South End Neighborhood Council (SENCo)

Minutes of the Board Meeting held October 21, 2013

Present: Earl Brydson, Chair; Cary Nilson, Vice Chair; William King, Corresponding Secretary; Katherine Sutalo, Secretary; Anthony Caldwell; Janis Clark; Kristin King; William Ferrell.

The Board voted to adopt the minutes of the September board meetings.

Tacoma Fire Department Liaison: October 6th through 12th was Fire Prevention Week. On October 12th, 6 fire stations were open so families could bring their children to see the firefighters. October 13th was CPR Sunday; about 800 residents learned CPR that day.

Metro Parks Liaison: The STAR Center, People’s Center and Portland Avenue Community Center are having harvest parties, and there will be seasonal events at NW Trek and Fort Nisqually as well. A task force looking at issues in the Lincoln business district has put out a newsletter that can be shared on SENCo’s web site.

The Park District is working with Tacoma Public Schools, Tacoma Housing Authority and others to develop a new community center for youth and families on the East Side. In this case, East Side means east of I-5, so the planning area includes SENCo’s area. The site for the new center has not been chosen yet. There is opportunity to comment at a public meeting November 14th at 6:30pm at Stewart Heights Pool.

City Manager’s Representative: There is a new second-floor customer support center at the Municipal Building, and the City is developing an on-line version as well. Already, calls to the City’s general number (591-5000) are answered there. The idea is to help citizens find the right person or department.

The Neighborhood Councils working group has been meeting. Staff should be making recommendations to the City Council in early November.

There are openings on the Public Events and Recognition Committee, and on the Landmarks Preservation Committee. The last public information session about Proposition 1 will be October 31.

Tacoma Police Department Liaison: At the location of the fatal shooting at S 43rd and G, police liaison officers spoke to the landlord and had the problem tenants evicted. The police emphasis around Lincoln Park has reduced the crime rate there; the next emphasis area will be the Lincoln Business District. There has been an increase in graffiti and panhandling.

SENCo Chairman Earl Brydson mentioned the November SENCo elections. Ms. Sutalo will be leaving the SENCo board when her term is up. Mr. King, Mr. Kilen and Ms. King are all running for re-election, and Mr. Nilson would like to be re-elected to the Vice-Chair position. Nominations need to be made in October; elections will be in November. Janis Clark is running for the Civil Service Board; if elected, she will no longer be eligible to serve on SENCo’s board, and there will be another open position. We have received one application from Justin Van Dyk, who would like to be a board member.

SENCo’s annual report will be due to the City by February 1, 2014, including our budget and priorities for the year. And some changes in Neighborhood Council regulations and policy may require changes to our bylaws.

Community Concerns: A community member shared that his girlfriend had rocks thrown at her as she was going to her car. She call 9-1-1, but they told her to submit a report on line. Officer Darlington said he would look into it, since an incident in progress should have received a police response.

Pacific Avenue Business District: 52 businesses donated to the Cross District Association auction last weekend.

Treasurer: There is about $4,000 in SENCo’s checking account, but a couple of checks have yet to clear.

There was a motion to cancel SENCo’s telephone service. The price is only $13 a month, but with taxes and fees it’s about $52, and we don’t use it. The motion passed.

Mr. Caldwell handed out copies of the 2007 establishment and structure document of the SENSAC – South End Neighborhood Students Advisory Council. He would like to send this to schools and hope students will sign up to participate. The middle school students who joined in 2007 did several projects, and they learned about government participation, but they are in college now and we would like to start this program up again.

Minutes submitted by Katherine Sutalo, October 25th, 2013.

SENCo Minutes 10-21-2013 Page 2 of 2