Meeting Minutes 3/21/18

Opening: Ken Carroll opened the first formal meeting of the revitalized Lake Pasadena Estates Neighborhood Association (LPENA) at 7:05 p.m. at Menorah Manor on March 21, 2018. He thanked all neighbors in attendance as well as St. Petersburg community affairs liaison Susan Ahoc and City Councilman Charlie Gerdes.

Ken provided a summary of the work accomplished by the association about 15 years ago, including median strip trees, street and lake lights, and engraved stone markers throughout the neighborhood. He then summarized two recent informal gatherings, first in November 2017 and then in early February 2018, of neighbors interested in revitalizing the neighborhood association. He also noted his past experience in the increased responsiveness of the city to group requests as compared with requests from single individuals; thus, the effort to revitalize our neighborhood association.

Old Business: Carol Gruszka spoke for a few minutes about the recently established website for Lake Pasadena Estates Neighborhood Association at www.lakepasadenaestates.com. It will operate at no cost to the association for three years, due to a gift from ClassCreator.com and the Gruszkas’ donation to purchase the domain name for five years.

New Business:

  • :  Ken introduced the people who had volunteered to serve as initial LPENA officers: himself (president), Chuck Vosburgh (1st vice-president), Joe Baldwin (2nd vice-president), Sherill Stone (3rd vice-president), Carol Gruszka (secretary), and Jeff Smith (treasurer). Discussion followed concerning whether officers could be elected before by-laws had been adopted by the organization since no one had been able to locate the by-laws from the original association. Ken then turned the meeting over to Councilman Gerdes for further information about city neighborhood associations.
  • Councilman Remarks: Councilman Gerdes spoke about several other neighborhood associations in the district he represents, the times and frequency they meet, and the various activities they pursue. He also spoke of how the 2007 recession had dried up city funding for neighborhood capital improvements and explained that funding is now available again following the city’s economic recovery. Councilman Gerdes noted the difference between homeowner associations and neighborhood associations, with the former being mandated by state statute for the purpose of maintaining common areas, and the latter being more loosely organized and governed by the city. He explained that neighborhood associations normally became organized through the early efforts of a volunteer organizational board, which oversees the start-up; proposes by-laws addressing such subjects as annual dues, the election of officers, and their terms of office; and planned meetings and their frequency. These proposals are then presented to association members for consideration and adoption.
  • City Liaison Remarks: Susan Ahoc explained that if the neighbors attending this meeting decided to become an association, the city would produce another door hanger with information about the association and its upcoming meetings. She also noted that anyone in the neighborhood could attend association meetings, but only dues-paying members could vote on such subjects as election of officers or adoption of by-laws. She cautioned against being a single-interest group (such as a cul-de-sac wall), encouraging a broad interest in getting to know all of our neighbors and sharing all of their concerns. Susan also stated that it was not necessary for the LPENA to complete its revitalized organizational efforts before applying for a city grant for neighborhood improvements or even social events.
  • Becoming an Association/Election of Interim Officers: Following these remarks, Chuck Vosburgh made a motion for the LPENA to become a revitalized neighborhood association. The motion was seconded and passed by a voice vote; no dissenting vote was noted. Chris Bombard then made a motion for the proposed officers mentioned earlier to serve as interim officers and members of an organizational board joined by other interested volunteers, to propose by-laws and oversee the revitalization of the association. The motion was seconded and passed by a voice vote, with no dissenting vote noted.

Next Meeting: Several volunteers agreed to look for by-laws from the inactive Lake Pasadena Neighborhood Association and/or sample by-laws from other sources and to provide them to the organizational board for consideration by the new membership. The next meeting date is proposed for Thursday, April 19, 2018, again at Menorah Manor, if they agree to host the event.

Adjournment: Due to the length of time the meeting had been in session, other planned activity by subgroups (improvements, safety, social) was postponed until a future meeting. Following a motion and second for adjournment, the meeting was adjourned 8:25 p.m., followed by a period of refreshments and conversation.

Respectfully submitted, Carol Gruszka, LPENA Interim Secretary



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