SJVGreens Minutes
Minutes of St. Joe Valley Greens
November 9, 2006; Kathleen Petitjean, recorder
Call to Order: Kathleen Petitjean called the meeting to order at 7:15 PM, at Another Bookstore in 100 Center, Mishawaka, IN.
Members Present: Karl Hardy, Tom Brown, Kathleen Petitjean.
Guests Present: Rusty Wilson, Al Koch, Lily Hoang, Rhonda Redman, Steve Sechrist, Chris Floria and Robert Holmer.
Guest Speaker: Derrick Dieter, 1st District Councilman, Common Council of South Bend
Mr. Dieter explained his district area and discussed South Bend' efforts to revitalize areas on Portage Avenue including a plan to tear down commercial buildings purchased by several agencies. Temporary green space will replace the buildings until residential houses are built in the near future.
Discussed some of the difficulties being encountered by the Near Northwest neighborhood with respect to absentee landlords and attempts to intervene with illegal activities reported by neighbors and police. Dieter discussed his proposal to establish a board which would track landlord and tenant histories. The mayor apparently feels this would be too expensive. Some support was expressed by those present, although a question with respect to privacy was also raised.
Dieter discussed airport expansion, which he noted did not appear to be necessary but which the city did not have control over. He reported the council is exploring having the professional football organization pick up more of the expenses at the College Football Hall of Fame. There is a great deal of discontent with the amount of tax revenue being directed at this facility and Dieter suggested cities such as Dallas-Fort Worth, which would be a more appropriate area for this facility due to those cities' size and greater overall support for organized football.
Other issues brought to Dieter's attention: local support for the city to stripe city streets with bike lanes. Dieter noted that he wants a 'curb' to separate vehicular and bike traffic. He felt it was too dangerous to have bikes on city streets with "only" a painted bike lane since drivers in this area were not accustomed to bike lanes. It was noted by one person that other municipalities have success with painted bike lanes and that drivers and bicyclists would need to be educated at the onset, but that this would be a place to start.
Dieter was also asked to submit a proposal for the South Bend Common Council to support the Kyoto agreement to reduce greenhouse emissions. Chris Flora offered to send information to Dieter about the Kyoto agreement.
Dieter was also asked to submit a proposal for the South Bend Common Council to officially oppose the CAFO being proposed in southern St Joe County as this would be a health hazard for our neighbors in southern St Joe County and a potential source for air pollution for residents of South Bend. Karl Hardy offered to send Dieter information about the CAFO and a sample proposal.
Coordinator's Report
Kathleen announced that she would like to step down as co-coordinator of the local and state GP chapters and re-focus her energies, which have primarily been towards the ballot access campaign. She would like to take a year hiatus from active participation in order to concentrate on two projects she feels will eventually be useful in her bid to run as a Green party candidate for local office. She asked those present to consider running for co-coordinator at the next meeting.
IGP Delegate Report
Dave Vollrath was not present. Dave is teaching a class at IUSB every Tuesday this semester. Karl will accompany Dave to the IGP meeting this Saturday and report at next meeting.
Treasurer's Report: Lance did not attend this meeting so no treasurer report is available. There are very likely no changes since last month.
GreenTV Report
Tom briefly discussed GreenTV and its content for the benefit of those present who were unfamiliar with this project of the SJVGreens. Karl suggested a program for which chronicles the collaboration between US and Iraq labor groups. Karl will pursue obtaining this film for a future show. Tom asked that Karl ensure GreenTV has the rights to broadcast the show in case Comcast requires proof.
Old Business
Secretary of State Race
Members discussed the recent election results and effort to get Bill Stant and the Green party on the ballot in Indiana. Members felt limited resources and energies would be better spent in pursuing running candidates for local offices.
Karl Hardy expressed interest in attending the South Bend's local government academy in January. Robert Holmer is also interested in attending the academy. Robert also noted that he attends 80% of the Common Council meetings and agreed to bring information about what's going on at the meetings to be posted on the SJVGreens website. Robert will also look into which offices are up in the next election.
Rusty suggested Greens focus on registering people to vote as a way to give voters a positive impression of the Greens. Kathleen has many copies of voter registration forms and discussed the simple process of registering voters.
Steve suggested Greens also focus on "owning" neighborhoods by getting people to talk one-on-one with voters.
All of these suggestions will be presented at the IGPCC meeting which Karl will be attending with David Vollrath this Saturday, November 11.
Miscellaneous: Lily Hoang spoke briefly about her novel, which won an award and was accepted for publication, and her career plans.
Next Meeting
Greens and supporters will meet Thursday, December 14, at 7:00 p.m., in the GLBT Resource Center of Michiana (formerly known as Another Book Store) at 100 Center, Mishawaka.
Guest Speaker: Jackie Smith, Michiana Community Currency
Adjournment: Kathleen adjourned the meeting at 9:00 PM.
St. Joe Valley Greens, South Bend, IN