<!– /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:Wingdings; panose-1:5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0; mso-font-charset:2; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:0 268435456 0 0 -2147483648 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:”"; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:”Times New Roman”; mso-fareast-font-family:”Times New Roman”;} p.MsoFooter, li.MsoFooter, div.MsoFooter {margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; tab-stops:center 3.0in right 6.0in; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:”Times New Roman”; mso-fareast-font-family:”Times New Roman”;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} /* List Definitions */ @list l0 {mso-list-id:217129376; mso-list-type:hybrid; mso-list-template-ids:1143775990 943891410 67698691 67698693 67698689 67698691 67698693 67698689 67698691 67698693;} @list l0:level1 {mso-level-number-format:bullet; mso-level-text:?; mso-level-tab-stop:.25in; mso-level-number-position:left; margin-left:.25in; text-indent:-.25in; mso-ansi-font-size:11.0pt; font-family:Symbol;} ol {margin-bottom:0in;} ul {margin-bottom:0in;} –>

Joslyn Castle Neighborhood Assoc.

April 12, 2010 regular meeting minutes

Attending Board members: Magan Smith, Joel Davies, Linda Hughes, Aaron Gillespie, Jim Winston, Julie Mierau, Jama Soaeu, Julie Mireau, Neetta Gillespie.

Secretary Linda Hughes

Eight neighbors were also in attendance

Called to order at 7:00 p.m.

Agenda Items

Treasurer’s Report by Margie Magnuson;
Margie was unable to attend because of a family emergency.

Minutes:
Emailed to board members; Jim moved to approve, Julie seconded. Approved by voice vote

Old Business:

Julie will attend the news conference re: Gifford Park.

Aaron Gillespie reported the cleanup is scheduled May 15 at St. Cecelia’s parking lot; he will not be there but Magan, Neetta and others will supervise.

Neetta called Habitat Restore about coming to check over what is being disposed of. They will take what they need and the rest can be put into the dumpsters.

Speaker:

The speaker was Vicki Quaites-Ferris from the Empowerment Network. They are affiliated with Omaha 360, the new Enough Is Enough group and other organizations. Their president is Willie Barnes, and they were begun three years ago in response to the upswing in violence. Their goal is to do what can be done to restore vibrancy to North Omaha. They work as consultants on various projects; an upcoming example is the North Omaha Village Zone.

Their focus ins on 13 “covenant areas.” They determine the needs within a neighborhood, and work to meet those needs, build relationships, etc.

Omaha 360 is a citywide effort with the purpose of reducing guns and violence; the goal is to bring together all groups with youth programs, through collaboration and cooperation.

Impact One is a group of former gang members that work with current gang members. The will go to the hospital to meet with family members of gang violence victims and try to make sure no gang incidents take place at the hospital, etc.

Prayer Walks by pastors, faith workers, etc. at shooting sites bring people out to talk about alternatives

Their focus is on prevention, intervention (juvenile assessment) and then enforcement.

Education and outreach are used to deal with impacted individuals – how to help police get perpetrators.

Every neighborhood has its issues – there is a need to keep police informed. Theola Cooper is the contact for crime strategies. She can advise us as to what we can do to circumvent crime. We need to educate our neighbors about how to identify and record suspicious activity.

Julie will be at the Wednesday May 12 1 p.m. press conference to launch Omaha 360.

JCNA has a citizens patrol; we are looking to expand and revitalize Neighborhood Watch. We should involve churches, and join together to develop a healthy community.

New Business

Yard sale

Neetta reported that the yard Sale will be June 3-4-5. Neetta will coordinate and promote it. People can do all three days or only 1 or 2.

Magan distributed Midtown Neighborhood Association budget information; several board members had questions about it. Cory Scott, their financial person, would like to speak at a meeting. We can send him questions before the meeting. .

Aaron moved and Julie seconded that we send our questions to Magan, who will collect them and email them to Cory. Approved on a voice vote.

Magan reported on the Joslyn Castle Trust. The current black mesh fence is temporary. It will be replaced. A new slate roof will be installed this summer. They want to work with us, become a member. It is possible they would accept a JCNA board member on their board – would not be a rotating position. They are not interested in having a community garden on the Castle grounds but would host a farmers market with a different approach.
They would like to participate more in our social events – provide volunteers, for example; they suggest setting dates far in advance. They are interested in a neighborhood social. They like the tree-lighting event but would like to light more of the property with white lights. They are having a car show June 20.
Suggest we add Castle events to our newsletter.

Miscellaneous:

· The Havens Mansion was sold to a developer (jaydubya) for $178,000

· Julie will monitor the number of hits on our Facebook page

· The Gifford Park newsletter notes there is a Tennis Block Party at 33^rd & Cass on May 26

· Jim reported that a Citizens Patrol meeting is scheduled at 7 p.m. on May 13.

Next meeting:

Monday, June 14; a Scott Cory of Midtown Neighborhood Assn. will be our speaker.

Meeting adjourned at 7:45 p.m.

Share on Facebook

Margie Magnuson called the meeting to order.

Present: Margie Magnuson, Rob Parolek, Linda Hughes, Magan Smith, Tiare Weak, Bob Olsinski.

Jed Moulton, Manager of Urban Design for the City of Omaha discussed the Area of Civic Importance (ACI). Omaha by Design Site

Treasurer’s Report:

Tiare Weak filed taxes and passed out February financials.

Grant for Citizens Patrol:

2 patrols have been going every weekend since June of 2008. Citizen patrol requesting items to help with the patrols.

JCNA will help write grant for items: police scanner $500, Radio $1500, signs, $100, search lights (2) $80.

Canidate Forum:

Magan Smith and Maggie Jones will take the lead on finding the date and place for candidate forum for after the primaries.

JCNA “table” for DM:

Margie Magnuson will setup table for the Destination Midtown forum on April 2^nd.

Spring Clean-up:

Magan Smith has filed paperwork to participate in the city Spring Clean-up. The Spring Clean-up date is set for June 6^th, from 9:00 AM – 2:00 PM.

Adopt a Park:

Tiare Weak will take lead.

Share on Facebook

Joel Davies called the meeting to order.

Present:  Joel Davies, Margie Magnuson, Aaron Gillespie, Jama Somiev, NeEtta Gillespie, John McCollister, Gary Beck, Linda Hughes, Deirdre Evans.

 John McCollister candidate for Public Service Commission discussed his work on the MUD board and his candidacy for Public Service Commission.  His key areas of focus are cell phone tax and integrity.

The agenda was approved.

Sidewalk report:
Margie said that the sidewalk project was underway.  Call Big Red Sidewalk for help.
Margie said that they would rescan at the end of summer to see how many complied with the project.
A question was posed about weed control.  18 inches is the height before the city will cite the property owner.

Grant Updates:  NeEtta shared the Mutual of Omaha Grant.  The Mutual committee meets the 3rd week in May. JCNA will be notified in June regarding the success of their application.

Joslyn Castle Trust
Joel read the letter announcing the management of the castle regarding the Friend’s management. A recommendation was made to try to get a representative on the board.

20th Anniversary
Deidre Evans volunteered to coordinate a neighborhood garage sale during the 20th anniversary celebration.
A late September date was discussed for the celebration. We discussed catering for the event. Joel and Rob will
get a few bids. 

Group Home Task Force
Jim Vokal was going to attend to discuss the Group Home Task Force.  He will be on the agenda for the next
meeting.

AIC Update:  Margie announce that the old Kum & Go station is now known as Infinite Oil and will go in front of the board for two liquor licenses.  Dr. Murray from Creighton was going to provide expert testimony in front of the liquor commission.  There is a fee for using Dr. Murray.  Margie asked the neighborhood association for a donation to help assist with the expert witness fee.  Linda moved that we donate $50 to the organization.  Gary Beck seconded it.  It was approved.

We discussed the convenience store at 40th and Hamilton.  There have been threats of violence.  The owner has hired a private security company, but they are not on the premise all the time.

Recycle Nebraska (www. recyclenebraska.org) has a special program for apartments and small businesses. 

The Park
The park needs a clean up .  We discussed hiring Joel Kayser to clean up the park.  Margie identified cut native grasses.  
Margie cleaned the graffitti off the slide and the graffitti van showed up that day. Margie made a motion to buy weed killer. Gary seconded the motion. It was approved.

Aaron nominated Rob for treasure. Linda seconded. It was approved.

Dumpster Day Recap
Aaron raised the price for $15 for the membership.     Joel recommended we research membership cost of other associations.   We discussed adding a donation option to our membership form. We also discussed adding a paypal option to the website.  Julie motioned raising the membership fee by $5 for both business and individual as of July 31st.  Gary seconded.  Aaron recommended sponsoring a pizza party for Santa Monica house.  Joel made the motion to sponsor the pizza party.  Julie seconded.  It was approved.

Share on Facebook

7:02 PM called to order
Chris Constantakos Bemis Park Citizen’s Patrol was the speaker. Highlights from Chris’ presentation:

• Citizen Patrol is different from Neighborhood watch (wheels… driving the neighborhood)
• There are daytime burglaries and night time activities.
• Random scheduled patrols
• Two people to start a patrol
• Grant funds or fundraisers to pay for signs and radios, etc…
• Police Union grant available. ($500)
• Stacy Henry is the Omaha Crime Statistics coordinator.
• Patrol Guidelines document is available (Bemis Park is a citizen patrol resource)
• Its possible for JCNA to join with Bemis Park.
7:37 PM Anne Boyle candidate for Public Service Commission discussed the role of the Public Service Commission.
• Communications
• Telecommunicatons Relay Fund
• Grain Warehouse
• House & Recreation vehicles
• Natural Gas
• Transportation
• Nebraska Telephone Assistance Fund
• Wireless E-911
• State/County information 211
• Diggers hotline 311
• Travel Info 511
• http://www.psc.state.ne.us/
• 880-4000 Cell Phone
8:20 PM Business meeting started.
• March minutes will be online.
• New business added to agenda JCNA Citizens Patrol.
• Gloria presented financials – Rob seconded – vote approved.
• Margie - Sidewalk project Bobs Big Red Services – $3.75 a Sq Ft City Rate is $4.31 per SqFt.
• Mayors Grant – Joel (due this Friday)
• Joslyn Castle issues were discussed: Neighborhood complaints (lights, dumpster, Air conditioner bearings), concerns with Omaha Press Club renting for 6 months, Joel will make contact with the Friends of Joslyn Castle.
• City council discussed Group homes
• 20th Anniversary Party… Tree planting, BBQ, Tee Shirts, Band
• Citizen Patrol - Jeanne Schuler wants to get the information and organize a class with the OCPD.
• Rob moved to facility the formation of a citizen patrol in conjunction with Bemis Park – seconded by Gary – vote approved.
• Alcohol coalition – Fit, willing & able is the qualification for liquor license. According to the City Council.
9:48 PM Meeting adjourned.

Share on Facebook

March 2008

Present:  Margie Magnuson, Julie Mierau, Gary Beck, Joel Davies Jama Somiev, DiLoroza Azimova, Rob Parolek, Aaron Gillespie, NeEtta Gillespie

Treasurers’ Report:  Beginning checking account balance, $7, 251.57.  No expenses this month.  Gloria will check on the sign payments.  Julie motioned to accept the Treasurers report.  Margie 2^nd.

Sidewalk:  Margie re-contacted the first contractor. The contractor said he may honor the $3.75 a square foot price.  He is going to start with the Davenport projects.  Another contractor, Tim Madden was suggested.

Mutual grant:  Grant proposal deadline is at the end of the month.  A bus bench program. was discussed to mark the other entrance points in our neighborhood. Costs would include a bench, concrete pad. NeEtta will work on this program.

Omaha Community Foundation:  Ideas suggested are murals for concrete walls, metal signs, and the welcome pack.  Print flags or posters as the second part of the grant.

20^th Anniversary: September or October is the date.  Margie recommended a home tour.

Joel volunteered Meg Davies.  A local band will be researched.

Graffitti
Joel went to the city council meeting.  The city discussed increasing penalties for graffiti.

There is a second reading of the ruling.  The neighborhood center is hosting a graffiti task force.  Joel will attend. Margie has tag away solution. She recommended we by more removal solution and share with neighboring associations.   We will vote next month on buying the supplies. 

Easter Egg Hunt is scheduled for Palm Sunday.  The budget for the event was set at $100.  Margie will assist NeEtta will getting the flyer to St. Cecelias.

Dumpster Day Flyer:  It was recommended that we make a flyer for dumpster day and send out with the newsletter.   April 1^st is the deadline.   

A question was made regarding the panhandling law.  A recommendation was made for  a referral something in the newsletter.  Lowe Presbyterian has a pantry and clothing shelter.

It was recommended we get a proposal and design for a new T-Shirt then proceed.

Jim Suttle amends the current law which removed the minimum age for minors and it allows minors to be present where alcohol is being served.  Project extra mile brought it to the alcohol committee.   The first public reading has been scheduled.

Meeting was adjourned.

Share on Facebook

Joslyn Castle Neighborhood Association
January 14, 2008 Minutes
Present: Rob Parolek, Margie Magnuson, Julie Mierau, Gary Beck, Joel Davies, NeEtta Gillespie, Aaron Gillespie, and TFL: Jama, Alex, Jennifer, Diloraza, Dara and Rebecca.

President Joel Davies called the meeting to order.

Speaker: Laurence Dwyer from the Institute for Priestly Formation discussed the new international headquarters to be built on the St. Cecelia campus. The building will replace the convent that has been vacant for the past 15 years. Cecelia’s will be leasing the land to the Institute. The new building will feature offices, a chapel, state of the art classrooms and 20 apartments for visiting priests and the organization’s yearly board meetings. A garden behind the building is another feature of the property development. The cost of the building will be $12 million with construction beginning in 2 years. A height permit will be necessary because the building will be three stories. A request has been made by Mr. Dwyer to have JCNA write a letter of support to the city.

Treasurer’s Report: The treasurer’s report was approved. The balance was $7,381. We had $77.06 in expenses in December. We have $3,952 remaining in obligated funds, bringing our balance to $3,429.

Sidewalk Report: Margie sent letters to update homeowners on the sidewalk project. She will try to find a new contractor to complete the project.

Welcome Packets: The welcome packets are in progress.

20^th Anniversary: A block party will be planned in September when it is cooler. It will take the place of our ice cream social.

Neighborhood Builders: Joel is looking for volunteers. It is every Saturday in February.

41^st Street Condos: There continues to be density issues with the proposed plan. They are looking at six units and talked about a brownstone design.

New business:
Graffiti issues were discussed. A conversation about what the tags mean and why the increase in tagging was occurring. It was recommended that we team up with Gifford Park Neighborhood Association to buy chemicals to remove the graffiti.

TFL (Tobacco for Less): Jama Samiev gave an update on his buildings and businesses. TFL had an alcohol sale to minor violation and explained what they were doing to correct the issue.

Margie discussed her work with a grassroots group to review liquor licenses in requests. They are looking at the density issues with liquor licenses. She used Kum & Go as an example. Straight Shooters bar has new management and the new business is being called Cheaters.

We will be adding video, an online newsletter, and blog to the JCNA website.

A meeting was held with Destination Midtown and the owners of the Travel Inn property regarding the use of the property. A KFC was proposed. Neighborhood representatives expressed their concerns regarding traffic issues for a fast food restaurant on this corner. Recommendations were made for the corner including a medical office building or town home project.

Omaha Main Streets is offering a tour of and asked for Margie’s assistance.

MNA membership was discussed. We asked that our questions be answered before we consider membership.
What are your accomplishments? Where is your treasurer’s report?

Share on Facebook