University Parkway Development - Smart Growth?

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Westside Improvement Association

Board Meeting
Wednesday, October 23, 2002
Red Bank Branch Library

President Fred Padget called the meeting to order at 11:35 a.m.

Attending:       Berning, Dot; Cleek, Linda; James, Shirley; Kolb, Bonnie; Nethery, Troy; Padget, Fred; Peak, Martha Jo; Roedel, Trena;
                       Sensmeier, Bernice; Wentzel, Sam

Secretary’s Report: Minutes of the September meeting were approved as written.

Treasurer’s Report: Bernice Sensmeier presented the September report which was accepted as submitted.  Some Fall Festival bills are still outstanding.

President’s Report:

·      UNOE held a session with realtors and developers to encourage reuse of empty buildings rather than new construction.

·      The Evansville Urban Transportation Study has completed a “park and ride” feasibility study.  Padget has a copy of the report, also available  from EUTS.

·      The INDOT public meeting on the route selection for I-69 around Evansville brought out more support for east side than the west side route.

·      Candidates Night, cosponsored with the Vanderburgh County Farm Bureau, was held on October 16. 

·      The Soil and Water Conservation office continues to provide useful information on the various development issues.  The Home Builders Association has encouraged seminars on erosion control for builders.  The first will be held in November with another in January.

Announcements:

·      The annual meeting and awards banquet will be held on November 21, 6 p.m., at the Old Mill.

·      The next board meeting will be Wednesday, January 22, 11:30, at the Red Bank Library.  A schedule for the remaining board meetings in 2003 will be set at that time.  Discussion followed as to best times for board meetings—noon, near noon, late afternoon, etc.  Padget pointed out that getting better attendance is a critical factor.

·      Newsletter articles are due November 1.

·      Awards to be presented at the annual meeting in November will be discussed at the October board meeting.

·      Operation City Beautiful is hosting a kick-off meeting for its anti-litter campaign on October 24.  Dot Berning will attend.

·      An electronics recycling day will be held Saturday, November 9, 8 a.m.-noon at the Civic Center parking lot.

·      At the request of the Board, Padget sent a letter to various legislators requesting their support for Pigeon Creek enhancement.  To date he has received one reply, from Senator Lugar.

·      Terry Poag has resigned from the Board due to job constraints but will continue to serve on the Parks Committee.

·      Stephen Resing is moving out of the area and resigning as Transportation Committee chair.

·      In addition to a Transportation chair, chairs are needed for the calling and membership committees.  Berning volunteered to chair the calling committee.  Several board members offered to give her names of likely committee members.  Linda Cleek volunteered to build an e-mail list to notify those who prefer that form of communication.

·      A $100 membership in the Wabash Heritage Trust was approved by the Board last month.  Padget asked that the paperwork be processed to obtain the membership.  Sensmeier will complete the process.

·      Only two responses were received to last month’s membership survey.  In the following discussion, Troy Nethery suggested that quality of members may be more important than quantity and that more students should be members.

·      There were no law enforcement reports but Cleek pointed out that the accident count for the city portion of the Lloyd monitored by WIA (Barker to Red Bank) was the highest in September 2002 since we started tracking the statistics.

Action Items:

·      Wesselman Woods is seeking donations in support of the Howell Wetlands Nature Center.  James suggested having representatives at the February meeting to present their plans.

·      Dues need to be set for 2003.  Cleek proposed the following:

o       Individual - $10 ($5 in 2002)

o       Household - $15 (new category)

o       Student - $5 (new category)

o       Organization - $25 (no change)

o       Century - $100 (no change)

James moved that the proposed dues be adopted, Nethery seconded.  The motion passed without opposition.

·      Awards to be presented on November 21 need to be considered.  Awards given in 2001 included governmental excellence, legislative excellence, environmental excellence, and board member of the year.  Discussion of possible winners followed (not named here as the announcement takes place at the banquet).  All present were invited to suggest a nominee for board member of the year, the award to be decided by the president.  Padget suggested implementing a good citizen award.  Cleek suggested asking Kurt Chapman and Steve Bequette for referrals.

·      Padget and Cleek will handle arrangements for the banquet.

Committee Reports:

·      Scholarship—the process of receiving nominations continues.

·      Fall Festival—Bonnie Kolb reported that the Fall Festival went well.  Padget thanked all those who worked.  Berning suggested that there be a debriefing meeting of the chairs and day captains and it was agreed that such a meeting will be held.  Kolb requested that a thank you letter be sent to Ron Gatewood for his assistance with the booth.  Cleek will develop a certificate of appreciation.  Comparisons of daily income for this year and last year were presented:

·      Pollution and Conservation—Trenda Roedel reported

o     The County Commissioners have authorized a study of the Carpentier Creek issues.  Padget requested that the committee write a letter to the commissioners thanking them for their support.

o     Alice Rademacher of Wesselman Woods will serve on the committee.

·        Parks—Shirley James reported

o     WIA has pledged $450 as a partial match for a grant benefiting the Howell Wetlands.  The funds have not been requested to date but should be during 2003.

o     The Parks Committee surveyed Moutoux Park and did not find evidence of leachate as reported by others.  They will take another look.

o     Brownfield cleanup is a part of the Greenway project.  James will bring maps for a detailed report at a future meeting.

o     James suggested that the USI community might benefit from a presentation on the history of the Greenway.  The Corradino Group is studying a trail from the USI campus to Burdette Park.

o     Progress continues on the Clem Frank Nature Preserve, which will be the property of the Wabash Heritage Trust.

o     Good things are happening at Mesker Park Zoo.  Berning suggested that the Board meet at the Zoo during 2003 to get an update.

o     The new Parks Department Master Plan includes an emphasis on Carpentier Creek.

·        Land Use and Planning—Padget  reported

o     25 Dorothy Drive—the owner has been very cooperative in meeting the requests of the neighbors in return for the desired rezoning.

o     Other new developments continue to be proposed—monitoring will continue.

The meeting was adjourned at 1:30 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Linda Cleek
Secretary

Next meeting:  Thursday, November 21, 6 p.m., Old Mill (annual meeting and awards banquet)

© 2008 Westside Improvement Association, Inc.