Minutes of Gannondale Neighborhood Meeting
Wednesday, November 17th, 2010
Sue Kaiser’s House (7515 Gannon)
7:30 – 8:30 pm.
Present
Bob Baglan – 7540 Cornell
Nancy Baglan – 7540 Cornell
Wayne Bass – 7553 Cornell
Brian Burkett – 7630 Gannon
Linda Fried – 7623 Stanford
Amber Geiger – 7606 Gannon
Jeff Hales – 7630 Gannon
Jeannette Huey – 7541 Stanford*
Margaret Johnson – 7509 Gannon*
Sue Kaiser – 7515 Gannon
Mike Kimzey – 7508 Cornell*
Julia Macias – 7540 Gannon
Bryan S. Young – 7536 Cornell*
Kim Mulkey Young – 7536 Cornell*
Katie Zinser – 7601 Stanford
* denotes GNA Board or Block Captain
The meeting was called to order at 7:35 pm.
Bryan Young, President of the Gannondale Neighborhood Association (GNA) opened the meeting with an overview of the agenda. After introductions, a short video of the October 2, 2010 block party created by Kim Mulkey Young was presented. This video will be posted to the Gannondale Facebook Group and on the Gannondale blog (gannondale.blogspot.com).
Treasurer’s Report: Mike Kimsey (Treasurer) reviewed the GNA finances for 2010. On January 02, 2010, the GNA account at Commerce Bank was $691.15. As of November 17, 2010, the reconciled balance in the account was $133.69. Ongoing expenses in 2010 included printing costs (for the Pillar Post newsletter and announcements) and monthly AmerenUE electricity charges for the two pillar lights at the intersection of Hanley and Cornell. A detailed 2010 GNA financial statement is available upon request.
Old Business: Bryan reviewed the past year's Gannondale events using photos from the Easter Egg Hunt, the Halloween Parade, and the 2009 Luminaria Night. Everyone agreed that Gannondale events get better each year. The resurrected GNA has been active for five years and twenty Pillar Posts have been published since 2005. The Golden Flamingo Winners for 2010 were reviewed and Linda Fried suggested that a new award, "the plastic Dodo" be awarded to lawns that will never win the Golden Flamingo.
The neighbors profiled in the 2010 issues of the Pillar Post were also noted.
Bryan opened the Gannondale blog to show a slide show from the Halloween Parade. He explained that timely news is posted to the blog, while more substantial articles are shared in the quarterly Pillar Post newsletter. He also recommended the Gannondale Facebook group as another place where neighbors can connect with each other.
New Business: New Gannondale WWW Site: Bryan clicked through several pages of the new Gannondale website (www.gannondaleonline.org) that will be published soon. The website is hosted by 1 and 1 (1and1.com) with a monthly fee of $3.99. After gannondaleonline.org is activated, Bryan encourages neighbors to submit items to the website, especially notices of Gannondale club activities, baby sitting requests, items for sale, etc. The response to the website, designed by Kim Mulkey Young, was very favorable. Kim designed the website at no charge to the GNA.
North Pillar Light Repair: The light on the north pillar at Hanley and Cornell needs to be repaired. An October inspection by Rosco Electric was unable to locate the problem, at a cost of $105.00. Bryan suggested the neighborhood use a different electrical company to do the work. The cost to repair the light is a concern because of the limited funds in the GNA budget. Wayne Bass suggested that the GNA contact University City and explore the possibility of U City incorporating both the cost of this repair and the ongoing AmerenUE electrical bill into the city's budget. Linda will contact Shelly Welsch, U City's Mayor on this matter, but anticipated a negative response due to the U City's fiscal problems.
Luminaria Night Event: Luminaria Night will begin on Sunday, December 12, 2010 at 6:00 pm. A flyer with the specifics will be delivered to Gannondale homes after the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Nancy shared that Greg and Sharon Koob (7562 Cornell) will again host luminaria pick up at their garage on December 11, 2010 from 8-11 am. Bryan reported there is some surplus inventory remaining from last year's event (candles and paper bags) and the GNA may not need to purchase as many for this year. Linda volunteered to contact Daniel Shavers (U City High School) about providing student musicians for the event. Amber Geiger and Bryan will collect luminaria orders. Mike Kimsey, Robin Hattori, Nigel Taylor, Margaret Johnson and Julia Macias Garcia will build and distribute the kits on Saturday, December 11th.
New neighbor (and 7500 Stanford Block Captain) Jeannette Huey asked for more information about the Luminaria Night event. All agreed that it is a very beautiful event that prompts neighbors to walk around Gannondale, enjoy the luminaria lights, and gather around fire pits to visit. Nancy asked that neighbors remind each other to purchase the luminaria kits, even if they're unable to participate on December 12th. Kim encouraged everyone to ask for donations if a neighbor can't participate, because selling the luminaria kits is the only GNA fundraiser. Wayne suggested some of the older children might go door to door selling luminaria kits on the Saturday and Sunday afternoons before Luminaria Night.
Parking Restrictions on 7600 Block of Gannon: Jeff Hales reported that Gannondale neighbors who live on the 7600 block of Gannon have submitted a petition signed by 75% of the block residents to University City to implement residential permit parking for their block. The petition was approved by the University City Traffic Commission on November 10th and awaits final approval by the City Council.
2011 Gannondale Yard Sale: Wayne brought up the question of a Gannondale yard sale in 2011. Wayne and Bryan will work on a proposed date and coordinate the event, to be scheduled in the spring.
Nominations for GNA: Jeff Hales will replace Amber Geiger as the 7600 Gannon block captain for 2011. Aaron Geiger stepped down as Secretary and Katie Zinser will be the acting secretary for the GNA.
Otherwise everyone will stay on in their current positions.
Meeting adjourned at 8:45 pm.
Minutes taken by Kim Mulkey Young (Editor, Pillar Post)
