Armory Park Neighborhood Association
Annual Meeting and Board Meeting
8 February, 2011
St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, Parish Hall
Board members present: Elizabeth Burden, John Burr, Tom Cline, Phyllis Factor, Elizabeth Garber, Mark McCrum, Brooke Sanders, Tod Santee, Chris Stebe, Tim Vanderpool
Board members absent: George Mairs, Jerry Swatez, Nadine Rund (alternate)
Guests: Peter Hoogwater, neighbor; Cynthia Balderrama from Caritas; Sarah Launias, neighbor; Deitrick Benjamin for Cyclovia Tucson
Welcome and Introductions
Meeting called to order at 7:15 p.m.
Approvals
Agenda: added were listserv advertising and Cyclovia.
Minutes for November: Minutes were approved on December 3, 2010, via a surveymonkey link. John Burr motioned to approve, seconded by Phyllis Factor. Eight people voted for approval, with one abstention.
Treasurer’s Report: An annual report was filed indicating $10,977.56 as of December 2010. Committee budget requests must be made by the end of the business day of February 18.
Presentations by guests
Tucson Police Department (Officer Orduño). Due to personnel rotations at Tucson Police Department, there was no officer present.
Cyclovia Tucson (Deitrick Benjamin). Cyclovia Tucson 2011 takes place March 27. Cyclovia is a nonprofit organization organized to support this event. 8th & 4th Avenues in and beyond Armory Park will be blocked, which has been approved by the city. The idea is to get the community together. A solar festival and a rock festival will be held in Armory Park. 10,000 people will be present, constantly moving. There is a March 15 pre-event at Santa Rosa Recreation Center, 5:30-7:00 to develop bikes. Cyclovia will notify neighbors on streets to be closed.
The Board discussed the event’s conflict with the Home Tour, APNA’s biggest fundraiser, that is scheduled for the same date. Deitrick indicated that cars will be able to cross 4th Ave. via volunteers operating barricades. The Board expressed concern that the closure will still will confuse Home Tour visitors. The Board discussed whether the two are compatible and also how the neighborhood might otherwise benefit from the event. Deitrick indicated that APNA could link to the Cyclovia site to advertise the Home Tour, and that other neighborhoods are organizing garage sales and other events around Cyclovia. Deitrick offered to help make the events work together.
John motioned that APNA support the event and its promotion of the neighborhood. Elizabeth and Mark seconded the motion. Tim suggested amending the motion with a Home Tour date change. Other Board members suggested that this was premature as Chris was not present at the meeting. Phyllis indicated her opposition to the event due to planning; Liz suggested that a representative of each affected neighborhood be on the Cyclovia Board in the future. Liz called the question for the motion in its original form; the vote was 7 aye; 1 nay.
Call to Audience
Cynthia Balderrama of Caritas announced Vidassage Open House on Saturday, February 12, 3-6 p.m. at Caritas, that includes free chair massage.
Peter Hoogwater asked about the annexation of the block north of 12th St. into Armory Park. Liz indicated that the annexation was approved during the November Board Meeting. John clarified that the properties annexed are not functionally changed. Residents in the new area have the option to join the association.
Old Business
Carnaval (Brooke Sanders): Carnaval takes place Saturday, February 19, beginning at 1 p.m., with the parade at 2 p.m. There will be many activities until evening; the event closes with a Flam Chen performance that begins at 7:30 p.m. 6th Avenue will be closed, as well as 12th and 13th Streets around the park for the entire day. The city will be mailing fliers about the event to neighborhood residents. Brooke asked if APNA wants a table at the event, indicating that Board or neighborhood resident will have to staff the table. She also suggested providing a shade tent for the table. Liz indicated that the neighborhood association will want to sell Home Tour tickets. Phyllis asked about selling neighborhood cookbooks, which are at Penny’s; these will be sold as well.
March 19 the Children’s Museum will collaborate with ATC for a “Lost in Yonkers” event, which will close Scott Avenue.
Community Garden Project: Liz noted a change in committee charge, with a group of 4-5 people interested in working on this event: Kate Ervin, Josh Schacter, Lori Starr, Eric (last name not recalled), Elizabeth Garber, all of whom live in the neighborhood. Tod or Jerry will contact Armory Park del Sol about a site.
Holiday Party [new item] (Tod Santee): Tod indicated that wheelchair access was not available for the holiday party and asked that in future events, the neighborhood make the property accessible. He pointed out that this is a legal issue. Liz asked about accessibility in relationship to the Home Tour. A universal symbol will be posted at accessible homes; some properties could be made available through simple ramps; however, some properties may not be accessible.
Home Tour Update (Chris Stebe): Tabled, as Chris was not present.
New Business
St. Andrew’s contribution [Action item]
John motioned that APNA make a $300 rent payment for APNA Board and Annual meetings, as has been done in the past. Phyllis seconded the motion. The motion was approved unanimously. Tod queried if the payments should be increased. John will speak to Jeff to see if the payment is sufficient.
Goals, Activities, and Projects for 2011
Liz provided a handout of APNA Goals and Activities for 2011 and asked that each committee review them over the next month to see that they accurately reflect that committee’s goals. Tom, who was not present for the Retreat when other chairs agreed to continue their service, agreed to continue to chair the Security committee. The fourth page lists of the Goals and Activities handout presents possible New Projects, with a line next to each item for prioritization. As all cannot be done, Liz will electronically send Board members the list and ask for votes before the next Board meeting.
Advertising on the Listserv [new agenda item] (Tim Vanderpool)
Tim called for uniformity in advertising on the listserv, indicating that there is a policy that it is not permitted, but it is done. Tod noted that, by and large, there are not complaints about the listserv. Such items are viewed as community new. Problems particularly stem from out-of-neighborhood and frequent advertisements. Liz suggested a Craig’s List type of advertising tool connected to the website. Board members felt this might be a boon to website traffic. After discussion, the use of both listserv advertising and the website were suggested.
New Website Training (Liz Burden)
The website is: http://armoryparktucson.org.org. Anyone in the neighborhood can be a member. The site is built with the user-friendly Word Press. The hope is that each Board member will contribute to and/or edit the website. Liz explained the various features of the site and showed how to sign up. It is a two-step process to be able to contribute, so that there are no spam-bots (currently there are about 20 spam-type users added each day). At the first step, a user can make comments; after Liz has reviewed that the user is a person, she approves them to make contributions. Liz showed how to make a post and reviewed the various features. John suggested that there be only a few editors (two or three) and that important items be archived. Phyllis made various suggestions for making the site more user friendly.
Committee Reports
Transportation/ Environs (John)
- Parking program: Details for the program are being worked out.
- Sidewalks: petitions are mounting. John talked to Mike Graham, head of Traffic and Engineering for the city, about the neighborhood’s rejection of asphalt sidewalks. He indicated that the city did not want asphalt but it was chosen in the interests of expenses. Whether the sidewalk in front of the Laos home at 18th Street & 6th Avenue is unresolved.
- Plasma center parking: John asked Mike Graham that the neighborhood be informed of parking changes, indicating problems when ParkWise changes things arbitrarily. Phyllis asked if angle parking can be eliminated from 12th Street; John isn’t sure it is possible to eliminate it retroactively. Phyllis asked that pressure be exerted to eliminate it.
- DNARC is down to one part-time staffer. The Downtown Tucson publication is gone. Through DNARC, APNA may be asked to sponsor a tree in a four-acre garden at foot of A-Mountain with Kino plantings.
Security/ Neighborhood Watch (Tom)
- Tom asked what information to collect for neighborhood watch; Board members indicated that he may decide what is appropriate. Tom indicated that he plans to go to Carnaval and recruit block captains.
Special Projects (George, via Liz)
- Neighbors Helping Neighbors: The group is trying to form their own 501(c)3.
Historic Zone Advisory Board (Nadine, via Phyllis):
- The Barber house at 4th Avenue & 14th Street applied to install a garage with two stories; the Board requested a lower structure and that the entry be set back from the street.
Items for a Future Meeting
• Development principles
• Presentation by Peach Properties about a student housing proposal for the lot on Congress at South 4th Avenue.
• Presentation(s) about other downtown development projects and their potential impact on Armory Park Neighborhood
The next APNA Board meeting is Tuesday, March 8, 2011 at 7:00 p.m.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:10 p.m.
Submitted,
Elizabeth Garber, APNA Secretary
Armory Park Neighborhood Association 