CANA May 2023 Meeting Minutes

May 15th, 2023  Meeting Agenda | Call to Order: 7:01pm
Attendance: George Heeren, Amy Hall-Haney, Lt. Matt Welsh, Chief Greg Smith, Matt Wagner, Denise Klemp, Jessica English, Donna Anderson, Mayaken Yoder

• Treasurer's Report - Amy Hall-Haney - Ending balance on 4/30/23: $2,071.18. This amount includes a $250 CANA Connect sponsorship from HyVee and postcards. We have checks out for $176 (post office box) and $80 (safety fair city permit fee). Our balance with those outstanding checks taken into consideration is $1,715.18. We have a $400 pending payment for insurance. Amy will be submitting that payment soon. 
• CRPD Update - Lt. Welsh - Review of CRPD Calls for Service through 5/15/23. 15 recruits for CRPD’s current class of potential officers. No details on Williams Blvd at this time, but two deaths in the motor vehicle accident were reported. 
• CRFD Update - Chief Smith - Review of Neighborhood News. CRFD is one short of full capacity on firefighters right now. There are multiple upcoming retirements that will lead to open positions this summer. CRFD will be coming to the Safety and Wellness Fair as Megan will be stepping in for Sydney in Public Education/Events this summer while Sydney is out on maternity leave. 
  • George Heeren asked about high school training/education opportunities to get students interested at a younger age. CRFD only has a connection with Kirkwood Workplace Learning Connection at this time. 
• SAFE-CR/City Update - Matt Wagner - There are a couple of hundred active nuisance properties in all of Cedar Rapids right now. The biggest issue this time of year is grass height and lack of mowing. City does not observe “No Mow May” so all properties should be mowed. Have you seen a property that is overgrown with noxious weeds or tall grass? If you have, call 319-286-5897 and report the address. SAFE-CR will send an Official Notice to the property owner, and then a Nuisance Abatement Worker will do a follow-up inspection within 4 days of sending the Official Notice. If a property owner has failed to mow their property, the City of Cedar Rapids will authorize the mowing of the property and bill the property owner. If the property owner fails to pay their bill for the mowing, the charges are assessed against the property. 
• Community Safety & Wellness Fair 2023 - George Heeren - Saturday, June 10th from 10am to 1pm at Cleveland Park! Park reservation permit is paid for. Waiting for a new certificate of insurance for the City. HyVee has been confirmed for food as we will be hosting a free picnic lunch. Jessica English and friends from Hillside Church will be helping prepare the food. Mr. Shucks has also been confirmed as an additional mascot. We will have one more planning meeting. Marketing materials are going out this week. Sponsorships are still available. Questions should be directed to Nicole Schroeder at clevelandpark108@gmail.com. 
• Other Business
  • Neighborhood Clean-Up Day Recap - George Heeren - Neighbors picked up four bags of trash. It was rainy, but it was a good morning to clean up the neighborhood! 
  • Mayaken Yoder - Cleveland PTA would love to get more involved in CANA efforts. PTA is currently taking food donations and delivering them to students/families as food insecurity is a major issue at Cleveland Elementary School. 
  • Donna Anderson - Christ Church Presbyterian - Hosting VBS this summer as well as neighborhood picnics on 6/3, 7/11, and 8/8. Interested in opportunities to connect with CANA and share information online and in the park. 
  • Nicole Schroeder will be back at our June meeting. We are still seeking volunteers to assist with the live streaming setup at meetings. 

Next Meeting: Monday, June 19th, 2023 at 7:00pm

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