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| Beginning with November 2004, BOD Minutes are only included in that month's Echo document, and are not maintained separately. | |||
The officers said traffic and speeding are always the major issues raised by residents. Officer Bob Veatch brought along a portable speed board, which is available for use by neighborhood associations. MPD also has the speed trailer, which gets parked in the parking lane on a road and flashes to drivers their speed. The officers provided a list of names and numbers to contact regarding the use of the boards or trailer. The City of Madison Traffic Engineering also has 3 portable speed boards. The officers noted that along with staffing a board, MPD can provide a form to write down license plate numbers of speeding vehicles. Police will then send out a letter to the owner of the vehicle.
Judy noted it is important neighbors continue to aggressively pursue city assistance for traffic problems. Parking around Elvehjem School remains a cause of concern; Judy said it's time for a neighborhood meeting devoted specifically to this controversial issue.
Andy noted there will be an April 9th public meeting at LaFollette High School to discuss the intersection of Hwy 51 and Buckeye Road plans.
So far, the Association has 650 total members for 2002-2003. 95 members chose not to rejoin and 85 members moved out of the neighborhood since March, 2002. A neighbor suggested the reasons for joining the ENA should be listed on the back of the membership form—good idea. Another suggested that ENA neigh-bors should be afforded the opportunity to place small, non-business ads in the next directory.
Kathy announced she will resign as Membership Chairman effective March 1, 2004. She’ll stay on as a membership sub-committee member or a block captain, where needed. Is anyone interested in replacing Kathy as membership chair?
Acting sec’y Jim P. (Ready to Welcome Sue back).
* Leaves sat for weeks. The city’s website does not help predict when leaves will be picked up. To comply with the city’s request to keep leaves out of the street, a neighbor had to rake his leaves, then rake them into the street in order to mow, and then rake the leaves back up on the lawn. There is also the mess city crews leave behind in the streets after loading the leaves and damage city vehicles do when driving over lawns.
* One neighbor told of the city’s recent tree-trimming on Vinje Court; 4 trucks arrived, each staffed with a single person. One person proceeded to trim limbs while the other 3 spent 1 1/2 hours talking in the neighbor’s driveway. Obvious questions asked were: which of those workers were responsible for which duties; were 4 people and trucks necessary when only 1 person appeared to be working?
* Snow plowing doesn’t even occur on the cul-de-sac for 3 to 5 days after a snowstorm. More important is that the plows gather the snow and dump it onto someone’s front yard. Plowing used to be much better, but now it’s anyone’s guess as to whose yard will receive the latest snow pile along with the pile’s sand and salt or whatever is in the snow.
* In at least 1 location, vehicles are parked for extended periods of time without being moved. The main concern expressed was why citizens must call either their alderperson or the city repeatedly to have some attention paid to the problem.
* Trash removal staff often leave things behind that then require special calls to the city. A question asked was why “student moving day” at the end of the summer receives so much attention downtown, while pickup here is difficult to achieve.
The Board decided to email alderperson Judy Compton asking for her thoughts on these issues, and asking if we might publish her response to these questions.
* With a couple of grammatical corrections, the Board reviewed and approved the August meeting minutes.
* The Treasurer’s report was also approved. Jim explained the July 4th celebration cost the Association approximately $250.
* Cynthia reported the sign planned for the east end of Buckeye Road awaits the railroad’s approval for the sign’s placement on their property.
* Overall, the Elvehjem park watch this summer was a success.
* Matching funds from the city for a new Acewood Park fence are dependent on the state budget, so may well be unavailable.
* For the next 3 to 4 months, the Board authorized the Echo editor to decide whether a 4 or 6 page edition is warranted. If 6 pages, we will hand stuff the middle page and the Association will subsidize snacks for any stuffing helpers.
* Steve D. will recruit next year’s Echo sponsors.
* The membership drive has been quite a success—at least 80 new household have joined the Association. Directories are at a premium.
* Dean reported the Association can now have unlimited email addresses, so rather than posting Board members’ personal email addresses in the Echo, we will switch to more generic addresses.
* Two suggesters asked the Association to pursue obtaining stop signs at the corners of Painted Post and Ellen Avenue, and at Academy and Woodvale. The Board agreed to support stop signs at both locations.
* Another neighbor suggested more and bigger signs advertising the annual garage sale. Dennis will research prices for banners we could attach to our LVM neighborhood signs.
* One neighbor suggested monitoring speed levels on South Thompson Drive.
* Another suggested purchasing a speed radar machine for the Association.
* And another suggested better landscaping for signs at specific points in the neighborhood.
Mary Jo B. has an idea for a neighborhood book exchange. Karl will send Mary Jo several operational questions the Board discussed and invite her to attend the next meeting to talk about the proposal.
Karl K. and Jody M. offered information about a possible planning grant proposal for matching funds for a multi-use bike and pedestrian path from Hwy. 51 east to Culver’s.
Most Board members agreed an alternative effort would be to team up with the Eastmoreland, Glendale, and Rolling Meadows Neighborhood Associations to have such a path from where the current bike path ends at Dempsey Road all the way to Acewood Avenue. Starting with our neighborhood’s portion of such a path was also discussed as a first step in the right direction. For now, the Association won’t pursue the planning grant.
The date is February 28, 2003 at the Elvehjem School. The DJ is set too.
The plan is to have the event much as this last year, with singing, snacks, and much good cheer. December 3rd is the current target date. We plan to produce our own set of song lyrics to last for years to come, so tentatively mark your calendars!
Many of the details of the Semi-annual meeting appeared in August’s Echo. This month’s discussion was about whether enough neighbors attended the August semi-annual meeting to repeat the meeting next year. The weather was great, the speakers had lots of valuable information, and the turnout was low. The Board will check turnout at the March annual meeting and then decide on a summer or fall semi-annual meeting.
The Board discussed the possibility of having an activity for seniors at the former Gerhardt’s, now a teen center. Since our efforts to obtain a general coordinator for senior events have been less than successful, the Board thought we could try seeking a senior coordinator for a single event at the center, such as a card party, or discussion group. If any neighbor would like to volunteer, please call Brier Nelson at 223-9383.
* The recent state budget repair bill changed the budget from a $23 million dollar loss in Madison’s shared revenue to nothing lost in 2002-2003; but also set up a possible $750,000 to $1.5 million dollar decrease in shared revenue to the city beginning 2004. The mayor is concerned about the city’s financial future, and may well leave some positions empty in an effort to work “better and smarter” in the next budget cycles.
* For the 2003 budgets, the mayor has asked her agency heads to decrease their budgets by 2% from the amounts they received in 2002.
* The mayor noted property values are up, making finding affordable housing more difficult. City subsidies for construction or rental and for reasonable purchase prices are a possibility for helping keep families from having to move often.
* The mayor spoke about kindergarten programs; namely, if Madison has a four-year-old kindergarten program for some children, the city must have such a program for all children of that age. Mayor Baumann is working with the school district to establish such a city program.
* Over the last year more than $1 million dollars has been paid to the city “on-line”---the first possibilities were parking tickets, water and sewer bills, and Civic Center tickets. Soon to come are bus passes, and fees such as dog and cat licenses. Right now, the city pays the credit card fees, but to expand the service without making it correspondingly expensive for the city, the city is setting up a credit clearing house arrangement.
* Madison has maintained it’s triple A bond rating and has $15 million in reserves.
* A question and answer session followed addressing these issues:
Q: Where are Neighborhood Resource Teams these days?
A: In response to specific issues or problems the city will pull together police officers, public health staff, city housing staff, city streets staff, or whoever is needed to address the issue in a coordinated way.
Q: What’s the city’s commitment to developing bike paths, particularly here on the east side?
A: “Enormous.”
Q: (From alder Judy Compton): Why is it so hard for the east side to receive needed improvements that seem so easy for the west side to achieve?
A: There is no bias for devoting resources to any part of the city. For several years, the west side was growing and received many resources. Now the east side is growing very fast and so, for example, the streets and bridges over the interstate are now high on the list for improvement along with other east side improvements.
Q: What about the new central park project...is that diverting money from east side park maintenance?
A: The central park issue relates to the bigger issue of land the city has already purchased and dedicated for park development but for which there are no development funds currently available. In this case, the land was already purchased for water utility and Madison Metro facilities, and given the park plan, those plans were scrapped.
Of the $1.5 million set aside in the 2003 capital expenditure budget, less than 10% is set aside for “new stuff” with the rest going for maintenance.
Q: Some neighborhood streets are being paved and the residents have to pay for curbs, gutters, and sidewalks. Many are not happy about the fees they are assessed to do so.
A: City regulations require that new street work like this requires curbs and gutters, and in some cases, sidewalks. Upgrades are almost always done at the request of residents of the immediate area.
Partly as a result of the special bike patrols the police have apprehended and charged those who stole patio furniture to use for a bonfire, those who were breaking car windows, and those who were vandalizing the Elvehjem School. Neighbors and the Association as a whole express appreciation to the MPD officers who provide such valuable service!
Tammy gave us details about several invasive plants threatening native plants in Elvehjem Park & Sanctuary. Garlic mustard is the most serious concern. April and May are the best times to pull the plant. Jim W. reported that tens of thousands of hours are devoted already to rid parks of invasive plants, so maybe LVM can build a little more “sweat equity” toward the next neighborhood sign by pulling some mustard this coming spring. Native plants worth saving include trillium, jack-in-the-pulpit, and many kinds of ferns. Also wonderful would be having youngsters help---pride in ownership of our parks is good to build from a young age!
Dorn gave us quite a discount on signs for our recent garage sale. Thanks, Dorn Hardware!
We still need volunteers through the end of the month. Unacceptable activity at the park seems to have decreased, but if you can help, contact Cynthia S. Thanks in advance.
Brier N., her husband Graham, daughter Ellis, and dog Foster recently joined the neighborhood. Brier consented to serve and the Board unanimously elected her to the Board. Welcome, Brier and family!
Thanks to Mary Jo B. for doing such a great job coordinating so many helpers. Food and games went smoothly and the grand mashall’s tractor float was great (though more decorating has been suggested)!
Dennis S. has the application in. We must wait for the school system to schedule events and decide whether we can have that date.
The Board will use a survey form (see insert in this issue) for neighbors to submit ideas for small neighborhood capital improvements the Association may invest in. Neighbors may also submit ideas to any board member, attend any future board meeting or use the LVM web site.
Approved June minutes. Treasurer’s report approved after Jim reported the neighborhood’s savings account paid for the directory while the membership drive continues. Neighbors who still want to join are asked to call their block captain or deliver their membership form and dues to their block captain as soon as they are able.
Last minute assignments were made about tickets, food line, games, as well as how volunteers would be assigned. Efforts turned to cleaning the shelter and surrounding area. Dennis and Tom power-washed the entire shelter and all the picnic tables, and the weather cooperated, so we had a clean picnic area set up for July 4th.
PLEASE call Cynthia S. to volunteer! There’s been distressing news about vandalism occuring around the park edges and in the forested area. The park watch takes just walking through the park for a short time in late evening or weekends and continues through August.
Is on Saturday, August 10th at 2PM at the Elvehjem Park shelter. The mayor is scheduled to arrive at 2:15 PM, and we expect she’ll take questions. We also expect a city representative to tell us more about the garlic mustard problem in the park. And we will invite police captain Jill Klubertanz to attend to discuss neighborhood concerns, especially the vandalism and noise park problems.
The sale is set for the same weekend as the annual meeting. The fee is $5.00 and provides for a newspaper ad announcing the sale as well as a sign and map of participants addresses.
Our third sign is in progress. It’s set for Buckeye Road near the railroad tracks that are near Hwy. 51. The Park Watch helps us earn “sweat equity” to help defray the sign costs, so PLEASE sign up!
Still on the calendar. More news as time passes.
Some discussion of the new center. Hours may be relatively limited. Cynthia will call to get details.
May meeting minutes were approved. Treasurer’s report approved after Jim noted the Association needed to use a few savings dollars until membership dues start being collected soon. Board members agreed that when important neighborhood events approach, meeting minutes will be moved from the Echo front page to later pages. A neighbor has also commented that the Echo’s print size is too small. Point well taken; the Board will work on it.
All we need to make a great picnic a SUPER picnic is VOLUNTEERS, so please call our volunteer coordinator, Mary Jo Baas (224-0231), to offer some time.
Our parade begins at 11:15 AM with line-up at 11:00 in front of Elvehjem School. Look for president Karl Kletzien to get the parade started with our most welcome police officers and fire fighers to help us have a safe, exciting parade.
The parade route goes from Academy to Woodvale, left on Starker, left on to Ellen, then left on Painted Post and back to the park. Join the parade any time or place! The route is short, but the children are priceless, so if you’d be willing to VOLUNTEER to monitor a corner for moving vehicles, please call Mary Jo or any board member. We have 3 prize categories this year: Wagons, two wheel tricycles, and hot wheels—so start decorating!
Food serving starts about noon. Games and prizes are ready to go. We’ve added a new inflatable obstacle course to the games!
Dennis will bring several canopies to cover as many of the games as possible. The Board authorized spending up to $150 for a 10 x 20 ft. canopy, to prepare for when “volunteer” canopies are not available.
Karate America also plans to demonstrate their skills.
The drive began on May 20th; expect to hear from your block captain soon. A wonderful new neighborhood directory is waiting in return for your membership form and fee. The picnic will be a perfect day to renew your Association membership. Your completed membership form and $10 will have a new Directory on your doorstep soon.
The Association’s policy is up for renewal. Sue will look over the language to check whether any coverage has changed. If coverage is substantively the same, the Board authorized paying another year’s premium.
The Board decided the Echo would improve if we include a regular list of upcoming events. Right now, those are: the July 4th Independence Day Celebration, the neighborhood garage sale on August 9th and 10th, the Semi-Annual Neighborhood Meeting on August 10th at the Elvehjem Park shelter, the summer-long park watch, the December holiday sing-a-along, and the holiday decorating contest. Madison mayor Sue Baumann will attend the Semi-Annual meeting to talk with neighbors about our neighborhood concerns.
The park watch is under way. We need volunteers to walk through the park around curfew time. Those times are: for persons less than 14 years old, 10:00 PM; for persons between 14 and 17 years of age, 11:00 PM Sunday through Thursday and midnight on Saturdays. To volunteer, contact Cynthia S. or any board member.
The city reports that even with our recent mustard-pulling effort, the park is still seriously infested. The whole morning’s efforts cleared 50 square feet. If the growth continues, the mustard could spread to the yards of neighbors near the park. The Board is considering asking the city for a controlled burn to get rid of the weeds, but, so far, we’re told pulling the weeds from May to mid-June is the best approach. So, if you have time, pull some mustard in the park!
The Association received a letter asking for a representative to attend a follow-up meeting related to the future of Hwy 51 near our neighborhood. Andy will attend. A primary concern is that if a widened Hwy 51 is a “done deal,” the Association might want to start working for “over” or “under” pedestrian and bike access to both sides of Buckeye.
A teen center may be developing in this facility. The Board would appreciate neighbors thoughts about whether the Association should consider contributing money to a teen center effort. Please call any board member with your thoughts.
April meeting minutes were approved. Treasurer’s report was approved, after Jim noted the storage rental fee increases in June from $30 to $35. Andy Kraiss was elected to the Board. Welcome, Andy!
Printing the new Directory will cost approximately $2,700, of which $1,100 has already been covered with advertisements. The Association ordered 1,000 copies, which should arrive in time for delivery to the block captains at the May 11th block captains’ appreciation luncheon. The membership drive begins on May 20th. We remain short 18 block captains, and welcome volunteers. Board members will cover the uncovered blocks.
The city-sponsored garlic mustard pulling effort at Elvehjem Park combined with the Association’s park garbage cleanup is on for May 11th from 9 AM to 12 PM. Meet at the park shelter. Karl will bring bags and someone from the city will be there to show us exactly what weeds to pull. Bring your own saws, axes, and branch loppers.
Cynthia continues to seek final approval for another neighborhood sign, which we hope to install on the railroad property on Buckeye Road east of High-way 51. Cynthia submitted a grant proposal for replacing the Acewood park fence. We expect a decision on the proposal in May. *
Probably the largest “sweat equity” effort related to the new sign will be this summer’s planned park watch for Elvehjem park. The park closes at 10 PM, and there are already people “hanging out” at the park at night, littering and making excessive noise. The plan is to recruit neighborhood volunteers to walk through the park between 9:30 and 10:30 PM on Friday and Saturday nights from early June until late August to deter the bad behavior. Cynthia will let police captain Klubertanz know of the planned effort and ask for an orientation from the police department about the safest and best steps park watchers can take.
The sale will be held on the second weekend of August. That Saturday, August 10th, we will also hold a semi-annual meeting at 2 PM at the Elvehjem park shelter, and will invite the mayor to attend to speak, to listen to neighbor concerns, and to answer questions.
The Board continued initial planning for this year’s celebration, to be held on July 4th. Our new inflatable obstacle course will have to be staked down, which means it requires a $100 permit in addition to the other required permits. Electricity was a slight issue last year, so we plan to use a generator to supply some of the power this year. Hot food will come from Smoky Jon’s, and to help keep the food hot while waiting to serve it we will rent some warming cabinets to go along with the roasters we’ve used in the past.
Perhaps the best way to improve the celebration will be to increase the number of volunteers helping with tickets, games, and serving food. We hope to split some of the picnic’s jobs, such as staffing the games, into multiple shifts, which will take anywhere from 35 to 45 volunteers. The Board is exploring ways to increase volunteer participation, including calling neighbors to ask for help and possibly having one volunteer coordinate all the volunteers. As always, if you would like to help at the picnic, even if for a short time, and especially if you have a specific job in mind, please call any board member or come to the June Board meeting.
Transition of the editorship to Steve Dow is in full swing. The Echo mailbox is up at the Dow household. For information about submitting articles or ads, or about the Echo editorial policies, please see the box on the back page of each Echo. You can also submit articles and ads by sending an email to: newsletter@elvehjemneighborhood.org. This address is also on the neighborhood’s website.
Feedback was good. The concept of hiding empty eggs which youngsters then redeem for a treat bag worked quite well. Three specially decorated eggs had beanie babies for a prize. Approximately 45 children in three different age groups participated. Thought will be given next year to adding coffee and doughnuts or even another activity such as face painting.
A meeting will be held on May 8th at the Frank Allis school to begin discussing issues related to the Hwy 51 corridor. This meeting is primarily to begin to hear from neighborhood associations; meetings with the general public will occur later. Dean, Jim, and Cynthia will attend for the Board.
Karl will spearhead an effort to gather a group of neighbors to attend a Madison Mallards game. The largest group can win a prize. More details as they are available; in the meantime, if you would like more immediate information, call Karl.
Next year’s Sweetheart Dance will be held on February 28th. We’ve received the DJ’s contract. He will charge $250. The Board authorized paying the DJ a $50 deposit to hold the date.
Two parts of the February meeting minutes were corrected: 1) Jim P. passed out list of people who verbally committed to directory ads. 2) Language from the February minutes: "any member that pays dues up until Dec. 31, 2001 will be paying dues through June 30, 2002. If a new member moves into the neighborhood after Dec.31, 2001 and joins ENA within 2002, dues will be paid through June 30, 30, 2003."
Treasurer's Report: Twenty dollars of expenses were over-reported previously, so twenty dollars more are now in the neighborhood account.
Xerlith was chosen to print the new directory, at a cost of approximately $2,400 for two colors.
Block Captains: People on the volunteer list have come forward to be block captains, still short 14. Block captains are generally responsible for 15 to 20 residences. They introduce the association to new neighbors, deliver a membership application to new members, and this year, will also deliver our new directories.
The membership drive will begin in May. Kathy W., Mary Ann P., and the Membership Committee members will assemble the packets and distribute them in May at a lunch with the block captains.
Michele M. reported that Madison Newspapers has a website with some positive possibilities for the association. For now, we will probably just set up to have a link on that website to our neighborhood site.
Jody M. has volunteered to be a liaison for the neighborhood with our city and county governments. Issues worth watching now are the Dean Clinic going in at the Hwy. 51/ Buckeye Rd. intersection and a development south of Buckeye Rd. near Tarragon Rd.
Meeting w/Mayor. The mayor would like to meet with all neighborhood associations. Since the weather was so bad for our recent annual meeting, the Board decided to invite the mayor to our new "semi-annual meeting" on August 10th at 2 PM. The location is still to be decided, but we urge neighbors to attend. The monthly Board meeting will be held before the session with the mayor.
Meeting sites were set for the next year. Each month's location will be posted in the ECHO. The May meeting is at Dean's house, at 5210 Buckeye Road, at 7 PM. All neighbors are welcome to attend.
Independence Day Celebration. This year's celebration will occur on the very day of July 4th. Last year's was a great success so the Board decided to repeat purchasing meat from Smokey Jon's, and to have other great food, drinks, and games, including an inflatable obstacle course for kids of all ages. Electricity is in short supply at the shelter, so the Board is looking into renting a generator for the day. The Board also discussed how to involve more volunteers in making things work more smoothly. If anyone would like to volunteer to do a specific task such as taking tickets or handing out sodas, deserts or prizes, please contact any Board member any time between now and the celebration. The park and parade permits will be taken care of soon. In light of last year's large number of parade participants, we may need two police escorts instead of one...start planning now and DECORATE and RIDE in the parade!
Summer Park Watch. The Board voted to promote a park watch at Elvehjem Park this summer, on Friday and Saturday nights during June, July, and August. Times would be from about 9:30 to 10:30 PM. Cynthia S. will schedule anyone who wants to help and Cynthia will write a full article for this ECHO.
Sweetheart Dance. Feedback at the Annual Meeting was all positive so the Board voted to repeat the event next year. We need to check with the school about other scheduled events.
Police surveys. Submit to Cynthia S. as soon as possible.
Miscellaneous. The Board discussed obtaining speedboards from the city. They are readily available and work best with two people-one attends the machine and the other records car descriptions and license plate numbers. The city will send letters to speeders documented in this way, in an effort to have drivers SLOW DOWN.
The Board had a request from an ECO-Friendly flooring representative to schedule a seminar about their flooring. The Board decided not to schedule the seminar but to put the information in the ECHO if such a seminar is scheduled.
Dean read the minutes from last year’s annual meeting; minutes were approved (MS&C).
Jim P. read the Financial Report, detailing that there was money in certificates of deposit and that these have staggered maturity dates. MS&C to approve report.
Kathy W. passed out list of individuals who have made a verbal commitment to advertise in the directory. If all advertisers maintain commitment, membership directory will be paid for completely by advertising. Dean and/or Michele will help Kathy figure out how to increase font size for membership listing using Microsoft Access. The board decided that 900 directories will be printed. (CORRECTED: It should have read that Jim Polewski passed out list of individuals who have made a verbal commitment to advertise in directory.)
The board discussed the dilemma of having a membership drive much earlier in 2002 than previous year. The board decided that an article explaining the late membership drive of 2001 will be printed in the Echo when the 2002 membership drive begins.
MS&C the cut-off date distinguishing year in which a member has paid dues to be January 1. If member paid dues before January 1, 2002, member has paid dues through 2001. After January 1, 2002, member has paid dues through 2002. (CORRECTED: Should have read any member that pays membership dues between the Membership Drive and up until December 31 will be paying dues through June 30, 2002. If a new neighbor moves in the area after January lst those dues will be paid through June 30, 2003. When the Membership Drive is held in June/July of 2002 that member has already paid for the following year. Initially a new member for the first year will get 6 months free membership.
The board thanks Kathy W. for all of the documentation and logistics work establishing detailed membership chair position duties and responsibilities.