EPNA August 6, 2020 meeting minutes

Meeting called to order at 6:33 PM.

Welcome and introductions.

Approval of July meeting minutes:

Recap of Coolidge Street Victory/Oscar Mayer Special Area Plan:

At the City Council meeting the proposed 4 way intersection at Coolidge and Packers was changed to allow ONLY pedestrian and bicycle traffic to enter onto Coolidge Street from Packers.
Many thanks to all who called, emailed, and spoke at the meeting. Without all the voices the city council may not have listened to the neighborhood’s wishes.
Thanks also to Alder Abbas who fought hard to prevent vehicle traffic from entering Coolidge Street and to save more acreage of the Hartmeyer Natural Area.
The Hartmeyer area was a partial win at the City Council meeting: the acreage saved went from 3 acres as the first proposal by the city many meetings ago to approximately 16 out of a possible 30 acres.
Beth Sluys from the Northside Planning Council will be scheduling public meetings to discuss the proposed city bus barn on the Oscar Mayer Property.

Update on Eken “Parked” Festival:

The North Street Cabaret will livestream two bands on August 15 on their Facebook page for the Eken Park Festival: The Periodicals at 2 PM and Scorched Waves at 6 PM. Between the two bands will be recordings made for the festival by Jimmy Sugarcane and Los Meskales.
More information will be available at ekenparkfest.com and ekenpark.org
Heritage Credit Union is the sole financial sponsor of the festival this year and WORT will be doing media promotion. Lots of thanks to those folks as well as the North Street Cabaret and please let them know you appreciate their support.
There will be a virtual tip jar to tip the bands and to fundraise for the neighborhood association.
Volunteers will be needed to flyer the neighborhood about this year’s virtual festival.

Financial Requests:

The funding for spring bulbs and plants for the medians on Commercial Avenue will be covered by the city of Madison.
Motion made and approved to pay Mark F. $225 for an updated set (and use of them) of Eken Park logos to be used for bumper stickers, neighborhood signs, etc.
Motion made and approved to pay up to $250 for treatment to save the emerald ash tree in Washington Manor Park. This treatment will last for the next two years. This tree is near the rain garden in the park.

Old business:

EPNA will have general liability insurance later this month after all the paperwork goes through. The cost is $400 per year.
The bridge painting project on Commercial Avenue over Starkweather Creek is still in the works but the pandemic has affected the progress.
EPNA’s Black Lives Matter statement letter update: EPNA is trying to get an outside person to review our bylaws. EPNA is hosting anti-racist group meetings every other week for 6 weeks, discussing articles and videos. The next meeting will be Tuesday, August 11. Contact Zach or EPNA officers for more information.

Open comments:

Discussion was raised about the city defunding the Public Market at First St/E. Johnson. EPNA will be contacting Alder Abbas for clarification and information.
Discussion held about increased speeding and reckless driving on various streets in the neighborhood and nearby areas. EPNA will contact Alder Abbas for ideas about preventing this.

Motion made and approved to extend the meeting past 7:30 PM.

Membership brainstorm:

Membership renewals and signing up new members is not a viable option at this year’s festival as it will be a virtual festival. Ideas? Gregg Shimanski will be distributing EPNA’s membership forms to renters of his properties.
Discussion of ways to get more residents involved in EPNA. One idea was to raffle off a basket of goodies and gift certificates from local businesses in return for joining EPNA. Another topic of discussion was creating the ability to join and pay membership online via a service such as PayPal or Venmo.

Officer elections will be held in November.

One of the co-chair positions will be open.
Treasurer position is open for candidates.
Secretary position is open for candidates.
EPNA encourages anyone interested to run for these offices. We would appreciate new people, new thoughts, ideas, and energy.

Motion to adjourn was made, seconded, and approved.

Meeting adjourned at 7:40 PM.