Indian Mound Neighborhood Association Meeting Minutes from February 19th, 2018.

Next Meeting: Monday, March 19th, 6:30pm at the North-East Branch Library (6000 Wilson Rd, KCMO 64123)

Attendees introduced themselves and said what part of the neighborhood they live in.

Donna Miller-Brown, IMNA Treasurer

• Treasurer’s Report:
  • $2579.14 balance; no deposits or withdraws since last meeting

 

Officer Smith, KCPD

• Shared crime stats, increase in auto thefts compared to this time last year
• Apartment complex on Thompson having issues
  • KCPD and others met with the owner recently, who promised to make positive changes
• East Patrol will be getting another Community Interaction Officer (CIO) and 2 new social workers soon
• 8 call takers were hired, much less than the 22 that the KCPD Chief wanted
• Bryan Stalder asked about Parking Control Officers
  • Officer Smith thinks that KCPD will be hiring 10 new Parking Control Officers
• Resident asked about who to call for cars parked in yards
  • Officer Smith said for cars parked on the sidewalk, call KCPD; for cars parked in yards, call codes
• Beth Beavers mentioned the upcoming City Budget Hearings
  • Saturday, Feb. 24th, 9am – 11am, at the Guadalupe Center Auditorium (5123 E Truman Rd.)
  • Saturday, March 4th, 9am – 11am, at the R.B. Doolin Center (1900 NE 46th St.)
  • Thursday, March 8th, 12:30pm – 2:30pm, at the KCPD Community Room (1111 Locust St.)
• KCPD and KC NoVA are organizing a canvassing session in Indian Mound on March 10th

 

Jenna Wilkins, IMNA Secretary

• IMNA’s Parks Committee will be meeting on Wednesday, February 21st, at 6:30pm
  • Agenda:
    • Review last year’s PIAC requests and discuss how to prepare if any of them are funded
    • Discussion about our approach to PIAC in the future
    • Parks related things to bring up with IMNA board’s meeting with 4th District Councilperson Jolie Justus on March 5th
    • General brainstorming

 

Donna Miller-Brown

• Neighborhood Rising Fund grant application update
  • In 2017, IMNA got the NRF grant to fund 3 community events
  • Application this year will hopefully fund:
    • Another National Night Out event
    • Block Party packages for 4 different areas of the neighborhood
    • Increasing capacity of block watch
    • Money for printing flyers

 

Beth Beavers, IMNA Executive Vice President

• BikeWalkKC grant
  • Will be working in elementary schools in Northeast to collect data on students’ commute to school and engage parents
  • After data collection, BikeWalkKC will get feedback from IMNA about possible advocacy issues
  • Maggie Priesmeyer will be presenting more about this at the NEKC Chamber of Commerce Luncheon on February 27th, at 11:45am at 2657 Independence Ave

 

Abby Judah, Legal Aid of Western Missouri

• Urban Homesteading program update
  • Goal for 2018 is to complete 5 cases in Indian Mound (already close to 3!)
  • Two prospective Urban Homesteaders attended the meeting; they introduced themselves and explained their hopes for moving into the UH properties and fixing them up
    • One found out about the program from the Northeast News podcast episode where they interviewed Abby about the program; the other UHer found out through a friend who had participated in the program

 

Ana Ramirez, Americorps VISTA

• Recently interviewed and polled students at Northeast High School
  • Interacted with 197 students through focus groups and surveys
    • The students were eager to talk and share their perspectives when given the chance
  • Top 5 activities
    • Sports, leisure activities, video games, sleeping, arts
      • There are sports at the school, but it’s only offered to students with 90% attendance and 90% GPA
        • City Year is a group that offers after-school sports to all students, but only two days a week
  • Students shared the qualities they appreciated in adults that they interact with
    • Many students recognized that their teachers seem to be afraid of them because of stereotypes about “inner-city” kids
    • Students appreciate teachers and adults that show them respect, patience, and are non-judemental
  • Students listed their role models
    • Most common was family members, especially mothers
    • “Nobody” was a common response
    • Next was celebrities and specific teacherse
  • Students indicated a lack of programming in their community that appeals to them
  • Two teacher, Ms. Freeman and Mr. McGill, stood out as exemplary teachers in the eyes of students because they make an effort to have high quality connections with students and are relatable
  • Ana’s main take-away was that students want to be engaged
    • Many students are busy with work and helping their family with childcare responsibilities
    • One avenue for IMNA to engage with the students is helping them fulfill their required community service hours
• Donna brought up the intent to create content for young people in Indian Mound through IMNA’s website
  • A page can be set up to list volunteer opportunities, upcoming events for young people, and relevant programs
  • IMNA could also email students about volunteer opportunities and other events through their school email

 

Upcoming Events

• Summer Concert Series will be every 3rd Friday in May, June, July, August and September
• Chalk Walk will be on May 19th and 20th
• Community Garden workday on Sunday, March 25th, from 10am to 1pm, at 5415 St. John Ave