[Durham INC] DRAFT DRAFT February Delegate Meeting minutes

[Pat Carstensen]

I don't yet have soft copies of 2 things (the Golden Belt draft resolution and the neighborhood profile form), but wanted to get these out for comment.  Because of the length, I didn't put the resolutions we passed into the body of this e-mail, but they are in the attachment.
Please let me know about any additions or corrections.
THanks, pat
------------

January Delegate
Meeting

First Presbyterian Church

January 25, 2011

 

Attending the meeting
were:

Neighborhoods

Bay Point – Heather Myers

Chadsford – Darius Little

Colony Park – Don Lebkes

Cross Counties – Pat Carstensen 

Duke Park – Ian Kipp, Bill Anderson

Fairfield – Melissa Rooney

Falconbridge – Rosemarie Kitchin

Golden Belt Neighborhood Association – John Martin, DeDreana
Freeman 

Long Meadow – Pakis Bessias, Patti Rieser

Northgate Park – Mike Shiflett

Old East Durham – Chloe’ Palenchar

Old Farm – David Harris

Old North Durham – Peter Katz

Old West Durham – Eric Heidt

Parkwood – Mike Brooks 

TLNA – Susan Sewell

Watts Hospital Hillandale – Tom Miller

 

Visitors

Jim Wise – News and Observer

Lynwood D. Best – City of Durham, NIS

Ernie Mills – Durham Rescue Mission

 

 

Minutes

Tom Miller opened the meeting, and delegates and visitors
introduced themselves.  David
Harris moved and Mike Shiflett seconded to approve the minutes, which we did by
voice vote.

 

Tom reminded neighborhoods to pay dues ($25, but some neighborhoods give more) and send in membership profiles with by-laws
(Appendix D).  The profiles could
be used for stories on the INC website; the by-laws could be helpful to new
neighborhoods looking at possible structures for their organization.

 

We discussed an NCDOT complaint that a Raleigh neighborhood was practicing engineering
without a license for looking at the manual about when a traffic light is warranted
and questioning DOT’s decision about a light for that neighborhood.  That action is being mocked by folks as
far away as New Zealand and by both Limbaugh and Colbert.  INC may want to take action because it
could be a precedent in saying that if you don’t have money for professional
services, you can’t play.  Pat will
write a resolution and send it to the list-serve, and Tom will invite someone
from DOT to give their side of the story. 
 This would be a good fit
with the program the Transportation Committee
is working for March (probably to be held at Golden Belt, where it will be
easier to show presentation).  The
committee is also continuing to watch a number of issues (Alston Ave, NC54
corridor, etc.).

 

There have been news stories that the billboard industry wants the NC General Assembly to pass a law
restricting the ability of local governments to control billboards and to
increase what can be cut down if trees impede your view of their beer ad.  After some discussion about whether or
not to take the resolution in Appendix A back to the neighborhoods (and hope
the bill was still in play in a month), we voted to decide at this meeting, and
passed the resolution, with the understanding that typos will be cleaned up.   

 

Continuing a response to how decisions are being made on
development, especially in South Durham, Fairfield brought in a resolution on spite strips and protest petitions.  We decided that the whole chronology is
useful, but a shorter resolution was better, so the grey “whereas” paragraphs
were deleted.   Melissa Rooney
moved, John Martin seconded, and we passed the resolution in Appendix B.  Darius Little did not participate in
the discussion due to a potential conflict of interest.  

 

The (NC) House Select
Committee on Homeowner Associations will issue their report and draft bill
soon.  The draft bill has
provisions in 3 areas:

1.    
Right of a home purchaser to know whether there
is a home-owner association and restrictive covenants on the property before they
purchase the property, as well as knowing how to get relevant documents.

2.    
A “homeowner bill of rights” with respect to the
homeowner association would slow down the process of liens and guarantee the
right to participate and observe activities of the homeowner association (look
at books, see minutes, etc.)

3.    
Add rights of the homeowners with the developer
(“declarant”) before the homeowner association is set up.

Something in this area will pass eventually (there have been
too many disputes), but the new Republican majority may want to have their own
committee first.  We voted to set
up another ad hoc committee (consisting of Mike Brooks, Mike Shiflett and David
Harris) to look at the text and get a viewpoint from homeowner association
members of INC.

 

Pat Carstensen and Peter Katz reported that decisions will
be made about how to develop Rolling
Hills this spring, using a “paradigm change” that could affect funding of
affordable housing and other services for the people of Durham.  CallingDurhamHome.org lays out many of
the issues involved.

 

Golden Belt brought up the issue of boarded-up houses and proposed creating anad hoc committee to see
what could be done, either to reduce the number or to make them look less “forlorn.”  We voted to form the committee, with
John Martin as chair; they will report back by May.  Rick Hester of NIS would be willing to come talk to us about
the problem.

 

We discussed the sale of stolen goods at certain liquor outlets.  We talked at the end of last year about ABC licenses as a
carrot/stick to get better behavior. 
Some of the stores that were recently caught selling shop-lifted goods
did lose their liquor licenses, through a technicality; it’s not clear whether
they can re-apply for a license. 
They argue that if they don’t have a liquor license, they can’t make
enough money to stay in business (but how many sources of booze, cigs and junk
food do we need?).   

 

Neighborhood (and
other) reports:

·     
Trinity Park is responding to the proposed hotel
at the south end of the neighborhood.

·     
Golden Belt submitted a resolution on Alston
Avenue and the Rescue Mission plans. 
The Alston Avenue widening was originally a street-scaping proposal; the
traffic on the street is actually decreasing.  Durham Area Designers is willing to do a charette for the
area if the Rescue Mission is willing to participate.

·     
Comments are nearly done on the Ninth Street and
Design District Draft Regulations; the comments will be shared through the
list-serve.  

·     
Please check out Durham Public Schools’
legislative agenda.

·     
Old North Durham has started a neighborhood
happy hour at Full Steam on the 2nd Wednesday of the month.  Only Burger shows up about 6PM.

·     
NCSSM is making another try at breaking the
world record in food collected. 
The target is 545,000 pounds. 
If you want to contribute money, the deadline is Sunday February
27.  More info: http://www.ncssm.edu/fooddrive/?page_id=2
 

 

Announcements:

 

An interactive Community
Engagement Workshop focusing on Durham’s Strategic
Plan and how it aligns with the Budget and introducing the new Performance
Management System software (dashboard), will be held at the Holton Career and
Resource Center, 401 N. Driver Street, on Saturday, February 26 from 10:00 a.m.
to 1:00 p.m.  Interested
attendees must pre-register by Friday, February 25 to
attend this workshop by contacting Marion Gray, via e-mail, at
MarionGray at durhamnc.gov
or phone at (919) 560-4111 ext. 20284 A light breakfast will be provided for
workshop attendees.

 

Conversations with Commissioners
meetings offer opportunities for the BOCC to meet face-to-face with residents
to have open dialogue about the budget and its deficit. The meetings will begin
with a brief presentation from the county and end with conversations between
residents and BOCC when the floor is opened for questions about the
presentation. The BOCC will begin its Conversations with Commissioners meetings
on the following dates:

·      Thursday,
February 24, 2011, Northern Durham Regional Library, 221
Milton Road, at 7:00 pm

·      Tuesday,
March 1, South Regional Library, 4505 S. Alston Avenue,
at 7:00 pm

·      Wednesday, March 2,
1 p.m. at the Durham Center for Senior Life, located
at 406 Rigsbee Avenue

·      Thursday,
March 3, Durham’s Main Library, 300 N. Roxboro Street,
at 7:00 pm

 

The Coffee with Council sessions are a
series of face-to-face meetings designed to give residents the opportunity to
provide direct input to council members on budget items for the upcoming
2011-2012 fiscal year. The sessions also include a review of the City’s budget
outlook for the coming fiscal year.

·      Thursday,
March 10, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. – City Hall
Committee Room, 101 City Hall Plaza, 2nd Floor (PAC 5; Spanish translation
provided)

·      Saturday,
March 12, from 10 a.m. to Noon – Lyon Park Community
Family Life and Recreation Center, 1309 Halley Street (PAC 3)

·      Monday,
March 14, from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. – Durham County School
Resource Center, 2107 Hillandale Road (PAC 2)

 

The meeting was adjourned.




 		 	   		  
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