Lindenwood Park Neighborhood Association
Board of Directors Meeting
Tuesday, April 15 at Epiphany
Present: Pat Acquisto, Karen Clifford, Sara Davis, John Harris, Milton Murry, Tim Nowell, Greg Roggeman, Lisa Roggeman, Adam Rustige, Jenna Stout, Emily Yale
Apologies: Bret Narayan, Greg Todd
Guest: David Saunders (telephone)
At the beginning of the meeting, the Board was joined by guest David Saunders of Recreation Academy via telephone. Saunders proposed bringing camps to the Lindenwood Park community at the end of summer. Recreation Academy is interested in partnering with Lindenwood Park Neighborhood Association (LPNA) through cooperative marketing for the camps. Camp logistics were discussed, including staff levels (1 staff member per 14 campers), background checks, liability, pricing model, and permit requirements. The cooperative marketing would require LPNA to promote the event through two types of marketing (e.g. social media, website, newsletter).
Adam will provide Saunders with contact information from the Parks Department to start the permit process. Saunders plans to send over a contract to Adam for review. Board members also inquired about comparable organizations in the Saint Louis area that Recreation Academy partnered with for camps. Adam, Pat, and Tim will follow up with three organizations (Kirkwood, Shrewsbury, and New City School) about their experiences with Recreation Academy.
A motion was made to approve the Minutes from February 15, by Emily Yale, and seconded by Lisa Roggeman.
Neighborhood Meeting: to be held at Watson Terrace Christian Church, June 2, 7pm
- Guest speakers – Assessor’s (Adam to invite)
- LPNA Business
- Lawn & Garden Contest
- Elected Officials
- LASM & Machacek
Aldermanic Report (Bret not in attendance)
Bret sent an email update on board bills to Adam:
Sponsored:
BB113: A cleanup bill for Short Term Rentals that allows for the enforcement that was originally agreed upon, but that the City Counselor’s office was asking for.
BB122: The requirements for rules for Boards and Commissions.
BB128: Updated “Living Wage” requirements.
BB155: Projects that take public funds have increased prevailing wage enforcement, apprenticeship requirements, and the men and women on the jobs must have health insurance or the access to health insurance.
Co-sponsored:
BB169, 170, 171: Updated the requirements about derelict and vacant buildings and the ability for the City to deal with them.
BB104: Utility coordination between the City and the companies that will help us with our streets.
NIS Report
Karen provided an update on problem properties:
- 69xx Oleatha– Hoarder property, working with the Health Department to resolve the situation.
- 70XX Oleatha – Rehabbed house, overgrown grass getting mowed.
Traffic issues have been noted at the Ivanhoe and Bradley intersection. A decoy police car was placed in the area to deter vehicles running through the stop signs. Numerous potholes have been reported in the neighborhood. Karen will also work on getting a list of streets scheduled to be paved.
Committee Reports
Events:
- Trivia Night: Saturday, July 26. Planning underway after Easter holiday.
- Flea Market: Saturday, May 17 at Watson Terrace.
- Meetup: Next meetup will take place on April 22 at El Paisano’s; May will be at Salt & Smoke.
- Lindenwood Live: Tim has completed the permitting process and secured four bands. The concert dates are May 22 (Phoenix band), June 22 (Iris John), August 3 (Mad Steve), and August 31 (Bedlam Brothers). Greg R. has booked 6-7 food trucks for each concert date.
Tim will need assistance with setting up barricades on concert dates. He is working on signage.
An inclement weather policy has been developed: if a concert is cancelled, the band gets an automatic slot the next year; if set up occurs on day, band is paid half; if band plays for at least half an hour, paid in full.
- House Tour: Adam has formed a committee to plan, select 8-10 houses, and market the event. The tour date is September 14, 11am-5pm.
Beautification:
- Park: Emily has reached out to Kim at the Parks Dept. regarding the Park building project and a grand opening / ribbon-cutting, as well as a mulch update. She plans to advance her inquiries to administration for updates.
- Community Garden & Wabash Garden: Milt reported on successful collaborations with Seed STL with 12 beds replaced and a new compost bin. The community garden is at full capacity with lots of neighborhood interest in gardening.
- Green Team: Tim is rescheduling the next Green Team event. Lawn service has commenced at the Park and billing should occur after two mows.
Communications:
- Greg R. reported that Hot Lava’s new web developer has been working on cleaning up the member database, removing bot accounts. Jay’s book has recently been added to the shop for sale. PayPal issues continue to occur, so Greg R. is exploring Square as an alternative.
Membership:
- Lisa reported that the membership committee has met twice to discuss ways to promote and increase membership. The committee found that mailed postcards would be cost-prohibitive, so they will be using door hangers instead. A map of current members showed a gap between Watson / Hampton, so the committee will target that area first for door hangers in June..
- The committee has also priced out items that could be given away to new members as an incentive to join. They are also investigating revamping the membership yard sign and banner design.
- Lisa has reached out to Laurie to contact block captains and request email addresses from their blocks to add to the LPNA newsletter distribution.
- Ribbon-cutting ceremony: Committee is interested in holding a ceremony at the Park building once the renovations are completed and hold a membership drive.
- Members: 288 current members (304 in February) – down due to renewals.
Lisa made a motion for $800 to be allocated to the membership committee to buy door hangers, yard signs, bumper stickers, and promotional materials. Tim seconded this motion. All approved.
Safety:
- The Committee will be meeting on Thursday, April 17.
Block Captains:
- Lisa reported that Laurie is verifying the list of active block captains. Future meetings of the block captains will shift, based on feedback.
Century Homes:
- Jenna reported that the spring plaque sale is underway. The deadline is Monday, May 19.
Treasurer’s Report:
- Pat has transitioned to QuickBooks for accounting purposes. The ending balance on March 31 was $9, 698.01.
Old Business
- New board member: Adam will approach Jay Unnerstall to join the Board.
New Business
- Concrete planters on McCausland: Neighbors wish to add and maintain plants in the concrete planters. A motion was made by Lisa and seconded by Emily with Board approval.
- America’s Great Neighborhood Series – Lindenwood Park book signing: to be scheduled for when the Park building is finished, paired with a potential ribbon-cutting event and membership drive.
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 9:06pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Jenna Stout