ENA Meeting Notes - Sept 11th, 2023
The Ellendale Neighborhood Association held its general meeting at Abbott EMS (2500 Abbott Place). The meeting announcement and joining/participating information were provided in advance, consistent with the organization’s bylaws (revised July 2015 and adopted November 9, 2015). Additionally, the meeting was livestreamed & recorded via Facebook Live.
The full meeting broadcast can be viewed on the Ellendale Neighborhood Association group Facebook page:
Meeting opened at 7:04PM
· Welcome & Facebook Live Overview
o Matt Sisul outlined the meeting procedures for the session so that online participants could submit questions via Facebook chat, or by email, or by text.
o Streaming our meetings via Facebook Live remains quite popular and will be continued indefinitely for future meetings.
o Matt Sisul shared the following courtesy rules for those attending the meeting in-person:
§ Limit questions to one per person until others have a chance to speak;
§ If reporting service requests, please provide the address;
· If you do not have the address, please discuss with Matt Sisul after the meeting so that he can assist;
§ No side conversations during the meeting, please step outside the room for any such discussions
· Approval of Minutes, July 2023 Meeting
o Hard copies of the July 2023 meeting notes were distributed to those attending the meeting in-person. A weblink to the online document was previously shared on the ENA Facebook page.
o Motion to approve July 2023 meeting notes as formal meeting minutes made by Maria Gray and seconded by Andrew Schafer. Approved by voice vote.
· Community Reports
o Alderman Bret Narayan (24th Ward)
§ Not present; conflict with Board of Alderman committee meeting public hearing regarding Board Bill #60 (liquor licensing for restaurants)
o Brian Kolde (Citizens Service Bureau)
§ The deadline to register neighborhood National Night Out activities has closed. However, please reach out to Brian (koldeb@stlouis-mo.gov) if anyone in Ellendale is having a NNO party. He would be happy to stop by & support the event.
· NNO started as a crime prevention activity, and community policing event. It has now become more of a meet/get-to-know your neighbors party.
· The City moved its NNO activities from August to the first Tuesday of October.
· The advantage of applying/registering NNO activities with the City of St. Louis is that they offer neighborhoods free street closure permits.
§ Contact Brian (koldeb@stlouis-mo.gov) about problem properties. Submitting requests by email works best.
· Please also forward any reports or photos to Matt Sisul (314-606-3427 cell or Matthew.Sisul@gmail.com) so that the neighborhood association can also followup.
§ The CSB staff meets monthly with the Problem Properties staff of the City Counselors Office (meeting tomorrow). Plan actions to take with nuisance property owners. It is very important to report problem properties with police call; need to make sure you have the correct address.
· Question: Is there a psychiatric division of the City or of the police department that is tasked with dealing with the nuisance people. This intake would help separate the mental issues from other disturbance calls.
o Brian Kolde: There are some efforts underway to start outreach through the City’s Department of Health & Human Services.
· Service request: The homes at 2750 Hermitage and 2754 Hermitage are now being used as short-term-rentals. However, occupancy permits do not appear to have been issued to either address. Also reporting the backyard conditions of 2754 Hermitage, including the outside storage of construction debris. Photos provided.
o Brian Kolde: Alderman Bret Narayan is working on short-term-rental legislation. In the meantime, still call the police first to report properties and parties out of hand, noise. Then he can better monitor the nuisance property with police reporting backup.
o Joe Nea: He has owned an AirBNB for 8 years. The new legislation being considered will make it difficult for him to continue operating it.
§ Matt Sisul shared that the 6 neighborhoods of the former 24th Ward (Cheltenham, Clayton-Tamm, Clifton Heights, Ellendale, Franz Park, Hi Pointe) have worked together in the past on community events & activities. Ellendale residents are invited to attend the Frank Park NNO party on October 3rd (4pm-7pm) at the Franz Park pavilion, located on Mitchell Ave between Kraft & Prather)
§ There are many ways to reach CSB:
o 314-622-4800, main CSB hotline
o Twitter: @stlcsb
o Brian Kolde: by phone at 314-657-1364 or by email (preferred) at KoldeB@stlouis-mo.gov
o Officer Robert Skaggs (2nd District)
§ Ellendale neighborhood crime year-to-date is down 38% from 2022 and down 23% from 2021 figures. Crime for the neighborhood was very few in city-wide comparison.
· Guest Speaker(s)
o Judges Theresa Burke and Michael Stelzer (22nd Judicial Circuit Court)
§ Theresa Burke introduced herself. Her current assignment is general trial division, which includes both criminal and civil trials. She also handles the domestic violence docket as well, which is a specialized docket that can originate from either the family court or criminal court systems.
§ Mike Stelzer introduced himself. He has served for 19 years. He is currently assigned to the Motion Equity docket, which is non-jury trial cases. A new statute with legal aid is tackling nuisance properties.
§ Polled the room about any recent jury duty. They asked for input on the new & updated process.
· Comment: There seemed to be a smoother process, including friendlier staff.
· Judge Stelzer: Explained some of the transitions since 2020. During COVID, courts were closed and cases were not heard/held. Then the task became how to improve the process of bringing them back. Previously, 600-700 jurors were typically called into service for a week. The courts are getting the process much more streamlined. They have a better idea for how many trials will be held during the week, so they can call fewer people to jury duty and also calling them in a more staggered morning/afternoon selection times.
· Judge Burke: Trying to catch the long trials early and get a special group for them, typically on a Friday afternoon. This results in fewer people spending long periods of time in the Jury Waiting Area.
· Judge Stelzer: Commended Jury Commissioner JoAnne Martin for her work on these changes
§ Question: Are you visiting all the neighborhood associations?
· Judge Burke: There are 31 judges and they have a committee that does community outreach, which includes neighborhood meetings & charitable events. They also sponsor school activities.
o Judge Stelzer wanted to visit the Ellendale neighborhood because his dad’s home was located on Ecoff and Bleak.
§ Matt Sisul: How can the neighborhood association provide community input if/when there is serious crime in the neighborhood, particularly for sentencing conditions?
· Judge Burke: Missouri is a paperless state, so court system records are available online (https://www.courts.mo.gov/cnet/welcome.do) that can be searched by either case number or by name of party (either defendant or plaintiff). The system allows you to request to be contacted whenever there is an update on that case. Also, the Circuit Attorney’s Office has a victim’s advocacy group that allows for impact statements or bond restrictions.
§ Question: What about a citizen’s complaint about a police officer and what to do?
· Answer: That is a SLMPD internal affairs item, outside the Judicial Court System.
o Nick Kimble, for State Representative Donna Baringer (82nd District)
§ Rep. Donna Baringer is in Jefferson City working on legislation as the next veto session approaches. Governor Mike Parson recently line-item-vetoed some sections of the proposed state budget. Members of the State House are debating & discussing which items to try to override the veto and which items will not be funded during the next state fiscal period. They are also working on items to propose during the next legislative session, so constituents are encouraged to reach out to Rep. Baringer (Donna.Baringer@house.mo.gov) with comments & suggestions. Her current focus is on crime reduction, growing the City, and regional cooperation.
· Board Reports
o Treasurer’s Report (Joe Nea)
§ Balance as of 07/10/2023: $ 994.70
§ Deposits: $0.00
§ Expenses: $5.00 bank service fee
· Jacqi Kamp working to get future bank fees waived
§ Balance as of 09/11/2023: $ 989.70
§ Annual dues are $6 per person, per household; $3 per person 65+; Business dues are $24
· Venmo @Joey-Nea; be sure to specify “ENA dues” in transaction notes
· Per ENA bylaws, any dues collected September-December are also credited toward the following year.
o Housing Committee Report (John Yarish)
§ No report
o Beautification Committee Report (Kimberly Hanvy)
§ Met with Great Rivers Greenway staff about the “Adopt-A-Greenway” pilot program.
· Planning for a trailhead garden maintenance and green way trash clean up on Saturday, September 30th. Kimberly has a sign-up sheet for trash pick up volunteers.
o Ellendale was only one of six chosen from around 125 applicants to participate in the GRG Adopt-A-Greenway pilot program. We want to make good impression for the kickoff on Sept 30th. Need helpers and volunteers. Flyers will be shared on website and on social media platforms.
§ Attended a St. Louis Murals Exhibit, at the Missouri History Museum. Meeting tomorrow with someone from Paint Louis for help with planning a new mural for the Southwest Avenue retaining wall.
§ Question: When will we receive the new trash cans for the bus stops on Southwest Avenue?
· Matt Sisul: They have been ordered from METRO Transit. When we receive them, we will also get liners and METRO Transit has promised us replacements as often as we need them.
· New Business
o ENA Officer Elections
§ Matt Sisul, Jacqi Kamp, Joe Nea have just completed eight years serving on the ENA executive board. Mentioning this because we don’t want the neighborhood association to be just the three of us. Everyone’s voices are welcomed. We invite any shadowing of positions, and encourage anyone wanting to be on the board or committee to reach out.
· President, Vice President, Secretary are 1-year terms
· Treasurer, Communications Offices are 2-year terms
§ Nominations for executive board positions opened:
· Matthew Sisul, President
· Jacqi Kamp, Vice President
· Sue Moody, Secretary
· Joe Nea, Treasurer
· Torrie Dahmen, Communications Officer
§ Motion to close nominations made by Maria Gray, seconded by Andrew Schafer. Approved by voice vote.
§ Motion to accept by acclimation those individuals to serve on the ENA executive board for those positions made by Maria Gray, seconded by Ernie Carr. Approved by voice vote.
· Miscellaneous
o Janet Bonnell, block co-captain for Hermitage, recently passed away. Maria Gray recommended sending a sympathy card to the family on behalf of the Ellendale Neighborhood Association. Matt will do so.
o Volunteers are needed on Mondays & Tuesdays, which are the maintenance days for the Ellendale Neighborhood Pollinator Garden. Volunteers can meet at 4pm at the garden (overlooking Southwest Ave at the end of Ellendale Ave, adjacent to the stairwell). Butterflies, hummingbirds and bees are back.
o Matt Sisul talked about the Missouri History Museum having an exhibit that includes some Ellendale history, including Scullin Steel.
o Matt Sisul also reminded that there are fewer than 10 library branches in the City, but Ellendale has one: Marketplace Branch (6548 Manchester).
o Anyone interested in helping with content for the ENA website (photos, blog posts, articles, etc.) please reach out to Matt Sisul or Torrie Dahmen.
o Matt Sisul thanked Randy at 7-11 (Southwest & McCausland) for bring refreshments to those attending in-person.
Motion to adjourn made by Maria Gray and seconded by Lynn Hartke. Approved by voice vote.
Meeting adjourned at 8:15PM
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