NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCIL #3
MEETING MINUTES 11/8/05
North Middle School 7:00 p.m.

Attending: Sue Della Rossa, David Mikulecky, and Jan Cahill.

Sue Della Rossa, Chair, called the meeting to order @ 7:00 p.m. and took minutes.

Old Business

Minutes were read from the 10/11/05 meeting and were approved.

New Business

Skyline Park Development and Committee Formation - Giles Sayler and Jon Thompson from Park and Rec reviewed the plan that was looked at 4 years ago by a committee. The sketch was a rough start to show what could be put in the park utilizing its size and shape. There are no specific development dollars set aside for the park project. This needs to be a cooperative effort with the neighborhood council/subcommittee and Park and Rec. Park and Rec will provide labor and some matching funds. Discussion was held regarding trying to divert water from the holding pond up by the Riverview Baseball Complex to the park.

Darla Deck from Neighborhood Council 4 was an invited guest to talk about the Heren Park Committee. Funds and in-kind donations were raised in the amount of $100,000 for their 7 acre park. The project took 4 years and was completed in stages. Fund raising efforts included in-kind donations, door to door campaign, grants, garage sales, silent auctions, bake sales, direct mailings and matching fund programs. Darla is willing to talk to the Park Committee once it is formed to let them know what worked best for them.

It was decided that the first meeting of the Skyline Park subcommittee would meet at 6:00 pm on January 9, 2006. A flyer will again go out to the schools to generate interest in the Wednesday envelope. Neighbors that came to the meeting will be called by the Council members to remind them as well.

Neighborhood Concerns - no issues were expressed.

Orientation for newly elected council members is to be held on 11/15-16.

Next Meeting: December 13, 2005, 7:00 p.m. @ Quality Life

There being no other business, the meeting was adjourned at 8:30 p.m.

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NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCIL #3
MEETING MINUTES 10/11/05
Quality Life Concepts 7:00 p.m.

Attending: Sue Della Rossa, David Mikulecky, and Jan Cahill.

Sue Della Rossa, Chair, called the meeting to order @ 7:00 p.m. and took minutes.

Old Business

Minutes were read from the 9/13/05 meeting and were approved.

New Business

25th Avenue NE Traffic Study Report - Marty Basta, Public Works, Jerry McKinley, and Andrew Finch, Senior Transportation Manager reviewed the Traffic Study that was conducted regarding traffic on 25th Ave. N.E. from 4th Street to 8th Street. The study was performed in compliance with the Manual on Uniform Traffic Devices Guideline. The data was collected during July and September. The results were considered typical on 25th Ave. N.E. - speeding was not really out of the ordinary for similarly situated streets in Great Falls, but revealed high use for a residential area. The traffic in the alley behind 25th Ave. N.E. averaged 21 mph and the posted limit is 15 mph with again higher use of an alley in a residential area. The higher speed was contributed to the wide alley as a result of the open field on one side behind Walmart. The drivers feel comfortable driving faster. Andrew Finch then addressed traffic calming options as set for in the Traffic Study Plan for the City of Great Falls. Passive measures include trees, enforcement (cop-in-the-box), larger signage and education to drivers. The city is willing to do the following based on the study:

Public Works was commended by the council and concerned neighbors for acting promptly to the traffic concerns.

Local Government Study Commission - William Wiseman gave a report on the city government study currently underway. All citizens have an opportunity to study Government every 10 years. No changes were recommended at that time.

Patty Cadwell gave the coordinator's report. The Council of Council meeting will be held October 26, 2005 at 7:00 p.m. in the Gibson Room in the Civic Center. Sue Della Rossa is the delegate for council 3. Neighborhood Council orientation will be held on November 15 and 16, 2005. The swearing in ceremony will also be held on November 15 @3 p.m. in the Gibson Room and is mandatory.

Neighborhood Concerns - Jennifer Thompson expressed a concern with traffic near 2nd St. N.W. by Undercover off of Smelter Avenue.

Next Meeting: November 8, 2005, 7:00 p.m. @ Quality Life Concepts or another location to be determined based on the Skyline Park Development Meeting. It was decided to prepare a flyer to be distributed in the Wednesday envelopes at Riverview Elementary and Sacajawea Elementary regarding the November meeting focusing on the park. Park and Rec will be invited and the members of the Heren Park committee to share their insights.

There being no other business, the meeting was adjourned at 9:00 p.m.

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NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCIL #3
MEETING MINUTES 9-13-05
Quality Life Concepts 7:00 p.m.

Attending: David Mikulecky. Patricia Cadwell Neighborhood Council Coordinator was also present along with Officer Brooks.

As there was not a quorum, no official action took place.

Neighborhood Concerns - There still is a concern about the traffic in the alley on 25th avenue NE between 6th Street NE and 8th Street NE. Officer Brooks will check into using "Cop in a Box" and issuing tickets with it.

The meeting was ended at 7:35 p.m.

Next Meeting October 11, 2005, 7:00 p.m. @ Quality Life Concepts

Respectively submitted,

David Mikulecky

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NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCIL #3
MEETING MINUTES 8-9-05
Quality Life Concepts 7:00 p.m.

Attending: David Mikulecky and Jan Cahill. Patricia Cadwell Neighborhood Council Coordinator was also present.

As there was not a quorum, no official action took place.

Neighborhood Concerns - Al Smith attended the meeting and voiced his concern regarding the traffic and speeds on 15th Ave. N.W. and in the alley.

The meeting was ended at 7:45 p.m.

Next Meeting September 13, 2005, 7:00 p.m. @ Quality Life Concepts

Respectively submitted,

David Mikulecky

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NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCIL #3
MEETING MINUTES 5/10/05
Quality Life Concepts 7:00 p.m.

Attending: Sue Della Rossa, David Mikulecky, Dan Kapptie, Tom Mittal and Jan Cahill.

Sue Della Rossa, Chair, called the meeting to order @ 7:00 p.m. and took minutes.

Old Business

Minutes were read from the 4/12/05 meeting and were approved. Jan Cahill attended the Council of Councils meeting on April 27, 2005 on behalf of Council 3. Jan stated that it was very well attended and there were 9 representatives present. It was decided that the Council of Councils would meet bi-annually with the next meeting to be held in October. Also, of note, Jan Cahill was recently elected as a Board Member of the GFPS. Congratulations, Jan.

Coordinator's Report - Patty advised that there will be a Neighborhood Council Retreat for all council members to be held September 15th and 16th. National speakers are being brought in for the event. All council members are encouraged to attend.

New Business

Chuck Tourtillott, Director of the Human Society, and Sally Cerny, Trustee of the Animal Foundation, gave a presentation regarding the Animal Foundation and their efforts in building a new animal shelter and dog park. They need to raise $2 million dollars for the shelter project. The need for a new shelter was demonstrated in their presentation.

Sheriff David Castle then spoke regarding the Sheriff's Department and the progress made in the first 8 months under of his direction. Budget concerns continue to be an issue. Sheriff Castle explained the reasons for the deficit and how he proposes to address the financial problems.

Neighborhood Concerns - Al and Sue Smith attended the meeting and voiced their concern regarding the traffic and speeds on 15th Ave. N.W. from Jaycee Park to Havre Highway. The "cop-in-the-box" has been utilized in the past, but has not been effective. Most of this traffic is before work hours and after 3:00 p.m. - probably due to traffic from North Middle School. They plan to talk to some of their neighbors and bring their concerns to the next meeting. We will pass the information on the Patty Cadwell and to the attention of our council officer.

There being no other business, the meeting was adjourned at 9:00 p.m.

Next Meeting: June 14, 2005, 7:00 p.m. @ Quality Life Concepts

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NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCIL #3
MEETING MINUTES 4/12/05
Quality Life Concepts 7:00 p.m.

Attending: Sue Della Rossa, David Mikulecky and Jan Cahill.

Sue Della Rossa, Chair, called the meeting to order @ 7:00 p.m. and took minutes.

Old Business

Minutes were read from the 2/28/05 meeting and were approved. Jan Cahill was sworn in during the March City Commissioners Meeting and is officially a Council 3 member.

Patty advised that there would be a Council of Councils meeting at the Civic Center on April 27, 2005 at 7:00 p.m. A voting delegate needed to be designated from each Council. Sue, as chairperson of Council 3, was designated as the voting delegate. Also, she advised there would be a Forum for the School Board Trustee Candidates on 4/21/05, 6:30 pm at East Middle School in the cafeteria.

New Business

Patty Gumenberg, Acting Park and Recreation Director, gave a presentation on what Park and Rec does, the parks and pools they manage, and the events they run. The budget was discussed and specifically the non-profitability of the pools. The pools are subsidized every year and it is projected they will loss $86,000 in 2005. The Jaycee pool, which is located in our Council, will remain open this summer along with Water Tower, however they are operating at a $21,000 deficit. The city plans to keep Jaycee and Water Tower pools open until mechanical and maintenance issued preclude their operation. Once that occurs, the city envisions replacing the pools with spray grounds. These are less expensive to install, maintain and operate. They would explore a small bond issue as it would cost approximately 1.2 million to remove the neighborhood pools and replace them with spray grounds.

Officer Wells was present to address concerns in the neighborhood. Several intersections and lights were discussed.

A presentation was made by Stephanie and Angela on behalf of Voices of Hope. Voices of Hope is a 24 hour crisis line that intervene in crisis and get help for people in the community. To become a volunteer requires 40 hours of training. The Board of Directors are volunteers as well. Voices of Hope handles state-wide calls to 1-800-Suicide. They serve an advocacy role to victims in rape, violence and suicide.

There being no other business, the meeting was adjourned at 9:00 p.m.

Next Meeting: May 10, 2005, 7:00 p.m. @ Quality Life Concepts

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NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCIL #3
MEETING MINUTES 1/24/05
Riverview School Library 7:00 p.m.

Attending: Sue Della Rossa, David Mikulecky and Dan Kaptie.

Sue Della Rossa, Chair, called the meeting to order @ 7:00 p.m. and took minutes.

Old Business

The council discussed the vacancy that needs to be filled. Sue made an announcement to those in attendance and Patty will publish in the Tribune again. There have been several inquires, including Jan Cahill who was a council member on Council 4 and recently moved to our area. Due to scheduling conflicts, Jan has been unable to attend the last few meetings but has expressed interest in the position to Sue. Also, discussed with Patty was the publication of several agendas at a time in the Tribune in order for people to have several notifications of the upcoming agendas.

New Business

Kendra Owen and Ben Forsyth made a presentation on behalf of the special interest group NOcasiNO. They presented their groups position on land use proposal for zoning new casinos. NOcasioNO is encouraging the City to change the current zoning laws and restrict all new casinos to industrial areas of the city. They believe that the only way to control gambling in a community is by using the zoning laws. Great Falls is 40 over the quota set by the State in liquor/gambling licenses. The group also is concerned over the signage by the establishments and the use of the word Casino.

Kendra and Ben held a question and answer session where many citizens/establishment owners spoke out.

John Hayes and Mike Ferradas, President of the Tavern Association, spoke on behalf of the tavern owners. They recognize that there are too many licenses. They are aware of the groups concerns and wand to work with them. With regard to the signage issue, the Tavern Association has contacted 75 owners/establishments and received approximately 35 voluntary commitments to resign and remove the word "casino".

A Resolution was presented to Council 3 regarding the zoning codes. The council members present felt it best not to sign the resolution or any form of it. It was determined that should a member have thoughts either way, they can attend the upcoming City Commissioners Meeting and express those thoughts at that time, but will do so on an individual basis not as a Council.

There being no other business, the meeting was adjourned at 9:00 p.m.

Next Meeting: February 28, 2005, 7:00 p.m. @ Riverview School

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