GGNA Board Meeting Minutes
GGNA MEETING MINUTES 6/10/08
1. Call to Order – A regular meeting of the Greater Goethe Neighborhood Association was held on June 10, 2008 at the Goethe Elementary School. Johnny Elias (President), John Burns (Secretary), Sally Hamann, Bryan Hill, Ramon Tembledor, Doug vanderHoof and Neil Trifunovski were in attendance. A quorum being present, the meeting was called to order at 6:10 PM.
2. Approval of Minutes from May 13th Meeting – John Burns (Secretary) read the minutes from the May 13, 2008 BOD meeting and they were unanimously approved.
3. Treasurer’s Report - Bryan Hill (Treasurer) distributed a copy of the GGNA’s Profit and Loss Statement which showed a current balance in the GGNA’s checking account of $2,147.89.
4. Committee Reports:
a. Public Safety Committee – Sally Hamann provided an update of the recent CAPS meeting. Joe Kopera was in attendance at the meeting and provided an update to the ongoing issues with certain homes in Sector 1. There are three homes in the Sector that house suspected gang members: 2108 Bingham, 2074 Stave and 2117 Point. These homes continue to be the root of the problems in the area. CAPS Officer Sergeant Gambroni and Jerry Gabrielatos from Alderman Flores’ office are aware of the problems and the police have been “showing a presence” along Bingham Street during the past few weeks. Sally also said there has been increased gang activity at the playground at Goethe School. Sally said gang members have been recruiting at the school and can be seen with their lookouts along both Talman and Rockwell Streets. The BOD discussed the possibility of relocating one of the police cameras from either Bignham or Stave Streets to Goethe School. Sergeant Gambroni and Jerry Gabrielatos from Alderman Flores’ back the idea; however, Goethe’s LSC has opposed the idea (with the exception of Jim Rhodes). John Burns said he would contact Jim Rhodes to ascertain what the LSC’s objections to relocating the camera are and would then contact Jerry Gabrielatos and Sergeant Gambroni to discuss the idea.
b. Zoning and Planning Committee – Sally Hamann updated the BOD on the ZAPC’s activities. She said the owner of 2425 North Rockwell had accepted the ZAPC’s ideas with regard to the re-zoning of his property and would be presenting at the next ZAPC meeting. The ZAPC’s recent vote of 4/4 on the 2154 North Maplewood project was also discussed. Doug read a letter from ZAPC member Gabrielle Sutton which expressed her dissatisfaction with the letter John Burns had written to the Alderman in support of the project (a copy of John Burns’ letter to the Alderman dated May 30, 2008 and a copy of Gabrielle Sutton’s letter are attached to these minutes).
c. Senior/Youth Committee – Johnny Elias led a discussion on the committee’s proposed activities. The summer youth basketball tournament will be held on two consecutive Saturdays in August (9th and 16th). The tournament will be co-sponsored by CAPS and held in the police parking lot on North California Avenue. Johnny also announced that Alejandra Geraldo will be coaching a youth soccer program commencing in mid-July and running through mid-August. The soccer camp would meet two days a week; one day of coaching and one day for games. Raquel Geverola provided an update on the Campbell Terrace Computer Initiative, which will begin on Monday, June 16th. Raquel has recruited students from Roberto Clemente High School to act as tutors for the program. The students will work in shifts on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 10:00 AM until 3:00 PM. Twenty-two senior citizens have already signed-up for the program. Raquel was commended for the hard work she has done in getting this program underway. Johnny Elias to update everyone on the planned summer youth programs. Raquel Geverola to update everyone on the Campbell Terrace Computer Initiative.
d. Membership, Communication and Fund Raising Committee – John Burns provided a recap of his discussions with Logan Square Chamber of Commerce President Paul Levin. Paul is very supportive of the GGNA’s efforts to reach out to our local business owners. Paul suggested a program similar to one the Chamber has with other neighborhood groups; a two-for-one membership fee for the business owners and a sharing of fees collected. The businesses in turn would then be able to take advantage of the benefits from both the GGNA and Chamber. A draft of the GGNA Business Membership application was distributed for comment by all GGNA BOD members. The BOD also discussed general membership dues and when those dues should be billed and collected. A motion was put forth by Doug and seconded by John Burns to bill the membership fees in September for a fiscal membership year of October thru September. The motion was unanimously approved. Further discussions on the GGNA teaming up with Logan Square Chamber of Commerce will be on the agenda for next meeting.
5. New BOD Business – open to all BOD Members
a. GGNA Summer Social – The BOD discussed the proposed Summer Social and it was determined the June 21st would not work because of the St. John’s summer party. The BOD decided to investigate the possibility of piggy-backing on the Maplewood Block Party which will be held on July 19th. Johnny Elias to check with the party’s organizers to see if this idea makes sense. The BOD will reconvene to discuss the Summer Social and how it can assist the residents of Maplewood after it hears back from Johnny.
6. Change to By-laws – There were two items on the agenda to discuss. Those items are as follows:
a. BOD Member Attendance – A discussion was held about BOD member attendance. John Burns proposed a motion which was seconded by Bryan Hill. The motion is as follows: “A BOD member will be removed from the BOD if he or she: 1) misses three BOD meetings in a row; or 2) does not attend at least 7 of the 12 monthly meetings during the BOD’s fiscal year (November through October).” The motion was approved by a vote of five to one (Sally Hamann was the only dissenting vote and Doug vanderHoof had to leave the meeting early).
b. Eliminating Absentee Balloting – The BOD unanimously decided to defer discussion on this item to the July BOD meeting because of time constraints.
7. Future BOD Meeting Schedule – The next meeting will be held on Tuesday, July 8th at Goethe School. A reminder was given that all meetings begin at 6:00 PM.
8. Meeting Adjourned – Johnny Elias adjourned the meeting at 8:00 PM.
