Month: September 2017

PRESENT: Katrina Shaw (President), Ardith Woertz (Vice-President), Tom Luellen (Treasurer), Brendan Jensen, Erin Snethen, Sue Fackler, Karen Robertson (Secretary)

COMMUNITY OFFICERS’ UPDATE: Officers Wall and Frederichs were present. They reported that in College Hill and throughout the city there is an increase in auto theft because people are leaving their cars running to warm them up in the cold weather. Of the 23 crimes reported in College Hill since October 1, 1/3 are vehicle burglaries. Among other arrests are one at a drug house at 16^th & College and one at 15^th & Plass. Brendan asked what folks can do after reporting a crime while waiting for the police to arrive. The answer was to be a good witness – gather facts without putting yourself in danger.

TREASURER’S REPORT: Tom distributed a written report showing deposits of $553.25, disbursements of $185.89, for a balance of $28,945.42. There are calendars left and it was suggested that we offer them at a reduced price at the Chili Feed. There was also discussion about collecting information for the historical register process from attendees at the Chili Feed. Sue suggested forming a separate committee to manage the process of applying for historical register status. She also suggested asking Joyce Smith to head this committee. With the board’s approval, she will contact Joyce.

HOLIDAY DECORATING CONTEST: Katrina and Erin reported that they enjoyed touring the neighborhood with their children choosing winning homes. They posted many photos of decorated houses on the College Hill Facebook page.

CHILI FEED PREPARATION: Flyers are ready to distribute advertising the February 11 event. Several board members volunteered to pass out the flyers on their street and to work at the chili feed.

RECYCLING: Discussion was held on ways to increase participation. Flyers will be passed out with the chili feed flyers. A portable collection unit was also suggested.

NEWSLETTER: Erin asked for suggestions for newsletter articles and ideas brought out included Blossoms, the neighborhood cleanup, a list of numbers to call to get something done, reminders of what to do in your house and yard each season, and a column featuring neighborhood houses like had been done in the past.

OTHER ITEMS: Brendan told the group about a new city program called SeeClickFix, which can be used to report things in the city that need action. Brendan will see those reports and can follow up to be sure they are taken care of. Katrina asked Brendan to write a newsletter article about the program.

GARAGE SALE: The neighborhood garage sale will also be publicized in the newsletter. It was suggested that Cletus Linenburger be asked to organize the garage sale since he always participates in it.

HOUSE FLAGS: Katrina reported that she is working on getting more flags with the same design as the large ones on 17^th Street. They will be non-fading and will include clips for hanging.

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 8:10.

PRESENT: Community Officers Wall and Frederichs, Katrina Shaw (President), Erin Snethen, Sue Fackler, Tom Luellen (Treasurer), Brenden Jensen, Carol Christensen, Karen Robertson (Secretary)

Community Officers’ Update – printed reports were distributed and the officers pointed out the new format for those, with more graphics. Between January 1 and March 20, the leading crime in the neighborhood was again auto thefts, mostly caused by folks leaving their cars unattended while warming up. There were two assault cases and one drug case.

Treasurer’s Report – Tom’s written report showed deposits of nearly $1400 (mostly from the chili feed), disbursements of $407 (chili feed expenses), for a balance as of March 20 of $29,962.75. The chili feed was a success, with about 77 people attending.

College Hill Clean Up – dumpsters are reserved for the clean up on April 29. Ben Alford is coordinating the clean up – others are helping but more volunteers are needed.

Blossoms – the plant sale, auction and breakfast event will be May 13. They are looking for donations of gift cards and other items for the silent auction. If neighbors have plants to donate to the sale, they can be brought to the church at 6:00 p.m. on Friday.

Sue mentioned that she would like to form a committee to investigate ordering a large College Hill sign from Hutton Monuments to place on 17^th Street. Brenden reported that he still has 3 other smaller stone signs in his yard that need to be placed somewhere. Sue will gather a committee to oversee all of this.

On a similar subject, the neighborhood flag at 17^th and Boswell is missing. Brenden will ask the city to fix the broken pole and a new flag will be ordered.

Garage Sale – Carol Christensen will ask her neighbor Cletus if he would be willing to be a contact person for the Garage Sale as he always participates. We will publicize thru social media and signs. The tentative date is the second weekend in June, although some discussion was held about the weekend before when the Art Fair on campus is scheduled since that draws so many to the area.

National Night Out – the date for the event is August 5. The movie last year was a big hit so we will repeat that. Katrina moved that we buy an inflatable screen with the $200 grant from Safe Streets instead of renting one each year. Brenden seconded the motion and it passed. Food for the event is usually donated; we need to be sure that will happen this year before we spend the Safe Streets money on something else. Many volunteers are needed to set up, serve food, and clean up.

Newsletter – Erin passed around a draft of the next newsletter, which will be distributed by volunteers again in late March or early April.

Recycling – about $66 was raised in the last recycling drive – an improvement over the previous one. Discussion was held about ways to encourage folks to participate more, including signs, more use of social media, emphasizing that it is a fundraiser for the neighborhood, etc.

Other business – Sue reported that Joyce Smith isn’t able to serve as chair of a historic process group; she suggested that the issue be brought up at the annual meeting and see if anyone is interested.

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned. The next meeting is May 15.

PRESENT: Community Officer Wall, Katrina Shaw (President), Susan Duffy, Erin Snethen, Sue Fackler, Ardith Woertz, Tom Luellen (Treasurer), Brendan Jensen, Carl Broxterman, Andy Fry & daughter, Karen Robertson (Secretary)

COMMUNITY OFFICER’S REPORT: Officer Wall spoke of the recent homicide at the apartment building on 15^th Street near Garfield and the Mexican Taco Shop robbery – both crimes committed by 2 males in hoodies on bicycles. Hoodies in warm summer weather may be a tip-off to someone trying to hide their identity – he reminded us to be on the lookout for that. People on bicycles have also been seen casing out the vacant house at 15^th and Boswell, and squatters have been found there. Burglary reports are usually up in the summertime so residents need to keep things locked up and be aware. Officer Wall reported that both he and Officer Frederich will be on family leave for most of the summer as their wives are expecting babies in the same week!

TREASURER’S REPORT: Tom reported a balance of $29,704.96 as of May 9. This doesn’t include the results of the Blossoms event the previous weekend. He distributed a separate report for Blossoms which showed profits of at least $1573,96 from the event, and several hundred dollars worth of payments are yet to be counted. Sue Fackler commented that these receipts are up considerably from previous years.

GRANT DISCUSSION: Katrina has a proposal written for applying for a grant from the city to help cover the cost of the barricades needed for the July 4 parade. Susan reported that more barricades may be required than we thought – she offered to check on the actual cost and also to apply for the permit for our “processional.”

Katrina reported that she is also thinking of applying for a second grant for College Hill signs in the median strip on 17^th Street. Susan & Sue have investigated limestone ones for about $500 each.

GARAGE SALE: The neighborhood garage sale will be June 1-4. Planning is going well. Nancy Cottrill has garage sale signs if anyone needs one. There are at least 10 small signs – Brendan will look into acquiring larger signs for 17^th Street. There won’t be a newspaper ad – relying on  signs and social media.

NATIONAL NIGHT OUT: We haven’t heard yet how much money neighborhoods will get to put on the events. Reser’s and HyVee have confirmed that they will provide food.

FOURTH OF JULY: The fire trucks, large flag, etc. are all being arranged for this year’s parade.

RECYCLING: July 8 is the next recycling drive. A reminder will be included in the flyer that will be passed out about the July 3-4 events.

OTHER BUSINESS: Susan suggested a program idea for the annual neighborhood meeting in September. She thinks it would be informative to have the city arborist or someone knowledgeable speak about trees – the ash borer threat, caring for the older trees in the neighborhood, etc.

Carl asked if College Hill flags could be added along Washburn Avenue like the ones on 17^th Street. Brendan will look into it.

Finally, the group was reminded that Sarah Meadows has the leftover plants from the Blossoms sale and they can be picked up on her front porch.

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned. The next meeting will be July 17.

PRESENT: Katrina Shaw (President), Ardith Woertz (Vice-President), Tom Luellen (Treasurer), Brendan Jensen, Erin Snethen, Debbie Pomeroy, Duane Pomeroy, Carol Christensen, Sue Fackler, Karen Robertson (Secretary)

COMMUNITY OFFICER’S UPDATE: Officer Hendricks was present to give the update in place of Officer Wall and handed out a printout of the crimes in the neighborhood for the period from September 19 – November 8. The statistics showed that more than 25% of the burglaries reported were thefts from vehicles. Aggravated home burglaries increased in the southern part of the area – “aggravated” means that someone was in the home when the burglary occurred. He mentioned that it is a tough time to be in law enforcement and that Topeka has a young police force. They appreciate the support and cooperation from our neighborhood. He closed by repeating the usual holiday reminders – be sure to keep homes and vehicles locked, place packages out of sight, be aware of your surroundings, etc.

TREASURER’S REPORT: Tom Luellen reported a beginning balance as of 9/6 of $27,613.28, credits of $2,227.50, payments of $1,445.06, and an ending balance as of 11/6 of $28,743.06. In making the official changeover from previous treasurer Bev Law to Tom, he was required to get a tax I.D. number for the College Hill Neighborhood Association; he gave a copy of the form to the president.

Sue Fackler reported on the Wall of Fame event, saying that it was a good tour with good participation. It didn’t make a large amount of money but it always brings good publicity to the neighborhood. They are discussing not having the food in the park next year. A big event is being planned in 2018 for the 20^th anniversary of the Wall of Fame event.

Sue also reported on the calendars with photos of neighborhood homes. She ordered 100 and has quite a few left to sell. She encouraged folks to buy them for Christmas gifts and will try to spread the word through social media.

Carol Christensen reminded the group that recycle day will be December 10 and reported that participation is down. She asked for suggestions of ways to remind neighbors to save and put out their aluminum cans, etc. This led to a discussion of how to get information distributed in the neighborhood. There is not a block person on every block who is willing to go door to door to hand out flyers, etc. The Pomeroys volunteered to help cover blocks without a block person.

HOLIDAY DECORATING CONTEST: Judging for the contest will be done on December 20 by Kat Shaw and Erin Snethen.

CHILI FEED: After reviewing the times of local college basketball games which might prevent folks from attending, it was decided that Saturday, February 11, would be the best day for the Chili Feed. Kat will check with University United Methodist Church to make sure that date works for them. Ardith asked the possibility of moving the Chili Feed to Westminster Presbyterian Church, but the stairs are an issue there. Ardith and Brendan volunteered to help with the event.

PARADES: Brendan reported that there has been discussion at the city about parade permits and the fairness of requiring the same permit fees for the small neighborhood parades as the large downtown ones. A new class of parade is being proposed which will be called “processions.” They will have more reasonable fees and a grant program to help neighborhoods with the cost of the barricades. This has not been passed yet and he will have an update for the January meeting.

JANUARY MEETING: The next meeting will be on the third Monday, January the 16th.

OTHER DISCUSSION: Sue suggested asking someone to represent Boswell Park at County Commission meetings. Kat suggested asking Andy Fry to do that: she will contact him. Susan Duffy would be another possibility. Sue also felt someone needs to work on the neighborhood markers, especially along 17^th Street – the Zellers have been working on some of them

Brendan asked if another of the city bike racks is needed in the neighborhood. There is one at 17^th and Washburn and several on campus. He suggested asking for one at the Catholic Campus Ministries at 17^th & Jewell, or at 17^th & Macvicar.

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 7:55.