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DPNA Meeting Minutes
DPNA Meeting, May 10, 2007
Board members present: Dan Read (president), Melissa Godwin (vice president), Claire Doyle (secretary), Carol Donin, Michelle Old, Marty Jarrell, Kara Van Dam (members at-large), Barry Ragin (president ex oficio)
Neighbors present: Donna Hicks, Wade Marlette, Bill Anderson, Bill Triplett, Esther Bent, Stewart Kennedy, Rebecca Crocker, Angelo Abbate
Roxboro and Knox: We have a crosswalk and signs! Barry Ragin wants signage saying that drivers must stop for pedestrians. We really wanted a pushbutton with a flashing light. But this is pretty darn good. We will need to push for anything additional, but the city appears to be behind it. We should send a thank-you to Mike Woodard. Barry has written to Katy Kalb and Patrick Baker about Phil Loziuk’s help getting this done.
Bathhouse: Barry Ragin, Andrew Preiss and Dan Read met with Wanda Page, (Asst. City Manager) Rhonda Parker, (Parks & Recreation Director) and Sandra Harper (City Attorney’s office). They were receptive to our concerns and our proposal. The city is not legally permitted to deal with DPNA because we’re not a 501(c)3 non-profit. It was proposed that it’s not worth the time and money to become one, but we could work with the Duke Park Preservation Initiative, which is a 501(c)3. The group is stagnant but we’re trying to figure out how to revive it. Some DPPI board members have started the process of scheduling a DPPI meeting. It will be necessary to flyer the neighborhood to alert previous members. There was discussion of whether this is the best path, or whether it would be preferable to work with Preservation Durham or other groups. Motion: DPNA authorizes and will pay for printing and distribution announcing a meeting of DPPI in July. Seconded. And passed.
Lower parking lot: Barry said he’s talked to Patrick and that the city is looking for other places to store the things that are currently kept in that parking lot. Wade Marlette said he preferred that it remain storage; there was a murder there when it was a parking lot. He would want to see it locked at night.
Volunteers: Carol Donin said she’s gotten good results by putting SHORT requests, with clear subject lines, on the email list. She thinks the wordiness of a lot of the email posts put people off. Just a simple “Help Needed” is effective. Angelo Abbate said he is a neighborhood watch block captain. He recommends going back to block captains. Dan suggested putting a notice in the next newsletter that we’re looking for block captains. We need to define what a block captain is. We need to distinguish between neighborhood watch captains and block captains (although they could overlap). There was a suggestion of doing small block parties for National Night Out.
July 4 picnic/parade: It’s on a Wednesday this year. The shelter needs to be booked. We need to work with the city on making sure that we have first dibs, if not a standing reservation, for july 4th. Esther Bent and Marty Jarrell said they will organize it.
Newsletter: Next issue is due to be published at the end of June. Marty Jarrell and Melissa Godwin are doing it. Rebecca Crocker has volunteered to take over the Spanish translations. Rebecca suggested something on the front in Spanish, maybe a separate letterhead. Nobody present knew exactly how many Spanish-speaking residents are in the neighborhood. The concern about a separate newsletter is cost. Barry still has copies of the DPNA brochure in Spanish which could be redistributed. Angelo suggested that we have a contact person in DPNA who is Spanish-speaking.
Email: There are 420 subscribers; about 10% are reporters, city officials or people looking to buy in the neighborhood. But there are still a lot of families who are not on the list.
Washington Street: Michelle Old is in the walk zone for Club Blvd. School. The city is planning on a sidewalk on only one side of Washington St. This would be very inconvenient and dangerous, requiring her to cross the street to the sidewalk and then cross again to the school. There is lots of speeding, it’s not a safe street to cross. Michelle want a sidewalk on BOTH sides, both for pedestrians and also to narrow the street for traffic calming. It can be a nice entrance to downtown. Barry said the Durham Walks committee discussed this. He brought up to that committee that the current plan makes no sense. The concern the city had was the expense of building on the right of way—but you don’t have to if you narrow the road. Barry suggested Michelle talk to Mark Ahrendsen and Katy Kalb. Or go to durhamnc.gov, transportation site, pdf files for the durhamwalks plan. We might want to talk to the city about hiring someone to replace Alison Carpenter, the bike/ped coordinator who left but was not replaced. Angelo said that Trinity St. is an ideal model both for safety and aesthetics. You don’t want to put a sidewalk directly next to the curb. Motion: DPNA will support Michelle in lobbying the city for a sidewalk on both sides of Washington St. Seconded and passed.
Park maintenance: Angelo proposed that at the next meeting we address the maintenance of the park. There is erosion, exposed tree roots, etc. They are doing some things that could be corrected: for instance, leaving the leaves as natural mulch and erosion control rather than blowing them into the woods. Motion: DPNA support Angelo in lobbying the city to modify their maintenance practices in the park. Seconded and passed.
Construction traffic: Michelle asked why I-85 construction vehicles are going up and down Englewood. Angelo suggested they are parking at Brookline. Barry suggested calling Aaron Earwood at NCDOT div 5 HQ.
The next DPNA event will be the July 4th picnic.