BYLAWS CHANGES: The board approved changing MHNA’s fiscal year from June 1 through May 31 to January 1 through December 31 effective January 1, 2009. The membership year would remain June 1 through May 31.

The board also changed the venue for official notice of association meetings from “Southeast” to “the community newspaper that serves SE Minneapolis.”
MHNA membership will vote on these proposed changes at the annual meeting on June 17.

MHNA AGREES TO ACT AS FISCAL AGENT: The board ratified the Executive Committee’s willingness to act as fiscal agent for board member Paul White’s proposed non-profit, service organization Marcy One Call. MHNA would manage any grant money that Marcy One Call receives until White is able to obtain 501 © (3) status for the organization.

The Marcy One Call website (www.marcyonecall.blogspot.com) describes the organization as a free neighborhood service available to all residents of the Marcy-Holmes. Marcy One Call would coordinate services from snow shoveling to house painting for neighborhood residents. White eventually hopes to be able to have enough people interested in services to be able to get group discounts for residents.

EARTH DAY SUCCESS: Safety and Livability Committee Chair, Sydne Westorff told the board that around 75 people turned out to help clean up. She thanked the board for providing the funds to serve breakfast to the volunteers.

DEMONSTRATION PROJECT AREA CHOSEN: MHNA Executive Director, Melissa Bean told the board that the Alliance, a University district initiative to improve and market the Marcy-Holmes area, has chosen the blocks of 4th Ave. SE to 8th Ave. SE and 5th St. SE to 7th St. SE for its demonstration project.

The project will focus on maintaining homeownership in the area. Homeowners 65 years or old have the option to sign an agreement with the Greater Metropolitan Housing Corporation (GMHC) stating that they will give GMHC the first look should the owner decide to sell their property. The owner is compensated for signing the agreement.

CENTRAL CORRIDOR LRT UPDATE: Ward 3 Council Member Diane Hofstede told the board she thinks there is a “99 percent certainty that the Washington Avenue option will be the one preferred by everybody.” The light rail option would close Washington Avenue to all vehicular traffic. This would mean that, per a University of Minnesota, traffic study, over 20,000 per day would be rerouted through the surrounding neighborhoods.

MHNA has always opposed closing Washington Avenue. Instead, they support using what is called the northern alignment; the existing railroad tracks and the #9 bridge over the Mississippi River.

STEAK KNIFE ASKS FOR AMPLIFIED MUSIC: The board declined to act on the Steak Knife restaurant’s request for support to upgrade its liquor license from C1 to C2 to allow live music. Board member Bob Distad explained the board’s traditional unwillingness to support spot zoning. The rest of the establishments on the 1300 block of Southeast Fourth Street with the Steak Knife are zoned C1.

Instead, the board asked the Steak Knife’s owners to submit their request to the Land Use Committee. The board plans to contact the city to get information on the zoning history of that block in the meantime.

MHNA INVITED TO JOIN PLACEOGRAPHY: MN Historical Society web designer Bob Hoover invited MHNA to create its own neighborhood page on the Wikipedia-like www.placeography.org. Placeography bills itself as a place to “share the history of and stories about a house, building, farmstead, public land, neighborhood or any place to which you have a connection.”

The board expressed interest and asked Hoover to come back to its June meeting so they can explore the opportunity further.

NEXT: Board meeting, June 17, 2008
MEETINGS: 3rd Tuesday monthly, 6 p.m. at University Lutheran Church of Hope, 601 13th Avenue SE
CONTACT: 623-7633, www.marcy-holmes.org
BORDERS: Central Ave. to 15th Ave. SE, 9th St. SE to Main St. SE

last revised: May 23, 2008

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