MINUTES OF HIGHLAND DISTRICT COUNCIL MEETING

October 4, 2007

Members of the Highland District Council Board met at the Hillcrest Recreation Center, 1978 Ford Parkway, Saint Paul, Minnesota 55116, at 7:15 p.m. on Thursday, October 4, 2007. Board members present were: Peter Armstrong, Shawn Bartsh, Ted Davis, Bill Driver, Will Jefferson Bill Klein, Steve Lentsch, Bill Mahaffey, Joe McCabe, Gary Marx, Dave Pinto, Bill Poulos, and Tim Puffer. Mike Wilson was present as Jenny Winkelman�s designated alternate. Layne Carver was present as Ted Davis�s designated alternate until Ted arrived shortly after the meeting began. Georgia Dietz, on leave from her at-large representative position, was present as temporary community organizer. Alternates Rick Hugley was present and seated, and Jeff Gravagna was present and seated at the beginning of the meeting pending the selection of a Grid 12 representative, and was seated later in the meeting when Peter Armstrong was not present.

1. WEBPA Representative

Dan Greenberg was present and indicated that he had been requested to attend the meeting on WEBPA�s behalf. A discussion ensued regarding the status of WEBPA. Dan indicated that, to his knowledge, the organization has not structure, no membership fees, and has held no meetings recently. After discussion, upon motion duly made and seconded, the Board voted to not seat a WEBPA representative until the organization is both active and in good standing. Several Board members encouraged Dan and other West 7^th Street businesses to become active again.

2. Approval of Minutes

The minutes of the September 6, 2007, meeting were approved with amendments to add the time of adjournment and the text of a resolution that was tabled. Upon motion duly made and seconded, the Board directed that the text of proposed resolutions be included in the future minutes of the Board meetings at which they were offered.

3. Grid 12 Representative

Residents of Grid 12 then held an election to fill the vacancy created upon Al Abrahamson�s resignation. Later in the meeting it was announced that John W. Morrison was elected to fill the Grid 12 Grid Representative position until the HDC annual meeting in 2008.

4. Public Comment

Bill Poulos opened the meeting to public comment. Nancy Katzmarek, principal of Highland Park High School, introduced herself and indicated that she had an open door to discussing issues of concern regarding the High School and local residents. In response to a question about drug use at Highland Park High School, she indicated that, while it was a concern, it was not among the biggest problems facing the school.

Sara Cooper, whose family owns Cooper�s Super Valu stores, voiced concerns regarding crime, especially what she perceived as a lack of concern among Saint Paul Police regarding shoplifters. Commander Colleen Luna responded, indicating that police can only issue citations for offenses involving less than $500, and can book perpetrators only where the amount is equal to or greater than $500. She asked to be called to report any officers that didn�t treat calls for these offenses seriously.

5. Treasurer�s Report

Treasurer Tim Puffer reported that the Council is switching its accounting software to Quickbooks with the help of Roger Maulik. He hopes to be able to present proper reports (income statements, balance sheets, etc.) shortly. He indicated that little had changed since his September report. Shawn Bartsh asked about seeing a list of checks written on Council accounts. Tim indicated that he would prepare a transaction report that would show this. The Treasurer�s report was accepted by the Board.

Tim then answered questions concerning the Council�s tax situation, indicating that the Council likely would prepare an offer in compromise to try to settle things with the IRS.

Tim the moved the adoption of the resolution attached as Exhibit A, which would authorize the Council to pay its remaining �trust fund� tax obligations. He indicated that this payment would not be reimbursable under the Council�s contract with the City. The Council discussed how much it would have to spend taking this and other authorizations into account. Following a second and further discussion, the resolution was adopted.

At this time a proposal from the Community Services Committee to spend up to $500 to contract for a temporary Crime Prevention Coordinator for the remainder of the year, set forth as Exhibit B, was offered to the Council. This would involve partnering with the Macalester Groveland Community Council and perhaps seek additional funds from the City that might be available for crime prevention purposes. The motion was approved by the Council.

Tim then indicated that the Council should have a plan for next year, and that a planning process might be advisable. He proposed that the Board hire an outside facilitator to help the Board plan and develop a budget for 2008, and requested that the Board approve spending $2,000 to hire such a facilitator, develop a process, do strategic planning and other homework, as well as related matters, such as exploring staffing levels and grant solicitations. Shawn Bartsh expressed concerns about the levels of spending involved in this and other proposals that had been approved by the Board. Upon motion duly made and seconded, the Board authorized the Executive Committee to spend up to that amount for that purpose and appointed Gary Marx to explore possible candidates for this outside facilitator role, all subject to the expense being reimbursable under the Council�s contract with the City.

6. Crime Prevention

Committee Chair Joe McCabe presented a resolution from the Crime Prevention Committee, attached as Exhibit C, for measures to promote crime prevention in the District. A wide-ranging discussion ensued. Questions were raised concerning how much the $10,000 proposed for hiring off-duty police would provide. Joe indicated that the going rate was $40 per hour, and that the $10,000 was intended to subsidize this service and increase police presence that might prevent criminal activity. Commander Luna indicated her view that the hiring of off-duty police officers would not fit the purpose envisioned by the Committee, would require the approval of the City Police Chief, and that no car or insurance is provided by the City for the activities of such off-duty officers. Patricia Boyd disputed the statements made by Commander Luna, and indicated she had been informed differently by Community Service Office Mark Nelson.

After additional discussion, the Board determined to consider the proposals in the Committee resolution separately, and in inverse order. The Board approved the last two resolutions regarding the establishment of an e-mail network and to meet with local high school principals to establish a working relationship to address crime issues of those schools.

Regarding the proposal to print pamphlets and distribute them to businesses to provide police contact information and other similar information, Shawn Bartsh indicated that the Highland Business Association already does this. This resolution was not approved.

A roll call vote was requested regarding the proposal concerning the funding of off-duty police services. The proposal failed with 8 ayes (Brent Van Tassel, Joe McCabe, Bill Klein, Steven Lentsch, Will Jefferson, Bill Poulos, Richard Hugley, and Jeff Gravagna) and 9 nays (Bill Driver, Dave Pinto, Tim Puffer, Gary Marx, Bill Mahaffey, John Morrison, Mike Wilson (for Jenny Winkelman), Ted Davis, and Shawn Bartsh).

The meeting was adjourned at 9:05 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

William D. Klein

Secretary