CONTACT: Jerry Budgar 584-2964
The Ward 3 Neighborhood Association will hold its Annual Meeting and a Harvest Festival celebrating the growth of agriculture in Ward 3 on Sunday, October 5 from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Montview Neighborhood Farm on Montview Avenue, which will be closed off between Valley Street and Venturers Field Road for the event.
The event will include tours of both the Montview Neighborhood Farm and the new Town Farm that have been established over the past few years. Other Ward 3 farmers have been invited to display their produce and machinery, and farmer Ed Glowatsky will be making French fries from Szawlowski potatoes grown in the Ward 3 meadows.
During the event, Ward residents can view drawings of the proposed Three County Fairgrounds redevelopment plan, speak with representatives of the Bridge Street School community about the school's future, and talk with members of the association's subcommittees on traffic calming, sustainability, and Exit 19 of I-91 to get updates on these issues and their impact on Ward 3.
A tent will be provided and local restaurants have donated food and beverages. Those attending are asked to bring a dish to the potluck. While all items are welcomed, it's hoped that residents will keep to the theme of the afternoon by bringing fresh food made from local produce. In fact, several individuals will be making dishes out of produce grown in Ward 3. There will be ample time for socializing, playing games, and meeting new neighbors from throughout the Ward.
During the Annual Meeting portion of the event, the association will elect officers and members of the board of directors for the following year, vote on a number of proposals regarding job descriptions of officers, and hear updates on the association's activities over the past year and plans for the following year.
Since the new dues year begins with the Annual Meeting, Ward 3 residents wishing to join or renew their memberships in the Ward 3 Neighborhood Association can do so at this event. Dues are $10 per individual and $15 per family.
Further information about the event can be obtained from Councilor Robert Reckman at 413-695-0281.
Meeting Minutes September 9, 2008
WARD 3 NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION MINUTES OF BOARD MEETING Tuesday, September 9, 2008
@Hampshire Education Collaborative, Hawley St., Northampton
Attendees: Gerald Budgar, Lisa DePiano, Tim Fisher, Owen Freeman-Daniels, Jim Nash, Gloria Parker, Bob Reckman, Lola Reid, Fred Zimnoch.
General Business: The minutes of the August 12 board meeting were approved. (The July 8 minutes have been posted to the new blog/website. The treasury balance is $426.99. Fred also reported that an Excel file was created to list all members (about 100) of the W3NA.
President’s Report: 1. Jerry and Jim met today with the Design Northampton Notre Dame architectural students and professor. All citizens are welcome to visit the work site (APE Gallery) to give input to the team about what we want our city to be like in 10-20 years.
2.The August 25 Best Practices meeting about the history of the Meadows Plan went very well. Adam Cohen has posted his video of the meeting on his website.
3. October 26 Meadows cleanup: Bob is working on the set up (dumpster, bags, etc.). The police have been patrolling the Meadows more, and the trash is diminishing each year.
4. October 5 Annual Meeting and Harvest Festival will be held at the Montview Ave. conservation land from 1:00 to 3:00. After the meeting, the festival will feature agriculture in the ward with the Montview and Town farms and other older, local farmers. Bob will get the tent, etc., Ed G. will make his fab french fries, the various committees will set up tables, and Bob & Jerry will make up the flyer and coordinate its distribution.
5. TheNorthampton City School project will have an introductory meeting for the public to give an initial overview of how the city works and to recruit people as “students” in the program. The City-wide Groups will help to promote the meeting.
Nominating Committee Business: Jim & Owen presented their revised descriptions of the City Councilor and President of the W3NA board; after some suggestions, both descriptions were approved. Then J & O’s “Means for Achieving Consensus” was presented, discussed, and approved. It has a two-tiered format: Super Majority Model (which strives for unanimity but requires a two-thirds vote) and Majority Model (which requires a majority of those present). Both the descriptions and the consensus will be presented at the Annual Meeting for approval before they can become part of the by-laws. Jerry suggested that we add two seats to the W3NA board: one precinct A alternate and one precinct B alternate. A motion in favor of the proposal was unanimously approved by the board and will be brought to the Annual Meeting for final approval.
Saving Neighborhood Schools: Tim presented the revised letter of support for the Bridge St. School and other neighborhood schools (to be sent to the city) and it was unanimously approved by those present.Website Update: Owen and Lisa will bring a computer to the next board meeting and do a demonstration of the workings of the new website.
Sustainability Committee Update: The proposal for the composition of the 9-member Re-zoning Committee will be voted on by the Planning Board this Thursday, September 12. The W3NA can endorse a candidate for the committee (a 2-year commitment).
Traffic Calming Committee: There will be a meeting of this committee Thursday, September 11 to discuss next steps.
Business Representative Report: Owen wants to get his survey out to the businesses in the community soon and asks for more input. He will do face-to-face interviews whenever possible. Jerry proposes setting up a Business Advisory Committee.
Councilor’s Report: Bob explained the proposed administrative fee for towing, to be collected by the city. (About 16 cars a day are towed in the city so this could be a significant source of revenue.) The Public Safety Committee is looking at new regulations.
Best Practices Committee: Their August 25th forum on the Meadow Use Plan was well attended and reputed to be enlightening to the Sustainability Committee and the audience. The BP committee’s In-reach subcommittee will be doing interviews of city officials, department heads and committee chairs beginning next week.
There will be another open forum of the BP committee Wednesday, October 8 at the Senior Center.
The meeting adjourned at 9:10.
Submitted by lola Reid, Association Secretary
@Hampshire Education Collaborative, Hawley St., Northampton
Attendees: Gerald Budgar, Lisa DePiano, Tim Fisher, Owen Freeman-Daniels, Jim Nash, Gloria Parker, Bob Reckman, Lola Reid, Fred Zimnoch.
General Business: The minutes of the August 12 board meeting were approved. (The July 8 minutes have been posted to the new blog/website. The treasury balance is $426.99. Fred also reported that an Excel file was created to list all members (about 100) of the W3NA.
President’s Report: 1. Jerry and Jim met today with the Design Northampton Notre Dame architectural students and professor. All citizens are welcome to visit the work site (APE Gallery) to give input to the team about what we want our city to be like in 10-20 years.
2.The August 25 Best Practices meeting about the history of the Meadows Plan went very well. Adam Cohen has posted his video of the meeting on his website.
3. October 26 Meadows cleanup: Bob is working on the set up (dumpster, bags, etc.). The police have been patrolling the Meadows more, and the trash is diminishing each year.
4. October 5 Annual Meeting and Harvest Festival will be held at the Montview Ave. conservation land from 1:00 to 3:00. After the meeting, the festival will feature agriculture in the ward with the Montview and Town farms and other older, local farmers. Bob will get the tent, etc., Ed G. will make his fab french fries, the various committees will set up tables, and Bob & Jerry will make up the flyer and coordinate its distribution.
5. TheNorthampton City School project will have an introductory meeting for the public to give an initial overview of how the city works and to recruit people as “students” in the program. The City-wide Groups will help to promote the meeting.
Nominating Committee Business: Jim & Owen presented their revised descriptions of the City Councilor and President of the W3NA board; after some suggestions, both descriptions were approved. Then J & O’s “Means for Achieving Consensus” was presented, discussed, and approved. It has a two-tiered format: Super Majority Model (which strives for unanimity but requires a two-thirds vote) and Majority Model (which requires a majority of those present). Both the descriptions and the consensus will be presented at the Annual Meeting for approval before they can become part of the by-laws. Jerry suggested that we add two seats to the W3NA board: one precinct A alternate and one precinct B alternate. A motion in favor of the proposal was unanimously approved by the board and will be brought to the Annual Meeting for final approval.
Saving Neighborhood Schools: Tim presented the revised letter of support for the Bridge St. School and other neighborhood schools (to be sent to the city) and it was unanimously approved by those present.Website Update: Owen and Lisa will bring a computer to the next board meeting and do a demonstration of the workings of the new website.
Sustainability Committee Update: The proposal for the composition of the 9-member Re-zoning Committee will be voted on by the Planning Board this Thursday, September 12. The W3NA can endorse a candidate for the committee (a 2-year commitment).
Traffic Calming Committee: There will be a meeting of this committee Thursday, September 11 to discuss next steps.
Business Representative Report: Owen wants to get his survey out to the businesses in the community soon and asks for more input. He will do face-to-face interviews whenever possible. Jerry proposes setting up a Business Advisory Committee.
Councilor’s Report: Bob explained the proposed administrative fee for towing, to be collected by the city. (About 16 cars a day are towed in the city so this could be a significant source of revenue.) The Public Safety Committee is looking at new regulations.
Best Practices Committee: Their August 25th forum on the Meadow Use Plan was well attended and reputed to be enlightening to the Sustainability Committee and the audience. The BP committee’s In-reach subcommittee will be doing interviews of city officials, department heads and committee chairs beginning next week.
There will be another open forum of the BP committee Wednesday, October 8 at the Senior Center.
The meeting adjourned at 9:10.
Submitted by lola Reid, Association Secretary
Statement of Support for Bridge Street Elementary School
In light of the recent discussion by City Officials concerning the possible closing of a Northampton elementary school, the Board of the Ward 3 Neighborhood Association would like it to be known that we strongly value and support the continued vitality of our neighborhood school, Bridge Street Elementary. As a school, Bridge Street Elementary greatly contributes to the overall vitality and health of Ward 3.
Not only do we greatly value Bridge Street’s considerable academic achievement, we value the school for its role in our community as a hub for neighborhood social and civic activities.
Furthermore, in light of this relationship, we strongly support the on-going vitality of all Northampton neighborhood schools for the breadth of activities they offer and the sense of community they provide.
We are committed to working with the City to find long-term solutions to keep all our neighborhood schools open.
--Ward 3 Neighborhood Association
9 September 2008
Not only do we greatly value Bridge Street’s considerable academic achievement, we value the school for its role in our community as a hub for neighborhood social and civic activities.
Furthermore, in light of this relationship, we strongly support the on-going vitality of all Northampton neighborhood schools for the breadth of activities they offer and the sense of community they provide.
We are committed to working with the City to find long-term solutions to keep all our neighborhood schools open.
--Ward 3 Neighborhood Association
9 September 2008
Posts
