October CSNA Meeting Minutes

[Lauren Bisio]

CSNA Meeting Minutes
October 18, 2017 | 6:00 – 7:15pm
The Mary Wade Home

Attendees: Lee Cruz, Mary Ann Moran, Marian Lemly, Sally Esposito, Susan Regan, Leslie Flowers, George Morrison, Lauren Bisio, Kathy Krebzer, Lynne Knowles, David Hunter, Kirk Morrison, Lt. David Zannelli, Vinnie Kiernan

Welcome and Introductions

Finance Report (Sally)

• All payments and reimbursements made: to Riverfest, New Haven Road Runners, Mural expenses, Cedar Knoll Farms (for horse-drawn carriage rides at Fair Haven Community Management Team Picnic), Christel reimbursed for Riverfest expenses, Lee and Sarah reimbursed for website fees
• New payments/contributions received from Fair Haven Pharmacy (for mural), Anastasio’s, Sarah and Lee (for mural), Cositas Deliciosas, Fair Haven Management Team
  • previous problems with United Way payments have been resolved
• There is $9,090.98 in the treasury
• Sally made a call for volunteers to take the role of treasurer/United Way liaison

 Health and Wellness Report (Lee)

• The Urban Trail postcard is on hold as many health organizations are dependent on state funding and have not responded to requests for funding. More updates to come once state passes a budget. Questions, talk to Mary Ann or Lee.

Community Gardens (Mary Ann)

• The gardens at Clinton Ave School and Fair Haven Library are still going strong, recent harvests include beets, collards, and kale.
• The Food Policy Council continues to meet.

Economic and Community Development (Lee)

• Next meeting will be held Monday, October 23 at 6pm at the Quinnipiac Marina to plan Riverfest, upcoming Soup Nights, and Dining Out Nights
• As the committee has not yet been convened to vote on the Lazarus proposal for the Strong School, there is nothing new to report. If you see your Alder around town, please bring up the Strong School Project!
• The next Community Soup Night will be held at Joyce Harned’s home (13 Lombard St.) on Sunday, October 22 from 6-8pm. Meat and vegetarian soups available!
• The Halloween Parade will meet at Kerry’s house (98 Clinton Ave.) at 10am, then proceed to the Mary Wade House. Children welcome, volunteers needed. Please spread the word, and information will be available on the CSNA website and Facebook page.
• Halloween night party will meet at Bosson-Hennan house (149 Clinton Ave.) at 5pm, then head out for neighborhood trick or treating at 6pm. Food/drink contributions welcome, children must be accompanied.
• If you are interested in joining the working group, talk to Cristel ([e-mail]) or Lee

Fair Haven Community Management Team Report (Sally)

• Sally is the vice-chair, again, and encourages CSNA members to attend these meetings for a different perspective on Fair Haven. The next meeting is Thursday, November 2 at 6pm at the Fair Haven Police Substation.
• Does CSNA want to contribute horse-drawn carriage ride to next year’s Fair Haven Community Management Team picnic? It was a huge hit this year! If so, it will cost around $900 and fundraising will need to start soon.
• The Atwater Senior Center Turkey Dinner is looking for a new location for food prep. In addition, they will need volunteers and monetary donations.

Library Report (Kirk)

• After a series of Community Conversations, NHFPL is now soliciting input for the next strategic plan via an online survey: bit.ly/NHFPLSurvey2017
• In partnership with Long Wharf Theatre, there will be a community event on Thursday, October 26 with Joe Brummer to talk about empathy and bullying
• Saturday, November 18 the library will host a USPS passport-on-wheels station.
• Saturday, December 9 is the Fair Haven 100^th Anniversary Celebration. The library is one of the City’s 3 Carnegie Libraries built by Andrew Carnegie, and the only one still being used as a library!

Website (Lee)

• The website is up and running and working properly. Don’t forget to sign up, and you can post announcements about job openings, apartments for rent, etc. The website can even be translated into many, many languages!

Old Business and Reports (Lee)

• The Fall Festival was cancelled this year because of difficulties obtaining liability insurance. There are options for insurance next year, and a Festival coordinator is needed. Next year’s Fall Festival will be Saturday, September 8 with a rain date of September 9, 2018.

Police/Safety Report (Lt. David Zannelli)

• Pending estimates for installation costs, the Blue Light Program will bring at least 3 new blue lights to Fair Haven, including one to Chatham Square Park. These lights illuminate dark areas, have a telephone to call 911, and also cameras. They have been shown to deter violent crime. Additional blue lights will be located at Grand & Blatchley and Ferry & Chapel.
• There was a recent incident at Club Vandome as the club was closing, an argument escalated into a gun fight. Police were on scene and pursued and arrested both men. A bystander was grazed by a bullet, but otherwise there no gunshot wounds. However, a police officer was struck by a car and is still hospitalized with extensive injuries.
• There is a new walking beat on Grand & Ferry
• There is new attention on Richard St. to address increased reports of trouble. Residents will also notice increased police presence as officers perform parole compliance checks and convenience store compliance checks.
• There was a discussion about the brightness of streetlights. The group will reach out to Giovanni Zinn and Doug Hausladen to invite them to a future CSNA meeting to discuss further.
• The group offered their thanks to Lt. Zannelli. To sign up for his weekly reports, contact him at [e-mail]

New Business

• David: lots of empty bottles littering the sidewalk by the package store on Clinton Ave. near Lombard and other litter/indecent materials in the park. Parks, Rec. and Tress is responsible for parks (they contributed money towards the Blue Lights), can they trim the shrubs in the fall as well as the spring?
• David: the Cemetery on Bright St. also has a lot of litter, and has seen an increase in people congregating around the central monument. Lt. Zannelli added that officers have been ticketing trespassers. The cemetery board has been contemplating measures to reduce trespassing, including a fence.
• Marian: the Mary Wade Christmas Bazaar will be held the weekend after Thanksgiving and they need donations for the White Elephant – anything but clothes. There will be a raffle, too!
• Leslie: Can we get a section on the CSNA website for needed items? Donations, good/services, etc. For example, there is a church that needs volunteers to sort and pack donated goods in a container destined for Puerto Rico.
• Lee: the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven has released an informative booklet on the benefits of immigration to our community
• David: there is a new administrator at Mary Wade

Announcements

• The Farmers market continues until the end of the month Thursdays, 3-6pm in Quinnipiac River Park
• Thursday, October 19 there will be a Q&A with Board of Education rep Dr. Ed Joyner. Dr. Joyner is one of 2 people elected to the school board, and 50% of the City’s budget funds the Board of Education, so this meeting is relevant for all City taxpayers.
• Mary Wade Parkinson’s Disease support group will meet October 14 from 1-2:30pm