Indian Mound Neighborhood Association Meeting Minutes from February 20th, 2017

Next Meeting: Monday, March 20th, 6:00pm at North-East Branch Library (6000 Wilson Ave, KCMO 64123)

Jenna Wilkins, IMNA Secretary & 5415 Community Garden Contact

• Garden workday scheduled for Sunday, March 19th from 1pm to 4pm
• Location: 5415 St. John Ave
• Tasks: Clean out raised garden beds, lay more mulch, pick up trash, plant seeds(!?)

Officer Owens, KCPD

• Indian Mound resident asked what he can do about a suspected “drug house” on his block
  • Answer: Share address with KCPD officer; they will visit the house
• Beth Beavers asked about issues with domestic violence and KCPD’s past indications that they don’t seem to prioritize those crimes in Indian Mound
  • Officer responded by saying that KCPD doesn’t feel like they can control those crimes between intimate partners
• Multiple residents brought up recent issues with cars racing and doing donuts along Gladstone Blvd, especially near Van Brunt
  • Officer suggested contacting the traffic enforcement unit so they can station a motorcycle near the intersection
• Officer promised to follow up on two recent shootings
  • N Chelsea in early January
  • Near James Elementary in late January
• Resident asked for recommendations on what type of security camera to invest in and how to keep track of serial numbers in the event of burglary
  • Officer couldn’t recommend a specific type of camera, but said they could be a useful investment; also said that it’s easy for people to take pictures of the serial numbers of their valuables and save it on their phone/email/cloud/etc
  • Difference between “intrusion alarm” and burglaries in progress
    • Intrusion alarms (e.g. ADT) alert homeowners of when alarms are set off and KCPD tries to respond within 4 hours
    • Burglaries in progress, when called in to 911, are responded to much more quickly and can sometimes be stopped as they’re happening
• Residents are encouraged to call the KCPD non-emergency phone number to report low-priority issues: (816) 234 – 5111

Cultural Homestay International

• A program that connects people with living space available with international students looking for somewhere to live during the school year
• Visit www.chinet.org for more information

Reaching out to neighbors who are refugees

• Bryan Stalder encourages residents to reach out Don Bosco, Della Lamb, and/or Jewish Vocational Center if they’d like to learn more about how to help our neighbors who are refugees

Follow up on shooting near James Elementary on January 30th

• Indian Mound resident Amanda Wilson contacted the AdHoc Group Against Crime about the incident
• They had volunteers canvass the blocks around James Elementary in the aftermath of the shooting
• Amanda passed around a thank you card for the group’s efforts
• Bryan Stalder encouraged residents to join the Indian Mound Crime Watch group on Facebook to stay connected about crime-related issues in the neighborhood

“Problem” properties

• The house at 113 Topping has been donated to IMNA. We will be working with Legal Aid of Western Missouri to place a family there through the Urban Homesteading program
• 1117 Topping has finally been demolished. It was one of East Patrol’s “East Eight” properties that was severely blighted and attracted crime. It had suffered severe fire damage within the past year.
• Residents suggested looking into vacant houses on the 300 block of N White Ave and at the corner of St. John & Van Brunt either for demolition or potential Urban Homesteading projects

Suggestions for PIAC requests

• Bryan Stalder mentioned the general trend to focus improvement requests at Budd Park and the intersection of St. John and Hardesty, the geographic center of the neighborhood
• Resident Christopher Lowrance had a few suggestions:
  • Improving the walking path along Kessler Park near Gladstone & Drury. He complained about it in the past and the City took no real action
  • More trash cans in Indian Mound Park
    • Manny Abarca noted that the City was supposed to have already installed more trash cans and benches; will look into it
  • Security camera monitoring the lookout near Indian Mound Park lookout; various illicit activities regularly take place there IM resident brought up evidence of gang activity in the neighborhood
    • He suggested that neighbors take the initiative to remove graffiti as it appears
      • Bryan Stalder reminded residents that IMNA has access to equipment and supplies to remove graffiti; just contact President.IMNA@gmail.com to arrange for graffiti removal

Trash issues

• Residents would like for neighborhood clean-up days to be better advertised
  • Canvassing door-to-door, announcements in NE News, Facebook, etc
• Donna Miller-Brown remarked that a bilingual flyer (English/Spanish) with information about the City’s guidelines for appropriate trash disposal has been developed.
• IMNA now has an Americorps VISTA Volunteer, Michelle Hatch, who regularly canvasses the neighborhood with such flyers and announcements
• The Spring 2017 Dumpster Day for Indian Mound is scheduled for Saturday, May 6th, from 8am to noon
• Dumpsters will be located on the south side of Budd Park for residents to dispose of extra refuse and yard waste IMNA also has access to a limited number of blue trash bags through KCMO can be used when residents have more trash than the regularly allotted 2 bags per week UMKC Center for Neighborhoods

Neighborhood Leaders Potluck

• Location: Anita B. Gorman Discovery Center, 4750 Troost Ave, KCMO
• When: Saturday, April 1st, starting at 8:30am
• Bring a dish and network with other neighborhood leaders
• RSVP to BatesW@umkc.edu

Neighborhood Leadership classes begin classes for their 3rd cohort soon

• Neighborhood leadership training classes every Tuesday from March 7th – May 16th from 5:30 to 8pm
• For more information, email neighborhoods@umkc.edu or call (816) 235 – 6931 for more information

PIAC requests for Cliff Drive

• Resident Amanda Wilson wondered whether Cliff Drive would be a possible location for leveraging PIAC funds for improvements
• Cliff Drive Corridor Management Committee may be open to hearing suggestions and/or collaborating on a PIAC request either with IMNA or individual residents

Neighborhood Rising Funds Grant

• Michelle Hatch, Americorps VISTA for Indian Mound and Lykins, is working to submit two grant proposals
  • One seeks to fund 3 community events throughout Indian Mound in 2017
  • The other is for money to commission a mural on the wall of the building next to the 5415 Garden

Healing House and N. Elmwood Neighbors

• Smoking and noise issues have mostly been resolved since the last mediation, according to one neighbor
• Cars trying to park along Elmwood Ave may have increased lately, according to Bobbi Jo Reed, because it’s tax season and there’s an accounting business across the street from Healing House
• Building plans
  • Only one more meeting left with KCMO to approve plans
  • Healing House has so far raised 40% of the funds needed for the construction and renovations
  • The timeline for completing the renovations and building the parking lots is 6 months