Devonshire II & IV Residential Association, Inc.

Board Meeting

Minutes 4-4-06

Devonshire II & IV Board of Directors Meeting
Church of the Savior
Tuesday, April 4, 2006

I. Call to Order
Alex West called the meeting to order at 7:25pm, once quorum was attained. Meeting attendees included: Jim Dempsey, Andrea Eickhoff, Tim Hammond, Jon Jacobs, Edie Leet, Rusty Marlen, Alice Pesh, Eleanor Tritask, Diane Vogel, and Alex West.

II. Newsletter
Alex West mentioned that he found a volunteer to design a website for the neighborhood association. Although the design is free, the cost to host the website is either $1.00/month for a site with no advertising or no charge for a site with advertising. Alex has already posted the newsletter to the website. He will send the board members links to these websites as well as the websites of other area neighborhood associations. Alex suggested that we use the website and email as much as possible to distribute the newsletters. After some discussion, the board determined that hard copies of the newsletter should continue to be distributed by the block captains or other volunteers from the neighborhood. Andrea Eickhoff suggested printing magnets with the neighborhood association’s website in order to drive people to visit the site for information. Andrea will research the cost of printing these magnets and report back to the board at a later date.

III. BRAG Update
Alex provided an update on the March BRAG meeting with Mayor Bart Peterson. Mayor Peterson is extremely impressed with BRAG’s efforts to revitalize the area – and plans to use BRAG as a model for other neighborhoods to follow. Mayor Peterson is giving BRAG one of the large red steel arrows used in the recent arts and tourism campaigns for the City of Indianapolis. This arrow will be used to identify Binford Blvd. as a gateway to Indianapolis and will likely be placed at the intersection of 75th Street and Binford.

The board selected Saturday, April 22nd, from 9am-noon, as the clean-up day for the Binford medians between 62nd Street and Kessler. This date was postponed from Saturday, April 8th due to a lack of volunteers. Volunteers are needed to pick up trash along Binford between 62nd Street and Kessler. Alex will contact Keep Indianapolis Beautiful, Inc. (KIBI) to confirm that they will donate trash bags and collect the trash.

IV. Neighborhood Projects
Alex mentioned that there is grant money available for neighborhood improvement projects like the addition of sidewalks. Several board members questioned the viability of, cost, and homeowner responsibility associated with adding sidewalks. Andrea suggested adding more street lights instead. Diane Vogel mentioned that she would contact Johnny Gest in the zoning office about adding sidewalks or new street lights in our neighborhood.

Alex is looking for volunteers who will contact the businesses in and near the neighborhood. Sponsors are needed for ads for the next directory as well as for signage for upcoming events like rummage sales.

V. Dues
Alex suggested raising dues to $25.00 in order to show the value of the neighborhood association and encourage more people to get involved in the neighborhood. Edie Leet objected to increasing dues unless the money we already collect is being spent. Jim Dempsey mentioned that at best, the neighborhood association collects dues from 2/3 of the 196 homes in the neighborhood. Getting more people interested in the neighborhood continues to be a challenge. Collecting the recent surveys and being better communicators are two ways Alex suggested that we start engaging more people.

VI. Treasurer’s Report
Jim Dempsey reported that the account balance is $2077.58, which does not include the charges for the church rental for two meetings and the printing of the newsletter. Nineteen surveys have been collected. Jim will change the bank accounts to include the names of the new officers. Jim asked the board for approval to pay the bill for association renewal, of an undetermined amount between $8 and $20.

VII. Miscellaneous
Tim Hammond asked if anyone on the board pays for recycling through Republic. The other board members were unaware that recycling services still existed in the neighborhood. Andrea Eickhoff will research the cost of recycling and will share this information in the next newsletter or on the website.

Alex will call the block captains to ask them to pick up the surveys on their blocks.

Edie suggested that the officers call the board members 3-4 days before the next board meeting as a reminder.

VIII. Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 8:21pm.

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