NOTE TO BOARD MEMBERS: PLEASE BE SURE TO SIGN OFFICIAL ROLL KEPT BY SECRETARY AT MEETINGS

Attending: Jill Van Langeveld; Brooke Adams; Judith Locke; Wayne Green; Jim Jenkin; Denton Taylor; Kat Kivett; Jaynie Brown; Steve Mecham; Walter Jones; Aileen Olsen; Phil Carroll; Shane McCarthy; Trish Orlando

About 50 people attending (29 signed the sheet at door)

Announcements:

Last month during open forum, a gentleman raised problems at 4th Avenue stairs and city is looking at renovating them along the lines of the resident's suggestions.

Review of regular city ordinances related to being a good neighbor, such as use of fireworks, time to get garbage out on street, hazardous waste requirements, loud music, parking strip maintenance, pets, snow removal, etc.

Last month there was discussion of use of photo cop in the Avenues. Allan Sanderson is pursuing use of photo cop in state via HB 219 now before the Utah Legislature. He is asking for three restrictions on use of photo radar to be dropped. He took up the issue because of speeding problems on his street. He is asking for a letter of support from GACC that could be presented to the Legislature.

Lisa Heaton, representative of House of Hope: She thanked Avenues residents for donating to the cause and offering helping during Christmas. Residents donated about $500 to House of Hope. It will hold an open house on Feb. 12.

Mobile/Neighborhood Watch: To participate in Mobile Watch you must go through background check, training and then will be assigned a slot to patrol. Neighborhood Watch promotes monitoring from homes and streets, encouraging neighbors to keep an eye out on activities on their own street. Jill passed around sign-up sheets for both programs.

School Board, Doug Nelson: The board is very active this time of year lobbying the Legislature. Tuition tax credits are a big issue again. We did borrow an additional $35 million for school renovation projects. The good news is the interest rate is extremely low.

School district policies are in need of revision; one issue that frequently surfaces is Academic Freedom. He asked whether those who have or had children in the school district have had problems with material their children are required to read to gauge the extent of the problem.

Two people said they had children who were told to read books they considered obscene; in both cases, the children were allowed to choose another book.

Police report: Officer Liane Frederick, 799-3000; 799-4635 is her direct line.
Burglaries: 9, same as in December; Car prowls: 31, up 4 from December; Gang activity: 0, down 1; Aggravated assaults: 0, down 4; Auto theft: 14, up 6 from December; Sex assault: 0, same as last month; Robbery: 1, down 1

City Council: Councilman Eric Jergensen said about 80 people turned out for UTA meeting on changes to routes. One issue before City Council/RDA is the soccer stadium. The city is really excited about having the stadium in SLC but it might be a very expensive proposition. The Council is trying to find ways to do it. The stadium would also be used for concerts, high school games, perhaps be covered with an ice sheet.

Other issues at the Legislature that the city is watching: Salt Palace expansion, RDA rule changes, bicycle laws, automated radar enforcement, streamlining of sales tax, living wage business incentives.

Q.: Why doesn't Salt Lake City pay its own employees a living wage?
A.: That is an item of discussion within the city.

Q.: Is the city doing anything about traffic congestion at intersections at rush hour?
A.: The city is looking at that problem.

Legacy project is moving ahead. The Avenues has $100,000 and is hoping to get another $100,000 grant from the city. The council should approve that allocation Thursday night.

Neighborhood Watch is the single best way to improve safety of neighborhoods. He encouraged residents to get involved.

Legislative Update: Rep. Ralph Becker said Sen. Paula Julander is resigning from the Senate because of health problems. Someone contacted her at last meeting and asked her about the ½ cent flood tax. It was removed in 1997, but it was replaced with ¼ cent went to water development and ¼ cent went to transportation.

The Legislature is one-third of the way through the 2005 session and a few interesting issues of beginning to bubble up.

Q.: What is your sense of support for Madsen's bill allowing anyone to have a loaded gun in their car?
A.: I just learned about it today and was shocked. Law enforcement says that is one of the most dangerous situations they face. It is in the Senate and I'm hoping we'll never see it in the House.

Q.: If you look at statistics of where guns are stolen, they are stolen out of cars a lot.

Q.: What is the sense on giving tax credits to private schools?
A.: Tuition tax credits, I'm told the numbers are close in the House. Opponents of the credit are the most nervous about their votes. Given we have a Governor who favors it, may not bode well for those opposed to it. People are looking to create stronger accountability on tax credits. But this could be the year.

Q.: I was under the impression this was for special needs kids.
A.: It would be across the board and would apply to those in private school today. It would be the largest credit in the nation.

Q.: Who will select Sen. Julander's replacement?
A.: The Democratic delegates in Senate District 2 will meet this Saturday at 2 p.m.

Q.: What is happening with the bill on domestic partner registrations?
A.: I got the sense it was a pretty conclusive vote. There is a slim chance it could be revived. I suspect it won't reappear. There is working being done by special interests and the Governor's office.

GACC By-laws revision: Wayne Green presented proposed revisions to the by-laws. The last draft of the by-laws was done in 1999. He went through the by-laws section by section, allowing discussion and vote. He passed out a summary by section, highlighting changes made. Summary of specific changes is attached to minutes.

Article I, name and purpose: No discussion. Approved as presented.

Article II, membership: Approved as presented.

Some residents said they thought 16 is too young. Others said the Avenues might be better off to involve 16-year-olds because of traffic issues. Doubtful that many 16-year-olds will be attracted to participating in GACC.

Article III, meetings and voting: Approved as presented.

One resident complained that newsletter arrives only a day or so before meetings.

One resident asked for clarification on emergency action by council to present items for a vote without the two-month process.

Gwen Springmeyer raised concern about how certain issues are presented, such as conditional use permits. These don't require a vote, but rather input. Eric Jergensen said community council input is sought on zoning/use issues. Rarely is time a problem for seeking input.

One resident raised concern about use of Robert's Rules of Order, which have not been followed in this meeting. I am concerned that we just have open discussion and not manipulate rules to limit participation.

Wayne said that during discussion of controversial issues, like the leash law, the advantage of having Robert's Rules allows you to manage discussions. Another recommendation is that by-laws are to be general framing document; day-to-day operations are to be defined in standard operating procedures.

We could define some type of parliamentary procedure as defined in standard operating procedure.

Jaynie Brown said adding "when necessary" might help as far as use of Robert's Rules.

Wayne Green said might be more problematic if applied intermittently.

One resident suggested that the more Robert's Rules were used, the more familiar we would become and the less scary it would seem.

Aileen Olsen offered clarification between seeking of opinions and formal votes requested of the community council, which require a two-month notice.

The by-law review will continue at the next general meeting.

Bus route changes: Jim Jenkin and Eric Jergensen reviewed discussions with UTA. Jim said UTA presented suggestions on Jan. 26 for route changes. The concept they developed is to come up with system that would allow someone to arrive at a bus stop and expect a bus to arrive in 15 to 20 minutes. That requires streamlining bus routes. UTA is going back to drawing board after hearing from residents. For now, there will be no changes to Avenues routes until there is another informal hearing, followed by a public hearing. There is a public hearing on Feb. 17 on UTA's fare structure.

Eric said the Avenues now has three routes. He said the community should come up with it preferred routing over the next four to five months that could be presented to UTA. He believes that preference would be adopted.

Jim has written a summary that will appear on the Web site. Any requests, questions and recommendations for bus service should be directed to him for presentation to the GACC bus committee.

City Creek Road Closures: Bob Sperling from city's public utilities department said the City Creek project involves filling in of Pleasant Grove Reservoir and renovation of treatment plant. The canyon will reopen Feb 28. It will take about 14 more months to finish treatment plant. There may be periodic days that canyon is closed after Feb. 28, but they will be few. Road will likely have to be repaved afterwards.

LDS Hospital Parking: Gordon Haight and Ron Loock from IHC talked about parking around LDS Hospital. Residents around the hospital have permits to park. But expansions have pushed patient parking further into residential area. The hospital would like to do something to alleviate the problems. We still have people parking in residential areas and getting ticketed. The hospital has valet parking; hope to add a system like that used around Judge Memorial school with assigned slots for residents.

Q.: Since residents have to pay $12 a year to get a permit, will employees be required to also pay a fee.
A.: Yes.

Q.: How long is the valet parking?
A.: The way it is to work, valet areas will be moved around between different spots.

Q.: How are valet and employee spots distributed?
A.: On streets with no offstreet parking, very few. On streets with offstreet parking, would place more spots. There would two or three valet spots.

Q.: Have you considered using a shuttle?
A.: The hospital tried that but didn't work well. It also gives incentives for bus usage.

The hospital wants more input from residents on such issues as number of drivers/cars per residence, etc.

A hearing will be later this month at 7 p.m. in Huntsman Education Center, the second entrance between 8th and 9th Avenue on C Street. The hospital is sending a letter to residents of area that will inform them of date of meeting.

Mayor's office, Gwen Springmeyer: Gwen passed out a monthly calendar. Alcohol use is a subject the Mayor is focusing on. There will be a series of public lectures on the alcohol-related issues in a brown-bag lunch forum on Feb. 11. On Feb. 24 there will be a forum on the living wage. The March 24 freedom forum will be on alcohol, relating to liquor laws. The forums are at the Main Library.

The city is beginning long-range planning for traffic, looking 10 to 20 years in the future. It will look at bus, light rail, parking and street use issues.

Call Gwen at 535-6338 if you'd like to comment on traffic issues.

Meeting adjourned at 9 p.m.