Neighbors of Belknap Lookout Board MeetingMonday August 10, 2020

Zoom6:30 pm

Mission: To advocate for and enhance the quality of life in the Belknap community.Vision: To be a vibrant, diverse and desirable place to live in Grand Rapids.Public Space Goals: Improving access down Belknap hill; Hastings Connector & Linear Park; Better Pedestrian Connections.Add’l Priorities: Social Connections; Active in the Neighborhood; Voices Heard in Local Gov’t.

1. Call to order and additions to agenda2. Presentation - Minigrant Tree Plantings - Abigail Bruins, Friends of GR Parks3. Approval of June minutes and July financials4. Verbal Acceptance of Conflict of Interest if not already signed5. Annual Meeting Planning

a. Review/Revise Annual Meeting Remote Option for Nov (meet bylaws, vote Sept)b. ID Board Member Recruitment Targets, Participation (Nominating Committee)

6. Advisory Items and Small Group Tasks (Recommendations and Assignments)a. Progress on Public Spacesb. Vote on PILOT budget c. Additional Coronavirus Response

7. Miscellaneous & Public Comment 8. Adjournment

2020 Board Meeting Schedule, 2nd MONDAY of each month, 6:30 pm

September 14October 12November 9 (Annual Meeting at Coit Creative Arts Academy or Virtual, TBD in September)December 14 (Old board/new board discussion, method TBD)

Other NOBL Activities you may choose to attend this month:

Wednesday August 12 - Weeding at Linear & Lookout Parks - 6:30 pm. Meet at Coit & Hastings. BYO gloves and mask.

Wednesday August 19 - Social Distanced Picnic - 6 pm. BYO food and maintain 6 foot distance between families.

Wednesday August 26 - Master Plan Discussion (Chapters 4-6) - 6:30 pm. Read (online or ask for a hard copy). Join us at http://meet.google.com/uni-wiek-oij.

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Neighbors of Belknap Lookout Board Meeting MinutesMonday, June 8, 2020

Video Conference via Zoom

Members Present: Loren Sturrus (President) Robin Benton Amy GautraudLoretta Klimaszewski Dean Rosendall Dan Miller

(Recorder)

Members Absent: Brian Bremer Kara Harrison Gates Jonathan Swets

Staff Present: Elianna Bootzin

Guests Present: Chris Swank (representing GVSU)

9. Loren called the meeting to order at 6:40 pm.

10. Presentation on Events and Outreach at Skate Park on Monroe was skipped for lack of a presenter.

11. The Board discussed its position on two items for the Planning Commission and the Board of Appeals.

a. The Board supports the demolition without replacement of the abandoned house at 242 Clancy by the Classis of North Grand Rapids and the incorporation of the lot with the adjacent play area managed out of the Clancy Street Ministries building. Loretta and Robin suggested that the Board encourage them to turn some of the new greenspace into a community garden for the neighbors at Creston Plaza. It was noted that turning it into a garden might necessitate putting down lining and bringing in new dirt since the site is across the street from what was once a manufacturing establishment that may have left contaminants in the soil.

b. The Board expressed no opinion on a new electronic sign at 516 Monroe.

12. The Board approved the May Financial Reports and Minutes of the May Board meeting.a. Elianna is working on spending the remaining funds from the CDBG grant.

13. The Board discussed Project Updates. (See 2020-6 NOBL Board Meeting Materials)a. Elianna reported on the “Neighborhood Improvement Kit” distribution. b. Elianna said a contractor has been hired to do trash pickup and clean up alleys. c. Loretta asked about gift cards for residents who take the initiative to improve the

neighborhood. Elianna said that Kara had offered gift cards but no one sought recognition. Loren suggested people could be invited to nominate their neighbors.

d. The Board discussed the idea of switching from ZOOM to outdoor meetings where social distancing could be practiced. Loretta stated that she does not want to be responsible for spreading the virus and so would prefer to continue meeting on ZOOM. Elianna noted that the risk of contagion lower outdoors than indoors

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and that Brian does not want to meet on ZOOM. Dean suggested that perhaps the Development Committee could meet in person outdoors and the Board continue to meet via ZOOM. Robin said he prefers to keep a safe distance. Loren concluded the discussion by indicating that for the present, the Board and Development Committee will continue to meet via ZOOM. National Night Out will therefore be a remote/separate activity rather than a large gathering as well.

e. Robin asked about irrigation at the Linear Park. Loren said that he can ask people in City government to turn on the water to the park. Elianna will follow up with Jon.

f. Dan asked if the picnic scheduled for June 17 in Coit Park was still on. Elianna said it was up to each individual to decide whether to come.

g. The Board discussed Dumpster Day. Elianna said that she does not yet have a location since the lot used previously has recently changed hands. Loren said that if Modderman is the one who purchased the site, they probably won’t object to letting us use it which would be good because it helps to have the event at a consistent location each year. Loretta suggested it might be good to move the event to East Leonard School. The Board agreed that if the previous site is not available, they will see if the event can be held at East Leonard. Loren discussed the possibility of collecting used electrical equipment for Comprenew; there is likely a fee to use them. Amy is willing to explore current costs.

h. Loretta said she would like to use some of the money allocated for “community safety” to go to trash cleanup. Elianna said that she has contracted with a company to clean up the alleys and pick up trash. She said they could concentrate first on Loretta’s area.

14. The Board discussed the use of GVSU Pilot funds. a. Loren noted that we can reallocate the money if needed but the list provided (see

meeting materials) can be presented to GVSU and the City as an indicator of what NOBL is doing with the funds. Elianna noted that these funds will decrease over time as GVSU liquidates its rental properties. Loren recommended that the Board discuss the specific items, such as Robin’s IKEA globes, and then vote at the next meeting.

b. Regarding making the internet accessible to more people in the neighborhood, Loren said he has IT connections who might be able to help and he will parcel them out to Board members to contact. Loretta asked about “Lifeline” as a possible source for internet connectivity. Loren noted that ATT and Comcast provide below-market rate internet service for as little as $7/month. He suggested that we can contact neighbors with that information. Robin noted that some cheap internet services do not have adequate bandwidth to really provide the quality of service that people need. He noted that the donation link on the NOBL website is not accessible to some users because of bandwidth issues. Loren asked whether some area schools which have their own internet could provide it to the community. Robin asked whether GVSU could provide internet service to the community. It could serve as a model for other low-income neighborhoods that are trying to make internet service available to their residents. Loretta said it’s important to make access to equipment such as cell phones, I-pads, and laptops available as well. Amy might be able to secure used Chrome Books. Robin knows

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a company that refurbishes old computers. Loren recommended that we steer equipment to Robin’s organization and let neighbors know how to contact them. Elianna noted that Kara has more information for the group working on additional fundraising for internet access. Elianna will send out an email to members of the group (Robin, Amy, Loren, and Kara) to schedule a meeting, perhaps on Wednesday?

15. The Board discussed the Feral Cat project.a. Loretta reported that her neighbor has volunteered to build shelters for stray cats.

She will let the Board know if he needs help purchasing materials.b. Elianna noted that the payment for C-Snip went through. c. Loretta said that they may have to pay $40 instead of $12 to spay cats if they are

not feral.d. Dan noted that two tortoise shell cats have been prowling around his patio at 123

Newberry. Dean said they belong to a resident on Fairview and have probably already been spayed because they never get pregnant.

16. The Board discussed the Community Garden at 762 North, NE.a. Elianna said that she sent information about our previous effort to purchase to

both the State Land Bank and Jono in the City’s Economic Development Department. The Kent County government is in possession of the property so we need to have a discussion with them to resolve the issue. Dan offered to contact Kent County Commissioner Jim Talen to see whether he can expedite the process. Elianna will contact Kara who has been working with the County Treasurer to make sure she is okay with Dan making a separate contact with the County government.

17. The Board opened the meeting to Public Comment.a. Loren asked Chris Swank if GVSU would be willing to bring WiFi to the Belknap

Lookout neighborhood. Chris said he does not know whether GVSU would be able/willing to cooperate with NOBL on that project but he will try to find out who would be able to answer that question and pass their name on to Loren.

b. Chris Swank noted that there is nothing new to report about the proposed construction of homes north of Finklestein Hall but parking booths are going to be moved from the south side of Michigan Avenue to the dirt parking lot there to guarantee that only GVSU students will park there.

18. The Board discussed the need for rules of civility at Development Committee meetings.a. Loren noted that at the most recent meeting the discussion became quite heated

and some comments were inappropriately personal.b. Dan said that the anger of some participants was based on their dislike of the

Bluffs project which they viewed as an unsightly departure from what they regarded as the traditional architectural style of Fairview Street homes. Since that was one of Dean’s projects, they are suspicious of his future projects.

c. Loretta suggested that we need norms of conduct and someone to moderate the debate and enforce the norms.

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d. Dean said he is willing to receive critical comments so long as they are reasonable and expressed civilly.

e. Loretta asked whether the issue was that the 600 Fairview project required an exception to the Area Specific Plan.

f. Dean noted that several other developments on Fairview and elsewhere in the neighborhood had already been approved that were less in keeping with the ASP than the development he was proposing.

g. Loren said that the issue that concerns him is name calling which is inappropriate in a public meeting.

h. Loretta said that “ground rules” need to be established and enforced.i. Loren said he will write up some rules including sanctions for those who violate

them, perhaps banning them from attending for three months. j. Elianna suggested that as long as meetings are being conducted on-line, the chair

can use the settings to automatically set everyone to mute and control whose mic is open for commenting.

k. Robin noted some meetings have people ask questions via the chat box.l. Dan said he is confused about what criteria he should keep in mind when deciding

whether or not to vote in favor of a projected development. How important are aesthetics? How closely does it have to conform to the ASP (eg, size and density)? Loren said that the ASP is not a legal document but a guideline. While the ASP indicates that the area under discussion is intended to be “Low Density Residential” (single and duplex housing) he believes that a better source for guidance is the NOBL Mission Statement which indicates that we are trying to develop a “mixed neighborhood” with a variety of housing options.

19. The meeting adjourned at 8:20.

Respectfully submitted, Daniel Miller (recorder)

Meeting Information1. Presentation - Minigrant Tree Plantings - Abigail Bruins, Friends of GR Parks – FGRP is

teaching neighbors how to apply for free public street/park trees. Handout provided.

2. Approval of June minutes and July financials – Financial notes: Gifts in Admin are largely the Kona Ice donation for which the check was reissued and the first almost $700 for Racial Equity training. The Grant in Neighborhood Leadership is mostly the first $2k of our $5k Master Plan agreement. Summer property taxes have been paid. We are actually in a very steady financial position for the year to date given COVID, with greater reserves than this time last year.

3. Verbal Acceptance of Conflict of Interest if not already signed – Dean and Loretta – state that you agree w/ annual statements a-d in section VI on the last page of the Policy Packet.

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4. Annual Meetinga. Review/Revise Annual Meeting Remote Option for Nov (meet bylaws, vote Sept) –

While it seems likely to Elianna that translating existing bylaws processes to a COVID-compliant remote (postcard election) would be acceptable, passing it officially as an eligible bylaw amendment would be prudent. By presenting and revising it now and voting in September, we will be appropriately following our own rules. The basic process proposed is to identify candidates as usual now (see below), train them next month (Sept 14), allow the Nominating Committee to choose a slate if desired (Sept 18), then list candidates (and space for write ins) on our postcard inviting neighbors to send a mail in ballot (go to print between Sept 21& 25, mail by Oct 9, response due Nov 9). The official language is:

In order to ensure compliance with the NOBL bylaws, the following is proposed to be accepted as an official amendment if needed at the September 2020 board meeting, having been shared the month prior in accordance with revision requirements.

Part IV A is understood to include the options of a mail in ballot and/or virtual meeting. Part C is understood to include a deadline of sixty (60) days notice for individuals interested in serving on the Board to notify the nominating committee in the event of the mail in and virtual meeting options. Similarly, should the committee propose a slate of candidates for a mail in ballot, space will be provided for write in candidates at a minimum, or they may indicate all candidates with their selections emphasized.

b. ID Board Member Recruitment Targets, Participation (Nominating Committee) – Board composition and commitment came up as one of our lower performing areas in the assessment we took for the Capacity Building Grant, so this conversation is timely. Loretta must rotate off. Dean and Brian are eligible to run again if they so choose (interested?). Are there particular locations, skills, connections that we would like to recruit for the board? Which individuals come to mind and who will reach out to them? Would anyone like to provide feedback on a training packet for them or help lead an orientation just before our Sept board meeting? As outlined above, Nominating Committee can choose a slate of 3 by Sept 18 to include in our potential postcard election.

5. Advisory Items and Small Group Tasks (Recommendations and Assignments)a. Progress on Public Spaces

i. Improving access down Belknap hill – Fairbanks lights: City idea: “It would involve setting a wood pole and down guy at the top and bottom of the stairs with a steel messenger cable running parallel with the stairs about 15’ in the air between the 2 poles. We would pre-fabricate a 160’ messenger cable with 5 or 6 LED span lights/wiring and hoist the whole assembly up at once with our line truck. These lights would connect to our street lighting circuit. I would estimate the cost at $15,000. (See end for update on requested Bradford light.)”

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My response: NOBL currently has in hand $2500 it plans to allocate from PILOT funds to this Fairbanks lights project. We also anticipate receiving another $2500 PILOT funds for the City’s FY2020 in the next few months (see next item requesting disbursement). We should discuss requesting the remaining $10,000 as a partial allocation from the FY2021 alloca-tion at the next board meeting/other fundraising options.

Newberry Stairs – Dean and Rick (City Engineer) are starting to talk more details for work items/quantities. Rick suggests that a budget figure for the design work part of that might be $25-35,000. As above we should talk about options we could pursue for that $25-35,000 cost.

ii. Hastings Connector & Linear Park – Hastings closure has begun. Sinclair excavation has revealed some artifacts! We plan to do some weeding at Linear Park the 2nd Wed this month.

iii. Pedestrian Connections – See Mobile GR at end for their updates. iv. Garden purchase/long term lease – We should receive an official lease for

this season shortly. Purchase is expected to move forward with the State Land Bank once existing mortgage/lien has expired next spring.

b. Vote on PILOT budget for Approval/Referral to GVSU Work Group/City Comm.

Project Amount Narrative

Feral Cats $ 600.00 Top up fund for ongoing spay/neuter and other care to $2000

Neighborhood Internet $ 5,000.00

Equipment and potentially initial IT support to increase ac-cess to the web as isolation continues

Trash Cans $ 1,100.00 Top up fund for ongoing supplies to maintain trash cans at bus stops

Communications $ 1,000.00 Top up fund to cover printing and postage for 2021 annual postcard

Events $ 1,500.00 Top up fund to cover food and other needs for events like National Night Out, Annual Meeting, and board meetings.

Stairs Lighting $ 2,500.00 Combine with $2500 from previous "beautification" line for lights on Fairbanks and Bradford stairs

Garden $ 1,500.00 Top up operational fund for additional improvements to the lot, anticipated to be landscaping costs

Beautification $ 2,993.89

Top up fund for ongoing projects like bulb plantings and building/placing IKEA spherical gardens in the neighborhood to increase food security

$16,193.89

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As alluded in part a. do we also want to request the remaining $10,000 for lights on Fair-banks as a partial allocation from the FY2021 funds?

c. Additional Coronavirus Response – Potluck remains a social distanced picnic. Garden group continues work days (but no potlucks). Office hours will stay the same through Sept 17 for Census and expecting this year’s BSW intern like summer HS interns to be remote (recommendations for keeping office open after Census?); we have acquired additional masks with remaining Census funds for distribution. We are expecting our official permission for dumpster day at East Leonard to come through soon. Our alley and litter pick up contractor had to end their involvement early. Likely to touch on timing for in person w/ Ann Mtg vote.

Regular Report Contents:

Crime (last four weeks) from www.crimemapping.com :

Public Safety: Our safety scavenger hunt, distributed electronically, at corner stores, and at Creston Plaza is our main public safety training for the month. I also talked again with Terry about issues at Highland Park. Officer Morrison is finally on 2nd shift and will monitor there re: the homeless encampment and top of the hill (Coit to Fairview) for speeding.

Development: In July, the group tabled 600 Fairview until it is a single building with up to 3 units. With a streetview/multi-lot approach it made the same request in August. We began preparing to offer recommendations on use to RJM for 719 Prospect and expect to hear from Kara in her professional capacity next month regarding an affordable project for Coit Square. The first Master Plan discussion was fruitful; you’re welcome to attend the next (4th Wed).Parking lot: 712 North, office signage, HousingNOW, the trash can at L&L, bike trail, Pitch Night. P&P Wifi Project & Hardware Update – Our NMF application was declined. United Way has another opportunity focused on COVID relief. Amy has received chrome books and is exploring refurbishment costs. Kent County Administrators office has approached us about them placing public internet at our office, should have more info shortly after the board meeting and keeping work group of Loren, Amy, Robin and Kara apprised. Mobile GR Update - Residential permit parking counts scheduled for Sept/Oct. Action in 2021.- Due to increased costs/lost revenue, DASH service adjustments may be made in January.- New bike parking expected in Monroe North this fall, with painted boxes at some intersections to facilitate safe integration of bikes into traffic; bike repair station to go in Canal Park in 2021.- Route 19 (Michigan crosstown) is not running now but will not be fare free if it resumesBradford Light Update: City added an LED street light at the top of the stairs to increase lighting levels and also verify the LED in the middle of the stairs was working properly. There’s also an existing HPS street light at the bottom of the stairs, it’s actually across the street on

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Prospect. This HPS street light will also be converted to LED in the future during the city wide LED conversion project. All of our street lights are controlled by dusk to dawn photocell con-trols. We don’t use motion detectors for our street lighting system.

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