2010 EVA board organizes

Minutes for March 8, 2010 board meeting
Submitted by Dana Palmer

Attendance
Board Members: Greg Nagel, Brodi Cole, Nicole Semple, Neal McKnight, Dana Palmer, Rich Anselmo, Scott Rappe, Stephen Rynkiewicz and Steve Crane
Non-Board Members: Marjorie Isaacson

1. The president from East Village Neighbors met with the board regarding the possibility of EVN and EVA rejoining as one group, EVA. General consensus from the EVA board was positive and it was agreed that current EVN members would be welcomed into EVA.


2. New EVA President Greg Nagel requested secretary Dana Palmer to not only do general reports from both the monthly membership meeting and board meeting but to also compile a list of “to do's” after each board meeting and e-mail it to the Board members so that everyone knows and is reminded of the tasks they committed themselves to do.


3. Greg Nagel also asked secretary Dana Palmer to draft a letter to be sent to the new alderman's office informing them of the newly elected officers for EVA.


4. A contact list was generated for current officers and board members.


5. Greg Nagel discussed the possibility of nominating one or two current EVN officers to the EVA board as a way to welcome their group back to EVA. Greg also stated that he will personally call all current board members about their interest in serving another term as well as contacting other individuals who have been recognized as possibly being interested in serving on the board this term.


6. Brodi Cole transitioned position of Treasure to Nicole Semple. Brodi, Nicole and Greg agreed to meet at the bank to finalize the transition. Nicole was also given the key to the post office box and has agreed to gather the mail. She also agreed to look into the possibility of finding a new location for the P.O. box that is easier to access. Brodi has agreed to transfer funds from the PayPal account into the bank account before fully terminating her position.


7. Aldermanic position for first ward should be filled soon. Scott Rappe has agreed to draft a letter to give to the new alderman informing them of EVA, our history, views of various topics, what we would like to be notified of and priorities that we may have.


8. Steve Crane is still working on finalizing the current membership list and will retrieve the PayPal list from Brodi Cole to do so.


9. Steve Rynkiewicz agreed to update the website with the new officers. He also mentioned that EVA might want to look into finding a new web host or reassess the budget for the website since the current “cheap” services has been maxed out.


10. Suggestions were made regarding May membership meeting speakers. Marjorie Isaacson suggested inviting the West Town Chamber of Commerce and the West town SSA to speak. Other suggested speakers for meetings to come were the La Salle principal. Scott Rappe agreed to gather the contact information for the principal. Neal McKnight also suggested a friend who is an Arborist to come and speak regarding urban planting of trees and possibility of having trees for Augusta Boulevard.


11. The Board also discussed the fact that the current bylaws state Membership meetings will be held the first Tuesday of each month but they have for the past year been held on Mondays due to a schedule conflict with the previous EVA president. The board was in agreement to propose an amendment to the bylaws to state “General meetings shall be held monthly and shall be open to the public.” This proposal will be brought to a vote at the May Membership meeting.


12. The board also agreed to discuss at May's board meeting the possibility of changing the location of the meetings.


13. Corex signs: Greg Nagel and Rich Anselmo will work together regarding Corex signs notifying the public about EVA meetings and events.


14. An opinion letter was requested of the EVA board from the Pulaski Park Neighborhood Association in regards to the Near North Montessori School and its plans to build a gymnasium. The main issue stated was in regards to the location and placement of the gymnasium in relation to the current school and adjacent building. However, the public hearing is scheduled for March 19, which does not give EVA enough time to bring the issue to the membership meeting and gather a vote on the opinion or position of the group. Therefore, the board unanimously agreed to not weigh in on the issue due to time constraints and inablility to bring the issue to a general Membership meeting. Greg Nagel will write a letter or e-mail to the Pulaski Park association to inform them of our decision.