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Chairman Aaron Weissman called the Neighborhood Council 7 meeting to order at 7 pm. Council members present were Aaron Weissman, Donna Hartelius, Ole Johnson, Jim Super, Erin Tropila and Neighborhood Council Coordinator Patty Cadwell. Many concerned citizens were also in attendence.
The October minutes were approved.
Police Advisory Board- meets later in the month. Ole will attend the meeting in November and Donna will attend in December.
The Gibson Park Lighting Project was discussed again with rediscussion of the potential CTEP funding for the project. The vandalism at the Vinegar Jones cabin reinforces the need for more security lighting for the park.
The Weed & Seed Neighborhood Council magnets and letters of introduction from NC 7 and NC 8 were in the Wednesday, November 5 packets for students at Longfellow, Whittier and Roosevelt.
Downtown Police Officer/BID- no speaker attended to address this item.
Several problem properties were discussed including an unlicensed vehicle parked at 800 5th Ave N. The general discussion turned to the Disorderly Premises Ordinance proposal for the city. Commissioner Bronson stated that the ordinance is still in the works.
A list of available trappers for pests such as raccoons will be provided to NC 7 councilors.
NC 7 councilors signed a letter to the members of the City Commission stating their objection to the loss of the downtown police officer.
Kristen Cooper with “More Kids in the Woods” briefly discussed the program in which every fifth grader in GFPS will spend a day outdoors learning about the world around them. Training is December 11 and interested persons may contact Kristen at 454-6989. Additionally, a program to walk Whittier and Mountainview students from the bus to school is starting.
The meeting adjourned at 8:15 pm. The next regular monthly meeting is at 7 pm, Monday, December 8, 2008 at NeighborWorks located at 509 1st Ave S.
Respectfully submitted,
Erin Tropila
Neighborhood Council 7
Meeting called to order by Aaron Weissman at 6:40 PM
Minutes of the Oct. 13 meeting approved.
Dave Bennyhoff spoke to rezone property at 1st Ave N for worship services. Motion to approve rezone of the property made. Second and passed unanimously, contingent on no problems to existing businesses in the area.
Discussion on loss of police officer. Council to send letter to mayor to resinstate officer from council.
Parking discussion: Send proposal to leave meter amounts alone…not raise, but increase fines.
Gibson Park lighting has to have money raised. Money to go into council 7 fund and then paid from fund sources. Park Trust Grant possible, Ronald McDonald. Check out Enterprise Electric for estimate.
Magnet Program approved.
Favorable report on 1st Ave Foods Store B-Q.
Park & Rec representative, Rebecca Edwards, gave a report on city survey about community recreation. Must be completed by Nov. 29. Rec Center will have surveys.. Need help to get surveys out and returned.
Discussed sex offenders. Sheriff Castle gave a report on how sex offender and pre-release inmates put strain on sheriff’s budget. Pre-release manager and representatives from the State Dept of Corrections were present.
Old Business - None
Report of Council of Councils.
Shortage of police officers, fire fighters. This could cause problems costly to taxpayers.
Adjourned at 8:30 PM Oct, 22, 2008
Chairman Aaron Weissman called the Neighborhood Council 7 meeting to order at 7 pm. Council members present were Ole Johnson, Erin Tropila and Neighborhood Council Coordinator Patty Cadwell. Scheduled speakers and concerned citizens were also in attendence. The Pledge of Allegiance followed the call to order.
The September minutes were approved.
Two candidates for the open Council 7 position conveyed their interest in serving on the council. The 3 councilors present voted and selected James Super for the position.
Curtis Thompson from the Great Falls Pre-Release volunteer Board of Directors spoke briefly about misconceptions regarding the potential future treatment of sexual offenders at the Pre-Release Center. He reiterated that only Cascade County residents would be treated at the center and only Tier I/II offenders.
The City of Great Falls Park and Recreation Department plans to ask the City Commission for approval to sell a city-owned plot of land located around 8th Avenue North and Park Drive. The approximate appraisal value is $35,000.00 and if sold the money is said to go into the Park Trust Fund. Zoning changes to the property if sold were discussed and the undesirability of having a casino on the property was agreed upon by all.
Sergeant Beecroft and Officer Gerhart from the Great Falls Police Department presented a discussion of gang activity in Great Falls.
The meeting adjourned at 8:50 pm. A special meeting to discuss neighborhood concerns will be Wednesday, October 22, 2008, 6:30 pm, at the Great Falls Pre-Release. The next regular monthly meeting is Monday, November 10, 2008 meeting will be at Longfellow Elementary at 7 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Erin Tropila
Neighborhood Council 7
Council Members in Attendance: Aaron Weissman, Erin Tropila, Mike Taylor and Donna Hartelius
Old Minutes Approved
Problem Properties: Churches close to the Imperial Motel have complaints of people staying or visiting the Imperial Motel are loitering on church properties.
The new downtown grocery store Everyday IGA will be opening September 17, 2008.
Gibson Park Lighting Project:
Per Marty Basta (City of Great Falls) CDBG cannot fund lighting in the park.
The approximate total cost to install lighting towards the back of Gibson Park along the walkway would be $80,000.00 and $2,500.00 per year for maintenance and electrical charges.
The Gibson Park Lighting Project cannot use the city lighting district.
CTEP will fund 85% of project, leaving a balance of approximately $13,000.00 to be paid for.
A suggestion was made to start a capital campaign to raise additional funding for project.
Solar lighting as an alternative to electrical lighting will be researched by a subcommittee consisting of Aaron Weissman and Greg Hall.
Disorderly Premise Ordinance; a letter of support will be written by NC7 to the city of Great Falls.
Mike Taylor, NC7 member, submitted his resignation September 8, 2008. His resignation is effective immediately. Mr. Taylor was commended on his invaluable participation over the years to NC7 and his resignation was accepted respectfully.
Notice of an open seat for NC7 will be placed in the Great Falls Tribune for interested people to attend the next meeting.
Complaint of Raccoons in the neighborhood. It is uncertain who is responsible for trapping. The city and county have both denied they are responsible for trapping wild animals.
Pawn Shop Ordinance: This subject will be brought up at the September 17, 2008 Council of Council Meeting
Sex Offenders: NC7 meeting on October 13, 2008; a board member from the Pre – Release Center in Great Falls will make a presentation related to incorporating sex offenders into their facility.
Sex Offender Complaint: Longfellow PTA member stated that a sex offender had been seen in close proximity to the school.
Gang Signs: 5th Alley South currently has painting on the garbage cans / dumpsters.
NEXT MEETING: 6:30 pm at the Great Falls Recreation Center on 2nd Ave North. Neighborhood Watch will meet first for approximately 30 minutes and then NC7 will start their meeting.
11 Aug 2008
Pledge of Allegiance
1900hrs meeting called to order
Aaron Weissman
Donna Hartelius
Mike Taylor
Ole Johnson
Were in attendance along with numerous citizens from the neighborhood.
July minutes were approved
Status of Gibson Park Lighting project
Biggest obstacle is funding-CDBG looks like best choice to date
Spread funding as wide as possible
Triathlon was a success with almost 200 participants
(money raised is slotted for park and rec department)
Natatorium pool liner-funded by CDBG 2 years ago, problems surfacing with stretching issues
Legal action may be necessary
Problem properties-Imperial hotel-detailed report of problems requested for further action
Grocery store stocking party proposed or anything to help new owner
Channing Hartelius volunteered to supply Welcome sign for the store
Citizens concerned with who police representative for neighborhood is
(Jeff Newton coming aboard)
Chairman Aaron Weissman called the Neighborhood Council 7 meeting to order at 7 pm. Council members present were Mike Taylor, Erin Tropila and Neighborhood Council Coordinator Patty Cadwell. Scheduled speakers and concerned citizens were also in attendence. The Pledge of Allegiance followed the call to order.
The June minutes were approved. (New Business was brought in and Old Business was returned to later in the meeting.)
Greg Doyon, Great Falls City Manager, and Corky Grove, Great Falls Chief of Police, discussed city budget cuts and the mission statement for the budget. Topics included reallocation of police officers, elimination of the DARE and LRE programs in the public schools and a possible future request for a public safety levy. The city is looking at beginning quarterly budget talks for assessing the budget more frequently than at present. Discussion of the high budget for the animal shelter was discussed as part of the discussion of the police department budget.
Greg Doyon, Great Falls City Manager, and Corky Grove, Great Falls Chief of Police, discussed city budget cuts and the mission statement for the budget. Topics included reallocation of police officers, elimination of the DARE and LRE programs in the public schools and a possible future request for a public safety levy. The city is looking at beginning quarterly budget talks for assessing the budget more frequently than at present. Discussion of the high budget for the animal shelter was discussed as part of the discussion of the police department budget.
NC 7 signed a thank-you letter to the city praising the construction of the new left turn bay at 9th Street and 6th Ave S.
Gibson Park lighting project-
The project would require a match for a CTEP grant at a 13% level. Greg Hall, a member of the renewed Park & Rec Foundation will continue to work on this project with a Lighting Fund Foundation.
Problem Properties-
526 6th Ave N- John Rogers property- vehicle removed
521 6th Ave N- letter to Larry Frates returned
612 6th St N- ceiling inside down and mold inside property not city issues
601 2nd Ave N- Imperial Hotel area frequented by persons who drink and eliminate in alley. The Church of the Incarnation across the alley tolerates high noise and traffic activity from both the hotel and transients.
Residents from the lower southside reported seeing a bobcat who was stalking their dog in their yard. They commented that someone in the area is keeping the bobcat on southside premises.
Weed and Seed- September 30th deadline to use NC7/8 monies
Downtown Task Force- no update
Police Advisory Board- no update
ACTION Team- new neighbor cards not effective, a new strategy is perhaps in order
The meeting was adjourned at 8:50 pm. The next meeting will be September 8, 2008 at 7 pm at Longfellow Elementary School.
Respectfully submitted,
Erin Tropila
Neighborhood Council 7
Traci Hronek called the Neighborhood Watch meeting to order at 7:00 pm. Traci explained the importance and function of the Neighborhood watch to the community. Mack McGiboney (Neighborhood Watch Coordinator) said from time to time they would have educational seminars.
Problem properties were discussed. Art and Sharon Buntrock dropped off a letter of complaint on a few more properties that will be added to our list. The properties are 526 6th Ave N., 521 6th Ave N., the six plex at 612 6th St. N. and the alley between 5th Ave. N. and 6th Ave, N. Some other properties that need to be added to the list are 805 and 807 4th Ave. S. for code violations. And 114-12thSt N. for drug activities.
Neighborhood Watch adjourned at 7:30 pm.
Chairman Aaron Weissman called the Neighborhood Council 7 to order at 7:30 pm.
Council members present were Aaron Weissman, Erin Tropila, Donna Hartelius, Mike Taylor and NC Coordinator Patty Cadwell. Also present were Traci Hronek, Mack McGiboney, Rick Herzog, Tim Cristensen, Teresa Peres, Rus Peres, Greg Hall, David Todd, Kyle Haynie and Tami Haynie.
The May minutes were approved.
Aaron Weissman Spoke with Marty Basta about the funding for the lights. Marty put in for a C-TEP grant. He thought it would be a good idea for Council 7 to write a letter to send with the application. July 15 is the deadline to apply.
Jim Reardon sent letters out to property owners that would be affected by this project. He didn’t get any negative response so work will start on June 23.
The cost of this change would be too much so the cities recommendation was to leave the one ways as they are.
We will table this until next meeting. We need to meet with NC8 again. Erin Tropila will be our point person for arranging the meetings but would rather not chair the meetings.
It is possible that the IGA store in Cutbank will open a store at the old down town Albertson’s location. This is not official yet.
This was discussed in length. Some of the residents thought it might need to be fine tuned a little or even dropped. It was brought up that maybe more tickets should be given out and enforce the laws that are already out there. It was also brought up that the police or neighbors were not informing the landlords when there was a problem. We will discuss this more when we find out what the City Council is going to do.
Kyle Haynie owner of the newly restored Maryland Apartments at 512 2nd Ave. N. talked about what he has done to the building witch was a complete renovation. He discussed the parking problem and how he is working on it.
Students from CMR High School painted the tunnel at Gibson Park.
The liner in the pool is already deteriorating it is suppose to last 20 years so it is under warranty.
Marty Basta has tried to contact the contractor but he will not return his calls. Marty is filing acclaim with the insurance company and they are going to replace it.
Weed and Seed
Downtown Task Force
Police Advisory Board
ACTION Team
Other Reports
We ran out of time to give the reports we will catch up on them at our July meeting.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:00pm.
The next meeting will be July 14 at 7:00pm at the Community Rec Center.
Respectfully submitted
Mike Taylor
Neighborhood Council 7
Council Members in Attendance: Aaron Weissman, Erin Tropila, Mike Taylor, Ole Johnson and Donna Hartelius
In Attendance: see attached list (Not available online.)
Aaron Weissman, Chairman, called meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.
Approval of April 2008 Minutes
Mr. Mike Rattray, Great Falls Community Development presented an overview of the downtown parking program. 2007 parking lease revenue decreased the first time since 1996. Meter revenue has decreased since 1995 with income from $194,287 in 1995 to $167,868 in 2007. Mr. Rattray presented to Great Falls City Commission last week the current status of the parking program in downtown; which will be deliberated in the current city budget.
Problem Properties
5th Ave North and 5th Street, reported the police foot patrol is helping.
Mr. Lonnie McCallister whom owns properties in this area and on 5th Ave North states he had not been called related to the trouble at the problem properties. Mr. McCallister invited anyone with concerns about his rental properties to please call him at 727-6773.
916 3rd Ave North, Neighbor Works purchased and construction will start the beginning of June 2008.
Complaints of more than one family living in a single family rental dwelling
Left turn lane at 9th Street and 6th Ave South will be discussed at next months meeting.
Crosswalks on 9th street and 6th Ave South near Longfellow Elementary need to be repainted, Girls and Boys Club start at 6:30 am and the crosswalks are unattended at that time of the morning.
Downtown grocery store, no updates.
Gibson Park lighting: Mary Basta, Great Falls Park and Recreation presented an initial plan to extend period lighting in Gibson Park back by the railroad tracks from 6th Avenue North to 1st Avenue North. Mr. Basta reported the cost will be a total of $70,000 plus cost of power to operate lights. Mr. researched possible funding sources and found CTEP funding is possible as this project qualifies. This project needs Great Falls City Commission approval. Neighborhood Council 7 approves and endorses the additional lighting in Gibson Park.
Summer Fun in the Park a summer park program was presented by Rebecca Richards from Community Recreation Center. This program is free to the public and will start June 17, 2008 in Gibson Park from 4:00 to 7:00 pm. The program will rotate through city parks with subsequent programs in Lyons, Jaycee, and Meadowlark Parks. This program is partnered with RSVP and will provide arts and crafts for children and their families.
Sgt. Stinar of the Great Falls Police Department Community Policing will be leaving his current position and relocating to Helena, MT.
National Trails Day, Kristen Cooper, VISTA Volunteer from RSVP presented a handout promoting his event.
Neighborhood concerns:
Maryland Apartments after remodeling which will contain 41 apartments and 2 houses. Neighbors voiced a concern related to a possible shortage of parking this area.
Multiplex homes: crowded parking conditions in the areas of these large homes converted into apartments.
Weed and Seed: Patty Cadwell reported on Safe Haven Gaps and this is currently being approached by Weed and Seed.
Police Advisory, Downtown Task Force, ACTION Team, no current reports as these teams will be meeting later this month.
Meeting adjourned 8:10pm. The next meeting will be June 9th, 2008 at 7pm at the Community Rec Center in conjunction with Neighborhood Watch at 6:30 pm.
Chairman Aaron Weissman called neighborhood Council 7 meeting to order at 7 pm. Council members present were Mike Taylor, Erin Tropila and Neighborhood Council Coordinator Patty Cadwell. Scheduled speakers and concerned citizens were also in attendence.
The March minutes were approved.
The proposed Weed and Seed newsletter project was discussed and a meeting to coordinate the project with NC 8 was agreed upon. Items to include in the newsletter were suggested.
Status of left turn bay at 9th Street and 6th Avenue South- no update
Problem Properties-
516, 523 5th Ave N- Sgt. Stinar and Heather Rolf will try to meet with property owners to discuss concerns and problems.
Beer Baron property- house next door is condemned and litigation is underway.
B & B building is scheduled to be torn down.
Alleged problems with police dispatch being unresponsive to calls was discussed. The police mill levy has not been decided upon.
DOC sexual offender relocation to the GF Pre-release was revisited. Citizens with comments were encouraged to contact Pre-release board members with concerns.
MApril cleanup dates are April 26/27 and May 3/4. NC 7 will meet at the Community Rec Center on April 26 at 8 am.
Cascade County Search and Rescue levy-
Mike McCluskey encouraged attendees to support an upcoming levy to support the volunteer organization.
2250+ signatures have been gathered to support a downtown grocery store if Albertsons closes as planned on the 17th.
Parking fees downtown are scheduled to increase from $.25/hour to $.50/hour and fines will double.
The lack of lighting in Gibson Park and problems at night in the park were discussed. It was decided to bring the issue to the attention of the City Commission.
Greg Hall commented on parking problems in the lower north side in residential areas where single-family homes and apartment buildings coexist. He finds it difficult to find a parking spot in front of his own home as the apartment buildings do not have designated parking areas for residents who then park on the street.
Bill Salina, candidate for County Commission, introduced himself.
Weed and Seed- Student participation with lowering the vandalism and graffiti problems at the Skate Park is desired.
Downtown Task Force- RightNow Technologies is potentially locating a branch in Great Falls and is testing workforce availability soliciting job applicants and resumes.
Police Advisory Board- More discussion of relocating sexual offenders to the pre-release.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:55 pm. The next meeting will be May 12, 2008 at 7 pm at the Community Rec Center in conjunction with Neighborhood Watch.
GFPS Tech Night - After the meeting was adjourned, Kathy Kotynski discussed and demonstrated Photo Story software.
Respectfully submitted
Erin Tropila
Neighborhood Council 7
Chairman Aaron Weissman called neighborhood Council 7 meeting to order at 7:00pm. Council members present were Aaron Weissman, Donna Hartelius, Ole Johnson, Mike Taylor and Neighborhood Council Coordinator Patty Cadwell. Also in attendance were Great Falls City Commission member Mary Jolley Neighborhood Watch leader Traci Hronek, Officer Nelson GFPD and 6 concerned citizens.
The February minutes were approved.
Corner of 7th st and 4th Ave. N. needs hedges trimmed and weeds cleaned up.
512 2nd Ave. N. needs to be commended for the work they have done on this building. They have completely gutted it out and are making new apartments.
What is going to be done with the building that burned on Central Ave? Patty Cadwell will check into it and let us know.
Patty will also check on the status of the building next to the old Beer baron to see if it is still condemned.
The $1500.00 dollars given to the Councils by the Weed and Seed needs to be delt with before the next Weed and Seed meeting on the 8th of April. We need to submit a letter as to what we will be using the grant on.
Some of the ideas were to send out a newsletter to inform the people who live in Council 7 about their Neighborhood Council and Neighborhood Watch.
Another idea was to have a bicycle ID. Registration.
Stuart Nichalson discussed the need for the school levy that is coming up for a vote on May 6th
The DOC wants to place sexual offenders in the Prerelease Center in Great Falls. The DOC will present this to the public at the Council of Councils meeting on March 19 at 7:00pm
Mapril Clean Up was explained to a few of the residents. We will discuss this at our next meeting.
Neighborhood Councils will receive 1500.00 dollars in grant money.
No report
No report
Action will receive 1500.00 dollars in grant money to help with the cost of the Welcome Packets.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:30pm. The next meeting will be at Longfellow School Library on April 14 at 7:00pm.
Respectfully submitted
Mike Taylor
Neighborhood Council 7
Council Members in Attendance: Aaron Weissman, Erin Tropila, Mike Taylor and Donna Hartelius
In Attendance: Patty Cadwell Neighborhood Council Coordinator, Officer Mitchell GFPD, Sheriff Castle, Sally Schlim from Neighborhood council 9, Great Falls City Commission Members Mary Jolley and Bill Bronson and several concerned citizens.
Aaron Weissman, Chairman, called meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.
Approval of January 2008 Minutes.
Sheriff Dave Castle presented some facts related to the Department of Corrections plan to depopulate Montana State Prison in Deerlodge, MT by 80% (80/20 Rule). Sheriff Castle is on the Department of Corrections Advisory Panel and provided some background information to help attendees understand how the local detention center is operated.
The Cascade County Detention Center is in a contract with the Montana State Prison to house state prisoners in a portion of the prison. The Cascade County Commissioners are the actual contracting entity with the state not the Cascade County Sheriff.
Statewide approximately 70 Montana State Prisoners will be released each month to achieve the 80% depopulation goal. This population of prisoners will include violent and sexual offenders.
The State of Montana Department of Corrections is planning to implement a 120 bed treatment facility and is looking into Glasgow, Hardin and Great Falls, Montana as possible prospects for the new facility according to Sheriff Castle.
916 – 3rd Ave North: Neighborhood Works has taken over this property
917 5th Ave South: is now in compliance at time of this meeting
901 5th Ave North: Aaron Weissman will contact Heather Rolf with the city and
Patty Cadwell will contact city attorney related to trash in the front yard.
Properties on the corner or 2nd Ave North and Park Drive: owned by Roger and
Lavonne Winteraud (sp?) has not been condemned. It has been reported that people have been seen inside the buildings and the wood covering windows and doors have been pulled down.
512 & 516 6th Ave North: owned by Larry Frates, there will be a trial on 4-9-08 due to the condition and noncompliance of properties.
Officer Jason Mitchell, Great Falls Police Department (GFPD) is the new Downtown Police Officer. His office is located in the Great Falls Community Recreation Center at 801 - 1st Ave North.
Officer Mitchell reported a new program starting in the downtown business area called Business Watch, it will operated in the same capacity as Neighborhood Watch, except the program is directed towards businesses in downtown Great Falls.
GFPD has a new web page and offers a citizens survey.
Citizens Police Academy will start 3-12-2008 and will comprise of 10 classes.; 2-29-08 is the deadline to apply. Applications are on the city web page.
Weed and Seed: Patty Cadwell provided rules for weed and seed neighborhood council project.
Downtown Task Force: Digital Y-Max, is a new internet service provider for businesses and has a 5 mile radius for wireless.
Police Advisory Board: Chief Grove is conducting an on going investigation of city animal shelter.
Next meeting March 10, 2008 Community Recreation Center – 801 2nd Ave North – 7:00 p.m.
Approval of December minutes
Aaron Weissman elected Chairman
Mike Taylor elected Secretary (minutes will be taken by various council members)
Discussion of current problem properties
(Do problem properties meet Section 8 standards- Check With Opportunities INC)
Proposed Good Properties Given acknowledgment
Weed and Seed Report- Patricia Cadwell informed us of 1000 to 1500 funding money available for project
Skatepark plans are waiting for student involvement to proceed
Propose alternating meetings between Longfellow School and Recreation Center
Send Letter to Sherriff Castle requesting him to speak at upcoming meeting regarding changes in prison system and consequences for Great Falls.
Have Neighbor council letter updated
Meeting adjourned
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