December 5th, 2001

 

The two main topics of discussion at the meeting were a re-cap of the
Holiday Tour, and additional discussion and agreement on the Neighborhood
Council Structure.

Re-Cap of Holiday Tour:

See Holiday Tour 2001 for additional detail.

The Holiday Tour is a major event for our Neighborhood Association, and as
such, there was much discussion and many good ideas were brought forward
for improving the tour. In talking through the re-cap of the tour, a lot
of ideas regarding what worked, what didn't work, changes, and improvements
were discussed. The link above will take you to some of the thoughts and
ideas. In addition, some major points, ideas, and suggestions were:

First and foremost, early planning and early commitment is required for
the tour to be a success. We need to ensure that we have a sufficient
number of homes, and perhaps back-ups committed early (before November!)
Early planning will also help with ensuring we get good publicity for
the tour, and that we can line up sufficient volunteers to help.
There was good discussion as to how we entice people to want their home
to be on the tour, versus more-or-less begging people to have their
houses on the tour. The comparison with the Oakwood tour - where there
is almost a competition, and it is seen as a status symbol to have your
house on the tour - was made. The question is, how do we engender this
type of response within the Glenwood-Brooklyn community?
Jeff Roberts made the suggestion that perhaps a monetary prize
($150-$250) for the best house be given - this might be an enticement
for people to have their house on the tour and also to prompt an
emphasis on decorations.

There was wide-spread agreement that we need a minimum of 7 houses on the tour.

Jeff also made the suggestion, which was well-received, that we have a
neighborhood Holiday Party the evening of the tour at the Borden
Building in Fred Fletcher Park. Have the tour end at 7:00 and then have
the neighbors gather for the party. This would make the entire day more
of an "event" for the neighborhood, it would be a good way to end the
tour day, and again would help to get the tour "noticed" by the
neighborhood.

Given some of the problems with the Trolley this year - with the
children wanting to ride, with neighbors wanting to ride the trolley
without purchasing tickets for the tour, etc. - several ideas were
brought up for the Trolley:
Perhaps we don't offer the Trolley at all, given that it is quite
expensive. However the Trolley proved quite popular especially with
the older people who would not be able to walk the tour.
If we do continue to hire the Trolley, one option is to have a
volunteer ride the Trolley and sell tickets, or collect money, for
those simply wanting a ride - perhap $1 or $2 for riders.
Another option is to offer different prices for the tour - maybe $6.00
for walkers/non-Trolley riders and $8.00 for the tour and the Trolley.
Frank Cross suggested that perhaps we work with restaurants and shop
owners at Glenwood South, and arrange for the Trolley to pick up
and/or drop off passengers in the Glenwood South area during the tour
hours, and in exchange have the Glenwood South businesses pay for the
Trolley.

Last, but certainly not least, some thought needs to be given to: What
is the purpose of the tour? What are we trying to accomplish with the
Tour? Do we want this to be inwardly-focused, i.e, to bring the
neighborhood together? Or outwardly-focused, i.e., to "advertise" our
neighborhood to others in the area or the city as a whole? Or both?
Do we want to really build the tour in order to perhaps raise money for
a charity? Or keep it relatively small and intimate for building
relationships within the neighborhood?

Obviously, there is a lot to discuss, a lot of great ideas, and a lot of
planning to be done. Please send any thoughts, ideas, or suggestions you
have regarding the Holiday Tour to Jennifer Attride, LeAnne Sharp, and/or
Jan Johnston (please make names links to their e-mail addresses). We'll
keep you posted on plans for the 2002 tour, so watch this space for future
updates.

Neighborhood Council Structure:

The last 15 minutes of the scheduled time was devoted to discussing the
structure of the Neighborhood Council. A graphical depiction and
information as to Council Leaders, Members, and their roles was shared and
discussed, and those in attendance were in agreement with the structure as
presented. This link will take you to the Council Structure.

Other Business:

Cathy Camann has agreed to focus on program development for the monthly
meetings (thanks Cathy!) We agreed that beginning in 2002, we would
structure the meetings as follows:

6:30 - 6:45: Social time and fix plate of food / drinks
6:45 - 7:30: Program (people can eat & listen)
7:30 - 8:00: Council meeting - neighbors attending are welcome to stay &
listen and hopefully give input and feedback, But this is primarily for
the Council leaderhship to meet, make decisions, etc.

Cathy (make her name a link to her e-mail addres) needs ideas and
suggestions for program content. Please let her know if you have topics of
interest for the neighborhood.

A good idea brought up by Cathy was to develop a list of contractors and
trades people who have done work in the neighborhood and post to the
website. A note will go out to gather the names, and Marcea Barringer has
graciously agreed to compile and collate the list.

Phil Poe updated us on activities regarding city planning, etc. There will
be a "Neighborhood Summit" on February 23rd (Saturday). This is an effort
by the various Neighborhood Coalitions to meet with the mayor and city
council members to discuss items of concern or interest. Mark your
calendars for this important event! Time and place to be determined, so
check back for those details. If you have ideas of topics you'd like to
have discussed, you may e-mail them to Phil Poe!

 

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