Great Meeting--Here Are Minutes. NOTE NEED FOR DONATIONS

Goss-Grove Neighborhood Association

Minutes of July 21, 2011 meeting

Eleven neighbors and three visitors met at the home of co-chairs, Jerrie and Jon Hurd.

The meeting was called to order at 6:15 pm and the minutes of the April meeting were approved.

1. Brett Schaker of Community Cycles offered to bring the rolling bike clinic to the neighborhood. It was agreed to hold the bike clinic on Saturday, August 20, from noon to 4 pm by the Snow Lion parking area. Brett also reminded neighbors that at Community Cycles (2805 Wilderness Pl.) anyone can volunteer 15 hours of labor and earn a bicycle.

2. This is also the date that Naropa indicated that they would like the new crop of Snow Lion students to do some community work in the neighborhood. We will ask the students to help clean up the three pocket parks. The two events will work well together and GGNA will provide some refreshments.

3. Mary Hey summed up the history of GGNA trying to save the character of the neighborhood since the 70s and was turned down twice by the city. This year the decadal revision of the Boulder Comprehensive Plan gave us another opportunity to try for a redesignation of the neighborhood to mixed used, medium density. The city planning staff did a careful study and recommended the change to the Planning Board, supported by a careful and cogent memo from GGNA, which was also sent to the City Council. Numerous neighbors attended and spoke at the joint meeting of the City Council and the Planning Board. While the Planning Board opposed GGNA’s request at first, after the City Council voted unanimously for it, the Planning Board also approved.

The meeting toasted the neighborhood and Mary Hey for her drafting of the memo, and presented her with a GGNA Service Award.

4. Merrie Leach, Emergency Management Coordinator for the City and County of Boulder came to talk about living in the floodplain. Boulder, sitting at the mouth of Boulder Creek, is the number one in flash flood risk in Colorado. Merrie distributed flash flood safety information (see boulderfloodinfo.net). The first thing is to go to higher ground immediately; stay out of flood waters; avoid driving in flooded areas; stay away from power lines and electrical wires. Heed flood alerts – it can be sunny where you are and flood in a few minutes. Also, have a “go bag,” have a family plan and meeting place, make sure to have your medications and store copies of important papers in a safe place away from home.

boulderoem.net has up-to-date information of flood danger or other emergency situations.

5. Terry Steinborn from the now defunct Office of Environment Enforcement explained that the police will take over the duties of the office and will have more resources. GGNA thanked Terry for her long and tireless service making our neighborhood quieter and better.

6. Jenny Devaud reported that the garden is going well. There are 13 full plots and two half-plots. Jenny is organizing monthly weedatons. She is asking people with plots to put in 4 hours to keep up the garden and encourages all neighbors to come help, even if for a brief time. It is a good opportunity to meet neighbors you might not know.

7. We are going forward with plans to paint a street mural at the intersection of Grove and 19^th, the geographical center of Boulder. Neighbors looked at two designs by Diane and Jan, and agreed that though Diane’s design was lovely and intriguing, it couldn’t be done in a day. Jan Burch’s very attractive design was adopted. The date chosen is September 25^th.

Jan and Mary will ask for donations of street paint and brushes from Guiry and McGuckins. Jan will make stencils and have Rocky Mountain Blueprint blow them up to fit the 15 ft diameter of the circle design. Will ask for a loan of Roseanne and Greg’s canopy, so painters can be shaded. Maria will provide water. Jerrie will take care of the paperwork with the city. She will make sure enough neighbors sign up for the event and ask for volunteer students from Snow Lion.

We need donations to cover the expenses for paint and brushes. Please give/send donations to Michelle Bishop, our treasurer, or Jerrie Hurd, our co-chair.

8. At the October meeting we’ll consider establishing a Paypal account for GGNA.

Next meeting of GGNA is on October 20^th.

Respectfully submitted,

Maria Krenz, Secretary