Board Attendees: Monica Colberg, Johnie Johnson, Robin Lewis, Brock Schumacher
Other Attendees: Amy Arcand, Anna Gerdeen, Clare Healy, Kate Lamers, Markella Smith
Call to Order at 6:40 PM by Robin Lewis, Chair
Motion to approve September 5, 2019 board minutes made by Monica Colberg, second by Johnie Johnson. Unanimously approved.
Treasurer’s Report (Schumacher) TruckE expenses yet to be paid include $1,000 to Minneapolis Park Board and $350 to Camden Lions for their services in preparing and serving hot dogs and drinks. Funds are available for outreach. Brock will followup with Webber Park to arrange the payment. Contract Services with Amy Arcand’s salary will overextend salaries item until the transition is completed. There are funds to cover the overage. Motion made by Monica Colberg to approve the budget, second by Johnie Johnson. Unanimously approved. Motion made to receive and file the treasurer’s report by Monica Colberg, second Johnie Johnson. Unanimously approved.
Probation Update Robin Lewis, Board Chair, announced that WCNO is on probation due to an audit of the previous board’’s financial records. None of the current board were on the previous board. Job descriptions are being written for the current board and guidelines for handling WCNO financial affairs have been written and approved. The board is on track to complete probation requirements.
Amy Arcand announced that she and Brock Schumacher created a checklist of tasks to be completed by the Board to successfully finish the probation year. Items include bylaws revision and creating a task force to manage board activities for the work required. None of the tasks are monumental but the work is time consuming. Probation mandates a full year commitment. The required tasks will ensure that once policies are created and approved, new systems will be in place to ensure that this never happens again to WCNO.
Annual November Meeting Elections (Lewis): Before the board can move ahead with elections, two current board members, Holly Dahlenberg and Nina ______ need to be officially removed due to inactivity with the board. Both individuals are willing to step aside. Motion made to remove Holly and Nina Robertson. Moved by Monica Colberg, second Brock Schumacher. Unanimously approved.
Applications for board membership are available online or on paper at Kevin’s business, Webber Mart. An election will be held for seven at-large members, including Monica Colberg’s Interim Secretary position. She is serving serving as Interim Secretary until the election. Discussion ensued on current bylaws and one versus two year terms for current members. At issue is that current bylaws and stated law by the City of Minneapolis do not give a clear process on how to revise the current board. However, a process is required for the upcoming general election. The board needs seven new members, which is a challenging task. The Executive Board has set the process for election. Once the new board is seated and trained, and revised bylaws are brought to the community in February, bylaws may be amended as needed.
Process of Setting Board Agenda (Arcand and Markella Smith) When the new Secretary position is filled, he/she will post agendas online for upcoming board meetings. Amy and Monica created task descriptions and a timeline for the new secretary’s position. This will be used by Monica and board staff to train the new secretary. It will make the transition easier and will help with completing requirements for probation. It will inform the community on when proposals can be accepted for future agenda items, and how to submit an issue for discussion by the board.
WCNO Surveys: (Smith) Markella Smith indicated that 132 surveys have been received by WCNO. An additional 20 surveys were gathered from non-residents of Webber-Camden at the TruckE event. Sixty-five surveys have been entered. Remaining surveys will be entered by volunteer staff trained by Markella in advance of a board retreat on October 26.
Upper Harbor Terminal with Q&A (Kate Lamers): Kate presented the redevelopment project that includes 48 acres owned by the City of Minneapolis. Of that, 19 acres will be taken over by Minneapolis Park and Recreation Park Board. The Upper Harbor Terminal is primarily located in McKinley Neighborhood. A portion of the development is in Camden (everything north of Dowling Ave N). The City and the park board need to identify the boundaries for the new park. A call for qualifications (not a call for proposals) has been issued. The developer will come in with no set plans. He/she will listen to city officials, park board and community residents and assist in creating a design for the space. Waterfront property is valuable. The City has been buying up available land for some time to create the space. No decision has been made whether a boat marina on the northside will be included because the sides of the shore line is steep. The City will apply for state funds to cover some costs. The Park Board wants a meaningful park space honoring the history and desires of community residents. The park design process is pending. By early next summer a concept plan will have been developed. Robin Lewis is serving as Chair of the Community Advising Committee for the project. For further information on how the community can influence the project design, go to www.upperharbormpls.com.
Office Space Shared: Robin announced that Folwell Neighborhood Organization has decided to step away from its earlier request to share office space with WCNO.
WCNO Board Retreat (Arcand) Amy announced that the WCNO board retreat has been scheduled on October 26, 2019 from 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM. Venue is pending.
Request for Letter from the Board Supporting Chief Arradondo’s Request for Additional Police A citizen request is forthcoming asking that the board send a letter of support to Mayor Frey and to Minneapolis City Council regarding Policy Chief Arradondo’s request for additional police, specifically, to support traffic control officers across the city. Robin indicated that the draft would be sent to the Board. Members discussed what they would support in such a letter. Robin will learn moreabout the request and follow up with the board.
Meeting adjourned at 8:21 PM.
