.

Approval of Minutes

Minutes of the previous meeting were approved. The minutes are posted on the BHNA website.

New Business

BHNA President Ed Swanson discussed the following agenda items:

• The BHNA provided a $20 gift certificate to our neighbors, the Whelan family, as they struggle to recover from a catastrophic car accident.
• President Swanson brought up the issue of whether BHNA board members need separate BHNA board email addresses. There was some discussion, but the board mostly agreed that using our individual email addresses would be preferable.
• A proposal was put forward to change some of the outdated language in the neighborhood covenant (particularly some of the offensive provisions). It is possible that 100% of neighborhood homeowners would be needed to make such a change. The board formed a committee to look into this issue, including whether or not we would need a lawyer. Kay Ruekberg agreed to head this committee.
• Mike Benedict brought up the possibility of hosting the new mayor, Mark Meadows, at one of our meetings.
• President Swanson congratulated the town on doing such a good job on the leaves this year.

Next Meeting

The next meeting was supposed to take place at John Boughman’s home (216 Maplewood Drive) on January 20^, 2016 at 7:30pm. Unfortunately, John will be out of town that day. A new venue has yet to be determined.

Other business

None.

Adjournment