Minutes of BHNA Board Meeting

March 1, 2007

Chairman Mary Kay Falconer called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM.

Attendees included: Philip Froemke, Tom Vickers, Mary Kay Falconer, J.T. Ehrhardt, Tom Schulte, Peter Butzin, Donna Legare, Hal Beardall, Dean Hansen, and Elizabeth Jensen. Guests included County Commissioner John Dailey, Andy Fink, Tonya Ehrhardt and Gavin Phipps.

The minutes of the February 1st meeting were approved as distributed.

Donna Legare submitted the treasurer’s report, as follows:

Treasurer’s Report, March 1, 2007

Submitted by Donna Legare, 386-1148

dlegare@comcast.net

Balance as of March 1, 2007: $7375.72

Checks written since last report:

1157 02/08/07 25.24 Mary Kay Falconer Arbor Day, bike rally, welcome committee letters

1158 02/24/07 80.78 Mary Kay Falconer bike rally expenses (Signs, water, flyers, markers)

1159 02/26/07 133.39 Century Marketing welcome committee BHNA stickers (500)

1160 02/26/07 274.92 Mike Brezin December 2006 newsletter

Deposits:

02/08/07 20.00 dues and funds

According to information maintained by membership chair, Tom Vickers, Mary Kay reported that membership has risen to 394 households. (Information provided by Tom Vickers also indicated that we have a balance of $2040 for the Bellamy fund, $983 for the Partners Fund and $709 for the Mansfield Fund.)

The Board congratulated J.T. and Peter for their successful launch of our website at mybettonhills.org. The reaction from comments has been positive. The Board also acknowledged Philip’s very helpful “Frequently Asked Questions” and “About Betton Hills” sections.

The following suggestions were offered:

Feature more prominently the date and time for the next Board meeting.
Add the names, addresses, committee affiliations and email addresses of Board Members on the contacts page. If the page is dynamic, Peter agreed to keep the information current.
Add links to relevant sites, such as CONA, the City and the County. Provide contact information for elected officials.
Add a message board where neighbors could post notices such as services by resident teenagers for pet sitting, yard work and babysitting, etc.
A special page for information relative for seniors.
Add captions to photos.
A listing of volunteer opportunities

Mary Kay also asked for guidance for developing a policy regarding posting non-BHNA sponsored events. She will draft proposed guidelines and circulate to the Board for comments and suggestions.

We welcomed County Commissioner John Dailey, who represents District 3. His district includes the section of Betton Hills north from Betton Road. John lives at 703 Live Oak Plantation Road and can be reached at 385-5623 (home) or 606-5363 (office). His email address is daileyj@leoncountyfl.gov.

In addition to representing the neighborhood’s interests before the County Commission, John encouraged the Board to consider him an ombudsman for issues involving the City.

John and the Board discussed a wide-range of issues, including:

The County Commission’s top priority: economic development (Vision2020 grant)
Land Use Planning, especially the City and County Commissions meeting jointly as the Planning Commission to review and amend the Comprehensive Plan and encouragement of neighborhood input (Mary Kay expressed concern that volunteer boards lack sufficient time to be fully involved in the planning process.)
Efforts by the Legislature to rollback property taxes in exchange for increasing the sales tax by 2.5%. (John expressed concern that if enacted, the proposal will have a deleterious effect on Leon County. He is also concerned that the interests of local government are not adequately voiced in the proceedings.)

After the discussion with Commissioner Dailey, the board returned to its agenda.

Mary Kay reminded the Board that the annual “Spring Fling” will be at 4 PM on April 29^th. Bill Jones, and a group of musicians he has organized, has agreed to provide musical entertainment. We will have refreshments, including snow cones, and either the usual pizza or a potluck supper. Elizabeth agreed to discuss the latter with Margie McGinnis.

Mary Kay pointed out that the composting demonstration project in McCord Park is available for organic yard waste.

Mary Kay provided an update on processes related to the Evaluation and Appraisal Report (EAR), which is local government’s consideration of periodic changes to the Comprehensive Plan. She has spent considerable time at City Hall involved in the process. Updated information is on the CONA website. She encouraged other board members to be involved in the process.

The Board passed a motion to approve payment of our annual dues to the Council of Neighborhood Association, in the amount of $75.

Mary Kay appeared before the Municipal Code Enforcement Board to testify for the issuance of a violation of noncompliance related to outbuildings located on property at the corner of Armistead and Thomasville Roads. On a 4-2 vote, the MCEB approved the issuance of the noncompliance violation. The owner will have 30 days to bring the property into compliance or be fined $100 per day.

Peter pointed out that no local ordinance regulates garage sales, but that the City Attorney’s office is researching regulations imposed by other cities. Mary Kay will bring up the issue at the next CONA meeting to see if there is broad interest in pursuing passage of an ordinance to regular garage and yard sales.

Cut through traffic on Ellicott is increasing. Apparently drivers are using Ellicott to avoid the traffic calming devices on other neighborhood streets, notably Armistead Road. Peter agreed to attend the “TPD and You” event on March 3^rd to present the neighborhood’s concerns about speeding cars.

Interest has been expressed in building a small children’s playground on Harriman Circle. The board agreed to be supportive. Consensus was reached that the playground should be unobtrusive and located near the existing Azalea garden on the south side of the park.

J.T. and Tonya have volunteered to explore the possibility of a “Movies Under the Stars” event in Winthrop Park.

A motion was passed to distribute the “Partners in Excellence” fund equally between Kate Sullivan Elementary, Cobb Middle and Leon High Schools. $100 of the amount designated for Leon will support Project Graduation. The amount designated for Kate Sullivan will be designated to the purchase of books for its new media center. Donna is authorized to distribute funds. The motion also designated that $700 from the Mansfield Fund be provided for one or more scholarships to promising Leon High Seniors who have exhibited leadership and interest in pursuing a career in journalism. Leon faculty will determine the recipient(s).

There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 8:55 PM.

Respectfully submitted

Peter Butzin