Oread Neighborhood Association
Board Meeting Minutes
Wednesday, February 28, 2007 @ 7:00 p.m.
Plymouth Congregational Church – 925 Vermont

Approved:  March 31, 2007

Attending: Candy Davis, James Dunn, Marci Francisco, Laura Herlihy, Christy Kennedy, Devon Kim, Jerry Stubbs, and Carol von Tersch

Absent:  Rene Diaz, Nils Gore, Deb Milks, and Beth Reiber

Guests:  Marcia and Steve Riley (Lawrence ½ Marathon & 5K) and Megan Hirt (Journalism Student – Scholarship Hall Resident)

Lawrence ½ Marathon & 5K – Oread Water Station
Date of Race:  Sunday, April 15, 2007 @ 8:00 a.m.

Volunteer Meeting: March 29th at the hospital (auditorium) – 7:00 p.m. 

Oread Water Station:
•	Located at the KU football stadium (11th & Mississippi)
•	A coordinator and twenty volunteers are needed for the water station.  Volunteers will hand out / pick up cups.  Volunteers who sign-up in advance will receive a marathon t-shirt.  
•	The water station will need to be set up at 7:00 a.m. on Sunday morning.  Runners will be coming through from ~8:20 a.m. - 9:15 a.m. 
•	 When our water station is finished, remaining cups and water need to be taken to other stations along the route.  

There will be a food fest at Haskell following the race until 11:30 a.m.

Nancy Jorn:  843-0257 (course captain for the Oread area)
Marcia Riley: 842-4351 (race organizer) 
Health Care Access Clinic – Sally: 841-5760 - ext. 209 (volunteer coordinator)

Treasurer’s Report
Register Reports:  The board reviewed register reports from the Treasurer and Coordinator accounts.  The balances were as follows:
•	Treasurer Account:  $4,777.07
Requests for Payment from CDBG funds will be submitted to Neighborhood Resources as follows:
CDBG REQUESTS FOR PAYMENT	
Month	Coordinator Salary	Operating Expenses	Total	
January 2007	$706.69	$394.83	$1,101.52	
February 2007	$557.38	$506.26	$1,063.64	

GRANT TOTAL	
$1,264.07	
$901.09	
$2,165.16	

With the addition of the CDBG Requests for Payment, the balance in the Treasurer’s Account will be ~$6,900.00
  
•	Coordinator Account: $3.08 (The Coordinator account is used to pay routine, monthly ONA expenses.  Each month, the Treasurer transfers funds into the Coordinator’s account to cover the phone bill, copying, salary, etc.)

Membership Income:  Membership income received since August 01, 2006 is $221.00.

Coordinator’s Report

December and January Board Meeting Minutes
The December and January Board meeting minutes were approved as submitted.

Demolition Permits
None received since the January board meeting.

Blight
1232 Louisiana
•	Daryl Beene, KU Endowment Association, reported that the KUEA attorney has rewritten a clause in the sales agreement and this was agreed to by Dale and the purchaser.  This has been sent to the purchaser’s attorney for approval, contract signing, etc.  Jodi will contact Julie Wyatt, Neighborhood Resources, to inquire about how the blighted property will be addressed after the new owner has taken possession.  

1043 Indiana – KU Property
•	Julie Wyatt continues contact with Doug Riat, Director, Facilities Operations.  Painting needs to be completed by April 01, 2007.  FO plans to have a contractor complete this work and this is the next project slated for completion. 

920 Louisiana
•	This property is being renovated by Fadila Boumaza, property owner.  This is the same group that renovated the property at 1145 Kentucky.  They are working with the Planning Office and the Historic Resources Commission.

1121 Vermont
•	The structure needs to be painted.  The property owner has until March 15, 2007, to complete this work.  Julie will be re-inspecting the property after March 15th to confirm that progress is being made.  If necessary, Neighborhood Resources will file a complaint with the municipal court if the property owner has not begun painting or contacted the City to let them know what their plans are. 

Trash
Everyone was reminded to pay attention to trash in yards.  Excesses need to be reported to Neighborhood Resources so that notifications can be sent to property owners / residents.  Details about environmental blight situations can be relayed to Jodi who will follow up on the outcome of the report with Neighborhood Resources.  Keep Oread clean!

Board of Zoning Appeals
There were no Oread properties listed on the March 01, 2007 BZA agenda.  

Historic Resources Commission – February 15th Meeting
The following properties, included on the February agenda, fall within the boundaries of the Oread neighborhood:

129 W. South Park – Detached Garage – Roof Caving In  
•	The HRC denied the demolition request because the applicant did not provide a structural engineer’s report (including the rehabilitation versus replacement costs).  This can be appealed to the City Commission.

944 Kentucky – Lawrence Community Shelter
•	The HRC approved the Lawrence Community Shelter Special Use Permit.  One of the conditions for approval was removal of the carport and fence in back.  This does not meet Secretary of Interior guidelines which regulate all actions/decisions made by the HRC.  In the summer of 2006, the Oread Neighborhood Association donated $250.00 towards the purchase, installation and maintenance of the awning.  This provides a gathering place for the guests, staff and volunteers who utilize the shelter.  It is assumed that the LCS will appeal this decision to the City Commission.  

946 Vermont – First United Methodist Church
•	This agenda item was for what was deemed as “exterior art” rather than a sign because there was no wording or advertising (i.e.:  cross w/ red accent).  The application was approved administratively.

Historic Resources Commission – March  15th Meeting
The following properties, included on the February agenda, fall within the boundaries of the Oread neighborhood:

911 Massachusetts
•	There were no questions or comments about the exterior modifications submitted for review by the HRC.

Lawrence Association of Neighborhoods

Changes to the City’s Fire Code
There is talk about adopting an international fire code.  The Fire Chief provided information to LAN for their review.  ONA board members were given the opportunity to review these materials at the meeting.

Rental Registration
•	A letter from David Corliss, City Manager, was reviewed by the board.  This included a report from Neighborhood Resources that described how the current rental registration policy could be expanded to include multi-family zoned districts.  
•	There are approximately 12,784 multi-family rental units in the City of Lawrence.  There are about 2,100 units, in single-family zoned areas, which are already covered by the rental registration program.  Additional City staff would need to be hired in order to implement the incorporation of these units in the current inspection program.  Implementation of rental registration fees should essentially pay for the expansion of the program.  
•	Expanding the current program is essential if our community is going to protect people who are living in dilapidated properties.  Blight in Oread is only dealt with when an occupant reports a problem to the City.  This puts renters in a tough situation with their landlord.  They could jeopardize return of their deposit.  Another outcome could be eviction if the reported violations require vacating the property so that corrections could be made.  Oftentimes, residents who live in older properties are poor and cannot afford to move around (i.e.:  pay another deposit, transfer utilities…).
•	Absent landlords can be particularly problematic because they are not living in the community and do not actively participate in the maintenance and upkeep of their property.  A rental registration program would require an inspection on a regular basis.  Possibly at least once every three years.    
•	This will be considered by the City Commission.  The responsibility will fall to Neighborhood Resources and they are under-staffed at this time.
•	The current rental registration program is under appeal to the 10th Circuit.  The issue to be considered is whether properties can be inspected (searched) when tenants are living there.  Can an inspection be refused?  Would a search warrant be necessary in this case?  The current ordinance is written only for single-family zoning in Lawrence.  This may be considered discriminatory.
•	ONA would like to see a phased implementation plan.  Properties in the five target neighborhoods should be included in the first series of inspections.  Subsequent inspections could then occur once every three years.  Aging neighborhoods need to be made a priority.  It would be beneficial to understand the criteria that will be used to determine if electrical, plumbing, sewer… systems will meet inspection requirements.  
•	There are times when tenants are occupying space that they are not paying for.  Over capacity living in rental properties can exacerbate unfavorable living conditions.  
•	LAN will be moving forward with the rental registration proposal.  This will be discussed at the March 27th City Commission meeting.  A vote was taken by the ONA board to support LANs efforts.  Seven ONA board members were in favor; one opposed.

Neighborhood Resources Advisory Committee
No report for the meeting.

Community Cooperation Committee (CCC)
The CCC is working with the Lawrence Community Shelter and Downtown Lawrence, Inc. on a mediation effort.  This is in response to finalizing the Good Neighbor Agreement prior to implementation.

Lawrence Community Shelter

Special Use Permit (2007-2008)  
•	Planning Commission:  On March 28th the Planning Commission will review the LCS Special Use Permit (SUP).
•	Lawrence City Commission:  The LCS SUP will be reviewed by the City Commission on April 17th:  
•	The LCS will be asking for a 5-year SUP.  Renewing the SUP annually is a time-consuming administrative task.  If a five-year SUP is granted, that does not mean that the LCS and neighbors are locked into an agreement.  If changes are needed, these can be addressed at any time by the Lawrence City Commission.  

Rezoning Feedback
There has been no progress on this project.  Additional feedback from residents in the affected area needs to be gathered.  

Candy talked with the City about this effort.  When a property is remodeled, a building permit would be required but a site plan would not.  There is a concern that properties may be renovated to include too many bedrooms.  According to code, for every bedroom there must be one parking space.  This should limit the number of bedrooms based on the availability of parking.  In theory, this should keep occupancy of these properties relatively small.  According to City code, a site plan is not required when anything less than a tri-plex is built.  Even though there is a requirement to identify how many parking spaces a property will have (i.e.:  building permit), a property owner never has to file anything that shows where parking allowances are made (i.e.:  site plan).  Unless a site plan is required, you don’t know how many parking spaces will be provided.  It may be beneficial to the Oread neighborhood to require that property owners adhere to a site plan.  The board unanimously agreed to give Candy permission to write a letter to the city to initiate this effort for the neighborhood.

1019 Kentucky Demolition – Ellie LeCompte Owner
The City Commission will consider the demolition request at the April 3rd meeting.  

Mike Goans inspected this property and reported his findings to the Lawrence Preservation Alliance (LPA).  As much as the LPA is committed to preventing demolition, this appears to be a structure that cannot be saved.  Some additional investigative work was done.  Three feet of the exterior sheathing and clapboard was removed to see what was underneath.  What was found was evidence of repair of extensive old termite damage.  All of the studs had been cut off at the bottom and replaced.  It is not known how extensive the termite damage is.  The general opinion of the LPA is that the house cannot be saved.  

The HRC denied the request for demolition because a plan for a replacement structure was not presented.  According to the Department of the Interior guidelines, demolition cannot be approved unless there will be a replacement structure.  This property is somewhat problematic because the existing structure is sitting on half of a lot.  

An article will be included in the next newsletter to acknowledge that Ellie really went out of her way to work through this process.  Not everyone would have been as thorough as she was.  ONA really appreciates the effort that Ellie went to.  

1131-1135 Ohio Dumpster Screening
This was an Oread item on the December HRC agenda.  The HRC approved removing the historic curbs at this location.  James contacted the city about this and was referred to Kevin Doyle.  Mr. Doyle is the Infrastructure and Development Coordinator for the City.  The owner of record is Tim Keller.  The city has been working with the property owner, HRC and the solid waste division.  ONA is opposed to a dumpster in the right-of-way on 11th Street.  The trash collection site should not be enlarged.  Marci will talk with Kevin Doyle about this (832-3410).  

Neighborhood Clean-Up
Could this be scheduled at a time when fraternities, sororities and scholarship hall residents could participate?  This has been done in the past.  The activity needs to be scheduled with these groups early in the year at the time when they are signing up for community service hours.  Clean-ups have generally been scheduled for times after the students have moved out.  Perhaps a request could be sent to the University asking that the students be good neighbors.  Jeff Weinberg, Chancellor Office, could be contacted about this.  

If you are cleaning up trash in the neighborhood and come across an unopened beer, you should not be concerned about drinking it.  

March ONA Board Meeting
The next board meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, March 27th at 7:00 p.m.  Location pending.

Spring General Meeting
April 21st @ 9:30 a.m. at the Watkins Community Museum of History.  The Neighborhood Resource Officers will be invited to speak.