Meeting called to order at 7:35 PM
PRESENT: [9 people present] Members: Brian Ward (Vice President) Sabine Zappe (Treasurer) Loui Tucker (Secretary
Pepe Gonzalez Brian Habekoss
Beth Kramer Guests: Shelby Palms None Jerry White Ruth White
BUENA VISTA NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION Minutes of the Meeting Tuesday, June 28, 2011 At the Home of Ruth and Jerry White at 431 Menker
MINUTES - Minutes of the prior meeting, as posted to our website, were approved. TREASURER’S REPORT The BVNA treasury currently has $403.27. We are still waiting for
grant money to arrive.
A. BVNA NEWSLETTER. Due to a lack of funds, we have not put out a newsletter in several years. We want to put one out in September of this year, in Spanish and English. Pepe and Brian can assist with the translations.
Possible articles:
(1) Status of the BVNA park extension
(2) How to take care of the park
(3) A needs survey needs.
(4) Request that residents take down yard/garage sale sign
(5) Encouragement to use the park because the more people use the park, the
less likelihood there is for graffiti, vandalism, etc.
The 2004 newsletter had an article about “The Burbank Jamboree.” Long-time residents provided some history and background for new residents. If this event can be resurrected, perhaps as a co-sponsorship between BVNA and Burbank, we could tie the Home Tour to it in 2012.
B. HOME TOUR. A historical review of the Home Tour was given by long-time residents. If we are going to have a Home Tour in 2012, we need to start talking to residents about showing their homes. It is nice to concentrate on 1-2 streets, but we have had home tours were the houses were spread out over several blocks.
C. MENKER AVENUE ANNUAL JULY 4 BLOCK PARTY. There was a discussion about who is planning to come, what food and supplies are needed, the problems with blocking the street, etc. The fire truck will come by for lunch and there will be a photographer from the local newspaper because they are planning to do an article about summer neighborhood parties
D. TAKING CARE OF THE PARK. We still need resident to volunteer to help maintain our Park, especially after the expansion. It was felt that once the park extension is actually finished, people will be more interested and motivated to help maintain it. Let’s not get too
Minutes of June 28 meeting Page 2
frantic about signing up volunteers right now. People could volunteer and move out of the area by the time the park expansion is done!
E. ELECTIONS Elections are supposed to be held the end of July. We should call for nominations via email. Brian and Pepe said they would be willing to be co-presidents and/or trade-off being president and vice-president. Loui will continue as secretary unless someone really wants the job. Sabine will continue as treasurer. Official election will be July 26.
F. STATE OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD. There seems to be some ‘gentrification’ of our neighborhood because there are fewer renters and more owner-occupied homes. Particularly new owners are fixing up their properties, especially with the economy making the BVN homes more affordable. Lots of gay couples are moving in and the drug dealers are leaving! This is a big positive. One suggestion was made that perhaps we can get real estate agents to advertise our home to fans of older, historic homes - and particularly to buyers who want something in the Rosegarden area but the home prices are out of their range.
G. BVNA ACTIVISM. It was felt that our neighborhood email list is not as active as it could be. The Shasta-Hanchett residents use their email list a lot. They request referrals for services like landscapers, plumbers, babysitters; they notify neighbors about lost pets and extra produce. Those in attendance felt they could promote the use of the group by using it themselves: to sell used furniture, ask for items (“Anyone have a post hole digger I can borrow?”), request assistance with a problem, etc. The more we use it (wisely, of course), the more it will *be* used.
There was a discussion about using Facebook instead of the yahoo group. There was also a discussion about privacy, levels of information. Perhaps someone should get a “Facebook for Dummies” book and find out more about setting up a Facebook account for the BVNA, find out how to control input, membership, etc. In the meantime, members were encouraged to post to yahoo group to see if we can stimulate more usage.
Our Halloween House and Menker Street Fourth of July, and the general activism of our neighborhood association are all making our neighborhood better known and more desirable. We need to promote them also, and make sure real estate agents know about them so they can use them as selling points.
H. HIGH SPEED RAIL. John Leyba is staying on top of the high-speed rail issue, but he could not attend the meeting. He did send an email that some read before the meeting. This is supposed to be comparable to the bullet trains in Europe and Japan. There is a mock-up video on line showing the suspension bridge which Pepe said was very interesting. It’s a youtube video showing how it’s going to work.
This project is more about jobs than providing new transportation options.
I. ADVERTISING THE BVNA. It was suggested that a half-sheet flyer be prepared (in Spanish and English) that could be distributed at the Menker Street Fourth of July Block Party. Perhaps we can get a few more residents interested in working on BVNA projects.
The next BVNA meeting will be on Tuesday, July 26 at the home of Brian Habekoss and Jose (Pepe) Gonzalez at 322 Mayellen. Loui announced that she will be out of town that day at a conference and will not be able to serve as secretary.
The meeting adjourned at 8:42 PM