Bryan Park Neighborhood Association

2012-01-31T20:21:00.000-05:00

Bryan Park Neighborhood Association

November 22, 2011

Minutes

The Bryan Park Neighborhood Association met at the Free Methodist Church in Bloomington, Indiana, on November 22, 2011. Mary Miller, BPNA president, presided over the meeting.

Holiday Specials. Mary Lou Mitchell brought homemade treats to the meeting along with fresh apple cider for members to enjoy. She invited all neighbors to come to her house at 1202 S. Palmer to see her Christmas Village, which includes a replica of the B-Line trail this year. Mary Miller announced that BPNA t-shirts and aprons have been reduced in price in time for Christmas.

7-unit Apartment House at Washington and Hillside. Ed Rensi, who lives across the street from the apartment house at Washington and Hillside, reported that he is interested in purchasing the apartment house since the owner died recently and the property is for sale. He asked for suggestions from BPNA members on what the property could be used for.

Proposed project at Hillside and Henderson. Mary Miller reported that the Bloomington Plan Commission approved the variances requested for the proposed project at Henderson and Hillside on November 7th. The Board of Zoning Appeals will consider the request on December 15^th.

Neighborhood Improvement Grant. Mary Miller reported that BPNA re-submitted the application for the kiosk on the north side of the park. The hearing on the application is December 5^th.

Alley Problem. Ian Woolen reported some positive news on the alley problem discussed at previous meetings. He said that the city installed “Emergency Access” signs at the west end of the alley that seem to have decreased traffic from the gas station. He thanked Isabel Piedmont for her assistance with the issue.

Conservation District. Mary Miller reported that the sub-group working on the issue of conservation district status for the neighborhood has met several times and will meet soon with Nancy Hiestand from HAND.

Next meeting. The next BPNA meeting is scheduled for January 24, 2012.

BPNA monthly meeting 1/24

2012-01-24T10:22:00.000-05:00

Our first meeting of the new year will be this Tuesday, Jan. 24. As usual, we'll meet at 7:00 p.m. at the Free Methodist Church on the corner of Grimes and S. Lincoln. I have not written up a formal agenda, but see this meeting as a chance to re-group and review any neighborhood developments since we last met. We can also talk about plans and goals for 2012.

One question–has anyone experienced flooding in their homes with all the rain we have had lately? The Utilities Department has finished work on the drainage project on Dunn, Dixie, Allen and Palmer. I want to be sure there are no further flooding problems. As best I can tell, it seems to be working well.

It was reported this weekend that the Davis creek was not draining as fast as it normally would. I have contacted Utilities, and they plan to clear the stream bed of brush and debris later this winter, especially where it passes under Grant, Lincoln and Washington.

Let me know if you'd like to add anything to the agenda.

Thanks,

Mary

Calendar

2011-12-18T08:51:00.000-05:00

2011-12-04T13:40:00.000-05:00

Bryan Park Neighborhood Association

October 25, 2011 Minutes

The Bryan Park Neighborhood Association met at the Free Methodist Church in Bloomington, Indiana, on October 25, 2011. Mary Miller, BPNA president, presided over the meeting.

Shalom Center. Forrest Gilmore, director of the Shalom Center, made a presentation about the Center and poverty in Bloomington. He reported that Bloomington has the highest poverty rate in the state and also the highest housing costs. He also discussed the programs and services provided by the Shalom Center: day shelter, hunger relief (breakfast and lunch), employment assistance, family homelessness prevention, legal aid clinic, and visiting social services.

Storm Water Project Update. Mary Miller reported that the storm water project is complete and the new pipes and swales seem to be working as planned.

Incident Report. Dick Mitchell reported that there were 2 reports of car vandalism in the neighborhood recently.

Proposed project at Hillside and Henderson. Jeff Fanyo of Bynum Fanyo made a presentation concerning the proposed commercial and residential project at the corner of Hillside and Henderson Streets. He said the residential component of the project will have 30 1-bedroom apratments. The commercial component of the project will face Hillside and consist of approximately 2000 square feet of space. The plan calls for 8 angled parking spaces on Hillside and then parking off the alley for the residential units. Mr. Fanyo also explained that the owners will be asking for several variances: a use variance for the corner of Hillside and Henderson, a set-back variance (15 feet instead of 25 feet), and a variance for lot coverage. Mr. Fanyo also presented architectural drawings of the proposed development. BPNA members discussed the proposal with the architects and owners of the property and made suggestions for possible improvements. The proposal is scheduled to go before the Plan Commission in November.

Next meeting. The next BPNA meeting is scheduled for November 22, 2011.

Hearing tonight on Hillside/Henderson project

2011-11-07T13:43:00.002-05:00

The initial hearing for the Hillside/Henderson project is tonight, in front of the Bloomington Plan Commission. The meeting starts at 5:30 p.m. in the City Hall Council Chambers in the Showers building. The project is last on the agenda, with four other petitions before it.

Everyone is welcome to come, and to address the commission with support, questions or concerns.

Thanks,

Mary

BPNA meeting minutes 9/27

2011-11-07T12:46:00.000-05:00

Bryan Park Neighborhood Association

September 27, 2011

Minutes

The Bryan Park Neighborhood Association met at the Free Methodist Church in Bloomington, Indiana, on September 27, 2011. Mary Miller, BPNA president, presided over the meeting.

Emergency Preparedness. James Stark from the Monroe County Red Cross made a presentation on emergency and disaster preparedness. Mr. Stark distributed materials from the Red Cross and highlighted that the 3 steps for preparedness are making a plan, keeping informed and preparing a supply kit.

Storm Water Project Update. Mary Miller reported that new storm water pipes have been installed on Palmer and Davis Streets. The City is working on the swales on Dunn Street, but the digging has been slowed by limestone.

Neighborhood Sale.Mary Miller thanked Melissa Banks for organizing the neighborhood sale on September 24^th. The sale appeared to be a big success.

Block Party Wrap-Up. Mary Miller thanked everyone who volunteered for the block party. She reminded anyone with outstanding receipts to turn them in to Mary Lou Mitchell for reimbursement. The neighbors discussed the party—it was well-attended, the food from Nick’s and Finch’s was excellent, and the entertainment was excellent as usual.

Alley at 1106 S. Washington Street. Ian Woolen reported that the Traffic Commission denied his request to close the alley next to his house. He said that the mayor and the Public Works Department initially supported his petition, but changed their position before the hearing. Ian also reported that it is possible the Traffic Commission may reconsider the denial. He thanked BPNA for the letter of support with the Traffic Commission.

Incident Report. Dick Mitchell reported that there have not been any reports of vandalism or thefts from cars since an arrest was made in the case. Mary Miller thanked the Bloomington Police Department for meeting with BPNA in August to discuss safety and awareness.

Conservation District. Mary Miller reported that the group will meet soon to determine next steps for applying for conservation district status.

BPNA t-shirts. Mary Lou Mitchell reported that BPNA has an abundance of t-shirts with the neighborhood logo. She suggested lowering the price to $10 (down from the current $15) as a way to sell more shirts. The members voted in favor of the lower price. Mary Miller suggested purchasing the border design on the t-shirts from Kim Ransdall (original electronic file and full use of design) for $125. The members voted against the purchase.

Reimbursements. Treasurer Mary Lou Mitchell made a motion that reimbursement requests of over $100 be submitted to the association for a vote. The members approved the motion.

Bryan Park Bridge Update. Mary Miller reported that the City will install the BPNA’s bridge in Bryan Park by the end of the year. The Parks Department has recently been working on the footings for the bridge.

Semi-Trucks on Grimes. Tonia Matthews reported that more semi’s have been using Grimes Lane to make deliveries to the Carlisle factory. Grimes is marked as prohibited to semi-truck traffic. She suggested that BPNA write a letter to Carlisle alerting them to the problem.

Other business. A representative of George and Pat Peffley reported that the will be seeking a variance for an addition to their house at 1301 S. Henderson Street. The contractor will post details regarding the variance request on the neighborhood list-serve.

Next meeting. The next BPNA meeting is scheduled for October 25, 2011.

BPNA monthly meeting

2011-10-24T23:13:00.000-04:00

Our monthly meeting for October will be this Tuesday, Oct. 25. As usual, we'll meet at 7:00 p.m. at the Free Methodist Church on the corner of Grimes and S. Lincoln.

Guest Speaker

Forrest Gilmore, Executive Director of the Shalom Community Center, will speak and take questions during the first half of the meeting. The Shalom Center has recently moved to S. Walnut St., and though not officially in the BPNA, is a close neighbor. Mr Gilmore will speak about the mission of the center, as well as more generally about issues of homelessness in Bloomington and the U.S.

NEW BUSINESS

Hillside/Henderson Project

Development plans have been announced for the corner of Hillside and Henderson, across from Feast. The project will go before the Plan Commission on Nov. 7.

OLD BUSINESS

Stormwater Project

The stormwater remediation project to solve the flooding problems along Dunn St. is just about done. City crews protected all of the trees throughout the affected area, after working closely with members of our group. Any comments or concerns about the project?

Alley Problem

Ian Woolen and Isabel Piedmont have submitted a petition to the Bloomington Traffic Commission to restrict traffic in the alley to emergency vehicles only.

Conservation District

Update on the conservation district application. The subcommittee met last week, and will proceed with the application. There will be ample opportunity for comment, including three public meetings that are required as part of the process.

Incident report

There have been no further reports of vandalism or theft in the neighborhood. Dick and Mary Lou Mitchell, our neighborhood watch representatives, will update the group with any news.

Please let me know if you'd like to add anything to the agenda.

Thanks,

Mary

BPNA Monthly Meeting Tuesday July 26

2011-07-26T08:44:00.001-04:00

Our monthly meeting for July will be this Tuesday, July 26. As usual, we'll meet at 7:00 p.m. at the Free Methodist Church on the corner of Grimes and S. Lincoln. Let me know if you'd like to add anything to the agenda.

Incident Report

Scott Oldham, with the police department, can’t make it to the meeting. He has offered to schedule a special meeting with us, to follow up on complaints of car break-ins, graffiti, etc. Stay tuned for a meeting announcement.

See a map of the recent incidents:

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=213331140038628962436.0004a8b3439ad56c3e452&msa=0&ll=39.155939,-86.527119&spn=0.00975,0.020471

Walnut St. Newsletter Route

We need volunteers to deliver the newsletters along Walnut St. Anybody?

Conservation District Discussion

Discussion of the recent stories in the HT about proposed plans for a 14,000-square-foot-house in the Elm Heights neighborhood. This house would cover two lots, requiring one existing house to be moved and another mostly demolished to make room for a structure that size. We will have copies of the articles to share.

As we consider the possibility of applying for conservation district status, this will give us a chance to talk about a situation that is happening right now.

OLD BUSINESS

Michael Korus Use Variance

Board of Zoning Appeals denied the use variance request.

Stormwater Project

The stormwater remediation project is scheduled to begin along S. Palmer. The first step is the installation of a new stormwater pipe between Allen and Davis. The city should have contacted everyone along Palmer by now, but if you have any questions, let me know.

Alley Problem

Update on alley problem adjacent to 1106 S. Washington. This was due to come before the Board Of Public Works on June 7, but was postponed for more research. It is currently with the Mayor’s office. We are waiting to hear when this item will be put on the Public Works agenda.

Trucks on E. Grimes

Discussion about oversized truck traffic on E. Grimes.

ONGOING PROJECTS

Stormwater Runoff

Go to http://groups.google.com/group/bpna-stormwater-working-group to join or follow the discussion.

Conservation District

Go to http://groups.google.com/group/bpna-conservation-district-working-group to join or follow the discussion.

RESOURCES

Neighbor Link: Contact the city about issues concerning Public Works, Parks & Recreation, Housing and Neighborhood Development, Planning, ITS, Utilities, Police and Fire Departments.

http://bloomington.in.gov/neighborlink.

Report Graffiti: http://bloomington.in.gov/report-graffiti

BPNA meeting and agenda for June 28, 2011

2011-06-27T09:59:00.000-04:00

Our monthly meeting for May will be this Tuesday, June 28. As usual, we'll meet at 7:00p.m. at the Free Methodist Church on the corner of Grimes and S. Lincoln.

AGENDA June 28, 2011

2011 Elections

BPNA will hold election of officers at the meeting. Current officers have volunteered to continue for another year. No other names have been put forward, so election will be a voice vote of those attending the meeting. Nominations may also be made from the floor, if anyone would like to be considered for one of these positions. Current officers are President, Mary Miller; Vice-President, Jan Sorby; Treasurer, Mary Lou Mitchell; Secretary, Jenny Bauer.

From the bylaws: Article VII - Election of Officers

A. The officers shall be elected by a majority vote of members present at the regular meeting in the second quarter and shall take office immediately upon conclusion of said meeting. An officer shall serve for a term of one (1) year, and may serve for up to five consecutive terms.

B. The Executive Committee shall annually present a slate of nominees for officers to serve for the ensuing year. Nominations may also be made from the floor.

Alley Problem

Update on alley problem adjacent to 1106 S. Washington. This was due to come before the Board Of Public Works on June 7, but was postponed in order to do more research.

Michael Korus Use Variance

UV-13-11 Hearing, June 13, at the Planning Commission. REQUEST: The petitioner is requesting a use variance recommendation to allow a maximum of 5 unrelated adults to occupy a residential unit within the Residential Core zoning district. RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends forwarding UV-13-11 to the Board of Zoning Appeals with a Negative recommendation due its conflict with the Core Neighborhood policies outlined in the Growth Policies Plan. Board of Zoning Appeals hearing will be June 30, 5:30 p.m. at Council Chambers Rm. 115, City Hall.

BPNA Newsletter

Thanks to Anne Hedin for writing and editing the BPNA newsletter for the last 3 years. As you know from her message earlier in June, she is stepping down. Several BPNA members have volunteered to take over from Anne. Dave Stewart has volunteered to serve as Editor, and Jim Opiat will serve as Assistant Editor. Mary Lou Mitchell will continue with her history articles. Tonia Matthew will be a contributing writer, and Jan Sorby will continue to lay out the newsletter. Anne Hedin will help organize the delivery routes. Thanks to all for continuing a great tradition! We can always use more volunteers to spread the work around, so speak up if you can help.

Neighbor Link

New service from the city allows residents to please complete an online form to contact the city about issues concerning Public Works, Parks & Recreation, Housing and Neighborhood Development, Planning, ITS, Utilities, Police and Fire Departments. See http://bloomington.in.gov/neighborlink.

Incident Report

Regular monthly report from Dick and Mary Lou Mitchell, our Neighborhood Watch representatives. We'll ask a representative from the police force to speak at the July meeting, to follow up on complaints of car break-ins, graffiti, etc.

2011-06-10T20:55:00.007-04:00

Bryan Park Neighborhood Association

May 24, 2011 Minutes

Submitted by Jenny Bauer, BPNA Secretary

The Bryan Park Neighborhood Association met at the Free Methodist Church in Bloomington, Indiana, on May 24, 2011. Mary Miller, BPNA president, presided over the meeting.

Sustainability Projects. Jacqui Bauer, the City of Bloomington’s Sustainability Coordinator, discussed several city sustainability projects. She announced that a traveling film and beer festival will be held in Bryan Park on the evening of June 3^rd. The focus of the films is biking and sustainability. Jacqui reported that the city did a recent energy consumption audit. Bryan Park had the lowest electricity consumption and was in the middle of the pack for gas consumption. She said the city is working to make neighborhoods more energy efficient and hopes to provide kits to assist in this effort. Jacqui also reported that the “Hoosier to Hoosier” sale is scheduled for August 20^th—donated items from IU students and others will be offered for sale to the community.

Stormwater improvements on Dunn Street. Mary Miller reported that the City has drawn final plans for the stormwater remediation along Dunn and Allen Streets. She displayed the plans for review. Mary said that the city is ready to begin the project and plans to finish in June. She also stated that the new plans do not require the removal of any trees.

2011 Elections. Mary Miller announced that the 2011 elections for BPNA officers will be held at the June meeting. She made a call for candidates and stated that the current officers are willing to serve another term. Anyone is welcome to put in a name to be considered for the election.

Church Neighborhood Cookout. The Free Methodist Church will host a neighborhood cookout on June 5^th.

Blooming Neighborhood Awards. BPNA will be awarded a Certificate of Recognition for the Mayor’s Excellence Award on June 1 at the City Council meeting. The award is in recognition for BPNA’s work on the Templeton Elementary School playground project. The award ceremony will be shown via CATS coverage.

Blooming Neighborhoods. The city’s Blooming Neighborhoods event is scheduled for June 4^th from 9-Noon at the Farmer’s Market. BPNA will have a table and volunteers are needed to staff it.

Incident Report. Isabell Piedmont-Smith reported that she met recently with the city police chief and he is willing to come to a BPNA meeting to discuss recent incidents in the neighborhood. The police are continuing to watch the house at the boarding house at the corner of Washington and Hillside. Isabel said the police encourage neighborhood residents to report noise and vandalism problems by calling the non-emergency phone number—339-4477. Several members reported problems with car break-ins.

Alley Problem. Isabel Piedmont-Smith reported that the Traffic Commission is about to consider an issue involving the east-west alley next to Ian Woolen’s house at 1106 South Washington Street. Ian explained that the alley was meant to be an emergency exit, but is instead used by over 40 cars a day to exit the gas station and car wash. Ian has asked the Traffic Commission to make the alley one-way going west (or close it completely), so people can’t use it to exit the gas station onto Washington St.. The gas station current has exits onto Grimes, Walnut and the north-south alley behind the station. A motion was made and seconded to recommend that the Traffic Commission approve the request to change the east-west alley next to 1106 South Washington Street. Mary Miller asked Jenny Bauer and Jan Sorby to prepare a letter to the Traffic Commission. Joanne Henriot volunteered to deliver the letter to the commission.

Update from Isabel: The request to block the alley was NOT on the Board of Public Works' agenda for Tuesday, June 7. Apparently the staff feels there is more background work to be done, perhaps more discussion with the neighbors and the gas station/car wash manager. The item may be on the agenda for the next meeting, June 21. See http://bloomington.in.gov/documents/viewDocument.php?document_id=170 for more information.

Michael Korus Use Variance. Michael Korus lives at 120 E. Dixie, on a property containing two houses–the original house (now a rental duplex), and the house he currently lives in. The house that he lives in was moved to the lot from Fourth and Lincoln Streets in to make way for the new fire station in 1990. The city declared the zoning for the house to be Single Family as part of the Uniform Development Ordinance in 2007. Mr. Korus explained that he wants to move out of the neighborhood and rent out this house. He said he wants the use variance so he can rent to 5 unrelated adults and maximize his cash-flow on it as a rental property. Patrick Shay from the Planning Department explained that the house did not get the higher occupancy rating because it was not used as a rental when the zoning change was made. He said the current zoning calls for a limit to 3 unrelated adults living in the house. If the use variance is granted, the occupancy limit would increase to 5 unrelated adults and the change would run with the property in perpetuity. There was a lengthy discussion on this issue. No action was taken. The Planning Commission hears the request for the use variance on June 13^th.

Update: This item is on the agenda for the Planning Commission meeting on Monday, June 13. The meeting is in the City Hall chambers Rm 115. For more information, see http://bloomington.in.gov/documents/viewDocument.php?document_id=5413.

Next meeting. The next BPNA meeting is scheduled for June 28, 2011, at 7 p.m. at the Free Methodist Church, corner of Grimes and Lincoln.

Storm Recovery Volunteers for Your Neighborhood

2011-05-29T10:51:00.001-04:00

From: Lucy Schaich [mailto:schaichl@bloomington.in.gov]
Sent: Friday, May 27, 2011 5:24 PM
To: pmurray; Jan Sorby; lorrac58@gmail.com; Jack Baker; jromaine@indiana.edu; Molly O'Donnell; southernjenny@yahoo.com
Subject: Storm Recovery Volunteers for your Neighborhood

Greetings Neighborhood Leaders-
This storm has been most cruel to our neighborhoods! City and private crews are out working hard to clear roads, sidewalks and alleyways, but for many people, the damage done was on their private property and is therefore not eligible for this service.

If you know of any residents who are in need of general assistance with clearing brush and debris and getting it to the curb to be removed by City crews, please let them know that the Volunteer Network is available to assist with alerting volunteers to these needs. They can register their assistance request online at www.bloomington.in.gov/volunteer.

IN ADDITION....Please let us know if you would like us to assist you with volunteer recruitment or referral for the cleanup of storm damage and debris in your neighborhood. If you have a person - you or another point person - who would be willing to receive information about available volunteers and could direct them to where they are needed, please contact us at 349-3433 or volunteer@bloomington.in.gov.

We are receiving calls now from volunteers who are interested in helping where they are needed most and would be happy to pass those names along to you!

Lucy

Lucy Schaich
City of Bloomington Volunteer Network
401 N. Morton St. , Suite 260
Bloomington, IN 47404
p. 349-3433
schaichl@bloomington.in.gov

BPNA meeting Tues. 5/24 and church cookout announcement

2011-05-23T09:53:00.001-04:00

Our monthly meeting for May will be this Tuesday, May 24. As usual, we'll meet at 7:00p.m. at the Free Methodist Church on the corner of Grimes and S. Lincoln.

AGENDA May 24, 2011

Sustainability projects

Jacqui Bauer will attend the meeting and speak about several city sustainability projects, such as Hoosier to Hoosier, energy efficiency, and biking.

Final stormwater plans

We will have final plans from the Utilities Department for the stormwater project along Dunn/Allen Sts.

2011 Elections

BPNA holds election of officers at the June meeting. Call for candidates, and discuss.

Free Methodist Church Neighborhood Cookout

This event will be held on Sunday, June 5, at 5pm, at the church where we hold our monthly meetings. Everyone in the neighborhood is invited. There will be a cookout, games and ice cream, and even pony rides for kids. Come out and meet your neighbors at the Free Methodist Church, located at the corner of Grimes and S. Lincoln St. Flyer attached.

Blooming Neighborhood Awards

Bryan Park Neighborhood Association will be awarded a Certificate of Recognition for the Mayor's Excellence Award for our partnership with Templeton School to secure new playground equipment. This year the Blooming Neighborhood Awards will be presented at the City Council meeting on Wednesday, June 1, 2011 at 7:30 p.m. This will give the public the opportunity to share in the event via CATS coverage.

Blooming Neighborhoods

The Blooming Neighbors celebration is held annually at the Farmer’s Market. This year’s event will be held Sat. June 4, 9am-12pm. We will have a table at the event and need volunteers to staff it.

Incident Report

Regular monthly report from Dick and Mary Lou Mitchell, our Neighborhood Watch representatives.

ONGOING PROJECTS

Stormwater Runoff

Go to http://groups.google.com/group/bpna-stormwater-working-group to join or follow the discussion.

Conservation District

Go to http://groups.google.com/group/bpna-conservation-district-working-group to join or follow the discussion.

BPNA meeting agenda for 4/26

2011-04-25T09:50:00.001-04:00

Our monthly meeting for March will be this Tuesday, Apr. 26. As usual, we'll meet at 7:00p.m. at the Free Methodist Church on the corner of Grimes and S. Lincoln.

Our special guest this month will be Nancy Hiestand, Historic Preservation Program Manager for the City of Bloomington. She will talk to us about the conservation district protections we are considering for the Bryan Park neighborhood.

In addition, we will have an update on the city Utilities department stormwater remediation plan to fix the flooding along S. Dunn St.

We will also discuss a gathering suggested by Tonia Matthew, and planned for June 12.

It's a full agenda, but contact Mary Miller if you need to add anything.

Building Character: A Neighborhood Decision

2011-04-25T07:12:00.007-04:00

In its current state, the housing market is full of buying opportunities—for developers as well as families. This makes it a good time to explore options “to keep the character of the neighborhood," and not allow the Bryan Park area to turn into a neighborhood of tear-downs and McMansions.

As a starting point for discussion, here are the initial results of the 2010 historic survey of the Bryan Park neighborhood, commissioned by the City of Bloomington (PDF):

http://bit.ly/fTWXir

BPNA Meeting Minutes, March, 22, 2011

2011-04-24T13:40:00.001-04:00

The Bryan Park Neighborhood Association met at the Free Methodist Church in Bloomington, Indiana, on March 22, 2011. Mary Miller, BPNA president, presided over the meeting.

Bike Improvements along Allen Street

The City’s Public Works Department will host a meeting on March 28th at the Free Methodist Church to discuss bicycle infrastructure improvements along Allen St.

Conservation District Application

Bryan Park is welcome to submit a Conservation District application to the Bloomington Historic Commission, according to Nancy Hiestand from the city of Bloomington. BPNA will create a subcommittee to study the issue and decide on boundaries for a possible application. Nancy Hiestand informed us that 3 commissioners and a city council representative will work with BPNA’s subcommittee. Mary reported that the recent Bryan Park historic survey map will be posted to the website shortly.

A motion was made to form a subcommittee to consider a Conservation District application on behalf of BPNA. The motion was seconded and approved. The following BPNA members volunteered to serve on the subcommittee: Jan Sorby, Jon Lawrence, Jenny Bauer, Mary Lou Mitchell, Alyn Soo, Joanne Henriot, Anne Hedin and Mary Miller.

Snow Flyers

Flyers were prepared by Jeff Firestone to remind neighbors of their responsibility to clear snow from sidewalks. Jan Sorby plans to contact local schools to find volunteers to shovel walks for neighbors who are physically unable to do so. The flyers will announce that help is available to shovel sidewalks. The flyers will be revised and distributed next winter.

Block Party and June Gathering

BPNA will apply for a Small and Simple grant from the City to help with the costs of the annual BPNA block party. The date for the block party will be August 26. Everyone enjoyed the new location on Palmer Street last year and we’ll keep the location there if the neighbors agree.

Tonia Matthews suggested a smaller gathering in early summer geared toward older neighbors and neighbors with small children. Tonia will check with the Parks and Recreation Department for available shelter dates at Bryan Park.

Incident Report

Dick Mitchell reported that several people were arrested at the big house at the corner of Hillside and Washington. The house is apparently in violation of several city maintenance codes, which the City Legal Department is pursuing. Dick also reported that a house in the 1300 block of Grant Street was recently broken into for the 4th time.

Next meeting. The next BPNA meeting is scheduled for April 26, 2011.

Davis Street Gardens update - April 2011

2011-04-19T21:39:00.005-04:00

It’s gardening time again and if you aspire to grow flowers but don’t have enough room or a sunny spot for them consider joining the Davis Street community gardens. The gardens are located on the north side of Davis Street, between Grant and Palmer. The garden consists of 25 plots of land, each 10 feet square. Residents of the Bryan Park Neighborhood can sign up for a free plot, or more, by contacting the Garden Coordinator Ria Collee. E-mail mcollee@indiana.edu, or by phone 336-2512.

The lots are numbered with the numbers painted on a stone that marks each lot. All of the plots have some sun, but the lots on the west side are sunnier than the lots towards the east, which have semi-shade at different times of the day. Currently, lots 8-9, 18-19, 21, 24-25 are available. The soil is in pretty good shape, plants and flowers have been doing well. There is mulch available on the east end of the gardens by the creek’s culvert. It came mostly from pine trees but has now aged for over a year and should no longer be too acidic. The full guidelines for the garden are available at: http://bryanpark.blogspot.com/2008/02/davis-street-garden-guidelines.html.

Please join us to make the gardens more beautiful than ever by adopting a plot this year.

Open House to Meet Mayor Kruzan this Saturday

2011-04-15T09:37:00.003-04:00

Dear Bryan Park Neighbors
Please join us for an open house to meet Mayor Mark Kruzan this Saturday, April 16 from 6:30-8:30p.m. Mayor Kruzan is an exceptional leader and Bloomington has flourished under his leadership. We have known Mayor Kruzan for over 30 years; his abilities and leadership continually impress and amaze us.

But don't take our word for it.... drop by and find out for yourself!

Saturday, April 16
6:30-8:30 p.m.

Jan Sorby and Jon Lawrence
525 E. Grimes Lane
Bryan Park Neighorhood

Tame rabbit in my back yard

2011-04-11T09:20:00.003-04:00

I have a large (probably twenty pound) gray rabbit with brown and black stripes that may be a pet living under my back porch. It is easy to see. If it belongs to someone, or you have a good recipe, please contact me. It is driving my dogs crazy. We live in the 1300 block of South Dunn St. I can be contacted at 317-506-7617.

Greg Ellis

Mon. 3/28: Allen St. Bikeway Public Meeting

2011-03-27T23:12:00.000-04:00

The City of Bloomington Public Works Department is hosting a meeting on Monday, March 28 at 5:30pm at the Free Methodist Church, Grimes Lane and S. Lincoln Street. (where we hold our monthly meetings) to discuss bicycle infrastructure improvements along Allen Street. They will be seeking input on a variety of possible tools to make these streets more attractive for bicycles. The meeting is open to the general public.

The initial plan would include simple striping, shared lane markings, and signage; there is also potential to change stop sign orientation to allow bikes to have right of way. All improvements will be pilot projects since this is the city's first "bike boulevard," part of a plan to improve bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure throughout the city.

They will also be seeking input on some intermediate and long-term options--these might include a pedestrian/bike median at Walnut and signalization options.

For more information, see

http://bloomington.in.gov/documents/viewDocument.php?document_id=5688

BPNA meeting Tues. 3/22

2011-03-21T09:25:00.001-04:00

Our monthly meeting for March will be this Tuesday, Mar. 22. As usual, we'll meet at 7:00p.m. at the Free Methodist Church on the corner of Grimes and S. Lincoln.

AGENDA

OLD BUSINESS

[Update]

Bryan Park Conservation District

Continuing the discussion from several meetings over the past year, we will talk about the nature of a conservation district, and the many steps of the application process to ensure neighborhood interest and public comment. The city has just said that we may choose to apply, if we wish. At the meeting, we will be discussing the district, when and how public comment is incorporated, and whether we should form a subcommittee to proceed.

[Follow up on snow flyers -- Postponed to a future meeting with more time]

Jan will contact local schools to find volunteers to shovel walks for those unable to do so. We will edit the flyers Jeff Firestone proposed, to reflect that help will be available for those who cannot shovel their walks due to physical limitations.

Thanks to Jeff F. for updating our web site at http://bryanpark.blogspot.com/.

NEW BUSINESS

Bike improvements along Allen St.

The City of Bloomington Public Works Department will be hosting a meeting on Monday, March 28 at 5:30pm at the Free Methodist Church to discuss bicycle infrastructure improvements along Allen and Smith Streets. They will be seeking input on a variety of possible "tools" to make these streets more attractive for bicycles. The meeting is open to the general public.

Small and Simple Grant

The grant proposal for our annual block party is due in April. We'll discuss the details--so we can get the application done.

Neighborhood Leadership Series

Thursday, April 7, 2011, 7 to 9 p.m., City Council Chambers

The session on Thursday, April 7 "HANDS ON HOUSING" will be highly interactive. HAND staff will to talk to participants about their own housing as well as what is needed in the neighborhood. A wide variety of stations will be set up to help you improve your home, not just for your own comfort and pocketbook, but also for Bloomington as a whole. Programs cover how to purchase, maintain, and rehabilitate a home, how to deal with an emergency and how to make your home more energy efficient. Attend this fun and interactive session with HAND staff to learn how to make your home a part of our increasingly sustainable city.

HAND will offer a drawing for a free Home Energy Audit to one of the participants in each session!

Neighborhood Watch

Regular report from Dick and Mary Lou Mitchell.

Please let me know if you'd like to add anything to the agenda.

Thanks,

Mary

BPNA meeting Tues. 1/25

2011-01-24T07:02:00.000-05:00

Our first monthly meeting of 2011 will be this Tuesday, Jan. 25. As usual, we'll
meet at 7:00p.m. at the Free Methodist Church on the corner of Grimes and S.
Lincoln.

AGENDA

BPNA Email List
We'll discuss email list policy, as we continue to refine our guidelines for the
open list.

Incident Report
Regular monthly report from Dick and Mary Lou Mitchell, our Neighborhood Watch
representatives.

ONGOING PROJECTS
Since it has been awhile since we've met, we'll revisit our ongoing projects
with an overview of where they stand.

Stormwater Runoff
Go to http://groups.google.com/group/bpna-stormwater-working-group to join or
follow the discussion.

Conservation District
Go to http://groups.google.com/group/bpna-conservation-district-working-group to
join or follow the discussion.
Please email me at mpm_mil...@yahoo.com if you'd like to add anything to the
agenda.

Thanks,
Mary

BPNA meeting tonight, Tues. 11/30

2010-11-30T06:59:00.001-05:00

Our rescheduled monthly meeting will be tonight, Tuesday, Nov. 30. As usual,
we'll meet at 7:00p.m. at the Free Methodist Church on the corner of Grimes and
S. Lincoln.

AGENDA

Bring a can of food tonight!
To express our gratitude to the Free Methodist Church for providing our meeting
space, please bring a can of food to add to the church's food drive.

Neighborhood Improvement Grant
Update on grant our proposal. We delivered the grant application on Nov. 5, and
will do a presentation for the grant committee next week. The grant will be for
several improvements in Bryan Park: a bridge across the creek where a rocky path
is currently used, and a kiosk near the playground for park announcement and
neighborhood news.

T-shirts and Chef's Aprons
I'll bring several of the items we had printed for BPNA this summer, if you'd
like to purchase one for yourself or as an early Christmas gift! T-shirts and
aprons are $15 each.

Conservation District Update
The Historic Commission plans to vote on the recent survey that was done for the
Bryan Park neighborhood. The vote will be on Dec. 9, at 4pm in the Showers
building. You are welcome to attend the meeting.

Cat Bells
Tonia Matthews has cat bells for anyone who would like one. The bells are free
for the asking. This is in response to a previous item about cats going after
birds in our neighborhood.

Proposal to open Google email list
Any comments on the new email list policy?

Incident Report
Regular monthly report from Dick and Mary Lou Mitchell, our Neighborhood Watch
representatives.

ONGOING PROJECTS
Stormwater Runoff
Go to http://groups.google.com/group/bpna-stormwater-working-group to join or
follow the discussion.

Conservation District
Go to http://groups.google.com/group/bpna-conservation-district-working-group to
join or follow the discussion.

Please email me at mpm_mil...@yahoo.com if you'd like to add anything to the
agenda.

Winter Farmers' Market Starts this Saturday at Harmony School

2010-11-29T18:51:00.000-05:00

For the first time in recent history, Bloomington residents will have
year-round access to food grown by local farmers and sold at a weekly
farmers' market. The Local Growers Guild is kicking off its annual
Bloomington Winter Farmers Market, this Saturday, from 9 am to noon.

Please help us spread the word about the extended season! Located at
Harmony School near the intersection of 2nd and Woodlawn, the market
will offer fresh produce, meat, and dairy products along with prepared
foods, special events, and live music.

This is a great opportunity to kick off your holiday shopping and
support local, ecological businesses at the same time. Gift items
include fair trade, organic coffee, herbal teas, a wide range of
soaps, salves and lip butters, holiday jars of soda bread mix, candle
arrangements, wreaths and centerpieces, fresh flower bouquets,
ornaments, gift baskets of strawberry and blackberry jam, holiday
roasts, blooming bulbs, holiday cookie gift bags, Christmas stollen
and alpaca yarns.
In addition, consider giving a gift that will keep on giving all year.
There will be CSA gift subscriptions and/or gift certificates
available from Heartland Family Farms, Muddy Fork Farm and Bakery and
Schacht Farm. Gift memberships to the Local Growers Guild will also
be available.

Available produce will include salad greens, kale, squash, mushrooms,
herbs, potatoes and sweet potatoes, garlic, onions, chard, carrots,
spinach, apples, and more. Farmers will offer locally raised beef,
pork, chicken, and turkey, along with milk, yogurt, eggs, tofu,
cheese, and breads.

In addition to fresh foods, shoppers can purchase frozen vegetables,
relishes, local grains, fresh flowers, fair trade coffee, seeds,
organic soil amendments, and potted plants. There will also be a wide
range of other farm products and holiday gifts, such as dried herbs,
jam, kombucha, herbed vinegars, herbal teas, soaps and salves, fiber,
wool, and wreaths.

Visit www.localgrowers.org for more information about the Bloomington
Winter Farmers Market, including schedule and parking information, a
full list of products and vendors, and recipes showcasing seasonal
ingredients.

Robert Fischman

Bells for cats

2010-11-17T18:39:00.000-05:00

For those of you at the last meeting, you'll remember that we talked about encouraging people to bell their cats if they go outdoors. There will be something in the newsletter but I wanted the neighborhood to know that there are free bells on the front porch table of 1307 S. Grant for people to take -- sold to us at cost by T&T -- support your local businesses!

Tonia Matthew

BPNA Meeting Minutes, September 2010 meeting

2010-10-26T11:11:00.000-04:00

September 28, 2010
Minutes

The Bryan Park Neighborhood Association met at the Free Methodist Church in Bloomington, Indiana, on September 28, 2010. Mary Miller, BPNA president, presided over the meeting.

1. Block Party. Mary Miller reported that the block party was held on August 20th. She said the new location on Palmer Street was a success and the party had big attendance again. Nick’s English Hut provided the hamburgers, hot dogs and veggie burgers, and Craig Brenner’s band provided the entertainment. A new feature of the block party was an appearance by BPNA member Joe Lee as his clown alter-ego, Jolee’ the Magnificent. He delighted and entertained the children, as well as the young at heart. Mary also reported that BPNA shirts, aprons and neighborhood history books were sold and many new BPNA memberships were filled out. As a result, the BPNA treasury currently has $1100-$1300. Mary thanked all of the volunteers who worked at the party and thanked the neighbors on Palmer Street for hosting.

2. Proposal to open BPNA Google group. Mary Miller reported that she would like to open the Google group so that any BPNA member can post a message. Under the current format, posts to the Google group can only be made by Mary or Jon Lawrence. Mary said that she will set up instructions on how to make posts and suggested trying it for a month to see how it goes. The topic will be discussed again at the October meeting.

3. Neighborhood Improvement Grant. Mary Miller reported that last week was the deadline for a letter of intent to submit a neighborhood improvement grant. BPNA filed a letter of intent for bridges across the creek in Bryan Park and a kiosk in the park. The grant application will be due in early November.

4. MCCSC referendum on ballot in November. Nancy Lumbley attended the meeting on behalf of a group advocating for the school referendum. She explained that the school system is having a serious funding issue because schools are now funded through sales taxes rather than property taxes. The school board cut $5.7 million from the budget last year and will have to make more cuts without additional funding. She said that the board asked for the referendum, which could add up to 14¢ per $100 of assessed value on a property’s tax rate. If the referendum passes, the additional tax would be effective for 6 years. Ms. Lumbley distributed handouts that showed the impact on property taxes and asked neighborhood members for their support of the referendum.

5. Stormwater Runoff. Mary Miller reported that she, Jack Horton, Peter and Isabel Piedmont-Smith met with Mayor Kruzan and several department heads to discuss the problem with stormwater runoff in the neighborhood. She said the meeting was very good and that the group will meet again on October 7th to see plans from the utility department.

6. Food vending in Bryan Park. Angela Lexmond reported that the issue of food vending in the Bryan Park parking lots has been tabled by the Bloomington Parks Board. She said that Jan Sorby wrote a nice letter to the editor on the issue and that another good letter written by Deborah Myerson appeared in the paper on September 27th. Angela also said that the Herald-Times has been very critical of Bryan Park and Elm Heights residents on this issue.

7. Incident Report. Dick Mitchell reported that a house on Washington Street had a window broken by vandals and that a con man has been asking people for money.

8. Next meeting. The next BPNA meeting is scheduled for October 26, 2010.

BPNA Meeting Tues. October 26, 2010

2010-10-25T07:15:00.000-04:00

Our monthly meeting will be this Tuesday, October 26. As usual, we'll meet at 7:00p.m. at the Free Methodist Church on the corner of Grimes and S. Lincoln.

NEW BUSINESS

Update from Isabel Piedmont-Smith, our city council representative.

Neighborhood Improvement Grant

Update on grant our proposal. We will deliver the grant application on Nov. 5. The grant will be for several improvements in Bryan Park: a bridge across the creek where a rocky path is currently used, a boardwalk across the muddy (when it rains) area that runs into the creek, and a kiosk near the playground for park announcement and neighborhood news.

T-shirts and Chef's Aprons

I'll bring several of the items we had printed for BPNA this summer, if you'd like to purchase one for yourself or as an early Christmas gift! T-shirts and aprons are $15 each.

2010 WFIU Fund Drive

Thanks to Joanne Henriot for organizing a Bryan Park team for the WTIU fund drive. The time slot is Sunday, Nov. 14 from 9:30am to noon. Be sure to listen during that time, and make your pledge in support of our local NPR station.

OLD BUSINESS

Proposal to open Google email list

Any comments on the new email list policy?

MCCSC Referendum on Nov. Ballot

Any further discussion on the referendum?

Incident Report

Regular monthly report from Dick and Mary Lou Mitchell, our Neighborhood Watch representatives.

Stormwater Runoff

Go to http://groups.google.com/group/bpna-stormwater-working-group to join or follow the discussion.

Conservation District

Go to http://groups.google.com/group/bpna-conservation-district-working-group to join or follow the discussion.

Please email me at mpm_miller@yahoo.com if you'd like to add anything to the agenda.

BPNA email list is open to members

2010-10-03T13:26:00.002-04:00

The email address is bryanpark@googlegroups.com.

We discussed this at our meeting last week and decided to try it for a month. We've changed the setting on our group email list, so that any member can email the list. Until now, it's been restricted to a small group of BPNA officers and interested members, and everything has been posted through the blog at http://www.bryanpark.blogspot.com/. We'll continue to post items through the blog, and these will arrive as usual.

You have to be a member of BPNA to email the list. Messages posted directly to the list will not appear on the blog. We'll continue to add members directly, as we do now, so we shouldn't be exposed to junk mail from this.

Rather than set up policies ahead of time, we agreed to open it up and see how it goes. In general, please keep your emails related to topics of neighborhood interest. If you have a neighborhood business or service, feel free to email the group to let people know about it.

Be aware that you can reply to either the sender or the whole group. If you feel like you are getting too many messages from the group, you can elect to have them compiled and sent as one message per day. If we start to get that many, though, we may want to talk about stronger guidelines.

We'll talk about this at the next meeting. Let's see how it goes!

Isabel's constituent meeting this Saturday

2010-09-23T22:22:00.000-04:00

Dear all,
I am once again hosting my monthly constituent meeting this Saturday. Details are below. I hope to see some of you there!

***

All Bloomington residents are welcome to attend the monthly constituent meeting hosted by District 5 City Council member and City Council President Isabel Piedmont-Smith. The meeting will take place at 11:00 am on Saturday, September 25 at Rachael’s Café, 300 E. Third St . Piedmont-Smith will offer free coffee, and residents are invited to share their ideas and concerns related to city government.

The meeting will start with an overview of issues the City Council has been working on during the past month, including the city budget for 2011 and a resolution in support of the public school funding referendum. The second half of the meeting will be devoted to hearing from constituents."I find during my monthly meetings, I usually learn as much as the residents who attend," said Piedmont-Smith. “If I don’t know the answer to your questions at the meeting, I will get back to you.”

Rachael’s Café serves breakfast and lunch, for those who want to combine a meal with the meeting. Piedmont-Smith holds a constituent meeting on the last Saturday of each month at the same location.
* * *

Sincerely,

Isabel Piedmont-Smith
City Council - District 5

Possible con artist going door-to-door

2010-09-23T22:01:00.003-04:00

From Jan Sorby:

About 3 Sundays ago this happened to me on Grimes (just off of Henderson).
The guy said his car broke down by Templeton and when he went to call for
help the police had towed his car without first asking him and he had no
money to get his car.

Elm Heights residents respond:

Yes, he came by our house (University between Park and Fess) on Sunday
morning. Similar story, raising similar skepticism.

> A similar guy came to my place (near Park and 1st) on Sunday afternoon.
> He too asked for directions to High St., needed to get to the ECC
> church, had a car problem, said he had a job at XYZ (I forget the
> actual initials for what is a company in town) Electronics. At a
> certain point it did seem improbable---too much detail, which made it
> seem less probably and rehearsed.

2010 Officers

2010-08-23T21:42:00.002-04:00

President	Mary Miller
Vice President	Jan Sorby
Treasurer	Mary Lou Mitchell
Secretary	Jenny Bauer

BPNA News - Aug. 2010

2010-08-23T20:43:00.008-04:00

We won't be meeting this month, our usual hiatus after the neighborhood block party. Thanks to everyone who made it such a big success!

If you didn't get a chance to join or renew your membership at the party, please download the form and mail it in to Mary Lou Mitchell. The suggested membership fee is $5/year, but payment is not required for membership.

Isabel Piedmont-Smith, our City Council Representative, will hold her monthly constituent meeting, Saturday, August 28, 11 am to 12 noon at Rachael's Cafe, 300 E. 3rd St.

Become a Member!

2010-08-23T10:10:00.003-04:00

Please add my name to the BPNA membership list. I want to join my neighbors in helping make Bryan Park a better place to live. Voluntary annual dues: $5.00 per household.

Download membership form

Bryan Park Neighborhood Block Party, Friday, Aug. 20

2010-08-16T15:06:00.023-04:00

BLOCK PARTY

Our annual block party is this Friday, Aug. 20, from 6-9 p.m., in the 1000 block of S. Palmer (between Davis and Allen). Join new and old neighbors in a new location to celebrate the end of summer.

SPECIAL ATTRACTIONS

Enjoy the sounds of local band Craig Brenner & Friends (www.craigbrenner.com). They will play blues, jazz and boogie woogie for dancing in the street. Also, our neighbor Joe Lee will perform his Cirque du Jolais clown performance for the kids.

Nick's English Hut is graciously providing Nick's Burgers, their new Black Bean Burgers and hotdogs for the grill. BPNA will supply drinks, condiments, plates and plasticware. Neighborhood history books, as well as t-shirts and chef's aprons will be for sale.

Bring a favorite side dish to share. If you are able, please bring your $5 yearly membership dues. Pass the word to your neighbors!

Funding provided in part through the City of Bloomington's Housing and Neighborhood Improvement Grant program.

Special thanks to Nick's English Hut!

Nick’s English Hut would be proud to be known as your core neighborhood restaurant/bar. We established ourselves in 1927 and have been growing to meet the needs of our customers ever since.

Lots of our customers know us for our large selection of local foods, great salads, homemade soups, strombolis and pizza. Others come for our fresh salmon baked to perfection in our cast iron skillet or our famous Nick’s Burgers. Then there is the after 10 pm crowd who come in to play ‘Sink the Biz’ or enjoy our libations.

Look for managing owner and dedicated chef Gregg Rago and his wife Susan Bright walking their dogs in the Bryan Park neighborhood, or look for them at Nick’s where they spend their time making ‘the Hut’ a better place to patronize.

We look forward sharing our Nick’s Burgers and recently created Black Bean Burgers at the picnic on August 20. If you can’t make the picnic be sure to walk or ride your bike to your neighborhood place to eat and drink! We are located at 423 E. Kirkwood Ave. You can reach us at 332-4040.

Backyard Habitat Class this Sat.

2010-08-06T11:26:00.004-04:00

From Ria Collee:

Vicky Getty, a Bloomington Wildlife Habitat Board member, will be offering a presentation "Backyard Habitat, Yes you Can!" at Bloomington Valley Nursery, 5230 South Old State Road 37 this Sat. Aug. 7, from 10am to 11:30am. Participants will receive a wildflower plant and hand-outs. Cost is $10. More information on the attached flyer.

Home security tip from Mary Lou Mitchell, BPNA Neighborhood Watch

2010-08-05T15:46:00.002-04:00

Here's a simple no cost way to increase your home security. Put your car keys beside your bed at night.

If you hear a noise outside your home or someone trying to get in your house, just press the panic button for your car. The alarm will be set off, and the horn will continue to sound until either you turn it off or the car battery dies.  This tip came from a neighborhood watch coordinator. Next time you come home for the night and you start to put your keys away, think of this:

It's a security alarm system that you probably already have and requires no installation. Test it.

It will go off from most everywhere inside your house and will keep honking until your battery runs down or until you reset it with the button on the key fob chain.

It works if you park in your driveway or garage. If your car alarm goes off when someone is trying to break into your house, odds are the burglar won't stick around.

After a few seconds all the neighbors will be looking out their windows to see who is out there and sure enough the criminal won't want that.

And remember to carry your keys while walking to your car in a parking lot. The alarm can work the same way there. This is something that should really be shared with everyone. Maybe it could save a life or a sexual abuse crime.

This would also be useful for any emergency, such as a heart attack, where you can't reach a phone. My Mom has suggested to my Dad that he carry his car keys with him in case he falls outside and she doesn't hear him. He can activate the car alarm and then she'll know there's a problem.

City Council Member Piedmont-Smith to Host Constituent Meeting

2010-07-28T10:34:00.002-04:00

Dear all,

Once again I will hold my monthly constituent meeting: This Saturday, July 31, 11 am to 12 noon at Rachael's Cafe. I hope to see some of you there!

Best wishes,

Isabel

Isabel Piedmont-Smith

City Council Representative, District 5

City Council Member Piedmont-Smith to Host Constituent Meeting

This Saturday, Bloomington City Council member Isabel Piedmont-Smith will once again hold her monthly constituent meeting, 11:00 am to 12:00 noon at Rachael’s Café, 300 E. 3rd St . The District 5 representative and current council president holds these informal monthly meetings to provide an update on city issues and a forum for constituent concerns. Rachael’s Café is a locally owned business, located at the corner of 3rd St. and Lincoln St .

“During my July meeting, I will review recent issues before the Council, including the annual budget presentations by city departments,” said Piedmont-Smith. “As always, I will open up the meeting for attendees to discuss topics related to city government that are on their minds.”

Piedmont-Smith encourages all Bloomington residents, not just those in District 5, to join her for this Saturday meeting. Free coffee will be available, and Rachael’s Café serves breakfast and lunch for those interested in combining a meal with the meeting.

Piedmont hosts constituent meetings at Rachael’s Café on the last Saturday of every month at 11 am. More information about Councilmember Piedmont-Smith is available on her website, www.PiedmontForCouncil.org.

BPNA Meeting Tues. July 27, 2010

2010-07-26T13:01:00.006-04:00

Our July meeting will be this Tuesday, July 27. As usual, we'll meet at 7:00p.m. at the Free Methodist Church at the corner of Grimes and S. Lincoln.

AGENDA

Stormwater Runoff
Continue our discussion of the stormwater issue. Report on new Google group for stormwater ideas and concerns.

Conservation District
To further our understanding of the conservation district issue, we'll begin with a discussion about current city zoning policies, and talk about how a conservation district works. We need people to get involved in a subcommittee to study the question of applying for a conservation district for the neighborhood. Please let Mary know if you are interested in serving on this committee.

Neighborhood Improvement Grant
The city's Neighborhood Improvement Grant process is about to begin. We need ideas for projects that will improve the Bryan Park neighborhood. We'll need to apply by 9/24 in order to be considered for one of the grants. You can see past neighborhood grant projects on the city's Web site.

Neighborhood Block Party
Update on plans for the annual block party.

Food vending in Bryan Park
A brief discussion about food vending in Bryan Park.

Atwater and Henderson intersection
According to the Herald-Times, city officials have announced that improvements to this intersection have been pushed back a year.

Incident Report
Regular monthly report from Dick and Mary Lou Mitchell, our Neighborhood Watch representatives. One item of note is a report of a theft at the Bryan Park pool. An Eastside Neighborhood Association member reported that her bag was stolen while she was in the pool. She recommends that pool users check items of value in the the mesh bags available for this purpose inside the bathhouse.

Please let me know if you'd like to add anything to the agenda.

DON’T TRASH IT…DONATE IT!

2010-07-24T10:55:00.005-04:00

We will be in your area so you can easily donate your usable stuff to help our neighbors in need and keep it out of the landfill.

You can drop off your usable donations the next 2 Sundays from 2 pm - 5 pm:

Sunday, July 25th

S. Washington, between 1st & 2nd Streets

Look for the St. Vincent de Paul & Jeanne Walters trucks.

Sunday, August 1st

Fippinger Residence

1022 E. Wylie Street

Between Woodlawn Ave. and Hawthorne Dr.

One block south of 1st Street

We can find a home for almost everything:

Food (non-perishable), clothes, bedding, pillows, blankets, kitchenware, laundry detergent (even if partially used), toiletries, books, school supplies, back packs, appliances, furniture, building materials, etc.

Your donations will help:

Hoosier Hills Food Bank, Habitat for Humanity, Shalom Community Center, Teachers Warehouse, St. Vincent de Paul, Backstreet Missions, Interfaith Winter Shelter, Goodwill, Boxcar Books, Bloomington Area Birth Services, etc.

*********

Or, donate it yourself:

Furniture & Appliances in good condition

Contact St. Vincent de Paul for drop off or pick up: (812) 961-1510 or pickup@bloomingtonsvdp.org

Schedule at least 3 days ahead of time.

Furniture, Appliances, Building Material, Hardware

Habitat ReStore: 300 W. 11th

Call for free pick up: 331-2660

Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri: 10:30 am – 5:30 pm

Wed: noon – 5: 30; Sat: 8:30 am – 3:30 pm

Check for appropriate donations:

www.monroecountyhabitat.org/restore

Goodwill (east side): 840 S. Auto Mall Rd.

Between mall & theater, across from Pier 1 Imports

Mon – Sat: 9 am - 9 pm; Sunday: noon – 6 pm 

Goodwill (west side): 1284 Liberty Drive

Between W. 2nd and 3rd Streets, across from Menards

Mon – Sat: 9 am - 9 pm; Sunday: noon – 6 pm

Thrift Store: 1911 S. Walnut (just south of Miller Dr.)

Mon – Sat: 10 am – 8 pm

Sponsored by the nonprofit 501(c)3, community group:

Volunteers for Change

Contact: volunteersforchangeemail@gmail.com

Farm and produce vending in Bryan Park

2010-07-16T12:32:00.002-04:00

From Rob Fischman, Elm Heights Neighborhood Association:

Anne Kibbler and I have been talking about the recent removal of the informal Friday morning farm vendors from the northwest parking lot of Bryan Park. If we want to revive the vending or develop something along the lines of a local/satellite weekly informal market, the Elm Heights and Bryan Park neighborhoods will need to join efforts and work with the city parks board.

From Anne to city:

For the past two years, I have been buying eggs and meat from Rhodes Family Farm in the upper Henderson parking lot of Bryan Park on Tuesday and Friday mornings. Recently, the farmer was asked to move his business elsewhere. Some of us in the Bryan Park neighborhood who are customers of Rhodes have since discussed the desirability of having a local vendor sell goods within walking and biking distance of our homes -- a situation that would seem to support the city's goals of sustainable living. In the last few weeks Luke Rhodes was at Bryan Park, another vendor selling produce set up shop next to him, making the location even more attractive to local customers. The parking lot was never even close to full -- in fact, there were rarely more than a half-dozen cars there at any given time, so it did not appear to me that customers were hindering park patrons.

It is my understanding that food vendors with Monroe County Health Department permits may ask permission from the Parks and Recreation Department to do business on park property. Could you please clarify for me what Rhodes and other local vendors would have to do if they wished to return to Bryan Park?

Reply from Mick Renneisen (City of Bloomington):

Thanks for your email regarding vending at Bryan Park. Current Parks policy requires anyone selling a good or service to obtain a permit from our Department. As you stated, if that product is a food/beverage, it is also regulated by Monroe County Health. Vendors who sell products on City property are also required to get an Itinerant Merchant's License from the City. These processes are used to help protect the health/safety of our citizens and to regulate use of a park, or other City property, in order to protect against an activity that might interrupt or inhibit the basic functions and use of a park, or other City property, by other citizens. Having said that, we are receptive to a discussion regarding the possibility of a vending arrangement on a limited, and possibly, trial basis.

In order to pursue this matter further, we would have to discuss this with our Board of Parks Commissioners. We are scheduling a retreat with them in mid-September. This would be an appropriate item to add to that agenda. If you could put together your neighborhood's ideas prior to September and submit them to me, I would be happy to add this item to our agenda.

We'll discuss this at our next regular BPNA meeting on July 27.

Neighborhood Sadness

2010-07-16T12:06:00.002-04:00

From Ginny Mcnellen:

Our neighbor, Jim May died on Friday, July 9th. Many I'm sure knew and bantered with Jim during his daily walks, many times accompanied by Diane. They also attended neighborhood meetings prior to Jim's health problems. Jim was a profoundly interesting, knowledgeable and caring person. He will be very missed.

Historic Commission Meeting, Rain Barrel Workshop, June 2010 Newsletter

2010-07-07T12:19:00.005-04:00

Historic Preservation Commission Meeting

The Bryan Park Survey is again on the agenda at this Thursday's meeting of the Historic Preservation Commission. The meeting is at 4:00 PM on Thursday, July 8, in the McCloskey Room in the Showers (City Hall) Building. This is a continuation of the discussion from last month's meeting, and involves our possible decision to apply for Conservation District status. All are welcome to attend.

From Ria Collee:

Rain Barrel Workshop is this Sat. at Karst Farm Park. Some people in the neighborhood were interested in getting a rainbarrel. These are really cheap since we got them from the Coca-Cola Co. The charge is for the pieces and parts to retrofit them from food grade barrels to rainbarrels and some for the time spent putting them together. Here is the flyer for the event.

June 2010 Newsletter

Thanks to everyone who did such a great job on this month's newsletter. Special thanks to Anne Hedin, Jan Sorby, and Mary Lou Mitchell. Thanks also to the volunteers who deliver the newsletter throughout the neighborhood.

BRYAN PARK NEIGHBORHOOD MINUTES

2010-07-02T11:15:00.003-04:00

The monthly meeting was held on June 22 at the Free Methodist Church.

Jacqui Bauer, the city's new sustainability coordinator, shared initiatives and answered questions.
This took up the majority of the meeting.

The group voted to retain the current officers for the next year.
President - Mary Miller
Vice President - Jan Sorby
Secretary - Jennie Bauer
Treasurer - Mary Lou Mitchell

Ann Hedin will have the newspaper ready for distribution soon.

BPNA Meeting Tues. June 22, 2010

2010-06-21T13:26:00.001-04:00

Our June meeting will be this Tuesday, June 22. As usual, we'll meet at 7:00p.m. at the Free Methodist Church at the corner of Grimes and S. Lincoln.

AGENDA

Jaqui Bauer

Jaqui Bauer is our special guest this month. Recently hired as Bloomington's first sustainability coordinator, she will share upcoming initiatives involving neighborhoods and take questions, ideas and concerns.

BPNA Elections

We will hold a voice vote for BPNA President, Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer for 2010-2011. Mary Miller, Jan Sorby, Jenny Bauer and Mary Lou Mitchell are all willing to continue in their positions. No other candidates have come forward, so these four will continue if a majority of those present at Tuesday's meetings vote in their favor. Nominations may also be made from the floor at the meeting.

Stormwater Runoff

Continue our discussion of the stormwater issue. Report on new Google group for stormwater ideas and concerns.

Conservation District

The 2010 BPNA historic survey has just been completed and submitted to the city. The map and documents are available for anyone to see at the HAND office in city hall. We need people to get involved in a subcommittee to study the question of applying for a Conservation District for the neighborhood. Please let Mary know if you are interested in serving on this committee.

Incident Report

Regular monthly report from Dick and Mary Lou Mitchell, our Neighborhood Watch representatives.

On a happy note, both dogs listed as lost through the BPNA blog last week have been found and reunited with their owners!

Please let me know if you'd like to add anything to the agenda.

Lost Dog

2010-06-14T10:41:00.000-04:00

From Michael Lee:

Albert, a very small, black Min-Pin, is missing since around 9am this morning (Monday).

He lives on the 1000 block of S. Palmer Ave.

If found, please contact Joseph at 812.929.7702.

Lost daschund

2010-06-13T18:00:00.001-04:00

From Ann Schertz:

There is a 10 lb. long hair blond male daschund named Oliver missing in our neighborhood. He is timid and has been missing since about 1pm today. He lives at 702 South Lincoln Street. If found, please contact Abby at 765.354.8257

Historic Survey Presentation, Neighborhood Leadership Series, Historic Windows Info

2010-06-08T16:00:00.003-04:00

Bryan Park Survey Presentation, June 10, 4pm

BRI (Bloomington Restorations, Inc.) has submitted a completed historic survey for Bryan Park and Steve Wyatt will be presenting the information to the Historic Commission on Thursday, June 10th, at 4:00 PM in the McCloskey Room at city hall. The findings are of interest to the neighborhood, in that this is the base map from which we might work towards a conservation district sometime in the future. The boundaries of that district would be determined with input from the neighborhood. Everyone is welcome to attend.

Neighborhood Leadership Series, June 10, 7pm-9pm

"Round Table Discussion with Proven Neighborhood Leaders in the Area of Land Use." Round table with proven leaders on how neighborhoods deal with planning issues. Explores how to be "smart about it" in addressing land use in your neighborhood. Jan Sorby is one of the speakers. Class will be held in the City Council Chambers from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. on Thursday, June 10.

Historic Windows Information

Jan Sorby wants to share this information with the neighborhood. Check out the article on the city Web site.

Your Historic Windows-Repair or Replace?

http://bloomington.in.gov/documents/viewDocument.php?document_id=4942

Saturday, June 5 celebration and picnic

2010-06-02T22:42:00.002-04:00

Two events on Saturday, June 5, 2010:

Blooming Neighborhood Awards/Celebration

9 a.m. to noon

Farmers’ Market at City Hall

BPNA is hosting a table to represent our neighborhood at the Blooming Neighborhood Celebration. This time gives neighborhood residents the opportunity to meet, learn and share their insights and activities with each other. Stop by and say hello!

Bryan Park "Pick-Up and Picnic!"

WHAT: "Pick-Up and Picnic!" The Pinestone Neighborhood Association will be meeting up with employees of the Parks and Rec. Dept. for a volunteer cleanup of Bryan Park. We will be providing the beverages, but you can also bring a brown bag lunch to enjoy after the cleanup is over. We hope that folks from the Bryan Park and Elm Heights Neighborhood Associations will join us. Let's get to know our neighbors while supporting the park that so many of us cherish!

WHERE: The sand volleyball courts of Bryan Park, near the intersection of Allen and Henderson

WHEN: Saturday, June 5, starting at 12:00 noon and going until........the food and drink are gone!!

WHAT TO WEAR: The Parks Department recommends long pants and gloves

FOR MORE INFO: Contact Sam Allison, the Pinestone Neighborhood Association Treasurer, at 369-1662 or at Sam4Council@gmail.com

BPNA Stormwater Working Group (and found kittens)

2010-05-31T21:08:00.002-04:00

BPNA Stormwater Working Group

As a first step in continuing our discussion of stormwater issues in the Bryan Park neighborhood, I've created a new Google group. This will be an opt-in group, so you'll need to join in order to participate. Unlike our BPNA blog, this group is open for members to add content directly. Once we get the group going, we can decide where to go with it.

To join, go to http://groups.google.com/group/bpna-stormwater-working-group and follow the directions. Let me know if you have any problems with it.

You can email the group at bpna-stormwater-working-group@googlegroups.com

From alyn soo (alynsoo@yahoo.com):

Two kittens were found at the corner of Dodds Street and Palmer. The kittens are small, about 6 to 8 weeks old. Animal Control has been notified. If they belong to someone or someone would like to adopt please call: 219 229-0038.

Thanks,
Mary

Isabel Piedmont-Smith Constituent Meeting

2010-05-28T15:22:00.003-04:00

Isabel Piedmont-Smith Constituent Meeting

Increasing Bloomington’s water rates and transferring ownership of the John Waldron Arts Center are just two of the topics city councilwoman Isabel Piedmont-Smith will discuss at her monthly constituent meeting.

The meeting will be at 11 a.m. Saturday, May 29, at Rachael’s Cafe. Free coffee will be offered. All city residents are welcome to attend.

Free plants

2010-05-26T16:20:00.001-04:00

From Liz Brown:

Would you let our neighbors know that I am giving away perennial plants. My yard is full and plants need to be separated. It's a great opportunity for fellow gardeners to get healthy free plants.

I have a table in front of our house at 413 E Davis St. where anyone can take what they would like that I have already dug up. If you see me working in the yard and you have a shovel, I will be happy to share whatever anyone can dig and take home for their yards.

Happy spring planting!

BPNA April 2010 Meeting Minutes

2010-05-26T15:56:00.003-04:00

Bryan Park Neighborhood Association

April 27, 2010

Minutes

The Bryan Park Neighborhood Association met at the Free Methodist Church in Bloomington, Indiana, on April 27, 2010. Mary Miller, BPNA president, presided over the meeting.

Old Business

Conservation District. Mary Miller reported that the survey of the houses in the Bryan Park neighborhood is on-going and there are no further developments on this issue.

Neighborhood Leadership Series. Mary Miller reported that the City’s most recent session of the Leadership Series was held on April 8^th. Mary attended the session, which was titled “The ABC’s of Land Use.” On the issue of zoning, Mary received an update from City Planning Director Tom Micuda regarding Dee’s Daycare. According to Mr. Micuda, the property owner has reduced the number of children receiving daycare services to the levels required by the BZA in 2007. The City verified the compliance through the granting of State licenses. In another 18 months, per the BZA decision, the daycare center operations on these properties will have to cease.

Blog Statement. Mary Miller presented a statement for addition to the BPNA blog regarding postings to the blog. The language proposed by Mary is as follows: “The BPNA blog is meant for issues with direct connection to the Bryan Park Neighborhood. We honor requests as best we can, but reserve the option to not post a requested item. Please contact Mary or Jan if you want to discuss an item for posting.

Block Captains. Mary Miller reported that several neighbors have volunteered to be block captains.

Annual Block Party. Jon Lawrence reported that volunteers for the block party must complete a “volunteer commitment” form to turn into the City’s HAND department.

New Business

Presentation from Pinestone Neighborhood Association. Sam Allison, treasurer of the Pinestone Neighborhood Association, announced that PNA is hosting an event at Bryan Park on June 5^th. The event will include a clean-up and a picnic. PNA is inviting BPNA residents and Elm Heights residents to participate. He distributed an information sheet and stated that the event will begin at Noon at the park. Mary Miller will add the info regarding the event to the BPNA blog.

Transitions Bloomington. Dave Parsons and Shodo Spring appeared on behalf of Transitions Bloomington. They explained that Transitions is an international movement to prepare communities for “peak oil” and work on lessening the impact with more local economy. They also discussed the ideas of rebuilding community resilience and self-reliance.

Davis Street Gardens. Ria Collee reported that there are 25 plots in the Davis Street Gardens, each 10’x10’. She stated that the garden plots are free and the only requirement is that the “owner” maintains the plot. She also stated that the soil condition is greatly improved because of the mulch that was added from previous neighborhood clean-ups. Ten of the plots are currently available.

Stop Light at Henderson and Atwater. Jan Sorby reported that she attended a meeting with City Planning officials regarding plans for a stoplight at the intersection of Henderson and Atwater Streets. Representatives from the Elm Heights Neighborhood Association also attended the meeting. Jan will show maps of the plan for the intersection at the next BPNA meeting.

Next meeting. The next BPNA meeting is scheduled for May 25, 2010.

“Make a Splash” at the Library This Summer

2010-05-25T17:21:00.000-04:00

Summer fun for children starts Tuesday, June 1, at Monroe County Public Library. That’s the first day to pick up summer reading guides to play the “Make a Splash” Summer Reading Game and win prizes. You can visit www.mcpl.info/childrens for reading activities and a list of all the library’s summer programs (or call 349-3100). It’s all free of charge. Last year 4,000 children participated in the Summer Reading Program, which has been shown to reduce or even eliminate the summer reading loss that can erode as much as 20% of a child’s reading ability.

Thank you for helping MCPL get the word out to your friends and neighbors with children to join the fun. The Summer Reading Program is completely funded by The Friends of the Library. There is more about the Friends at www.mcpl.info/friends.

BPNA Meeting Tues. May 25, 2010

2010-04-26T15:44:00.006-04:00

Our May meeting will be this Tuesday, May 25. As usual, we'll meet at 7:00p.m. at the Free Methodist Church at the corner of Grimes and S. Lincoln.

AGENDA

Bryan Park Neighborhood Stormwater Issues

Many neighbors have commented on the recent HT article reporting on sewage overflows after storms, which identified a manhole near the Walnut/Davis St. intersection as the most common overflow location. The storm water that causes these overflows drains through our own yards and streets. Guest speakers from the City of Bloomington Utilities will address issues of storm water management at the meeting on Tuesday. Our City Council Representative Isabel Piedmont-Smith will also attend. Come learn about what the city has done to date as well as options for future remediation.

Blooming Neighborhoods Sign-up

Again this year, we'll have a table for Bryan Park at the June 5 BloomingNeighborhoods event at the Farmer's Market. The city will provide a table, map and sign, and we'll bring our canopy. We need volunteers to sit at the table and chat about BPNA to people who stop by. Please sign up for a time on the sign-up sheet, or contact Mary to sign up.

Davis St. Garden

Ria Collee has offered to walk the Davis St. garden after the meeting. Lots of activity and hard work have gone into the garden this year, and Ria will point out some of the special things growing--as well as work that still needs to be done.

Neighborhood Leadership Series

The next session in the series will be held on Thursday, June 10. It will take place in the City Council chambers from 7-9pm. This session is called a "Round Table Discussion with Proven Neighborhood Leaders in the Area of Land Use." One of the speakers will be our own Jan Sorby. Mark your calendars!

Incident Report

Regular monthly report from Dick and Mary Lou Mitchell, our Neighborhood Watch representatives.

Please let me know if you'd like to add anything to the agenda.

Bryan Park Neighborhood Plant/Seed Exchange Postponed

2010-04-25T13:41:00.002-04:00

Bryan Park Neighborhood Plant/Seed Exchange Postponed

The annual Bryan Park Neighborhood Plant/Seed Exchange scheduled for today, Sunday, April 25th from 2:00-4:00 p.m. at the home of Ria Collee, has been postponed due to rain. It will be held next Sunday, May 2 at the same time, 2:00-4:00 p.m. For more information about this event contact Ria, at 336-2512 or mcollee@indiana.edu.

Plant Exchange, Davis St. Gardens Update, and Isabel Piedmont-Smith Constituent Meeting

2010-04-20T12:30:00.009-04:00

Annual Bryan Park Neighborhood Plant/Seed Exchange

The annual Bryan Park Neighborhood Plant/Seed Exchange will take place on Sunday, April 25th from 2:00-4:00 p.m. at the home of Ria Collee. The address is 932 S. Henderson St. (on the North corner of Allen and Henderson). Please bring any garden plants that you want to share, or seedlings (flowers, vegetables, etc.) that need a home. Tables will be set up on the Allen Street side to place the plants on. Ria has a Backyard Wildlife Habitat garden and is a Habitat Stewart. If anyone is interested in making their yard/garden more wildlife friendly and starting a Backyard Wildlife garden, she can help you. She will have native wildflower plants to give away, such as echinaceas, penstemons, lance-leaved coreopsis, false blue sienna, blue vervain, sundrops, goosenecks and black-eyed susans as well as vegetable seedlings. If you don’t have anything to give away, come anyway and give some plants a home or take away some seeds to start a garden. This event is a great way to meet the other gardeners in your neighborhood and it has always been a great deal of fun. For more information about this event contact Ria, at 336-2512 or mcollee@indiana.edu.

Davis Street Gardens Update - April 2010

The Davis Street community garden is located on the north side of Davis Street, and located between Grant and Palmer. The garden consists of 24 plots of land, each 10 feet square. Residents of the Bryan Park Neighborhood can sign up for a free plot, or more, by contacting the Garden Coordinator Ria Collee. E-mail mcollee@indiana.edu, or by phone 336-2512. The lots are numbered with the numbers painted on a stone that marks each lot. All of the plots have some sun, but the lots on the west side are sunnier than the lots towards the east, which have semi-shade at different times of the day. Currently, lots 4, 6-9, 13, 18-19 and 21 are available. The soil is in pretty good shape, plants and flowers have been doing well. There is mulch available on the east end of the gardens by the creek’s culvert. It came mostly from pine trees but has now aged for a year and should no longer be too acidic. The full guidelines for the garden are available at: http://bryanpark.blogspot.com/search/label/Gardening. Please join us to make the gardens more beautiful than ever by adopting a plot this year.

District 5 Constituent Meeting with Isabel Piedmont-Smith

Isabel Piedmont-Smith's monthly District 5 constituent meeting will be this Saturday, April 24, from 11:00am-noon at Rachael's Cafe, 300 E. 3rd St. (corner of 3rd and Lincoln). Get involved in your community, enjoy free coffee, and meet interesting people! Isabel will provide a summary of city council activities. As well as serving as Bloomington's City Council President, Isabel has been busy working on behalf of Disctict 5. You can see her lastest report on City Council activities on her Web site: http://www.piedmontforcouncil.org/UP%20Mar27-10.htm.

BPNA News and Annoucements

2010-04-06T17:04:00.002-04:00

Neighborhood Leadership Series, April 8, 7pm-9pm

"The ABC's of Land Use"-Tom Micuda, director of the Planning Department, will provide an overview of the Planning Department's role in protecting neighborhoods. During this presentation, Mr. Micuda will address the following topics: the City's Growth Policies Plan, the Unified Development Ordinance, zoning code enforcement, neighborhood involvement in the land development process, and neighborhood action plans. Mr. Micuda will also discuss some strategies neighborhoods can use to get issues resolved by different City departments. Class will be held in the City Council Chambers from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. on Thursday, April 8.

Atwater/Henderson Traffic Light Presentation-April 9th at 4pm

From Jenny Southern:

For those of us wondering, whatever happened to that plan to put in a light? I can now tell you it really is happening and construction should be starting this year. The funding is in place and Engineering is ready. I have arranged with Justin Wycoff to show us the City's most recent plan down at City Hall on April 9th at 4pm in the Mclosky room. I have included a link below that you can take a look at but it really will take a City Engineer to answer your questions and comments. Looks like the separate (non-stopping) lane for turning on to Atwater from Henderson has been removed and some other aspects have been scaled back.

Most recent plan that I can find on-line for the intersection:

http://bloomington.in.gov/media/media/application/pdf/5842.pdf

IU Electronic Waste Collection-April 10, 9am-2pm

IU Electronic Waste Collection Day, a free electronic waste recycling drive hosted by Indiana University Bloomington, will be open to the general public on Saturday, April 10, , from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The collection will take place in the Purple parking lot to the north of Memorial Stadium. The event location is sponsored by IU Athletics. Staff will be on hand to unload e-waste from vehicles. Complete information, including maps, hours and a list of accepted items, is available at ewaste.indiana.edu.

Church on S. Washington

From Jane Walter:

Skip, who did a lot of renovation including the new front and interior shell, is in the process of selling it to a couple from Ellettsville, who will use it as a residence.

BPNA Meeting Tues. March 23, 2010

2010-03-22T17:21:00.003-04:00

Our March meeting will be this Tuesday, March 23. As usual, we'll meet at 7:00p.m. at the Free Methodist Church at the corner of Grimes and S. Lincoln.

New items on the agenda this month:

Our annual block party:

We need volunteers to start planning this year's block party. The neighbors who live along the 1000 block of South Dunn St. have been very gracious about sharing their street for the party over the past few years. We'd like to honor several requests that we find a new location for this year and will need suggestions and help in finding a new location. Also, Jon and Jan would like some help in writing the grant for the party as well as with planning and setup.

One possibility is holding the party in one of the shelters at Bryan Park. This would have the advantage of restrooms, play areas for kids, and perhaps volleyball or other activities. We'd have to petition the city for a permit for live music, and there is some concern that people might not be as likely to attend if the party was not as centrally located.

Opinions? Let us know what you think, and if you can help. The grant is due April 19, so we need to get started!

Annual elections:

Start thinking now about whether you want to run for one of BPNA's elected positions. Our annual elections will be held at the June meeting.

Blog Use:

Recently, we've had more requests for posting notices to the blog. Do you have an opinion about the best use of the blog? Should we open up posting authority to a bigger group? Do you mind getting notices about activities and events not directly related to BPNA?

Please let me know if you'd like to add anything to the agenda.

Vote for Bloomington's Community Orchard

2010-03-20T12:23:00.003-04:00

From Susan Bright:

Help spread the word about the Communities Take Root promotion, sponsored by Edy's Fruit Bars. Winners will receive a grant to start a community orchard. Thanks, Susan

"Communities across the United States are ripe for renewal, ready to receive a complete fruit orchard provided by the Edy's Fruit Bars brand and the Fruit Tree Planting Foundation. Cast your vote for one of our Communities Take Root participants and help them reap the rewards of their own fresh fruit supply."

Cast your vote at: http://www.communitiestakeroot.com/

As of Saturday 3/20, Bloomington is in 2nd place, with 3421 votes!

Lost Cat (Rusty has been found!!)

2010-03-08T09:34:00.006-05:00

Thanks for all the calls and e-mails about Rusty! He was found and is now home safe.
***********************

Dimitri Poppeliers and family, who live at 1201 S. Henderson, have lost thier cat Rusty. If you have any information about Rusty's whereabouts, please contact Dimitri at the following:

812-339-2416 (home)

812-361-0560 (mobile)

dpoppeli@indiana.edu

Rusty's info
Sex: male (neutered)
Weight: about 15 lbs
Color: orange/white
Age: four years
Other: no claws on all four feet, meows a lot
Lost since about 3-4-10

Protect interity of organics

2010-03-02T16:37:00.002-05:00

Dear Friends,
I just submitted my comments to the USDA telling them to protect the integrity of organics by not approving the use of genetically modified (GMO) alfalfa. The USDA has alarmingly and mistakenly announced that they do not believe that consumers care whether or not GMOs are a part of our food supply and our agricultural production. Approving GMO alfalfa would significantly harm the integrity of and access to organic food, as well as the livelihoods of organic farmers. We need to show them that we do indeed care!

Please take a moment to submit your comments to the USDA by following this link from Food Democracy Now! Then please pass this on.

http://fdn.actionkit.com/cms/sign/make_a_stand_for_organics/
Every voice counts!
Thanks,
Susie Buzan

BPNA Meeting Tues. Feb. 23, 2010

2010-02-21T23:31:00.004-05:00

Our first meeting of 2010 will be this Tuesday, Feb. 23. As usual, we'll meet at 7:00p.m. at the Free Methodist Church at the corner of Grimes and S. Lincoln. This month we are planning to have a social hour without a formal agenda--a good chance to get together with neighbors and visit. Mary Lou Mitchell is baking home-made cookies, and I'm bringing cider.

We can talk about what we'd like BPNA to focus on this year, or we can just enjoy a sociable hour together. Feel free to bring any agenda items to discuss informally, and anything you might like to see on next month's agenda.

Hope to see you there!

The Great Unleashing and Local Transportation Planning

2010-02-11T14:56:00.002-05:00

The Great Unleashing (from Ria Collee):

THE GREAT UNLEASHING will be a one-day town meeting, celebration and extravaganza that will motivate, excite, educate and engage our community in coming together to envision a vibrant, resilient, and dramatically less energy-dependent Bloomington. Please join us on April 24th, 2010, 9AM-5PM, at Bloomington's City Hall Council Chambers for a day of focused co-creation and visioning.

You are also invited to attend a series of film screenings at Monroe County Public Library.

Thurs March 11, 7-9 In Transition 1.0

Wed March 17, 7-9 The End of Suburbia

Tues April 6, 7-9 A Crude Awakening: The Oil Crash

Thurs April 15, 7-9 In Transition 1.0 (Repeat)

For more information: http://transitionbloomingtonind.ning.com/

Invitation to get involved in local transportation planning (From Raymond Hess, City of Bloomington Planning Department/Bloomington Monroe County Metropolitan Planning Organization):

This is an invitation to get involved in local transportation planning. Please note that the next meeting of the Citizens Advisory Committee will be held Wednesday, February 24th at 6:30pm in the McCloskey Room (#135) of Bloomington's City Hall.

Invitation from Jack Baker, Chair of the Citizens Advisory Committe (PDF)

Citizen's Guide to Transportation Planning (PDF)

Meeting Schedule 2010

Trashion/ ReFashion Show

2010-02-10T16:45:00.003-05:00

BPNA neighbor Jeanne Leimkuhler is the organizer of this upcoming event:

The Trashion/ ReFashion Show is an all-ages, interactive fashion show and fundraiser for the Center of Sustainable Living, featuring Trashion designs made from trash and recyclable materials not normally used as clothing and ReFashion designs made from previously used clothing that has been reworked into a new style.

The show will take place at the Bloomington Convention Center on February 20th at 7:00pm and will feature two 20-minute fashion shows, with ample time to allow guests a chance to peruse the Trashion and Refashioned accessories up for silent auction, purchase drinks, and express their own creativity on one of our community “Trashion” pieces.

Tickets are on sale now at the BCT Box Office, 114 E. Kirkwood Ave.
$15-Adults, $10-Under 18 yrs. and $20 at the door.
Visit our website: www.bloomingtontrashion.org

B-Aware Web site and City Leadership Series

2010-02-10T15:35:00.004-05:00

In light of the recent break-in attempts nearby, Mary Lou Mitchell asked me to post a link to the B-Aware Bloomington Web site (http://bloomington.b-aware.us/tag/burglary/). Mary Lou has found it very informative. The aim of the Web site is to provide information about criminal activity in Bloomington neighborhoods, and to provide information about how to stay safe.

Also, the City of Bloomington is sponsoring a "Neighborhood Leadership Series." This is a series of four free classes over the next few months. Session one is tomorrow night, Feb. 11, 2010. The title is "Leadership: Understanding Yourself and Others." Call Vickie Provine at HAND if you'd like to attend, (812) 349-3505.

The second class is April 8, on "The ABC's of Land Use." The third class is June 10, with a "Round Table Discussion with Proven Neighborhood Leaders in the Area of Land Use." Our own Jan Sorby will be one of the speakers at this event. Finally, on Nov. 4, the topic will be "The Law of the Land: Land Use Policy, the City Council and You."

Remember , the classes are free. They will be held in the City Council Chambers from 7-9pm.

Break-ins and attempts in Elm Heights and Bryan Park

2010-02-09T13:45:00.001-05:00

Hello all:

I'm copying texts of four messages to the Elm Heights Neighborhood listserv today, about break-ins and attempts:

Kevin Atkins

******************************************************************
----- Original Message -----
To:
Sent: Monday, February 08, 2010 9:22 PM
Subject: House Break-in at 1323 E First Street

We were robbed while away over the weekend. We came home and the garage door
was open -which we had closed. Someone went through the house, opening
drawers, cabinets etc. The items missing are:
Two laptops (2008 SONY Viao and a 2002 IBM T60)
a 22 caliber rifle (Remington)
a box of 22 ammunition,
a Fuji digital camera, some petty cash
an envelope of keys
two 6-gig IPODS.

Not much else was taken from what we can see. The Bloomington Police
(officer Luce) came right away and spent about an hour at our house. She
said that the evidence technician would come by but they have not as of this
writing.

If you find any of this please let us know. Or if you know anything please
contact us or Officer Luce 349-3854 X1491

Thank you.

******************************************************************
Tuesday, February 09, 2010 11:32 AM

All,
My husband woke up late last night to what sounded like someone trying to
kick in an outside side door. Our dog started barking, and the noises
stopped. There is evidence on the outside of the door today where it looks
like someone did indeed try to kick in the door. We are notifying the
police, but there is probably not much they can do, especially since they
were (thankfully) not successful. Please keep a watchful eye at night.

Rebecca Dilger
1014 E 1st St.

******************************************************************
Tuesday, February 09, 2010 11:37 AM

Hello! I just saw this email & thought I should respond.

My name is Cynthia Brown & I live at 818 E Maxwell Lane (corner of
Maxwell & Park St). I am technically in both Bryan Park and Elm Heights
neighborhoods.

I just called Dick Mitchell, the man in charge of BryanPark
Neighborhood Association's Neighborhood Watch, last week to notify him that
my neighbor 2 doors west of me came home at night & someone was breaking
into the back door of his house (the guy ran off into Bryan Park once the
homeowner arrived).

Now, I am sorry that I didn't notify Elm Height Neighborhood
Association as well. Maybe I would have helped to know sooner about this
earlier attempt at breaking and entering.

It seems to me that both neighborhood associations should keep their
residents abreast of these criminal incidents. Hopefully those neighbors
who are not involved in the neighborhood association will then be informed
by their neighbors & friends.

I will do my best to inform my block of this incident. Thank you very
much for reporting this in a way where your neighbors can be cognizant of
it.

******************************************************************
Tuesday, February 09, 2010 12:25 PM

There was also a burglary two weekends ago next door to us on the corner of
Maxwell and Stull, while the owner was away. The burglar forced open the
front door. The only things stolen were medications.

Anne Kibbler
710 E. Maxwell

Bloomington Winter Farmers' Market, Sat., Feb 6, 9-noon

2010-02-05T10:37:00.002-05:00

Bloomington Winter Farmers Market continues its sixth great season at Harmony School, this Saturday morning 9-12. The first two markets have broken all previous attendance records, so come on down and join in the enthusiasm for local food!

Ample free parking is available at Harmony School (902 E. Second Street), on surrounding streets, and at the nearby Atwater parking garage.

Local farmers will be offering early crops including broccoli, cauliflower, butternut squash, turnips, carrots, potatoes, and many types of greens. Also available will be dried soup beans, farm fresh eggs, a wide array of cheeses, and alpaca yarns & rovings.

Popular new products include Phoenix Farms’ locally made tofu, a full line of garden seeds from Red Rosa Farm, and scrumptious breads baked by our new young farmers Eric & Katie of Muddy Fork Farm.

Music will be provided all morning by Wayne County Historical Society (9-10:30), and then by Matt Romy Jazz (10:30-12), all thanks to generous support from the Bloomington Community Arts Commission and the City of Bloomington; Bloom Magazine; and Friends of the Bloomington Winter Farmers Market.

Gazebo for Sale

2010-02-03T21:29:00.003-05:00

From Corrine Carpenter:

I am selling this 12' gazebo. It is two years old, I paid $1300 and am selling it for $600. It is wonderful to live in during the spring, summer and fall- NO BUGS! I have enjoyed it very much but am moving and cannot accommodate it at my condo. The gazebo can be stored as panels until warmer weather. It needs to be moved to a new home as soon as possible. If you are interested (or know anyone who might be) please call me, Corrine Carpenter, at 323-0095.

Snow Angels and Welcome Bags

2010-01-29T15:04:00.003-05:00

Snow Angels Needed
In the upcoming January newsletter, Jan Sorby has put out a call for volunteer "Snow Angels" to help elderly and ill neighbors clear their walks after winter storms. We have a neighbor in the 600 block of S. Lincoln who needs help with this. Please contact Jan Sorby (334-2075) or Mary Miller (339-2628) if you can help.

Welcome Bag Coordinator
Aviva Orenstein has volunteered to take care of welcome bags for new neighbors. Contact her if you know of anyone new to the neighborhood, and she'll be glad to deliver a welcome bag to them. Thanks Aviva!

aorenste@indiana.edu (email)
812-855-8736 (phone)

January 2008 Newsletter

2010-01-28T22:31:00.000-05:00

Here's a link to the January 2008 Newsletter.

BPNA By-Laws

2010-01-28T22:19:00.001-05:00

Click the link to see the BPNA By-Laws.

BPNA Meeting Tues. Jan. 26, 2010

2010-01-24T22:39:00.008-05:00

Our first meeting of 2010 will be this Tuesday, Jan. 26. As usual, we'll meet at 7:00p.m. at the Free Methodist Church at the corner of Grimes and S. Lincoln. This will be a good chance to get back in touch and look forward to the new year.

What would you like to see BPNA accomplish in 2010? Bring your plans and ideas to the meeting, so we can get started on another great year. There have been suggestions to start advertising neighborhood businesses in the blog, and a suggestion that we start an emergency preparedness project. What do you think?

We can also continue the discussion about Nancy Hiestand's presentation in November.

Anybody willing to step up and become a block captain? The main duty of block captains is to help deliver BPNA newsletters to a section of the neighborhood. It's a great way to get to know your neighbors!

How about taking over the welcome bags that Corinne Carpenter put together last fall? Corinne has moved out of the neighborhood, and we need a volunteer to take this on.

Please let me know (mpm_miller@yahoo.com) if you'd like to add anything to the agenda. See you at the meeting!

Annual Plant/Seed Exchange Scheduled

2010-01-24T21:28:00.002-05:00

Annual Bryan Park Neighborhood Plants/Seeds Exchange
The annual Bryan Park Neighborhood Plant/Seed Exchange will take place on Sunday, April 25th from 2:00-4:00 p.m. at the home of Ria Collee. The address is 932 S. Henderson St. (on the North corner of Allen and Henderson). Please bring any garden plants that you want to share, or seedlings (flowers, vegetables, etc.) that need a home. Tables will be set up on the Allen Street side to place the plants on.
Ria has a Backyard Wildlife Habitat garden and is a Habitat Stewart. If anyone is interested in making their yard/garden more wildlife friendly and starting a Backyard Wildlife garden, she will offer to help you. She will have native wildflower plants to give away, such as echinaceas, penstemons, lance-leaved coreopsis, false blue sienna, blue vervain, sundrops, goosenecks and black-eyed susans as well as vegetable seedling.
If you don’t have anything to give away, come anyway and give some plants a home or take away some seeds to start a garden. This event is a great way to meet the other gardeners in your neighborhood and it has always been a great deal of fun. For more information about this event contact Ria, at 336-2512 or mcollee@indiana.edu

BPNA November 2009 Meeting Minutes

2010-01-24T20:40:00.004-05:00

Bryan Park Neighborhood Association

November 17, 2009

Minutes

The Bryan Park Neighborhood Association met at the Free Methodist Church in Bloomington, Indiana, on November 17, 2009. Jan Sorby, BPNA vice president, presided over the meeting.

Old Business

Variances. Jan Sorby reported that Scott Ackerson dropped his requested variance and will build his garage according to city code.

Templeton Playground Project. Angela Lexmond reported that the grant application for the Templeton playground project was submitted to the city earlier this month. She announced that the Templeton walk-a-thon raised $2500 and thanked neighborhood donors. Angela also explained that the grant funds will allow the school to double the existing amount of playground equipment.

Welcome Bags. Jan Sorby reported that Corrine still has “welcome bags” available for new neighbors. She asked for members to e-mail Corrine when there are new neighbors so the bags can be delivered.

Incident Report. Dick Mitchell reported that several cars on Allen Street were broken into recently. Isabel Piedmont-Smith stated that she will contact BPD Officer Scott Oldham to see if he is still the neighborhood contact for BPNA.

New Business

Conservation District information. Nancy Heistad, Historic Preservation Program Manager for the City of Bloomington made a power point presentation with information on Conservation District protections and other protective instruments available to the neighborhood. Nancy made the presentation at the request of BPNA. Nancy explained that a conservation district is what is in place in the McDoel neighborhood. She said that at the time, the conservation district was a radical idea, but it did a lot of good things for the neighborhood. According to Nancy, a conservation district : 1) does not need buildings of high architectural value (which keeps houses from being lost to development pressure), 2) does not require full review (reviews required for moves, demolitions and new builds), 3) has a 2 step approval process for new construction and 4) does not regulate additions to existing houses. Nancy also explained the timeline for a conservation district: 1) survey of neighborhood resources, 2) establishment of boundaries, 3) meetings with neighborhood steering committee & appointment of subcommittee, 4) neighborhood notification and public meetings, 5) application, 6) Historic Preservation Commission public hearings, 7) prepare design guidelines, 8) Bloomington City Council meetings, 9) referendum in 3^rd year—all home owners in district vote to keep designation or not. Nancy also described the city’s demolition delay ordinance, noting that it only applies to properties listed on the neighborhood survey. Since 2005, close to 100 properties have been reviewed under the ordinance and 11 demolitions have been granted. She said that BPNA would need to determine whether to rely on demolition delay through the ordinance or go through the conservation district process. On a final note, Nancy noted that the city has money in its budget for another survey of the Bryan Park neighborhood.

Next meeting. The next BPNA meeting is scheduled for January 26, 2010.

Bloomington Winter Farmers' Market begins this Saturday, Jan. 23

2010-01-21T08:54:00.002-05:00

Bloomington Winter Farmers Market kicks off its exciting 6th year, this Saturday morning, 9-12 at Harmony School, 902 Second Street.

Parking available at the school, on surrounding streets, and at the nearby IU garage.

Local farmers will again offer as much fresh produce as the season allows, including butternut squash, root crops, and early greens.
Also available will be fresh farm eggs, meats from local farms, and alpaca yarns and fibers, and a full line of garden seeds! Exciting new products include locally made tofu, goat cheese, and breads.

Come on down and enjoy eclectic world music all morning by Dan Willens and Mano Joven.
Here is a wonderful recipe that you could make with beets, greens, bread and goat cheese from the market:

ROASTED BEET SALAD

Serves 4

* 1 bunch (about 1 1/2 pounds) small to medium beets
* Salt and freshly ground black pepper
* 8 cups baby spinach or arugula
* 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
* 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice or balsamic vinegar
* 3 ounces goat cheese, sliced

Preheat oven to 400̊F. Trim beets and scrub them, leaving about 1/2 inch of stems attached (reserve greens for another use). Place beets in a casserole dish and drizzle with a little olive oil (about 1 tablespoon). Sprinkle with salt and freshly ground pepper.

Cover tightly with aluminum foil. Roast in middle of oven until tender, about 1 hour.

When beets are cool enough to handle, slip off skins and stems.
Quarter beets and place in a bowl. Drizzle with balsamic vinegar or lemon juice and toss. (Beets may be roasted 1 day ahead and chilled, covered).

In a bowl whisk together the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil, lemon juice or vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste. Toss greens with the dressing and salt and pepper to taste.

Serve salad greens topped with beets. Arrange cheese slices on the side, or shave on top, and serve with a crusty baguette.

(Thanks to Susie Quick from Honest Farm in Midway, KY, for sharing this recipe!)

My Sister's Closet Fundraiser

2010-01-20T22:49:00.002-05:00

From Liz Brown:

Our fabulous neighbor, Natalie Cabanaw, again is donating her tips to
raise money for a not-for-profit group this Thurs. Jan 21 from 5-9 pm at
Nick's in the back room. The group Natalie has adopted is My Sister's
Closet. The Closet is a wonderful organization that not only provides
free clothing to women appyling for jobs and cannot afford to purchase
interview and work clothing, but is open to anyone to purchase nearly
new and new work attire. Come out Thursday to Nick's! Have a great
meal, tip generously, and support My Sister's Closet!

PS My Sister's Closet is located t 1010 S. Walnut and is open Wed-Fr
10-3 and Sat 10-5.

Dance Series Announcement From Rob Fischman

2010-01-04T17:29:00.005-05:00

Cure cabin fever this winter by attending a new dance series for families and friends ages 4-94! The 2010 Winter Family Dance series begins Sunday, January 10th, 3:00-5:00 pm at the Harmony School gymnasium (909 E 2nd). Bring your entire family for live music and fun social dancing with simple instruction.

This participatory program is comprised of dances in the traditional American mold. Simple, repetitive movements are easily learned, and families will quickly be dancing together in company with others. No experience is necessary, all dances will be taught. Also featuring talented local musicians on fiddle, accordion, piano, bass and banjo. Cost is $4/person or $15/family or household of 4 or more. For more information call Abby Ladin at 330-8731 or visit us on Facebook @ 2010 Winter Family Dance Series.

Family dance master caller DeLaura Padovan from Virginia will lead the first event. Her gentle joyful style engages children and adults at community dances, camps and gatherings nationwide. The band of local talent will include veteran dance musicians Sam Bartlett , Claudio Buchwald with Eric Schedler and special guest Steve Hickman.

Coordinator Abby Ladin introduces this monthly dance series as an activity which families can truly explore together. Ladin, who herself began dancing with her family as a young child, is a seasoned performer, dance teacher and musician, and can see Bloomington becoming the perfect place for the family dance experience.

The Winter Family Dance Series is made possible in part by the City of Bloomington, the Bloomington Community Arts Commission, the New Leaders, Good Leaders Fund of the Country Song & Dance Society, with additional support from the Bloomington Old Time Music & Dance Group.

Found bike

2009-12-17T10:43:00.003-05:00

Pastor Mel Nead at the Free Methodist Church, where we hold our BPNA meetings, has found a bike and would like to reunite it with its owner. The bike was left at the church sometime last week. It is a dark grey Schwinn road bike with a cargo carrier on the back. Call the church at 332-6425 for more information about the bike.

Christmas Village Invitation

2009-12-08T11:15:00.006-05:00

Dick and Mary Lou Mitchell would like to invite one and all to visit our Christmas village. A tradition for twenty years, Mary Lou's village includes charming antique and modern buildings, animated figures, a Christmas train and ice skaters twirling on a frozen pond. Come and see this special holiday display!

Drop by at 1202 S. Palmer or give us a call at 339-5096 to make sure we're home.

Hope to see you soon.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Minutes - October 27, 2009 Meeting

2009-11-16T13:44:00.005-05:00

The Bryan Park Neighborhood Association met at the Free Methodist Church in Bloomington, Indiana, on October 27, 2009. Mary Miller, BPNA President, presided and Jenny Bauer was acting secretary.

Old Business

Variances. Mary Miller reported that the Schertz variance was approved and they will proceed with the construction of the new shed. Mary also reported that she was not sure of the status of the variance sought by Scott Ackerson. Jan Sorby said that she thinks Scott will need more variances than just the one for the size of the garage. Mary asked that Scott Ackerson be contacted to ask that BPNA be kept updated on his requests.

Templeton Playground Project. Angela Lexmond reported that the deadline for the grant application is November 2nd. She said that the new principal is helping with the budget and Bob Woolford from HAND is also helping with the application. The grant request will be for $16-20,000, with the same amount in matching funds. If the grant application is successful, work on the playground project will begin in the spring. The Templeton students are having a walk-a-thon to raise money on November 7th at Bryan Park. The grant money will be used to purchase equipment that emphasizes fitness and wheel-chair accessible mulch for the playground surface.

Welcome Bags. Mary Miller reported that the “welcome bags” made by Corrine contain goodies from local businesses. She asked for members to let her know when there are new neighbors so the bags can be delivered.

Incident Report. Dick Mitchell reported that George Martin had an attempted break-in at his house during Homecoming Weekend. Dick said that BPNA’s representative on the Bloomington Police Department has not been responsive to contact from the neighborhood.

New Business

Advertising on the Blog. Mary Miller asked the members if advertising should be allowed on the BPNA blog. Jan Sorby said that Prospect Hill advertises neighborhood businesses in its newsletter. Mary suggested forming a subcommittee to study the issue.

BRI Home Tour in Bryan Park. Jan Sorby reported that the BRI Home Tour featured homes in Bryan Park last weekend. She said that about 300 people bought tickets for the tour and that BRI raised more money with this tour than they have with any other tour. She also said that BRI received many positive comments about the Bryan Park neighborhood.

Conservation District. Mary Miller led the discussion about a possible conservation district designation for Bryan Park. She said that the first step is a survey of the neighborhood housing stock. Nancy Heistad from HAND is willing to work with BPNA to explore the issue. Mary said that another step in the process is for a neighborhood history to be written. After the survey is completed, it is submitted to the State. If the State approves the district, demolition delay becomes effective and permission must be obtained from the State Historic Preservation Commission before a building may be demolished. Mary stated that she will invite Nancy Heistad to attend the BPNA meeting in January. Mary asked Jan Sorby and Joane Henriot to get copies of the conservation documents of McDoel Gardens and Prospect Hill and to invite their representatives to attend a future BPNA meeting to discuss their experiences with the process. This information will be presented at a future meeting.

Church food drive. Mary Lou Mitchell reminded everyone to bring an item to the Free Methodist Church’s holiday food drive as a way to say thank you for allowing BPNA to hold meetings at the church.

Next meeting. Mary asked that the November meeting be changed to November 17th to avoid a conflict with members travelling for the Thanksgiving holiday.

11/17/09 Agenda

2009-11-15T11:02:00.005-05:00

Bryan Park Neighborhood Association

Place: Free Methodius Church, corner of Lincoln and Grimes

Time and Day: Nov. 17, 7:00 p.m. (because of Thanksgiving we are meeting 1 week earlier than usual).

OLD BUSINESS

Variances

Updates on Schertz and Ackerson variances.

Templeton Playground Renovation

Update on the grant.

Welcome bag for new neighbors

Corrine Carpenter has welcome bags ready to give out to new neighbors. Email her (corrine369@aim.com) if you need any.

Incident Report

Regular monthly report from Dick and Mary Lou Mitchell, our Neighborhood Watch representatives.

NEW BUSINESS

Bryan Park Conservation District

Nancy Hiestand, Historic Preservation Program Manage, City of Bloomington.

Nancy’s Power Point presentation will help clarify the difference between Conservation district and other protective instruments available to our neighborhood. She’s a great resource for questions regarding all preservation issues.

City Council Update on Halloween

2009-10-28T22:51:00.002-04:00

Dear neighbors,

I will once again host my monthly constituent meeting this Saturday, Oct. 31, 11:00 am to 12:00 noon at Rachael's Cafe (300 E. 3rd St.). I will provide an update on what the City Council has been doing, including changes to the animal care and control ordinance and possible historic designation for the old Elks Lodge building on N. Walnut St. Then I will open it up to questions and comments from attendees. Free coffee will be provided. I want to hear from you! If you can't make it Saturday, you can always email me at piedmoni@bloomington.in.gov.

Best wishes,

Isabel Piedmont-Smith

Bloomington City Council, Dist. 5

City Council Update on Halloween

2009-10-27T15:45:00.004-04:00

Dear neighbors,
I will once again host my monthly constituent meeting this Saturday, Oct. 31, 11:00 am to 12:00 noon at Rachael's Cafe (300 E. 3rd St.). I will provide an update on what the City Council has been doing, including changes to the animal care and control ordinance and possible historic designation for the old Elks Lodge building on N. Walnut St. Then I will open it up to questions and comments from attendees. Free coffee will be provided. I want to hear from you! If you can't make it Saturday, you can always email me at piedmoni@bloomington.in.gov.
Best wishes,
Isabel Piedmont-Smith
Bloomington City Council, Dist. 5

10/27 Agenda for Tuesday's BPNA Meeting

2009-10-26T23:49:00.005-04:00

Email Mary Miller (mpm_miller@yahoo.com) if you have anything to add to the agenda.
OLD BUSINESS
Variances
Updates on Schertz and Ackerson variances.
Templeton Playground Renovation
Update on the grant.
Welcome bag for new neighbors
Corrine Carpenter has welcome bags ready to give out to new neighbors. Email her (corrine369@aim.com) if you need any.
Incident Report
Regular monthly report from Dick and Mary Lou Mitchell, our Neighborhood Watch representatives.
NEW BUSINESS
Bryan Park Conservation District
We’ll continue our discussion from the last meeting, exploring the idea of getting the Bryan Park area designated as a Conservation District. We’ll see if there is enough interest to proceed--if there is, we'll define the next steps.

What about advertising on the blog?
We'll continue the discussion about neighborhood businesses and services advertising on the blog. The topic is our local economy--supporting neighborhood businesses. Massage therapy? Babysitting coop? Lawn services? Join the discussion!

ONGOING
Poop Tubes
Liz thanks neighbors for filling the “poop tubes” with plastic bags. She can always use more bags--the tubes at the park empty daily.

Bryan Park Upcoming Events and Minutes

2009-10-20T13:33:00.006-04:00

BRI Home Tour

This coming weekend, Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 24 and 25, from 1-5pm, Bloomington Restorations (BRI) is hosting its 33rd annual architectural tour, this year in the Bryan Park Neighborhood. Tour headquarters is located at 1007 S. Lincoln St. Tickets can be purchased for $10 for adults and $5 for children. Call 336-0909 for more information, or see www.bloomingtonrestorations.org.

Templeton Playground Renovation

There's a long article about the Templeton playground renovation in today's Herald-Times. Check it out if you can.

BPNA October Meeting

Our October meeting will be next Tuesday, 10/27, at 7:00 pm at the free Methodist Church at Grimes and Lincoln. Watch for an agenda later this week.

September 22, 2009 Meeting Minutes

President Mary Miller presided over the meeting.

Seventeen members were in attendance

The Templeton Playground Renovation needs help with the planting. This will be Saturday, October 10th, from 10:00-12:00.

Also everyone was reminded to watch for the proof of purchase seals on cereal boxes.

Joanne Henriot reported that 63 T-shirts have been sold. There are still 16 remaining. Good job, Joanne.

Corrine Carpenter is putting together welcome bags. If you need any give her a call.

Jan Sorby announced that the International Safe Routes to School Day is October 7th and helped is needed at Templeton.

Ann and Alan Schertz and Scott Ackerson are applying for variances for storage sheds and a garage. The neighborhood supports both of them. A letter will be written acknowledging the support.

The Bloomington Restoration tour is October 24th and 25th. Docents are still needed. If interested notify Jan Sorby.

Here's link to the January 2008 BPNA newsletter, containing the article on historic preservation passed out at the Sept. meeting, for our initial discussion on the conservation district idea: http://www.bloomington.in.us/~bpna/BPNA_0108.pdf.

Hope you can make it to the meeting next week!

Bryan Park Meeting 9/22, Agenda and Announcements

2009-09-20T21:49:00.003-04:00

MEETING, TUESDAY 9/22, 7-8pm

Free Methodist Church, corner of Lincoln & Grimes

9/22 Monthly Meeting Agenda:

New Business:

Ann and Alan Schertz are applying for a variance with the city and would like to keep the BPNA folks in the loop. They will bring copies of their plan to the meeting.

What about advertising on the blog?

We will begin a discussion about neighborhood businesses and services advertising on the blog. The topic is our local economy--supporting neighborhood businesses. Massage therapy? Babysitting coop? Lawn services? Join the discussion!

BP historic homes tour Oct. 25-25

Confirm date?

Bryan Park Conservation District

Several people have asked to explore the idea of getting the Bryan Park area designated as a Conservation District. We will have copies of the Jan 2008 BPNA newsletter article, to start the discussion.

Peace Week Events

Tues. Sept 22nd, there is a Town Meeting "Envisioning Bloomington as a City of Peace" in the Council Chambers.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Bloomington Waste Not

The group "Volunteers For Change" is starting to plan ahead for collecting discarded furniture during the next student turnover. If you are interested in participating, contact Anne McLaughlin, Volunteers for Change, annetm@bloomington.in.us, (812) 327-3804.

There will be a meeting on Wednesday, September 23rd, 1:00 pm,

City Hall, McCloskey Room.

Dance to Live, Live to Love

Craig Brenner & the Crawdads announce a dance party to celebrate their new CD, Live to Love. The event is part of The Art of Mental Health 2009. It benefits Mental Health America of Monroe County.

When: October 10, 2009, 7:30 p.m.

Where: Bloomington Convention Center, 302 S. College Avenue, Bloomington, IN.

Tickets: $15, available at the event and at the Buskirk-Chumley Ticket Office.

Looking for house to rent

Susan Fernandes has a friend who needs a rental for her family to come here for half of a sabbatical year, starting spring semester. She is looking at areas close to the University. This family is from Bloomington originally, with 2 children ages 10 & 5, and has excellent references, with local family and contacts. The husband is on the faculty at a Canadian university and wants to come here to do some research. If you have any leads to something that may be available for spring semester, please contact Susan at sjfernan@indiana.edu or 812-855-7364.

Aug. 09 meeting minutes and found bike

2009-09-04T12:58:00.004-04:00

BRYAN PARK NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION

AUGUST 25, 2009

Seventeen members attended the meeting.

Mary reminded all that if they have bills regarding the block party they should be turned in. These are paid for through the grant.

The T-shirts should be delivered in the next few days.

Mary would like to assemble some welcome bags with brochures, etc. There are several new residents in the neighborhood.

The Bryan Park Neighborhood Association will write a letter supporting the Templeton School Playground Project. Hopefully this will help to get the grant.

The BRI home tour will be October 24-25 from 1:00 – 5:00 with several homes in our neighborhood on the tour. If you would like to be a docent call 336-0909.

FOUND BIKE

If anyone is missing a purple Trek bike, two flat tires, components a bit rusty, contact Jennifer Weiss at 330-1022. She found it abandoned near her house.

Isabel Piedmont-Smith on Sat., Craig Brenner on Sunday, and Nick's benefit report

2009-08-28T07:33:00.003-04:00

Isabel Piedmont-Smith Monthly Meeting

Isabel Piedmont-Smith, our District V Representative on the City Council, will be holding her monthly constituent meeting on Saturday, Aug. 29. It's 11 am to 12 noon at Rachael's Cafe, corner of 3rd St. and Lincoln St. Updates on the city's budget proposal and the Unified Development Ordinance will be discussed.

Craig Brenner & the Crawdads Sunday at the Waldron

Craig wants to invite all BPNA neighbors to the Buskirk-Chumley Theater for the Tried & True Concert Sunday, Aug. 30, beginning at 4 p.m. The show begins with the Gordon Bonham Duo, followed by the Dynamics, followed by Craig Brenner & the Crawdads. What a deal for $5.00!

Craig & the Crawdads will play some tunes from their new CD, Live to Love. See the review in the Bloomington Independent at http://www.bloomingtonalternative.com/articles/2009/08/23/10123 It's a very good review for a wonderful group.

Templeton Benefit at Nick's

Natalie Cabanaw and Erin Heffley, the two servers at the Templeton benefit on Wed., donated their tips from the evening… totaling $356! The bar tender was Richie Bowling…another Bryan Park area neighbor. Natalie, Erin, and Richie all worked without wages for the event… a big thank you to them! In addition, Nick's may also donate a percentage of sales from the benefit. Thanks to Raggs, Susan and Nick's for supporting the cause of the Templeton playground renovation. And thanks to all the neighbors who attended. It was a really fun and well attended event.

Meeting Agenda and Templeton Benefit This Wed., 8/25

2009-08-23T19:38:00.004-04:00

We will have a meeting this Tues., Aug 25, from 7-8 pm, at the Free Methodist Church on the corner of Lincoln and Grimes. We often don’t have a meeting in Aug. because of the picnic. If you can make it, it should be pretty short. Be sure to check out the Templeton benefit at Nick’s English Hut this Wed., Aug. 26.

Templeton Playground Renovation Benefit at Nick’s this Wed., Aug. 26

Natalie Cabanaw has organized a benefit for the Templeton playground renovation. To have your bill count towards the fundraiser, go to the back dining room on the first floor of Nick's between 5:00-8:00 pm. Natalie and her co-workers are donating their tips to the cause. Nick's generously supported the annual block party this year by donating the burgers, veggie burgers, hot dogs and fixings. Come on out to support a great local business, help our neighborhood school, and meet your neighbors.

Block Party

More than 200 people attended the party on Aug. 14. We had a wonderful meal, cold ice cream and dancing in the street with Craig Brenner and Friends. Thanks again to Raggs, Susan and Nick’s English Hut for their generous donation of food.

Pitch-in Dinner:

Jon Lawrence organized volunteers, got the tables and chairs, and took care of the grill.

Ice Cream Social:

We enjoyed ice cream thanks to Anne Hedin, Jan Sorby, and Edy's.

Food Drive:

Dee Hupp-Sanders got the refrigerated truck and organized the collection of 103 lbs. of food for Hoosier Hills Food Bank. Dee can always take donations of food. Call her 325-1024 for more information.

BPNA T-Shirts:

Joanne Henriot and Corrinne Carpenter led the t-shirt sales effort. We sold 51 shirts and will have 24 more available for purchase. We hoped to have them at the meeting, but they will be ready later in the week. We will deliver your shirts. After all expenses are paid (and once everyone has paid), our profit will be almost $500.

Membership report:

37 households signed up as new members. That is something like 56 new people. Welcome to everyone! 34 existing-member households paid their yearly $5 dues at the picnic.

Treasurer report:

Mary Lou Mitchell

Turn in any picnic receipts you still have, if you want to be reimbursed for any expenses.

Thanks to everyone for a fun and successful event!

OLD BUSINESS

Church on Washington St

Skip VanCel has purchased the chuch on S. Washington St. He lives in Miami, Fla., and has many family ties in the Monroe County area. He is looking forward to fixing up the exterior of the building. There are no zoning issues, since he bought it with the idea of renovating it as a residence. If a business comes forward and wants to rent the building, any relevant zoning issues will be addressed.

Feedback on New Email List

Questions, suggestions, problems?

Bump outs on Lincoln St.

Mulch added?

Welcome bag for new neighbors?

Member form, brochure, plus city welcome bags?

Incident Report

Regular monthly report from Dick and Mary Lou Mitchell, our Neighborhood Watch representatives.

NEW BUSINESS

Templeton Small and Simple Grant

For playground renovation at Templeton School.

See blog posts at http://bryanpark.blogspot.com/search/label/Templeton

Neighborhood association will sponsor? They hope to apply this fall.

ONGOING

Poop Tubes

Liz thanks neighbors for filling the “poop tubes” with plastic bags. She can always use more bags--the tubes at the park empty daily.

August 2009 Newsletter

2009-08-23T17:17:00.004-04:00

Here's link to the August 2009 BPNA newsletter.

July 2009 Minutes

2009-08-23T17:05:00.002-04:00

BRYAN PARK NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION

JULY 28, 2009

New president, Mary Miller, presided over the meeting.

Twenty-two were in attendance

The question had been raised as to who was responsible for the weeds on the Davis Street ditch. The city says it the adjacent property owner’s responsibility.

The group voted to buy a load of mulch for the south bump out on Lincoln. Jon Lawrence volunteered to deliver it.

The neighborhood block party will be Friday, August 14 on South Dunn between Davis and Allen. There will be a table to sell T-shirts and a table to pay dues. The Food Bank will have a container for non-perishable foods.

Dick Mitchell reported that there have been several non-emergency incidents lately. Graffiti, produce stolen from gardens, noise etc.

All of the signs reminding neighbors of the monthly meeting are now in use and being displayed.

The construction on Henderson Street is moving along and should be completed by the start of school.

Natalie will do a benefit at Nick’s for Templeton school.

The Bryan Park naturalization clean up was reported to be on Wednesday from 5:30 to 7:00.

Templeton PTO Fundraiser at Nick's August 26

2009-08-15T10:51:00.005-04:00

The Templeton PTO has been hard at work planning for a full-scale renovation of Templeton’s playgrounds--the oldest in the Monroe County school corporation. The renovation will include new equipment, surfacing, and trees. Angela Lexmond, one of the organizers, reports, “We have already raised $12,000 through grants and from major donors, but we have far to go to reach our fundraising goal of $65,000. We hope our neighbors will help us. Last spring, the kids themselves raised over $1,000!”

One neighbor, Natalie Cabanaw, is sponsoring a benefit at Nick’s English Hut for the cause on Wednesday, August 26, from 5:00-8:00 pm. Natalie is coming in on her day off and will donate all her tips; all you’ve got to do to help is come in and order off the menu. Nick’s management will also donate a percentage of the bill for people who identify themselves as Templeton supporters.

To have your bill count towards the fundraiser, go to the back dining room on the first floor of Nick's between 5:00-8:00 pm. Natalie won a Be More Award from the City this spring for similar generous fundraising work for local charities, and Nick's generously supported the annual block party this year by donating the burgers, veggie burgers, hot dogs and fixings.

If you can help directly, please send your tax deductible donation to the FMCCS (Foundation of Monroe County Community Schools) earmarking it in the memo line for the “Templeton Playground Fund.” Their address is 315 North Drive, Bloomington, IN 47401. For more information, contact Angela Lexmond (339-0782) or Jennifer Livesay (334-0764).

BPNA block party this Friday!

2009-08-12T22:52:00.003-04:00

The annual BPNA summer block party is this Friday, August 14, 6-9 pm. Everybody in the neighborhood is invited. Come meet new neighbors and celebrate with old friends.

Craig Brenner and Friends will once again inspire dancing in the street—specifically the 1000 block of South Dunn St. Please bring a potluck dish to share with your neighbors. BPNA will provide lemonade, grilled meat and veggie burgers and hot dogs generously provided by our sponsor, Nick’s English Hut. As an added treat, we will provide Edy's slow-churned ice cream for the first 100 guests, courtesy of Edy's.

We are also grateful to the City of Bloomington, which awarded us a Small & Simple grant to help with the non-food costs of this large party. The party drew about 300 people last year, and we expect an even bigger turnout this year.

This is a great time to pay your membership dues. Dues are just $5 a year, and we will have a table set up to take dues at the picnic. BPNA T-shirts are back by popular demand! We will have a custom design ready for pre-order.

Last but not least, remember the hungry while you enjoy the party. Dee Hupp-Sanders of the Hoosier Hills Food Bank asks that you bring a food item to donate to the food bank.

Donation options for discarded furniture

2009-08-10T13:16:00.004-04:00

DON’T TRASH IT … DONATE IT!

This is the time of year we see discarded furniture and other household goods set out for city trash pick up. Many of the items left out to be trashed are usable. If you see items that could be reused, here are some donation options from Anne McLaughlin with Volunteers for Change. Your donations will keep usable items out of the landfill and help these nonprofit agencies:

Furniture & Appliances

Contact

St. Vincent de Paul for free pick up.

(812) 961-1510 or

email: pickup@bloomingtonsvdp.org

Schedule at least 48 hours ahead of time.

Please include the type of usable furniture or working appliances you wish to donate, your address, and a phone number. St. Vincent de Paul is all volunteer organization that distributes usable furniture and working appliances free of charge to those in need (people moving from homelessness, etc).

* See how your donations can help:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1N3bQRik0c

Drop off everything else at nearest location :

Downtown

The Salvation Army Thrift Store :

115 N. Rogers St .

Just west of Courthouse, between Kirkwood & 6th

WED – Sat, 10 am – 6 pm

334-1366

East Side

Goodwill:

840 S. Auto Mall Rd.

Between mall & theater, across from Pier 1 Imports

Mon – Sat, 9 am - 9 pm; Sunday, noon – 6 pm

West Side

Goodwill:

1284 Liberty Drive

Between W. 2 nd and 3 rd Streets, across from Menards

Mon – Sat, 9 am - 9 pm; Sunday, noon – 6 pm

Backstreet Missions:

928 Arlington Rd.

West 17th leads into Arlington

Mon – Sat, 9 am – 4 pm

961-3903

www.backstreet.org

Habitat ReStore:

300 W. 11 th

331-2660

Furniture, appliances, building materials, hardware

Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri, 10:30 am – 5:30 pm

Wed, noon – 5: 30; Sat, 8:30 am – 3:30 pm

www.monroecountyhabitat.org/restore

Annual block party - Friday, 8/14

2009-07-31T11:29:00.001-04:00

The annual BPNA summer block party is scheduled for Friday, August 14, 6-9 pm. Everybody in the neighborhood is invited, whether they are BPNA members or not. Come meet new neighbors and celebrate with old friends.

Craig Brenner and Friends will once again inspire dancing in the street—specifically the 1000 block of South Dunn St. Please bring a potluck dish to share with your neighbors. BPNA will provide lemonade, grilled meat and veggie burgers and hot dogs generously provided by our sponsor, Nick’s English Hut. As an added treat, we will provide Edy's slow-churned ice cream for the first 100 guests, courtesy of Edy's.

We are also grateful to the City of Bloomington, which awarded us a Small & Simple grant to help with the non-food costs of this large party. The party drew about 300 people last year, and we expect an even bigger turnout this year. Volunteers are needed to help organize and run the grill; contact Jon Lawrence at jolawren@indiana.edu or 334-2075 if you can help.

This is a great time to pay your membership dues. Dues are just $5 a year, and we will have a table set up to take dues at the picnic. BPNA T-shirts are back by popular demand. We hope to have a custom design ready for the occasion. Come by the BPNA table to see the design and place your order.

Last but not least, remember the hungry while you enjoy the party food. Dee Hupp-Sanders of the Hoosier Hills Food Bank asks that you bring a food item to donate to the food bank.

FW: [CONA] Bloomington Hospital Survey, B-line trail phase II

2009-07-29T07:41:00.003-04:00

Hi everybody -

Council of Neighborhood Associations is hosting a survey about the

possibility that Bloomington Hospital may move from its current

location. The purpose of the survey is to raise awareness of the

impact that this move will have on Bloomington neighborhoods by

collecting opinions from residents of those neighborhoods. Please

take a moment to fill out the survey at http://www.conaonline.org/survey.html. We hope to present the results by our September 16th meeting.

Please forward this survey to others in your neighborhood!

Also, there is an open house for the B-line trail phase II on

Thursday July 30 from 11am to 1pm and 5pm to 6:30pm in the council

chambers at the Showers complex at 401 N Morton Street. The City

of Bloomington Parks and Recreation Department is designing phase II

of the B-Line Trail. Final plans and specifications must be submitted

to the State of Indiana by the end of August. Construction is

anticipated to begin in spring 2010, and will involve the city-owned

former CSX rail corridor from the east side of Adams Street to the

west side of Rogers Street (bordering Near Westside, Maple Heights and

11th Street Neighborhoods), and from Second Street south to the north

side of Country Club Drive (bordering McDoel and Grandview

Neighborhoods). For more information about the open house, contact

Dave Williams (812) 349-3700.

From: Greg Alexander [gregcona@galexander.org]

Agenda for Tuesday 7/28 meeting

2009-07-27T15:20:00.003-04:00

Our regular meeting will be Tuesday, July 28, from 7-8 p.m., at the Free Methodist Church (corner of Grimes and Lincoln). Please let me know (mpm_miller@yahoo.com) if you want to add anything to the agenda. A presentation by Ellen Jacquart, founder of Monroe County Identify and Reduce Invasive Species (MC-IRIS) will be rescheduled. She will talk about a re-naturalization project in Bryan Park at an upcoming meeting.

Old Business

1. Weeds: Weeds and standing water in Davis ditch. City decision about maintenance.

2. Poop Tubes: If you have any plastic bags to spare, bring them to the meeting! Liz thanks neighbors for filling the tubes and can always use more bags--the tubes at the park empty daily.

3. Fall Picnic: Update on plans (t-shirts, volunteers, food drive, membership dues, ice cream).

New Business

1. Incident Report: As a new regular meeting feature, our Neighborhood Watch contacts Dick and Mary Lou Mitchell will briefly describe incidents reported this month.

2. New Email List: Questions?

3. City Business: Henderson sidewalk update, city news from Isabel Piedmont-Smith.

4. Templeton Benefit at Nick’s: Natalie Cabanaw has offered to sponsor a benefit at Nick’s for the Templeton Playground renovation.

5. Call for Volunteers: Volunteer for BPNA projects.

Adjournment

Found bike

2009-07-24T16:35:00.001-04:00

From Albert Reiser:

We found a bike that we suspect was stolen last weekend. It was left in our front yard. It’s a gray Fuji mountain bike.

Our address is 1200 S. Grant. Our phone number is (812) 334-3417.

-A

[B-TOP] Help us assess Bloomington's walkability, bike education, and climate change action

2009-07-24T15:21:00.006-04:00

Here are several items of interest from Bloomington Transportation Options for People:

Walkability Survey

Please help us gather data about Bloomington neighborhoods! B-TOP is working with the Active Living Coalition to administer a survey developed by Health by Design in Indianapolis in order to rate the walkability of different neighborhoods in Bloomington. Go to http://www.b-top.org/survey.html to fill out the survey online, or print a paper version you can mail in. We suggest you walk around your neighborhood and check things out for the best information. If you’d like, take a camera with you—you can upload up to four image files with your survey. Please share this with your friends and neighbors too!

Bicycle Education Opportunities

Traffic Skills 101 – August 15, 2009

This course is structured to be a fun yet intensive educational experience with the aim of increasing a cyclist’s confidence and safe riding skills. It will be held on Saturday August 15th from 9am to 6pm at Bloomington City Hall (room #135). Registration must be received by August 10, 2009.

LCI Training Seminar – August 28-30, 2009

The League of American Bicyclists is holding a seminar to train and certify League Cycling Instructors (LCIs) in Bloomington from August 28-30. This is a unique opportunity that is rarely offered in Indiana – so don’t miss out. If you are an experienced cyclist and would like to teach others, please consider taking the next step towards certification. Traffic Skills 101 is a prerequisite for the certification seminar. Registration is handled by the League of American Bicyclists on their website:

http://www.bikeleague.org/cogs/programs/education/seminar_schedule

More information on both offerings is available at http://bloomington.in.gov/bike. Feel free to contact me if I can provide further information.

Raymond Hess

Climate Change Action: Bloomington 350

See http://www.350.org/ for background on an international day of climate action planned for October 24, 2009. In Bloomington, a group called Bloomington 350 is getting together to plan local events. This may involve events spread out through the 350 hours (about two weeks) before October 24 as well. If you’re interested in getting involved, come to the next meeting (see below), or email michaelabide@yahoo.com.

Thursday, August 6

5:30-7:00 pm

Monroe County Public Library meeting room 1C

B-TOP contact:

Elizabeth Venstra

Vice-President, Bloomington Transportation Options for People

Elizabeth@b-top.org

June 2009 Minutes

2009-07-11T18:17:00.005-04:00

BRYAN PARK NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION

June 23, 2009

There were 41 in attendance.

Jan and Jon announced the block party will be Friday, August 14, from 6 to 9 PM in the usual place.

Volunteers are needed for a variety of jobs.

There was discussion on selling T-shirts at the block party.

Mother Hubbard’s Cupboard asked to borrow our shade tent and the vote passed.

Ann Schertz gave a talk on how to get rid of poison ivy.

Mary Miller and Joe Davis both gave a synopsis of their wanting to be the neighborhood president.

The ballots were passed and Isabel Piedmont-Smith, our neighborhood council person, and Dick Mitchell, our neighborhood “sheriff” tallied the votes.

The outcome:

President Mary Miller

Vice president Jan Sorby

Secretary Jenny Bauer

Treasurer Mary Lou Mitchell

The voting was contested so on Sunday June 28^th Isabelle and Dick recounted the votes for the 4^th time and wrote up a break down. This can be found on the Neighborhood blog.

Submitted by Dick Mitchell

Neighborhood Play Day 2009

2009-07-10T09:59:00.006-04:00

I'm contacting you to let you know that Bloomington Parks and Recreation will be holding a Neighborhood Play Day Wednesday, August 5 from 1-3pm. It's for all ages and we will be playing games and celebrating and facilitating play. We want you to let your neighborhood know so that they can come out and join us for the play day. The following are the specific parks we are going to be at: Broadview Park, Olcott Park, Bryan Park, Rev. Ernest D. Butler Park, and Sherwood Oaks Park. We hope to see everyone there and make it a successful play day event!

--Lynsie Burton

Program Specialist

City of Bloomington

Parks and Recreation