Midtown Neighborhood Association
Minutes of General Meeting held March 20, 2001
John B. Wright Elementary
GREETINGS:
Brad Holland, MNA President, called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Brad spoke about the forming of committees to restructure the by-laws, addressing issues about the newsletter and the need for participation on the committee’s.
Introductions: David Kha introduced his friend, Thu, visiting from Wisconsin.
Thu found the MNA very organized and expressed his appreciation for being able to attend the meeting. He also expressed his delight that MNA does so much to help the youth. David announced that Connie has taken over the making of coffee and the punch, David is very excited about this J , so is Candace J
David also states to make sure your name is on the mailing list to continue to receive the newsletter.
MINUTES: Copies of the minutes from the February 2001 meeting were distributed among attendees prior to the meeting. On a motion by Connie Tadeo and a second by Martha Cooper, the Minutes of 02/20/01 were approved.
TREASURER’S REPORT: (David Kha)
Fund
Cash on Hand
Deposits
Expenses
Balance
Midtown General $ 484.46
$69.96
50.83
$ 503.59
JBW Nature Park $ 797.38
$ 0.00
585.00
$ 212.38
JBW Marquee $2,247.01
$ 0.00
$ 0.00
$2,247.01
Green Retrofit $4,171.81
$ 0.00
$ 0.00
$4,171.81
Total
$7,700.66
$69.96
$635.83
$7,134.79
UPDATES:
· John B. Wright Report (Lisa Langford)
1) There will be no summer programs at JBW due to AC, 4 new classrooms and a new roof.
Summer school will be help at Ft. Lowell School Grade School. Located at 5151 E. Pima
2) There is a book fair April 9th –11th to build home libraries. Buy one book get one free. At JBW
Time_______________
3) Lisa spoke about the North Dodge Neighborhood Associations Second Annual April Fun Day. April 7th from 10 a.m to 3 p.m. Neighbors are invited to come and enjoy meeting people and have some fun. There will be free raffles and prizes all day.
4) Shopping to educate. Help JBW earn $$$. Every time you shop at Tucson Mall you can help win $250.00 to $2000.00. You can register for a free Shopineplay card at any of the 8 Centering kiosks located at Tucson Mall. JBW earns 100 bonus points for each Shopineplay card issued; you must be 14 to sign up. Ask for the 100 bonus points to be credited to JBW.
5) Lisa spoke about the vandalism to the tiles in the nature park. Some students that came forward did the vandalism. They said that "the tiles were chipped and cracked and they just kept going at them." The students were given community service. The nature park needs 4x4 Terra Cotta tiles to repair the damage.
· Midtown Library and Learning Center: (Carol Clark) Carol reported that a grant for over 2 million dollars was successful for the Library and Learning Center, located at Catalina and Fairmount. There is a steering committee in place to continue looking at the programming. Anyone may attend. The meeting this month is held at Ward 6. Wednesday March 28th at 6:30 p.m. She thanked everyone for their time and their money.
· Bike Club Report: (David Kha) This no fee program is for adults and children; it offers hands on training for basic bicycle repair. In addition to learning new skills, you will be helping your community by fixing up old bikes and get them up and running. The bike club meets on Saturdays from 8a.m. to noon. Please call David Kha 323-8278
Christine, Americorp Member, spoke regarding setting up Shalom house to build bikes. In turn the youth, ages 11-18, will give 2 weeks community service to MNA.
· Computer Club Report: (David Kha) David is setting up Hardware Training. He will teach you to "build" a computer; in turn you give 6 weeks of volunteer time (3 hours, two times a week) to teach others what you learned. This training includes all you need to know to build a computer from the ground up, using recycled materials. For more information please call David Kha 323-8278
In order to assist children and adults in computer literacy and skills, MNA has built computer labs, there are (2) locations: TIARC Center, 4228 E. Grant RD. Suite 4B, open for individual practice Mon – Sat 10a.m –8p.m and St. Vincent de Paul Center, 829 S. Sixth Ave. open for individual practice Mon –Fri 10a.m –4p.m
· Chess Club Report: No new news was reported The Chess Club meets on Saturdays 10a.m to 12 p.m at the TIARC center, located at 4228 E. Grant RD all are welcome and encouraged to participate. For more information please call David 323-8278
· Green Retrofit/Tree Planting & The October Chile Fest: (Anna Marie Patti) Anna Marie spoke and ask for volunteers for the 3rd annual Chile Fest to be held at The Botanical Gardens in October. MNA gives 20% to Botanical Gardens to be able to participate, others give 30%. The Chile Fest helps to raise money for the school. Botanical Gardens needs to be notified by April 15th. There was a vote, by the raising of hands; from the attendees (photographed by David, for proof J ) a motion by Martha Cooper, a 2nd by Brad Holland, to remain involved in the Chile Fest, was passed. We need 40 to 50 volunteers to make this happen. The dates are October 28th and 29th. Time: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m at the Botanical Gardens on Alvernon. For more information please call Anna Marie at: 881-0244. Anna Marie still has some delicious Paletas for sale. She needs her freezer back.
Trees: We need trucks to deliver trees. No date was set for planting.
Brad mentioned that tree planting might play a role in the upcoming discussion of Bus Stop Advertising. He suggested that the Neighborhood's Volunteer hours might be better spent caring for Bus Stop trees than in monitoring graffiti on shelter ads
Green Retrofit: No news was reported, Anna Marie said that we could expect to here at the end of the month. Anna Marie talked about Tucson Water coming in to help with problems for families that must fall into a low-income bracket. This will include repairs with water leaks and education about watering.
· New Business: Howard Ward was presented a lovely gift of a plaque, thanking him for his service as Secretary for MNA. Howard says he is glad to be an attendee now. He will be missed. Candace Salisbury was introduced and expressed her desire to be of service to MNA. She states that your patience will be appreciated J
There was a discussion from the floor about the proposed committees and who will serve. It was voted on; by a raise of hands from the attendees, that next months meeting would be dedicated to discussion around the committees. A motion from Brad Holland and a 2nd from Margaret Leonard to dedicate April’s meeting to this discussion was passed. This discussion will include: Who forms the committees? Discussion on potential committees, i.e.: is there a need for a graffiti committee? When the committees should meet and where. There are several committees in place now and those will be looked at as well.
There was a discussion around the newsletter and the fact that CNS has a budget for the mailing of the newsletter. Kathy Arnet proposed that perhaps businesses, in MNA, could take on the cost of the mailings, to ensure that everyone receives the letter, each month. Margaret Leonard made a point, that CNS will stop all assistance regarding the newsletter if outside monies are given. Carri Rondeau pointed out that the budget for mailing the newsletter includes (2) mailings a year, 1 letter per address. And mentioned in the past that a notice of the MNA meetings have been posted in the laundry rooms of Apartments Complex’s and Neighborhood Grocery Stores since only one newsletter is mailed to one address. This will be addressed at April’s meeting.
· ADJOURNMENT: The meeting was adjourned at 8:00 p.m. We cleaned up and we went home. \