Minutes from the SFNA February 12 General Meeting below:

General Meeting of the Sherwood Forest Neighborhood Association
February 12, 2008
6:30 p.m.
Sherwood Forest Presbyterian Church

1. President Larry Hembree called the meeting to order.

2. Both SFNA members and guests introduced themselves.

3. Larry Hembree presented his state of the neighborhood association address as it was his first meeting as President of the Sherwood Forest Neighborhood Association.

4. Treasurer Rhett Bailey reported there was $2135.36 in the bank.

5. Columbia City Council District 3 candidates Brian Boyer, Belinda Gergel and Reed Swearingen each made five minute speeches.

6. Members voted unanimously to make the final bylaw change: Instead of the existing Executive Committee nominating the officers of the organization, the bylaws will be changed to having a nominating committee consisting of three SFNA members - the past president and two people he or she appoints, to nominate organizational officers. Valerie Marcil made the motion, seconded by Joe Hudson.

7. Lewis Kirk presented the final version of the street toppers that will go on all street signs in the neighborhood and the new new neighborhood logo. The membership voted unanimously to endorse the project and to apply for CANDO funds immediately to support the project. Russell Jones made the motion, seconded by Rhett Bailey.

8. Larry Hembree presented the new vision, mission and goals for the upcoming year and encouraged members to sign up to serve on committees to support the heads of the committees.

9. Handouts (see below) were distributed with reports from all committees except the Arboretum committee. Valerie Marcil made a few remarks about the endowment and upcoming events in the Arboretum.

10. Hembree announced that the SFNA’s vote to opt-in to the Interim Measures for Character Protection was accepted by City Council and that the first reading of the ordinance will be held March 20 at 5:30 at Hand Middle School.

The meeting was adjourned at 7:10 p.m.

Committee Reports:

Membership - Russell Jones, chair
We currently have 97 paid members out of approximately 314 houses in the neighborhood. Our goal is to keep current members registered and grow by 10% this year. This year, we will be working to create solid reasons to join and stay members of SFNA. We’ll be working to intersect with all existing committees to build a stronger coalition. We are exploring the possibility of creating a “welcome wagon” type program where new neighbors get a welcome packet of information about the neighborhood.

Safety - John Hudson, chair
The new four-way stop signs at the intersection of Kalmia-Bloomwood and Kalmia-Yale have been approved by the city and are now in the final stages of being approved by state D.O.T. since Kalmia is a state road. We continue to get a crime report from Officer Folding every two weeks or so covering our neighborhood and surrounding area that we immediately post on the website.

Beautification - Brad Painter, chair
We continue to participate in the Adopt-a-Highway program and meet quarterly to pick up trash in the neighborhood. The next two trash pick up days are May 3 and August 23.
We meet at 9 a.m. at Lauren and Brad Painter’s house for donuts and coffee and move on from there. Families are encouraged to participate.

Communications - Lewis Kirk, chair
We are working to host a block captain event soon to thank the current captains and go over expectations and deal with challenges. Another goal is to figure out the best way of disseminating information to all neighbors, especially those without computers.
We will continue to strive to drive people to the website and encourage them to submit information. We will also continue to keep the Sherwood Forest Crier as informative and interesting as possible.

Legal - Kirby Shealy, chair
We will be forming a small committee to create a basic document related to city violations and codes and the protocol for dealing with violations.

Social - Ashley Norton, chair
Four social events are being planned for this year. They are:
May 18 - Covered Dish Supper in Robin Hood Court
September 6 - 2nd annual BBQ and Bluegrass party at Duncan and Mimosa
October 31 - Halloween Hotdog Supper at 321 Kalmia Drive
January - date and place TBA Adult post holiday party