Edgemoor
Neighborhood Association
Monthly Business Meeting
September 1, 2005
Minutes
The
Monthly Business Meeting of Edgemoor Neighborhood Association
was called to order at 7:05 on September
1st at the Fairhaven Park Pavilion.
Interim President, Niall Hackett was not able
to be present to facilitate the meeting.
Lauri Grove, Interim Secretary, recorded the
minutes. A quorum was present.
The
minutes of the August 5th meeting were summarized with a brief discussion about
the Coast Guard presence at the Ferry Terminal.
The minutes were approved as recorded.
Report of Officers
Treasurer, Lois Miles presented the
budget report and offered we now have 156 members.
Income -
$90.00
Disbursements -
Closing Balance - $1675.52
A detailed report was presented to the
secretary to file.
Committee Reports
Communication Committee Chair, Kathy Kaiser discussed
advertising for the October meeting and determined there would not be enough
time or enough help to get out a neighborhood flier. In place she
suggested having a couple large signs made up and positioned to remind and
attract new members. In addition,
meeting information would posted in several
papers. Kathy solicited ideas for the
survey which the communication committee would work on a formatting. Also Sandie brought up the fact that
committee chairs are not getting timely reports to her for the newsletter. She once again asked neighbors to offer news,
neighborhood happenings, and articles for the website. It is difficult to maintain the site, keep it
up to date and interesting without input.
Hospitality Committee Chair, Laurie Renne, was not
present and there was no committee report.
Growth and Land Use Committee report was
presented by Chair, Brad Rose. (Before he
actually got into his report we decided to give walk-in guest Sharon Crozier a
moment to talk with the membership – brief summary to follow Brad’s
report.) Brad brought up a few new
development issues listed below and detailed on the website.
·
Request for CUP
to build an oversized 6500 sq. ft. home at 415 Bayside
·
Revision in
plan for McKenzie Square to include
4-5 mixed use buildings with about 80 apartments and open parking.
·
Hearing request for 44 ft. height addition to the Waldron Building to allow for
higher ceilings inside units.
·
Questioned the plan to construct a parking lot beneath
present lot left of the Waldron Building. Apparently this would be a private gated lot
under city property with monthly parking permits and access for Waldron Building tenants - not
sure of all the details.
·
Fairhaven Neighbors filed an appeal with the Washington
State Shorelines Hearing Board which has scheduled a hearing for October 24-26
in Bellingham. Until then the Fairhaven Harbor project and
impending threat to Padden Estuary has been halted.
Guest Sharon Crozier
introduced herself and her plan to run against incumbent Louise Bjornson for
Bellingham City Council at large position.
Sharon worked to get
2 stroke engines off Lake Whatcom. She feels that there is a lack of leadership
and accountability in the city – only a couple council members really speak up
at meetings.
NOTE - Primary Election Candidates Forum on Wed., September 14, 7-9pm to be held at County Council Chambers.
Membership Committee
Chair, Sandie Koplowitz reported that we have 156 members and she continues to
invite new members to join ENA.
Neighborhood Plan Update Chair, Brad Rose moved the Vision of Edgemoor meeting to
October. He expressed the plan to have a
proctor layout and prioritize our “visions” for Edgemoor which would become the
foundation for the neighborhood plan He would announce the date at the
October Annual Membership Meeting.
Neighborhood Safety Committee Chair, Veronica
Douglas questioned spray paint on Hawthorn Road indicating
impending work. She went on to report
that she planned to contact a handful of people that expressed interest in
becoming block watch captains. She
contacted Sergeant Richards to
report speeding and urged others to continue to report incidents in the
neighborhood. Members agreed the signs
do remind drivers to keep speed down and drive cautiously.
Representative Reports
Coalition of Southside Neighborhoods– Brad Rose briefly
mentioned that Hal Hart spoke at the CSN meeting where he discussed the
Critical Areas Ordinance.
Association of Bellingham Neighborhoods- Larry
Horowitz (Responsible
Development) took over as our ENA representative to ABN. Thank you Larry! ABN held a meeting on August 29th
to discuss the pace of development in Bellingham and reach a
consensus of action from the neighborhood associations. Concerns were voiced that included a lack of
confidence in the planning director, Jorge Vega. Larry also talked a bit about critical masses
and the fact that 1461 signatures on a petition could offer a powerful challenge.
New
Business
The possibility of having a speaker(s)
educate membership about Greenways Legacy at the Annual Meeting in
October was brought up and met with interest.
Issues and
Concerns (Old Business)
The board discussed and determined the
ENA Policy for Support to Outside Organizations and Individuals. The secretary would keep a record of this
policy and any future policies in a file for Policies and Procedures.
Motion by
Kathy Kaiser to accept the
following ENA policy:
Edgemoor
Neighborhood Association
Policy for Support to Outside Organizations and Individuals
·
No monetary support to any outside organization or
individual.
·
Any request for written or verbal support to an outside
organization or individual must be documented in the ENA newsletter and on the
website at least one week prior to the meeting at which the request will be
brought before the membership.
Motion was
seconded by Veronica
Douglas and passed
unanimously.
Candidates for Board Elections were not
available from the nominating committee.
Brien Thane would be contacted to get
nominees posted on website as soon as possible.
The board members present at the meeting agreed to continue with
positions if so elected.
Closing
Meeting
was adjourned at 9:00 pm.
The
next meeting scheduled will be the Edgemoor
Neighborhood Association Annual
Membership
Meeting to be held on October 6th at Lairmont Manor. Every resident of Edgemoor is invited and
encouraged to attend.
Respectfully
Submitted,
Lauri Grove