Edgemoor Neighborhood Association
Quarterly Membership Meeting
February 2, 2006
Minutes
The Edgemoor
Neighborhood Association meeting was called to order by Niall Hackett at 7:15 at the Fairhaven Park Pavilion. Lauri Grove
was present to record the minutes. This
was a general membership meeting so business was put aside to allow time for
presentations.
Speakers:
School Bond – Susan Zoller and Ann
Whitmyer presented the what,
why, and how pertaining to the upcoming school bond measure. Deputy Superintendent, Susan Zoller explained
that bonds could only be used for capital projects, could only fund the
projects specified in the proposal, and came as a package deal. The district requested funds to maintain
designated schools and build additional schools to ease current
overcrowding. Ann
Whitmyer offered how they go about passing the bond which
would require a super majority vote.
Several questions implicated concern about the lack of equitable impact
fees to cover school expenses and how the district was handling that
issue.
Coalition of Southside Neighborhoods – Coordinators, Mike Botwin and Cathy McKenzie introduced themselves and highlighted
the intent of the coalition. They were
attending south side neighborhood meetings to find out how the CSN could best
address our concerns and interests. They
solicited ideas for speakers for future meetings held every 3rd
Wednesday at the Fairhaven Library. Some
topics mentioned were the potential fire-hazard in the planned Padden Trail cul
de sac, a better understanding of impact fees, staying informed during the
process of hiring a new planning director, and insight into the traffic
department’s designation of level F service for several streets in Bellingham.
Responsible Development Update – Dr. Frank James brought us up-to-date on some Responsible
Development activities. The organization
has retained an attorney. As a group, RD focused on three concerns – environment, traffic,
and taxes. First, environmental issues
included saving wildlife by preventing the destruction of treasured forested
property throughout Bellingham. Frank considered passing an acquisition based
Greenway levy pivotal in preserving natural green space in the city (and
purchasing Chuckanut Ridge). Second, he offered that there was no
qualified traffic engineer on staff for the city of Bellingham.
Residents were concerned
about the level of service projected for many of our main streets and the
effect it would have on emergency services together with our quality of
life. In addition, RD hired Eben Fodor to study the impact of
development as it pertains to the use of our tax dollars. Fodor created a methodology that can be used
for any new development in Bellingham
and he concluded that taxpayers would pay about $12 million for the Fairhaven
Highlands project. To keep informed
check Responsible Development’s
website at www.rdnow.org.
Laurie Renne took a moment to invite everyone to enjoy the refreshments. She pointed out some information about willow
trees as well as a vase of willow cuttings brought to share with any one
interested in starting a tree.
President’s
Update:
Brien briefly summarized ENA business accomplishments since the last quarterly meeting in October. He stated the board continued to work on
business matters of the association and to keep neighbors informed. For example, we designed, assembled and
mailed out an informational membership flier that was sent to all residents in
Edgemoor. He added we received a good
response of about 54 new members to date. He also clarified that although we
have two types of meetings, business meetings and quarterly general meetings
focused on information, everyone is still welcomed and encouraged to attend all
meetings. Brien introduced the ENA
Officers and Representatives. He mentioned we need an alternate
representative for the ABN. In closing,
he solicited any feedback.
Questions,
Issues, and Concerns:
Questions were asked directly to the individual speakers during their
presentations. No additional issues were
brought up to the ENA board.
Ralph Thacker introduced
himself as the new ABN President.
The
meeting was adjourned at 8:57.
The next
meeting scheduled on March 2nd
will be a business meeting held at Fairhaven Park Pavilion starting at 7:00 – everyone is welcome to attend.
Respectfully Submitted,
Lauri Grove