INC Meeting Minutes--DRAFT

July 28, 2009

The July meeting of the Inter-Neighborhood Council was called to order at 7:05pm by President, Craigie Sanders.  President Sanders welcomed everyone and introductions were made.  Attending the meeting were:

Matt Dudek  Cleveland Holloway

Mike Shiflett  Northgate Park

Mike Brooks  Parkwood

Bill Anderson  Duke Park

Scott Carter  Woodcroft

BJ Council  Durham Police Dept.

Leslie Page  Watts Hillandale, Secretary

Rukea Womack Durham Parks and Rec

David Harris  Old Farm

Myers Sugg  Tuscaloosa Lakewood, Treasurer

Tom Miller  Watts Hillandale

Craigie Sanders Grove Park, President

Colin Crossman Trinity Park, President-Elect

Announcements

Some discussion ensued about the August meeting, with a possible presentation by the Durham-Orange Transit authorities to discuss long range transit planning for the two counties. Mike Shiflett suggested that INC have a series of “theme” based meetings such as Transit, Animals, Stimulus, etc. in which various aspects of each topic could be discussed.

Bill Anderson suggested that INC take a role in educating the public about the new dog chaining ordinance, which will take effect next year.

There is a collaborative effort underway by DPS and the Durham Co. Library to collect school supplies for distribution in late August.  If you would like more info or to donate school supplies, please contact Carlene Fife at the Durham Co. Library. http://www.durhamcountylibrary.org

Tom Miller and Colin Crossman will present Bylaws Amendments for a vote at an upcoming meeting.  Changes to the bylaws are fairly minor, consisting mostly of organizational changes, clarifications and addition of a “conflict of interest” clause.  A draft of the changes will be available for review on the INC website later this month.  There will be several rounds of discussion prior to voting, so please take the time to familiarize yourselves with these changes.  Many thanks to Tom and Colin for the time and effort on this project.

Saturday, August 1, 2009 from 9:30am – 1:00pm, the Durham Chapter of the NAACP will sponsor a Loan Modification Workshop at the Main Branch of the Durham Co. Library.  The workshop will be held in the auditorium.

INC will sponsor an event in August featuring a speaker from NC DNR regarding hazardous waste issues such as the current dry cleaning solvent problem going on in Trinity Park and other locations in Durham Co.  This meeting will likely take place in late August.  Stay tuned for more info.

Bill Anderson suggested that INC consider a more centrally located meeting space for the future in order to accommodate those who rely on public transit for transportation to and from the meetings.  The Herald-Sun has generously donated its space for several years and INC is very grateful for that.  Suggestions for space would be appreciated.

David Harris, and BJ Council of the Durham Police Dept., spoke briefly about National Night Out, scheduled for Tuesday, 8/4/09.  80 neighborhoods have registered so far and over 130 agencies and organizations have volunteered their efforts to make National Night Out a big success in Durham once again.  This year’s theme is “Partnerships.”  For more info on National Night Out, please visit http://www.nationaltownwatch.org/nno/reg.html for info on the national program

http://www.durhampolice.com/nno/ for local events

Recently, the General Assembly passed a law to make scrap copper sales much more difficult by creating a paper trail.  This has been an issue INC has pursued for several years and we are thankful to the assembly for passing this bill.

Presentations

Reyn Bowman of the Durham Convention and Visitors Bureau gave a presentation on the 2008 DCVB Crime Comparative.  This study compares crime rates in Durham with those of similar cities nationwide.  The study shows that perception of crime, particularly by those who don’t live in Durham, is worse than reality.  The study is available from the DCVB website at http://www.dcvb-nc.com/cr/2008_Crime_Comparative_Summary.pdf

Old Business

Treasurer’s Report: The total expenditures for the 2009 Heroes Banquet were $1439.45.  That leaves a balance of $78.47 in the checking account.  The savings/reserves balance is $2002.19.  There were no new members paying dues in July.

A motion to approve the Minutes from the June 2009 meeting was approved unanimously.

A motion to approve Scott Carter to fill a vacancy on the INC Executive Committee for the remainder of the current term was approved unanimously.