November 2022 Meeting Minutes

November 2022 Meeting Minutes
Attendance: Amy Hall-Haney, Nicole Schroeder, George Heeren, Gaylon Heetland, Chief Greg Smith, Jeff Wozencraft  | Call to Order: 7:01pm

• Treasurer's Report - Amy Hall-Haney - Ending October balance was $2,722.42 and does include the money from CANA Connect and UnityPoint from Safety Fair. $2,106.03 is our current balance after paying for ink and postage. We are currently waiting on a few reimbursements and a check from HyVee for CANA Connect. We’re solvent! 
• CRPD Update - Lt. Welsh - Overall, CANA limits are pretty quiet. Slight increase with the number of assaults. Jefferson High School is included in this. CRPD is taking applications through January 5th for police officer positions. As of November 1st, CRPD has had 1,103 weapons calls, 108 confirmed shots fired calls, and 53 firearms stolen from vehicles. Numbers are expected to go up, based on recent calls. Reminder of vehicle safety, including locking doors and windows in homes and on vehicles, especially during the winter months.
• CRFD Update - Chief Smith - Review of Neighborhood News. City tree lighting ceremony is coming up on Saturday 12/3 at 5:30pm at Greene Square Park. The Snow Buddies program is active, and the City is looking for volunteers to assist with this. In the last week, the City has had three fire deaths. All three of the homes were due to hoarding situations. The CRFD is planning for educational programs in the community related to hoarding situations and fire safety tips in 2023. As a reminder, this time of year is heavy with holiday decorations. It’s important to water your tree and turn off your holiday lights, if you have a real tree in your home for the holidays. CRFD also wants to encourage families to check batteries and/or install carbon monoxide detectors in your homes. Cardiac issues are also common this time of year, due to excessive shoveling and snow movement. It stresses the body and can be dangerous for individuals’ health. 
  • George Heeren recommended that CRPD and CRFD do public programs on MC22 or other local news channels. Chief Smith said that it is definitely an option moving forward as CRFD has done programs like “Local Leaders” in the past.
  • Gaylon Heetland asked about local resources for hoarding situations in the community. Chief Smith said he isn’t able to speak to any community resources and that is why he wants to be more educated and offer resources locally for families in the future. Lt. Welsh shared that CRPD has a mental health team that assists with the City housing department to review options for recovery and clean up on those situations. Heritage Area Agency on Aging is one local resource for elderly community members. 
• City Update - Jeff Wozencraft - Reminder of the Snow Buddies program. CANA has a few neighbors that have signed up for the program. Jeff will be sending us the list of addresses to help communicate that to neighbors for assistance. The OurCR magazine was sent out last week to Cedar Rapidians. The magazine includes parks and recreation programming for winter 2022. The City is also updating their trails and bikeway plans in 2023.
  • Gaylon Heetland asked about updates on the garden planning in 2023. Community gardens survey is open and available on the CANA website. The City is prioritizing 7 to 10 parks based on the City research that would be top choices for community gardens in 2023. Sinclair Park on the SE side is the only confirmed park for a garden as of right now. 
  • George Heeren asked about the Citizens Review Board. Jeff Wozencraft shared that the meetings are held regularly at the City Services building. Jeff will send along information on that programming to share with neighbors.
• Local Business Directory Fundraiser - Nicole Schroeder - We have three $250 listing sponsors totaling $750 so far with one final $250 sponsor pending (ImOn). We are still seeking $25 and $75 listing sponsors. There is website activity, so the directory is doing it’s job! 
• Quarterly Postcard Campaign - Nicole Schroeder - We need to decide what type of information we’ll be providing on postcards in this campaign in 2023. Brainstorming ideas are below:
  • Late winter (February) - spring/summer construction programming, summer programs, utility assistance, Neighborhood Finance Corporation, Easter Egg Hunt with Central Church of Christ
  • Late spring (May) - ReLeaf, back to school programming, Safety & Wellness Fair
  • Fall (August) - back to school, holiday planning
  • Winter (October) - Veterans programming, new year budgeting
• Easter Egg Hunt - Amy Hall-Haney - Central Church of Christ is looking at hosting another Easter Egg Hunt at Cleveland Park in March/April. They are looking at numbering eggs and making it more fair for children next year. Amy will get more information on this and bring it to the next meeting. 
• Light The Neighborhood - Nicole Schroeder - We have postcards going out this week for the holiday lights contest this week, and we have the event posted on Facebook. We already have 7 people signed up for prizes! Kwik Star donated 100 Karuba gift certificates and we have a handful of McDonald’s gift certificates that expire at the end of the year, too. 
• Other Business
  • REMINDER: No December Meeting - Happy Holidays!

 
Meeting adjourned at 7:45pm. 

Next Meeting: Monday, January 16th, 2023 at 7:00pm
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