Meeting Minutes March 10, 2009

Ward 3 Neighborhood Association
Bridge Street School Library.

Present: Jim Nash, Fred Zimnoch, Jerry Budgar, Bob Reckman, Joanne Mackiewicz, and Owen Freeman Daniels
Absent: Lola Reid, Madeline Weaver Blanchette, Lisa DiPiano, Marianna McKim, Phil Sullivan, and Tim Fisher.
Members of the public: Jessie Adams, Peter McClean, Alex Ghiselin, Bill Mackiewicz, and Lisa Maloney.

The meeting was called to order at 5:05 PM.

Legislative update: -Bob

The City Council has approved raising the fine for littering in the Meadows from $100 to $250.

Zero Lot Line (ZLL) is now before both City Council and the Planning Board. OPD will be holding a forum to better explain the proposal at Bridge Street School on March 17 at 7:00 PM..

Bob reported that the Office of Planning and Development believes there are approximately 40 properties that fit the ZLL proposal and only 20 that could be realistically developed in this manner. Bob also reported that under discussion is the idea of limiting the ordinance to just these properties where new homes are going in and not additions.

There is a discussion concerning Traffic Mitigation Fees for new development. Currently there is no formula for determining these fees. Fees are assessed by looking at similar past assessments. Calls to surrounding communities by the planning department revealed that other cities and towns lack formulas as well. Instituting a formula would put Northampton at the forefront.

The idea under discussion is to have Traffic Mitigation Fees subject to a formula based on the size (square feet) of the development and define a value for peak hour trips and assign a cost. Also, under discussion is the idea that these fees can be negotiated downward when a developer helps to fund or provide traffic mitigation efforts.

It is looking likely that condominium developments will be required to meet city standard for subdivisions surrounding their infrastructure around sewer, water, and roads.

Sustainability Committee: -Jim Nash

Using the on-line assessor’s maps and lists of property owners, Jim, Owen, and Rachel attempted to contact by phone abutters and neighbors that would be affected by a redevelopment of the Mill River Bed. Jim reported that the sampling was a good portion of people and that we requested they tell their neighbors about the upcoming forum. Many people were left messages on their answering machines. Three of larger property owners were corporations and handed off to Bob who contacted those parties.

The Northampton Design Forum (NDF) will occur on March 11th at Bridge Street School at 7PM.

After meeting with Adam Cohen of North Street Neighborhood Association (NSNA), it was decided to postpone indefinitely a forum on the Northern Avenue Project. Adam conveyed that he felt that NSNA goals would be better served by a forum that focuses on sustainability and neighborhood design. Next steps will be towards making such a forum possible in the coming months.

Agricultural meeting held on February 24th - Jerry

Many issues were raised at the meeting such as dumping, partying, Off-Road ATVs destroying crops, and drug use. The ATV issue seemed bigger in the Ward 3 meadows while dumping was a bigger concern in Ward 4. Jerry openly wished more Ward 3 people had attended.

Many noted that there is considerable dumping near the bowling alley/dike due to the dirt road (Dike Road) off of Route 5. People suggested blocking this entrance. Other ideas proposed were printing cards to hand out providing information on who to call if you see someone trespassing or dumping in the meadows. We agreed that we could pass out these cards with our regular flyers.

Also, the police department is working on ways to improve signage and terminology for sites in the meadows. This will greatly help with reporting problems. Bob noted that one location had several names. He also mentioned our annual confusion when directing volunteer during the meadows clean up. The police department will also be securing letters from farmers stating their interest that the police enforce trespassing regulations.

Elections Forums: – Jim & Jerry

Ward 3 is considering holding a forum on property tax override issue which will be voted in June.

Bob reported that Healthcare costs for the city increased by 20%. The mayor is negotiating with employees to forgo pay increases. Stimulus money is helpful but project specific and not easily to be move to other areas. State aide is down. Excise taxes from new cars sales are down. Revenues from lottery are down. Return on city investments are down.

The Northampton Design Forum (NDF) will occur on March 11th at Bridge Street School at 7PM.
Mayor Budget Forum Monday night, March 16 at 6 PM Bridge St. School.
Tuesday, March 17, 7 PM ZLL at Bridge St. School.

Exit 19 and Traffic Calming: -Gerry
These groups will meet together on April 1 to determine if they have common goals.

Web Site: -Owen
Lisa, Jim and Marianna will discuss how to manage online content on the association's website
Business: -Owen
Business leaders in the ward he spoke to were reluctantly supportive of the BID but they felt it was better then nothing.

Ward3 Neighborhood Association Flyer: -Joan
Joan presented a very professional looking three part flyer for review that will be used in our Spring mailing.

Bridge Street School: -Tim (Received after our meeting.)

• The strategic planning committee did not recommend closing a school.
• The superintendent is not going to recommend closing a school.
• There would not be enough votes on the school committee to close a school.
• If a school were to be closed (unlikely) it would be Ryan, not Bridge Street School.
• Everyone from parents to administrators are most concerned that there is no long term plan, no leadership or vision about how to deal with this situation. The strategic planning committee had no long term plan which they were meant to provide.
• The full school committee meeting on Thursday will be the first time the superintendent will publicly present the budget. Everyone is urged to attend, and remind the committee, the superintendent and the mayor that long term strategies and leadership is desperately needed.

Other Business

Salvo House: Referring to an article in the Gazette on drug issues at Salvo house, Jerry asked the board if this something we wish to be involved with. Jerry reported that the building has become increasingly unsafe due to criminal activity, fires & fire alarms, and a general shift in the buildings population away from elderly residents to people who need better support and care. It was recommended that Jerry and Bob try to meet with the Tenants Association.

Zoning Changes: Jerry incidentally learned at a city meeting that the zero-lot line proposal would affect his neighbor's property, therefore his too. Because this was never made clear to him (and therefore, by induction, to other people whose properties would also be affected), he and Jim drafted a letter of expectation for what the city should do when new zoning is proposed. The draft was passed around for people to edit. It will be discussed again.

Review of minutes of February 10, 2009
No discussion. Minutes were approved.

Treasurer’s Report -Fred
• EXPENSES: Annual PO Box fee $42. Next due 2/28/2010.
• DUES: None have been received since last meeting.
• BALANCE in FSB no interest checking: $689.86.
• LIST SERVE for Ward 3ab = 152 members. Walter Rabetz, 50 Union St resigned; wife is a member. Adam Cohen wanted to change his email address but I convinced him that old one was still good.
• LIST SERVE MESSAGES for March 2009 = 4;
• POSSIBLE COMMITTEE MEMBERS: I was asked to create a filter to select names of people who said they were interested in Committee work. I filtered the roster and found 19 entries who expressed either the firm desire or hope that they could do committee work. Of those, two have no email address and four are already an officer or committee member or have resigned a committee position or boardship. Notice I use the words "entries on the list". An entry may be a current or past member or simply someone that submitted an entry form.