January 10, 2005 | February 14, 2005 | March 14, 2005 | April 11, 2005 | May 9, 2005 | October 10, 2005
Minutes of Neighborhood Council District #7
October 10, 2005
6:30 p.m.
Council Members present:
Dona Stebbins
Bob Gaskell
Clary Cory
Kim Thiel
Mary Lucas
Neighbors and guests present:
Channing Hartelius
Donna Sadler
Jasmin Kurth
London Gordon
Jesse Slaughter
Christie Slaughter
Patty Cadwell
Bill Wiseman
Chuck Tourtillott
Robin Johnson
OLD BUSINESS
Approval of minutes of last meeting. Waived.
NEW BUSINESS
Officer Slaughter gave the downtown police update. The administration offices of the Great Falls Clinic on 1st Avenue North, next to M&H will be moving, most likely. They have been reporting that they just do not feel safe in that location. Other locations having crime problems are the Red Door, the Downtowner and the Lexington Apartments, the police are working on these issues. The owner of the Triple Crown may be going back to prison pending his revocation hearing on October 28. The property at 624 3rd Avenue North is going back to the original owners from Herrera. Officer Slaughter is working on having convenience stores with crime issues ban the sale of single cans of beer and put locks on the cooler doors.
Channing Hartelius presented information for his request to change the zoning of his bed and breakfast located at 825 4th Avenue North, the Charlie Russell Manor. Hartelius needs a conditional use permit to continue operations of his business that includes catering, parties for weddings, meetings and other related functions. Hartelius said the only complaint he has had from the neighbors is about parking. He has been working with neighboring parking resources to address this problem. He has secured permission from Whittier School, the Heisey Youth Center and Sheila Rice in conjunction with Romeo Ranieri who owns the vacant lot at the corner of 9th Street and 3rd Avenue North. He will continue to try to market to smaller functions of 30 to 50 people. Three neighbors have not agreed to this zoning request as of the date of this writing, John and Linda Lewis, 820 4th Avenue North, Bob and Janis McGregor, 813 4th Avenue North, and Vern and Linda Brave, 900 5th Avenue North. The council voted to approve the request of Channing Hartelius and the Charlie Russell Manor.
Chuck Tourtillot of the Blue Ribbon Committee for revising the current code on animals within the city limits gave a report. The committee is working on revising and reviewing the current animal control ordinances for the city. Now is the time for public input. The ordinances have not been revised since 1989. The draft is on the city of Great Falls website for those who would like to review it. They are proposing doing away with the Barking Dog Log, now in the ordinances. They are proposing something more immediate to alleviate this problem, such as for repeat calls the cops will talk to several neighbors to determine if the dog barking is a persistent problem and how severe the problem is. The cops become witnesses in this way. Fines will be raised. The reasonable man standard will apply. There will also be clear definitions written into the ordinances, as it is now many definitions are unclear. The goal is to remove all ambiguity. Stray cat complaints are on the rise. There is a huge problem with feral cats in the city. Cats need to be licensed and cannot be at large. Dona Stebbins is spearheading a massive neuter/spay clinic that will be free and is set to take place next spring.
William Wiseman gave a report on the city government study currently underway. No changes have been recommended.
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. Mary Lucas is the delegate from this council. Neighborhood Council orientation will be held on November 15 and 16, 2005. The swearing in ceremony will also be held on November 15 @4 p.m. in the Gibson Room and is mandatory.
Meeting adjourned at 8:00 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Mary Alice Lucas
Secretary for Neighborhood Council #7
Minutes of Neighborhood Council #7 Meeting
May 9, 2005
6:30 p.m.
Council Members present:
Dona Stebbins
Bob Gaskell
Mary Lucas
Clary Cory
Kim Thiel
Neighbors & Guests present:
Martin Wildin
Heather Wildin
Patty Cadwell, Neighborhood Counsel Coordinator
Paul Zallek
OLD BUSINESS
Approval of minutes of last meeting. The minutes were approved by motion, second and vote.
Kim Thiel was welcomed as the new counsel member to fill the vacancy by Lee Houle.
Kim Thiel and Mary Lucas gave a report to the counsel about the Mapril Cleanup that they participated in.
Patty Cadwell reported on the Great Falls Citizen's Counsel.
NEW BUSINESS
ZONING CHANGE REQUEST @ 825 10TH STREET SOUTH.
Neighbors Martin and Heather Wildin want to change the zoning of this property to allow for operation of a nail salon. It currently holds the offices of Caring Hands Home Care. No decision was made on this request. The counsel needs more information before deciding and suggested to the Wildins to contact City staff for more information.
ZALLEK LETTER
Paul Zallek brought a letter to the meeting asking for the counsel to recommend outlawing pornography in the city. The counsel denied his request based upon the First Amendment and that we do not have authority to change existing law.
MEETING FOR JULY
A motion was made to vacate the meeting for the month of July. This was seconded and approved by majority vote.
RETREAT
A retreat will be held on September 9 and 10 with the council members and weed and seed folks. This is a team building event in conjunction with drug enforcement. Patty Cadwell will bring more information as it comes available.
Meeting Adjourned at 7:30 p.m. Next meeting is June 13, 2005 at 6:30.
Minutes of Neighborhood Council #7 Meeting
April 11, 2005
6:30 p.m.
Council Members present:
Dona Stebbins
Bob Gaskell
Mary Lucas
Clary Cory
Neighbors & Guests present:
Travis Kavulla, Single Member Trustee Districts
Patty Cadwell, Neighborhood Counsel Coordinator
Marissa Davis
Traci Hronek
Adam Nadeau
Levi Sanford
Paul Zallek
Sheila Kelly
Sally Cerny
Chuck Tortello
Old Business
Approval of minutes of last three meetings. The minutes of the prior meetings were approved, by motion, second and vote.
COUNSEL VACANCY
Kim Thiel was elected as the new counsel member to fill the vacancy by Lee Houle. She ran unopposed because Paul Zallek withdrew from the election during the meeting.
COORDINATOR'S REPORT
Patty Cadwell gave the coordinator's report. She announced the Council of Council meeting to be held on April 27, 2005 at 7 p.m. Mary Lucas was appointed as delegate to this meeting.
TRAVIS KAVULLA/SINGLE MEMBER TRUSTEE DISTRICTS
Neighbor Sheila Kelly asked questions regarding the proposal for single member trustee districts. These questions were answered by Travis Kavulla. Travis asked the counsel for its support of his proposal. The counsel voted and affirmed his request to have this issue move forward to the next step of trying to have it on the ballot of the next election.
Meeting adjourned at 7:30 p.m.
New Business
ANIMAL FOUNDATION
Sally Cerny gave a presentation on the animal foundation along with Chuck Tortello. The group is proposing a dog park and new animal shelter for the community. A fundraiser is planned called the Fur Ball on April 23 at 6:30 p.m. The goal is to raise two million dollars.
STANN'S
Tracy Hronek gave a presentation on STANN'S. This is a project that St. Ann's Cathedral is implementing. It is a soup kitchen that will be open on Fridays from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. The program is geared to the poor, homeless and indigent in our city. St. Ann's need volunteers and donations to buy food. This will begin May 1, 2005. Please call Tracy to volunteer at 761-5456. Also, there will be a meeting of the Neighborhood Watch groups this Thursday at 6:30 p.m.
OTHER BUSINESS
A flyer was distributed concerning Richard Tregedga, a sex offender in our neighborhood who has an upcoming hearing. Neighbors were encouraged to attend this hearing and voice their concerns.
Meeting Adjourned at 7:40 p.m. Next meeting is May 9, 2005 at 6:30.
Minutes of Neighborhood Council #7 Meeting
March 14, 2005
6:30 p.m.
Council Members present:
Mary Lucas
Clary Cory
Neighbors & Guests present:
Travis Kavulla, Single Member Trustee Districts
Steve Pretat, Neighborhood Policeman
Sheila Rice, Neighborhood Housing Services
Parker Sullivan, Neighborhood Housing Services
David Todd, neighbor
Marty Hunt, Golden Triangle Mental Health Center
Patty Cadwell, Neighborhood Counsel Coordinator
Old Business
Approval of minutes of last meeting. No quorum, so this was tabled until the next meeting.
New Business
Steve Pretat
Officer Pretat gave the counsel the annual report on crime in the area for the time period of January 1, 2004 to December 31, 2004. The crime statistics were very disappointing. A total of 12,181 calls were made in our area in the year 2004. A full listing of these statistics will be attached to the minutes for viewing by any interested parties.
We will have a new officer patrolling the area named Jesse Slaughter.
NHS
Sheila Rice, the director of NHS gave a report on NHS. She informed the group about the various services the NHS provides to our neighborhood, including buying abandoned homes and revamping them.
She also told us about the Mapril cleanup set for April 30 and May 7th and encouraged our counsel to adopt a project as part of the event. A flyer about this organization is attached to the minutes.
Golden Triangle Mental Health
Sheila Rice also represented Golden Triangle at our meeting. She explained what a valuable service Golden Triangle Mental Health Center provides and that they are currently remodeling the old Largent School and are in need of funds to meet the cost of this renovation. The Golden Triangle Mental Health Center has other satellites, such as the New Directions Center and the Adult Case Management Program, which has 18 apartments that are owned by the Golden Triangle. These apartments carry the patients for two months after release from the Warm Springs State Hospital. They also have group homes in our community. The Health Center serves a very large area, encompassing 12 counties. One in five people suffer from mental illness and one in four families have had impact from mental illness in their lives. The voices of hope and the crisis line are available at 453-HELP and 888-587-0199.
There will be a Dignity Dinner fundraiser on May 19, 2005 at the Country Club, please attend. May is mental health month. The Center will be celebrating Arbor Day on April 28, a ribbon cutting ceremony in June 2005 and the Grand Opening of the Center will be in July 2005. For more information about the Golden Triangle Mental Health Center or any of these events, call Heidi Gibson, Executive Director, at 771-8648, Ext. 3314. A brochure about this organization is attached to the minutes.
TRAVIS KAVULLA/SINGLE MEMBER TRUSTEE DISTRICTS
Travis had another meeting to attend and therefore was not heard at this meeting.
Meeting adjourned at 7:30 p.m.
Minutes of Neighborhood Council #7 Meeting
February 14, 2005
6:30 p.m.
Council Members present:
Mary Lucas
Bob Gaskell
Neighbors & Guests present:
Angela Garlington, Voices of Hope
Stephanie Langston, Voices of Hope
Blue Corneliuson, Cascade County Undersheriff
Dave Castle, Sheriff
Travis Kavulla
Old Business
Approval of minutes of last meeting. No quorum, so this was tabled until the next meeting.
New Business
SHERIFF'S OFFICE
Sheriff Castle gave the counsel an update on the progress at the Cascade County Detention Center and the Sheriff's office. The following changes have been made:
VOICES OF HOPE
Angela Garlington and Stephanie Langston gave a presentation from the Voices of Hope organization. This organization provided the community with a 4 hour crisis line as well as advocates for sexual assault victims. They are also suicide and shelter advocates. Montana is currently #2 in suicide rates per capita. This group is doing outreach programs in our community. They go to Grace Home and to the Pre-Release Center and teach CPR, media literacy, and healthy relationship skills.
They are looking for volunteers to staff the 24 hour help line. This requires 40 hours of training. This work causes high incidences of burnout, so many volunteers are needed. They are also looking for good board members and could use additional money as well. Our area needs more medical personnel trained in the specialty of treating victims of sexual assault and the process of evidence collection in these cases. Currently Benefis has 4 nurses and these nurses are not always on call and therefore often not at the hospital when a victim arrives.
Because of severe mental health problems suffered by many people, this in turn causes relationship violence, sexual violence and suicide. One in 4 women are raped. One in six men are raped. And 60% of these rapes occur before the age of 18.
This organization is trying to be more proactive instead of reactive and address the problems that are causing these tragedies in our area.
TRAVIS KAVULLA/SINGLE MEMBER TRUSTEE DISTRICTS
Travis gave a presentation on single member trustee districts. Most of the current trustees come from the same neighborhood or general vicinity (Fox Farm) and therefore the same socioeconomic class. Our Great Falls Public School Trustees live in an area with about 7000 people. Are these trustees looking out for the best interest of the whole city? That is the question Travis is asking and is proposing a solution, single member trustee districts. Single member trustee districts would mean that the city is divided into 7 districts, and each of those districts would elect a representative or a trustee for the Great Falls School Board. Travis believes this would eliminate some neighborhood bias and the one dominant neighborhood problem. Currently high school graduation requirements are geared towards college prep. Not all students plan to go to college.
Travis has a resolution form he would like Donna Stebbins to sign, to represent the council. He also will be working on a petition and he needs 10% of registered voters or 3400 people to sign. Since we did not have a quorum present, we tabled our decision to the March meeting.
Travis provided the council with a map of how the districts lines would be drawn and an outline of his proposal.
Meeting adjourned at 8:10 p.m..
Minutes of Neighborhood Council #7 Meeting
January 10, 2005
6:30 p.m.
Council Members present:
Mary Lucas
Dona Stebbins
Clary Cory
Neighbors & Guests present:
Dawn Handa, Adult Probation and Parole
Loran Keller
Paul Zallek
John Hayes
Tony Bistodeau
George Littlefield
Randi Hoover
Ben Forsyth
Kendra Owen
Old Business
Approval of minutes of last meeting. Moved, second, and approved.
New Business
Dawn Handa, of Adult Probation and Parole gave an excellent and informative presentation on the Sex Offender Registry, with updates and safety tips.
CasiNo Group gave an informative presentation
The Montana Tavern Association gave an informative presentation.
Meeting adjourned.
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