Mills Neighborhood Association
Annual Meeting – held 10/15/2019 @ 601 E. Main St.

MINUTES
I. CALL TO ORDER
a. President Rodriguez called the meeting to order at 6:21pm

II. ROLL CALL – President Rodriguez
a. Board members present: President Isabel Rodriguez, Vice President Patrick Sullivan, Secretary Kaitlin Hakanson
b. General members present: 37 people signed in at the door
c. Guests: John Bellon (City Parks), Matt Dodson (Klamath Falls City Council), Dr. Glenn Gailis, Francisca Benitez (Herald & News), Kendra Santiago and Jessie Hecota (Blue Zones Project), Craig Schumann (Integral Youth Services)

III. ELECTION
a. President – unanimous approval of Isabel Rodriguez
b. Vice President – unanimous approval of Patrick Sullivan
c. Secretary – votes were cast, with nominations for Kaitlin Hakanson and Linda Anderson. Kaitlin Hakanson won a majority of votes.
d. Treasurer – because Kaitlin Hakanson won the election for Secretary, no nominations were active for this position. The nomination was offered to Linda Anderson, but she did not accept. Yecenia Rodriguez expressed interest in helping, but could not commit to the position. This position remains vacant.
e. At-Large Board Member 1 – unanimous approval of Minea Kiss
f. At-Large Board Member 2 – unanimous approval of Dale Day
g. At-Large Board Member 3 – John Crawford withdrew his nomination, Linda Anderson nominated, then withdrew nomination. Terra Russo nominated, received unanimous approval.

IV. ADOPTION OF BYLAWS
a. A draft copy of new bylaws was presented to the group. Several attendees stated they would like to have more time to review the bylaws before accepting them. The Board caucused and decided to postpone the approval of the bylaws until the next Board Meeting, scheduled for
11/19. The draft bylaws will be posted on the Mills Neighborhood Association Facebook page.

They will also be emailed directly to anyone who expresses an interest in reviewing them. A copy of the draft bylaws was provided to Francisca Benitez.

V. NEW BUSINESS
a. Motion to close current checking account with Rogue CU and transfer funds to a new checking account – unanimous approval by Board members and general membership
b. Motion to open a new checking account with Rogue CU and transfer funds – unanimous approval by Board members and general membership

VI. PUBLIC COMMENT
a. Discussion about alternative or at least improved ways of distributing the MNA newsletter. Debra Tower and Alyssa Cruz suggested finding a way to distribute this information through the city school district newsletter.
b. Gleaning – many fruit trees in the Mills Neighborhood produce so much fruit that residents are not able to keep up. Idea of creating a gleaning project to connect folks with fruit trees and those who can use the produce. One attendee mentioned that Sustainable Klamath currently has a gleaning project.

VII. PRESENTATION
a. 2019 is the 100 th anniversary of Mills Elementary School. It is one of the oldest operating schools in the Klamath Basin. T-shirts and other swag celebrating the anniversary are available at the school. They are also collecting memories from those who attended the school, and gathering objects to put in a new time capsule. The school will be having an anniversary celebration on Nov. 6.

VIII. UPCOMING MEETINGS
a. Starting in November, General Membership meetings will be held on the first Tuesday of each month, and Board Meetings will be held the third Tuesday of each month.

IX. ADJOURN
a. Meeting adjourned by President Rodriguez at 7:30 p.m.

Mills Neighborhood Association

General Meeting – held 9/24/2019 @ 601 E. Main St.

1. CALL TO ORDER
   • President Rodriguez called the meeting to order at 6:12pm
2. ROLL CALL – President Rodriguez
   • Board members present: President Isabel Rodriguez, Vice President Patrick Sullivan, Secretary Kaitlin Hakanson
   • General members present: John Crawford, Dale Day, Jonah Hakanson, Minea Kiss, Linda Anderson
3. CONSENT AGENDA
   • Approval of agenda – unanimous approval
4. OLD BUSINESS
   • none
5. NEW BUSINESS
   1. Nominations for board positions – a formal nomination and voting process will be used at the annual meeting on 10/15. Currently the nominations are: Isabel Rodriguez for President; Patrick Sullivan for Vice President; Kaitlin Hakanson for Secretary; Linda Anderson for Secretary; Kaitlin Hakanson for Treasurer (on condition that Linda A. wins the vote for Secretary); Minea Kiss for At-Large Board Member; John Crawford for At-Large Board Member; Dale Day for At-Large Board Member. All nominees accepted their nominations. Nominations will also be accepted at the annual meeting.
6. ADJOURN
   • Meeting adjourned by President Rodriguez at 6:21 p.m.

Mills Neighborhood Association

Board Meeting – held 9/17/2019 @ 601 E. Main St.

1. CALL TO ORDER
   • President Rodriguez called the meeting to order at 6:14pm
2. 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
3. CONSENT AGENDA & MINUTES
   1. Approval of agenda – unanimous approval
   2. Approval of amended July 16 minutes (from previous Secretary) – unanimous approval
   3. Approval of Aug. 20 minutes – unanimous approval
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. 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.
8. 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. 2^nd: VP Sullivan, unanimous approval.
9. OLD BUSINESS
   1. 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.
10. NEW BUSINESS
    1. 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.
    2. 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.
    3. 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.
11. ACTION ITEMS
    1. Elections for new officers of the board will be held on Tuesday, October 15^th at 6pm at the IYS Building.
    2. The next general meeting is Tuesday, September 24^th 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.
12. PUBLIC DISCUSSION
    1. 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).
13. ADJOURN
    • Meeting adjourned by President Rodriguez at 7:43 p.m.

Mills Neighborhood Association

Board Meeting – August 20, 2019, IYS Building (601 E. Main St.)

1. CALL TO ORDER
   • President Rodriguez called the meeting to order at 6:24pm
2. ROLL CALL – President Rodriguez
   • Board members present: President Isabel Rodriguez
   • Board members absent: Secretary Dawn Albright, Treasurer Ben Seibel, At-large members Emily Strauss, Ruth Carter, and Dale Day
     • The at-large members have provided written resignations
   • General members present: Michelle Duran, Efren Gutierrez, Jonah Hakanson, Kaitlin Hakanson, Stephanie Hirche, Minea Kiss, Terra Russo, Patrick Sullivan
   • Guests: Frankie Benitez, Glenn Gailis
3. CONSENT AGENDA & MINUTES
   • Approval of current agenda – presented by President Rodriguez
   • No previous meeting minutes were provided by Secretary Albright
4. OLD BUSINESS
   1. President Rodriguez discussed the organization’s bylaws, specifically those that discuss resignation of officers, emergency replacement procedures, and the annual election of officers. The organization will be moving forward by appointing two officers to the board to create a quorum. All board positions will be filled via election at the October general membership meeting.
   2. In accordance with the organization’s bylaws, Treasurer Ben Seibel and Secretary Dawn Albright were officially removed from their positions because they each missed two board meetings without proper notice.
5. NEW BUSINESS
   1. Motion: President Rodriguez appointed Patrick Sullivan as Vice President. Patrick accepted the appointment, it was seconded by general member Jonah Hakanson. Unanimous approval by the general members present.
   2. Motion: President Rodriguez appointed Kaitlin Hakanson as Secretary. Kaitlin accepted the appointment and it was seconded by general member Jonah Hakanson. Unanimous approval by the general members present.
   3. Motion: spend $178 to GoDaddy.com to initiate a website for the organization. Seconded by general member Efren Gutierrez, unanimous approval by the general members present.
6. ACTION ITEMS
   1. Elections for new officers of the board will be held on Tuesday, October 15^th at 6pm at the IYS Building.
   2. The next general meeting is Tuesday, August 27^th 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. A flyer has been created and will be distributed (see attached)
   3. A new Facebook group has been created by President Rodriguez: Mills Addition Neighborhood Association
7. PUBLIC DISCUSSION
   1. Ideas for a new name for the organization: “It Takes a Village”, “Mills Addition Community”, “Mills Addition Neighborhood Association”, “Make Mills Great Again”, “Mills A-Team”
   2. Logo development – possibly integrate the Mills Elementary School mustang
   3. Where to share information about the organization
      • Social media will be important
      • Limited/targeted distribution of printed newsletters
   4. Fundraisers
      • Winter holiday event – research partnerships (like Snowflake Parade), decorations for E. Main St.
      • Partnerships with OHSU, Knight Institute – goal of improving health at the community level
   5. Collecting stray shopping carts – ongoing challenge in the neighborhood. Can call the store the cart belongs to. Idea of volunteers using personal vehicles, with magnetic sign for Mills Neighborhood Association, to collect the carts as a public service of the organization.
   6. Creating T-shirts for those who volunteer for the organization – partnership opportunities, donations possible
   7. Brainstorming about ongoing small projects where members partner to help each other
   8. Including real estate and rental property information on the organization’s website, specific to the Mills Addition neighborhood
8. ADJOURN
   • Meeting adjourned by President Rodriguez at 7:13 p.m.