MHCA Area Directors' meeting minutes

MIDVALE HEIGHTS COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION BOARD MEETING MINUTES
TUESDAY April 24, 2018, 6:45 pm
SEQUOYA LIBRARY
Present: J. Chipault, C. Kreimendahl, G. Poulson, D. Lamb, E. Mackey, T. Jarvis, L. Raihala, R. Rotter, S. Rudman, W. Weber, E. Rogers, G. Fischer, J. Lager
Also present: Jodie Thill, Gretchen Bourg, Carousel Bayrd
1. Chipault called the meeting to order at 6:50 p.m.
2. March minutes; motion/second to approve. Motion carried.
3. Treasurer Rotter distributed Financial Report. Funds on hand were $50,862.97. Picnic prices will be about the same as last year per coordinators. Motion/second to allocate $3000 for 2018 picnic budget. Motion carried.
4. Membership drive discussed. Jarvis will get online registration site ready. Lamb will send out last year’s registration form to Board for suggested changes. The Membership Messenger should be done by late May.
5. Some Board members requested new member packets from Chuck for some of their new neighbors. Agreed that the packet would include a coupon for a free MHCA history book given our large book inventory.
6. Van Hise Playground Fund: Thill and Bourg from Van Hise Elementary PTO and Bayrd presented request for $5000 to aid their playground renovation project. Phase Two involves purchase and installation of playground equipment to serve both the elementary and middle schools. So far they have relied mainly on parent donations toward their $50,000 goal. Hill Farms neighborhood association is expected to make a donation. Phase One was labor-intensive layout, access improvement and old equipment removal. Motion/second to donate $2000. Amended motion/second to donate $5000. Discussion followed. Roll call vote: 7 for, 2 against. Motion carried.
7. Legislative reports. Bayrd outlined Dane Co. Board Public Protection/Judiciary Committee activities. Working on criminal justice issues including bail reform guidelines and restorative justice.
8. Announcements:
Lamb updated the Summer Segoe Concert lineup. May possibly secure a Port-a-Potty for $500.
Kreimendahl suggested we request the City to install flashing light beacon for the SW Bike Path-Midvale Blvd crossing. Motion/second to approve request. Motion carried.

Question raised about extra/temporary parking for voting site as the Sequoya lot is often overflowing. Poulson says the City might further encourage early or absentee voting to lessen such problem.
Meeting adjourned by motion at 8:23 p.m.
Respectfully submitted by C. Kreimendahl, Secy.
MINUTES SUPPLEMENT, AS APPROVED BY BOARD ON 6/26/18:
Second, these are the points I recall being made during the course of the discussion on whether, and how much, to give to Van Hise elementary for their playground project:

First: Carousel Bayrd and two other members of the PTO requested $5000. They supported their request with the following arguments:

1) Van Hise needs a new playground. There is a section of this playground where a slide used to be that is currently covered over with a piece of plywood because the slide broke, and the plywood has been there for months. Earlier this year a suspension bridge broke and was covered in yellow tape for some period of time.

2) The Van Hise playground is in such poor condition that the older students and Hamilton students have been requested not to play on it anymore.

3) Van Hise asked the school district for money, but Van Hise is ranked a G school, which means it is one of the lowest-ranked in terms of priority for receiving money from the school district.

4) Van Hise has had fundraisers and has raised significant funds but has been unable to meet its fundraising goal of (I believe?) $100,000.

5) Because Van Hise draws from a pool that has relatively fewer free and reduced lunch/higher income students, it is not eligible for some of the grants that other schools might receive. Midvale, for example, received a $5000 grant from the Rotary Club, and Van Hise wasn't eligible for that grant, or for other similar grants.

6) Van Hise has cut internal programs such as teacher grants,which are funds teachers apply for in order to do specific projects in their classrooms. This past year Van Hise did not give any teacher grants in order to conserve money for the play ground project.

During the discussion, arguments included:

1) Against: We shouldn't give $5000 because we only gave a certain sum ($1000?) to Midvale when it asked for money for a new playground.

Counter: Some of us who were not on the board when we gave Midvale only $1000 didn't know why we gave only $1000 to Midvale when we have over $40,000 in our account and we are a non-profit neighborhood association; the fact that we gave only $1000 to Midvale shouldn't be a reason now for giving only $1000 to Van Hise now.

2) For: The Van Hise playground is located in the Hill Farms neighborhood.

Counter: Half of the Midvale Heights neighborhood children attend Van Hise, and half attend Midvale. Both elementary schools (which are the only two in our neighborhood) have students from outside the neighborhood.

3) Against: The Hill Farms neighborhood association isn't giving $5000.

Counter: The Midvale Heights NA has more money than Hill Farms because Midvale Heights organizes t-ball and that raises a lot of money. The Hill Farms kids play on the Midvale Heights t-ball team because it is the closest t-ball league around. So, the Hill Farm families have contributed to the $20,000 sum raised from t-ball.

4) For: The line item for t-ball (i.e., the money raised by t-ball that was sitting in the Midvale Heights neighborhood association account) was approximately $20,000. That money came from families with kids in elementary school. We are a non-profit organization with the purpose of enriching the neighborhood. We are not a for-profit organization. We raise money to enrich our community. It seems fitting to use the money raised from families with school-aged children to help build a playground for one of the neighborhood's schools.

5) For: We can't spend the money in our neighborhood association on new trees or equipment for city parks. This city has a plan with respect to all of its parks, and the city does not want some parks to be better than others just because some parks happen to be located in neighborhoods that have the ability to make them nicer. The city wants all the city parks to be equally nice. Or nice-ish. Meaning we can't use our money on city parks. So we should spend some of it to help replace the broken and outdated equipment at one of the schools the neighborhood children attend.

I am probably forgetting some arguments for or against. This is what I remember.

-Elizabeth
--
Elizabeth Mackey

Midvale Heights Community Association
February 27, 2018 meeting
Members Present: Poulson, Schell, Lamb, Mackey, Jarvis, Raihala, Rotter, Rudman, Rogers, Chipault, Fischer, Lager and K. Reuter-Krohn

1. Meeting was called to order at 6:45 p.m. by President Chipault.
2. Prior Meeting Minutes
   1. Minutes of the January meeting were approved by voice vote.
3. Treasurer's Report
   1. Treasurer’s report was presented Treasurer Rotter. He noted that he moved some funds from our Paypal account to our checking account. Rotter also provide checkbook activity for the last month and activity since 2017.
4. Legislative Reports
   1. There were no legislative reports.
5. Odana Golf Course Prairies
   1. A presentation was made by Marcel Wuethrich relating to the restoration project at Odana Golf Course. This project has had previous MCHA funding support. This year’s work effort will be focused on introducing native wild flowers and milkweed to attract butterflies. There have been issues with previous plantings and the difficulty of doing a Spring burn. Marcel would like to introduce started plants rather than seeds. Has a source through the City for plants at $ 1.25 a plant. The goal would be showcase native flowers and foster a thriving habitat. Marcel has some money left in a city account he could access for part of implementing his plan. He would like to plant 400 plants.
   2. After proving a slide show and responding to questions, a motion was made and seconded to provide $ 800 for this restoration project.
      1. This motion was passed by unanimous voice vote.
6. Announcements
   1. Announcement was made by Lamb regarding the Summer music series in July. Several groups are under consideration but the Cajun Strangers will kick off the series. The remainder of the slots should be filled by March. She is working on food trucks to be at the series.
   2. Poulson announced that Midvale Heights voters came out strongly for the February primary which continues the tradition of being one of the City’s busiest polling places.
   3. Paul Haskew sent out to Board members a Research Park update. Questions were raised concerning several street issues.
7. Meeting adjourned by 8 pm.

Notes taken by G Poulson

MIDVALE HEIGHTS COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION BOARD MEETING MINUTES
TUESDAY March 27, 2018, 6:45 pm
SEQUOYA LIBRARY
Present: J. Chipault, C. Kreimendahl, G. Poulson, T. Jarvis, L. Raihala, R. Rotter, S. Rudman, J. Lager
Also present: Nan Lager, Steve Fitzsimmons
1. Chipault called the meeting to order at 6:48 p.m.
2. Treasurer Rotter distributed Financial Report. Funds on hand were $50,425.72. Fitzsimmons outlined expenditures by Neighborhood Watch under their budget allocation for some of their projects. Question/discussion about Tree Fund line item and necessity of future fund transfers to cover treatment of ash trees in parks.
3. No legislative reports.
4. Nan Lager reported city plan to rejuvenate Tokay median perennial beds (as detailed in her recent email to Board). They are decreasing the beds to one per median block, removing tree stumps and seeding some grass in bare spots. They will eliminate 12 beds and redo others at their cost. Then we will replant with low-height perennials for which they will reimburse us.
5. Announcements:
Kreimendahl distributed a Midvale Heights bumper sticker to each Board member.
Chipault said Picnic Committee is in planning stage and wanted to confirm the date as Thursday, June 21.
Meeting adjourned by motion at 7:14 p.m.
Respectfully submitted by C. Kreimendahl, Secy.

MIDVALE HEIGHTS COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION BOARD MEETING MINUTES
TUESDAY January 23, 2018, 6:45 pm
SEQUOYA LIBRARY
Present: J. Chipault, C. Kreimendahl, G. Poulson, P. Schell, D. Lamb, T. Jarvis, L. Raihala, R. Rotter, S. Rudman, E. Rogers, G. Fischer, J. Lager, K. Reuter-Krohn
Also present: Susan Crawford and Eric (asst.)
1. Chipault called the meeting to order at 6:47 p.m.
2. Motion/second to approve 11/17 minutes. Motion carried.
3. Treasurer Rotter distributed Financial Report. Funds on hand were $44,487.09. He suggested allocation of funds among budget categories. Rudman raised possibility of offering one year free membership to new members to get membership increased, hoping they would stay and pay dues next year. Alternate proposal was to have block captains or others engage in recruitment efforts. Questions of whether Next Door service competes for members.
4. No legislative reports available.
5. Board introductions followed. Susan Crawford, candidate for Branch 1 (Criminal case rotation), Dane Co. Circuit Court spoke about her qualifications for the 4/3 election.
6. Lamb updated on Segoe Summer Concert Series. Her committee will confirm/contract with 4 bands and arrange food carts for the 7/6, 7/13, 7/20 and 7/27 concerts with rain location as last year.
7. Announcements:
Chipault will send out an email request to reestablish Board committees.
Lamb said nobody has yet volunteered to take over as newsletter editor in mid-2018.
Jarvis detailed that the Mail Chimp email free service that we now use has some limits on number of addressees but should be okay for now. He’ll monitor the use for future problems or expansions.

Meeting adjourned by motion at 8:05 p.m.
Respectfully submitted by C. Kreimendahl, Secy.

MIDVALE HEIGHTS COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION BOARD MEETING MINUTES

TUESDAY August 22, 2017, 6:45 pm
SEQUOYA LIBRARY
Present: E. Rogers, J. Thoreson, P. Schell, D. Lamb, E. Mackey, T. Jarvis, R. Rotter, J. Chipault, S. Fitzsimmons, J. Lager, N. Lager,

1. E. Rogers called the meeting to order at 6:50pm
2. Minutes of the previous meeting. Motion to approve; motion seconded. Minutes approved.
3. Treasurer's Report
   1. Total Assets: $52,541.19. Total Liabilities: $0.00
4. Insurance proof for use of Midvale Lutheran Community Center
   1. E. Mackey suggests we show the form to our insurance agent
   2. R. Rotter suggests we check "no insurance" for the box, though we should be, in fact, insured.
5. Neighborhood Liaison Group:
   1. Wendy Reichel of the MH Neighborhood Watch would like to join other representatives of other NWs in the area as part of a Liaison Group
      1. Group would communicate via Google Groups
      2. Group would receive communications directly from the MPD
      3. Group is not an organization to voice political views
   2. E. Rogers asks board if there are any objections or concerns to the idea. None voiced.
6. Annual Meeting:
   1. Speaker Ideas:
      1. D. Lamb suggests some ideas related to the 100th anniv of the state capitol
         1. Charlie Qualiana
         2. Someone from the WI Historical Society
      2. D. Lamb also suggests Jennifer Cheatham (Superintendent of MMSD)
      3. R. Rotter suggests Phil Pelliteri, a local entomologist
      4. P. Schell suggests a panel of long-time Midvale Heights residents
      5. D. Lamb suggests someone from City Forestry Department
      6. E. Mackey suggests some ideas related to conserving our environment
         1. Sustain Dane representative
         2. A panel of environmental groups
      7. J. Chipault suggests a wildlife ecology professor who lives on Keating Ave.
      8. E. Rogers suggests a representative of R.H.Johnson Co., the developer group in charge of Westgate Mall
      9. J. Thoreson suggests someone from the Hilldale Mall Development
      10. Board agrees to pursue a number of these suggestions and discuss what's feasible at the September meeting
   2. Legislators:
      1. Board agrees to invite all 4 state & local legislators to speak
   3. Postcards:
      1. D. Lamb will design and prep once a speaker is selected
7. Concert Recap
   1. Attendance was 200+ for non-rainy dates
      1. Better advertising
      2. Better known bands
      3. Food carts present
   2. In the future, we'll ask food carts for approx. $20/cart/event
   3. Total costs: approx. $2,800
      1. Contributing: City Permit + Payment to Bands + Advertising + Rain Date Payment to Covenant Presbyterian
   4. Should get a new banner to advertise
   5. Considering getting port-a-potties
   6. Board thanks D. Lamb for her hard work
8. N. Lager discusses new city median plans
   1. City wants to reduce the number of median flower beds on Tokay from 30 to 10.
   2. N. Lager is okay with this idea, as it can focus Green Team resources
   3. Carissa Wegner is our contact at the city
   4. City wants lower plantings (< 24 inches)
9. T. Jarvis discusses the 2017 membership drive
   1. Only 440 members so far, a lower number than usual
      1. S. Fitzsimmons suggests a post on NextDoor.com
   2. T. Jarvis notes that lots of people have recently switched to hand-delivery
      1. He questions whether people might need a reminder of the e-delivery option
   3. T. Jarvis asks, who will update the city phone numbers in our directory
      1. D. Lamb volunteers
10. Meeting adjourned at 8:30pm

MIDVALE HEIGHTS COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION BOARD MEETING MINUTES
TUESDAY June 27, 2017, 6:45 pm
SEQUOYA LIBRARY
Present: E. Rogers, C. Kreimendahl, D. Lamb, T. Jarvis, R. Rotter, W. Weber, J. Chipault, G. Fischer, J. Lager, K. Reuter-Krohn
1. Rogers called the meeting to order at 6:49 p.m.
2. Minutes of the May, 2017 meetings reviewed. Motion/second to approve, as amended. Motion carried.
3. Treasurer Rotter distributed the Account Balance/Transaction Reports showing account/asset balance of $51,159.44. Notice the new format for the Transaction Report.
4. Summer Concert Series updated by Lamb who announced varying food carts would be available. Advertising of concerts on band websites, Next Door, Facebook, MHCA, email list, table at Westmorland 4th. Covenant Presbyterian Church on Segoe Rd is available for rain location for 3 of the dates for $50/day; still seeking rain site for 7/14 concert. Will send flyer file to Board members for printing and distribution.
5. For Bison statue repair, Kreimendahl provided estimate from Bill Grover for repair work of $300-400. Motion/second to authorize $500. Motion carried.
6. Membership drive: Rogers emphasizes large amount of work Jarvis does for this. Jarvis gives running total of about 50 members entered with another about 80 to be entered on Website membership roster. Some donations were already received. The new server is working well for registration. Will need postcards to recent members who have not registered this year by August. Jarvis will get directory prepped for printing then. Discount cards need to get done also. Since there is no standing Membership Committee, suggested that someone document the detailed procedures for Board members to use for future membership drives. Rogers will check with Haskew about this.
7. Announcements: Some discussion of Odana Park playground damage, which Alder Cheeks said would get replacement/upgrade moved up to 2018 Parks expenditures discussion. Rogers will contact Parks Dept. to offer our input/support.
Rogers announces his new job is taking away from presidential duties, so he will step down as President at the end of his term this fall. Fitzsimmons has communicated that he is not available to be President. We should be thinking of a speaker for the October annual meeting.
Report that picnic went well inside despite rain outside. Cleanup volunteers were lacking.
Jarvis said that garage sale will be $5 to register as seller participant for Sept 1 & 2. Michelle Kempf-Weibel & John Weibel are coordinators this year. See Messenger for sign-up sheet.
Meeting adjourned by motion at @ 8:07 p.m.
Respectfully submitted by C. Kreimendahl, Secy.

MIDVALE HEIGHTS COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION BOARD MEETING MINUTES
TUESDAY May 23, 2017, 6:45 pm
SEQUOYA LIBRARY
Present: S. Fitzsimmons, C. Kreimendahl, G. Poulson, J. Thoreson, P. Schell, D. Lamb, T. Jarvis, L. Raihala, R. Rotter
1. Fitzsimmons called the meeting to order at 6:46 p.m.
2. Treasurer Rotter distributed the Account Balance/Transaction Reports showing account/asset balance of $51,592.33.
3. Summer Concert Series updated by Lamb who confirmed 4 bands under contract for July dates. Covenant Presbyterian Church on Segoe Rd is available for rain location for 3 of the dates for $50/day. Food cart permitting is underway. Committee will handle advertising including flyer with Membership Messenger.
4. For Bison statue repair, Kreimendahl contacted Bill Grover who agreed to perform repairs at a $25/hour rate. Estimate coming later for specific Board authorization.
5. Membership drive will be 6/1-7/31. Jarvis said he’s switching MHCA website to new server, but it will be ready for the membership sign-up. Lamb will advise Board if she needs extra help with the newsletters.
6. Minutes of the April, 2017 meetings reviewed. Motion/second to approve. Motion carried.
7. Announcements: Poulson announces Rita Meissner, former Board member, passed away. Memorial service 6/6/17. Motion/2nd for $50 donation to non-profit in her name per obituary. Motion carried.
Raihala forwarded member’s request that all residents get a paper copy of Messenger newsletter. Consensus that it’s too expensive, especially in light of availability online and at Sequoya Library.
Fitzsimmons announced that some yard signs were stolen, so continue with Neighborhood Watch safety/anti-crime precautions.
Reminder that MHCA Picnic is 6/22, the week before the next Board meeting on 6/27.
Jarvis says that new server may allow emailing announcements to non-members who request them directly online.
Meeting adjourned by motion at @ 7:25 p.m.
Respectfully submitted by C. Kreimendahl, Secy.

MIDVALE HEIGHTS COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION BOARD MEETING MINUTES
TUESDAY April 25, 2017, 6:45 pm
SEQUOYA LIBRARY
Present: E. Rogers, C. Kreimendahl, P. Schell, D. Lamb, T. Trapp, T. Jarvis, R. Rotter, S. Fitzsimmons, K. Reuter-Krohn
Also present: Dave Blouin (partial)

1. Rogers called the meeting to order at 6:50 p.m.

2. Minutes of the March, 2017 meetings reviewed. Motion/second to approve. Motion carried.

3. Treasurer Rotter detailed the Account Balance/Transaction Reports reflecting account/asset balance of $49,762.27.
Rogers announced that Nancy has MHCA-supported web page about Bison Prairie/Pollinators projects. Link will be made available on the MHCA website.

4. Summer Concert Series discussed by Lamb who again confirmed 3 of the 4 bands for July dates. Food cart permit will be half price. Requesting 4 carts and donation from vendors toward permit fee. Committee met to work out logistics and advertising.

5. Membership Messenger newsletter/member recruitment will be published by Lamb, but she needs help in May stuffing and distributing. Possible theme for this year’s member drive discussed. Membership will be further publicized at Neighborhood Watch meetings/events.

6. Discount cards inquiry came from Paul Haskew about new initiatives from Board members such as expanding the business listings. Consensus that current program works. Rogers will contact Paul who offered to update the discount card for this year. Suggestions of additional member benefits such as wine tasting or some partnering with UW/Research Park raised.

7. Rogers outlined the request from Westmorland Neighborhood Association for us to donate to their Fourth of July celebration. Motion/second to table request in the absence of Dave Blouin. Motion failed. Motion/second to donate $500 to Westmorland. Motion carries.

Blouin later arrived to describe Fourth event, thank MHCA, and promise to cross-promote WNA and MHCA summer events such as the Segoe Concert series.

8. Rogers identified Metcalfe’s Sentry charitable arm “Second Helping” which contacted him about making MHCA the charity of the month for May, 2017, whereby all residents/shoppers showing the special barcode will receive a 5% discount on purchases. Metcalfe’s will donate to MHCA an amount equal to all such customers’ savings. A newsletter article and blast email to all members will encourage them to take advantage of this program.

Lamb asks about picnic. Rogers reports that it is on schedule, with postcard invitations to all residents coming soon.

Rogers touts his property sales reports as a means to identify and welcome new neighbors in MHCA.

Jarvis reports that some scammer/hacker harvested website email addresses. He may need to dispose of Board members forwarding addresses and just use standard MHCA Board addresses.

Meeting adjourned at @ 8:25 p.m.

Respectfully submitted by C. Kreimendahl, Secy.

MIDVALE HEIGHTS COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION BOARD MEETING MINUTES
TUESDAY March 28, 2017, 6:45 pm
SEQUOYA LIBRARY
Present: E. Rogers, C. Kreimendahl, G. Paulson, D. Lamb, T. Trapp, T. Jarvis, R. Rotter, G. Fischer, J. Chipault, J. Lager
Also present: Nan Lager
1. Rogers called the meeting to order at 6:50 p.m.
2. Minutes of the January and February, 2017 meetings reviewed. Motion/second to approve. Motion carried.
3. Treasurer Rotter outlined the Net Worth/Transaction Reports reflecting account/asset balance of $50,132.42. He reported that he may do a 32-year summary to track expenditures over the years.
4. Dane Co. Circuit Judge candidate Marilyn Townsend gave a presentation about her election race and took questions (also present her spouse Fred Wade and campaign manager Liz).
5. No legislative reports were available.
6. Summer Concert Series discussed by Lamb who has confirmed 3 of the 4 bands for July dates. Food cart availability is being researched, as is a possible alternate rain location.
7. Rogers announced Midvale Lutheran Church as picnic rain venue. Picnic budget to include $150 for church cleanup costs if needed.
8. MHCA Membership chairperson still being sought. Should be set up for membership drive commencing in May. Jarvis will contact members who signed up as volunteers to solicit a chair/committee.
9. Dane Co. Circuit Judge candidate Jill Karofsky gave a presentation about her election race and took questions (also present campaign manager Melissa Mulliken).
10. Reminder given about the Bison Prairie cleanup day on 4/2 at 2 p.m.
Meeting adjourned at @ 8:30 p.m.
Respectfully submitted by C. Kreimendahl, Secy.

MIDVALE HEIGHTS COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION BOARD MEETING MINUTES
TUESDAY January 24, 2017, 6:45 pm
SEQUOYA LIBRARY
Present: E. Rogers, C. Kreimendahl, J. Thoreson, D. Lamb, E. Mackey, L. Raihala, T. Jarvis, R. Rotter, G. Fischer, J. Chipault, S. Fitzsimmons, J. Lager
Also present: Nan Lager

1. Rogers called the meeting to order at 6:50 p.m.
2. Minutes of the September, October and November, 2016 meetings reviewed. Motion/second to approve. Motion carried.
3. Treasurer Rotter’s report presented and indicates account/asset balance of $48,279.88. Report included recent account adjustments, 6-year annual comparison, transaction detail and 22-year fiscal graph.
4. Lamb reported Segoe Park Concert planning, suggesting possibly two instead of four concerts with hopes for better overall attendance. Would get food carts, and possibly a tent in case of rain. Board feedback was to keep four concerts on Fridays in July.
5. Fitzsimmons discussed Neighborhood Watch program growth. May reach out to other neighborhoods to train/collaborate. If available, police mounted patrol may be at summer picnic. Proposed accepting donations for expenses for the upcoming May, 2017 West District police appreciation event and using the MHCA 501(c)3 conduit to allow more businesses to make a tax-deductible donation. If donations were greater than expenses, extra moneys would go to our Neighborhood Watch. Motion/second to authorize use of 501(c)3 for such donations. Motion carried.
Next Watch meeting 2/14 with K-9 dogs. There are still new Watch members getting registered.

6. Announcements included that garage sales is seeking a coordinator and will likely only continue if someone steps forward by 6/15/17.
Rogers will invite Rep. Therese Berceau to a spring meeting to give a legislative update. In response to an inquiry, he will also extend an invitation to judicial candidate Marilyn Townsend to attend an upcoming meeting.
Fitzsimmons emphasized the importance of partnering with and supporting the police.
Rotter questioned the propriety of political announcement in Watch Weekly Digest that Fitzsimmons was running for City Council because MHCA does not endorse candidates. Concerns about non-profit status discussed. Fitzsimmons acknowledged problem.
The possibility of spring local election candidate debate sponsorship by MHCA was discussed but no formal action taken. Rogers will check with other neighborhoods about sponsoring such debate.
Meeting adjourned at @ 8:20 p.m.
Respectfully submitted by C. Kreimendahl, Secy.

MIDVALE HEIGHTS COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION BOARD MEETING
TUESDAY NOVEMBER 22, 2016, 6:45 pm
SEQUOYA LIBRARY

Present: E. Rogers, C. Kreimendahl, J. Thoreson, D. Lamb, T. Trapp, L. Raihala, T. Jarvis, G. Fischer, S. Fitzsimmons, J. Lager, K. Reuter-Krohn
Also Joe Parisi, Dane County Executive (and assistant), Elizabeth Mackey, Nan Lager

1. Rogers called the meeting to order at 6:50 p.m.

2. Motion/second to adjust agenda to have Parisi talk first. Motion carried. Parisi discussed that budgeting was done and now with reserve funds, Dane Co. has achieved a AAA bond rating. Update on lake conditions revealed that both urban and rural programs are in place to help reduce phosphorus. Rogers mentions 3-Area Midvale Hts organics recycling/separation pilot program. Parisi says County digesters might be help to help that program. New operators at the Waunakee manure digester have fixed prior problems. Springfield has a newer digester with Gundersen Health partnering with other private entities. Homeless Day Resource Center is under development at the E. Washington site of the former Greater Madison Chamber office with estimated 9/2017 completion. Also the County Veteran’s Service Organization is operating the veteran’s center to provide a variety of services. The County Jail (maximum security at the City-County Bldg) planning is underway for being updated, remodeled and improved for safety.

3. Elizabeth Mackey introduced as Area 6 resident interested in joining Board. Motion/second to elect her to fill the vacant Area 6 directorship. Motion carried.

4. Minutes of the September and October meetings will be deferred to January.

5. J. Lager presented Treasurer Rotter’s report indicating account/asset balance of $48,946.70.

6. Nominations/elections for Board Officers took place and elected were the following: President E. Rogers, Vice President S. Fitzsimmons, Secretary C. Kreimendahl, Treasurer R. Rotter

7. Kreimendahl reported on the Bison Prairie natural area near the bike path. Nancy Kieraldo is heading up the effort to improve native plantings including a spring burn and new plants. The neighborhood sign and the bison statues may need some repair next year. Budget for all to be determined.

8. Rogers reported that Midtown police station advocates want another letter of support from MHCA Board. After much discussion, motion/second to renew our support for the Midtown project. Motion carried. Rogers and Fitzsimmons will collaborate on drafting the letter.

9. Discussion about the Hy-Vee/Westgate property development. There has been no recent update from the developer. General consensus expressed that we should continue to monitor and work with City to adhere to the neighborhood plan goals.

10. Meeting adjourned at @ 8:07 p.m.

Midvale Heights Community Association Annual Meeting
Tuesday, Oct 25th 2016 – 6:30 p.m. – Sequoya Branch Library

Area Directors present: Ed Rogers, Chuck Kreimendahl, Jenny Chipault, Jim Thoreson, Steve Fitzsimmons, Jonn Lager, Wendy Weber, Gregory Fischer, Tim Trapp, Ron Rotter, Lorie Raihala , Tom Jarvis, Gary Poulson, Denise Lamb, Paul Haskew

1. Call to Order - Ed Rogers
   1. There are 10 meetings of the Midvale Heights Community Association Board each year, with the October meeting being our special annual meeting
2. Guest Speaker - Sarah Day, American Players Theatre (APT)
   1. She calls herself a product of Midvale Heights. She was born in October of 1958 at Madison General Hospital. Her first home was on north Midvale Blvd near Hilldale. The year before she was born, her parents lived in Washington DC but they bought land on Sherwood Rd. In 1961 they built a house designed by an architect who did mid-century modern homes on the west side of Madison. She lived two doors down from Piper Park and had a very idyllic 1960s childhood. She was the only child of older parents. The home on 4806 Sherwood Rd still has wall-to-wall carpeting and wood paneling. People from the neighborhood were a part of the community; the doctor that delivered her lived down the street, as did their dentist and insurance agent. There were two horses next door to her when she was growing up. She knew all the people that lived around her. She had Odana School, which was half a mile away and was a perfect walk, and she had great teachers there. She played Lady MacBeth in Mr. Gilbertson's class at Odana School. There were cows on the way to Odana School, which was only about 5 years old as a building at the time. Another memory that she has is of Piper Park, where she played on the playground equipment and looked forward to the Stagecoach Players coming through. July 4th was always fun because you would decorate your bike and parade around the park and then go to the fireworks at Westmorland Park. Christmas was always a time of real celebration - there was a sign on Holiday Drive that said "Holiday Drive Greetings" and they would deck themselves out because they took their name seriously. They had nice local shopping between Westgate (which had Manchester's, JC Penney's, Rennebaum Drugs, Uncle Paul's Toy Store, etc.) and there was the Midvale Plaza area with the cornerstone being Sequoya Library, but the other favorite was the Baskin-Robbins. From 1986 to 2008 she was living in Spring Green and her home was taken away by the floods. On her Father's 89th birthday, she called him and that day she moved out and her Dad broke his hip. Without a home and working at APT and with her father passing she had her house on Sherwood Rd as a sanctuary. Was able to go back to a home filled with memories of the love of learning, love of each other, and a lot of laughter. Thanks for having me back in Midvale Heights.
      1. Is there a role that you haven't played that you'd like to get into your repertoire?
         1. She always looks forward to whatever is offered. Pretty content with whatever comes her way.
      2. Can you tell us a little about the plans of APT
         1. The stage has disappeared. It has been bulldozed. 6.2 million dollars have been raised. A lot of people were sad but she is excited about it. Will lose a few seats on the side. Will have better accessibility. Will have more flexibility on the stage. A lot of trees have had to go but they will be planting more.
      3. What high school did you attend?
         1. West High. Cherokee for Junior High.
      4. Was Odana Golf Course a golf course when you were growing up?
         1. Yes, she took her wagon there to sell lemonade.
      5. Where was Odana School?
      6. On Tokay right behind Westgate. Epic just left there.
      7. There was a fire at Odana School?
         1. There was an arson fire there and then a decision was made to disperse the kids. There weren't a lot of younger kids coming into the neighborhood at that point so the kids were split between Midvale, Thoreau, and Van Hise.
      8. Our community has changed a lot (how we communicate, technology) - how would your generation live in this town today?
         1. She hopes that every child is wanted and cared for in a loving home. It was a very homogeneous population - usually just one income earner (the father) and most of the men were WWII or Korean vets who could get a college education because of the GI bill and they had professions that their parents wouldn't have dreamed they could have. The investment America made paid off. Wish that more people had an opportunity to get an education. It's how we can invest in ourselves in the best possible way.
      9. What did you do between West High and APT?
         1. Graduated from University of Wisconsin with degree in medieval history and while she was there she worked at Wilson Street East dinner theatre (present Essen Haus) doing 8 shows a week ($115/week) and then worked at Wilson Street East, The Fireside, lived in Chicago and Champagne/Urbana and then in 1986 joined APT.
      10. 4813 and 4805 Tokay are hosting garden walks this weekend at 12 noon on Saturday and they will be giving tours of their premiere landscaping.
      11. Midvale Heights Community Association has put together a little book about the history of our neighborhood for $10. Can be purchased in the library.
3. Neighborhood Report - Ed Rogers
   1. It is a privilege to serve as head of a board that treasures its traditions. E Rogers speaks about what we do to that end. In 6-7 weeks, Santa will be visiting homes as coordinated by the Midvale Heights Community Association (MHCA) board. In July, we had the 75th annual Westmorland Park July 4th parade and, as in decades past, our Association pitched in and helped sponsor games and dunk tanks. We do more than keep the old traditions going. We work hard to sustain the quality of life we have here. The park at the corner of Tokay and Segoe Rd, Slater Park (Slater was charter director of this MHCA), which is known as "Shady Park" by kids in this neighborhood. As we all say, some trees were marked in orange spray-paint this spring; the emerald ash borer is hitting our trees. The city is removing 10,000 trees from public lands. Our neighbors gathered online and reached out to the MHCA and our association got together and decided that we would help them coordinate a donation drive. They raised hundreds of dollars to preserve the canopy in our parks. Our association decided to match them more than dollar-to-dollar to make sure they raised enough money. MHCA also coordinated meetings with Parks and arborists to plan for orderly retreat of trees and then replacement. Already have 3 new trees planted in that park. Speaking of playgrounds, we also have contributed to both Van Hise and Midvale Elementary playgrounds. We also have the city and our alder making sure we have a seat at the table regarding the redevelopment of Westgate Mall. They will be renovating that space and will make sure it's agreeable to the neighborhood. Mentioned traditions that we're keeping going, but we're also starting new traditions. Three years ago, we did a survey to ask how our MHCA can make sure Segoe Park can be properly utilized. We wanted to know what the association could do to make that park better. We had lots of people let us know that they wanted live music and concerts in the park. Since that survey, we've had 15 bands perform at that park and have started a tradition of having music on Friday nights in July in that park. Thanks to members - it's your donations and dues that make all these projects possible. None of this would be possible without generous support, year-in and year-out. If you're not a member, check out MidvaleHeights.org.
4. Board of Directors Election - Ed Rogers
   1. Area 6 director Paul Haskew has decided to retire from the board. This area is roughly Keating Terrace, Ames, Segoe Rd, and Orchard Drive. If there's anyone who lives in that part of the neighborhood, we would love to have you on our board. E Rogers can talk to anyone interested.
      1. Motion and second to nominate incumbents for all areas barring Area 6, which we will leave open for now. Voice vote.
         1. Motion carries.
5. Midvale Heights Neighborhood Watch - Steve Fitzsimmons
   1. Neighborhood Watch has been going for two years. There is a crime digest that he emails out every week to let people know what's going on in the neighborhood. Have monthly meetings with the FBI, police, fire department, personal safety, etc.. Everyone is invited. These meetings are held at Midvale Community Lutheran Church and tend to go for 1.5 hours. We build a community. It's just a bunch of friendly people who gather and share good things about Midvale Heights. We have the largest Neighborhood Watch in the city and the police ask S Fitzsimmons what the key to success is and he says it's the community. Next meeting is Nov 15 and they will be talking about identify theat. On Dec13, they meet with Chief Koval to discuss the police department.
6. Madison Common Council Report - Maurice Cheeks
   1. M Cheeks has been our alder for a little more than 3 years, served on board of estimates.
   2. It occurs to him that several people in the room see his letters in the newsletters but don't know him. In addition to serving on city council, also on foundation for Madison public schools. In his day job, he leads a software company that is local and employs a lot of people in Madison, but does work across the world. Right now working with state to monitor prescription drug use and ensuring that people receiving prescription drugs don't become addicted; big data applications. He has been on city council for 3.5 years. Overview of some of the things going on this year: had first child, a daughter, this year. Regarding Westgate, he is in active dialogue with property owner and developer. No particular progress but good meetings are happening. The neighborhood has a plan for what that shopping center might be. Fear not for now. S Fitzsimmons talked a bit about the neighborhood role in public safety and surely you've read about public safety writ large and specifically as it relates to us on the west side, with regard to an additional police station. For those paying close attention, it feels like déjà vu because we have the same story every year around this time. As you're probably aware. the West District is disproportionately large compared to the city and response times are down and the West District is overburdened. The council has supported the addition of this police station that would separate the West District in half, but unfortunately it has been slowed down because of the mayor but it has been added back into the budget and the council tends to support it and it should be underway next year. He does not see the council wavering in their support for public safety for the residents. Send him, police, S Fitzsimmons letters of support; send letters of opposition to the mayor's office. Poll workers are working in this city and we can say that elections end November 8, not that it's an election day, it's an election season that ends November 8. Wisconsin was one of the earliest states, and Madison is one of the earliest cities, to vote and the nation is watching; He got a call from Hillary Clinton's campaign to ask how it's going in Wisconsin. There are states in the country that are being super active about automatic voter registration, by having a driver's license, and that's something Mark Pocan is working on but it's not something that seems to be getting traction. City of Madison takes the step so that any time a citizen is interacting with the government in a formal capacity, there's a moment there where all of your eligible documents are in front of you and in front of a city official and now it's a policy that these officials are obligated to ask if you are registered to vote. We have a predisposition in the city, first in the nation, to register people to vote as they are going about their business. At the board of estimates meeting last night, he supported a proposal for 5 new Madison Parks worker positions. Trying to move to a place where, rather than doing the really hard work of finding and recruiting and hiring 300 seasonal park workers every year, we can bring people in at the low-skill level and create ongoing positions for them and the city will invest in them to receive additional training. Parks department can lead in recruiting and training up municipal workers.
      1. An audience member is giving up driving and license is no longer active and she wondered how can she vote? She went to the DMV and they gave her a card and she voted tonight.
         1. That's an information problem and they are working on getting the word out. There are complaints filed against the state.
      2. Lived here for 40 years and concerned about Mineral Point Rd - traffic is too fast and she is concerned about kids that cross at Mineral Point and Segoe. Car took out her whole wall and oak tree in the front yard. Watched that traffic for 40 years. The people coming through don't live in our neighborhood. How do you slow that traffic down, I don't know, but seen traffic slow on Odana Rd by making single lane, side parking, and bike lane. Need to do that to Mineral Point Rd. It is not a highway. Shouldn't have right turn on red at that new light.
         1. Another person walks to campus and Hilldale, Westgate, and Mineral Point are the streets she's most afraid to cross and she has had close calls there over and over again. Police might want to do more proactive speed checks.
            1. Another person who lives on Midvale says police department periodically does some speed traps. Watched 12 people get pulled over in 15 minutes.
         2. Curious about 40 mph speed limit. Seems too fast
         3. New Midtown Station is slated for Mineral Point and Westmorland so maybe that will help.
         4. Audience member served on pedestrian/bicycle group. Speed traps don't' affect things long-term. The sort of things that work are things like narrowing the road. But you will likely get more diversion into the neighborhood if the road narrows. Terrace trees can help. Narrowing the road would take a lot of advocacy from people in this room.
         5. Alder Cheeks notes that the near west side is good place to live and the west side has this conflict that we don't have that many streets that allow people to navigate to downtown or to the opposite side of the city. This is a relatively dense area. There are a lot of people who experience this area differently. Drivers are going through the west side to get somewhere and we made a decision to not carve a highway through the middle of the city a generation ago. Our city has grown massively in the last 40 years. These are important consequences of growth. How do we support modes of transportation. Alternative is more brake lights and honking because there will still be the same number of cars using that street, just going slower. Need long-term transportation plans. In many ways, we are a model for other cities because of our bike system and support for public transit.
7. Dane County Board Report - Carousel Bayrd
   1. C Bayrd has been our supervisor for 11 years. She is vice chair of executive committee for board of supervisors, also a Midvale Heights resident on Sherwood.
   2. She is married to a Madison native. She's a New Yorker. Lived here for 15 years. Have two daughters and they walk to Van Hise. Work at YWCA on racial justice, she's a civil rights lawyer. County government oversees 3 things: criminal justice (jails), human services, and environmental (lakes, parks, bike paths). She was vice chair for 3 years and she stepped down and now has working knowledge. We have fabulous leaders in Madison and Dane County. Have a vision and want to move it forward - pushing harder, done being nice, being a New Yorker. Problem with criminal justice system is horrendous racial disparities, one of the worst in the country. In the past two years, we have launched two programs. One pulls youth out of the criminal justice system (age 12-16) for municipal charges (disorderly conduct, retail theft, drug possession, rape, intoxication) - all judges can charge it at the state level and these are judges that charge it on local level and they can do restorative justice instead of going through the court system. This program is harder than going to court - pay fine and have parents mad at you and have criminal record. But with restorative justice, kids are asked what happened, what do you need help with, are you hungry/cold/need different friends, and we get closer to understanding the underlying challenges. Once you enter the criminal justice system, you usually get multiple entries into the criminal justice system, there's a jump from 0 charges to 3. Need to move it through at the county level. Companion program is for 17-25 year olds, it's a pilot program on the South side of Madison and might go city or county wide in this year's budget. It's a bail monitoring program that she's working on. If she's charged with a crime, she can post bail because she owns a house and a car and someone who is charged with a small crime and doesn't own a home or car maybe can't post bail. This doesn't affect safety. Harvard University is part of the conversation about reforming the bail. Doing a two year study of our bail and how we can change it and base it on safety. Also talk of adding intake workers because people are going to bail hearings and the district attorney isn't prepared; trying to speed that up so that people don't sit in jail. Attorney doesn't have resources to be prepared faster, so hope to add 2 staff to help with intake.
      1. Offer of encouragement for continuing to work on homeless issue
         1. Will open a day center. Catholic Charities wants to help with day shelter but don't necessarily want to hand out birth control and condoms. But won't let that get in the way for them to help because they have fabulous staff and they know what they are doing. Just need to determine a way to get those other resources.
      2. E Rogers notes that county executive Joe Parisi will be speaking to our board in November and the public can attend that meeting.
8. Wisconsin State Senate Report - Fred Risser
   1. F Risser has served since 1962 as state senator, before that, he was in state assembly since 1956. He has never lost an election and is the longest-serving legislator in American history
   2. Being in the legislature for a number of years has its interesting moments. He had an experience on State Street (has condo on capitol square) where walking on State Street and woman in her 30s came up to him and said, "Senator, I've been wanting to meeting you and wanted to tell you how pleased she was with the letter you wrote. You wrote me the nicest letter and I put it in the scrapbook right next to the letter you wrote to my mother when I was born." That made him feel old. He was born and raised in this area and it was a farm when he was a kid. Warner was his grandfather (after whom the park is named). He can remember running around in this area and this is a neighborhood that he has seen evolve. He is proud of what city and county have done but not so please with what legislature has done in past 6 years, but he's optimistic. He has seen the pendulum swing back and forth. Legislature has become more partisan - what's happening at national level has trickled down to state level. Almost all the votes are straight party-line votes. Started out as part-time job and he was a lawyer. The majority party goes into secret caucus and then bring it out on the floor without debate. A lot of the Republicans aren't really Republicans, they have changed tremendously over the past 10 years. He has served with 12 different governors during his time - 6 democrats, 6 republicans. First 11 governors had the state of Wisconsin primary in their mind and made this the best state it can be. The current governor came in with the idea of running for President. so his agenda did not have Wisconsin values on education and environment and treating of immigrants. He cut taxes to appeal more broadly. Risser thinks he is still running for President. Consequently, everything he does is not by the values of our society but instead he is using values that sell. Things have been bad before; he was part of the first recall movement for Joel McCarthy. People then did not want to be considered communists if they were against McCarthy. Times have changed, we've gotten rid of that. He's convinced that the pendulum will swing again and the people of this state will recognize that it's time for a change
      1. Are young people interested in politics or government jobs?
         1. Some are, but not enough. Some are asking to serve as aids and pages, but not enough. Glad to see active groups in high schools and campus.
9. Meeting adjourned at 8:21 pm

Notes recorded by J Chipault, secretary

Midvale Heights Community Association Board Meeting
Tuesday, Sept 27th 2016 – 6:45 p.m. – Sequoya Branch Library

Area Directors present: Ed Rogers, Chuck Kreimendahl, Jenny Chipault, Jim Thoreson, Steve Fitzsimmons, Jonn Lager, Gregory Fischer, Tim Trapp, Ron Rotter, Lorie Raihala , Tom Jarvis

Other neighbors present: Nan Lager, Gwyn Schell (Santa visits)

1. Call to Order & Introductions - E Rogers
   1. Introductions done.
2. Prior Minutes Review/Approval – Board
   1. L Raihala emailed J Chipault with updated spelling of her name. J Chipault will update August minutes.
      1. Motion to approve August minutes passes.
3. Treasurer’s Report - R Rotter
   1. Anchor Bank has changed to Old National Bank. R Rotter moved money among categorical accounts.
   2. E Rogers has addresses for PTO for Midvale Lincoln and Van Hise schools so that we can donate toward the playground fund at each school.
   3. Money will be transferred out of PayPal to Old National Bank soon.
4. Legislative Reports - Carousel Bayrd/Maurice Cheeks
   1. Not present
5. Annual Meeting Plans – Board
   1. D Lamb could not be at the meeting tonight, but she wanted E Rogers to remind everyone that we normally have coffee, drinks, cider, cookies, etc. that are brought in by members of the board. G Poulson has been gracious enough in the past to bring in coffee and D Lamb does cider. Sarah Day has agreed to be our guest speaker. The Alder and County Supervisor have been invited. E Rogers also invited for Terese Berceau, our state assembly representative, and Fred Riser, our Senator. We received a request from Joe Parisi’s office to speak but that might be too many elected representatives speakers at one meeting so E Rogers asked if he could come to the November board meeting and his representative said he’d be glad to do that. He would like to do a Q&A session. E Rogers checked our library room reservation for the October meeting and we have both rooms. The annual meeting in October will start at 6:30 pm.
      1. C Kreimendahl wonders if we can save costs of the annual meeting reminder postcard by emailing the people that we have email addresses for.
         1. T Jarvis says that is doable.
         2. Group leans toward sticking with postcards.
   2. S Fitzsimmons would like to be on the agenda for the annual meeting.
   3. E Rogers will get in touch with G Poulson about coffee.
   4. Board to bring in cookies or treats to annual meeting as able.
6. Santa Visits - Gwyn Schell
   1. Last year, we had 28 kids that received a visit from Santa at 8 different houses. Half of the kids were under 3 years old and half over 3 and each group received different gifts; thinking of doing one gift type this year instead of two types. Parents are emailed in advance to scope things out. G Schell will be running it next year. Date is two Thursdays before Christmas (December 15 in 2016). Volunteers meet at 6 pm at the Lutheran Church. G Schell would like to have it announced in the MHCA newsletter. Could have Santa surprise visiting kids (e.g., nieces/nephews, friends’ kids, grandkids, etc.); does not have to be kids that live in the neighborhood. Suits have been assessed and some need a bit of repair. G Schell would like to set up a separate email account for Santa visits. T Jarvis can help with that. Last year’s cost was just over $160 for everything. G Schell will continue to look for more volunteers as she builds up the number of houses involved.
7. Garage Sale 2016 - T Jarvis
   1. E Rogers gives thanks to T Jarvis, without whom the garage sale would not have happened.
   2. T Jarvis emailed people who had offered to volunteer during MHCA membership registration and he did get two people who helped out. T Jarvis printed map and then was subsequently contacted by 3 more people who wanted to be added so he added them to the online map. St. Vinny’s was told to come around 2:30 pm to gather unsold items. Crowds were good. We ended up having 22 registered sales, each paid a $10 fee. A three-day advertisement in the paper is ~$30. T Jarvis wonders about making registration cheaper for MHCA members.
   3. J Thoreson asked people if the Labor Day weekend was a good one and people did think it was good weekend for the sale.
   4. E Rogers thinks participation might be down over the years in part due to Craigslist. We add value by putting out nice signs, advertising in the paper, and coordinating the St. Vinny’s pickup.
   5. T Jarvis can email the people that volunteered this year to see if they are interested in taking it on next year so that it doesn’t require a last-minute save again in 2017.
   6. E Rogers says there’s a binder on how to do it that was put together by Jill Carlson, the last coordinator, so it should be very easy.
8. Food Carts and Parks - E Rogers
   1. E Rogers did some research about bringing food carts to parks after we talked about it at last month’s meeting. In the past, we’ve shied away from doing food carts because of the high price, but the price has either changed or it is lower than remembered. The Parks Department looks at events where there’s food at parks and breaks them into two categories: 1) money changes hands and 2) money does not change hands, which is doesn’t require permitting. If we wanted to do all-you-can-eat food carts, we wouldn’t need a permit. If money changes hands at the park, then we are required to get a permit. As a neighborhood association, we can apply for that permit on behalf of the vendors and we get a deal: there is a $50/event application fee that is waived for our first event and the other fees (vendor license) are half price. Normally, cost is $275 + $50 per vendor but we could get it at $138 per vendor minus the $50 fee, so 3 carts would be ~$400. There’s also the option of an umbrella license that allows up to 7 vendors and that would be $875, which we would get half price. E Rogers thinks all of the concerts in the series would count as one event.
      1. J Chipault thinks it would be worth the money, especially with young families attending who might be torn between having dinner or going to a concert.
      2. E Rogers notes that the food cart collective that operates on Midvale Avenue on Tuesdays would be the logical first connection because they have a group and could coordinate schedules with us to send multiple carts.
9. Announcements – Board
   1. Work on the ash trees is done for the year at Slater Park; 4 ash trees were treated and 5 were chopped down. Ash trees in Segoe Park were also removed. E Rogers asked West Parks supervisor to see if we could expedite getting more trees planted in place of those gone now because we would like an “orderly retreat” and want new trees to get established. E Rogers was told it would not be possible to accelerate the planting. Today, E Rogers noticed that they were planting trees in Slater Park!
      1. J Thoreson says they are ginkgo trees.
      2. C Kreimendahl mentions putting this in the newsletter.
   2. S Fitzsimmons got a new speaker system with a wireless microphone that he’s been using for the neighborhood watch meetings and he can bring it to the annual meeting next month.
   3. N Lager reminds the board that the Tokay median clean-up is October 29 and they will be planting daffodil bulbs. The city has offered to mow down any beds that we want mowed down. Also, there’s a fall garden tour of two neighborhood gardens on the same day.
   4. The Mayor’s neighborhood conference is October 8 this year and there is a $15 fee to attend. E Rogers will forward the details to the board via email. We could probably pay for 1-3 people to attend.
   5. E Rogers says City’s Board of Estimates met last night to mark up the capitol budget. As a board, we have expressed ourselves as clearly in support of the Midtown Police Station and this year it looked like the mayor wanted to delay it again by a few months. Our Alder, Maurice Cheeks, was part of a group of four Alders that did not accept that explanation. Alder Cheeks proposed to dock the Mayor’s travel budget for every day the Midtown Station was delayed. Our Alder was advocating for our request. The outcome is that we will be getting the Midtown Police Station will not be delayed.
   6. We are up to 512 MHCA registered members, which is the same as last year. We only have about a dozen printer member directories and membership cards left so not sure what we should do if we run out of extras – print more?
      1. Wait and see
   7. G Schell suggests more trash cans if we have food carts at the summer concert series.
10. Meeting adjourned at 8:02

Notes recorded by J Chipault, secretary

Midvale Heights Community Association Board Meeting
Tuesday, Aug 23rd 2016 – 6:45 p.m. – Sequoya Branch Library

Area Directors present: Denise Lamb, Ed Rogers, Jenny Chipault, Steve Fitzsimmons, Jonn Lager, Gregory Fischer, Jim Thoreson, Tom Jarvis, Paul Haskew, Tim Trapp, Kay Reuter-Krohn

Other neighbors present: Cathy Rotter, Randy Peterson, Nan Lager, Lorie Raihala (new co-director with Tom Jarvis), Erica Throneburg (Westmorland Board and Midvale school playground group)

1. Call to Order & Introductions - E Rogers
   1. Introductions done.
2. Prior Minutes Review/Approval - Board
   1. J Chipault will change Randy Peterson's last name from "Petersen" to "Peterson" in the June minutes.
      1. June minutes approved
3. Treasurer’s Report - C Rotter
   1. C Rotter filling in for R Rotter today. C Rotter passed out hard copy report. Cap City Tree Experts have cashed our check and injected trees in Segoe Park. All musicians for the summer concert series have cashed our checks. We sold 15 Midvale Heights history books during this membership drive.
4. Legislative Reports - Carousel Bayrd/Maurice Cheeks
   1. M Cheeks says since he last saw E Rogers, he met again with developer for Westgate.
      1. E Rogers explains that a few weeks ago there was a meeting with the developer for Westgate that was hired by Hy-Vee and he came loaded with a history of the property and vision for the future. They are looking at the fact that there is a mall there that is not getting much business. Hy-Vee is just a grocer so they hired R.H. Johnson as developer and R.H. Johnson is trying to bring more business. Hy-Vee owns Tokay to Odana, Whitney Way to Odana School Park and Epic. They are not without constraint; they have inherited the property but also the leases. The prominent lease is TJ Maxx, with more than 10 years left on their lease. As R.H. Johnson contemplates what the next move is, they have to do it with TJ Maxx in mind. We have a neighborhood plan that was submitted to the city in 2009 and the city wants to advocate on our behalf. Hilldale is an example of a good development: street-level glass, parking integrated, pedestrian street in front of the stores. Sequoia Commons is another good example. If we stand behind our neighborhood plan, that's our strongest form of self-advocacy. The developer is looking at the fact that TJ Maxx might not want what matches the neighborhood plan. Their current thought is to tear off the front of Westgate so that it's more pedestrian and opening up the gap to Tokay. No plans for vertical integration. Possible small restaurant (e.g., Milios). Not changing parking available or putting buildings that obstruct view of TJ Maxx from the street.
         1. D Lamb says neighborhood plan calls for first floor retail, second floor offices, and a few stories of condos or apartments that would actually look out at the park. If they can't do anything cool, why bother?
      2. M Cheeks says at the end of the meeting with design professionals they decided they might have to do this in stages. From Hy-Vee's perspective, they own a property that doesn't produce much revenue. Right now it's about break even. Hy-Vee is a grocery store and they aren't in the business of taking risks on property. They are looking at the lowest risk approach to turning a profit, not ambitious or fancy. But the city and M Cheeks believe there's a disconnect between turning a profit on the plot of land and doing what is the highest and best use for a plot of land. That spot is really prime real estate for the whole city of Madison. Potential for doing some good development there has potential to spur another generation of good development there. Supports Research Park and increases property value. This is a big opportunity. Madison's Urban Development Commission is not interested in encouraging an underwhelming development. They did remind the property owner that they own the property, but our local governmental structure and the UDC has the right to give feedback and right now the not ambitious plan doesn't look like anything the UDC would support.
      3. Selling didn't come up? J Thoreson would think there would be people that have been doing projects with shops on the ground level and condos above all around town. Seems there would be a buyer.
         1. M Cheeks, property manager, city planning, and E Rogers were all in the room at the same time. At this stage, seems like multi-story, mixed-used would be a hard thing to do from their perspective.
      4. This is a transit-oriented property because it is near the West Transfer Point.
      5. P Haskew asks if Research Park was represented at the meeting? P Haskew is on their design and review board and he has brought up that we could cooperate on this gateway project.
         1. M Cheeks says that's a good reminder that they should be at future meetings as the talk expands.
      6. D Lamb says that in Iowa the Hy-Vee in West Des Moines is part of a nice mall and she wonders what the rental/ownership situation is there.
      7. J Thoreson also asks about including Epic in this conversation.
      8. C Rotter brings up issue with affordable housing units, which makes a ton of sense for this development given the transit situation.
      9. M Cheeks says the recommendation was to think harder about how they could be more ambitious.
      10. E Rogers wonders about tax incentives.
          1. TIF or other programs were shot down by developer. M Cheeks didn't follow why he seemed hesitant about that.
             1. Is TIF something we should be asking for if we're at a breaking point?
                1. M Cheeks says TIF can be used as a strategic tool. If TIF would be attractive to the developer and would be a good investment for the city, then he's not necessarily opposed to it.
   2. M Cheeks brings up another topic: he's in final stages of city budget listening session in early September. If the neighborhood would be willing to bring this to the neighborhood's attention via email, that would be useful.
      1. D Lamb could put it into the newsletter by the end of this week.
      2. M Cheeks think the session will be the week of or the week after Labor Day. The date isn't final yet.
      3. We could put something on the website
      4. M Cheeks says the city budget will be contentious so he wants to make sure he's listening to what people are prioritizing.
5. Midvale School Playground - Erica Throneburg
   1. Last meeting, Carousel Bayrd talked to us about new playground equipment at Van Hise. They've also been working on getting a new playground at Midvale for 3 years. Bulk of Midvale's playground has been built. They raised $60,000 and got a $20,000 matching grant from Kiwanis ($20,000 to get this match). They have extended the match to September 30th. Playground before was very old, small, falling apart, and not accessible. The school district fronted the money to get the Westside Kiwanis Club match, but the PTO is hoping to pay the district back. The goal is to also add to the sides of the playground that is there now by adding natural play spaces (rocks, logs, etc.) to compliment. Also thinking about adding a mural. There will be a permanent sign on the playground for donors of $500 or more. Donor sign will be very visible and will be several feet tall by several feet wide and will match the feel of the signs by the rain garden. They are just a few hundred dollars short of the full Kiwanis match and then would need more money to do the natural parts. Might look into making a quiet space. Not sure about timeline of natural play space versus mural but hoping to have it done within the school year.
      1. E Rogers says we have not donated to either school in many years. When we talked with C Bayrd about Van Hise, we talked about a matching program but there is already a matching program in place here so it seems kind of hard to do a matching a program from one school without doing it for the other school.
      2. $100 per month suggested by R. Peterson
      3. J Chipault thinks $500 as a minimum so that we get our name on the sign.
      4. N Lager thinks that $1000 makes sense as a round number and because we haven't donated for a while. Also a lot of our funding comes from t-ball so what better way to give money back to the school.
         1. P Haskew suggests we give another $200 to Midvale finish off the match.
            1. That seems unfair to Van Hise; would be good to keep them the same.
      5. L Raihala asks if both co-directors from one area can vote
         1. T Jarvis looked into it and, according to our bylaws, only one votes technically, but our votes are usually anonymous.
      6. Motion to donate $1000 to Van Hise and $1000 to Midvale to help with playground construction.
         1. Motion passes.
6. Membership Drive Update - T Jarvis
   1. T Jarvis showed a map of Midvale Heights Community Association members. We have 492 members; 6 new registrations since he sent the directory book to the printer. T Jarvis showed a graph of members over time for the past 6 years - very similar trends for each year. He looked at all the occupations provided by our members and retired is the biggest, followed by people who work at UW Madison.
      1. J Chipault suggests the data about occupations goes on our website and our Facebook page. It's very interesting.
   2. T Jarvis also showed the data of area by year and most areas are pretty close to previous years regarding membership. 488 people have paid, with fewer people using the online registration this year than last year. We received $2,860 in donations, mostly in the "miscellaneous" category, with saving the park's trees next. We have 22 block captains that are not members. 59% of the Neighborhood Watch members were members of MHCA within the past 4 years (according to emails).
   3. P Haskew took the directories and membership cards to the printer last week. Hopefully the printed envelopes and the membership cards that come in the same order. Anticipate getting them back tomorrow or Thursday.
   4. E Rogers says August and September are the months with the fastest rate of house closings in the market so don't forget about new neighbor packets to distribute.
7. Annual Meeting Speaker Suggestions - Board
   1. October annual meeting is coming up but we don't have a keynote speaker lined up yet.
      1. D Lamb says we've talked about Sarah Day before and does American Players Theatre and Forward Theatre. Phil Pellitteri was entomologist from UW and it has been a while since he spoke so perhaps asking him back.
      2. E Rogers says Joe Parisi, County Executive has asked to speak with us.
         1. We should be careful not to show support for any particular candidate prior to an election.
      3. School Superintendent?
         1. We tried that last year and had a cancellation.
      4. C Rotter will ask Sarah Day who lives down the street from her.
      5. Date is October 25th, 6:30 to 8:30.
      6. D Lamb will look into getting both rooms in the library reserved.
8. Summer Concert Recap - D Lamb
   1. Did four concerts. The first two were well attended, the last two were badly attended. She put up sign in park Friday morning. There were advertisements on Nextdoor, Facebook, and our website. First concert was 80 people, last was 15 people. One weekend, it was really hot. During MHCA registration, there were four people who volunteered to be on a committee for concerts next year so she will talk to them. Maybe next year just do two concerts and get bigger names and make them 2 hours. Maybe try going to Saturday night to get people out earlier, maybe it's hard to do on Fridays with kids that need to get to bed. 50-75% of the people who came had kids so we should make it a family night. Maybe add ice cream or something else to advertise. No rain date next year and maybe we could try to put up a tent. Maybe food carts but the fees were astronomical.
      1. R Peterson wonders about doing a BBQ and potluck.
         1. Might be too much fuss.
      2. It's hard to get food carts by the parks because the fee is crazy.
         1. M Cheeks will help us figure out who to talk to about that fee.
      3. Audio is great but two of the bands just played acoustically and the shelter kind of helps the sound.
9. Announcements - Board
   1. R Peterson says his wife Dianna can no longer coordinate the neighborhood garage sale because she got a new job. She collected applications and checks and R Peterson brought them to turn in.
   2. T Jarvis creates a map but that's about all he has done in the past for the garage sale.
      1. One choice is to send our regrets to those that registered and return their checks. Perhaps we won't be advertising and marketing and sending a St. Vinny's truck around to get the leftovers.
         1. There's coordinating St. Vinny's, putting out sandwich boards, not much else, right?
      2. Only 13 people registered so there wasn't much interest.
      3. The State Journal newspaper wants to send someone to take a picture of something neighborhood related because they are doing a write-up about Midvale Heights and they were hoping to attend the garage sale.
      4. J Thoreson can put up sandwich board signs.
      5. T Jarvis can make a map.
      6. D Lamb suggests that we talk about partnering with Westmorland on their garage sale next year.
   3. R Peterson would like some funding to put more top soil around the Midvale Heights sign by Odana and Segoe.
      1. Motion to spend $25 on topsoil for plants around the neighborhood sign.
         1. Motion approved
   4. Regarding gardening at the church, R Peterson says the church wants him to put together a plot map of what a garden would look like, composting bins, etc. Also, he would like to look at using rain run-off from the roof of the church to water the gardens. Last time R Peterson talked with the MHCA board, we had thought of people putting in plots themselves in exchange for free rent for first year, but the church wants the plots to be uniform. He is hoping for $500 to put into demo plots and then once people start paying in rent, he would return those funds to MHCA.
      1. Neighborhood plan has vegetable gardens, but can we support putting them on private land?
      2. R Peterson pictures raised beds that are 3x10 foot wood boxes. His next step is to put together a prototype and then a plot map for the church elders. If it takes off, then the money is a loan but if it doesn't, then he won't be able to pay it back.
         1. The community garden by the DOT is out due to construction, the garden at Midvale has waiting list, so this will likely fly.
      3. $500 would be to build the first couple of raised beds.
         1. N Lager would like to know the cost of wood and soil for each raised bed.
         2. J Chipault brings up that it would be nice to have a budget with line items so that if it flops we know how much wood we have to do other things with.
      4. Suggestion that R Peterson shows elders a place where there are already built raised beds, or Google Earth images. Maybe do a neighborhood tour?
      5. MHCA decided not to give money at this point but they are still supported of the idea and would consider providing funds in the future.
      6. Is the church willing to give money?
         1. No, but they'll provide the space
   5. Wisconsin State Journal is going to be kicking off spotlight on Midvale Heights in a series of stories about neighborhoods. The journalist wants to get photographs of the neighborhood at an event. He has a deadline of August 31. One thing that he kept coming back to is that he's hoping to get a conversation with someone who is living in Midvale Heights as the first owner of their home.
      1. T Jarvis found people who were registered in 1955 and still are registered, 61 years apart.
10. Meeting adjourned at 8:33 pm

Notes recorded by J Chipault, secretary

Midvale Heights Community Association Board Meeting
Tuesday, June 28th 2016 – 6:45 p.m. – Sequoya Branch Library

Area Directors present: Denise Lamb, Ed Rogers, Jenny Chipault, Steve Fitzsimmons, Jonn Lager, Gregory Fischer, Jim Thoreson, Tom Jarvis, Gary Poulson, Ron Rotter, Paul Haskew

Other neighbors present: Cathy Rotter, Randy Peterson, Carousel Bayrd (Dane County representative, Van Hise PTO), Dave Blouin (Westmorland neighborhood association), Gretchen Bourg (Madison Ballet, Westgate Mall), Maurice Cheeks (Alder)

1. Call to Order & Introductions - E Rogers
   1. Introductions were done.
2. Prior Minutes Review/Approval - Board
   1. E Rogers notes that the April minutes numbering system seems incorrect
      1. J Chipault will check on that and correct
   2. Motion to approve the April minutes
      1. Motion passes
   3. Motion to approve the May minutes
      1. Motion passes
3. Treasurer’s Report - R Rotter
   1. R Rotter passed out hard copy of ledger. T-ball money is coming in and going out. R Rotter has 780 history books to sell yet. The group reviewed how much money MHCA has given to local schools over the years.
4. Legislative Reports - Carousel Bayrd
   1. Carousel Bayrd says one of the biggest things that the county is working on right now is homelessness; they have a proposal for a fourth location for a day center. It is important to have a space for people to be during the day, especially because the rules for where people can be during the day have changed (e.g., capitol and city buildings now restricted). Fourth location is close to the capitol and resources such as bus lines but not near residential areas. Another thing the county is working on is criminal justice reform, e.g., the setting of bail;if you don't have money, a house, or a car then you will sit in jail. There's a study ongoing. Looking into alternatives to incarceration because many programs are one strike and you are out and many people have issues that cannot be fixed at the drop of a hat. How realistic are these programs if they have zero tolerance? Also working on a separate mental health facility so that police officers do not have to walk away from people with mental illness or take people to jail because the hospitals do not take them. We do have a strong program within the jail for mental health but it is still jail and if you're in a mental health crisis then jail might exasperate that mental health situation. There are conversations about what this separate facility looks like and the county is looking into funding options.
5. Van Hise/Hamilton Playground - Carousel Bayrd
   1. Carousel Bayrd is on the Van Hise Elementary School PTO and is one of two head playground fundraiser coordinators. Van Hise is the elementary school that represents half of our neighborhood; border is Piper Drive. Everyone on the Segoe Rd side of Piper Dr goes to Van Hise. There are a couple of problems with the Van Hise playground. The equipment is old so kids get concussions and cut themselves. There's a water mitigation issue that causes the play area to turn into an ice rink in the winter such that part of the playground can't be used in the winter months. There's also an issue in that the middle school students come to use the elementary playground. Building a tree-lined walking circuit because that's what middle school students want, to walk and talk. New playground project has 4 phases: 1 - take out equipment and replace with nature-based play; 2 - water mitigation, build a dry creek and bridges; 3 - putting in new equipment; 4 - install the walking path and trees. The total cost is $120,000 and they have raised about $40,000 through PTO fundraisers over the past 1.5 years. Asking MHCA for a contribution.
      1. Is the school district contributing?
         1. They may for the water mitigation, but Van Hise isn't on the list of schools that needs immediate repair. They agree that it is outdated and they have nurses' reports indicating that the rate of injury is high. Also, the playground is not fully accessible for children in wheelchairs. Schools Foundation is a group that will allow applications, but proposals are only funding if the school is close to their goal already. Foundation for Public Schools mission is to fund innovative things that otherwise wouldn't be part of the school.
      2. Do you have sponsorship levels?
         1. They have been talking about installing etched bricks for certain levels of funding. All the teachers donated summer experiences and they raised almost $10,000 doing that.
      3. Do you have a sense of how much each phase will cost?
         1. Phase 1 is about $40,000 and the plan is to start this summer. The best scenario is Phase 1 and 2 would be done before December. Water mitigation is $17,000. New equipment around $60,000. For Phase 4, they will meet with Hamilton Middle School to see about working together.
      4. R Rotter suggests we put information in the MHCA newsletter to help raise money. School is an important part of the community. Could ask our neighbors to pitch in and match up to $5,000.
         1. E Rogers says we should be ready to offer the same thing to the Midvale School but a matching program sounds good.
         2. R Rotter says the meetings are the most important function of MHCA, also the crime watch, and helping schools and helping libraries are also functions that help our community.
         3. Who would be matching our funds? Hasn't the school already advertised?
            1. Maybe we could reach parents of alumni, or alumni, that are still in the neighborhood.
         4. Used to have schools as fundraising checkbox option on our MHCA membership forms but haven't had it there for a while.
         5. E Rogers says some Midvale Heights residents have given to this cause already; would someone who has already donated get duplicated?
            1. People who already know about the fundraising are the parents so there's a lot of other people who could donate, e.g., alumni.
      5. Let us think about it and we'll make a decision at our August meeting.
      6. Give D Lamb information for the newsletter by the August 15th deadline.
6. Westmorland Fourth of July Celebration - Dave Blouin
   1. D Blouin sent around a flyer. Everything is progressing very well for the Westmorland July 4th celebration. Thanks to T Jarvis for allowing D Blouin to update the MHCA webpage directly. July 3rd picnic is coming together; the mayor has been invited but haven't heard back from his office yet. Probably ask Alder Gruber to stand in for him. Doing a short presentation between the two music sets that will be brief remarks and recognition of long-time residents from Westmorland and from other neighborhoods and a short history piece. For the parade on the 4th, the fire department will have one of their engines leading and will have vintage cars. If you know anyone with a vintage car, they'd love to have them. Have Westmorland walking band. Good opportunity for kids, strollers, bikes, etc. to dress in red-white-and-blue. Midvale Heights is the sponsor for the petting zoo. There will be signage recognizing MHCA for sponsoring that and for the overall event. There will be a dunk tank. Alder Tim Gruber has signed up. Still a bit short on volunteers. Historically, the last week going into the event is when volunteers pop up. Weather looks fantastic. Volunteer shifts are usually for just an hour or two. Need help at dunk tank, bounce house, and running carnival games. Can use responsible kids (8 years old and up) as volunteers, too. All volunteers get a free slice of pizza. Pizza, hot dogs, brats, chips, soda, and water available, plus a second food cart with 3-4 types of gyros and rice bowls with vegetarian options. Also, Chocolate Shoppe ice cream. Will pass out flyers at the MHCA picnic.
      1. Get in touch with D Blouin to volunteer?
         1. Yes. And he'll put up call for volunteers on our MHCA website soon.
7. Legislative Reports - Maurice Cheeks
   1. Alder Cheeks would like to provide an update on Westgate Mall. It was in the State Journal that there were plans for redevelopment of Westgate, which has been being talked about for years. Alder Cheeks has been in contact with the architect and the property owner, they met about a month ago and he has met with them twice since. State Journal article was in response to their submission to the Urban Design Commission. They heard from Alder Cheeks and from others in the city that even the initial proposal was not thorough enough and they should be more responsive to things the city or neighborhood might want to see there. The plan has been pulled. Alder Cheeks is Trading emails with the architect and has asked him to engage with the neighborhood as early as possible. This is an important piece of land in the neighborhood. There will be public engagement. They need to prioritize traffic safety.
      1. S Fitzsimmons notes that he communicated with the city engineer and they are working on the traffic safety in that area with the city this year and next year.
      2. D Lamb says we have a neighborhood plan and Urban Design Commission seems to ignore it. Plan asks for mixed-use development. People living in new apartments would look at dog park. Traffic has said they won't put a stop sign.
         1. S Fitzsimmons says they are going to put flashing lights in.
      3. Alder Cheeks says the architect doesn't have a timeline yet but they probably will not completely set this project aside.
      4. E Rogers would like to be on emailing list that gets updates about this project.
      5. Gretchen Bourg is a Midvale Heights resident and Madison Ballet is nonprofit in Westgate 17,000 square feet on the second floor. Madison Ballet serves 1,000 families. She wants to say that there are more businesses than the national chains waiting for something to happen at Westgate; Madison Ballet has been on a month-to-month lease for 4 years. They would like a sense of the timeline. Madison Youth Choir also has space at Westgate. Another 17-18 organizations use that space. Madison Ballet is not just an office, they have specialized flooring, sound proofing, sound systems, pianos... so they want a heads up if they have to move. They know they'll be displaced for some time for renovations.
      6. Does HyVee still own the other part of Westgate Mall?
         1. HyVee owns the land but they have no interest so they hire R.H. Johnson to manage it.
      7. The other group to keep on the listserv is Friends of Sequoya Library because they have the used book sale there.
      8. The only timeline Alder Cheeks has heard so far is, in initial discussions, they said they would like to break ground before it gets cold. Alder Cheeks wanted us to know that the proposal has been pulled already and there's a document for rules and regulations for that piece of land that the builder would need to be mindful of and he also was provided links to neighborhood plan.
      9. R Rotter says it's one of the few commercial exits into the city, other than Park St.
         1. Alder Cheeks says it is the third most trafficked exit coming into Madison. Also, the TJ Maxx store in Westgate is one of the most successful in the country. And it is also near the busline's west transfer point. He talked with Planning about this property years ago to try to visualize what it could be. It's private land but what goes there is not going to considered lightly.
      10. D Lamb says Research Park complaint is that there's no hotel nearby. The dog park area is higher and the Epic building is higher so this building could go high without seeming out of place.
      11. Alder Cheeks reiterate that this will be a long process.
8. MPD Support Lawn Signs - S Fitzsimmons
   1. There's a push to support the Madison Police Department. Meadowwood, Orchard Ridge, and other neighborhoods are buying a bunch of yards signs in support and we could too. S Fitzsimmons would like to advertise that people could get signs through the Midvale Heights neighborhood watch. The goal is to have thousands of signs on neighborhood lawns. S Fitzsimmons gets emails from people who want to join together to support the Madison Police Department. All he'd like to do is advertise. The signs say "We Support Madison Police" and there is a picture of a shield. He wants approval to advertise in newsletter or advertise to 550 people in neighborhood watch program.
      1. E Rogers acknowledges that of course many people want to show support and it is a privilege to live in a safe neighborhood. E Rogers wanted to see if there's any feedback from anyone at this meeting. There is a policy and procedures review that the Common Council has recently forwarded to the police department and it has gotten pushback from Police Chief Koval.
      2. Would we be sanctioning it as an association if we used our email listserv or advertised that signs are available via the newsletter?
         1. J Thoreson thinks the neighborhood watch is separate enough from MHCA.
            1. MHCA funds the neighborhood watch and S Fitzsimmons was appointed chair, perhaps it's not quite separate
      3. R Rotter notes that this is a controversial issue. The timing of it would indicate that we're taking sides. R Rotter thinks we should probably stay neutral on it.
         1. P Haskew agrees.
      4. J Thoreson asks if other groups promoting the signs are people or individuals?
         1. No other associations are doing it yet.
      5. Don't want to make the neighborhood watch into something political.
      6. C Rotter says we've shown support by a writing letter to support the building of the West police station and we have given funding to the canine unit and other speakers
9. Ash Tree Adoption in our Parks - E Rogers
   1. E Rogers has 55.56% bad news: there are 9 ash trees in Slater Park and in a few years we'll have at most 4 trees. A representative from Parks came out and examined the eligibility for the adopt-a-tree program of the Slater Park trees. If a tree is not healthy for any reason then they won't do an expensive pesticide injection. There are five trees that are close to, and south of, the playground equipment and those were unhealthy. Silver lining is that there are 4 ash trees that are eligible to adopt and the quote he has comes in around $1,000 and we have the rest of the summer to gather that money and fill out paperwork with the city to adopt these trees. Parks has the ability to do contract purchasing of trees such that they'll fund the replacement so we'll probably get saplings in the place of the trees that will be removed and whenever we stop funding the 4 other trees and they succumb to Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) disease, then Parks would replace those too. Don't have any quotes or estimates for other parks in Midvale Heights. Piper Park has 2 ash trees that have been treated. There are 3 trees in Segoe Park that might be eligible. The group on Nextdoor.com is excited to engage in fundraising and adopt trees and are likely focusing on these 4 at Slater Park and they are asking the MHCA to help to what extent we can. If nothing gets treated then they will likely die.
      1. D Lamb brings up the concept of the hoards of bugs moving on eventually so could we outlast the bug?
         1. Michigan has been dealing with EAB for about 20 years now and still, if a tree is untreated, the bugs find it.
      2. We talked before about matching funds. We already have $290 in donations toward the trees.
      3. Does the treatment last for 2 or 3 years?
         1. City thinks 3 years will be ok but contractor talks about 2 years. Contractors might be servicing mostly private homes and maybe those treatments come with a warrantee. Parks is permitting agency.
      4. Have there been questions about pesticide and children?
         1. It's put right into the tree so, in theory, not exposing the kids.
      5. Will there be signage that these trees have been treated?
         1. We can put up signs. We don't have anything worked out with Parks at this point but it seems likely they would be receptive of us doing some signage to indicate what we're doing.
      6. J Chipault brings up that we could easily raise another $1,000 if we match funds. Do we need to save the 3 trees near the volleyball court? Maybe keep one along Tokay, but perhaps we don't need to save the other 2 because it could even be nice to have that area more open.
      7. G Poulson motions to support the tree near the playground with funds that were contributed already.
      8. R Rotter says there are only 3 trees in Segoe Park. Might as well put $1,000 to save these 4 trees.
      9. Trees have to be treated this summer. They don't do treatments in the cold season and by the time it warms up again there will be more losses and they will reevaluate. In theory some trees might survive another year but getting less optimistic.
      10. Could the trees be damaged between now and August?
          1. Once we get the evaluation then we could contract to get treatment for specific trees through the rest of the warm season.
      11. J Chipault says we need to decide whether we're fundraising
          1. J Thoreson says they told us before that they are chopping trees down if they come through
             1. E Rogers says these trees have now been marked as hold so they won't' chopped them right away.
      12. C Jenkins called and got evaluation done at Segoe Park.
      13. D Lamb says since the total for the 4 trees is $1,000, we could put in $500 and fundraise for matching .
          1. R Rotter says we should cut a check for the full amount now. R Rotter amends the motion and suggests we pay for EAB treatment on 4 trees in Slater Park now and fundraise to recoup costs.
             1. Motion passes.
10. Westwood Church Community Garden - R Peterson
    1. There is a Thursday night food pantry at Westwood Church and R Peterson asked them to change mowed yard to garden. The new pastor is interested in this concept. Couldn't till the area because of wire so it would have to be raised bed gardening. Have to find funding to construct the raised beds. It's on private property. There's other public land near the dog park that we could perhaps use for community garden but it's on a hill so would still need to do raised bed there too. He's willing to step up and run a community garden. He and his wife are the people who did the plantings around the Midvale Heights neighborhood sign at Whitney Way and Odana.
       1. E Rogers says in the neighborhood plan that the slope at Odana School Park could be community garden. We've talked before and one of the challenges is having a coordinator because there are a lot of things need to be adjudicated.
       2. P Haskew says it takes volunteer work, but garden at Midvale school property started with 23 and is now at capacity with 45 plots and there's a waiting list to get a plot there. If announce it properly, perhaps it could be a condition of taking plot that you need to put in raised bed and then have them put it in themselves. Maybe give people the plot rent-free for the first year and they put in raised beds with that saved funding. It's $50 for 100 square feet at Midvale per plot per year.
       3. J Chipault brings up that part of Segoe Park has been considered for a community garden.
       4. D Lamb says with gardens at the church, could give extra produce to the food pantry.
       5. R Peterson says money raised could be used to pay for increased water bill and if people pay in then they'll have buy-in. Church has a big roof that could be used for rain catchment.
       6. Could make sure to get a mention in our newsletter. We could talk about this more at the August meeting if you need funding.
       7. Suggested to R Peterson that he sends an email to Charlie Romines or Laura Bower (West Parks).
11. Summer Concert Series - D Lamb
    1. Still need one more act needed for the last Friday of the month. These will be Friday performances with rain date of Saturday. D Lamb needs help hosting. D Lamb will talk to T Jarvis about volunteers.
    2. We plan to buy an inverter as a neighborhood and the funds are already allocated.
12. Garage Sale - E Rogers
    1. E Rogers proposed a hiatus for the neighborhood garage sale for this year because he figured we were too late to get a coordinator and still get the announcement into the Messenger. But then he did get in touch with the volunteer coordinator and Dianna is on board and has the materials she needs. So we'll go ahead with the garage sale as originally planned. Will have registration form in our upcoming Messenger. Dianna is also bringing forms to the picnic.
       1. Dozens of houses enroll in the garage sale and others do it but don't pay the garage sale fee.
13. Announcements - Board
    1. D Lamb asks what we're doing about the membership drive. Should she just write what she did last year, that there's an extension and we will send out a postcards?
       1. J Chipault says we have learned in the past that the postcards pay for themselves with new members.
       2. T Jarvis to remove people already registered before compiling the mailing address list for those that need postcards but he will wait until the week we send out postcards before compiling that list.
    2. If there's rain on Thursday then there wouldn't be a picnic this year.
14. Meeting adjourned 8:46

Notes recorded by J Chipault, secretary

Midvale Heights Community Association Board Meeting
Tuesday, April 26th 2016 – 6:45 p.m. – Sequoya Branch Library

Area Directors present: Ed Rogers, Jenny Chipault, Jim Thoreson, Steve Fitzsimmons, Gregory Fischer, Kay Reuter-Krohn, Chuck Kreimendahl, Mary Jane Armstrong, Tim Trapp, Paul Haskew, Ron Rotter, Tom Jarvis

Other neighbors present: Kithy Elliott, Cathy Rotter, Ceri Jenksins, Charlie Romines, Jenny Sessions

1. Call to Order & Introductions - E Rogers
2. Prior Minutes Review/Approval - Board
   1. Skipped because minutes not ready yet.
3. Treasurer’s Report - R Rotter
   1. Passed out hard copy of ledger. T-ball money coming in, but not going out yet. First page is summary by groups, then next page is change over years, then next page is this month, and then transaction report.
   2. Regarding insurance, we have been paying for a general liability policy. This policy needs renewal and we have to switch companies. West Bend bid it out. We charge insurance to t-ball fund because that’s largely why we need insurance. One thing we’ve never had is board of director’s coverage. You might be covered under your homeowners’ or umbrella policy, but that's not necessarily true.
      1. S Fitzsimmons brings up newsletters distributed to homeowner’s door advertising that they were out of town and that might be a cause for lawsuit.
      2. E Rogers asks if Neighborhood Watch is covered under general liability; foot patrol would have to be without concealed carry, no leaving notes at doors, and no confrontation.
         1. S Fitzsimmons says Neighborhood Watch is not going to pursue having foot patrols.
      3. C Kreimendahl has mixed feelings. Members are paying dues so that we can pay insurance? His understanding of nonprofit boards and this type of insurance is that it is usually used for employment related matters (hiring/firing/discrimination) and most of the claims fall into that category. We don’t have staff.
      4. MJ Armstrong says it’s only $456 and it would be more costly to hire someone if need and we don’t buy coverage.
         1. R Rotter will have to write a check to a lawyer which will be $500 just to get advice.
      5. C Kreimendahl says we’ve always had the general coverage and this errors and omissions is separate to cover the board.
      6. Motion to purchase both general liability and directors and officers insurance.
         1. Motion passes.
      7. R Rotter says we can re-assess whether to buy it year-by-year
4. Legislative Reports - Maurice Cheeks/Carousel Bayrd
   1. Not present
5. Ash Tree Adoption in our Parks - E Rogers
   1. Charlie Romines from Madison City Parks was invited to give us information about ash trees and emerald ash borer (EAB).
   2. E Rogers made maps of ash trees. There are at least 40 in 4 parks he visited that are marked orange. These trees may be taken down. They might or might not be eligible for treatment.
   3. C. Romines is the Assistant Park Superintendent. There are 266 parks and golf courses. Along with street terrace, when you see a yellow dot on a tree, that’s what we’ve used to mark trees to be removed. On terrace, there’s not an adoption policy but in the parks there is an adoption process. Just because trees are marked orange, doesn’t mean it cannot be adopted but it’s been marked for removal because it hasn’t been adopted. If not adopted, it will be removed. Black upside down mark or blue dot indicates what year the tree was adopted. Chemical treatment used is TREE-age, which is good for 3 years. Trees have to continue to be adopted for as long as you want to keep them. In Michigan, ash trees are still dying and it’s been over 20 years. There will be a crest of when bug is at its peak but as it exhausts its food source it will come down, but it will not disappear. There’s some evidence that they might find other trees as they run out of ash trees, but it's anecdotal at this point. The way the adoption process works is that we contact a Park Supervisor (West) and let them know which tree or trees we're interested in adopting and they can do visual inspection based on decline of tree, trunk wounds, or leaf out. If tree is healthy enough, allow it to be adopted. They have a list of 6 private companies that do treatment and that becomes a private transaction between adopter and the tree care company. Company provides treatment information to Parks and they keep that on file. In Parks it’s 3 men and a chainsaw and a tower truck and a chipper taking down trees marked orange. They have a lot of work ahead of them. Smaller parks, they assess the ash trees and the idea is that if it won’t be in good health in 3 years, take it down now. For larger parks, taking 1-year approach. Can’t visit every park every year so have to get trees down while we’re there. In this part of the city, hazard to guess that there are very few ash trees that are too far gone from EAB, but there are other bugs and diseases. Had EAB across from Nakoma golf club. But just because EAB present, doesn’t mean it’s too late. If tree has declined 30-40%, it’s too late to be saved. Suspect most trees in this part of town do have EAB, but not too far gone to be treated.
      1. M Armstrong asks if the treatment kills bugs or deters them. Does it slow the progress of EAB?
         1. Kills, thus slows progress of EAB a bit, but limited. Had 22,000 ash trees on city terraces; in round numbers, 12,000 removed and 10,000 treated. In Parks, 30,000-40,000 ash trees. Many in wood lots that we’ll let nature take its course on. If more trees were being treated, could slow EAB but there are lots of trees.
      2. What is effect of treatment on other insects?
         1. It is an insecticide. Research shows no effect on woodpeckers, mostly because once an insect dies it’s not of interest to a woodpecker. To be clear, it will kill most insects in the tree.
      3. Terrace tree with green dot, has it been treated?
         1. Yes.
      4. Who is responsible for pruning?
         1. Parks Forestry. Some of the pruning that is not an emergency might be lower priority right now.
      5. Is city treating trees?
         1. Treating 10,000 ash trees in terrace
      6. If we move forward with adoption program for our parks, and they say a certain percentage of the trees can’t be saved, do you have a timeline?
         1. Parks arborist crew is just west of Goodman pool so likely late summer and early fall they'll be here. They do notify Alders when move into their district. Typically they have not reached out to neighborhood associations, because rely on alders to do that. Hard to be precise with scheduling. Not spending much time scouting because it’s everywhere.
      7. Follow-up question is will Parks be paying to put in new trees?
         1. Terrace trees because affects heating/cooling and home values, but in parks do faster turnover and replant trees within 3 growing seasons, depending on availability of trees and growing seasons. Parks might not be replanted 1-to-1, maybe more, maybe less. For example, 480 trees removed from Tenney Park and views are opened up and so replanting 220 new trees (not ash trees) and keeping vista open. Other smaller neighborhood parks have additional planting sites so actually planted more than we’re taking down.
      8. Regarding use of insecticide, it helps protect other trees, possibly?
         1. Delays growth of EAB but have over 100,000 private ash trees so 10,000 being treated isn’t stemming the flow.
      9. If we treat these trees and they move to other trees, does that help us protect ash trees?
         1. Right now the science would tell you that they don’t go to other trees. That’s a question that has to be answered.
      10. How do you dispose of tree removed?
          1. Primary way is that they are taken to reduction facility and chipped up. Streets sells those chips to farmers and landscapers to make back money. Madison Parks is first entity in nation that takes urban trees to create playground safety surfacing and they can certify wooden playground equipment the same as manufacturers do. Undergoing major playground renovation as Parks division and some places doing that instead of rubber.
      11. How do we get rid of rubber?
          1. Neighborhood association notified and people at the meeting decide about rubber or wood mulch. Do divert some wood to that. Anyway making a trip to Festival Foods; most of the wood came from Tenney Park and those were ash trees that were otherwise headed for the chipper. Whole Trees engineered that. Also working with Wisconsin Urban Wood to have them identify some of the trees with orange dots that their local sawyers have interest in and takes only little work by Parks for them to be there when it’s cut and drop it into their truck. They give back something to the city in exchange (picnic table, bench, conference table, from harder wood).
      12. Could you give a brief outline of species using for replacement?
          1. There is a list of 28-29 trees that can be found on the Parks website. If not readily available, can make that available. Our tree species list gets approved every year by habitat stewardship subcommittee. In 2006, the ash was kicked off this list. Trees are added and deleted every year.
      13. Are there budgetary restrictions for this tree replacement program and, if so, can interested people invest in other species to be planted.
          1. Can’t increase number of species, but as far as augmenting the plan, that they have enough dollars to do. Madison has entered into contract growing; obligating future councils to buy trees with their money. Still 1.5 years away or so from contract grows coming in. But there will be tightening down as more and more municipalities chase the same trees. Right now, if a neighborhood association gave money for new trees, it would just be additional dollars to chase the same trees with. If we're planning to put in 10 trees, would still put in 10 trees. Not lacking funding in this area.
      14. If there were 3 trees planted in a park, anything neighbors can do to augment care while they grow?
          1. Always happy to take volunteers, especially to water trees. Urban Tree Alliance on northeast side of city organized volunteers to water and mulch. As trees are being planted in the parks, if there’s interest in their care, Parks is very happy to accept that help. In 2012, very hot and dry summer, had to pull people off a lot of Parks and Forestry work to water trees.
      15. Any sign of a native predator that would help us out with EAB?
          1. University of Wisconsin and Michigan State looking at parasitic wasps. Might have been released in Michigan and/or Ohio. They kill EAB, but not in sufficient numbers to make a big difference.
      16. As E Rogers was touring the parks, every time he found playground equipment, it was in large part, if not entirely, shaded by ash trees, is that based on past policy? With two young children, he knows playgrounds will get hot without shade trees.
          1. Poor planning. When Dutch elm disease rolled through in 1960s and 1970s, ash trees were available and cheap and could withstand tough growing conditions (e.g., terrace) and they don’t throw a lot of trash around. Grow tall and upright. The ash tree was a great tree until it wasn’t. Now that ash is leaving us, have this issue around the city where we will have playgrounds exposed to sun until new trees grow up. Suspect that’s why ash trees put in.
      17. Possible to adopt a tree and plant a new tree?
          1. If in a park where good planting sites taken up, would be tough to adopt and plant new. But if want some gone and keep some ash, that would allow more orderly retreat if could save some trees for shade until new ones grow. Generally speaking, yes, would have to assess park-by-park. Tenney Park neighborhood association did that.
      18. Does Parks have forestry plan or should the Neighborhood Association produce one?
          1. Way that it worked with Tenney Lapham Neighborhood Association is that he went to a meeting similar to this and they were looking to fundraise to save a certain amount of ash trees (not all, but some) so they went on a walk and identified some that were in great shape and they fund-raised to adopt those. Whole Trees paid Parks for trees that went to Festival Foods, which allowed them to adopt additional trees. Neighborhood Association was driving force for finding funds. Believe by end of this year, everything that is being re-planted at Tenney, will be replanted.
      19. How much did neighborhood weigh in on what trees, e.g., fruit trees?
          1. Had a few locations where neighborhoods wanted to be involved in tree siting and they’ve kind of shied away from that because there are so many parks and they have to be efficient, especially if want to replant within a year. At Tenney, they didn’t pick what trees went in. At larger parks, might make a plan; at smaller parks, hired a total of 10 staff (staff have landscape architecture and horticulture degrees, 3 arborists, 5 city forestry). Tenney Park had a plan put together, landscape architects were involved and they presented at Neighborhood Association. For parks like Slater Park, won’t have landscape architect get involved; it will be landscape workers with education about trees. Having one of them or their supervisor take a walk with us at Slater Park and discuss what trees to adopt can be accommodated. Hard to have too many opinions about what trees go where because there are 266 parks.
      20. In our neighborhood, it’s Slater Park that’s going to get hit.
          1. Near Atwood, they tied green ribbons on trees to alert people about what was going on and many ash trees were saved that might have been cut down. Now they’re painted orange. If there’s interest to bring up awareness, they’re happy to help. They provided the green tape and allowed signage to be put up at Atwood. Neighborhood connected signs to ribbons to explain why green ribbons were there.
             1. R Rotter thinks at Slater Park, we just need a sign at the playground to ask people to send money to Midvale Heights to facilitate the adoption of ash trees.
          2. C Romines notes that is we adopt a group of trees, it's little cheaper. $10-12 per diameter inch, so $200-300 for 3-year treatment.
          3. Slater has 9 trees.
      21. C Kreimendahl asks if he comes with money and says he wants to adopt a particular tree, they do health evaluation, but is there planning beyond that (e.g., replaced in 10 years anyway).
          1. If already there, already mature and healthy enough, allow it be adopted. Like to have larger trees stay. If walk in Slater Park and talk orderly retreat (save these, let these go) then have to be cognizant of future equipment so think about that when siting trees and that’s part of what landscape workers will do.
      22. To extent that we’re eager to preserve canopy or shade on playground equipment, get sense that people don’t have very specific trees in mind so imagine if we started a fundraiser we would be amendable to guidance by experts. If we collected money, get information about orderly retreat, to what extent should we be reaching out to you as June comes around when you can assess health of trees. We want to work hand-in-hand.
          1. If there’s a concerted effort to get funding around adopting trees, then we should figure out what is realistic number of trees that could be adopted and then we’d take a walk in certain parks that group is interested in. If think it’ll be 10 trees or 40 trees, walk and see what makes most sense (considering playground, large specimens, etc.). But if you don’t think it’s realistic to save 60 trees, let’s not find 60 trees. Best to get on this sooner rather than later even if funds not all there yet so that we don’t cut down trees. Chemical treatment season runs until end of August. Goal is not to cut down healthy ash trees, but need to move and be efficient.
      23. When do you know if ash has hit over 30-40% of the tree?
          1. Look at the crown. Is it leafed out fully or seeing thinned out canopy? Or general thinning? Parks forestry website gives examples of percentage.
      24. J Chipault brings up that she had a terrace tree treated but it's not looking good. At what frequency are you re-checking?
          1. Street trees are re-assessed every three years now. There are other things that could affect it besides EAB.
             1. MJ Armstrong says this year the late freeze affected ash trees
                1. Yes, ash got hit by freeze because they leaf out early. If not full and healthy by end of June, might be something else.
      25. Big question is how much money do we spend on trees? We have four major parks (Piper only has 2 ash trees and they've been treated because they have blue spray paint so someone adopted them so not worried about that park). Big one is Slater Park.
          1. J Thoreson counted 12 trees near playground equipment.
      26. So what are the next steps?
          1. C Romines say if we are ready to officially adopt a tree, that would be handled by West Parks. Someone would take a walk through a park or parks and identify trees with us. If trunks not wounded and canopy looks full, then adoptable. Then up to adopting folks to contact private arborists and work out price. They send in the form to Parks.
             1. So we need to take a walk through 3 parks.
          2. Talked a bit about this last month and decided we’d get matching funds.
          3. Would be nice to keep the big trees but get some little ones in there.
             1. Maybe it makes sense to save 3, cut 3, and plant 3. Give new trees some years to grow up and then come back and cut down other 3 ash when new trees have provided some shade so not adopting for more rounds.
      27. C Kreimendahl asks if they use satellite or aerial photography to determine what loss there would be.
          1. No. City of Milwaukee has done that. Something Madison is interested in and aware of, but can tell what kind of tree from airplane footage and satellite photos (ash are easy to pick out).
      28. MJ Armstrong asks about adopting care.
          1. Have a lot of great volunteers but not great volunteer coordination. No coordinator on staff. But they can put together a volunteer initiative with us. If we say we’ll take care of trees in parks, they can provide mulch and gator bags and would support that.
      29. How are other trees, like oak trees, doing?
          1. Oaks are as fine as they’ve ever been. No current massive threats. Maple might be the next one to be hit, by the Japanese longhorn beetle. They had it in Chicago a couple of years ago.
      30. If trees are healthy otherwise, they should bounce back from the early freeze?
          1. Yes.
      31. E Rogers says we’ll probably want to put together some group of interested neighbors who would want to participate and be there when we do walk through park. Door knocking or mailers, etc. If interested in helping further, contact E Rogers and he will coordinate.
6. Neighborhood Picnic - C Kreimendahl
   1. Shortly after last meeting, had confirmed co-coordinators to take over organization and set up for picnic. They both have kids and have done previous similar events. They have met with our previous picnic coordinator, who had point-by-point blueprint of everything. Just sent out postcard today, he thinks, to invite everyone to the picnic. As of a few days ago, don’t have any news. They contacted HyVee and expect they can get them again this year. They have a small number of people who are volunteers for the picnic but anyone else who wants to help out can contact C Kreimendahl and he can forward information to them if you’re willing to help the day of the picnic.
      1. C Rotter already emailed about tables available for use at the picnic.
7. Announcements – Board
   1. S Fitzsimmons brings up the practice dropping off flyers between doors. Neighbor contacted him and was adamant about MHCA not doing it because it alerts passers-by that the person is not home.
      1. If we stop, we would have to mail them. What would it cost to mail it?
      2. K Reuter-Krohn says a lot of people are locking their screen doors now so can’t put it there.
      3. R Rotter says we’re not the only people who do it, e.g., phone books, fundraisers, etc.
      4. If you go away, ask a neighbor to watch your house.
      5. It's only 7 times a year that we’re delivering.
         1. Could we bundle messenger and membership?
            1. Membership Messenger delivered to everyone, while newsletters delivered every 2 months only go to members.
      6. Could explain to person that we think the personal touch of a person delivering the newsletter to your door is worth something versus mailing it.
      7. Could let them know that it’s May or June that membership messenger comes out so that if they aren't a member, they know when to expect their one annual newsletter.
      8. K Reuter-Krohn says one of her block captains had quite a few apartments and he had no way to get in to deliver newsletter.
         1. MJ Armstrong says often there’s a table
         2. J Chipault says under a rug or under a stone on the stoop is what she has had to do.
   2. T Jarvis says we have about a dozen members already. Had about 10 people use online registration form. One of them said they’d pay by PayPal but didn’t, one said they’d send a check. People are using it.
      1. C Kreimendahl asks T Jarvis to email to ask for help entering information when he gets a lot of forms.
         1. T Jarvis explains that when assigned to the group, can add forms. Until then, can only register yourself. After you’ve registered, he’ll add you to the group to fill other forms.
   3. Have over 500 registered email addresses for the neighborhood watch.
   4. Anything more from Westmorland regarding July 4th?
      1. E Rogers talked with them. There’s something on the front of the newsletter. At last meeting, did move to give $1,000. On their newsletter, they put out a call for volunteers. They’d still be thrilled if we had any business contacts that we could forward their way. But David Blouin hasn’t reached out.
         1. We talked about picking some sort of ride to sponsor
            1. E Rogers relayed that we’d be interested in that but he hasn’t heard back.
   5. Midvale Heights received an award from the Madison Police Department for effort to promote safety in community by supporting the Midtown Station. Also an award to Steve Fitzsimmons for running our neighborhood watch.
      1. S Fitzsimmons says have volunteers now that make neighborhood watch continue to grow. Main thing is communicating. Also have great people in our neighborhood.
      2. J Thoreson encourages future attendance of Madison Police awards program; it was impressive.
   6. E. Rogers remind people to keep your eyes out for new neighbors because this is the time for house turnover. Remember that we have new neighbor welcome packets.
8. Meeting adjourned at 8:16pm

Notes recorded by J Chipault, secretary

Midvale Heights Community Association Board Meeting
Tuesday, April 26th 2016 – 6:45 p.m. – Sequoya Branch Library

Area Directors present: Jim Thoreson, Ed Rogers, Wendy Weber, Jenny Chipault, Steve Fitzsimmons, Gregory Fischer, Paul Haskew, Mary Jane Armstrong, Peter Schell, Chuck Kreimendahl, Denise Lamb, Tim Trapp, Tom Jarvis
Other neighbors present: Bill Slater Jr., Ceri Jenkins

1. Call to Order & Introductions - E Rogers
   1. Introductions done.
2. Prior Minutes Review/Approval - Board
   1. We have two months' worth of minutes to approve because we did not have a quorum last month.
      1. J Chipault to amend the March minutes to make "bike pad" into "bike maintenance pad."
   2. Motion to approve February minutes, seconded, approved.
   3. Motion to approve March minutes as amended, seconded, approved.
3. Treasurer’s Report - R Rotter
   1. R Rotter couldn't be here but he provided hand-out of treasurer's report.
   2. E Rogers gave it a quick scan. The only thing that stuck out was $200 spent for special events, which was for Music in the Park.
   3. R Rotter also previously gave E Rogers information on continuation of our insurance coverage, which would lapse June 1 is not acted upon. R Rotter has been looking into continuance and has information. Currently have general liability that we pay $651 for per year but, in talking with insurance consultant, while we could keep going at this same rate, we should get directors' and officers' coverage. It's not enough that our organization is covered, but we ourselves should be covered for any actions or mistakes we might make and that extra coverage would amount to $450. R Rotter was also able to get cover sheets for these quotes. E Rogers read them. These do not specify what's insured, they specify modifications to what's insured, lots of modifiers but doesn't specify what's going on. We could go one of two ways: we could trust that this is a good quote or we could have someone investigate an alternate quote. Our next meeting is in May so could get another quote and could go with that before our June coverage deadline.
      1. D Lamb asks if it's the same company
         1. J Thoreson thinks that 's what R Rotter said at last meeting
      2. G Fischer asks what we'd be worried about?
         1. E. Rogers reads from form: things such as membership and voting notice, policies issued by us, exclusion for harassment, molestation, sexual misconduct, terrorism.
            1. G Fischer says this coverage excludes molestation?
               1. Right.
      3. We should see what's actually covered
         1. E Rogers relays that R Rotter thinks we should get the extra coverage but we could request more information from him.
      4. J Thoreson asks if Jake Keyes (contact on insurance) could email the board.
      5. D Lamb wonders whether or not baseball league has own coverage
         1. Yes, and they sign a waiver
         2. E Rogers says general part of insurance includes a policy about baseball or softball. But that's just from a cover sheet.
      6. T Trapp says cover letter looks like we're changing companies.
         1. J Chipault recalls that our company was done doing business so they recommended us to another company
      7. MJ Armstrong will follow-up with R Rotter and talk to her agent to see what they say and ask Jake Keyes to email to the board.
         1. D Lamb suggests letting R Rotter know that we'll be contacting Jake.
      8. E Rogers says this will need an up or down vote at our next meeting because we don't want to be without coverage.
         1. MJ Armstrong says it's entirely possible that if we cancel we could get prorated money back if we decide to switch. She'll ask about that too.
      9. E Rogers asks to be cc-ed on any emails that are sent about insurance.
4. Legislative Reports - Maurice Cheeks/Carousel Bayrd
   1. Not present
5. Ash Tree Adoption in our Parks - E Rogers
   1. E Rogers recently joined Nextdoor.com and one thing that our neighbor, Ceri Jenkins, brought up on the site was an exchange about the trees in our parks, specifically the ash trees. You've probably seen the spray painting that's been done. E Rogers took pictures at Slater, Odana Hills, and Piper Parks. There was a lot of interest on the website and people wanted to know what could be done. Ceri lead the charge and got information from Madison Parks. To summarize, it sounds like these ash trees, if nothing is done, will die. The emerald ash borer (EAB) is in the city of Madison. There is a treatment protocol that the city has been reluctant to engage in; it's rather expensive if done city-wide. Parks has said it will create an adopt-a-tree program where individuals or organizations can request that certain trees be saved. Trees have to pass a certain threshold of viability. The trees marked with yellow paint are too small to save. Also, if trunk damage or if EAB has taken out over 40% of it already, it will not survive. We won't know which trees are savable until June because that's when enough leaves are out. The treatments are $10-$15 per diameter inch of trunk so for an 18 inch tree that's about $200. Each treatment lasts about 3 years. So we would have to do it again in 3 years unless another treatment comes out that's better. Essentially, Parks is leasing trees for the rest of their lives. E Rogers went to Segoe, Slater, and Piper Parks and counted the ash trees. He also took a look at Odana Hills Park but it merges with Odana golf course, which has too many trees to count. Slater Park is really going to be devastated by this; it has 9 ash trees that are disproportionately around the playground equipment which will remove shade from playground equipment and we already have a playground at Segoe Park that isn't shaded. If we don't act, we'll be losing some trees. C Jenkins and E Rogers communicated and it sounds like she'd be willing to help us by coordinating an effort by the neighborhood if people wanted to donate funds. She could help take the lead on something like this. Not sure how the neighborhood association would like to contribute. E Rogers says a lot of people not here tonight were on Nextdoor.com chiming in and saying they would like to contribute and would put money toward saving trees in our parks. There seems to be earnest desire to get this done.
      1. MJ Armstrong asks if there is any information about how long the EAB is expected to be problematic. Does it have a cycle?
         1. D Lamb understands that you have to treat it long enough for the EAB to move on to a different area and once it has killed all the local ash they would move on because there's nothing to eat.
         2. E Rogers says the chemical used is called TREE-age. Parks said each tree would need treatment for the life of the tree. Treatment was originally thought to be more acute but it seems Parks is satisfied now that TREE-age can last for 3 years. Parks will not be doing any administering of the pesticide, but instead they'll provide a permit for contractors who have city right-of-way paperwork already worked out and allow them to do it. There's 8-9 contractors with this type of permit.
      2. MJ Armstrong has a big tree and had it treated and it's doing very well. She was originally told it would need to be treated every year.
      3. D Lamb says all we have to do is pay these guys, we don't have to supervise?
         1. E Rogers says there are two steps: go to Parks and fill out the adoption form. Parks makes sure the tree is still savable, then you go to the private contractor and coordinate the work
      4. C Jenkins says the city has said a few neighborhoods have done a tree plan and with this issue it might be wise to do so. We could look at the 9 trees first and see what's viable and if they aren't viable then what might we want to replace them with. Someone at Nextdoor.com said we shouldn't have just one kind of tree and perhaps we should replace with fruit trees. C Jenkins is interested in that too. Realistically some trees will die, but C Jenkins think there's space here for thinking of a long-term plan.
         1. MJ Armstrong says in Slater Park we have 9 significant trees, so if we sort of did every other one, that would that be a significant thing to do or should we do all in one area?
         2. C Jenkins said Parks would be willing to talk with us about which trees. They've done a lot of work on terraces so they aren't new to this work but just new to this work in Parks. We could stand at the playgrounds in June and see what the shade looks like. Could wrap in planting of trees in Segoe Park into tree plan.
            1. They have marked every ash tree so it would be easy to see which ones might be gone.
               1. MJ Armstrong thinks small ash trees already taken down.
      5. E Rogers says Odana School Park has 4 ash shading the parking lot that he thinks are all marked in yellow. Parks says it's going to be slow-going taking them all down because have to remove 10,000 ash trees in the city of Madison.
      6. C Jenkins asks if we would want to pay someone to remove a tree and then be able to plant a new tree? The forester she talked to brought up that having a variety in canopy, different heights, would be good. Anyone who has to spend time pushing a kid on a swing would give some money to have some trees there.
      7. E Rogers thinks it sounds like we could ask neighbors to contribute, but as neighborhood association do we want to collect funds?
         1. MJ Armstrong wonders if we want to match funds up to a certain amount.
      8. J Thoreson asks if someone should come talk to us to provide more details.
         1. E Rogers says forester said he's be happy to talk to us. He lives down Midvale near Summit Woods Park. He could give presentation. Infected trees were found on Manitou Way and near the library so the EAB is here.
      9. S Fitzsimmons wonders about raising our membership fee from $15 to $20 and if we raised it we'd bring in $2000 per year for trees.
         1. D Lamb says problem is when would we add another $5 for this good cause, there'd always be another good cause. We've had good responses to putting line-items in the membership applications. Plus, we have sufficient funding. Midvale Heights could pledge and ask people to pledge and certainly people involved can pound on doors.
            1. Mary Jane thinks it would do well as a line-item on the membership form.
         2. J Thoreson says even if it's a separate meeting that the forester wants to do, J Thoreson would like to hear more about it. If we get the money and we're waiting what would we do?
            1. C Jenksins says the trees would be assessed in June but they have to be treated by August.
            2. E Rogers says we probably need to raise money before we know how many trees we'll be acting on. Say we lose 95% of our trees, we could do more treatments to ones that survive or we could allocate funds for planting new trees. As long as we're up front while collecting money then we're giving them a healthy canopy in their parks so if we're replacing trees that are gone, they'd probably agree with that.
      10. D Lamb asks, in theory, how many trees do we have to treat? In Slater, which is dark in summertime, could we live without some? If we put a line item in the membership form for donations and put a bucket out at the picnic then we'll know in July how much money we have and we can add MHCA funds to make up what we need.
          1. MJ Armstrong says when you drive by Slater Park there's always something going on there. It's a heavily used.
          2. J Thoreson asks if we can get a number from the park on how many could be saved
             1. E Rogers says they won't know until the end of June how many are affected.
      11. MJ Armstrong says it's treatment every 3 years so it's not like we'd have to treat every year
      12. D Lamb says they'll still be chopping down small ones so we could use money to replace those.
          1. E Rogers Parks is prepared with adopt-a tree program but when it comes to planting new trees, we'll have to coordinate with Parks Department landscape architects. They'll want to be involved.
          2. C Jenkins understood that they wouldn't do the planting if we were to replace trees. They don't have any funding for this.
      13. G Fischer point out that trees create a lot of property value.
      14. MJ Armstrong thinks this is a significant thing and that we should pick a dollar amount. And that we should have a tree plan. If we do $5,000 then that would get us through Slater Park trees and if we have matching funds maybe we could look at Odana Hills Park.
          1. E Rogers says line item on membership form is a no-brainer. We should add it there. E Rogers also likes the matching funds idea, with a cap.
          2. D Lamb says by August we'll know what contributions are going to be like so we'd have a sense of how much money we could invest every three years.
      15. W Weber asks if it would be helpful or confusing to have someone at that meeting with the forester to also talk about new tree planting.
          1. E Rogers says maybe ask Parks could send a landscape architect.
          2. W Weber says maybe they could talk to each other beforehand so they're both aware of what the issues are and we'd know what each departments would do.
             1. C Jenkins's impression is that forestry is operational and Parks is more about the planning. The west side Parks person would be the person to come. To have them both there would be great. That's another question she has; she's a long-term resident of this neighborhood and having worked with enough community organizations, she knows that being involved in a community organization is better than going rogue. Whatever happens with the Nextdoor.com group could be organized through this group.
          3. D Lamb asks if we could get someone for the May meeting? We could put the May meeting in E Rogers newsletter article so that anyone interested in hearing what these people say could be here.
             1. E Rogers will ask those people to see if we can get together a team willing to speak at our May meeting.
                1. C Jenkins asks if this would be more general information for the public.
                   1. If yes, we'll broadcast and have the public come. We're all super enthusiastic when an enthusiastic neighbor takes up a good cause.
      16. J Thoreson asks if yellow and orange labels are decoded on their website; Segoe all the way to Hilldale is yellow.
          1. Think yellow is going to be taken down and orange is a maybe. Under 10" inches diameter or trunk damage or other diseases or under a powerline means that trees will be taken down.
          2. MJ Armstrong say it's not just ashes, she had a maple taken down.
          3. G Fischer thinks it's decoded on the city website
      17. T Jarvis asks how we get notified when they decide on the "maybes"?
          1. J Chipault says C Jenkins will likely be in touch with them.
          2. E Rogers might just call them mid-June
      18. G Fischer says there three issues: 1) are we doing the adopt-a-tree program, 2) do we want to set up an endowment fund, and 3) what is the city's plan for replacement of trees.
          1. C Jenkins says she doesn't think it will cost money to replace trees but it might take a while. There are 3 staff members to remove trees city-wide.
             1. J Thoreson wonders what the forestry tax line-item that's $3 is going toward.
          2. E Rogers says we should add a line-item on membership form (tax deductable), as for creating a matching fund scenario this is something to put a motion and vote on.
             1. MJ Armstrong motions that we create a matching dollar fund up to $5,000 to work on ash trees and tree plan going forward.
                1. J Thoreson asks where she got the $5,000 figure.
                   1. MJ Armstrong says by taking trees in all the parks that E Rogers mapped and assuming $300 per tree, but there's still a lot of trees in Odana Hills that we could work on with matching funds. If we only spent some this year, then a couple years down the road, we would have money to continue treatment or planting.
                2. C Kreimendahl feels too uniformed to support the motion. The city has studied this extensively, they have a lot of information that we're scratching the surface on. C Kreimendahl doesn't know what long-term success of inoculation is, don't know what the answers of some of the other questions that were raised, don't know what $5,000 would do, if someone adopts a tree then would they be up in arms if we don't' select that tree. C Kreimendahl suggests that we have this meeting forthwith would be a good idea.
                3. J Thoreson suggests tabling the motion until we hear from the forester and have the follow-up meeting. Doesn't sound like city is sure how to tackle it.
                4. MJ Armstrong says we've been talking about trees in parks for years. Even if we don't' do any ash tree saving, it seems like a reasonable investment to make in our parks.
                   1. D Lamb says us planting trees is a whole new can of worms.
                      1. P Schell says didn't we try to plant trees at Segoe Park and they denied us.
                         1. E Rogers says we have to have consent of landscape crew at Parks. And there's also the wrinkle that only the neighborhoods of means get nice parks so that's why they're reluctant to take our money and plant the trees we ask for because other neighborhoods want trees too.
                            1. C Jenkins thinks since we're replacing ash trees it might be something different. It's not new in many parts of the country. Some people in Nextdoor.com were concerned about bees but ash trees don't flower, and kids won't be exposed to the pesticide because way it's injected. Think it would be helpful to talk to the city but she was pretty convinced. The research on this pesticide seems really sound.
                   2. E Rogers says J Thoreson made an amendment to table the $5,000 motion.
                      1. D Lamb seconds that.
                      2. P Schell asks if we can do an amended motion without a dollar amount attached to it? Can we fundraise and let people know that we can keep money in our nonprofit account. And can keep the money for years until the next treatment is needed. Another thing we could provide is seed money for whatever treatment is needed. P Schell is picking up on the fact that there's a time-sensitive nature to this task and fundraising takes time. People in our neighborhood are passionate about this and we could raise money for years, but as an association we could provide seed money. P Schell is in favor of doing this, but not comfortable attaching a dollar amount. P Schell wants to remove the dollar amount and make a motion.
                         1. G Fischer reminds us that it's matching funds and could go up to $5,000. This is a time sensitive issue to set up an adoption plan.
                         2. MJ Armstrong thinks we should move forward with the tree plan.
                         3. D Lamb says we could float $5,000 to do it at the last minute and then fundraise to get that money back.
                         4. Decision to table matching funds discussion until after the May meeting.
      19. J Thoreson notes that we don't want to shoot down Nextdoor.com group, so they can feed us information.
      20. MJ Armstrong says a lot of people are using the parks and using them because their kids are little now. Would be nice to get an idea from the parks for new plantings.
      21. E Rogers will put it in the newsletter. Asks C Jenkins to communicate that there's no promise of anything yet from the neighborhood association but we are looking into contributing to the effort.
          1. C Jenkins asks if people can start sending checks to us?
             1. P Schell says there's an online form.
             2. J Chipault makes a motion to allow checks for adopt-a-tree program to be sent to MHCA in support of saving ash trees in Midvale Heights parks and planning for replacements those trees that will need to be removed.
                1. Motion passes.
6. Neighborhood Picnic - C Kreimendahl
   1. C Kreimendahl has couple of people likely to coordinate the picnic this year. They are meeting this Saturday at 1pm at the library. There are probably 5-6 volunteers altogether, including people who signed up on the membership form. If you know anyone else who's interested, they don't' have to be worried about being asked to do something they aren't prepared to do. C Kreimendahl says we've all supported the picnic in the past and there's $2,000 in the budget for it. Last year there were some negotiations and we approved $1,200 but then HyVee said they'd have to adjust their price up. They talked to the manager at HyVee and whittled it down to what it had been before.
      1. D Lamb says HyVee check was $1,050 last year.
      2. C Kreimendahl suggests we approve $1,500 for spending on the picnic this year in case HyVee comes in higher.
         1. S Fitzsimmons notes that last year we ran out of food.
            1. C Kreimendahl thinks planned for 200 last year and it was well-attended.
      3. D Lamb says she'll put something in the newsletter and we'll send out postcards again to remind people, right?
         1. Technically everyone in neighborhood is invited so think everyone gets a postcard
      4. Date is June 23rd, Thursday. Rain date will be next Thursday, June 30th.
      5. J Chipault motions that we approve $1,500 to be used for the 2016 picnic.
         1. Seconded.
         2. C Kreimendahl says we don't usually vote on budget items but since it's a big ticket item, perhaps we should vote. R Rotter puts $2,000 in the budget.
            1. Motion approved.
7. Summer Concert Series - D Lamb
   1. D Lamb sent letter to about a dozen bands. Some from neighborhood. She asked them to keep Saturday open as a rain date and got a lot of push-back on that, so trashing that idea. Last year we only did 2 concerts so would have been a bummer to be rained out, but this year we have 4 bands so if we get rained out on one it's not a big deal. Maybe could look for indoor venue to use in future years. We have to have a permit for amplification ($100 to city), paying $400 to each band, and they'll play for 90 minutes. Some advertising needs to be done; flyers to hand out at July 4th and the picnic and putting something in the newsletter.
      1. J Chipault asks about banner by the park.
         1. R Rotter says he'll print whatever we want.
            1. T Trapp asks if need permit?
               1. D Lamb says just put it up the day of or day before.
      1. J Thoreson will email his friend to see if could play
      2. C Kreimendahl asks when we hope to have commitments from the bands
         1. Two of them will do it. Is there some sort of one-page contract we should have them sign? ####C Kreimendahl suggests talking to Dave Blouin from Westmorland.
      3. E Rogers says to tag on to concerts, Make Music Madison is June 21st. This year it's on a Tuesday. E Rogers can only be there from 5:30 to 8:30, so he put up 3 one-hour slots for music and they filled up right away. If someone else wanted to start the show earlier, we could do that but need someone to babysit the inverter and make sure the bands leave on time. If not, he'll just show up at 5:30 and get things started. Don't' remember name of all the bands but we are 3 years running with the Sultan of Squeeze, but this year he's changed his name to Squeezebox Paradox.
         1. D Lamb got a request from church on Mineral Point, which are also hosting Make Music Madison and are serving food. Do we have an indoor venue?
            1. E Rogers says we are canceling in case of rain
8. 2016 Membership Campaign - D Lamb
   1. E Rogers says the membership campaign will be coming up. His sense for this year's membership drive is that things went well last year so perhaps just do an encore but if others think that something needs to change, he's open to hearing about it. Current plan is to create a Membership Messenger, have it delivered by block captains to everyone on their block, and Tom did discount cards.
      1. D Lamb says we need new a line item for trees in the membership form.
         1. T Jarvis says we should remove Kids Clubhouse since that program has been discontinued.
            1. D Lamb took out Kids Clubhouse, added the neighborhood watch and music in the parks. We now have a master gardener working on Bison Prairie. There's an article on the prairie burn at Odana; Marcel Wuethrich wrote an article and took pictures for the Messenger.
      2. T Jarvis says E Rogers has brought up allowing people to register for multiple years at once, which would mean the form would need to be changed.
         1. E Rogers says we could try to push for this here or we could discuss via email. T Jarvis came up with good points such as what about one-time donations to line items? Or could we do subscriptions. What if someone leaves town, do we pro-rate? Questions that we could probably come to a consensus on but perhaps not this year.
         2. D Lamb says we used to have two-year memberships and we were out of money at the end of the second year. People move in and out of the neighborhood.
         3. T Jarvis says we're still collecting per year but people could pay for multiple years at a time.
            1. E Rogers brings up something like a magazine subscription that hits the credit card
               1. T Jarvis notes that might be hard to program on the website.
         4. J Thoreson thinks it could be nice, but logistics would be difficult and people might forget about us.
         5. D Lamb notes that we would still need to send discount cards for every year.
            1. T Jarvis is putting number and name on card and could put an expiration date.
               1. P Schell says could still send them a new card every year, which would help us reach people who just forgot to renew so this gives people a chance of "hey, we have your attention, do you want to just pay $45 now?" Would have to mark that they paid for future years.
                  1. T Jarvis said might have to remind them when they're about to expire.
         6. J Thoreson asks if we should survey the association to see if people want it.
            1. T Jarvis thinks that 1-2 people have written in that they would like it. If 85% said they'd like a two-year membership, then we could prep for it
         7. C Kreimendahl echos P Schell's point that we do lose people.
            1. D Lamb says still would have a drive every year. For every person we lose, we'd get new people.
         8. J Chipault suggests we wait until next year
         9. T Jarvis says have added expiration to database.
9. Announcements - Board
   1. E Rogers relays that Dave Blouin says Sunset Village has approved up to $500 in support of the July 4th celebration. Current budget projects double what they usually lose, so $4,000. Primitive Culture is the main band. They did get insurance for bounce house, dunk tank, and petting zoo.
      1. D Lamb says he wrote a newsletter article. She attended a July 4th celebration planning meeting. She thought it might be easiest if we're just responsible for one event, e.g., dunk tank. Has he said anything about fund raising and getting sponsors?
         1. E Rogers knows he brought up that we could use our connections to seek sponsors, but he hasn't given us target fundraising goal or a menu of options for sponsoring.
            1. D Lamb says our newsletter advertisers duplicate their newsletter advertisers up to about 90%. We could go around to people who accept our neighborhood card. She did make sure that sponsors of any amount would be on t-shirts made. She gets emails about the planning.
      2. J Thoreson makes a motion to donate $500 toward the Westmorland July 4th celebration.
         1. D Lamb says that, historically, the July 4th celebration has been funded 40% Westmorland, 40% Midvale Heights, and 20% Sunset Village so we might want to do $1,000.
            1. P Schell says 40% of $4,000 loss would be $1,600.
         2. J Thoreson amends motion to be $1,000.
            1. Motion stays at $1,000 and passes.
   2. There is a master gardener willing to take on upkeep of the Bison Gateway Prairie
   3. There is no one slated to take over the coordination of the neighborhood garage sale.
      1. D Lamb notes that it has been getting smaller year-by-year. Should we combine with Westmorland?
         1. C Kreimendahl will pass that thought along.
10. Meeting adjourned at 8:42 pm.

Notes recorded by J Chipault, secretary

Midvale Heights Community Association Board Meeting
Tuesday, March 22rd 2016 – 6:45 p.m. – Sequoya Branch Library

Area Directors present: Jim Thoreson, Gary Poulson, Jenny Chipault, Steve Fitzsimmons, Gregory Fischer, Ron Rotter, Jonn Lager, Chuck Kreimendahl
Other neighbors present: Nan Lager, Cathy Rotter

1. Call to Order & Introductions - S Fitzsimmons
2. Prior Minutes Review/Approval - Board
   1. We have 8 board members present, which could be a quorum, but we have 2 area directors from the same from the same area (J Chipault and G Fischer both from Area 12). Wait and see if other members show. No vote on minutes.
3. Treasurer’s Report - R Rotter
   1. Handed out hard copy of report. Have $41,000 in main account, $3,000 in PayPal.
   2. T-ball is starting. Price has been raised, think to $50, and then deduction if you have a second kid.
   3. Our insurance isn't expired until June so probably won't hear back until end of April. Paperwork is at under-writers right now. If anyone else wants to get a bid, feel free.
      1. G Poulson asked who it goes through?
         1. Get it through Hausmann Johnson, Midwest
      2. J Lager asks if we'll be sure it won't lapse
         1. R Rotter will not let it lapse. Not sure we have board of directors' insurance, just liability. Think we'd be covered under homeowners policy, but if we want directors' insurance in case we're sued, something to think about. Our biggest liability is probably swinging bats, food poisoning, etc. For t-ball, they sign a waiver.
      3. J Thoreson asks if the insurance guy looked over the waiver that Michael Pressmen sends out?
         1. Yes
   4. R Rotter might have new estimate by our April meeting.
4. Legislative Reports - Maurice Cheeks/Carousel Bayrd
   1. Not present
5. Summer Concert Series - D Lamb
   1. D Lamb not present
6. Odana Road Safety Issues - S Fitzsimmons
   1. S Fitzsimmons says person was killed a couple of weeks ago crossing Odana at HyVee. E Rogers and S Fitzsimmons talked about it and wondered about asking for traffic study in that area again.
      1. G Poulson recalls that we raised the issue before and thought Maurice Cheeks said he'd look into it.
      2. R Rotter says it's been bad intersection for a long time, even before HyVee.
      3. C Kreimendahl says no-stop turn lane on Whitney Way can be problematic
      4. G Poulson says person hit wasn't in a cross walk
         1. R Rotter says no cross walk at Odana Lane
      5. J Thoreson asks if driver was making left into Hyvee?
         1. C Kreimendahl says north on Whitney way and east on Odana
      6. J Thoreson says not well lit. Brings up LED lights on University that light up nice but not real aggressive.
      7. R Rotter says city should look into it automatically because there was an accident
         1. J Lager says people were there measuring
      8. G Poulson says free-turn lanes put in to save gas and now jeopardizing safety
      9. General agreement that there's a lot going on right there
      10. Person hit was wearing dark clothing and around 8:30 so dark out.
      11. J Chipault says we talked about this with Maurice Cheeks a couple of years ago and believe we were told that they were going to do a study while school was in session so that they could monitor traffic flow with public buses, schools buses, pedestrians, etc.
          1. Maybe we should ask to get reports
      12. Tyberius Terrace new now.
      13. S Fitzsimmons will send a letter to Maurice Cheeks to see if there has been a traffic study at that intersection and get back to us next meeting.
7. Announcements - Board
   1. C Kreimendahl has been in touch with a couple of people to try to find a picnic coordinator. If someone is not willing to coordinate but will volunteer to help and have another possible person helping, that might work. Think by next meeting we'll have to decide what to do. If someone will take it on, have them meet with Jill.
      1. K Rotter asks for tentative date.
         1. 23rd is Thursday in June. Rain date of following Thursday. 4th of July celebration going to be on the 4th.
   2. S Fitzsimmons asks about bike safety fair that we were thinking of doing for Midvale Heights, did you have a contact?
      1. C Kreimendahl doesn't know about it.
      2. S Fitzsimmons thinking of doing something at neighborhood watch meeting.
      3. R Rotter asks who was on bike maintanence pad group for city
         1. Laura Brown and Mark Shahan
            1. G Poulson doesn't think Mark on City's Pedestrian, Bicycle & Motor Vehicle Commission anymore. Can't be on for more than a decade.
      4. S Fitzsimmons just looking to see what we would need to do to do it.
      5. G Poulson brings up Madison Bike Federation as a place to check with, too.
      6. Arthur Ross is city's bike safety person.
   3. C Kreimendahl saw T Jarvis recently and there's some concern with family health. He might be able to continue tech stuff, but kind of wondering if we should be training someone else to know what he knows in order to help out.
      1. J Thoreson asks if E Rogers does computer work
         1. J Chipault says she thinks he knows some coding and has done some website work
8. Meeting adjourned at 7:05

Notes recorded by J Chipault, secretary

Midvale Heights Community Association Board Meeting
Tuesday, January 26th 2016 – 6:45 p.m. – Sequoya Branch Library

Area Directors Present: Chuck Kreimendahl, Ed Rogers, Greg Fischer, Jenny Chipault, Steve Fitzsimmons, Denise Lamb, Paul Haskew, Jim Thoreson, Ron Rotter, Tim Trapp, Jonn Lager, Peter Schell

Other neighbors present: Andrea Domek

1. Call to Order & Introductions - E Rogers
   1. Did introductions.
2. Prior Minutes Review/Approval - Board
   1. C Kreimendahl suggested amendment via email that J Chipault already made live on the website. The change was to capture the fact that the officers as a slate were elected (not just vice president).
      1. Motion to approve minutes as amended. Seconded. Approved
3. Treasurer’s Report - R Rotter
   1. R Rotter handed out hard copies. Almost $42,000 in the account.
   2. Question about where PayPal account information is?
      1. P Haskew found it under "Other Accounts"; has $2,000
      2. E Rogers suggests maybe once a year have a maintenance withdrawal of about $2,000
   3. Still have about 20-30 cases of history books to sell
      1. D Lamb suggests could give to new neighbors
         1. P Haskew says we could include them in new neighbor packets
      2. C Kreimendahl brings up Oakwood Village resident got a Westmorland book and loved it so maybe other retirement centers would like them donated. C Kreimendahl can ask
      3. R Rotter says we could put them into little libraries
         1. J Chipault suggests adding a membership form into the history books
   4. E Rogers asks if Mike Pressman is starting t-ball registration
      1. D Lamb says application is usually available sometime in January/February. Will do big thing in the paper next time.
4. Legislative Reports - Maurice Cheeks/Carousel Bayrd
   1. Not present
5. Santa Visits Recap - P Schell
   1. Quick recap. Went really well. Had slight increase in every category compared to last year: more Santas, more kids. Last year P Schell stepped in and it was his first time heading it. Last year there were around 22 kids and this year had closer to 30 kids. Went more smoothly this year. Getting the message out to more people. Had some new volunteers, expanding volunteer base and the families that use it. And financially, was well under budget of $500; spent a little over $100 this year. Improvement was to make it more fun for the volunteers by having pre-suiting-up party with some refreshments and got together afterwards and that made it extra enjoyable for volunteers. 4 new people volunteering. Think program has the potential to grow in the coming years
   2. S Fitzsimmons says we need to advertise more. Can help get word through media when he talks about neighborhood watch, but have to make sure to do it so as not to tip the hat
      1. Missed the newsletter this year
   3. P Schell says historically, it has always on same day (Thursday the week before the week before Christmas) and last year he was emailing the volunteers to see when they were free to figure out how to pick a day so it helps to just do it that day.
   4. P Schell says had some broken zippers so might spend some money to fix or replace suits before next year.
      1. R Rotter asks how many suits we have
         1. About 10, they look old, but they're ok but they are starting to show age (e.g., zippers and elastic in wigs)
            1. J Chipault suggests volunteers to repair
            2. J Thoreson suggests using the alterations company on our neighborhood discount card
            3. D Lamb has friends that are on Monroe St. that use a local tailor
            4. J Thoreson suggests ask Mallatt's for repair or to buy new ones.
6. Neighborhood Watch Update - S Fitzsimmons
   1. As many know, up to 482 members. Kudos to T Jarvis for his help on the website.
      1. T Jarvis says had many people that didn't click on verification link. T Jarvis sent them a follow-up message indicating that they had dropped off so T Jarvis offered to re-send the link.
         1. S Fitzsimmons says can change wording to indicate that they should click verification link right away
   2. Just set out crime alert today because cars broken into just this morning. Mostly it's open doors, open garages, and if they find remote access within the car then they take it the next step. We have about 25% of neighborhood involved in the neighborhood watch. Making a difference though because people are helping police catch the bad guys, which is raising our property values and lowering our insurance costs. Have volunteers now helping with neighborhood watch, allowing it to expand. When we first started watch, the main goal was to reduce crime but it's morphing into a caring community of citizens watching out for each other. Lot of positive feedback from people coming to meetings. They want us to do more. There's a lot of potential there. There's crossover between MHCA and neighborhood watch and we should be conscious of that. One of the things that he would like to ask for is something we talked about last year and that is either a way that we could raise money for ourselves through 5013c in Midvale Heights or do we have to get a raffle license so that we could raffle off tickets for restaurants, etc.. Looking to raise a couple hundred dollars. Don't need thousands yet. Would like to raise some of our own funds. Want to give things out to people. Like to give community member a star every time they come to a meeting and then after they come to several meetings they get a mini flashlight or something that costs minimal. But if they attend, they could help us fight crime. Can we budget something like this within MHCA. S Fitzsimmons feels strongly about this. People have brought up that it might help get people interested.
      1. E Rogers really values what S Fitzsimmons has been doing with the neighborhood watch and acknowledges that it's of value to the neighborhood and he feels comfortable with this association giving financial assistance. We have a line item for the neighborhood watch in the budget because we want to help you succeed. Personally, reluctant to give out small fungible tokens of appreciation insofar as you should want to reward people for attending but they're mostly there for the benefit it incurs on them by helping them take part in their community and being helpful to others. Think we should be careful with benefit someone gets for showing up. That said, if raffles make meetings more fun, maybe that's an avenue.
      2. D Lamb notes that we don't reward other volunteers for working on gardens or organizing picnics. They're coming to neighborhood watch meetings because of the advantage they see for themselves.
         1. E Rogers acknowledges that for gardeners on Tokay, they don't all live on Tokay and don't benefit
         2. S Fitzsimmons says that they benefit their community by showing up to the meeting. Can teach things about identity theft, voting, fires. And can bring people into the community. This is not an investment in volunteers, investment in people who come to the meeting. Screenwriters club he was in used to give away screenplays or movie tickets. Bird watchers club does giveaway too.
      3. R Rotter says we used to give away ice scrapers or keychains. R Rotter would always volunteer but it's the other people that won't necessarily be there without incentive that you want to get to attend. For example, annual meeting is the same 50 people every year. Maybe we should buy Midvale Heights flashlights or something. We have ample funds. You want people to attend these meetings. That will bring the people in but then they'll keep coming. Want more people at these meetings for when group like canine team comes to make it worth their time. S Fitzsimmons has done such a fantastic job, we've been trying to get this going for years.
      4. Question if S Fitzsimmons would spend money in his line item in the MHCA budget; has $1000 left
         1. Yes
            1. E Rogers understanding is that we allocate money and let you decide on how to run that program. Neighborhood watch is sort of your domain
               1. S Fitzsimmons notes that if it doesn't work we could look at other reward programs
            2. P Schell says that S Fitzsimmons has tapped into something special and we want him to do what he needs to do to keep enthusiasm going, which includes being creative and making meetings fun. Regarding money, the way he believes the money works is the board approves the budget for the program and then S Fitzsimmons doesn't need an approval to spend within that budget. R Rotter does a review process by looking at receipts. You don't need pre-approval for spending within budget.
               1. Group agrees
      5. R Rotter says we could make a motion to increase Neighborhood Watch budget
      6. Going to incorporate Midvale Heights Community Association into watch meetings so that could get word out
      7. J Thoreson brings up that we could possibly help fund speakers because we have a hard time getting members every year and if neighborhood watch is getting people that aren't in MHCA, we get exposure.
      8. S Fitzsimmons is for sending postcards to whole community and could advertise both entities. Need to make it an ongoing thing every year.
      9. D Lamb asks if the watch program is separate from MHCA. Sponsored by MHCA, right?
         1. Yes, but there's not a lot that ties it together. J Thoreson says we'll now incorporate an introduction to MHCA at the watch meetings. Want to keep the two entities working together.
         2. Name of watch is Midvale Heights Neighborhood Watch
      10. Do you have to be MHCA member to see website?
          1. T Jarvis says no, but not many people log in. There is additional information on the website that is only available if you are logged in to the website and you have to be a MHCA member to log in.
             1. So can join neighborhood watch email list without being a MHCA member? No requirement for MHCA membership?
                1. J Chipault thinks this is appropriate. Don't want to put financial burden on people to participate in watch.
          2. J Thoreson says have troubles keeping block captains and have trouble getting word out about break-ins. We should be working together.
             1. S Fitzsimmons says car that was broken into on Coney Weston last week found out about neighborhood watch from neighbors.
      11. The other thing that S Fitzsimmons needs is with regard to new neighbors to Midvale Heights - how to reach out to them and give them welcome packet and introduce them to the watch. It's a way to keep the numbers growing on both sides
          1. E Rogers says hold this thought for our later agenda item
      12. J Chipault wants to make sure we're clear on budget. We approve budget and you spend within that. What would be best frequency for budget review: every 6 months, every year?
          1. S Fitzsimmons thinks annual budget is good.
             1. R Rotter notes that currently have $1,700 MHCA funds tagged and in the past twelve months spent $950 so if you spent at same rate and did $300 for speakers and $100 raffle prize, still be in the black. I think it is your sense and don't' think we need motion because it's a line item. But if at any point it needs to be adjusted, let us know
                1. S Fitzsimmons does want to purchase some sound speakers for use at meetings
                   1. R Rotter was talking about people that S Fitzsimmons invites to speak, but sound speakers a good idea too
      13. T Jarvis says when people register we ask them for an email address and even if they gave us an email address they could sign up for the watch with a different address. There's 482 in neighborhood watch and 259 of those match email addresses of current MHCA members. 283 match an email address that we have so possibly not current members so ~20 people that had been members that aren't now. Over 50% of our members are in the neighborhood watch group.
      14. P Schell asks about fundraisers? Is there an issue for S Fitzsimmons hosting fundraising. If checks are written to us then it's tax deductible but are there laws against that
          1. T Jarvis says have to have license to run a raffle.
          2. But totebag style if you donate $100 dollars you get a totebag should be fine. Need to note who got gifts.
             1. R Rotter thinks it's up to them to deduct things like totebags.
      15. R Rotter says we could perhaps buy speaker system for MHCA and it would come in handy at the picnic. Music doesn't provide speakers.
          1. J Chipault notes that if in the future we did art in the park could have speakers for announcements there too
7. Westmorland July 4th Celebration - E Rogers
   1. Westmorland started celebration in 1941 so this year is 75th annual and they wanted to "blow up the budget" on this one. Dave Blouin from Westmorland neighborhood association had a pretty convincing case that in decades past this event was quite the show. Talked about how they had fireworks until the late 1980s, until Elver Park took over. Had a beer tent. Softball games. In times past it wasn't just Westmorland running the show but it was us and Sunset Village, too. Dave Blouin is hoping that we can co-sponsor this event and, when pushed, financial support is welcome but not the only way we could support. He also talked about providing business sponsors or if we wanted to help promote this event (newsletter). It's going to be a big two-day plan of tents going up July 2 and big band concert on Sunday July 3 (them is back to the 1940s when this celebration started). Also throw-back games. Hoping to bring back the fireworks. They were thinking of having a Ferris wheel. They are trying to make it big. They are looking into insurance and riders. Their budget right now is fluid. Previous year's events that have been much smaller (essentially just a morning celebration) they've been $2,000-$2,500. There's no motion, in that we don't need something done, this is more just a heads up that Dave Blouin hopes to come to our February meeting and wants this seed planted. He has done some digging into old paperwork and he found document that says that Westmorland paid 40% of budget and MHCA paid 40% and Sunset paid 20%. If you want to get involved in this discussion, Dave and Ed and Sue (from Sunset Village) are emailing each other
      1. R Rotter says fireworks stopped because it scared the zoo animals
      2. D Lamb thinks it's a great idea but wonders if there's some way to agree to run a booth or sponsor a performance, especially if we come up with some good throw-back events. Maybe between now and when Dave comes to the meeting we could come up with some defined part of the event that could be from Midvale Heights
         1. E Rogers says that he mentioned that in previous years we've had Pizza Extreme come and that's not been so great for vegetarians so this year they are rolling a food truck up to the park. This caught E Roger's ear because we want to know how that works. It's the first Sunday and Monday of July and every Friday later in July we'll have concerts at Segoe so we should see how it goes
      3. P Schell thought it was just for people in the neighborhood.
         1. Always open to everyone
         2. T Jarvis says we started in 1963 listing it as a function we sponsored.
         3. R Rotter says used to give money and volunteers
         4. Last time we gave is 2001
      4. If want to get involved with the discussion, email E Rogers
8. New Neighbor Welcome Packets - E Rogers
   1. C Kreimendahl has been sole distributor over the past few years and E Rogers thanks C Kreimendahl and notes that sometimes we let this go. E Rogers looked through the packet and notes that we put a Midvale Messenger in the packet but maybe we could just create an undated messenger that's a welcome to say what the MHCA is about. And maybe a similar note from the neighborhood watch.
      1. D Lamb suggests maybe the membership one that's done annually
         1. R Rotter says how about things we always do
         2. C Kreimendahl says what was in there was a photocopied membership messenger and membership form
   2. E Rogers says in a previous life he did some computer programming and he put together something that hopefully should send an update from the city assessors website that will let him know when properties change ownership and it's set up as a newsletter for anyone that signs up for the monthly notification.
      1. T Jarvis didn't set it up as E Rogers described. There's no place we can go to subscribe. He forwards it to, right now, just E Rogers but other people can email T Jarvis to get added to distribution list
      2. Is the MHCA areas mapped?
         1. E Rogers says its' only Midvale Heights based on addresses.
         2. T Jarvis can provide a look-up table to E Rogers and he can divvy it by area
         3. T Jarvis says doesn't want to send 15 emails but can tag each line of data with area
   3. P Schell says the undated membership messenger could then be used not only in packet but also music in the park, neighorhood watch, picnic, etc.
      1. D Lamb can print out some copies of what she did last year and we can think about what should or should not be included.
         1. J Chipault suggests emailing them out ahead of time.
9. Announcements - Board
   1. P Haskew says that tucked behind Rushmore at Research Park there is something earth-shattering in its impact. Company is working on cloned skin for the armed forces and after that for burn or other victims where skin graft seems appropriate. Generated at Research Park facilities that in the past was under high security because was producing toxic stuff; new facility needs security because of its potential impact so they're happy to take over this facility, which isn't very big. Like small ones at end of Manor Court. Don't need a great deal of space but what they do is extremely pure. If you were paying attention to admissions because this building has an enormous amount of hardware on the roof, not that this new company is no longer toxic, we don't have to worry about all. Stratatech is name of company. They got a nice grant from the feds to get going on this. That's the news from the design review board of Research Park; he represents the neighborhood on that board.
   2. D Lamb contacted parks board for getting permit for this summer's performances. Haven't heard back. Expect it to be pretty painless. $100 last year and probably in that ballpark this year. Putting together list of bands but if anyone has suggestions, let D Lamb know. If anyone knows of an Irish group, that would be good. Hopefully will have acts lined up in time for picnic and fourth of July events and Make Muisc Madison so can advertise. If know who is coming and dates can do better job of advertising.
      1. E Rogers says Make Music Madison had 6 bands. E Rogers says half of them were interested in doing summer concert series at Segoe.
      2. D Lamb wonders about how to vet bands
         1. E Rogers says this year if someone does Make Music Madison we could do last-minute vetting of the band.
10. Meeting adjourned 8:00

Notes recorded by J Chipault, secretary

Midvale Heights Community Association Annual Meeting
Tuesday, November 24, 2015 – 6:45 p.m. – Sequoya Branch Library

Area Directors Present: Chuck Kreimendahl, Jane Sherwood, Ed Rogers, Greg Fischer, Jenny Chipault, Steve Fitzsimmons, Denise Lamb, Jonn Lager, Paul Haskew, Jim Thoreson, Ron Rotter, Tim Trapp, Wendy Weber, Tom Jarvis, Peter Schell

1. Call to Order & Introductions - C Kreimendahl
2. Prior Minutes Review/Approval - Board
   1. Notes from annual meeting are a lengthy account of speakers. Business was recorded.
      1. Motion to approve. Seconded.
         1. Motion to approve carries
3. Holiday Caroling - J Sherwood
   1. Someone on J Sherwood's block approached her about using the neighborhood association as a way to get people together to do Christmas caroling, perhaps to visit shut-ins. Could suggest names to her if know people who appreciate caroling. Woman willing to spearhead this lives Odana and Wedgewood. Just started talking about this so might not have time to do it this year. Have we done it before?
      1. T Jarvis and R Rotter don't remember the neighborhood association doing caroling before
   2. She knows her daughters would like to do it too so could do an afternoon over the weekend and make it a family event
   3. D Lamb says it's a great idea. If don't have enough shut-ins could just wander and sing
   4. J Sherwood suggested piggy-backing on Santa visit program somehow but could also put it on website or through word of mouth to recruit people. The idea is trying to get to a few houses of elderly or other people who can't get out for the season.
   5. Does she anticipate any costs?
      1. No
   6. E Rogers recalls from when he was a kid that they could put a candle in the window if wanted a caroler to stop
   7. D Lamb brings up the fact that Midvale Heights is a huge neighborhood so would have to drive from place to place. Might make sense to split into groups
      1. P Schell says for Santa visits they get a room from the church and meet and get suited up and then head out in cars. It'd be fun to have more people there when suiting so it would be more festive. Have done it both weekend and week night, not sure what's best. Could do hot cider or cookies at church
      2. D Lamb asks if they use the church kitchen
         1. Not last year.
   8. Does the Neighborhood Association support this?
   9. Can give person willing to organize this P Schell and C Kreimendahl contact information
   10. J Chipault brings up that it might be best to not promote it as singing to "shut in"s because people might not want to be labeled that way.
       1. Could just sing as travel
   11. P Schell says they don't have to meet at the church for Santa visits because it was a small number of people. A house might be a better environment than an empty church. Used to be that a red light bulb in the porch light would bring Santa to your house, similar to a candle.
   12. J Sherwood asks if there is a flyer that goes out for the Santa visits
       1. It's in the newsletter (but not this year). And emails get sent to people we know have kids. Used to send out postcards but didn't do that last year.
   13. J Sherwood suspects if she does anything this year it would start small.
   14. P Haskew has some objections to using association as a vehicle for Christmas caroling. Ok to have private project announced in the newsletter. Can have private individual write it up for the newsletter. But caroling has a religious basis.
       1. Could make all songs secular.
       2. J Chipault agrees with P Haskew's concern
       3. R Rotter says it has come up in the past regarding Santa visits
       4. C Kreimendahl disagrees. And thinks can use our newsletter and website to get the word out. Not endorsing anything religious per se.
       5. Seems easy to not dissuade volunteers, but not stamp it with neighborhood association brand
       6. P Haskew says we just might want to be cautious about the way it's announced so we're not beating drum for Christianity.
       7. D Lamb says if it's a group from the neighborhood organizing it, seems fine
       8. J Thoreson doesn't want to discourage it
       9. W Weber says she hasn't been in the neighborhood all that long but has there been a letter ever to the neighborhood saying that we have a lot of activities and we recognize that there are activities that some of you might object to so that we're addressing it up front. Just might be a way to clear the air.
          1. R Rotter says there's been complaints about the Santa visits but there are volunteers that do it. If someone wants to have a menorah lighting or Ramadan celebration, then they can do it.
          2. D Lamb says only complaint she's gotten was about a church that ran ads in the newsletter. Doesn't think we need to write a letter to address it
          3. W Weber wasn't just thinking about this issue
       10. J Lager suggests we can invite people to join a wassailing walk around the neighborhood. If we wanted to, the association could provide some wassail drink.
       11. R Rotter says we invested money in Santa suits at one point. Bought them a long time ago.
       12. T Jarvis asks if someone writes something up and gives it to him for the website, then it would it be "MHCA news" or "other news"
           1. Multiple people suggest "other news"
4. Treasurer’s Report - R Rotter
   1. R Rotter handed out hard copies. We have about $42,000, minus any bills to pay.
5. Legislative Reports - Maurice Cheeks/Carousel Bayrd
   1. Not present
6. Officer Elections - C Kreimendahl
   1. Made nomination for E Rogers to be president and he also inquired about other positions. R Rotter and J Chipault willing to continue serving. S Fitzsimmons offers to be Vice President. Open floor for further officer nominations.
   2. J Chipault points out that she's giving her one year notice on being secretary, only because she does this 3x per week at work.
      1. Motion to nominate slate of E Rogers, S Fitzsimmons, R Rotter, and J Chipault. Seconded.
         1. No opposed.
            1. Motion carries.
7. Santa Visits - P Schell
   1. Reaching out to see how many Santas he's got. Haven't contacted families yet. Will go out week before Christmas. Has been a week night in the past but he's interested in trying to do a weekend, or offering two options. Limited by Santas' availability.
   2. D Lamb asks how many suits there are
      1. Lots. Hanging and boxes. The thing that is true is that once you get the bells ringing and it's dark out, it looks like Santa. Very effective for kids of a certain age. Doesn't matter what you look like with the suit off. It's BYO pillow. Would like to expand into Mrs. Santa so won't turn down any eager female volunteers
   3. S Fitzsimmons asks what they do
      1. You show up at meeting place, you suit up, you get in a car with a driver, and you have a list of about 8 houses to visit and then on the way to each house you get coached on the note sheet of the names or some information about the kid that you get from the parents. Dropped off a few houses away and ring your bell, sing, and say "ho ho ho" as you walk to the house. Parents know when to expect you. Say you're there to inspect the chimney or the tree. Say hi to the kid and ask what they want. Give them small gift. In and out in a couple of minutes. They visited his house and he heard later from his wife that the kids couldn't believe it and it was all they could talk about for weeks. His son still knows exactly which toy he got from Santa. Some families have been doing it forever. Santas have visited family with kids in their 20s.
   4. Is Pete still doing it?
      1. P Schell says he IS Santa. He fills his yard with sheep - 1 new every year. Been doing Santa since before P Schell was born. His daughter comes with him as an elf now.
   5. P Schell says get a bit of an adrenaline rush when doing this so would like to add a pre-party and after-party. Mention it to anyone you know that has kids that might be of a good age. Would like it to grow.
      1. S Fitzsimmons says could add this to the neighborhood watch newsletter
         1. Might also be good to note that people shouldn't call the police on Santa
         2. P Schell notes that you have to word it in code.
   6. P Schell's wife will help him organize it this year
8. Neighborhood Watch Update - S Fitzsimmons
   1. Growing still. 472 members. Bookings into January with canine unit giving a talk, February it's identify theft, March's topic is domestic violence. Another busy year. Couple of good things. Now have more volunteers helping T Jarvis with website. People with new and fresh ideas taking reigns to get meetings and speakers arranged. They become more involved and active. Being approached by people who want to help out. Doing tours of training center and 911. Getting interest from other neighborhood associations, like Hill Farms. Talked to Hill Farms last week and talked about merging neighborhood watches a bit so when we have meetings at church, they could join. Could also share cost. People from 2-3 associations interested so that might build it into more. We've got by far the best neighborhood watch in the city. We're also the victim of our own success because when crime goes down, interest goes down. Meeting attendance is 35-40 and up toward 100 when chief is there.
      1. R Rotter says meetings are always good. Good speakers and he learns a lot.
         1. S Fitzsimmons says he is looking to educate and empower neighbors. And then we end up getting in the newspapers because we actually did something instead of pretending like nothing is happening. S Fitzsimmons gets calls from neighbors too afraid to go outside. This is a learning experience because you interact with all types of people.
   2. Now on the radio at 9am and 12pm every day. Low power station that is 2-3 miles from Midvale Heights. Sent email to the chief to see if he could go on radio too. Don't know how many people hear it.
      1. 99.1 FM. J Thoreson gets it at his house. P Schell and D Lamb don't.
         1. S Fitzsimmons would like to tape it for youtube, our website, etc.
9. Park Concert Series - D Lamb
   1. We need to do more advertising this summer. Had 35 people at first concert last year and then maybe 80 people at second concert. Part of it was working things out with the city. City is understaffed and there was confusion about what she was able to do; that will be resolved so she can look for groups sooner. Also, it was probably too late in the year and the last band that played was packing up in the dark. Thinking of doing three concerts on consecutive Friday nights. Do it in July for longest days of the year. Still will ask if they do it on Friday if they'll save Saturday for a rain date. Cut it to 90 minutes; 7-8:30. Try offering $400 since smaller time slot. Advertising: if we know the dates and groups early on we can do a better job of advertising and piggy-back on Make Music Madison and the picnic. Can put flyers in the library. Maybe buy a banner to put on Segoe Thursday afternoon: "Live Music Here, 7:30pm, Friday". Thinks she can get three groups lined up early. Can ask them for tapes. The husband of the head of the Friends of Library has a bluegrass group and wants to play. Might look into doing food carts.
   2. J Chipault wonders about doing 4 concerts, to fill a month and make it more of a big deal. Looked at calendar and, if skip Friday July 1, because that's 4th of July weekend, then there are 4 more Fridays in July
      1. Would cost more
      2. No objections
10. Announcements - Board
    1. After the annual meeting in October, someone at the library was commenting on the newsletters - they're always running out of copies at the library. We used to print 500 but as more and more people want just online version, we cut back.
       1. D Lamb is convinced that we were sending 75-100 to the library but Kelly counted 35 this last time. Don't know how many library would need. Area directors get 3 extras in case one blows away and D Lamb keeps 5-6 for archives. Would like to send at least 75 to the library. Over last couple years, we've printed 500 but there are more people who want it online. Could kick it up 50 for next time and count how many she has leftover.
          1. J Chipault wonders if area directors use 3 extras
             1. Yes, give to neighbors
       2. D Lamb would like to do profiles on new board members W Weber and T Trapp for upcoming newsletter. D Lamb will send them a few questions.
       3. Each newsletter costs $0.66.
       4. J Thoreson says he reads the newsletters of other neighborhoods and asks where ours is when they've been gone at the library
       5. Would be nice if on the box that the library puts our newsletters we could list our website in case the hard copy is out
          1. D Lamb might look into that
    2. S Fitzsimmons wants to reach out to new neighbors. There was talk at last meeting that C Kreimendahl took over on that. Is there a process to getting outreach material?
       1. It used to be more formal. Charles used to read the property sales in the newspaper and approach new neighbors; now could use Zillow or Trulia to get that information. C Kreimendahl put it on Area Directors to notify him that there was a new neighbor in their area if they wanted a welcome kit. He's heard from very few people over the last couple of years. Possibly 20 packets went out. Lots of sales this last couple of years now that recession is over. He didn't have time to take the step to contact all those people but does try to keep packets up to date. Packets have information from the Chamber of Commerce, Hilldale, etc., basically pamphlets from different organizations. Was throwing in a bumper sticker when we had a stack of those.
          1. P Haskew says still plenty of bumper stickers.
    3. C Kreimendahl notes that people who live on Orchard contacted Parks Dept this summer because they noticed that at Piper Park in particular the rubber tire chips they use had either never been enough or had worn thin and they were concerned that it was a safety hazard under the playground equipment. Her husband brought this to attention of Parks who told them surface is fine, they sent a picture, Park sent someone out to dig up ground with a shovel, after several more emails still no progress. They contacted Maurice Cheeks and he didn't respond. They called "Call for Action" which is a TV station that tries to get government agencies to respond. Parks says the playground equipment is slated to be replaced in 2020. If they have rubber left at end of season, they'll put it down, don't know that they did. C Kreimendahl brings it up not because we necessarily need to take an action but he does want to respond and wonders if have suggestions.
       1. E Rogers knows who to cc on emails to get the attention of Maurice Cheeks and Parks. C Kreimendahl can give her E Rogers's contact information
       2. P Haskew brings up Friends of Parks Foundation - have they tried that sort of approach?
          1. E Rogers says for individuals it can be useful to use a foundation because if you have funds that you want to give for a parks project you can give it to this group, which makes it tax deductible. While individuals can get a tax deduction by donating to the Friends of Parks Foundation, MHCA has no such incentive, since we are, ourselves, a 501(c)3 nonprofit. Friends of Parks don't have any pressure to respond to requests. Do we want to fund a couple of hundred dollars for shredded rubber and have volunteers put it there?
             1. C Kreimendahl says that would probably be a liability issue.
       3. J Thoreson thinks rubber is toxic and disgusting and really they should put in something else
       4. J Thoreson asks if there is someone from the Common Council at each monthly Parks meeting?
          1. E Rogers says board is 6 reps, at least 2 of whom are alders, designated by mayor and they discuss and vote on matters related to parks. Superintendent of Parks and Vice Superintendent of Parks are also there. Public comment opportunity exits but Board chooses topics to discuss for the month; some is handed down by Common Council but they often will start each topic by asking the Superintendent what is going on with the agenda topic and he'll lay out where Parks is and what the city plans to do and what questions they have and then Board gives suggestion.
11. Adjourned 7:52

Notes recorded by J Chipault, secretary