DNCA BOARD MEETING
Monday, October 15, 2012
Mt. Moriah Church (410 Wharton)
Minutes

1.  7:05 PM     Call to Order.

2.  7:05 PM    Welcome & Message from the President.  The President welcomed all residents who were in attendance and asked the Officers and Directors to introduce themselves.  He proceeded to acknowledge that this meeting marks the first in the second year of the current board, and that in that time period a website was created, a database of members has been created, and that the location of the monthly Board meetings has been moved to a location within DNCA boundaries (Mt. Moriah).  He congratulated the Committees, which have worked hard this past year and stated that later in the meeting one of the Directors would review the past years accomplishments.

3.  7:10 PM    Roll Call.  Present were:
President Wiesner        Director Armistead
Vice-President Hicks        Director Lavini
Treasurer Hostettler        Director Winkel
Secretary Savage

4.  7:10 PM     Minutes Approval.  The President asked for a motion to approve the Minutes of the September 17, 2012 Board Meeting. The Vice-President so moved, Director Armistead seconded.  All present so approved.

5.  7:10 PM     Reports of Officers, Board Members & Standing Committees.

A.    Bylaws. The President reported that the Committee has been identifying provisions that are unclear or with which there are disagreements.  There has been an examination of the Bylaws of neighboring civics.  The Bylaws are now posted on our website.  Director Armistead suggested that a copy be laminated and available at each Board meeting.  The Committee will report to the Board with recommendation and thereafter possible action.

B.    Finance Committee.  Director Armistead reported on the status of our application to the IRS for 501(3)c status and said that the Committee is working with the assistance of a “free” attorney for guidance.  She also gave an update on the Board’s application for a Directors and Officers (D & O) Insurance policy.  The President clarified how DNCA received the grant from the Golden Rule Foundation.  Since DNCA is not yet recognized by the IRS as a non-profit, Manton Street Garden applied for the grant on our behalf, and after its receipt of the monies graciously asked for only $100 for their expenses.  Hence, DNCA received the $9,900 balance.

C.    Green & Clean Committee.  Since the Co-Chairs could not attend the meeting, the Treasurer and others announced that Manton Street Garden won an award for outstanding gardens in the City.  She also displayed a “Green Map”, which the Committee prepared from surveys of the vacant lots in our neighborhood, including 7 city-owned vacant lots.  She explained that the Committee is looking for neighbors that want to help DNCA procure these lots for parks, community gardens or similar.  DNCA can provide resources to interested residents.

D.  Outreach Committee. The Vice-President reported that the Committee has discussed the distribution of door-hangers for either the November of January meeting of the Board.  Ideas include a door hanger with a rubber band to make it easier to deliver, a listing of the Board meetings for the year, and urging members to sign up for emails about important notices, events and activities of the DNCA.

E.     Safety Committee.  Gina Caruso reported that she has been attending the meetings of the Police Department Advisory Council, which, at one meeting urged residents to identify their personal property with special UV light pens, decals, etc., in order to help identify person property, which the police may recover.  She said that any questions should be directed to P/O Michael Duffy, 215-686-3030, ext. 101, or Michael.Duffy@phila.gov.

F.     Zoning Committee. In place of the Zoning Chair, the Treasurer reported that one application for an open space variance at 443 Cross Street scheduled to be heard at the upcoming November 7th hearing.  Some residents attending asked about the proposed 11 apartment buildings at the southeast corner of 6th & Federal, which did not require ZBA approval.  Nicole asked if they could discuss after the meeting.

6.  7:35 PM    Old Business.  9th Board Member.  The President explained that last September only 8 persons ran for positions as Officers/Directors, although the Bylaws call for 9 Board members.  He said that the Board is accepting applications for the vacancy and that the instructions for applying and the process are available at the meeting room entrance.  In summary, applications must be submitted with a postmark no later than Monday, December 3, 2012; candidates will meet with the President and other Board members, between December 4, 2012, and Monday, January 21, 2013; and the President will announce his appointment, pursuant to the Bylaws, at the January 15, 2013 Board meeting.

7.  7:40 PM     New Business.

A.    Name Change of DNCA.  The President announced that the Board has discussed a name change for our civic, but that such a change may have legal issues. He asked all members with ideas to send them to info@dickinsonnarrows.org .

B.    Review of Master List.  Director Armistead highlighted the items on the Master List of issues created at a Board meeting last October and the 2011-2012 Accomplishments of DNCA.  That Master List and Accomplishments were published on the Agenda and are incorporated herein by reference to the Attached Schedules A and B.

8.  7:55 PM      Guest Speaker.  Kathy Cruz, Philly 311, Community Engagement & Program Coordinator, Office of Managing Director (www.phila.gov/311).  After introductions, she told the members that 311 was established in December, 2008, as an alternative to 911 for non-emergent matters.  Initially the hours were 24/7, but it became apparent that the weekend activity was mostly emergencies, so now 311 operate M-F, 8 AM to 8 PM.  She has developed a neighborhood liaison program to make the use of 311 more widespread and useful.  So far 311 has received over 5 million calls.  Philly 311 accepts primarily service requests by phone, Facebook, Twitter, email, the neighborhood liaisons, and now the new mobile application.  When a service request is received, 311 determines to which City department it should be referred.  There has been established a time frame, within which the department must act.  For example, in the case of property maintenance, within 30 days notice must be given and, if no action is taken by the property owner after 90 days, the matter goes to court.  Philly 311 maintains statistics, and each month the department to which a request has been submitted must report actions taken to the Mayor and Managing Director.  She said that, if there were enough interest by DNCA members, she would be happy to conduct a group training session.

9.  8:10 PM     Announcements & Events.

• Next DNCA BOARD MEETING will be Monday, November 19th, 7:00 PM at Mt. Moriah.  All welcome
• Dickinson Square Farmers’ Market, every Sunday, 10AM – 2PM through October.
• TreePhilly applications due October 29th for free street trees available at door.

Committee Meetings:

• Bylaws:  To be determined, info@dickinsonnarrows.org
• Outreach:  Tuesday, November 6th, email outreach@dickinsonnarrows.org for location
• Zoning:  Wednesday, November 7th, 6:30 PM, Parsons Building in Dickinson Square
• Green & Clean:  Wednesday, November 7th, 7:30 PM, Parsons Bldg in Dickinson Square
• Finance:  Monday, November 12th, 6:30 PM, Nicole’s house (email finance@dickinsonnarrows.org)

10.  8:15 PM     Adjournment.  S O C I A L –  “Neighbor’s Night” at The Industry (Reed & Moyamensing).

Respectfully submitted:  Ted Savage, Secretary

Block contacts signed up

Finance Committee
Golden Rule Foundation $10,000 grant
Attorney services through the VIP program
Finance Guidelines
Clybourne Park fundraiser
Zoning Committee
Zoning Guidelines
Heard 7÷ zoning applications in a public forum
CDAG representation a membership
Registered as an official RCO
Safety Committee
Official representative at PSA 3