June 2020 Meeting Minutes

CANA June 2020 Meeting Minutes
ATTENDANCE: Henrietta Mueller, Amy Hall-Haney, Ltd. Welsh, George Heeren, Rose Heetland, Gaylon Heetland, Jackie MacLaren, Nicole Schroeder, Denise Klemp, Ashley Vanorny, Marlene Hunt

Meeting starts at 7:02pm.

• Treasurer's Report - Nicole Schroeder / Amy Hall-Haney
  Balance: $108.07?? Have not received June statement to confirm this balance.
  + $24.22 reimbursement today
  + $1,268.18 in pending reimbursements (USPS, ink from Office Express, annual insurance, HyVee food purchases)
  = $1,400.47 sub total
  - $333.95 owed to George ($250 deposit to cover expenses + $83.95 from HyVee)
      Remaining balance = $1,066.52
  

• City Report - Neighborhood News will be in email. Bike Share program is back in action this summer. 
  

• New CRPD Contact for CANA / West District: Lt. Welsh - Introduction of Lt. Welsh. Review of Neighborhood reports. Review of current world events. Review of current CRPD standing and rules of incident relating to George Floyd incident in Minneapolis. Review of safety protocol for protests. 
  

• COVID-19 Resources on website / Facebook page. Review of City protocols with Councilwoman Vanorny.
  

• Cleveland Elementary School Food Drive received $425 in monetary donations plus six LARGE boxes of food donations. In total, CANA donated almost $700 worth of food from HyVee, plus the donated items, to Cleveland Elementary Students on June 1st. 
  

• Paving for Progress Update on Chandler St SW - Crews are beginning work with the water main between 9th and 10th Ave SW, which will include connecting homes to the new water main. Watch for door hangers for more information as the project progresses. The intersection between Chandler St SW and 10th Ave SW will be closed for the water main work and all work should be completed by early August.
  

• Splash Pads will be reopening by Wednesday 6/17. Cleveland Park Splash Pad was opened today. 
  

• HACAP Mobile Food Pantry is scheduled for Wed 6/17 from 12:30-2:30pm at Vets Memorial Stadium. 
  

• Safety Fair postponed indefinitely
  

• National Night Out cancelled for 2020
  

• Cleveland Park Playground Project has started construction! Between now and the end of June, the new playground should be constructed with two play structures plus the additional upgrades we requested. 
  

• Rose Heetland inquired about city parks restrooms as she had an incident with a  person urinating in her garden. George Heeren mentioned that the parks department came to clean today, but they were locked tonight. Councilwoman is going to inquire about the current status of public park restrooms. She mentioned the city is working to get facilities open, but compliance with COVID-19 rules and regulations has been difficult to navigate. 
  

• Rose Heetland also reported off-leash dogs in the park. She asked about getting additional signs along 8th Ave. Nicole Schroeder will contact Annette with SAFE-CR about this. 
  
• Rose and Gaylon Heetland also requested a trash can along 8th Avenue nearer the fence closer to Vets Memorial Stadium. 
  
• Nicole Schroeder reported that the vacant duplex at the bottom of the Jefferson hill that was damaged in a fire in 2019 has had activity for repairs and regular exterior maintenance. 
  
• George Heeren spoke with a city representative about transferring the $6,000 to the park playground project. He would like to look into confirmation of this and find out the remaining balance that we can spend before the end of June. Nicole Schroeder will look into this with Jeff Wozencraft. We would like to look into additional trees along with the additional trash cans, dog signs, or perhaps some sort of shade feature nearer the 1st Ave side of Cleveland Park to keep kids that play on the splash pad close to their families. 
  
• George Heeren reported on the quote for the information kiosk for the park. The quote is $1,129 and the size would be 35x46 double-sided in glass. Neighbors collectively decided that it may be too large and too breakable. George will look into a single sided kiosk that could be attached to the park building.
  
• George Heeren spoke with Karen, a neighbor on 17th St SW. They are having issues with the drainage tile that the City installed last summer. George will look into this concern with the city officials personally.
  
• Jackie MacLaren asked about the status of the Kwik Star remodel on 16th Ave SW and 20th St SW. Neighbors did not know anything about this development. Nicole Schroeder will look into who at the city who may have this information available. 
  
• George Heeren inquired with the city about resurfacing the parking lot at Cleveland Park. The city said it would be between $5,000-$6,000. He would like to ask the city if we could contribute to speed up the resurfacing process.
  
• Ashley Vanorny mentioned that Cedar Rapids has a supply of tear gas. Ashley is advocating for different policies in our city, and she asked about our opinion about the city police department having the tear gas in possession. Gaylon Heetland asked when the last time our CRPD deployed the tear gas and how the police feel about our supply. Ashley mentioned it has been well over a decade since it was used in our community. The civilian review board unanimously agreed that tear gas cannot be accepted as a use in our community. CRPD Chief Wayne Jerman mentioned that he has no plans to dispose of the tear gas, but agreed to continue to be 100% transparent that we have the supply and CRPD has no plans to use it. Jackie MacLaren and Amy Hall-Haney were both concerned that there is no purpose to the tear gas to "protect and serve" the community. Gaylon Heetland commented that the city could use the disposal of the tear gas as a piece to accommodate the requests of community members for the CRPD. Ashley asked that neighbors who want to continue the conversation as citizens please email her to set up a time to talk. 
  

Meeting adjourned at 8:27pm.

June 2020 Neighborhood News

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UPDATES / ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS FROM JUNE MEETING

Kwik Star project on 20th St SW / 16th Ave SW
"The site plan for Kwik Star has been approved and construction could start this summer. For safety, the plan includes sidewalk along both streets and new driveways will be placed further away from the intersection than the existing driveways."
Update provided by: Ken DeKeyser, P.E. - Development Services Manager
​
Remaining balance for CANA FY20 budget

• Budget: $10,000
  • Expense: $558.59 (National Night Out 2019)
  • Expense: $24.22 (Easter egg hunt / animal crackers)
  • Expense: $106.00 (Annual USPS box)
  • Expense: $486.81 (ink for printer)
  • Expense: $269.37 (HyVee / food drive)
  • Expense: $400.00 (Annual insurance payment)
  • Expense: $6,000 (park playground improvement project) 
• Remaining balance as of 6/16/2020: $2,155.01

Trees in Cleveland Park for shade near splash pad
With the remaining funding in our FY20 budget, we will be installing three benches in the playground ($1,500 total) and splash pad area as well as trees ($600 total)  in the splash pad area. The total cost of these two projects is $2,100. This is being handled by the City Parks Department once the Playground Improvement Project is complete. 

Trash cans along 8th Ave & additional dog signs
Nicole Schroeder has not received a response to the inquiry about the three additional trash cans to be added along 8th Avenue or the additional "off-leash dogs" signage. She will be following up on these items in the coming weeks.  7/17/2020