Woodburn Commission

Woodburn School Redevelopment Commission Minutes of Thursday, August 29th, 2019 Members present: Chris Haddox, John Trumble, Ron Dulaney, Evan Fedorko The meeting was called to order by Chris Haddox at 6:00 PM at Woodburn School Guests: Danielle Trumble from WAN and Friends of Woodburn There were no official minutes to approve from the previous meeting. Chris Haddox provided updates regarding PopShop repairs, ADA improvements, and Boys and Girls Club status.  The PopShop has not made any progress with the city. Chris Russell emailed Chris H. and John T. this morning expressing frustration and that classes start next week. The only update currently is that Damien Davis is talking with contractors regarding the scope of the work. Chris will follow up with Emily Muzzarelli for more details in the future.  Regarding the ADA improvements, Chris has reached out to the Chris Fletcher who had no updates besides that the bids are still well over budget. The city has structured the bid such that the work is broken into separate pieces to better structure the work with the budget.  Boys and Girls Club has a new Executive Director – Sarah Flores. She has met with Chris Fletcher. Emily Muzzarelli is reporting that the city has not yet received a list of repairs. Chris H. to follow up. Chris Haddox suggested getting Woodburn on the radar of the Land Reuse and Preservation Agency. He sent an email to Bill Kawecki and Pat Kirby. Dave Satterfield looped in. They’re interested in exploring possibilities, and hadn’t considered Woodburn. The Commission discussed the Agency’s involvement in Woodburn. The Commission agreed that we should attend a future LRPA meeting to have a conversation with them directly. The Commission has questions regarding effects on current ADA work, building ownership, and LRPA funding. Chris Haddox suggested re-engaging with the Board of Education. The Commission agrees that a conversation with the superintendent would be beneficial. We should discuss the BoE’s interest in future involvement with the programs at the school. We should explore their openness to forgiving any payments so that we can use budgeted funds to make necessary repairs. The Commission also discussed the need for the building to have a master plan. Chris Haddox mentioned a property owner (Mike Cassell) who owns property across from the playground and is looking at alternatives to housing. - potential connector from Woodburn to Jerome Park? Chris Haddox received an update from Chris Fletcher regarding ADA while in session. The city has only received one bid. They will need to parse the bid for ways to stretch the budget and get the most work done. Elevator is included. Some will need deducted this round. They’re waiting on Paul Brake to return to look through it. Also, they are waiting on a repair list from Boys and Girls Club to make progress on those repairs. Chris is going to follow up with Kristi Turner and Sarah Flores on the repairs list. Ron Dulaney brought up the two open seats on the Commission. Suggested we look for volunteers outside of the neighborhood. Ron also asked how to address the PopShop improvements. Chris H. suggested he bring it up in his report at council. No updates from Danielle T. regarding Friends of Woodburn It was decided the next meeting should be September 19th, 2019 at 6PM at the Woodburn School The meeting adjourned at 7:04PM