SUMMIT MEETING NOTES

December 8, 2005
Location: McAuley High School

ACTION ITEMS

The key action items as agreed to in this meeting are as follows:   

AGENDA

Welcome and Introductions

Agenda Review & Modification

Review of Minutes from Last Month’s Meeting

Opening Prayer

Special Announcements

Review of Action Items from Last Month’s Meeting

Mission/Vision Review & Discussion

Hurricane Relief

Housing Development in College Hill

Streetscape Update

NRSA Update

Surveillance Camera Update

Website – Summit Summary

CPOP / Aiken High School Update

Community Events

General Announcements

DISCUSSION: 

1.   Review of November Minutes
The minutes for the November meeting were agreed to, with no further corrections

 2.   Snow Emergency Procedures

Ron brought up the question of how to handle the Summit meeting if, on the morning we are supposed to meet, there is a large snowfall or other weather problem.   We agreed that we would follow school closings or delays, ie, if local College Hill schools are either closed or on one hour delay, the Summit meeting for that morning will be cancelled.

 3.   Review of Action Items from November Meeting

A.  Invite Eric Thomas to Summit – Done.  Eric attended this meeting, arriving later in the meeting.

B.  Invite Barbara Gordon to Summit – Done.

C.  Develop written summary of needed community support for Aiken – Done.  Phyllis passed out copies at this meeting. 

D.  Forward info on “Adopt a Family” programs to Summit members – Joan committed to do this in December.

E.   Develop summary of Summit for website – Ron passed out the latest version and got additional input.

F.   Develop the list for 2006 Summit meeting locations – Several Summit members signed up for meeting dates in 2006, and the updated list is attached.   Only 4 meetings still need locations.

 4.   College Hill Housing Effort

Phyllis shared that a door-to-door survey has started on Cedar, with various teams taking specific blocks.  Mike has already started the 1100 block, and Phyllis has started the 1400 block.   The Ministerium and Christ’s Community have also volunteered to help by taking on other blocks.   Mike and Phyllis indicated that residents are so skeptical of getting a sales pitch that it is important to quickly establish (within the first sentence) both identity as fellow residents and the focus on neighborhood housing. 

The schools can provide lists of students who live on Cedar, if that would be helpful.

One of the key tasks is determining which houses are rental vs owned by the residents.   Landlords will require a different approach/survey.

Mike and Phyllis have experienced considerable interest from people who live on the side streets from Cedar (such as Lantana and Marlowe), with some of those residents willing to help with projects on Cedar.

5.   Aiken High School Needs – by Phyllis Schoenberger

Phyllis gave everyone a written list of needs, which surprisingly included a several items for students’ personal use, such as personal care/personal hygiene products, underwear, and snack bars.  She is following up with various P&G contacts to see if some of these products (like soap and shampoo) could be obtained inn large quantities for little-to-no cost.

 6.   Gateway Project Status – by Marty Weldishofer

A grant of $108,000 has been received for this project.   In the past several weeks, a Design Firm was needed to design the “gates” to be placed at Hamilton & North Bend and at Hamilton & Llanfair.   13 submittals were received, which were narrowed to 5 primary candidates who were asked to send specific proposals.   Architects Plus was selected to do the final design.   The target is to complete the design in June, with construction to begin in Sept.   

 7.   Surveillance Camera Update – by Jim Bodmer

Jim indicated that as camera systems have gotten up and running around the city, the police have found them to be extremely helpful.   Because of this, there are rumors that the city might take over the funding of the cameras in the spring, but nothing official has been done or said. 

Jim also indicated that they have had difficulty in recruiting enough College Hill volunteers to monitor the cameras.   There was a comment that the location of the training was very difficult to find, and may be discouraging people who might be trying to come.

 8.   Summit Webpage – by Ron Cowgill

Ron passed out the latest version for comments, and meeting attendees gave him several suggestions for improvement.   Ron will revise and send it out electronically for additional comment.

 9.   CPOP Update – by Tom Strothers

Tom is now the CPOP rep to Summit.    

 10. Community Events

·         Dec 17 is the “Light Up College Hill” event.  Kits were totally sold out.   They ran out of sand to assemble any more, but a few kits are still available without sand.  Bricks can be used instead of sand.

·         There will be a Community Pot Luck in February.  Last year’s pot luck was very successful.  They don’t have a location for 2006 yet.   Call Phyllis if you want to be involved.

·         City Council passed two ordinances for the Linden Park Commons project: one for the purchase of the Shuller property and one for the purchase of the Masonic property.   Groundbreaking will probably b in June.  

·         There will be a pre-groundbreaking New Year’s Eve party from 9 pm to 12 midnight in the old Kroger building.   Marty previously sent out an email to ask for help to set up and to provide snack, beverages, paper products, and party paraphernalia.  

 11. Announcements

o       The Martin Luther King service will be at St. Clare church this year, at 6 pm.

o       The College Hill Cookbook will be out before Christmas, and costs $15.  Cover photo will be sent to Tom Strothers for posting on the ARCH website.

o       The McAuley Christmas Concert will be on Friday night, and will feature their Vocal Ensemble who just returned from performing at Carnegie Hall.

o       Aiken HS is going to have a Community Breakfast as part of unveiling the reorganization from Aiken Service Learning HS to Aiken College and Career HS.   This will probably be in January.

o       Nathl Moore has resigned from Christ’s Community to take a position with a church in Lexington.   CCCH is searching for a new Pastor/Administrator.   They already have several good candidates.

 12. Summit Focus in 2006

Ron suggested that early in 2006 the Summit should spend some time to set specific focus areas or goals for its work through 2006.   Ron suggested that each organization should bring ideas to the February meeting, and to help with this, Ron/Valerie will prepare a 1 page questionnaire and send it out.

Next Summit Meeting: January 12, 2006 @ 8:00 am at Children’s College Hill Campus.

                                                                                                Summarized by:

                                                                                                Valerie Hershberger

                                                                                                January 10, 2006        

                                                                                                Revised Jan 11, 2006

Abbreviation Key:

ARCH                = Arts Revival in College Hill

CCCH                = Christ’s Community in College Hill

CCHMC                = Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center

CHBA                = College Hill Business Association

CHCURC                = College Hill Community Urban Redevelopment Corporation

CHG                = College Hill Gardeners

CHPC                = College Hill Presbyterian Church

CHRC                = College Hill Recreation Center

COP                = Citizens On Patrol

CPD                = Cincinnati Police Department

CPOP                = Community Problem Oriented Policing

C&T                = Communications & Technology Committee of Forum

HUD                = The Department of Housing and Urban Development, a Federal Agency

NRSA                = Neighborhood Revitalization Strategy Area, a HUD program for low/med income neighborhoods

QOL                = Quality of Life Committee of Forum