April 2012

Minutes for April 16, 2012 Annual Meeting

Meeting called to order 7:07 pm.

Sign in and introductions take place.

Treasurer Report

Nothing has changed, the balance is still $1451.71.

Announcements

Karen Greene notes that we should thank Jesse Soto for helping us get rid of the blinking lights and replace the stop signs with yields. She passes around a thank you note.

Karen also announces that Richard Mayer’s neighborhood coalition is having its first meeting on Thursday, April 19 at 6:00 pm at Trinity Presbyterian Church at 4th Avenue and University. It is not connected to any governmental group and she recommends someone from our neighborhood get involved.

Karen’s third announcement is that both 4th Avenue and Congress are a real pain to get around on, so she proposes organizing a group to get together and patronize businesses along these streets.

Turtle announces that the Pie Party is Saturday, April 28 at the Whistle Stop Depot. Dunbar Spring is a potential recipient.

Natasha Winnik announces that the street mural will now be on Sunday, April 29, at 6:00 am.

Claire Zugmeyer announces on behalf of Diana Byrum that all of her carrots in the community garden were pulled up and left half eaten on the ground. She is upset and unsure if she will continue to garden there.

Discussion

Because the art discussion will likely take a long time, Parkwise and Liz Burden from WAMO have been moved forward.

Parkwise – Jeff Bradley introduces himself and Jose Gomez. They are responsible for our sector of Parkwise, and they are here because Parkwise is attempting to have a more community-based approach by trying to connect to neighborhoods and learn our issues. Mr. Bradley tells us that he does not see many parking issues in our neighborhood, but he wants to be our community liaison. Natasha shares that some residents on 9th Avenue were upset that their permit signs were changed from 9-5 weekdays to 24 hours without their request. Mr. Gomez informs us that Parkwise records state that the signs should have always been 24 hours, so these residents will need to reapply, which they are currently in the process of doing. Paul Buckwalter states that he likes the outreach, because it is a change, but he is curious if Parkwise will implement a warning system, because the fines are extreme and many people do not know all the rules, and an unexpected $150 fine really destroys any sort of trust. Mr. Bradley says that he has distributed cards that list the most common parking violations, and they did have a several week warning period in Barrio Hollywood where they issued a number of warnings, but they have now returned to ticketing in that neighborhood. He informs us that if we are having guests for a few days and we want them to be able to park in our permit zone, we can call him and he will make sure that they do not receive tickets. His phone number is (520) 791 5071 and he can be emailed at parkwise@tucsonaz.gov.

Liz Burden from WAMO – Liz Burden discusses the ongoing work at the Steinfeld Warehouse. WAMO, who owns the Steinfeld warehouse, has received a stabilization grant and they are currently fixing the foundation and roof. Their ultimate goal is to have a structurally sound, historically accurate building. Their current plan includes upstairs live/work artist studios, studio space, and a cafe or restaurant, and a downstairs studio, classroom, and retail space. Poster, Frost, and Mirto are the architects. The goal is to have everything finished by early to mid 2014, and to possibly be open for special events once the stabilization work is complete. They are planning to have a “Steinfeld in the Streets” event soon. Jonathan Crowe requests that no landscaping be placed along 6th Street because it is already hard enough for bicyclists trying to cross on 9th Avenue to see traffic there. Liz says that that is probably not a concern at this stage, but she will make sure the request is relayed to the appropriate parties. If we have any questions, her email is liz@wamotucson.org.

Vote: Reinvestment Project, Art – We will first discuss the bench component of the reinvestment project. There are two bench teams, Jason Butler and Hiro Tashima, and Cade Hayes and Jesus Robles. Jason Butler is here to discuss his and Hiro’s two benches. The first will be on the northwest corner of 2nd Street and 10th Avenue, and this one will be designed and built by Hiro. The current concept is a larger than life sculpture of a native lizard holding and reading a book with a back and tail that will serve as a bench. According to Jason, Hiro is capable of making it look very realistic, almost to an uncanny degree. It will be made of metal and concrete, painted, and it will have an anti-graffiti coating. Most in the room nod in approval of the design so far. Natasha says she would like to see the tail wrapped around the tree. Sky Jacobs states that he likes the idea of a Gila monster because they are colorful. Turtle says she likes the idea of a Gila monster, or a horny toad because they used to be common in the neighborhood and have now been lost. She also says that she prefers a more realistic lizard and would like to see some of Dunbar’s poems in the book. Jonathan says he would like to see some tile work, at least as an accent, because that is something that Hiro is renowned for. Turtle asks about the scale. Jason responds that it will be at least 8-10-12 feet. Because the design is pretty done, Turtle will take care of sending out the flier.

Jason and Hiro’s second bench will be on the southeast corner of University and 10th Avenue. Jason had previously made a model of a bench of colored circles, but after learning about the Pancake and Freight Train idea, he attempted to integrate it with the original design. The result is a bench with a checkerboard in the middle and colored circle seats that have either a pancake or freight train emblem in them. They will have lines of poetry by Paul Laurence Dunbar around the edges. Some present would like to see two colored benches on either side of the checkerboard and to checkerboard table also be a circle with a square checkerboard in the middle. Jason says that these changes should be possible. Natasha suggests that there be a plaque with the Pancake and Freight Train story and the artist info. Turtle suggests that the plaque also say no smoking or drinking since that could potentially be an issue.

We move on to Cade and Jesus’s bench plans. Their bench will be located at the southeast corner of University and 9th Avenue next to the community bulletin board. They have been thinking about ways to build a bench that “grows from the earth” and they have come up with several ideas. Because this is a place were dog walkers tend to congregate in the morning and it didn’t seem appropriate for the benches to face either the wall or the street, they’re considering two facing benches, although with current funding they can only build one of them. They present their first concept, which includes two stone block planters with protruding metal seats that create two facing benches. Sky notes that native plants would be preferable. Their second concept also includes two benches, but they are tapering up from the ground at opposite ends, and they also have plants growing out of them. Their third concept is to have a “wheelbarrow graveyard” where a bunch of upturned old wheelbarrows act as benches. Turtle recommends doing the first or second concept at the current location, and the wheelbarrows at the garden if funding can be found. Ian Fritz says he likes the wheelbarrow idea, but good drainage is very important to prevent the growth of mosquitoes and accumulation of palo verde gunk. Karen asks if they can use A-mountain rock since we have lost some homes built out of it. Cade and Jesus tell us that they do have access to some rock from the Tucson Mountains and they can use it. According to our straw poll, most present prefer the first concept at the University and 9th Avenue location, and possibly the wheelbarrows at another location.

Now on to approving the other artwork. Jonathan Crowe moves to approve Joe Lupiani’s Fish Sculpture concept as it was sent out in the neighborhood flier. Ian Fritz seconds. No discussion takes place and the motion carries unanimously.

Jonathan Crowe moves to approve the concept for the Historic Crossroads sign as it was sent out. Claire Zugmeyer seconds. No discussion and the motion carries unanimously.

Now to discuss Ray Salas’ rain gauge and music sculpture. Karen informs us that there will be lots of hoops to jump through to have it installed at Estevan Park and at least a six month wait, which would push it back too far, so that will not be an option at this point. The only remaining option that we have previously discussed is splitting it into three smaller pieces in the right of way along 1st Street. Ray has proposed keeping it as one piece and putting it either at 2nd Street and 10th Avenue or at 4th Street and 10th Avenue. No consensus is reached about whether to split it into three or keep it as one in a different circle, and nobody seems to be terribly pleased with either option. Similarly, nobody seems terribly excited about the aesthetic of Ray’s current design, although most still like the concept of a sculpture that acts as a rain or flow gauge and sound sculpture, particularly one that plays a song by Paul Laurence Dunbar. Jennifer Donofrio, who is here and represents TDOT on the art panel, says that she will talk with Sally Krommes to see what to do and discuss things with Ray. Many present dislike the machine look. The idea of three different resonators or two resonators and one rain gauge is mentioned as a possible option if the sculpture is split into three.

Annual Reports and Elections

No annual reports have been prepared, so we proceed to elections.

Ian nominates Jonathan Crowe for president but he declines.

Karen Greene nominates Ian Fritz for president, Turtle seconds. Nominations for president close.

Lisa Scoblink nominates Sky Jacobs for vice president, Turtle seconds. Nominations for vice president close.

Lisa Scoblink nominates Harrison Smith for secretary, Sky Jacobs seconds. Nominations for secretary close.

Vince Pawlowski nominates Gail Toomey for treasurer, Natasha Winnik seconds. Nominations for treasurer close.

Sky Jacobs nominates Vince Pawlowski for parliamentarian, Ian Fritz seconds. Vince states that he will accept the position, but he may have to resign if he moves out of town before next April. Nominations for parliamentarian close.

Ballots are distributed and collected. All the nominated candidates are elected unanimously.

Return to discussion

Lisa states that there have been complaints from the Dunbar Coalition about a woman who lives out of her car in the Dunbar parking lot. There have also been people sleeping in the garden. Natasha says that the woman in the parking lot is very nice and completely harmless, compassion is necessary for someone in her state, and she does not see anything detrimental about her presence. Those who sleep in the garden can cause issues, however, so we need to send a letter to TPD to remind them of our policy of warning against sleeping in the garden and only arresting if they repeat. Karen informs us that the Main Library has a very good public health nurse who has been able to get help for people who have been without medical help for many years.

Committee Reports

Downtown Links – Natasha informs us no meetings have taken place, 8th Street and 4th Avenue is dug up for construction, and there is no word on the St. Mary’s section of Downtown Links.

DNARC – Karen informs us that DNARC will continue and they will have new cochairs and be going in new directions. We will need a new rep and Karen recommends that we have one if possible.

Neighborhood Garden – Everything is fine with the garden (except for the carrots).

Dunbar Coalition – The official name of the entire Dunbar complex is now the Paul Laurence Dunbar Pavilion. The auditorium has been renamed for Cres Lander. The charter school and buffalo soldier exhibit are moving along nicely.

Minutes for March are approved.

Meeting adjourned 9:43 pm.

Next meeting Monday, May 21, 7:00 pm, Dunbar School Board Room.