Midtown Neighborhood Association

Minutes of General Meeting held April 18, 2000

Wright Elementary School

GREETINGS

Brad Holland, MNA President called the meeting to order at 7:05 pm.

 

MINUTES

The minutes of the March 2000 meeting were distributed and approved on a motion by Martha Cooper and a second by David Kha.

 

TREASURER’S REPORT (David Kha)

Beginning balance of $2,306.33, deposits of $9, expenses of $37.71 (bike club), leaving a balance of $2,277.62.

 

UPDATES

• John B. Wright Report (Lisa Langford) -

1. Cinco de Mayo - Debbie Black (318-2660) is looking for volunteers to help with the Cinco de Mayo celebration at JBW, 5/5/00, 6-8 p.m.
2. JBW Art Show - was a big success. Lisa encourages residents to view the artwork hanging in the hallways.
3. Book Fair - will be held this week. This fair is to encourage kids to build their personal libraries and read over the summer. To that end, it is a 2 for 1 sale.
4. Fry's Receipts - Lisa thanks all the neighbors who have contributed receipts. JBW collected more than $1,500 in cash to use at the school.
5. Marquee - The JBW PTA has offered $2,000 for the purchase and installation of a Marquee for the school. The $200 raised at the sock hop will also be used. The next step is to locate a sponsor for the remaining $4,000.

• Midtown Learning Center (Carol Clark, Councilperson Ronstadt's Office) - Pat Corelle, from the City Library Department is working with Jim Barry of the County Administrators office. The County has agreed to purchase the property, using their appraisal. They estimate three weeks to complete this process. Carol will be tracking their progress carefully.

• Computer/Bike Club Report (David Kha) - Members of the Club along with refugees from the TIARC Center toured the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum yesterday. David will be using youth volunteers from the Volunteer Center of Tucson. He introduced Jennifer Soyka (see Guest Speakers).

• Virtual Neighborhood Association (David Kha) - David noted that over 20 neighborhoods have joined the VNA, and that the City is providing space for free.

 

• Midtown PR (Brad Holland) - Brad reported a good month for Midtown-related PR: MNA was featured in a weekend article; Office Frank Damonico appeared on cable access Channel 12 and Ephriam Griffen, aTFD employee who has been very helpful to Midtown was also featured in a newspaper article.

 

• Graffiti Abatement (Anna Marie Patti) - Anna Marie noted that volunteers are still needed for abatement. Carri Rondeau will publish the phone number of the coordinator, Leo Hartke, in the Newsletter. David Kha reported a very fast, 2-day, clean up after reporting some graffiti to Leo earlier this month.

 

• Green Retrofit (Anna Marie Patti) - Anna Marie noted that the construction phase on Justin and Desmond are finished. Next week will be trees and landscaping. BICAS will be providing volunteers to help plant. Petitions are in for traffic circles on Bellevue, Bryant and Sycamore streets. A question was raised about traffic circles and the Fire Department. Anna Marie noted that the Fire Department had to approve all traffic improvements.

 

 

• Other Reports

1. City of Tucson Drainage Update (Fred Felix and Yash Desai, City of Tucson Dept. of Transportation) - Fred reported that as development occurred around Midtown, the amount of storm water entering the neighborhood also increased. The City has identified portions of Midtown as flood-prone. They have a multi-phase project to address flooding. Phase I is complete and covered the area between Ft. Lowell and Grant. Phase II (Grant to Speedway) will address issues in Midtown. The City estimates $7 million dollars to put water underground that currently floods the streets. A consulting engineer hired by the City has developed several alignment options for a storm drain, as well a various spot improvements. This work is dependent on the bond passing in May 2000. If the bond passes, a consultant would be hired by June, 2001. The design phase would last 8-12 months, followed by 6-8 months of construction. The City would form a Citizens' Advisory Committee to review designs. Retention and detention basins would be an attractive option to City engineers as the less water that has to be moved underground, the lower the cost. Brad Holland noted that MNA would be very receptive to well-designed detention/retention facilities as open space. A resident asked that thought be given to keeping water on-site and used for water conservation and recharge.

 

 

NEW BUSINESS/ ANNOUNCEMENTS

• Advocacy Committee of the Friends of Tucson Pima PubIic Libraries (Brad Holland for Ms. Holpert) - the Library is seeking volunteers to hand out information about the May City Bond Election in front of each library, a few days before the election.

 

• Children's' Day (Carri Rondeau) - Stanford Children group is hosting a children's' day at the zoo. The event will be held May 27^th, from 9-12 Noon, and admission will be free. There will be booths and activities for kids.

 

• Help for Catalina Olympian (Carri Rondeau) - One of Carri's student athletes has won a spot to visit Australia in the People to People program. This student is from a lower-income, single-parent home and cannot afford the $4,000 it would cost to go. Carri is soliciting donations for the trip.

 

GUEST SPEAKER

ADJOURNMENT

On a motion by Martha Cooper and a second by Millard Tucker, Brad Holland adjourned the meeting at approximately 7:55 pm.

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