Friends of Dicken Woods General Assembly

for the Thursday, March 4, 2010 meeting at Dicken Elementary School.

Members Present: Mason Barr, Jim Boyd, Lynda and Don Clewell, Diane Coxford, Sidney Deline, Mary Duff-Silverman, Jack Eaton, Marcia Higgins, Kay Holsinger, Stephanie Hunter, Diane Imredy, Tom Ivacko, Debbie Johnson, Deb Norbotten, Dorothy Riemenschneider, Margie Teall, Marian Williams.

The meeting was called to order by Jack Eaton at 7:05 pm.

1. Old Business

Minutes. The minutes from the January 2010 meeting were approved.

2. Finances

Deb Norbotten discussed some of the recent donations, and it was noted that the expenditures had been approved in the last meeting. Tom Ivacko moved that the Financial Report be approved, and the motion passed.

3. Updates, Reports, and Discussion Items

A. Spring Workday, April 24. Stephanie Hunter said that larger trees will be planted instead of lots of little trees, and we will need a good crew since Ray Hunter and Doug Wood may not be available. Before the Spring Workday, Stephanie and Mary Duff-Silverman will be walking the woods with Jason from NAP.

B. New development on the 42 North site. Jack, Tom, and Jim Boyd have been involved in recent communications. Jack said he received an email from a real estate agent asking to meet with the real estate developers. They walked Jack, Tom and Jim through a sketchy plan. It involves the same basic footprint, but now they are planning 1, 2, and 3 bedroom apartments aimed at the active adult market. They received a handout on the updates. Developers said they are meeting with Dicken Woods first, then they will meet with city council members from the 4th and 5th ward. Jack said he had contacted Griffin Properties, and they confirmed the 42 North site is back on the market. Jack said he is encouraged by the early process so far.

4. Friends of Dicken Woods officer elections.

So far, the following members have been nominated for office: Jim Boyd for President, Linda Pickl for Vice President, Deb Norbotten for Treasurer, and Debbie Johnson for Secretary. Jack asked if there were any more nominations for officers. There were none. So, a motion to approve the new officers was moved, seconded, and approved.

5. Open time for other items not on the agenda

A. Tom said thank you to Stephanie for all of the work for the Winter Walk. Stephanie thanked all of the helpers. Jack said 387 people came to the Winter Walk this year, up from 315 last year. Marcia Higgins said thank you to Stephanie, and said she enjoyed seeing the children with their luminaries. Stephanie noted that new luminaries are created each year, and Jack suggested that we should write a thank you note to the Dicken art department.

B. Marcia Higgins said she wants to make a donation in her daughter's name, who recently passed away. She mentioned how much her daughter and family enjoyed Dicken Woods. Marcia's granddaughter presented the donation, which will be used to purchase a commemorative tree. Jack said that we will have a ceremony for Marcia and her family and the neighborhood when the tree is planted.

There were no more items to discuss, so a move was made to close the meeting. The motion was seconded and passed, and the meeting adjourned at 7:28 pm.

Minutes by Debbie Johnson.