Midtown Neighborhood Association

Minutes of General Meeting held March 21, 2000

Wright Elementary School

GREETINGS

Brad Holland, MNA President called the meeting to order at 7:07 pm.

 

MINUTES

The minutes of the February 2000 meeting were distributed and approved on a motion by Howard Ward and a second by Lisa Langford.

 

TREASURER’S REPORT (David Kha)

Beginning balance of $2,384.54, deposits of $109, expenses of $187.21 (bike club), leaving a balance of $2,306.33. On a motion by Martha Cooper and a second by Carolyn Isaman, the Treasurer’s Report was adopted.

 

UPDATES

• Meeting Logistics (Brad Holland) - Brad reminded attendees that the time to address the neighborhood liaisons offline was from 6:30-7:10, prior to the beginning of the official meeting.

• John B. Wright Report (Lisa Langford) -

1. The TUSD Ground Crew has agreed to put curbing around the Nature Garden. This will help keep the Bermuda grass from invading this area. Pro-Neighborhoods must still approve the grant request, before the work can be don.
2. JBW School is the first in line for air-conditioning. Funding will be secured in April, the design will take place during the summer, and construction will start in the fall. It should be working by next winter.
3. Cinco de Mayo planning is beginning. Lisa is looking for volunteers for food, games, decorations and planning. She invites all to attend Friday, May 5^th, 6-8 p.m.
4. Early Dismissal day is tomorrow (3/22/00), so residents will see kids out and about in the neighborhood when then normally would be in school.

• 7^th Day Adventist School (Brad Holland) - Brad reported that representatives of the 7^th Day Adventist Church contacted him to discuss MNA support for their proposal to build and operate an elementary school at the site of their current church (2 blocks east of Swan, 2 blocks south of Pima). The City has a problem with the site not being on a major street (they are 1.5 blocks north of Speedway) because traffic in the neighborhood could be a problem. Brad notes that under current zoning, the Church could build and operate 75 rental units, which would be more traffic impact than a 100-student school. The design encloses the play area in an internal courtyard to minimize noise. Brad's opinion is that this type of use supports stability in the Midtown area (the proposed site is not in Midtown).

• Computer/Bike Club Report (David Kha)- David is working with members of the Mormon Church to help build bikes. Brad pointed out how helpful the LDS Church was for the Tamale sale and encourages working with all willing religious faiths to make the neighborhood better. David now has a 7-station computer lab running at his house. MNA residents can use the lab at no charge. He has Internet Access from three of these stations. The lab (and the Bike Club) is open Saturdays from 8am-12 Noon. David also offers six, one-hour computer lessons for $35. Call David at 323-8278 for more information.

 

• Graffiti Abatement (Brad Holland for Anna Marie Patti) - Anna Marie was not in attendance. Brad noted that Midtown was tagged heavily last month, but that most of the damage had already been cleaned-up. He feels that by keeping on top of the taggers, it discourages them from coming back.

 

• Green Retrofit (Lisa Langford for Anna Marie Patti) - Lisa expressed her appreciation to Anna Marie for the Tree-Planting seminar and tree planting done at the School last month.

 

• AZ Daily Star Interview (Brad Holland) - Brad related that he was interviewed by a reporter from the AZ Daily Star about the role and effectiveness of MNA compared with the old-line, and more wealthy neighborhood organized around the recent Home Depot/El Con controversy. The gist of Brad's response is that Midtown is as effective as the more affluent associations in Tucson. He invited the reporter to a future Midtown meeting to see for himself.

 

 

GUEST SPEAKER

• John Hogan, City of Tucson Bond Information Group - John provided handouts and showed a video explaining the several bond proposals that will be on the ballot May 16^th. After the presentation, there were several questions from the audience, including the following:

1. Martha Cooper asked why the Midtown Library/Learning Center was not listed in the handout describing the bond. Pat Correlle of the City said that the Midtown Library was included in the bond, though not mentioned specifically in the handout.
2. Martha Cooper asked about money to fix drainage problems in Midtown: there is money to perform unspecified work on the Columbus Wash that runs through Midtown.
3. John Hogan mentioned that the bond included $450,000 to be added to the $2 million the County is already providing for the Midtown Library and Learning Center. He noted that this money would upgrade the facility from 7,000 sq. feet to over 10,000 sq. feet.
4. In response the question, "When will Midtown get a park", Pat Correlle noted that Parks programming would be delivered from the Midtown Library/Learning Center, but that the bond did not include money to build a new park in Midtown.

• Pat Correlle, Midtown Library Learning Center Update - Pat reported that he was negotiating with the County team of Kate O'Rielly and Jim Barry. The County is facing large deficits from its Kino Hospital operations and this may be the cause for their delay in providing the $2 million for the Learning Center. Pat is hopeful that the City and County are close to resolving this impasse.

 

ADJOURNMENT

On a motion by Carolyn Isaman and a second by Martha Cooper, Brad Holland adjourned the meeting at approximately 8:00 pm.

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