Downtown Minneapolis Neighborhood Association
Minutes from December 12, 2000
Executive Session and Board of Directors Meeting

The first meeting of the new Board of Directors (the executive session) and the regularly scheduled meeting of the Board of Directors of the Downtown Minneapolis Neighborhood Association, Inc. (DMNA) were held on Tuesday, December 12, 2000 at the Minneapolis Central Library, 300 Nicollet Mall, Room 310, Minneapolis, Minnesota.

I.    Call to Order of Executive Session

With a quorum present, Jerrie Hayes, Chair, convened the executive session at 6:30 p.m.  Other board members in attendance included:  Larry Calhoun, Rocco Forte, James Grabek, Andrew Hauer, Rebecca Hetzler, Glenn Johannesen, Eric Mitchell, Mark Moller, Carletta Sweet, and Joan Willshire.  Daniel Hunt was unable to attend.  Lisa Goodman, 7th Ward council member; _______________ from TownePlace Suites; _______________ from TGI Friday’s; and Sue Jahn were also in attendance.

II.  Election of Officers and Assignment of Members to Committees

After the new board introduced themselves, the Chair opened the floor to board officer nominations.  Carletta nominated Jerrie Hayes as Chair and she accepted.  There being no other nominations for Chair, Jerrie was unanimously elected.  Then Joan Willshire nominated Andy Hauer for Vice Chair and he declined.  The Chair thereafter nominated Larry Calhoun as Vice Chair and he accepted.  There being no other nominations for Vice Chair, Larry was unanimously elected.  For Treasurer, Carletta nominated Joan Willshire who declined, Eric Mitchell nominated Rocco Forte who accepted, and the Chair nominated Mark Moller who also accepted.  There being no other nominations for Treasurer, Mark was elected by majority vote.  For Secretary, the Chair nominated Carletta Sweet who accepted.  There being no other nominations, Carletta Sweet was unanimously elected.

Then to gauge the interests of the new board, the Chair requested and received board member preferences for each of the five standing committees as follows:

Land Use
            James Grabek, Andy Hauer, Rebecca Hetzler, Eric Mitchell, Mark Moller, Joan Willshire

NRP Implementation
            Larry Calhoun, Rocco Forte, James Grabek, Andy Hauer

Housing
            Andy Hauer, Glenn Johannesen, Carletta Sweet, Joan Willshire

Finance
            Rebecca Hetzler, Eric Mitchell, Mark Moller

Public Relations
Rebecca Hetzler, Glenn Johannesen, Eric Mitchell, Mark Moller, Carletta Sweet

The Chair advised the board that each committee’s Chair shall be elected by that committee and that more in-depth discussion regarding these committee will be covered later in the instant meeting during new board orientation.

To address James Grabek’s concern over the amount of work confronting the board, Andy moved and James seconded to have the Secretary place an ad in the January 2001 NRP Link for the position of NRP Coordinator for DMNA.  The motion was carried unanimously.

III.  Call to Order of Regular Board Meeting and Announcements

There being no further business for the executive session, the Chair convened the regular board meeting at 7:15 p.m.  After the re-introduction of board members, the Chair turned the floor over to Lisa Goodman for her announcements that included the following: 

¶     The City of Minneapolis 2001 calendar mailed to all city residents (copies of which were distributed) that contains the directory of city services, snow emergency rules, survey, and other relevant information and resources.

¶     Open appointment vacancies for committees the city operates.  One that currently has several vacancies is the Middle Mississippi River Watershed Management Organization.  To apply contact the City Clerk’s Office.

¶     Lunch with Lisa every fourth Wednesday of the month at Acadia Café at 12:00 noon, resuming January 24, 2001.

¶     NRP’s 10th annual celebration on February 24, 2001 consisting of a series of daytime workshops for 600 members of neighborhood associations highlighting successful NRP programs citywide followed by an 800-seat award ceremony in the evening at the Regal Hotel.

¶     The budget adoption scheduled for Thursday, December 14, 2000 that she is voting against because of the property tax increase.  However, a proposal she supports that will directly affect downtown residents is the increase in municipal parking meter fees, parking ramp and surface parking rates.

IV.  Land Use Committee (LUC) Projects Update

TownePlace Suites, an extended stay hotel in the Warehouse District that was first presented to DMNA in August 1999, was brought back before the LUC for a signage variance.  Mark advised that the LUC voted against this variance because they felt it does not fit into the character of the neighborhood.

TGI Friday’s at City Center was brought before the LUC to present its proposal for a new and more modern signage to complement the Hennepin signage in that area (e.g., Chevy’s at 7th and Hennepin).  Mark advised the board that the LUC voted to recommend approval of this signage.

Mark then advised the board that the 801 Washington Avenue North warehouse loft condominium project was also brought before the LUC and that it voted to recommend approval of this development.

Mark moved and Andy seconded to recommend approval of TGI Friday’s proposed new signage and development of the 801 Washington Avenue North condominium project.  The motion was carried unanimously.

Mark then moved and Joan seconded not to approve signage variance for TownePlace Suites.  The motion was passed by majority hand count with Glenn and Andy abstaining.

V.  New Board Orientation

The Chair then briefed the new board on its specific roles related to citizen participation, a 5-year contract between DMNA and the City of Minneapolis (annually budgeted between $4,000-7,000 from the City for administrative costs) for DMNA to fulfill its role as the citizen participation body for the downtown neighborhood; NRP administration for the Downtown West, Downtown East and North Loop neighborhoods; neighborhood advocacy; information resource (e.g., DMNA web site); and community development (e.g., National Night Out).

The Chair also advised the new board on the function of the five standing committees.  While expounding on the role of the public relations committee, the Chair raised the issue of the proposed change to neighborhood borders and asked Jim Grabek to address the concerns of the North Loop neighborhood.  In response Jim submitted his letter to City Council President Jackie Cherryhomes and DMNA Chair Jerrie Hayes dated December 11, 2000 (Attachment 1).   After an exchange of opinions between Jim and board members, Mark suggested that in order to make DMNA work to encourage the participation of the residents of the North Loop and to give DMNA the opportunity to represent their concerns before the appropriate governmental agencies.

The 2001 meeting dates and times for the five standing committees, typically held at the Minneapolis Central Library, 300 Nicollet Mall, Room 310, but may be ultimately decided to be held in the new office space at LaSalle Plaza, are as follows:

Land Use                    1st Tuesday of the month at 6:30 p.m.
                                                (exception for New Year, next 1/4/01)
            Implementation          3rd Thursday of the month at 6:30 p.m. (next 12/21/00)
            Housing                      3rd Monday of the month at 6:30 p.m. (next 12/18/00)
            Finance                       To Be Determined
            Public Relations          4th Wednesday of the month at 6:30 p.m. (12/20/00)

VI. Adjournment

There being no further business to address, the meeting was adjourned at 9:00 p.m.

Signed and approved by

______________________________                                    ______________________________
Chair                                                                                       Secretary

Attachment 1

[Letter from James R. Grabek to Jackie Cherryhomes and Jerrie Hayes dated December 11, 2000]