Mills Neighborhood Association
Board Meeting – held 9/17/2019 @ 601 E. Main St.
- CALL TO ORDER
- President Rodriguez called the meeting to order at 6:14pm
- ROLL CALL – President Rodriguez
- Board members present: President Isabel Rodriguez, Vice President Patrick Sullivan, Secretary Kaitlin Hakanson
- Board members absent: none
- General members present: John Crawford (new), Dale Day, Jonah Hakanson, Minea Kiss, Terra Russo
- Guests: none
- CONSENT AGENDA & MINUTES
- Approval of agenda – unanimous approval
- Approval of amended July 16 minutes (from previous Secretary) – unanimous approval
- Approval of Aug. 20 minutes – unanimous approval
- Appointment of interim Treasurer – President Rodriguez nominated Kaitlin Hakanson as interim Treasurer. She accepted and was approved unanimously by the Board and general membership present.
- TREASURER’S REPORT – current balance: $1,080.18, with no activity for 2 months. President Rodriguez and Vice President Sullivan are working with the credit union to restore our access to the account following reorganization of the group. It’s likely that a new account will need to be opened to allow business to continue.
- Letter received from previous board member – A certified letter was received by multiple board members requesting that the Aug. 20 board meeting minutes be modified. Legal counsel was sought regarding the request, and the board and present general membership, based on legal counsel’s advice, decided not to change the meeting minutes.
- General membership meeting for next week – The previous general member meeting was a huge success, and the next one will be similarly informal. Nominations will be open for all board member positions, and voting will occur at the annual meeting on Oct. 15. Nominations will also be accepted on Oct. 15. Both of these meetings are being advertised on the group’s facebook page (Mills Neighborhood Association), in the Herald & News newspaper (publication of record), and flyers posted on community boards at multiple grocery stores.
- Formation of committees – Lots of interest in and discussion about committees. All agreed on forming a grants/fundraising committee. Other committees suggested are events, newsletter, marketing, neighborhood outreach/direct action. Can always add more committees, and some can be temporary. Suggestion that we involve local churches, especially for events. Vice President Sullivan pointed out that it is extremely important to avoid any activities or statements that imply that the organization has a specific political affiliation. Motion: to table formal formation of committees. 2nd: VP Sullivan, unanimous approval.
- OLD BUSINESS
- Reorganization – discussion about whether to change the name of the organization. The Board and the general membership present all agreed that the organization retain the name Mills Neighborhood Association, and all proper procedures will be followed to modify state filings, bank accounts, and other records to reflect the change in officers. The name of the organization’s official facebook page was changed back to Mills Neighborhood Association to reflect this decision.
- NEW BUSINESS
- President Rodriguez would like to request a formal acknowledgement from the City of Klamath Falls that the tulip is the official flower of our neighborhood. Sunflowers were also brought up as a possibility, although several members clarified that tulips are found throughout the neighborhood, including neglected spaces.
- The Board extended their thanks to Jonah Hakanson for preparing a new set of bylaws for the organization. The Board will be reviewing the bylaws later this week.
- The City of Klamath Falls has made significant progress on installing new sidewalks on the west side of Washburn Way. This infrastructure improvement is greatly appreciated by the Association.
- ACTION ITEMS
- Elections for new officers of the board will be held on Tuesday, October 15th at 6pm at the IYS Building.
- The next general meeting is Tuesday, September 24th at 6pm (same location). This will be a socializing event that gives the general membership the opportunity to meet other members and prospective board officers.
- PUBLIC DISCUSSION
- Terra Russo (PR for Ross Ragland Theater, Mills resident), and Kendra (PR for Blue Zones Project, Klamath Falls) have been researching the possibility of the Association hosting a Snowflake Festival event at Mills-Kiwanis Park. They have spoken with Blue Zones and Klamath Works, and noted the success of the small event hosted at the Grocery Pub last year. Discussion of a walking tour around the park, with residents who live along the perimeter of the park putting up Christmas decorations and adding decorations to the park. Possibility of serving hot cocoa and cookies to help support the cost of the event. It was decided that the Association will not participate this year so that we can have a solid plan and something manageable next year. Members will continue to gather information about the event, and they are encouraged to participate in a committee that handles events (once one is formed).
- ADJOURN
- Meeting adjourned by President Rodriguez at 7:43 p.m.