May 20th Meeting Minutes | Call to Order: 7:02pm
Attendance: Nicole Schroeder, Amy Hall-Haney, George Heeren, Lt. Welsh, David Maier, Ashley Vanorny, Chief Smith, Denise Klemp
Meeting adjourned at 8:02pm.
Next Meeting: Monday, June 17th, 2024 at 7:00pm
Attendance: Nicole Schroeder, Amy Hall-Haney, George Heeren, Lt. Welsh, David Maier, Ashley Vanorny, Chief Smith, Denise Klemp
- Treasurer's Report - Amy Hall-Haney - Current balance $3,453.55, including recent $182 payment for PO box annual payment. Pending payments for the Safety and Wellness Fair.
- CRPD Update - Lt. Welsh - Nicer weather is bringing more activity across the City. Crime is in line with past years. Jefferson High School SRO has been busy. Lt. Doyle has been promoted to Captain. Next CRPD Academy begins soon. CRPD has 11 vacancies. April had 4 shots fired calls, with a total of 13 in 2024. Only one gun stolen from a vehicle in April, which makes 8 for 2024. Chief Dostal will be attending a future CANA meeting, likely July.
- George Heeren shared comments about a concerning video released by KCRG showing a juvenile waving around a weapon. The young man who had possession of the weapon did not seem to be trained in weapon safety. Weapons are more accessible from vehicles as community members leave them in their unlocked vehicles when they shouldn’t.
- Ashley Vanorny asked about CANA hosting Coffee with a Cop. Lt. Welsh commented that CRPD has been hosting occasionally at Donutland. George Heeren shared comments that we have done these events in the past, and we can bring them back with CRPD and CRFD if that’s of interest to neighbors since we canceled those events during COVID.
- CRFD Update - Chief Smith - Review of Neighborhood News. One Bag Challenge is active yet in Cedar Rapids. We are expected to make a record number of bags collected this fiscal year of over 8,000 bags of trash collected! The Water Department is going to be doing surveys for many neighbors in the coming months. Reminder of recycling items accepted/not accepted in Cedar Rapids city limits. CRFD hosted a public Open House yesterday with between 300 and 400 in attendance! CRFD has appropriately prepared for new hires with pending retirements. Review of water safety with coals being used in grills, outdoor fire pits, etc. Reminder to NOT put coals in yardy carts. They stay too hot for too long to be at risk of putting in the yardy carts safely.
- George Heeren asked about the number of boaters in the river in recent years. Chief Smith and Lt. Welsh did not have comments or statistics to share. George Heeren feels there are fewer boats now than before COVID.
- Safe CR Updates - Nicole Schroeder shared current Safe CR stats from Matt Wagner, as he was not able to attend tonight’s meeting.
- There were 104 Founded Calls for Service. 53 of the Founded calls were owner-occupied, and 51 were rental. There are 518 Active Nuisance Properties currently.
- Nicole Schroeder also shared the Home Security Tips handout with meeting attendees from Matt Wagner.
- City Council Update - Ashley Vanorny / David Maier - Shared comments on the Flood Protection Plan and Greenway Project that’s happening in Cedar Rapids. A new hotel is being added in the Newbo area as well as some additional townhomes. In a recent conversation, Councilwoman Poe shared her concerns about parking with the new additions in Newbo area. June 8th is the “Ride The District” bike ride AND the Cedar Rapids Pride Parade! David Maier shared information on Chain Reaction Bike Hub in Cedar Rapids. It’s a new nonprofit that provides bicycles and bicycle maintenance for the community. They are looking at adding programming on how to learn to fix bikes. More information is available on their website at www.crbikehub.org.
- Park Updates—George Heeren--The city is still working on final bids and scheduling the timeline for the new pavilion roof. The park has been very busy this spring and has been mild regarding any issues/concerns. Cleanup has been a lot better so far this spring.
- Ashley Vanorny shared that Parks and Rec will announce its new “Block and Roll” rental event package, which includes tents, canopies, chairs, and other amenities for community members.
- CANA Community Wellness & Safety Fair Updates - Nicole Schroeder - Saturday, June 22nd from 10am to 1pm. Currently, 11 information stations are secured with plenty of giveaway items for the fair. Mascots will be there, minus Sparky from CRFD this year. We are also hosting another free picnic lunch, thanks to HyVee. Safe Kids Linn County has let us know today that they are not able to support our event this year after all, due to a lack of volunteers. We will be inquiring about the helmets and car seats to see if this changes things for us at this year’s fair other than just fewer information stations.
- Nicole Schroeder shared that helmets are going up in cost from $5/helmet to $11/helmet. Stewart Baxter Funeral Home has committed to the $500 donation to help cover the cost. Nicole Schroeder has made a motion for CANA to spend the remaining $600 to cover the full cost of $1,100 and still provide 100 free bike helmets to kids in attendance. Denise Klemp seconded this motion. Discussion included Denise Klemp asking about what happens to leftover helmets. All extra helmets are donated back to Safe Kids Linn County so there is no "waste." All in favor, none opposed. Motion passes. CANA will take care of $600 difference to cover helmet purchase, assuming Safe Kids Linn County will still be able to order for us.
- Other Business
- His Hands Free Clinic Shoe Drive - His Hands Free Clinic is collecting gently used shoes and sandals of all kinds and all sizes to break the Guinness Book of World Records for most pairs of shoes collected in a week (June 17 – 21). Our goal is 250,000 pairs over one week! Yep, you read that right! Shoes may be dropped off at Westminster Presbyterian Church (1285 3rd Ave. SE, Cedar Rapids, IA) between 10:00 am – 5:30 pm. Please DO NOT drop shoes off before this time. You may start gathering them now, though. Please do not donate shoes with holes, rips or single shoes. Shoes, boots, crocs, sandals and flip-flops are acceptable. We cannot accept Wheelies, ice skates or rollerblades. If possible, please rubber band pairs together. This is a fundraiser for His Hands. The clinic will receive $1,000 for every 2,500 pairs collected. Shoes collected will go to microenterprises across the world. There will be PRIZES for the individual and organization that collects the most shoes!
- Nicole Schroeder / Denise Klemp - Doug Elam will be presenting his research on county homes and cemeteries throughout Iowa at 1pm on Saturday, July 27th at the Genealogical Society located at Masonic Library and Museum.
- George Heeren - We will have around $8,000 left in our $10,000 City funding to spend. George Heeren is asking neighbors to share ideas at our June meeting for any final expenses for the neighborhood to benefit from contributions.
- Ashley Vanorny shared the idea of planting more perennials at Cleveland Park. Nicole Schroeder shared the idea of planting elsewhere beyond Cleveland Park to better serve the entire neighborhood.
- David Maier suggested contributing trees to neighbors and right-of-way areas around CANA.
Meeting adjourned at 8:02pm.
Next Meeting: Monday, June 17th, 2024 at 7:00pm
