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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1994 07-28 EBNHACMMINUTES OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE EARLE BROWN NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSING ADVISORY COMMITTEE OF THE CITY OF BROOKLYN CENTER IN THE COUNTY OF HENNEPIN AND THE STATE OF MINNESOTA July 28, 1994 Conference Room A Brooklyn Center City Hall CALL TO ORDER The Earle Brown Neighborhood Housing Advisory Committee was called to order by Chairperson Jody Brandvold at 7:00 p.m. ROLL CALL Committee members present at the meeting were Chairperson Jody Brandvold, committee members Robert Torres, Everett Lindh, Robert Jechorek, Johanna Mills, Joyce Lindquist and Nancy Carlson. Also in attendance at the meeting were Community Development Director Brad Hoffman and Community Development Specialist Tom Bublitz. Committee members absent and excused from the meeting were Dolores Hastings, Dennis Morrow and Betty Engdahl. Also absent from the meeting was Councilmember Barb Kalligher. APPROVAL OF MINUTES MARCH 15. 1994 There was a motion by Committee Member Lindh and seconded by Committee Member Carlson to approve the March 15, 1994 minutes, as submitted. The motion passed. Note: Quorums were not present at the April and May committee meetings and the June committee meeting was canceled. 1994 PAINT -A -THON The Community Development Specialist explained that the Paint -A -Thon organization had made an error in assigning a home to the Earle Brown Neighborhood Housing Advisory Committee for the 1994 Paint -A -Thon. He noted that he had attended the team leader meeting in June and at that time the house assigned to the Earle Brown Neighborhood Committee was located in Minneapolis. The Community Development Specialist noted he had spoken with the Paint -A- Thon staff and they had indicated to him that as of the date of the team leader meeting, June 30, 1994, it was too late for the Paint -A -Thon program to locate another house in the southeast neighborhood. He explained the Paint -A -Thon staff indicated that if the committee could find their own house and it was eligible, they could possibly be worked into the program. He also noted efforts had been made to locate a house in the southeast neighborhood for the 1994 Paint A-Thon but that at the present time no one has come forward or found an eligible property and 7 -28 -94 that at this point it would be too late to include them in the 1994 Paint -A -Thon. Committee members discussed how best to avoid a problem such as this in the future. Committee Member Jechorek suggested that the committee put an article in the City Manager's newsletter and the committee's newsletter and put the City's phone number in the article so that the initial contact made by the homeowner would be with the City. By making the homeowner's initial contact with the committee, this would assure that we would have a house to bring to the Paint -A -Thon program in 1995. Committee members continued their discussion and agreed that the articles to be placed in newsletters should contain the City Hall phone number and not the Paint -A -Thon telephone number so that we could make the initial contact with the homeowner. Committee Member Torres suggested interviewing past homeowners who had been served in Brooklyn Center by the Paint -A -Thon program. He also pointed out that we could include before and after photos of the properties the committee has worked on in the past. The Community Development Specialist noted that he had taken before and after shots of both houses included in past Paint -A -Thons undertaken by the committee. There was general consensus among committee members that the committee would continue to participate in the Paint -A -Thon program in 1995, but with a different approach to locating and securing a house to paint in the southeast neighborhood. STAFF REPORT ON LANDSCAPE PROJECT Chairperson Brandvold noted this item would be deferred to the August meeting. DISCUSSION OF NEIGHBORHOOD CLEANUP PROJECT Chairperson Brandvold deferred this item to a future meeting. OTHER BUSINESS Chairperson Brandvold noted she had received a phone call from a resident in the 57th and Fremont area regarding a problem with wild cats in the neighborhood, specifically at 5640 Fremont Avenue North. She explained several of the neighbors had called regarding this matter and apparently what has been happening is that someone has been feeding stray cats in the area near 5640 Fremont and has attracted a significant number, up to 30, and they have been causing a considerable problem in the neighborhood. One of the issues Chairperson Brandvold noted that was that the resident who called her indicated that she had called the City's code enforcement officer twice on this matter and gotten no response from the code enforcement officer. Committee members continued to discuss the situation and Chairperson Brandvold noted that she was concerned as much for the lack of returned calls from the code enforcement officer as with the actual problem with the cats. 7 -28 -94 -2- The Community Development Director noted that he would follow up on this item and have the Community Development Specialist report back to the committee regarding this matter. Chairperson Brandvold noted that she had recalled that at one time the City had used live traps for catching stray cats and suggested that they might be used in this situation. 7-28-94 9 Additionally, Committee Member Carlson noted that she had been campaigning for political candidates in the neighborhood and had noticed that there were a significant number of cats inside a house that she believes was directly behind the house on Fremont where the stray cats were gathering. The Community Development Specialist indicated that he would also try to follow up on this address and ask Committee Member Carlson to provide a specific address for this property, if possible. The committee members briefly discussed future options for a neighborhood cleanup, including Committee Member Lindquist's comment that in her church children getting ready for confirmation have to do yard cleanup as part of the confirmation process. Also, she noted the possibility of utilizing high school students for doing community service. Committee members agreed to discuss this item in more detail at a future meeting. ADJOURNMENT The Earle Brown Neighborhood Housing Advisory Committee adjourned at 7:30 p.m. to participate in a workshop on tax increment financing hosted by the Brooklyn Center Planning Commission. Respectfully submitted, Tom Bublitz Recording Secretary -3-