November 20th, 2023 Meeting Minutes
Call to Order: 7:02pm
Attendance: Amy Hall-Haney, George Heeren, Nicole Schroeder, Lt. Welsh, Matt Wagner, Chief Greg Smith, Betsy Borchardt, Jessica English
Meeting adjourned at 7:57pm.
Next Meeting: Monday, January 15th, 2023 at 7:00pm
Call to Order: 7:02pm
Attendance: Amy Hall-Haney, George Heeren, Nicole Schroeder, Lt. Welsh, Matt Wagner, Chief Greg Smith, Betsy Borchardt, Jessica English
- Treasurer's Report - Amy Hall-Haney - Current balance is $3,275.55 with pending $210 reimbursement for tax preparation costs. No major upcoming expenses.
- CRPD Update - Lt. Welsh - CANA is well-below five year average for crimes. CRPD recruits are in their second phase of the program. Current application period is open through January 4th and can be reviewed online. Police Chief hiring process is still ongoing. No detailed update. Winter overflow shelter is now open at 1017 12th Ave SW from 6pm to 8am daily. CRPD has responded to 1,045 weapon-related calls and 67 shots fired calls. Stolen firearms are a major issue. 13 were stolen from cars citywide in October alone (39 total in 2023).
- CRFD Update - Chief Smith - Review of Neighborhood News. Fall leaf collection is still ongoing for two more weeks. CRFD is in the hiring process. There are somewhere between 66 and 72 applicants still in the running. Reminder of holiday cooking safety: don’t fry your turkey in the garage or frozen, don’t leave candles unattended, no grilling in the house, etc.
- City Update - Betsy Borchardt - Snow buddies program is looking for volunteers. Borchardt commented that the City is short of 30 volunteers for those signed up. The City conducted the feasibility study on the Generational Center in Cedar Rapids. The City is working on putting together a committee to organize funding and have that built in the next 5 to 10 years.
- SAFE CR - Matt Wagner - Largest number of nuisance calls lately include unmowed lawns and disturbing the peace. Volunteers for snow buddies program is very important to keep neighbors who are unable to take care of their properties from being cited as a nuisance property. Keep encouraging neighbors to submit information through MyCR app.
- Park Updates - George Heeren - Parks department has been working on concrete updates at Cleveland Park! Parking lot has been repaired/resurfaced and extended for additional parking. This is approximately 10-12 more spots. There is additional space for those with wheelchairs to access the park amenities, including additional space around the pavilion and splash pad. Sod has been installed around the disturbed areas and it looks GREAT! Poles have been installed for our shade structures, which will have covers installed in the spring. Two of the wheelchair accessible picnic tables have been added. City is replacing our pavilion roof in the spring.
- George is still interested in finding paint to be donated for a mural project in the pavilion, including an application through Keep Iowa Beautiful’s grant program. We will contact neighbors for insight and opinions of what they’d like to see in the art. George is interested in “all belong here” theme to support inclusion in our neighborhood.
- George is also interested in getting a City and American flag installed on the corner of 15th St and 1st Ave SW. This requires a special light installed to spotlight the flags. George will prepare a budget for this project to present to CANA after the new year.
- Cedar Rapids Holiday Events - Nicole Schroeder
- City of Cedar Rapids Tree Lighting - Saturday, December 2 from 4:30-6 p.m. in Greene Square with lighting at 5:30pm
- Five Seasons of Lights - December 1-31 at McGrath Amphitheatre https://www.creventslive.com/events/2023/five-seasons
- Shadrack’s Christmas Adventure at Hawkeye Downs - Nightly through January 7 from 6-10pm https://www.shadrackchristmas.com/cedar-rapids-ia
- Other Business
- Neighborhood sports outings in 2024: hockey, soccer, indoor football, baseball, etc. We’d like to offer free tickets for a “CANA Night Out.” Neighbors can collect their free ticket by phone or email submission.
- Nicole will put together a budget for 50 to 100 tickets per sport and a timeline to utilize these tickets.
- Updates from Ashley Vanorny (not in attendance):
- Westdale Library Open House: The open house, hosted by the Cedar Rapids Parks and Recreation Department, will be held Wednesday, Nov. 29, from 4:30-6 pm in Time Check Hall at the City Services Center, 500 15th Ave. SW.
- Budgeting survey for City of Cedar Rapids is now open! While budgeting might not top everyone's list of exciting activities, the City of Cedar Rapids is injecting a dose of sweetness into the process by giving Cedar Rapids residents a chance to win pie for a year* just for taking its annual budget survey!
- Cedar Rapids’ perfect score for Human Rights: The City of Cedar Rapids is proud to announce that it has achieved a perfect score of 100 on the Human Rights Municipal Equality Index (MEI). This is the seventh time the City has earned this distinction.
- Food boxes are still available through Together We Achieve.
- NO DECEMBER MEETING - Happy Holidays!
- Neighborhood sports outings in 2024: hockey, soccer, indoor football, baseball, etc. We’d like to offer free tickets for a “CANA Night Out.” Neighbors can collect their free ticket by phone or email submission.
Meeting adjourned at 7:57pm.
Next Meeting: Monday, January 15th, 2023 at 7:00pm
