Untitled Document

Board Members Attending: Michael Hughes; Wayne Green; John Sittner; Trina Smith; Francisca Blanc; Shane Carlson; Phil Carroll; Weston Clark; Jim Jenkin; Wynn Johnson; Walter Jones; Kat Kivett; Judith Locke; Ruth Morgan; Trish Orlando; Jill Van Langeveld.

7:00 PM Welcome and Announcements (utilizing new projector) were made by Michael Hughes, 2007 GACC Chair.

7:10 PM Reports

City Council – Eric Jergensen is looking for input from the public on his proposals to make improvements to the city creek loop, including the 4th Avenue Stairs, the walking path coming out of Memory Grove on A Street & 9th Avenue, a natural amphitheater, benches, etc.

He also commented on SB 130, being proposed by Dan Eastman, allowing North Salt Lake to develop 80 acres of open space owned by North Salt Lake but residing within the boundaries of Salt Lake City.

Hermoine Jex recently passed away. She was active in the community, spear-heading the creation of the Salt Lake Association of Community Councils, the preservation of open spaces like City Creek Park, preserving historic buildings like the City/County Building and the Governor’s Mansion. The City is looking for some way to pay tribute to Hermoine’s contributions to the community and would like input from the public. Please call Eric with your ideas.

Mayor’s Office Liaison – Gwen Springmeyer passed out the February/March calendar. She emphasized this month the standard meeting they hold each month, including the Mayor’s Bicycle Adivsory Committee which meets the 2nd Wednesday of the month, the Mayor’s Green Team, which meets the 2nd Friday of the month, & the Accessibility Round Table which meets the last Tuesday of the month. She also mentioned Daylight Savings which begins earlier this year on March 11th, and the Lunar Eclipse scheduled to take place on March 3rd.

Housing Committee – Shane Carlson spoke on some of the issues the housing committee is addressing. They are investigating rules for subdividing homes , and moving forward on rezoning issues in the Federal Heights Area. There is an interest in creating a Landmarks Designation for that area, more new on that coming in March. The committee has been reviewing a recently adopted residential ordinance, and working on some revisions to the SR1A Ordinance that was passed in June 2006. More on that in March, and in the meantime, details can be found on the housing web page at www.slc-avenues.org.

Neighborhood Watch – Don Duff emphasized the need for greater involvement in the neighborhood watch program. The volunteer numbers have been declining. A new class to certify volunteers begins on February 20th. Those interested in volunteering should contact Robert King at 359-9992.

Sweet Library – Alveeda Lausher mentioned the new art display in the library “Peace In The Everyday.” Beginning next week, if you and your children would like to bring in your Lego Display, the library will put them on display. Saturday, February 17th is the Chinese New Year, and there will be a celebration at the Downtown Library from 11 AM – 3 PM.

SPECIAL PRESENTATION: A new digital projector purchased by the GACC was presented to the Sweet Branch Library. Alveeda Lausher thanked the GACC and will put it too good use.

Utah State Senate & House of Representatives – Scott McCoy & Ralph Becker used their time for open discussion of the issues that we wanted to bring up in conjunction with the current legislative session. SB 15 was brought up which raises the speed limits. It did pass the senate & will likely pass the house. HB 377 was also brought up, which deals with the pensions of state employees. They are looking at a 401K option, which people are nervous about. And, the School Voucher bill was brought up. It has passed the house and has every chance of passing the Senate & being signed into law by the Governor. Please contact Scott or Ralph with any questions about legislative issues.

Traffic Committee – Jim Jenkins brought up three issues. He wanted to highlight the UTA Open House as mentioned in the newsletter. He mentioned the MBAB, which would require all people to wear helmets when riding a bike. And he mentioned that UTA was looking at revamping the routes in the Salt Lake District. Route 1 in the Avenues may be threatened by this review. For questions on any of these issues, call Jim at 363-3750.

7:45 PM Jeff Snelling, SLC Watershed Manager, & Vanessa Welsh, Watershed Specialist, spoke about the City Creek Canyon Rotary Park Hearth Removal & their City Creek Woad Runner Weed Pull scheduled for the entire month of May. Vanessa passed out a picture list of noxious weeds they are trying to get rid of, and mentioned there are 18 plants that are classified as noxious weeds that are illegal and we are trying to get destroy. Jeff Snelley said they have 3 goals for improving the City Creek Canyon Watershed Area this year. They include filling in potholes on the road above the treatment plant, installing a new toilet in Area 26 (Rotary Park Area), and removing a firepit situated next to a pavilion at Area 30, and redoing the roof of the pavilion. The last project is being funded by the SLC Rotary & city funds. They plan to work on the project in the fall when it will have a minimal impact on those who enjoy the canyon.

8:05 PM Richard Sheinberg, Project Developer for Meridien at Capital Park, updated us on the housing project at the original VA Hospital in Capital Park. Construction is underway and they hope to finish in Spring, 2008. Both men & women work on the site. Homes are still for sale & brochures were left on the table for those who wanted them. He also gave out his phone number; 328-1800. There is a field nearby which they are leasing until the project is complete where back fill material is being stored. That field will be restored it to its original condition.

8:10 PM Avenues Community Gardens: Michael Hughes announced that we are continuing the planning for the Avenues Community Garden and we are hoping to plant this spring. He showed pictures of the area using the new projector. Those who are interested in serving on the committee should get in touch with Michael Hughes. Our grant application to the State Department of Health is still pending. The announcement on that will come in mid-February.

8:15 PM Scott Vaterlaus, SLC Traffic Engineer, along with Jim Jenkin & Phil Carroll talked about “Traffic Calming” issues. We spent quite a bit of time discussing the left-turn issue on 2nd Ave & A Street. They talked about the history of the decision and those in attendance debated the issues. A straw vote was called for between creating a turn lane or creating tighter restrictions to be determined. 15 votes were cast for the turn lane & 26 votes were cast for leaving the lane designations as-is and creating additional visual restrictions. The GACC board will discuss any further action that might be taken and will report back to the community in March.

8:35 PM John Sittner, GACC Treasurer, gave the financial report for 2006. Highlighted in the report was the offset between budget vs. expenses for last year’s newsletter, and he explained why the costs & revenues have changed since 2005 financials. In 2007, we are predicting a revenue of $30,000 for the newsletter, and expenses of $25,000. John was thanked for watching out for the best interests of the GACC as Treasurer, for example by getting us locked into a higher rate for our CD.

8:45 PM Adjournment.