Council Meeting Minutes, December 2010

EEAC MINUTES – MONDAY, December 6, 2010

Call to order
Laurie Keleher - called the meeting to order at 7PM. Nick Motz was appointed to Secretary Pro Temp, with no objections from the audience attending. Anne Gilliam, Volunteer Special Parliamentarian, presided over our meeting and will again in January. She will be helping with the changes to the bylaws as well as making recommendations on how we can run smoother meetings going forward. Contact: keleher.eastend@gmail.com

Guest Speakers

Recreation Department
Christian Armstrong Owens – Leblond Xmas Breakfast is on 12/11/10. Full set of classes and events are in full swing. Holiday hours coming up, call for hours. Call the Rec center for latest events and more info @ 513- 281-3209. Contact: Christian.Armstrong@cincinnati-oh.gov

Ohio River Way
Don Mills – Ohio River Way is looking for donations and support to privately fund and complete the Ohio River Trail on the Oasis Line from Carrel Street to Downtown Cincinnati. They have raised $1.5M of the necessary $4M needed to make this happen. The plan is to have a shared 50' right of way that can be shared by one lane of heavy rail (currently in use), one lane of light rail (proposed) and one lane of bike path (proposed). Contact the Ohio River Way @ http://www.ohioriverway.org/ohiorivertrail for more information or to contribute to the fund!

Police Report
Officer Love – Presented crime stats. Same number of instances compared to last month, however some more serious offenses - two rapes and one assault are the highlights. A breaking and entry suspect was arrested that may have likely been completing a good number of the B&E's we have been seeing. Go to http://www.citizenobserver.com to get text message alerts on crime as it happens! Call 513-765-1212 for any non-violent/emergency crimes. Contacts: germain.love@cincinnati-oh.gov

Secretary’s Report
Nick Motz Pro Temp Secretary – Presented Michael Bolan's minutes. Accepted & filed. Contact: nick@nickmotz.com

Treasurer’s Report
Nick Motz – December 2010 status report was presented. Although we had initially proposed a profit of $480 for the year, it looks like we will finish the year carrying a loss of close to $2000. Nick explained the concept of income vs. expenses, and the fact that our income has not matched our expenses - in other words, we have spent approximately $2000 more than we brought in or produced for the year. The question was raised of where the money that we overspent has come from. Answer: a slow depletion of our checking and/or savings. He also warned that, as any entity must do, we need to get serious about adopting a plan to have income outpace expenses, or at the very least match expenses. A slow depletion of our reserves will put us in a position to be of little or no help to our community. Next, Nick presented the proposed 2011 budget. As it sits now, the budget is proposing a break-even scenario. However, break-even is assuming that for the first time in 4-5 years, we raise a minimum of $500 (after expenses)!! Fundraising of any kind in 2011 will be key to balancing the budget for the EEAC. Discussion followed on some minor allocation changes. Jackie Wiest made a motion to allocate $275 of our private monies for the LeBlond Recreation Center. It was seconded and approved. Due to the NSP program unknowns, final budget will be on hold until January. The treasurer's reports were accepted & filed. Contact: nick@nickmotz.com

NSP Report
Patrice Allen – The NSP program is still questionable as to whether funds will be allotted for 2011. We should know by January. Patrice ran thru our proposed allocations for spending the NSP funds, should they be allotted in the amount of $5000. All is on hold until we know for sure. Accepted & filed. Contact: housedressing1@gmail.com

Unfinished Business
By-Law Changes: Lew Seiler spend copious amounts of time revising our by-laws, using the expertise of his lawyer background. He read aloud all the proposed changes. With a few questions, we moved on. The final reading will be at the January meeting, followed by a vote on whether to approve the changes. Thanks, Lew, for all the hard work!
LeBlond Pool and Facilities Committee Formation: We are thinking about the possibility of forming a committee to help keep our great facility intact in future. Stay tuned.
New East End Sign Location: We are meeting with city representative on Thursday to finalize exact location of our gateway sign at the East End of the East End - transition of the East End to California @ Salem and Kellogg Roads. If all goes well, our gateway entrance will be in place by the 1st of the year.

New Business
Public Nuisance Meeting on 2526 Riverside Drive Burnout Building: There is a public hearing on 12/17 concerning the building across from St. Rose that burned out almost 2 years ago. Lew Seiler volunteered to attend the meeting. A motion was made that the EEAC write a letter to present to the Department of Buildings and Inspections for the meeting, stating that the EEAC is in support of razing the building. The motion passed with one dissenting.
Bus Rapid Transit: There is discussion in the works on providing direct rapid transit buses from the outlying suburbs into downtown Cincinnati. Of course, the East End will be on the routes should they ever occur. Stay tuned for info as developments occur.

Adjournment - Meeting adjourned at 9:00 p.m.