February 2024 CANA Meeting Minutes

February 19th, 2024 Meeting Minutes | Call to Order: 7:01pm
Attendance: Nicole Schroeder, George Heeren, Amy Hall-Haney, Denise Klemp, Rose Heetland, Gaylon Heetland, Matt Wagner, Chief Greg Smith, Betsy Borchardt, David Maier, Brandon Kluch

• Treasurer's Report - Amy Hall-Haney - $3,635.55 with no outstanding debts or incoming payments. We have come a long way in the last 10+ years! 
• CRPD Update - Nicole Schroeder - Area crime is up compared to five year average, but mostly due to Kum & Go and Kwik Star. Captain Dave Dostal has been promoted to Chief of Police. CRPD is still in the hiring process with 22 applicants with the tentative hiring date of 5/22/24. 
  • George Heeren inquired about the Ring camera lawsuit saying that they don’t want their footage used for public service. Chief Smith couldn’t advise on any movement on this topic. 
  • George Heeren also shared that his homeowner’s insurance offers a home security discount for any home surveillance and security systems you have installed in your home. He suggested neighbors look into this. 
• CRFD Update - Chief Smith -  CRFD just took possession of new engine #1 in January. It will be going into service shortly. Next apparatus will be coming in May 2025 for westside at station #3. CRFD has a good fleet, but supply chain and COVID issues delayed our orders. CRFD is hiring ten new employees effective March 4th that will bring CRFD up to full staff. CRFD is working on a “Close Your Door” campaign for 2024. If you find yourself in a fire with doors between you and the exit, close the doors to keep yourself as safe as possible and find an alternative exit. This is primarily driven from the recent apartment fires in Cedar Rapids. 
  • George Heeren asked if Cedar Rapids would see the new fire truck in any of the community parades like SaPaDaPaSo. Chief Smith advised that trucks are no longer in the parades, due to the call volume of nearly 15,000 calls per year that need to be handled. 
  • George Heeren asked about fire risks during winter weather. Chief Smith said that the winter is about the same as the rest of the year nowadays. The nature of fires change between summer and winter, but the risks are still high. 
• City NA Updates - Betsy Borchardt - Review of Neighborhood News. The Citizens Police Academy costs $30 and the program is eight weeks long for those 18 years or older. The Greenway Parks Plan is active to develop the NW Neighborhood into Czech Village area with recreational activities and further develop the flood control system. There will be a survey going out publicly and also an open house  this Thursday 2/22 at Newbo City Market. Cedar Rapids Parks and Recreation is currently hiring for summer jobs. 
  • George Heeren asked about Newbo City Market expanding. Betsy explained this isn’t a City matter, but Newbo is looking to add a grocery store and mezzanine to their facility. David Maier explained that Newbo is fundraising to fund a renovation that will add a second level to their current facility. The grocery store would be on the first floor and host local farmers’ products. The community kitchen area would likely move upstairs. 
  • Gaylon Heetland inquired about the development coming in Rockford Rd area. Betsy explained that the Rockford Rd area is looking to add pedestrian space, like seating, lighting, and functional space in the area. The corner where 8th Ave and Rockford Rd meet may have a walking path that reaches the veterans structures/planes in that area. There is a potential for rezoning the area to add more businesses, like retail space and food establishments. Gaylon asked about a sidewalk on 15th St near Kingston Stadium with this development. This development plan wouldn’t include that, but Paving for Progress may allow for that. Betsy is going to follow up on pedestrian pathways with this development plan and Paving for Progress. 
• City Council Update - Councilman David Maier - Introduction as At-Large councilmember. City Council has been actively reviewing the City Budget, which is over 400 pages. David shared he has an accounting background and he addressed questions he had with City Manager Jeff Pomeranz. The City is sitting well with $40+ million in reserves that were not tapped into this past year. 
  • George Heeren commented that the City has been supportive of the parks, but had questions about whether or not the budget is going up or not to support the parks initiatives that the city is focusing on. David shared that a lot of the space where flood control systems are happening are being converted into parks spaces. The building/design is covered under flood control budgeting and the maintenance would be taken care of by the Parks Department. When reviewing the preliminary budget, David didn’t remember a list of parks requests not being funded in this new budget. He did inquire about playground budgeting as it seemed the budget was less this year than the last. Betsy is willing to ask the Parks Department their thoughts and get back to us at a future meeting. CANA and BPNA are focused on improving parks in their neighborhoods.
• Park Updates - George Heeren - Current projects at Cleveland Park include the new roof on the pavilion and a new mural on the pavilion. The mural will be conceptualized by local artists and presented to neighbors for a public feedback opportunity. Rose Heetland is interested in bringing in student artists to paint the mural. A representative from Dutch Boy paint at Menards has offered to donate paint for the project. George Heeren will be in contact for this once the mural project is more finalized. George has also been cleaning up since the snow melted. Sod is healthy. Parking lot lines will be painted in the spring with our new parking lot space. 
• CANA Board Nominations - George Heeren - April 2024 will be our membership vote for board nominations. Nominations were opened at 7:44pm. 
  • Gaylon Heetland will nominate George Heeren for President. George Heeren tentatively accepted his nomination.
  • Nicole Schroeder will nominate Amy Hall-Haney for Treasurer. Amy Hall-Haney accepted her nomination. 
  • Rose Heetland will formally nominate Denise Klemp to serve on the board. Denise Klemp accepted her nomination.
  • Nominations closed at 7:50pm.
  • Additional nominations will be accepted by email through April 12th to present for a formal vote at our April meeting. 
• SAFE-CR - Matt Wagner - 1,350 calls for service in 2023 amongst 1,164 properties across Cedar Rapids. In 2023, there were 428 total nuisance properties. There were 35 nuisance property abatement plans instilled, which is an increase from 2022. 62 bills were issued by CRPD for nuisance property calls at 40 properties. Total amount billed is $13,366.05 and $7,110.27 has been recovered with $6,521.40 in judgments. Nuisance properties receive informational packets to recover their properties. C4 Operations is now the City’s partner for background checks for landlords, which includes a discounted $15.50 cost for background checks. 
• Easter Egg Hunt - Amy Hall-Haney - In 2023, we had about 70 children attend our Easter Egg Hunt at Cleveland Park in partnership with Central Church of Christ. They are partnering with us again this year. The eggs will be numbered 1-12 and handled in an egg carton where children need to fill with all 12 numbers. Children will receive gift bags instead of having to fill the eggs. We’re planning for 80-90 kids. The hunt will be on Saturday, March 30th from 10-11am at Cleveland Park.
  • Nicole Schroeder asked about costs for 2024. Some of the toys from last year were not given away and some of the costs from last year were one time costs like buying the eggs themselves. 
  • Amy Hall-Haney makes a motion to ask for $400 for expenses. Denise Klemp seconded. All in favor, none opposed. Amy Hall-Haney will manage this event with a $400 maximum budget. Denise Klemp will be 
• March Meeting “Dinner with Mayor Tiffany” - Nicole Schroeder - Join CANA neighbors on Monday, March 18th from 6:30pm to 8:00pm for Dinner with Mayor Tiffany! Neighbors are invited to a pasta dinner served by Mayor Tiffany O'Donnell at the CANA meeting on Monday, March 18th. Dinner will be served between 6:30 and 7:00pm. The menu will include pasta, meatballs, garlic breads, salad with dressing,  and lemonade and water. There is no cost for this event, but neighbors are encouraged to bring a dessert to share. RSVPs is required as seating is limited to the first 25 RSVPs. RSVPs are limited to CANA area neighbors and limit two (2) per RSVP. With events like this, Mayor O’Donnell intends to create space for meaningful conversations with the community. Growing up in an Italian family, Mayor O’Donnell has cherished memories of Sunday dinners that brought family together. For her, family dinners are more than a meal — they are a time to connect, share ideas, welcome new people, and build new bonds. The Mayor would like to share similar experiences with Neighborhood Associations this year. Our meeting will be more informal than usual with this type of special meeting with Mayor Tiffany. We plan to sit down for conversation at 7:00pm. If you would like to attend, we ask that you complete the RSVP form here. Please be sure to note how many guests will be attending in your party. If you have any questions, please contact CANA board members at [email protected].
• Other Business 
  • National Night Out - Tuesday, August 6th from 5:30pm to 7pm
    • Nicole Schroeder is looking into hiring Eastern Iowa Arts Academy, which will be a cost of $300-$600 for a performance. This would be covered as part of the estimated $1,000 budget for the event like past years. Hillside Wesleyan Church is interested in co-hosting the event with us again this year!
  • Community Safety & Wellness Fair - Saturday, June 22nd from 10am to 1pm at Cleveland Park
    • Please contact Nicole Schroeder if you’re interested in being a part of the planning committee for this event. 
  • Rose Heetland shared concerns about the speed limit between 15th and 17th on 8th Ave SW with a speed going one direction 25 mph and 30 mph going the other direction. Rose is interested in adding a speed hump or some sort on 8th Ave SW similarly to the ones on 3rd Ave Bridge and near Newbo. 
    • Brandon Kluch shared the idea of installing a speed radar sign that lights up to catch people's attention. 
    • These ideas will be shared with Lt. Welsh and Betsy to follow up on the viability and process of getting these installed to keep children in the park area safe. 

Meeting adjourned at 8:14pm.

Next Meeting: Monday, March 18th, 2024 at 7:00pm
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February Neighborhood News

CRPD Report

RSVP to Dinner with Mayor Tiffany