Neighborhood Meeting Minutes, October 17, 2013

Goss-Grove Neighborhood Meeting

October 17, 2013

NEXT MEETING: WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 15, 7 P.M.  1919 GROVE STREET

The meeting was opened by co-chairs, Jenny and  Stephen, to a full house at Mary and Maria’s.  Every chair and sofa seat in the house was filled. So great to see so many people greeting each other, renewing friendship and offering new friendship.  As usual, there were yummy desserts and lots of excellent wine. Thanks to all who took the time to attend and to our hostesses. 

It was a happy and unusual event in that there were two slates of candidates running for chair/co-chair.  Michele and Jeffrey generously offered to take the load off Jenny and Stephen.  J & S wanted to continue for one more year to continue some of the momentum built up this year, which was supported by a vote. Also by vote, Michele continues as secretary, and Jerri as treasurer. We look forward to next year when Michele and Jeffrey step up again to lead. 

The flooding of September was discussed with recounts of events and damage to homes and property.  Neighbors would like to be more informed and more prepared during this type of event.  A thank you was signed and sent to the city for the flood mitigation efforts they have done over the last several decades to lessen the impact of flooding of Boulder Creek.

Several neighbors who had significant damage thanked those people who helped during the cleanup.  The spirit of neighbor helping neighbor is strong in Goss Grove.

You can sign up for “reverse 911” notifications and get more emergency preparedness information at http://www.bouldercounty.org/safety/emergency/pages/default.aspx

Mary will contact the company that owns the ditch that overflowed, Jeffrey will contact the city for a speaker for the next meeting, and David will look into preparedness information for the neighborhood.  Michele will contact the city for a comprehensive street sweeping to cut down on the fine dust that is causing some respiratory distress for residents.

David suggested a field trip to sites around Boulder that have ideas that could be used for Goss Grove (public spaces, gardens, etc).  Probably an hour and a half, so nothing too time consuming.  He has a 15 passenger van, and we could combine the event with some food/wine enticement, too.  We decided next Spring would be a good time to do this…everyone is too busy through the end of the year. Any suggestions of where to visit?

There is a new residential advisor at Snow Lion.  Derrick Jones can be reached at djones@naropa.edu.  He has been super responsive and helpful. 

The gardening season is coming to an end for this year.  Last compost pick up is at the end of the month.  Please get your plots cleaned off.  Research into maintenance will be done by Michele, Christi, and Garrett.  There will be some plots available so contact Jenny if you would like a plot for next year. Jenny will get compost bags to put in the tool box for when the compost bin is gone. (late breaking news:  compost bin is still there!)

The compass rose was repainted by neighborhood residents led by Jan, who is the artist who designed the feature.  Thank you gift was approved for her work.  Mary had picked out a beautiful dragon fly ornament as part of it.  Lovely!

GGNA has long discussed an informational kiosk for the neighborhood and efforts will be renewed to design and construct this feature.

Neighborhood outreach was discussed.  An informational brochure will be provided digitally that neighbors can print on-demand to give out to their new neighbors.  Other methods of distribution were talked about including partnering with off campus housing office, distributing information on door hangers, etc.  Paige and David will work on this project.

The neighborhood email listserve is going away as of February 1, 2014.  This relieves Jenny of administering it. The neighborhood blog will still be our “face” to the outside world, but an automatic email will no longer be sent out when a new post is up.  Sign up to be informed, and to inform, on http://nextdoor.com/  As of November 20, 2013, we have 56 signed up…our target is 100 minimum. It is a great way to learn about the neighborhood and communicate with other residents. Another way to help other people know about NextDoor is to log in and invite others by postcard, email, etc.  It’s a super nice way to reach out as you just select the locations you want cards sent to.  It’s free and you can a certain number a month.  Reach out and get someone else involved. 

GGNA will talk to Naropa about participating in improvements of the 19^th street pocket park.  We have talked in the past about a design class working up some ideas.  Although there is general enthusiasm about this idea, we have not gotten any real traction on this yet.  Let’s revisit next meeting.

A  new bike repair shop in the neighborhood!  Visit Ryan at Standard Bike Repair, new in the neighborhood at 1823 Marine, 10-5 and by appointment, 720-937-8984.  Thanks for joining us, Ryan!  As I recall, he heard about GGNA at Jalino’s. Interesting…we have not posted anything there for a long time. (Or maybe I am remembering incorrectly.)

Several residents have noticed increased difficulty parking this fall.  Enforcement is lacking and the hang tag permits that come with the parking sticker are being sold to non-residents.  This puts more cars on the already full streets. Mary will draft a letter to the city and collect data about the problem.  Please let her know if you are having any parking issues that she can pass on to the city.

The treasurer reported income from the garden plots and donations and expenses for the garden and compass rose for this year. 

Respectfully submitted by Michele Bishop

Next neighborhood gathering, Wednesday, January 15, 2014, 7 p.m., 1919 Grove St

Next neighborhood bash/meeting/gathering will be Wednesday, January 15, 2014, 7 p.m. at 1919 Grove St. Those of you who can never make it on Thursdays, rejoice!  and show up!   Great way to meet your neighbors and build community.

Take a moment to register at www.NextDoor.com.  As of February 1, these blog postings will no longer will automatically emailed to the listserve.  All postings will go through Next Door. 

Input your flood damage to this CrowdSource site

Please take a few moments to let the City know about your flood related damage. This will help them make any decisions regarding any remediation of the 18th and 19th Street Bridges.

https://bouldercolorado.gov/newsroom/sept-27-2013-city-launches-crowdsourcing-map-to-capture-boulder-flood-data-and-stories 

Take a moment to register at www.NextDoor.com.  As of February 1, these blog postings will no longer will automatically emailed to the listserve.  All postings will go through Next Door. 

Some info on flood/ditch mediation ...response of City and WRAB

Jeffrey P. sent me some interesting information on the flood/creek/ditch research he signed up to do at the last meeting.  Susan went to the  Water Resources Advisory Board (WRAB) meeting on Monday night and spoke to the WRAB about our concerns in the GGNA area.

What follows are his notes.

In the Boulder city’s site—take a look at the final Boulder Creek Report.  There is a project plan on p. 7 (pdf page, page 3 normally) that shows the creek that was included in the floodplain mapping.  There is an arm of the creek called Boulder Slough (the ditch follows it) that hasn’t been included in the mapping!  Apparently it’s an original part of the creek, the ditch just followed it, and it will be mapped in the next few years.  I think that means we are a lot closer to a floodplain than we thought and that the ditch will become a flood way that needs to be managed.  That could be good news if they do flood mitigation on it—and maybe bad news depending on the floodplain mapping.

Based on this information from the city’s flood maps, there is no question that the city has responsibility for floodplain management in that ditch area—the question is—what will it do and how will the ditch people get in the way? 

Based on what the WRAB had to say, it will be an uphill fight to get the city or the Ditch owners to either widen the ditch itself or change the bridges to allow pass through of flood water.  Rule number one is that whatever flood remediation the city undertakes cannot simply pass flood water further down stream to cause flooding in another jurisdiction.  More importantly, the widen, deepening or changing of the bridges are 18, 19 streets, etc would be hideously expensive; the city would have to compensate residential and commercial owners for  any setbacks, etc. (Interesting note: Our GGNA ditch is named the Boulder Slough and was originally a tributary of Boulder Creek; around 1860 it was incorporated as an "irrigation" ditch. So it is both an irrigation ditch and a tributary of the creek.)

However since the city is planning to build new city structures from 9th to 13th or 15th Streets, they will have to address the Ditch that passes through the GGNA area. That may give us some leverage to get the city planners to look at the clogging/debris build up in the GGNA area.  

It was clear that the city intends to implement the plans/studies already in places severely damaged by the flood such as  South Boulder Creek, Gregory Canyon Creek, Two Mile Canyon, BlueBell Canyon. These areas will probably all receive repairs/work before the GGNA area..

( See www.boulderfloodplan.net for more information. Also look for the Flood control page in the WRAB portion of the city's website; you want the Ditch and Reservoir Directory which will provide usual info on the data the city is using to assess damage, remediation, etc.)

The residents in the GGNA area need to put their flood damage information into the "Crowd sourcing site for the flood, " so this information is available to the Utilities Dept which is handling repairs and remediation, planning for  the city.  Link to follow.

The Goss-Grove Email list is being phased out!  Please subscribe to NextDoor at www.nextdoor.com if you want to keep receiving news.  The target date for phase-out is February 1, 2014. 

Emma Martinez Park!

Last Saturday a lively and enthusiasic crowd cheered Emma Martinez in the renaming of Canyon Park to Emma Martinez Park.  She was so adorable!  87 years old, cute as a button, all dressed up with somewhere to go. She told an amazing story of Pat Nixon coming to visit a "hands-on" science project that Emma had started for the neighborhood kids in some quonset huts in the park.  Emma was not invited to meet Pat.  We were happy to honor her today!

Neighborhood Gathering/Meeting Agenda. This Thursday, 7 p.m., 1919 Grove St, Join us!

Time to get together again as a community of neighbors, friends, new friends.  Mary and Maria will host us again. We thank them for their generosity (and wine!) and we always seem to end up with some yummy treats, too. 1919 Grove St.  

 

 Elections.  The first order of business is elections for next year's term.  Please step forward to offer your talents to fill the positions of chair(s), treasurer and secretary.  Stephen and I are certainly happy to step aside to let others lead this group.  We also will volunteer to lead for one more year if desired by the neighborhood.  

 Flood.  First, how is everyone doing?  What feedback do we want to give back to the city?  I think we agree that Boulder Creek was not the problem (thank you, City of Boulder), but the ditches were.  Are there other flood related topics we should discuss?  Dave Secunda suggested we might want to consider how to put together some emergency response plan.  Several neighbors suggested a thank you note to City of Boulder for all the work over the years on the Boulder Creek.  What does the neighborhood think?  If so, who/how to do this?  Do we want to have a street cleanup to get rid of mud, tidy up neighborhood?  

 Field Trip!:  Dave Secunda has offered to take us on a neighborhood field trip.  He will give us more details in the meeting.  

Naropa:  Welcome to Derrick, the new resident advisor at Snow Lion.  Discussion of any joint projects...park at 19th Street?  Other? 

 Community Garden:  Little Library seems to be quite a hit.  At least two half plots are open for next year.  Repairs are needed.  Jerrie has suggested that first priority with funds is to do repairs.

 Street Mural:  Looks beautiful!  is there anything else that needs to be done?  How did that go?  

 Neighborhood outreach:  Pamphlets, newsletter.  New semester has started, do we want to pass something out?  If so, how, who?  What is important to the neighborhood?  Do we want to do a survey?  

 Treasurer's report and approval for funding:   Garden repair expenses need to be approved.  (Michele, hopefully you can field this one...)

Emma Gomez Martinez Park Renaming Event! This Saturday 1 - 3 p.m.

Emma Gomez Martinez Park Renaming

You’re Invited

Please join the City of Boulder Parks and Recreation Department for a public park renaming of the former Canyon Park to the Emma Gomez Martinez Park. Join us as we honor Emma Gomez Martinez and listen to her speak about her life experiences.

When

1 to 3 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 12, 2013

Where

Emma Gomez Martinez Park, 2035 Canyon Blvd.

R.S.V.P

by Oct. 10 to Caroline Meyers, MeyersC@bouldercolorado.gov or 303-413-7200. Please indicate if you need ADA accessible parking.

Parking

Please use alternative transportation if possible. (See links to RTD bus information and biking maps in the brown box on the right.) The Emma Gomez Martinez Park (formerly Canyon Park) has no designated parking. If you need to drive, please carpool and park in the adjacent neighborhood. If you need ADA accessible parking, please contact Caroline Meyers at meyersc@bouldercolorado.gov.

About Emma Gomez Martinez

The City of Boulder and the Boulder Valley School District built 20 Quonset apartments (steel structures) in response to an influx of returning soldiers attending the University of Boulder under the GI Bill of Rights In 1946 following World War II, on the two empty acres of land, owned by the Boulder Valley School District, at 21st and Water streets (now Canyon Blvd).
Emma Martinez, a member of one of the earliest Hispanic families to establish themselves in Boulder; lived, studied and worked in the neighborhood and soon assumed the role of spokesperson and primary advocate for the Hispanic community in Boulder. In the 1950s, at the end of the GI rush and when CU no longer needed the Quonset village, the land was traded to the school district.
For years, Emma lobbied for the two acres of land to be converted into a park since the area was open, tree-shaded, grassy and there was already playground equipment installed for the university students’ children.  With no funding or assistance from the school district, Emma organized “clean-up crews” consisting of neighborhood kids and their parents to preserve the only park and play area to which they had access. During the late 50s and 60s the Quonset huts were occupied by several non-profit agencies and several of the huts were removed until, in the mid 60s only three remained.
Emma was named to the first board of directors for the Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO) in 1965, and focused her efforts towards getting this property dedicated as a community park. Shorty after being named to the board of directors for the OEO, Emma was hired as the program coordinator, Boulder Center Director and Assistant Boulder County Director for the OEO that now occupied two of the three remaining Quonset huts. Working in her position as liaison to the Boulder City Manager’s Office, she proposed that the property at 2035 Canyon Blvd. be dedicated as a community park. The property, by this time, had come under the ownership of the City of Boulder. Thus, Canyon Park, the dream and vision of many residents of Boulder, became a reality.
The request and decision was made by City Manager Jane Brautigam to rename Canyon Park to be called the Emma Gomez Martinez Park. Boulder City Council and the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board (PRAB) supported her decision as a unanimous vote.

Sunday Finish Mural??????

It's a bit cold today for painting---paint needs certain temp to bond.
Sunday we want to finish the lettering, etc. Come help if you can!
Come cheer on the painters if that's your style.
Just come.

Mural Sunday--Didn't Finish Saturday

Hey Neighbors
The Mural is looking lots brighter. But it's not done. Stop by today (Sunday) and help us finish up.
All hands needed!!!!

Mural Painting This Saturday!!!

We need to celebrate our neighborhood in more than one sense. Saturday is it. We're going to repaint the mural at 19th and Grove. I'm buying paint today. That means we need painters Saturday starting at 9 a.m.
This is fun. This is a way to say we're still here--even if some of us still don't have heat!!!
Wear old clothes. Come prepared to stay awhile--this is a big project.
If you don't paint, we need people to direct traffic. There's a job for everyone.
See you Saturday.

Progress due to the helping hands of many

With the help of neighbors, family and friends, we were able to get 90% of the salvagable debris out of our backyard and into the alley for pickup.  Andrea and Loren received assistance digging trenches, removing debris and other flood assistance.  We received warm food, and much morale support in this process.  Thank you to all who took the time to help out.  When in need, reach out to others. We collectively are here to support you.

P.S. On a lighter note, I checked the books in the Little Library.  All dry and ready for reading!!

Flooding aftermath, survey and determining who needs help

(Muddy helpers in front of items pulled from basement..Diane, Sean, Derek and Blair)

 

Hello Neighbors,

 

It's been a difficult period for many in the neighborhood.  Thankfully, many escaped with no damage; others have had more extensive damage.

 

Stephen and I would like to reach out to those who might need additional help and help gather resources for those who need it.  We don't have a good view into how many have been affected, and in what ways.  If you can let us know how you were affected, or not, and if you know of others in the neighborhood who have been affected, or need help, this would be useful.

 

Dave Secunda, one of the neighbors, also would like to help coordinate any assistance needed. This is what neighborhood is about. We are fortunate to have each other.  We are concerned about those who may not feel that there is any help or feel isolated. 

 

It would also be useful to the city to know where the worst pockets of flooding were. WE know that the irrigation ditch at 19th was the source of one surge.  This could be useful information to the city to determine where the "weak links" are for improved flood planning. 

 

WE have an extra larger pump and small pump if anyone needs additional pumping capacity, although the larger pump needs a large hose, (1.5") which we do not have. 

 

We personally had water within about 6" of our main floor and we have lost our boiler and essentially everything that was in the basement. WE thought we were ok because we had seepage that we were keeping up with, until a storm surge burst our foundation and a brown river started pouring into our basement from the rear.  We'll be without hot water or heat for the next 3 - 4 weeks, our basement is full of mud and we have the contents of our basement in our backyard, thanks to the assistance of our neighbors who formed a human line to pass items floating in water out into the yard.. (many thanks to Blair, Derek, Sean, Diane and Chris for helping us!)

 

I will be sorting through the huge pile in our backyard for what is salvagable and what is not.  If you want to come help out for a bit, that would be great.  We live at 1935 Grove St.  I'm planning to tackle that pile at 11 a.m. (tomorrow, Sunday) after trying to restore some sense of normalcy in the main house starting around 10 ( mostly moving stuff from the upstairs back down to the main floor), mopping and vacuuming. You can contact me at jenny.devaud@gmail.com if you want to help out, send moral support or just come on by!)  Stephen and I feel very fortunate to live here amongst such great people!

 

Jenny and Stephen

 

Hope You Have Old Paint Clothes!

We're going to do it.
Repaint the street mural at 19th and Grove.
September 28th--all day--it's a big and messy and fun project.
So don't forget.
If you can't come, make a cash contribution for the paint (some neighbors already have--thank you Peacocks)
It's part of making the hood the HOOD! You know what I mean.

Repaint the Street Mural Sept 28th

We're going to do it!
Because it needs it!
Jan Burch--artist and designer will be there
She's getting the paint we need
We're working on street barriers.
We need people to paint.
We need people to stand by the barriers and protect the painters from random cars.
We need people to just cheer us on!
We need YOU.
September 28---all day (we start early).
You know where it is--Center of our neighborhood and Center of Boulder!
See you there!

Community ; )

Fifteen of us made our neighborhood beautiful...and Ryan came later, so make that 16!  Thanks to all who took the time. I had fun and the Garden/Park looks so beautiful!

Little Free Library Open for Business!

The Little Free Library has been installed in the Community Garden!  By the time I got home from work, someone had already put in a few children's books.  I added five more books.  Add your own books that someone else would enjoy.  I'm sure many in this neighborhood do quality reading!  ; )
Many thanks to Chris Shutze who volunteered his time to design and build such a wonderful addition to our neighborhood.  We will soon have a little wooden plaque recognizing his artistic endeavor!

Neighborhood Meeting Notes from July 15...check out what's going on in Goss-Grove!

The Little Free Library has been painted at Jenny and Stephen's and is headed back by wagon to Chris and Margaret's for the stand to be attached.  Once that is done, it will be installed into the Garden...soon!

Goss-Grove Neighborhood Meeting

July 15, 2013

The meeting was opened by co-chair Stephen at 7 P.M.  There were 16 people in attendance. Refreshments were served.

 The neighborhood garden is going well.  Plans are being made for maintenance of the raised beds.  Signs also need to be made and posted.

 The “Little Library” is completed and will be installed soon in the 20^th  street pocket park.  The expenses for the construction and registration were approved.

A permit has been approved for the demolition of a property on Goss.  This location will be the site of a new single family home.

 Repainting of the compass rose on Grove at 19^th has been tentatively scheduled for the weekend of September 21/22.  Jan and Jay have left over paint and will participate.  Jan was the artist who designed the compass rose and she and Jay lead the original event.  A budget for the re-painting was approved.  Donations will also be necessary.

The renaming of Canyon Park to honor Emma Martinez, a longtime resident, passed the Park and Recreation Board and will go to City Council in the next few months.

 The proposed coffee shop at Arapahoe and 19^th has been reworked to be smaller and include more parking to address neighbors concerns.  The proposal will go to Planning Board this fall.

 Many neighbors have signed up for Next Door where neighbors can communicate with each other and learn what’s happening in Goss Grove.  Please sign up at https://gossgrove.nextdoor.com

 Andrea Montoya will be putting together a newsletter this fall for distribution.

Arapahoe Avenue construction continues. 

 The treasurer reported income and expenses so far this year.  A motion was made, discussed, and passed to require a vote at a regular or special meeting for expenditures over $100.00.  Other expenditures will continue to be approved by the four officers.

Respectfully submitted by Michele Bishop

Civic Area Open House July 11..if anyone can go, give us a report!

Welcome to Boulder Civic Area – a visionary "community driven" project to rethink and evolve the downtown's most expansive public space. 

 In addition to city-owned properties at the core, the planning area is bounded by 9th to 17th streets and Canyon Boulevard to Arapahoe Avenue. 

The goal of the project is to transform this area into Boulder's social, civic, and environmental heart; one that prioritizes purpose per square foot over price per square foot.

Agenda for Neighborhood Meeting, Monday, July 15th, 7 p.m., 1919 Grove St

Come join us for our next neighborhood meeting Monday, July 15th, at 7 p.m.  The address is 1919 Grove St (Mary and Maria have graciously offered to host us again).  Plan on having a glass of wine, some chocolate at least, or bring along something yummy if you would like.  We have had some great energy and it's been wonderful to have more people involved in the neighborhood goings-on.

Topics:

Neighborhood Garden Update (Michele/Chris D.about stone work?)

Little Free Library (Stephen/Chris S.)

Demolition Permit on Goss Street (Mark)

Compass Rose (Alycia, any update?)

Renaming of Canyon Park  (Loren)

Coffee Shop (Stephen)

Social Media -  NextDoor.com (Jamie)

Good neighbor brochure  (Loren)

Arapahoe construction  (any comments we want to feed back to City?)

Renovation of Goss-Grove sign for Garden (Stephen...will bring what needs to be done...)

Treasurers report (Jerrie)

Approval of funds for Little Free Library, and general discussion of how funds can be dispensed without waiting for neighborhood meetings. (Stephen)

Other projects/other topics/funding requests?  (Kiosk would be next on Jenny's list but only pending discussion of funds available and approval)

First picture of our own Little Free Library

Thanks to Chris Schutze for his design and build of the Little Free Library.  Jenny and Stephen arranged for it to be painted by the professionals who were painting their house.  That's Jenny in the picture with Ron and Reid Ferrari, the painters.  Jenny sent off for the official plaque from www.littlefreelibrary.org and has registered our library.  Although there are other Little Free Libraries in Boulder, ours will be only the second one to be registered according to the site map.  Once the plaque has arrived and is mounted, we'll put the Little Free Library up in the Community Garden.

Can't wait until we can show off our own Little Library

Stephen sent this photo of another Little Library in Boulder.  As soon as Chris is ready, we are ready to dig holes.  No problems with underlying cables.  Stay tuned!

A Big Thank You to the volunteers who make our flower beds beautiful and weed-free!

Thank you to all of you who took the time to come out and weed our beautiful flower beds on Thursday in the Community Park and Garden!  Next weed-a-thon is scheduled for June 29, Saturday, 4- 5:30 p.m.  Other neighbors!  Don't be shy about coming on over and pulling a few weeds...many hands makes light work and it's a wonderful way to meet the cool people who live around here.

Arapahoe Avenue Reconstruction

Beginning on Monday, June 3, and continuing through fall 2014, Arapahoe Avenue will be reconstructed into concrete between Folsom and 15^th streets. Traffic impacts will be significant, including full-time lane closures. From June 3 through mid-August 2013, Arapahoe Avenue will be reduced to one eastbound lane of traffic. Westbound traffic and both directions of the JUMP bus will be detoured onto Canyon Boulevard. Travelers are encouraged to bike or walk along the Boulder Creek Path, ride buses, or use Canyon Boulevard and the downtown parking garages if driving. Businesses along Arapahoe Avenue will remain open and the Boulder Farmers’ Market will remain at its current location.

For more information, watch the video below or at vimeo.com/bouldercolorado/arapahoe.

Goss-Grove picked as one of America's 25 most bikeable neighborhoods!

Wow!  Our wonderful neighborhood has been recognized for being a bike friendly place!  Check out the full article!

http://www.theatlanticcities.com/neighborhoods/2013/05/americas-most-bikeable-neighborhoods/5587/

April Goss-Grove Meeting Minutes..Next meeting July 15th, 7 p.m. Make a note of it!

Goss-Grove Neighborhood Meeting

April 8, 2013

Next meeting:  Monday, July 15^th, 7 p.m., 1919 Grove St

The meeting was opened by co-chair Jenny at 7 P.M.  There were 21 people in attendance. Attendees introduced themselves by sharing an interesting tidbit about themselves; we have a very interesting group of neighbors from poets to scientists, rock band performers, students, old and young. We had more people at the meeting than we have had at many meetings and so appreciate all of you coming!  Chocolate was yummy, as was freely flowing wine, compliments of Mary and Maria.  Please come next time, whether it is the first time or the 70^th time.

Topics:

Neighborhood Garden

Little Free Library

Demolition Permit on Goss Street

Compass Rose

Renaming of Canyon Park

Coffee Shop

Naropa Lincoln Building remodel

Treasurers report

Social Media -  NextDoor.com

Good neighbor brochure

Arapahoe construction

Neighborhood Garden—Vote was taken to use funds to get a compost bin at Garden. This will use about 1/3 of our budget.  Last year we had two, but one should be sufficient.  Chris continues to work on sorting stones for mosaic between benches.  He’ll let us know when he needs some more help.  Website for Garden has been put on hold as Stephen is now busy with other tasks. 

Little Free Library:  Chris Shutze, a very talented carpenter and craftsperson in our neighborhood, generously volunteered to design and build a Little Free Library for our Park/Garden.  It’s on his list, but first things first..he needs to finish working on their house.  It’s looking amazing..even the porch is level now.  We’ll wait for what we know will be a beautiful and functional work. (Find out more about this nationwide project at http://www.littlefreelibrary.org/).  If you need remodel/renovation or any other type of carpentry in your home, call Chris at 303-882-4484. 

Demolition Permit for 2118 Goss:  Mark R. gave an update on the demolition permit.  Some folks from Historic Boulder came down and toured the property to see it in its full state of decay.  There is a May 15^th public hearing to lift the stay on a potential demolition permit for a property on Goss.  If this comes through, we can expect a single family home in the future for Mark and his family. 

The compass rose--needs refurbishing and the plan is to undertake the project in the fall. Thanks, Alycia, for volunteering to spearhead this!

Update on renaming of Canyon Park to Emma Martinez Park:  This will be taken up by City Council on April 22^nd…that has now passed so we’ll hear what happened from Loren at next meeting.

Coffee Shop Update: The owner of the building at the southwest corner of Arapahoe and 19^th and the potential business manager spoke of plans to open a coffee shop at that location.  A small coffee shop was approved last year by the city but a revised business plan submitted by the potential business owner and building owner features a 2200 sq ft 80 seat business and expanded hours.  This changes the city requirement for parking etc.  Discussions centered on the overflow traffic and parking impacts that would be shouldered by the neighborhood.  Neighbors generally like the idea of a small coffee shop but don’t want adverse effects for the neighborhood.

Update after meeting:  I received this nice email from Todd.

Thank you very much for inviting us to your association meeting April 8th and allowing us the opportunity to present our proposal and to hear your concerns.  I'm writing to let you know that we will be submitting our proposal to the city for the change in zoning, and will be reducing the amount of seats from 80 seats(26 parking space requirement) to 50 seats(16 parking space requirement) to help address the parking concerns.  This will result in a 50% reduction in parking instead of a 75% reduction.   I apologize about the confusion over the amount of seats, I had originally asked for 60 seats for my shop, but was told that the square footage required 80 seats.  Apparently I had a misunderstanding between amount of seats vs maximum occupancy.  After reviewing the floor plans we determined that 50 seats would actually be the best number for the space.   The maximum occupancy will be figured by square footage after final plans are submitted.

I also wanted to send you some bullet points from my management plan that I submitted to the planning department as well as some steps I will be taking to address parking should the zoning change get approved.

·   I plan to designate 2-4 of the parking spaces in my lot as 15 minute or less only. 

·  The elimination of the curb cut from the parking lot onto 19th street will add two street spaces.  I will petition city to make at least one of them a 15 minute or less space.

·   I will provide bike/skateboard racks

·  I will provide an EcoPass for all employees.  All employees will be encouraged to walk/bike/bus

·  I will concentrate my marketing to the dense population in the immediate area.  I plan on serving the people already in the neighborhood-not trying to bring in business from across town.  I expect most of my customers to be students, the employees of the nearby business, and the residents of Goss Grove.

·  Many of my customers will be on foot or biking

·  There will be no deliveries/music/loud noises before 7am or after 9pm

·  There will be no outdoor musical performances

·  Patio will close no later than 9pm

·  In general I want to be a part of making Goss Grove a more pedestrian friendly neighborhood

Thanks again for your time, consideration and patience!  I hope that I have addressed some of your concerns.  Please feel free to contact me any time with any questions.  I don't have a hearing date yet, but should be late May or early June and would love your support

Naropa Lincoln building remodeling— Naropa has plans to remodel the old Lincoln school house.  This involves an addition to the back of the building that would house stairs and elevator to comply with the CDA for access by wheelchair etc.  The rest of the exterior would be cleaned of air conditioners and fire escapes and would be restored.  Interior remodeling would also be done but doesn’t need historic approval.

Treasurers report—Jamie researched if there was a way to handle finances through a credit union or bank.  For the amount of money that we handle, it seemed difficult, so we are just using a lockbox to hold funds.  Jenny collected $840 from garden fees.  Thank you, Jamie, for looking into this.

Brochure on Good Neighbor Behavior:  We discussed how best to approach neighbors that maybe need a little reminder about things like trash, trash containers, snow shoveling etc.  We came up with the idea of a small GG brochure that anyone could just drop by.  Loren volunteered to write something up for review at the next meeting.  Thanks, Loren!

Social Media/Communications:  Jamie presented NextDoor as our social media solution.  What a great idea and great site!  Thanks, Jamie!  So far we have more than 20 neighbors signed up with some nice participation in music, classifieds, general commentary.  Of course, it will be what we make of it.  I did notice that Paige and Jeff are having a CD concert this weekend and that they posted something on their fence.  I hope they’ll post to NextDoor (hint, hint).  You can sign up at NextDoor.com.  ONLY people who live in Goss Grove can sign up and all the posts are only for our reading.  Love to see participation expanded.

Arapahoe Reconstruction:  The answer to GGNA letter about the Arapahoe Avenue reconstruction from the city was read.  Construction is going to start soon..be ready!

Respectfully submitted by Michele Bishop

All Smiles...and a Clean Garden!

Many thanks to Ryan ( who was taking the picture), Melinda, Jerrie, Jon, Norah, Rigo, Chris and Mac (not pictured).  Between the nine of us, we raked and pulled weeds, filling 1 large compost bin and two large paper bags.  Gardens are ready to bloom!

During our weeding, I learned about all the places Chris has lived (I knew that accent and soft way of speaking was from the south...) and that Jon is looking forward to getting a new baby great Dane soon!  Exciting!

Look forward to next time!  (I will send out schedule of weeding dates through the summer soon.)

Soliciting Feedback on proposed Coffee Shop

Hello Neighbors,  Public comment is being collected on the proposed coffee shop at 19th and Araphahoe, which is before our next meeting on April 8th.

Stephen and I, as co-chairs, are interested to hear your comments and concerns. All of you should have gotten mail on the proposed coffee shop plans.  The original plans called for a small coffee shop, closing at 9 p.m. The proposal on the table now is for a larger coffee shop, closing at 11 p.m and having more events. There are only 8 parking spots in the proposal.  In 2012, when the coffee shop plan shifted from to a larger space and longer hours, the response of the neighborhood was to show great concern about parking availability, while also generally liking the idea of a coffee shop in the neighborhood.

The 2012 letter from the neighborhood is below for your reference.  I think the real question is whether the parking concerns are a deal breaker as far as the neighborhood goes. Obviously, the parking situation affects those of us living near 19th and Grove (with no offstreet parking) the most.  I think Mary and Maria's letter does reasonably represent the reality of the parking situation if no additional parking spaces are provided.

Send  me your opinions, including your name and address (or at least block you live on, if you don't want to give your address).  Thanks!

Jenny  (jenny.devaud@gmail.com)

------------------------------------------------

Mary Hey and Maria Krenz, as co-chairs of the GGNA submitted this letter, July,2012.

City of Boulder Planning and Development Services

1739 Broadway

Boulder, CO 80302
RE: Use Review, 1852 Arapahoe Coffee Shop Expansion
#LUR2012-00044

                                                                                                July 5, 2012

The Goss-Grove Neighborhood Association learned of the proposed new coffee shop at 1852 Arapahoe last spring, and neighbors responded favorably.  We had some concern about the requested 30 percent parking reduction (the “worst case scenario” on which staff based its analysis of the project) but, given the size of the shop and the operating hours, it seemed acceptable. As we understand it, Planning Board unanimously approved the original application on April 5, 2012, but subject to the conditions drawn up by staff (“Recommended Conditions of Approval”).

Staff’s June 18, 2012, Use Review notice describes what seems like a different project.  Rather than 6 am to 9 pm hours of operation, now it’s 6 am to 11 pm.  The 1,445 square feet of the shop (and presumably the number of seats) has grown by over 55 percent.  Yet the same 8 parking spaces are being requested, increasing the suggested parking reduction to a whopping 75 percent.  The new proposal fails to comply with at least two of the conditions specifically assumed by planning staff in its support of the project.

The new coffee shop will lie smack in the middle of Boulder, and clearly much of the traffic it attracts will be pedestrians and bikers.  But some of the roughly 200 visitors expected per diem will drive, and 8 spaces is simply inadequate.  Any assumption that the 16 on-street parking spaces along 19^th Street will help offset the requested parking reduction is fantasy – those spots are almost always filled by adjacent residents, CU students, and Boulder High students. A 75 percent parking reduction is flat-out unreasonable.

We like the idea of a coffee shop.  Goss-Grove will benefit from having one at 19^th & Arapahoe, and it will be great to see the current building improved.  We are not opposed, but parking has been a perennial problem for our neighborhood. The parking assumptions built into the current Use Review are not believable, and we object to inviting yet more cars to spill into our neighborhood.

                                                                                                Sincerely,

                                                                                    Mary Hey & Maria Krenz

                                                                                             Co-Chairs

                                                                        Goss-Grove Neighborhood Association

Neighborhood meeting coming up April 8th..preliminary agenda

Next meeting: April 8th, 7 p.m., 1919 Grove St
We had a great turn out last time..let's do it again!

Preliminary Agenda:

• Coffee shop:  The fellows who are developing the coffee shop on Arapahoe will be coming to talk about their plans, and hear our feedback. (Todd and John)
• Naropa Lincoln Building restoration/ADA compliance project.  (Aaron)
• Demolition permit update for 2118 Goss (Mark)
• Little Library update  (Chris S.)
• Stone mosaic in Garden/Park  (Chris D.)
• Community Garden update  (Jenny/Michele)
• Social Media update (Jamie)
• Street mural (Alycia)
• Arapahoe Avenue update, if any (Michele)
• Any other City stuff (Jerrie, Michele, Mary, Maria...usually you know what's up!)
• Treasurers' report
• We have funds!  Let's discuss projects which have long been on our wish list!

Looks like we have a pretty full agenda already, but please let me know if you have specific things that need to be added.