August Meeting Minutes

Crestwood Neighborhood Association
Membership Meeting Minutes
 
August 9, 2016

Present:
Justin Cliburn, President
Micah Legall, Vice-President
Doris Carder, Secretary
Deanne Cliburn, Newsletter
Aaron Barton, 
Dana Deal, 
Donna Stiles, 
John Encomienda, 
Alicia Miller, 
Jason Barton, 
Don Burnett, 
Francois Bigot, 
Elizabeth,
Kimberly McCauley, 
Russell Vannoy, 
Carter Faison.

Not Present:
Nancy Kitchen, Treasurer.
 
This meeting was held at the Crestwood Vineyard at 6:30 p.m. to discuss concerns, improvements, upcoming events, and future projects.
 
Sign Toppers

• Enough money has been raised (approximately $590.00) to put the sign toppers on the peripheral entrances to the neighborhood.
  • The membership voted to order and pay for the first round of sign toppers
  • CNA President Justin Cliburn has paid for the application fee and installation costs to the City and ordered the signs from OCI
    • The signs will arrive in two to three weeks
• Future donations can go towards toppers on the intersections within the neighborhood.

 
Marketing

• John Encomienda suggested we knock on doors to invite people to come to our meetings in the future.
  • John has created a Crestwood Instagram account (@crestwoodokc) that he is using to market the neighborhood

 
Sustainability Grant from OG&E

• Deanne explained about a grant from OG&E (1 of 3) for the neighborhood which has the best sustainability project this summer.
• OG&E is giving 3 grants this summer to the neighborhood in Oklahoma City that has the best sustainability project.
• It can be a fund raiser for improvements that better our environment, energy efficient improvements to our homes (collectively) or Median, recycling projects, or whatever we can think of to work on as a neighborhood to conserve energy
• Deanne Cliburn passed out questionnaires (detailing what members may have done to help qualify for the grant) to meeting attendees to complete and return to her.
• We have until Oct. 7 to qualify for the grant.
• Donna Stiles had previously told the membership about OG&E coming out to her house to do an energy analysis and how beneficial it was and would be to others [President's note: You can request a free home energy audit here.]

 
 Crestwood Yard of the Month

• Donna Stiles (who lives on NW 20th St.) was congratulated on receiving Yard of the Month for August.

 
19th Street Median—General

• Justin Cliburn has been working on getting the spigot fixed so a hose can be attached to it to water the median.
• Justin Cliburn has contacted Parks and Recreation to see about replacing the broken doggie trash receptacle and to purchase 2,000 doggie bags for $75.00.

19th Street Median--Bird Sanctuary

• Don Burnett and Doris Carder put (attached) a bird bath that Don Burnett and his family donated on the Median concrete area by the flag pole where there is a wood bench.
• Seddie Barber donated recycled lumber for bird houses and feeders on the Median to create a bird sanctuary.
• Doris is almost finished with a bird feeder/house that will be attached to one of the dead pine trees by the flag pole.
• Other feeders and bird houses may be built and put on the Median when completed.

19th Street Median—Landscaping Controversy

• Doris Carder cut down a seven-year-old ash tree on the east end of the 2700 block of the 19th Street median and replaced it with a crepe myrtle donated by Lowes. This caused controversy.
  • CNA member Francoise Bigot appeared at the meeting to ask why the tree was cut down, as she had planted it seven years prior
    
  • Doris maintained that it was not a tree, but a "bush-like tree" or "weed tree" while Francoise said that it was an ash tree.
    
    • CNA President Justin Cliburn said that the CNA will stipulate that it was a tree.
      
  • Doris maintained the tree was dying and that the CNA had decided to cut it down
    • At the meeting, the CNA made it clear it had never discussed cutting down the tree at a general meeting, nor had the CNA voted to cut down the tree
  • The shouting back and forth prevented a more nuanced discussion of the issue, but a rule was put in place to prevent it from happening again:
    • Before any permanent structure is placed upon or removed from the 19th Street median, there will be a membership vote
• Doris explained she will build another fence to go around the newly-planted crepe myrtle so mowers won’t disturb its growth.
• After the meeting, CNA President Justin Cliburn met with both Doris Carder and Francoise Bigot, separately, to discuss the concerns they raised at the meeting. Justin also sent the members present at the meeting an email apologizing for how the meeting devolved into shouting. 
  

Neighborhood Night Out, Tuesday, October 4, 2016

• This is a city-wide event where we meet our neighbors and usually have speakers come in to discuss safety (fire and personal).
• We can invite the local police and fire department to speak.
• We have had our councilwoman Meg Salyer and Senator David Holt and Representative Jason Dunnington also speak and/or attend in the past.
• We would like to set up games for younger people who attend.
• John Encomienda is leading the charge on our NNO Committee
• Elections will be held at the October NNO meeting, so be thinking of that if you plan on running for a position.

 
The meeting adjourned early at approximately 7:35 p.m. in order to end the shouting between members.

• As a result, John Encomienda did not get to present a giveaway he organized on his own
  
  • CNA President Justin Cliburn assured John that he may do the giveaway at the September meeting