Woodburn Association of Neighbors

Meeting Minutes

Monday, November 5, 2007, 7:00 PM

Crosley’s Banquet Center

Attendees:  Anna Avakian, Paul Atkins, Susan Eason, Steve Gunno, Joel Halverson, Ron Justice, Bob Merow, Anne Miller, Paul Miller, Tamara Riegel, Cheryl Torsney, Guest Mike Stone.

1. Susan Eason called meeting to order, welcomed everyone, and introduced Mike Stone, the code enforcement officer for Morgantown. 
1. Those present introduced themselves.  Minutes were approved. 
2. Susan began by thanking (on behalf of the whole neighborhood) the organizers of the Woodburn block party.  Those organizers were Karen Woodfork and Joel Halverson.  She also thanked Jenny and Nathan Wilson for volunteering to play music and Ron Justice for helping acquire the use of the tent.
2. Code enforcement regulations and questions answered from Mike Stone.
1. Basic code issues:  The most common code violations are high grass, weeds, peeling paint, parking in yard, and abandoned vehicles.
2. In the Woodburn neighborhood, there have been about 30 violations on five Woodburn streets recently.  Generally, there is a notice (warning) given, then after three days a citation is issued if the problem has not been addressed.  (In the past, sometimes a second notice was given.)
3. Specific questions:

§ Vacant house, Monongalia Ave.  The house is vacant and the owner is out of state.  Since code violations are misdemeanors, the city police cannot cross state lines to issue citations.  Also since the property is vacant, there are no occupants to evict.  If the owner comes to Morgantown, he can be arrested.  If he attempts to rent, he can be shut down.  As it is, there is little that can be done.

§ Concern was expressed about the new modular home on Monongalia.  An earlier modular homeowner nearby was told that her house plan had to have its front on the street address side, and made a change to accommodate this rule.  The new modular home appears to have the front on the side, with the street side presenting two relatively unattractive garage doors.  Mike Stone said he would look into this.

4. Other details:

§ Complaints are best handled by the web form at the city website.

§ Mike Stone suggests a neighborhood-watch-like program that he developed; we asked for more information about it.

§ One problem is that relatively few people employed to look after many code issues.  Example:  3 city employees handle 1700 active building permits and 3 employees handle 8000 rental property units.

§ Police are aware of one other house where suspicious behavior has been noticed by neighborhood residents.

§ Hedges violate code if they extend over city right of way or impede vision at intersections.

3. Gravel deposits on Louise and James and Louise and Dayton.
1. Code says that the first ten feet of a driveway must be paved.
2. In the cases on Louise and James/Dayton, some or most of the gravel seems to come from alleys.
3. Some alleys have been paved for the first few feet.
4. Gravel on sidewalks can be reported to the city through the web page.
4. Woodburn Elementary School
1. Woodburn playground fundraiser:  The school needs some new playground equipment and some has been selected.  To make this a reality, around $20,000 must be raised.  Centra Bank and developer Mike Castle have offered some support.  We are looking for support from neighborhood members.  We will send letters to all business owners in the neighborhood, including downtown and the Mileground.  (A suggestion to include Chestnut Ridge hospital is offered.)  The board of education has given an amount of about half what is needed ($10,000) based on the number of students at Woodburn and also contributed a large amount of mulch.  Some money is also expected to come from a fundraiser in which cards and prints of Woodburn made by Jeannie Gren will be sold.
2. The future of Woodburn school:  Woodburn is the oldest school in the area and the only true neighborhood school.  It has 230 students and the neighborhood is growing.  We would like to get people thinking about what we would like to have happen in the future with Woodburn Elementary.  The timing is crucial—Woodburn could be a future candidate for closure.  Some possible future scenarios included closing the school (busing local students to Mountainview or elsewhere), refurbishing the school (a challenge), or rebuilding Woodburn adjacent to the current building.  Rebuilding money could come from state SBA money and so would not be tied to a new bond levee.  Suggested goal:  building a new school on current property.  Local participation in the process is encouraged.
5. Email policy:  the executive committee proposed that the email list be used to communicate information that pertains to or comes out of the business meetings of the Woodburn Association of Neighbors.  The blog could be used to post events related to community members and other general announcements and news.  Those in attendance at the meeting were agreeable to this; no objections were stated.  One suggestion: use ‘bcc’ to include other addresses rather than ‘cc’ so that email list is more private.
6. Concerns about parking on Union Avenue were expressed.  Information about blue-line parking was shared with the person (not present) who expressed concern.
7. New officers:  The January meeting brings the time to elect new officers to the WAN.  Susan indicated that she would not be a candidate for president again.  Suggestions and volunteers for the new executive board are encouraged.
8. Greg Jenkins requested that he be placed on the agenda so that he could discuss the possibility of seeking rezoning (from R1A to B1) of his property at the corner of Richwood and Dayton.  Mr. Jenkins is not present.  The consensus of those present is that rezoning this property should be opposed.
9. Follow-up on old business:
1. Paul Atkins will follow up on replacing the Charles St. sign with a larger on and perhaps moving the smaller one to a new location.
2. Boparc survey input on Whitmore park is being included in the master planning update.

The next meeting will be January 14, 2008.