Minutes
Summit Neighborhood Association
Board of Directors Meeting
May 15, 2017
Present: Ethan Gyles, Kerry Kohring, Britt Paige, Anneliese Greenier, Anne Holland, Sandra Lee, John Pettinelli, Laura Ramsey, Tom Schmeling, Emily Spitzman, Sharon Lee Waldman, Dean Weinberg
Absent: Kim Clark, Erik Christiansen
President’s Report: Ethan welcomed everyone and emphasized the notion that all ideas are welcome and that he is looking forward to hearing about them.
Treasurer’s report: (Britt) There were 25 new members (April – May) and $650 came in as a result. There were some expenses with the annual meeting and newsletter.
Zoning Committee: (Grant). Nothing to report this month.
Membership Committee: (Ethan) If anyone is interested in taking it over, let Ethan know. All approved the idea of the web tool to keep track of membership (it can send auto remind emails, notify folks of events, etc). It will cost $50 a month.
Neighborhood Survey: Survey was passed around the group as everyone was talking and it was decided that Ethan could make changes and follow up as needed.
Community Garden: Kerry said that things are growing in the garden! Another grant from Miriam Hospital ($12,000) was received and the money will be used for the rest of the project, mainly the restoration of the playground. The new plan for the playground is less expensive, but still includes most important components. There was a question about how the plot lottery works and the possibility of another community garden in another location. Plots were assigned at the lottery and the plots are assigned to those people indefinitely.
Newsletter: (Kerry). The next one will probably be coming out in July.
Events Committee: Dean welcomes ideas for events and is open to discussing members’ ideas for upcoming events.
Make Summit Beautiful Signs: The signs are supposed to go up. (Hopefully week of May 22)
Facebook: There are two Facebook pages, Summit Neighborhood Association and Summit Neighbors. Sign up, post, share and like when possible!
Lippitt Fountain Compass Plaque: Maret Bondorew will do it for $300.
New Business
Mark Dunkelman gift: We authorized $100 for a gift card for a local Hope St. establishment.
Hope Street Block Party: We discussed the need for volunteers to sit at SNA table. HSMA also asked for volunteers and we should get in touch with Dylan@festivalballetprovidence.org to inquire about this.
Membership Prices: We discussed whether it might be appropriate to charge more money for memberships. Some felt strongly about not increasing it so it remains affordable. The consensus was to not change the membership fee at this time.
Zoning Committee: The zoning committee email will be transferred to SNA President, Ethan Gyles. When the notice comes in, Ethan will determine if it is something important to be passed on to the board and if so, he will email the board about it. We will determine over email how to proceed.
Ward 3 City Council: We had a great discussion about an upcoming candidate forum. It was decided to co-host two candidate forums, an un-debate and a more traditional forum, with Mt. Hope Neighborhood Association. We approved the use of $400 for 2 candidate forums. Ethan, Dean, Laura, John and Emily agreed to be in communication about planning the event. We also decided that there should be childcare for the event. Candidates will be invited to join us at our board meeting on June 12.
Respectfully Submitted: Emily Spitzman