BPNA meeting tonight, Tues. 11/30

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

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

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

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

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.