York Neighborhood Association Board
Meeting Minutes
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
7:03 – 9:25 pm
Garden Street United Methodist Church
Present: Anne
Mackie, Jessica Bandstra, Jeff Bates, Carol Dixon, Tom Scott, Carolyn Mulder,
Lisa McShane, Barbara Davenport, Seth Cool and Libby Stark.
Helen Jackson, Elliott Smith, George Liepart and Nick
Hartrich indicated they would not be present.
Guests: Lesley Keenholts, Kirsten Shore, Barbara
Brandt
Announcements:
Elliott Smith will be graduating from WWU this June. A card was passed around to sign and Libby is
collecting money for a gift.
Approval of minutes:
Tom Scott made a motion to approve the minutes from the May board
meeting. Jeff Bates seconded and the
motion passed unanimously.
Approval of by-laws:
Lisa McShane made a motion to approve the by-laws as amended by Anne
Mackie and Libby Stark. Jessica Bandstra
seconded and the motion passed unanimously.
Reschedule of 7/18 meeting: The League of Women
Voters is holding a candidate forum at 7 pm the same evening of the board
meeting. It was decided board members
should attend the candidate forum if possible.
The board meeting was rescheduled for 7/15 at 7 pm.
I. Current issues with an upcoming deadline:
- South
Hill Historic Home Tour:
Barbara Brandt reported that South Hill Neighborhood Association is
organizing their first historic home tour for 7/28 from 11 – 4. Tickets will be ready for sale on 7/1,
are $10 each and available at Village Books. A brochure has been made that explains
the history of each home.
- Traffic
Safety: See attached provided
by Elliott Smith. Anne Mackie made
a motion to have Elliott ask Public Works to have vehicle sensors placed
in the right lane at the corner of Potter and Ellis, retool the timing so
cars turning right on green don’t run into pedestrians walking across
Ellis and look at the free right from Magnolia onto Ellis. Carolyn Mulder seconded and the motion
passed unanimously.
- Safe
pedestrian crossing across Lakeway petitions: Tabled as Helen Jackson
was absent.
- Neighborhood
zoning: Lesley Keenholts
presented a letter she had written to the Planning Department with a focus
on a routine party house and the noise, litter, and lawn care
challenges. Lesley would like to
see single family zoning enforced.
A new committee will be set up, headed by Lesley, called
Neighborhood Relations. This
committee will research city ordinances, form a how-to for a pathway
toward resolution and create letter templates to mail to landlords and
city officials when challenges arise.
Anne reminded the group that letters to landlords are mailed out
each September listing ordinances and repercussions.
- Letter
to COB regarding noise ordinance:
Jeff notes that the bars and nightlife of downtown are being moved
out due to noise ordinances thereby pushing parties into
neighborhoods. It was discussed how
important a vibrant downtown is.
- YNA
sign damage and repair: The
sign is damaged on both sides now (top piece is missing) Anne is pursuing a cost estimate for
metal bracing.
- Dumpster
Day: Jessica wrote thank you
letters to SSC and ReComp (cc to Mayor’s Office and City Council) for
board members to sign. 5140 lbs of
trash were dumped. Jessica has
several pictures.
- Tree
planting: Tabled as planting
will not occur until the fall.
- COB
disaster preparedness planning:
Carol stated another committee has been formed. The disaster preparedness committee will
work with Block Watch members on organizing neighbors into groups of no
more than 30 homes. The goal is to
complete a brochure provided by COB on disaster planning. Recruitment will occur at the Night Out
Against Crime in August and the COB disaster group will be invited to the
September picnic.
- Newsletter: Jessica requested Jeff to look for a WWU
student to act as newsletter as she will be moving this coming fall. Jessica will write up instructions for
the in-coming editor. A round of
applause was given to Jessica for her dedication.
- School
reunion and picnic 9/22: Anne
noted the date has been changed to the 23rd (Sunday) so the
face painter can attend. Anne is
looking for volunteers to assist with the picnic portion (musicians, food,
activities). Anne has been working
on the school reunion portion and notes a flyer will need to be made up;
Jeff will help with the design.
- Dean
Kahn article on neighborhoods for Herald: What are the neighborhood gathering
points? Neighborhood
businesses? A list was passed
around so members could make suggestions.
Tom will compile and submit.
- Board
membership, roles and responsibilities: Anne passed around requirements that she
and Helen Jackson wrote up. See
attached. These will be reevaluated
at the September board meeting as well as the job descriptions.
II. Committee
Reports:
- Planning
Committee: The Planning
Committee has been meeting two times per month to work on the neighborhood
plan update. They have been working
on their vision and the computer survey.
The survey will be done by the end of the summer to identify the
goals of the neighborhood. Next
meeting will be 7/2.
- Historic
Preservation: Barbara Davenport
noted which houses have been inventoried and states the YN resident Kathy
Johnson will be identifying architectural styles of houses. It appears a professional is needed to
complete the application for National Historic designation. Barbara and a WWU student are still
interviewing older YN residents and former residents.
- Rock
Hill Park Steward: George is
out of town.
Franklin Park Committee Chair: Jeff and the Franklin Park Committee met with
Jonathan Schilk of the Parks Department Katie Franks of the Planning and
Community Development on 6/12 and presented a map with the preliminary design
ideas before the cost estimates include: the backstop will be removed; open
space will be kept and graded so it drains better during winter months. More benches will be added as will a path
that goes all the way around the park.
The fence will be removed and replaced with berms that will have trees
and grass. There will be no new plants
due to maintenance. More grants will be needed
for certain elements including a covered structure and Katie Franks is looking
into this. She will advise the committee of available funding. Jeff
noted that the alley next to the park is actually park property. Jeff asked board members their thoughts on
closing off that alley and incorporating it into Franklin Park. Currently, several neighbors object to the
alley being closed. Jonathan Schilk will
contact the Bellingham Fire Department to see if it is even an option. Carolyn made a motion to not approve
incorporating the alley into Franklin Park out of respect for the current
neighbors. Jeff seconded, however it was
decided to wait until next board meeting to discuss options.
- Garden
Club Chair: Carol Dixon
reported that the night at Bear Creek Nursery will be happening on 6/27.
- Treasurer: Helen provided the treasury report
indicating we have $1487.26 in our checking account. See attached.
III. Current
issues:
- 4-plex
apartment at 506 Potter: Seth
Cool reported the Planning Department requested a hearing with the hearing
examiner for 7/25. Neighbors will
receive notice of the hearing.
Seth received drawings from the designer Todd Fuller and noted that
Darby Galligan is still waiting for scaled plans with the height. The new apartment will be built upon the
existing berm. Barbara has been
talking to Planning regarding environmental impact, increasing the
tear-down fee and requiring an inspection similar to inspections that are
done for ADUs. Barbara also mentioned
how frustrating it is for neighbors to be unable to appeal decisions. Currently, only the property owner can
appeal. Landlord compliance is
still a concern.
- YNA
website: deferred due to time constraints.
- County
Council possible staffing proposal: deferred due to time constraints.
Topics for next board meeting: Lakeway crosswalk petition,
board roles and responsibilities, Franklin Park alley
The meeting adjourned at 9:25.
Submitted by Libby Stark