Edgemoor Neighborhood Association

Special General Membership Meeting

September 6, 2007

Minutes

 

 

The Special General Membership Meeting of Edgemoor Neighborhood Association was called to order at 7:00 on September 6th at Fairhaven Pavilion.  Brad Rose facilitated the meeting and Lauri Grove recorded the minutes.

 

The minutes of the August meeting were approved as recorded.

 

Proposed Changes to the Bylaws

The City’s recommended changes to the ENA Bylaws, which were formally presented at the August meeting, were brought to the table for vote.  It was suggested and agreed that a definition for ‘Business Operator’ be included in parenthesis for future clarification. 

 

A motion was made to accept the City’s recommended changes to the ENA Bylaws (Article 9) with the addition of a definition for business operator.

The motion was approved.

 

The approved changes were signed by the secretary and sent to Kathryn Hanowell. 

 

Reports of Officers

President’s report – Brad submitted ENA’s name to be included in an insurance policy that would be funded by the city.  This would be a liability policy that would, for one example, allow us to rent a school facility and have coverage for ENA sponsored events.  There would be no charge to us for the insurance.  Brad continued his report with the announcement that the 2nd CSN sponsored candidates’ forum was scheduled for the same night as our ENA October meeting.  There was a general agreement to cancel the next meeting so we could all attend the forum on Thursday, October 4th.  Also, it was called to Brad’s attention that Ralph Thacker had not been reimbursed for a couple books.  It was noted that Ralph has been a champion for the community and it was suggested we pay him from the general fund.

 

Sandie moved that ENA send Ralph Thacker a check for $30.00 to cover his expenses.

The motion was approved.  Lois would send the check to Ralph.

 

Treasurer’s report – Lois reported no change to the balance and a report was presented for filing.  A question was raised about how to handle membership dues and voting rights.  We still have operating expenses that would have to be met next year.  It was decided that we work on rewording the bylaws voting rights (Article 3.3) via e-mail and put it on the agenda for the November meeting.

 

MNAC report– Brad brought us up to date on topics discussed at the August meeting of the advisory commission.  An overview of the proposed plan for Old Town was in the process of being presented to the various property owners in the area for their approval.  The vision included a mix of new office space, retail space, landmark buildings, housing and pedestrian amenities. Details could be viewed on the City’s website.  Brad continued with the news that Linda Storck was appointed by the Mayor to take over as interim Administrative Officer.  Kathryn Hanowell would be retiring and the search was in process for her replacement.   Read Just So you Are Aware on the City’s website for all the news from MNAC.

 

 Committee Reports

Communication – Questions came up about advertising ENA meetings in the various newspapers.  Kathy would contact the Herald to set up notices for our monthly meetings.  The Indy had already been set up to automatically advertising our meetings.

 

Disaster Preparedness – Pam and Lois planned to attend two training meetings in September.  Pam suggested we invite LuAnn Johnson (representative from Meridian Neighborhood) to a future meeting.  LuAnn created a nine step plan and compiled a hand-out to share with other neighborhoods. Lois made several attempts to get an inspection report for the 75 year old 12th Street Bridge.  The last rating was a 48 which means no structurally significant damage.      

 

Membership – Sandie reported we have 2 new members.

 

Safety - It was suggested that the Block Watch program could work in with Disaster Preparedness.  Both programs map out small groups of neighbors to work together and raise safety awareness.

 

Chuckanut Mountain Park District (CMPD) – Bob Gibb reported that Chuckanut Ridge development was dormant at the moment.  At the time of the meeting the bank/developer had not yet signed the contract to begin the EIS.  Not sure why the delay.  He went on with an update for CMPD.   The Boundary Review Board of both Whatcom and Skagit Co. were in the process of reviewing the boundaries for the park district.  Although public meetings were scheduled for both counties, those hearings were postponed until SEPA determination could be finalized.  In addition there was some concern voiced by an opposing group, the North Sound Conservancy, over the inclusion of ‘eminent domain’’, additional taxes, and some distorted facts.  A meeting was held in Edison with about 75-80 people in attendance.  Bob did write to request omission of ‘eminent domain’ from the park district statute.  Please visit the CMPD website for more details and information about upcoming meetings.

 

Neighborhood Plan Update – John stated the group was making notes and planning to meet soon.  They welcome more help to rewrite the updated plan.  Brad mentioned that there was another technical assistance workshop planned in September that John or Martin might want to attend.  The proposed timeline for completion of the updated plan was next year.

 

Growth and land Use – Pam informed us that the proposed 4 story buildings on 12th and Donovan were continuing as planned.  The design was changed a bit to add some interest to the structure but the height would remain unchanged.  Also Banner Bank planned to move into the space vacated by the Fairhaven Laundry.  Pam continued her report with news about our ‘neighbors to the north’ – Fairhaven.  The associations were trying to come to some consensus over the neighborhood plan.  Brad was invited to be part of the facilitative process since he owns a business in the area.  He would report back to us.

 

Representative Reports

CSN – The coalition of South Neighborhoods would host a Candidates’ Forum from 7-9pm on October 4th at Firehouse Performing Arts Center.  There would be a charge to rent the facility and our portion would be $29.81.  If the EIS for the Chuckanut Ridge property was ever completed, CSN would plan to hold a forum to educate the public on the ‘comment’ process.

 

A motion was made to approve the disbursement of $29.81 to CSN to cover our portion of the rental fee.  The motion was approved.  Lois wrote the check.

 

RD – Joe commented earlier in the evening that Responsible Development was still presuming Chuckanut Ridge would go ahead as planned.  Joe continued to be diligent in his watch over what was happening both on the property and at City Hall.

 

Guest

Kris Runestrand spoke to us as a representative of the Bellingham Bay Marathon scheduled for October 7th.  The Bellingham Bay marathon would be a fund raising event to raise money for the Bellingham Bay Swim Team.  Kris was here, as a good neighbor, since the marathon route would take runners through Edgemoor.  All runners were asked to stay on the road, off lawns and attempts were made to keep the impact to a minimum.  Originally they hope to attract a good amount of runners for their inaugural event and expectations were exceeded when they reach 1000 applicants.  Volunteers would be needed.  Go to the Bellingham Bay Marathon website for additional information.

 

Larry Farr, candidate for City Council 3rd ward, stopped by and mentioned there would be a sign party at the Boundary Bay on Wednesday.

 

 

Closing

Meeting was adjourned at 8:50 pm.

 

Please note the October meeting is cancelled.  The next meeting scheduled will be an Edgemoor Neighborhood Association Quarterly General Membership Meeting to be held from 7-9 on November 1st at Fairhaven Park Pavilion.  Meetings are open to all residents and we encourage you to attend.

 

Respectfully Submitted,

Lauri Grove