South End Neighborhood Council

Minutes of the Board Meeting held March 19, 2012

Present: Earl Brydson, Chair; Cary Nilson; Kristin King; Gia Casto; Brian Kilen; Jim Brekke; William King, Corresponding Secretary; John Pellessier, Treasurer; Katherine Sutalo, Secretary.

The minutes of the January and February meetings were approved with the correction of a typographical error in February.

Fire Department Liaison: Gary Steinhoff reported that this is National Poison Prevention Week. The five most common items that cause poisonings in the home are painkillers, cosmetics/personal care items, cleaners, sedatives and foreign bodies (toys or other objects). Pets are most often poisoned by pesticides, plants, human food, cardiovascular drugs and fertilizers. TFD calls for service in February were up 12% over last year; dispatches were up 8%. March’s Prepare in a Year message is about storing drinking water.

Metro Parks Liaison: Roxanne Miles reported that Metro Parks’ new GO guides are out, listing programs and camps for the next few months. The new South Tacoma Activity and Recreation (STAR) Center will open officially on May 19th, but there will be a summer camp fair held there March 31st to let parents know about the local camp resources that will be available this year. The new dog park at Wapato Park is not open – the grass needs to grow before the project can be considered finished. Metro Parks is working with the Tacoma Police Department to increase enforcement of the law against feeding wild animals, hoping to reduce the excess goose droppings that poison the lake and make the lawn unusable.

City Manager’s Representative: Katie Johnston reported that Neighborhood Innovative Grant applications are due to the City by April 27th; the City will hold free grant writing workshops April 4th and 12th. Applicants should talk with officials early if they need approval or permits for their projects. There will be several community cleanups in the South End this spring and summer – the dates are posted on the City’s website. The City Council is still considering whether to charge an admissions tax for events held by nonprofit organizations. On April 1, the new 1/10 percent City sales tax increase to support improved 9-1-1 response services will start being collected.

David Johnson from the City of Tacoma passed out a flyer on the new Neighborhood Makeover Week, a project of the Safe, Clean and Attractive initiative. The City is working with Rebuilding Together and other programs, concentrating on an area near Giudrone Middle School this first year.

Carol Wolfe from the City of Tacoma reported that since Elton Gatewood’s retirement, the City is not planning to have a dedicated full time Neighborhood Council program coordinator. Instead, Neighborhood Councils will work with their City Manager’s Representatives, in our case Katie Johnston. Ms. Wolfe will work with the Community Council and also meets with the CM representatives regularly, so she can handle any issues that they can’t take care of. The City hopes to achieve the same level of service we had from Dr. Gatewood by using a team approach. Funding for Neighborhood Councils will not be eliminated. The City still feels that Neighborhood Councils serve a valuable function in the City of Tacoma.

Ms. Wolfe reported that this month the Community Council will be hearing from the medical cannabis task force. She asked that we please let her know the status of any unfinished projects that are funded by innovative grants.

Earl Brydson reported on behalf of Fred Brookshier that he has decided not to have the playground equipment at Gas Station Park removed, except for the spring toys. A representative from a company called Kid Stuff Play Systems says they can replace the cracked slide and stay within older safety rules. If they can’t find the right slide parts, Fred requested tic-tac-toe blocks be installed instead. The representative also said we can put rubber caps on the bolt ends that were noted as safety hazards. Earl has asked for a cost estimate on rubber surfacing because he doesn’t like wood chips – they get kicked around. They want to move the little kids’ play set about 5” further from other equipment to meet safety standards. Earl and Fred also asked the company to add a rope climbing set. Kid Stuff Play Systems quoted only about $10,000 to install new equipment if the repairs won’t be sufficient (the City’s vendor quoted $43,000). Some unresolved issues: is the cost difference due to lower durability? Will the City accept liability for repaired, or new, playground equipment? Can we use Neighborhood Council operating funds to buy playground equipment? Since the SENCo board voted last month to remove the unsafe equipment as soon as possible, we have had signs made and hung in the park to explain that the equipment is being removed for safety.

Ms. Johnston will check with Jeff Jenkins and Connor McCarthy in the City’s property management office to see whether the City is willing to allow the current equipment to be repaired and kept on site.

Some SENCo board members suggested other spruce-up projects that might make a good work party: re-painting the lines on the basketball court, reinstalling a basket on the hoop, clearing away or regrading the soil pile, and maybe a larger mural on the concrete wall. Mural grant applications are due April 2nd – this is a City program that pays artists to work with the community to design and paint murals in public places. Kathy Sutalo will look into submitting a mural grant application for Gas Station Park.

Community Concerns

Darren Pen, community mobilizer with Safe Streets, reported that neighborhood groups are hosting 5 community cleanups in the South End, which is more than any other district. Dates will be May 5, May 12, May 19, June 9 and August 18. There will be a total of 18 cleanups city-wide. Mr. Pen suggested that SENCo sponsor refreshments for volunteers and City workers at the cleanups, and consider sponsoring t-shirts for neighborhood groups, with the group’s name on the front and SENCo on the back. This can be a way to let neighborhoods know about the Neighborhood Council and our support for the citizens in our area.

Eighty-five percent of South End residents live within organized Safe Streets neighborhoods. There are 33 neighborhood groups in the area, with 2 new ones currently being formed. On March 31st, there will be a groundbreaking ceremony for a new neighborhood community garden at S 46th and Hosmer. The speed control signs at Birney Elementary School funded by an innovative grant through SENCo have not been installed yet.

General Business

Mr. Brydson reported that a representative from FISH Food Banks would like to speak at SENCo’s next meeting. Kathy Sutalo asked again that the SENCo board consider developing a policy for deciding what groups we will donate funds to, and how much we will donate. Ms. Johnston will check into whether other Neighborhood Councils have such policies.

William King presented formatting changes to the SENCo bylaws that were updated last month. The City of Tacoma suggested the changes to make the document more consistent. No words were changed. The board passed a motion to accept the changes.

Treasurer’s Report: John Pellessier reported that SENCo’s bank balance is $10,087.84. A check was written for $101.10 to cover the playground removal signs for Gas Station Park, and one for $90 for stamps for the Treasurer and Vice Chair. A $0.36 dividend was paid into our bank account. Mr. Brydson reported that he had to spend about $10 on photocopying for tonight’s meeting because the copier is broken. He will need to be reimbursed, and Mr. King will look into the costs and features of a potential new copier.

Across the Fence: Gia Casto reported that the committee is meeting monthly again. The Across the Fence TV program is on hiatus, but the programming will continue on other shows such as CityLine and CityScape. The next program on CityLine will be on neighborhood innovative grants, the one after that will be on Community Based Services, and after that the Community Cleanups will be featured on CityScape.

Pacific Avenue Business District: Ms. Casto reported that sponsors and vendors are needed for the annual street fair June 10th. The committee will meet at 6pm Wednesday at Gibson House. The planters on Pacific Avenue were cleaned out last weekend; volunteers will be needed in May to plant summer flowers. South End and East Side Neighborhood Councils are welcome to a free booth – they could let people know about their programs and the innovative grant projects they have supported.

Mr. King said that statistics on SENCo website traffic should be available next month.

Minutes submitted by Katherine Sutalo, March 28, 2012.

SENCo Minutes 3-19-2012 Page 1 of 3