Guests:
- Stephanie Scott, Hill Business Association. Discussed the HBA’s purpose in supporting businesses on The Hill. Also supporting Hill 2000 Neighborhood Association as needed.
- Fr. Jack, St. Ambrose. School year has a good start. Lost 7 teachers from prior year, pleased with the 7 new ones. Soon there will be new lighting for the school. Current plans for growth do not include a new build, which will require a capital improvement campaign. Working on other possible solutions. Big events include the Night at the Columbia and St. Ambrose Auction.
- Officer Walker attended for Officer Amesquita. Overall crime is down. Still monitoring car thefts, a continuing problem with the 2 QTrips and UHaul. Car thefts/break-ins up a bit, possibly because of school starting. They will be hosting a trunk-or-treat. Please let the district know if you are hosting National Night Out events as they try to stop by all gatherings.
- Joe Vollmer, Alderman. The trees that were removed from Wilson in front of St. Ambrose were Bradford pears. He was told by City arborists that they are now limiting to 3 types of trees which grow better in city conditions. Also best to wait to plant new trees until after the first frost, and preferably after the roots of the removed trees begin to die. RE: Columbia Bridge; negotiations continuing for the right of way with one business, once that finalized the bidding process will begin, which typically takes 6 months, then demolition can begin; so don’t expect work to begin for 12-18 months. There have been a few homeless people seen in Berra Park; the police are aware and monitoring. They must follow protocols, which include offering services. A reminder that if you see a problem and can safely take a photo do so and send it to him so he can send it to the appropriate agency.
- Justin Rohloff, Neighborhood Improvement Specialist. He has been visiting the area and has noticed and is addressing illegal dumping. Also noticed quite a few dogs off leashes, which is a violation of city ordinances. Echoed to take a photo of concerns and send it to him to address or report to the appropriate agency.
Committee reports:
- Neighborhood Center, presented by Jen Gianino. Still dealing with the loss of LynnMarie Alexander. Regular volunteers are continuing with archive tasks developed for them by LynnMarie. Nancy LoRusso has volunteered to review practices and processes to document, organize and create efficient procedures. Thanks to Cathy Buckingham’s connection to the MO Botanical Garden archivists we are meeting with someone to help with the process of finding and hiring a new archivist for the Center.
- Beautification, presented by LoRusso. Expressed gratitude to the volunteers who helped make Giro a success. Also thanks to the sponsors; likely to net $18,000 from the event. He has been contacting the City about excessive trash in alleys, often attributable to rental tenants moving out and leaving items in alleys. Would like to reach out to the landlords in the area to make them aware. Also an issue with overgrown plants in both front yards but particularly in backyards and alleys. National Night Out coming soon (Oct 1), will get some information out about that. Thanks to Justin Rohloff, NIS for being responsive to requests for assistance.
- Communications, presented by Gianino. Social media presence is growing. Ideas for newsletter articles are always welcome, contact Mary Balmer.
- Events, presented by Pulliam. Italian Heritage Parade and Festa coming Oct 13. Come out and watch the parade, then join the party at Berra Park. A good selection of food vendors as well as business and community interest vendors. New this year is the World Food Championship sauce challenge; entrants can be professional chefs or home cooks. Lots of information on the Hill 2000 web site. After we wrap up Heritage activities we will begin planning Christmas on The Hill, which is Sat Dec 7.
- Safety and security, presented by Devoti. Expressed appreciation to Officer Amesquita and Justin Rohloff for their responsiveness and helpfulness. HBA arranged for and funded extra patrols from a private security company for a trial period. The patrols are irregular in schedule. Now establishing a Community Safety Initiative, asking the community to contribute money to support maintaining the patrols, one time donations or monthly pledge levels of $25, $50 and $100/month. Boyd Carey is still chair of block captains, while we have 50 we still need 40 more. If you haven’t been contacted by a block captain recently reminding you of this meeting or other events that means your block likely doesn’t have one; please consider becoming one. A reminder to drive carefully in alleys as many children play there. Particularly electric cars, since they are so quiet, children who are playing are less likely to hear them coming. As always, don’t drive the wrong way on one way streets.
- Announcement of a special, extra membership meeting on Thursday, October 17, 2024 to review proposed new bylaws. Association bylaws were last updated in 2003. Information will be coming via email.
Meeting concluded at 7:50pm
Board members in attendance: Gianino, Pulliam, Buckingham, Devoti, DiMaggio, LoRusso, MayhewHess
