Attendees: Dawn Hemminger, Peter Locke, Stephanie Shelton, Zack Thomas

Proposed Topics to discuss and score based on each person selecting 2 topics considered highest priority (per the Seattle Lean Coffee meeting model):

3 – DON Large Project Matching Grant – should we apply?
2 – Updates from recent conversations with Chip Nevins concerning Parks time line for using the grant money toward our park
1 – Set up a monthly meeting dates, times, locations that we can put on our calendar
1 – Status of SDOT Neighborhood Project Fund award for the park project
1- Outreach with Streets For All, other allies?
0 – 14avenw.org website needs regular updating – Moved to next friends of  meeting
0 – February ebca event – possible park fund raiser? – Moved to ebca meeting
0 – Community outreach (added later in the meeting)

(Note to self – take a photo of the topics next time, so I don’t have to type them up!)

• DON Large Project Matching Grant – should we apply?
  • A letter of intention is due in February 14, and application due  April 11, but it would be a heck of a lot of work.
  • The award is up to $100,000.
  • Non-physical projects (such as design, planning, events, etc.) require a ½:1 match (the community match must equal at least half of the funding request).
  • It’s a lot of work and we would need to speak with Chip to see if the timing is right. Perhaps it would be better to wait until next year, but we do need to be open to fund opportunities
  • Dawn will connect Stephanie with the folks at Ballard Corners Park for advisement on how they found grants and who did the paperwork.

• Updates from recent discussions with Chip Nevins
   
  • It’s clear that nobody in our group fully understands the Parks Dept time line for using Parks Levy funds for the Park Boulevard Project. We know that the Parks Oversight Committee has approved Parks proposal to transfer $1.5 million in Acquisition Funds to Development Funds to go toward a Park Boulevard on 14th. We believe we still need approval from City Council and the Mayor, but it’s unclear when that will be. We think Parks will be doing a presentation, but we don’t know what that will involve. We also know that Chip has requested some money in advance to go toward some studies, but we’re not sure what studies? We think they’re probably SDOT related.
  • Zack advised that we recently lost one of our Park Boulevard champions at SDOT, Casey Hildreth. He’s now working somewhere in San Francisco. He believes this is jeopardizing the Bell St. Park Boulevard Project. We really need to keep a closer eye on that project’s progress!
  • Zack will set up a meeting with Chip and our group for the 2nd week of January and propose a day time meeting at GGLO, which is a central location for most of us. Monday January the 10th seems to work for everyone right now.
  • The goals for this meeting will be to establish a time line for the park process, decide whether we should apply for a DON grant and if so, what should we apply for that could be used within a year? Schedule weekly update phone calls with Chip so that we can keep the project moving forward and conversation open.

• Set up a monthly meeting
  • 3rd Wednesday of each month at 7:30 pm. January’s meeting will be at Zack and Steph’s house.
  • Zack will invite Lindsey who is interested, but couldn’t make it to last night’s meeting.
  • Dawn will add the dates to the ebca, Groundswell NW, Ballard District Council and Ballard News Tribune calendars.
• Status of SDOT Neighborhood Project Fund Award
  • The ebca has been awarded $60,000 to go toward an intersection improvement on 14th Ave NW. We need to work with SDOT to agree on a proposal that could fit into the larger park boulevard picture.
  • Chip has agreed to sit in on this meeting with SDOT, we just need to pick a date that works for everyone.
  • Stephanie will set up a meeting with SDOT, Chip and our group the week of January 17.
• Streets for All and other groups to partner with
  • We’ve talked about doing outreach with the folks at Streets for All for sometime now, but haven’t gotten anywhere yet.
  • Zack advised that they’re now focusing on getting a dedicated funding source to go toward street projects, but nothing has been really set yet.
  • There are several other groups we’d like to team up with to get on our side and provide support and advice for our park project. How do we meet with them all in a fun, yet informative environment?
  • We proposed to set up a monthly social meeting, whether it be at a pub, coffee shop or whatever, where we can bring together people from these organizations and have a conversation.  We could do this starting in February.
  • Additional groups of interest: Sustainable Seattle, Great Cities, Cascade Bike Club, University of Washington (what group?), Barry Hawley, Ballard Rotary.

• Outreach
  • In order to better outreach, we first need to have a clear message and provide that message in a press release
  • Dawn will ask Kirsten, who’s a journalist, if she could help us write a press release and work on answers to questions that we anticipate. Ask her how best she works, either in person, phone or email.
  • Dawn will ask Rich and Louise if they’d be interested in helping us with a logo.

Meeting Rating: B
How could the next meeting become an A? More snacks, be more prepared with an agenda (although developing the agenda at the beginning was liked by everyone). Instead of being prepared with an agenda, we should come prepared with topics to discuss. Overall, everyone liked using the meeting format adopted from the Seattle Lean Coffee group and we’ll continue to use it for future meetings.