Woodburn Commission

Woodburn Redevelopment Commission Meeting Minutes September 25th, 7:00 PM Meeting was called to order by Chris Haddox at 7:00 PM. PRESENT: The meeting started with City Manager Jeff Mikorski, City Council Representative/Deputy Mayor Marti Shamberger, Chair Chris Haddox, Vice Chair Kerry Lilly, Secretary Nikki Byrne-Hoffman, Commission Members Mary Angel Blount, Mark Furfari, Tim Mashburn, and Bonnie Witmyer. Zach Thompson from the Boys and Girls Club was also present. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES: Minutes were approved as submitted. Deputy Mayor Shamberger made the motion to approve, Kerry Lilly seconded the motion. CORRESPONDENCE/ITEMS NOT ON AGENDA: Woodburn Clean Up Day- Secretary Byrne-Hoffman provided an overview of the efforts to seek donations of gardening supplies from local businesses, such as Southern States and Lowe’s. The response was positive, but no commitments were given presently. Chair Haddox asked for a Doodle poll to be organized with options for the Fall Clean Up Day. Deputy Mayor Shamberger said she and several other neighbors have plants they would like to donate. Several commission members have trucks available if they are needed for mulch and other supplies. Several volunteer entities, such as neighborhood associations, student groups, and the United Way were suggested as contact points to gain volunteer interest. UNFINISHED BUSINESS: Property Upkeep Update- Update of Leasing/Marketing/Website- City Manager Jeff Mikorski is working with BOPARC to complete the leasing inventory. Mel has been out recently. As far as a plan for Charles Ave, a guard rail has been ordered. A plan is also in place to make Fortney and Parsons Street more accessible from the parking lot into the building. Commission Member Bonnie Witmyer said the Mountaineer Kennel Club may be interested in using the Woodburn facilities. She will discuss at the next meeting. Tim Mashburn said an update has been sent for the website. Continuation of Nonprofit Center Discussion- A grant for the next round of funding has been submitted for $3500-4000. Rec Center Update- Marilla park had an open house tonight for recreation comments from the general public. WVU College of Business and Economics Brickstreet Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship students are collating the information. City Manager Mikorski said the project is looking at a rec center for the county. A business plan, revenue source options, community wants and needs, what to put into the rec center, and what to be placed elsewhere in the community are being investigated. Deputy Mayor Shamberger said the rec center will serve infant through senior age groups. Comments should be submitted to morgantownrecstudy@gmail.com. Chair Haddox said Woodburn may fit in as a programming piece of sorts. City Manager Mikorski stated that the area needed would be about 5 acres. A Soccer Club of all ages exists and is lobbying for a soccer complex with an indoor field. They want to host tournaments. October 22 they will have an event for adults and will host again in the Spring for children. Different groups are lobbying for different things, such as an ice rink, baseball diamonds of the correct size (regulation sizes have changed, stated Deputy Mayor Shamberger) in order to host state championships, etc. Commission member Mark Furfari asked if centralizing the rec center under the county was being looked into. City Manager Mikorski said it has looked that way, but it’s headed toward keeping the county and City separate and contracting for BOPARC to manage the facilities. Deputy Mayor Shamberger said it was consolidated, but the County split away. Figures stated were that the city spends $1.2 million per year on recreation, while the county spends $70,000 per year. Some matching would have to exist to consolidate again. NEW BUSINESS and DISCUSSION: B&G Club Gardening Project- Zach Thompson, a WVU Parks and Recreation major who volunteers with the B&G Club, came to discuss the expansion of ongoing community garden efforts of the Mon County Boys and Girls Club. The project will be headed by Jordan Young, but he was unable to make it this evening. Their vegetable project has been successful this year, with yield being picked every couple of days and produce being given away or used 1st come, 1st served. The children appear to be taking an interest in it. They will be submitting a proposal to expand and are suggesting the NE side of the building, where the picnic tables currently are located. The B&G Club previously they relied on donated snacks, and now they make use of the Woodburn School cafeteria with the assistance of their cook, Michelle. They are also looking into starting food and health courses for growing food, cooking, canning, and sustainable living. Megan Govidine from the Student Dietetic Association and a coworker Casey will be organizing the courses with two students from the nutrition and health field. Chair Haddox asked Jordan to provide a schematic of the space to be involved. The maintenance is projected to be supported by the B&G Club, as well as the WVU Garden Club. They are also looking into grants to support their efforts. Chair Haddox suggested to Zach that he might look at a model, iCook, developed at WVU Davis College by Melissa Olfert. Jim Rye also teaches garden-based classes at North Elementary. Veterans Housing and Solar Community Systems- Chair Haddox had suggested remodeling the modular buildings into veterans housing in an earlier email to the Commission. Jami Summerland runs a modeling program out of Wheeling. In his discussions with veterans community leaders, it appears Morgantown is missing the housing piece as far as intermediate transitioning into the community, not necessarily long-term. Joseph Scotty is also involved in veteran’s programs. Under the stimulus funds, energy auditing programs were supposed to become a focus. Lots of veterans were training for these positions, but the failing rate was around 50%. Commission member asked how many veterans would fit in the 2000 sq ft space. City Manager Mikorski said it is R1 or R1A Single family housing, which allots approximately 300-500 sq ft per person. Secretary Byrne-Hoffman said she had discussed this with her 1st Cav Army veteran husband, and he said more than anything, the programming with the University is lacking. No tutoring programs tailored to higher level engineering and other major classes with high numbers of veterans is offered. Advising services consist of looking at making plans for future classes or plans to retake or drop certain classes, instead of offering help with existing classes which veterans are failing. Very few resources are actively offered or effective. Those with PTSD that disturbs sleep patterns suffer the most, since many classes are offered in the early morning. She suggested a themed NPC that could be a one-stop shop for effective veterans resources that partner with the University and housing or civilian transition opportunities, keeping these issues in mind. Chair Haddox said AU Associates from Lexington is currently renovating a school in Sutton with a veteran’s focus. Deputy Mayor Shamberger discussed an article she had seen about Shepherdtown’s redevelopment project. Chair Haddox said crowd-funded solar community systems are being installed. The company installs residential systems and PV systems, line up financing, work with PJM on electric grid management, and provide more tools for demand-based management. The install demand- based controllers on water heaters. PJM would pay the company to do this for 75-100 houses and the company pays the homeowners approximately $100/year for this system. However, an option exists, where the customer can agree that the money goes instead for a PV system on top of a community building, such as Woodburn Elementary. The building is metered and submetered to each tenant. Provides cost savings for tenants. For Woodburn to become a leader in community solar would be a good thing. Music Festival (First Fridays at Woodburn)- The group discussed hosting a monthly music series. November 7th was suggested as a day to host a variety show. Dinner could be served for $5/head. “First Fridays at Woodburn” food, music, and fun was suggested as a title of the series. Local bands will be invited to play. General admission will be free. The event will start at 6PM. We may ask Boys and Girls Club to be involved and advertise among their clients. School House Jam was suggested as a subtitle. Tim will try to recruit the Josh Arthurs Band, and Mary Angel Blount and Chris Haddox will see if their groups want to participate. ADJOURNMENT: The next meeting will be moved to Thursday, October 23rd at 7PM due to trick-or-treating for Halloween. The November meeting was moved to November 19th and December to December 18th to avoid the holiday season conflicts. The meeting was adjourned at 8:31 PM with a motion made by Bonnie Witmyer and the motion seconded by Mary Angel Blount.