The meeting convened at 5:10. The Board welcomed new member Lyla Dozier. Hogate moved to approve the agenda; seconded by Overman; carried by unanimous vote.

NEIGHBORHOOD SELECTION.

Greenwood Historic Neighborhood. Kristi Lund-Lozier presented the Greenwood Historic Neighborhood application for designation, saying designation would help them compete with the western suburbs. Should they be selected, they hope to gain infrastructure improvement of streets and curbs and burial of lines and wires. Dozier told her line burial is not part of the Neighborhood Revitalization Program. Lund-Lozier said she was aware of that and the neighborhood is considering a SSMID.

Merle Hay Neighborhood. Art Behn and Joann Hanover of Merle Hay Neighborhood presented their application for selection. Hanover said the neighborhood is very conscious of being the gateway to Des Moines from the west and north, and would like to have prominent signs to say "welcome to Des Moines." Their goals for designation are mitigation of rainfall flooding of the intersection of Merle Hay and Douglas, new curbs and sidewalks, attraction of new businesses to abandoned commercial structures, traffic studies to address speeding and congestion, and extension of the bike trail to the city limits. They are also concerned about the adverse effect of the proposed western mall on Merle Hay and by extension, their neighborhood.

Pulliam said empty businesses reduce the attractiveness of Merle Hay and named several that have closed recently, saying that so many closings were an indicator of decline. He asked Behn and Hanover what one thing would help them the most. Hanover said recognition of Merle Hay Road as the gateway would help the most. Nixon asked if they thought many people would take advantage of NFC. Hanover said the housing there was mostly small 1950s structures. The lots in many places are large with very small houses on them, and adding rooms to the houses could make them more attractive to families. She said there was a disproportionate number of single people buying houses in the neighborhood, and they would prefer to see more families.

Salisbury Oaks. Becky Simmons, president of Salisbury Oaks told the Board about her neighborhood's problems with rain runoff erosion which has undercut streets and sidewalks. They also have a ravine on Tonawanda that has had chunks of concrete dumped in it, and they would rather see the City use the Gabion basket approach (rocks with chainlink over the top). Illegal dumping is also a problem. The neighborhood wants a bike lane on 42nd and a small section of grass at the end of the street blacktopped so it can meet up with the bike trail on the other side of the railroad tracks. They also want traffic calming on 42nd; better lighting on Tonawanda; safety improvements at 42nd and Grand; an entry sign with their neighborhood's name with flowerbeds, a park bench, and a dog waste container; an interpretive walking path with signs for significant structures like Margo Frankel's house, plantings of native grasses and prairie plants to help stabilize and cover areas where rain makes washouts; beautification of the entrance to Salisbury House; graffiti removal; dumpster screening; burial of power lines and rehab of an abandoned property. Pulliam asked how much crime there was; Simmons said there were beer parties at Salisbury House and in the ravine, speeding on 42nd, and illegal dumping. Nixon said the Parks Department could help with plants and advice for the beautification issues. Walden asked how many people typically attended an association meeting; Simmons said there were about 40 at the beginning, and the association has 100 members now.

Waveland Park. David Huston said his neighborhood's goals for designation center around extension of bike trails, enhancement of existing greenspaces, and extensive rehabs financed by NFC. Hogate said the area's housing and commercial parts were affordable and beautiful, but showing signs of wear and age. She asked if the association had any ideas about how to stop the deterioration. Huston said making Perkins an all-grades elementary school was making the neighborhood more attractive to young families, and property values were going up. There will also be a community center on Franklin, expansion of the library, and improvements to the nearby park.

Pulliam said his neighborhood Chautauqua Park marketed itself through the realtors. Huston said if the neighborhood was selected for designation and a Plan prepared, he would make sure it was on the table at every realtor's open house. Pulliam advised the neighborhood to capitalize on historic aspects, mentioning the names of famous people who lived there, etc. Dozier asked if the DOT met with his neighborhood about the proposed closing of the 56th Street freeway exit. Huston said that meeting was scheduled for October.

ADDITIONAL RESEARCH ITEMS FOR STAFF. Kahoun asked the Board if they needed anything additional from staff before the meeting on the 22nd when the Board will formulate its recommendations for selection of two new neighborhoods. Nixon asked if staff had called the Register to correct items in the recent article on selection. Kahoun and Carberry said staff thought that the errors weren't misleading enough to ask for a correction.

Dozier asked whether the Board was to consider all seven neighborhoods as candidates for selection, or just the ones that had statistically scored as stable or transitional negative/distressed. Kahoun said staff had recommended the Board hear all seven neighborhoods due to close scoring, and she preferred to answer that question at the next meeting with the staff recommendation, which will take several factors into consideration, including the NFC program's viability.

Volm said the data was only part of what needed to be considered; the interviews and the Board's assessment of a neighborhood's leadership also needed to be factored in. Dozier said she was concerned about sending a recommendation to Council to select a neighborhood that had not clearly scored in the category that was being chosen for this round.

Muldoon said all the neighborhoods who presented asked for new sidewalks, which were normally the responsibility of the homeowner. Kahoun said designated neighborhoods got new sidewalks through the NIRP program. Muldoon said Mondamin historically had a lot of public nuisance properties, and she asked that staff research ownership of the properties to see if several were owned by the same people.

Nixon said the south of Grand neighborhoods had so much trouble with runoff damage that it might be necessary to totally re-engineer the roads. Kahoun said the planning process would include looking at that issue.

The meeting adjourned at 7:50 p.m.

Jerry Overman, Secretary