CANA May Meeting Minutes 5.17.21 | Call to Order: 7:01pm
Attendance: Nicole Schroeder, Amy Hall-Haney, Denise Klemp, Henrietta Mueller, Rose Heetland, Gaylon Heetland, Chief Smith, George Heeren, Ashley Vanorny, Sue Graham
Attendance: Nicole Schroeder, Amy Hall-Haney, Denise Klemp, Henrietta Mueller, Rose Heetland, Gaylon Heetland, Chief Smith, George Heeren, Ashley Vanorny, Sue Graham
- We are doing our second live stream meeting tonight. We have a new microphone / speaker, so we hope that helps improve the experience for live and virtual attendees.
- Treasurer's Report - Amy Hall-Haney - Current balance $939.93- Upcoming expenses will include the reimbursement of the microphone for our live streaming set up as well as our upcoming tax prep expense, insurance expense, kiosk for the park, and yard sign purchase.
- CRPD - Lt. Welsh - VIRTUAL ATTENDEE - CANA area is doing very well overall. Cleveland accounts for 1.2% for all total crime in Cedar Rapids. In the last 30 days, there have been offenses along 16th Ave SW, and they are related to the Kwik Star build. Limited home crimes, same rate as the last several years. July 4th will be different this year with firework regulations, etc. Lt. Welsh had internet connection issues and he sent along a handout to share with neighbors.
- CRFD - Chief Smith - Discussion of CDC updates within the City processes and procedures for public attendance at events. City facilities are hopeful to re-open in the coming weeks. 9 new firefighters have been hired as of 5/3/21. CRFD is now at full capacity again. 8 male firefighters and 1 female firefighter were hired. Two are from other fire departments, one from Dane County, WI, and the others are volunteer firefighters in the area. Public Education and Community Safety Coordinator new hire is Sydney Anderson (daughter of Brett Anderson, former CRFD firefighter). She will be coming on as the CRFD. Post-derecho, the City is going through a disaster effort review. They have hired a professional out of TN to review our City’s strategy and planning for future emergency services. Review of reasoning behind burn ban in recent months. Recreational fire safety information can be reviewed on the City website.
- City Council - Councilwoman Ashley Vanorny - Mask mandate has been modified, but we need to be aware of businesses and institutions that are still requiring masks. Transit operations are still required to have masks through September. Library is hosting a mobile lab this year. It is traveling between parks as library outreach. Laptops, tablets, e-readers, etc. will be available to neighbors with the mobile lab.
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City Update - Jeff Wozencraft - VIRTUAL ATTENDEE - Parks department is looking to hire for the City pools. Great job for students. Job fair is tomorrow 5/18 at Noelridge Park. Derecho assistance is still available. WayPoint is the best contact for those needing assistance. City is working on the third pass for tree clean up. Working from the SW side to the north side of Cedar Rapids. Digital map is available on City website. Tree stump clean up is a multi-year process. Replanting in the right-of-way is important, and if neighbors wish to plant before the city does, they can waive the permit fee.
- “Right-of-Way Stumps Stumps left behind in the right-of-way following the removal of a damaged street tree will be ground down by the City and re-seeded. Preliminary work will begin by April; however, the bulk of this year’s stump grinding will occur later this summer. City Forestry crews will conduct the work in June and July, and will follow the same prioritization route that is used during snow emergencies (main arterials first, followed by collector streets, then residential neighborhoods).”
- Neighbors are frustrated with clean up efforts as things seem out of order and incomplete as described by George Heeren. Ashley Vanorny commented that the City is receiving these reports, and she will bring these concerns back to the City. Jeff Wozencraft commented that the City is meeting regularly with the hired contractor, but there are obvious communication gaps that are coming up as the clean up is occurring. Forestry is going through the MyCR app submittals regularly, but all incomplete clean up areas should be reported to reduce the missed clean up.
- Safety Fair Update - Tentatively scheduled for July 2021. Susan Johnston is still heading up this event, but we will be circling back to discuss as she has arranged a committee for this event at Central Church of Christ. More information will be coming as we connect with City departments. Jeff Wozencraft commented that the CR Transit organization may be interested in coming and bringing a bus to showcase transit safety. CANA has a budget allocation for this event in 2021.
- Butterfly Garden Update - Rose and Gaylon Heetland and Sheryl Ochs have been working on it. We have a lot growing there, and Denise Klemp will be transplanting some of the plants to allow the best growth. THANK YOU to those individuals for assisting with the garden!!
- Paving for Progress on 20th St SW / Chandler St SW - Project started 4/19/21. Neighbors have received communication from PIRC TOBIN Construction, who is doing the work. We are doing regular updates on our website and Facebook page with information on this. Latest update from City on 5/4: Water main work at the North intersection of Chandler St SW and 20th St SW will be completed by 6/4/21. Access to the neighborhood will be maintained via the South entrance and 1 way traffic southbound on Chandler St SW. Nicole will be following up on this for the June meeting as we’d like a representative to bring us up-to-date on current work being done. Nicole emailed Lee Tippe during the meeting to request a presence.
- Rollin' Recmobile will be running from June 7th through August 14th. It will be at Cleveland Park on Wednesdays from 4:3o-6:30pm and Saturdays from 2:00-3:00pm. We have Facebook events that have been publicly shared on our Facebook page.
- Trees in Cleveland Park - 40 to 45 trees will be planted around Cleveland Park in conjunction with the ReLeaf program in Cedar Rapids in the next two weeks (currently scheduled for 5/22). Many trees added will be smaller to help as the larger trees grow. Boy Scouts are working on this with the City as part of their projects. Rose Heetland commented that we should offer the workers / volunteers some sweet treats and Nicole Schroeder suggested contacting HyVee for donated bottled water or other treats. Denise and Rose will be following up on this.
- Kwik Star on 16th Ave / 20th St SW Update - Concrete is complete and they are working on gas pumps and interior work at this point. We are unsure of their open date as of right now. End of day traffic is most concerning with this new gas station location. City will be re-evaluating the option for a traffic signal at that intersection.
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Nicole Schroeder has received a quote from Allegra Printing for $161.97 for 10 double-sided black/white yard signs to be printed for us to use around the neighborhood promoting CANA Facebook and website. We will be ordering those in the coming weeks. Nicole is personally donating half of the cost for this project. We hope to apply for the Allegra printing grant for assistance with future printing projects later this year. The grant cycle ends in December.
- George Heeren made a motion that CANA covers the full cost of the printing project as we have a large amount of our annual budget unspent this year. Amy Hall-Haney seconded this motion. All in favor, none opposed. Motion passed. Nicole Schroeder will not need to pay half of the cost.
- George Heeren ordered the kiosk for the park that has been in the works the last year and a half. The cost is $149.27. George will be working with the City to get it installed.
- Nicole Schroeder is developing the contact plan for businesses in the neighborhood for website business listing fundraiser. Goal is 40 businesses and/or $2,000 in donations to support CANA as there are not 60 businesses like we had estimated previously. We have received a list of businesses to contact, but Nicole has not yet developed a contact campaign. This will be an ongoing summer project.
- Denise Klemp shared information about a food pantry program where they are accepting donations and assisting those who are food insecure in the summer months. She also shared information on the Grant Wood exhibit and Seriously Funny exhibit that will be shared with neighbors via email in the meeting minutes.
- Gaylon Heetland shared that they recently took their family to Mt. Trashmore for an outing. They really enjoyed it and encouraged others to check it out. It is a collaboration between the City and Linn County. Chief Smith is on the board and will be sharing our positive comments at the meeting tomorrow.
Connect. Grow. SHARE A ROW!
Did you know? 1 in 8 people in Linn County were experiencing food insecurity before the pandemic. COVID and the derecho have compounded the situation. Join us in a community-wide effort to provide fresh, healthy food to our hungry friends and neighbors!
Cedar Rapids Museum of Art Exhibits
On the third Thursday of each month from 5:00 PM-8:00 PM, you can visit all 16 galleries for free! Be sure to follow the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art on Facebook.
