BPNA Monthly Meeting Tuesday July 26

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

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.

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.

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. 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.

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

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. 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.

8. 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.

9. 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.
   

10. 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

 
 
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

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.