February 2008
Intro
Josh Cullion calls the meeting to order at 730pm.
I (Kim Snow) read the minutes of the last meeting. Minutes are voted on and accepted.
Fundraiser
Chairperson Maria Ruggieri gives us a financial recap of our fab Winter Warmer fundraiser at Bravo. Overall we made a $3370 profit ($300 more than last year).
- $1500 in tickets sales
- $900 from the raffle
- $1100 from the live auction
We now have a total of $4623. 60 in our account (that’s going to buy a LOT of Haven Brother’s burgers). Thanks for all the hard work everyone.
Downtown Events
Joelle Crane from the Providence Foundation gives us the Valentine’s low down of events going on this upcoming weekend. (I sent a separate email to y’all and I hope you took advantage of the abundance of downtown lovin’.) Joelle also informs us that there will be more events this spring and summer and we in turn totally let her know we’re here to help and would love to support/co-sponsor an event. We’ll let you know how and when you can help and partake.
We also found out about these tidbits:
A new 24/7 IHOP in the old Mario’s space behind Providence Place. Get your 2am pancakes on, people.
The Farmstead cheese shop should be up and running this Spring. Did I mention they are going to sell CHEESE?! Swoon…I am…in love.
Rumors of a market (per usual). We love any and all rumors though. We’ll get you the facts as soon as we can!
Preservation
Lauren Goldenberg from the Providence Preservation Society stopped by to tell us about their fundraising event on February 9th (We hope it went well!). She handed out info and we’re really happy to be supporting PPS and thank them for coming to our meeting.
Sidewalk Repair
Josh gives the floor to Councilman John Lombardi as Maria hands out a document containing photos and notes about the downtown sidewalks in the 13th ward needing repair.
Councilman Lombardi received money for infrastructure repairs and contacted the DNA to see if he could offer us assistance for our neighborhood. Josh and Maria went out on a scouting mission (thanks guys!) and found NUMEROUS sidewalk problem areas to focus on.
Maria notes that this money is specifically designated to Ward 13 which runs from Westminster Street (on The Peerless Building side) over toward the Dunk. SIDE NOTE: Councilwoman Balbina Young represents Westminster Street (the Tazza side) and over toward the Jewelry District.
We thank Councilman Lombardi for the amazing help and confidence in our group. He tells everyone to reach out to him directly with concerns, ideas or questions. Dan Baudouin also thanks Councilman Lombardi for his support.
Marketing Downtown
Dan Baudouin talks about a new downtown initiative with the Chamber of Commerce about keeping talents and resources in our city so they don’t get up and move somewhere else. Considering most people who work in a city also want to live in said city, the residents can really help sell this neighborhood. We tell Dan to call on us for support, insight and a voice.
He also talks about the new office space being purchased downtown as well as the new businesses filling up that space which is a great sign. Not to mention current businesses are buying more space and expanding their initiatives. (Think any of them will want a pharmacy and/or grocery store around during the day? I’m just saying is all…)
Go to provchamber.org to take their survey and help provide feedback to these initiatives.
DID & Responsible Hospitality Update
Frank LaTorre reports on the three year anniversary of the DID. How did we ever live without them? Love love love what they do for us, thank you.
The Responsible Hospitality Partnership is still working with nightclubs to make everyone safer — including their patrons. They are still kicking around some new ordinances, making sure they’re airtight and work for everyone. They’re hoping to move this forward by March.
We get an update on the 12 extra police who could be roving our streets late night on Fridays and Saturdays. The DNA wrote a letter of support for this. The second pilot program ended but we still really want to keep them here. For the record, the Police department “donated” three of the police officers so we are only fighting for nine as they those extra three are still down here. FYI: it will cost $3000 a weekend to reinstate these officers.
It was noted that some clubs are concerned about the extra money they may have to pay for this. Residents do not have to pay. The question was also raised – where is the residential component of this Responsible Hospitality ordinance? We want law & order and safety for all, not just the clubs. Plus we want to set a precedent that the residents have a voice and play a role in downtown decisions involving safety, traffic control and overall progress.
Residents can be there for the council vote – we will let you know when that will be. Though we cannot rewrite the ordinance at that point we can plead our case to emphasize and consider other areas that specifically affect the residents.
Some Good News: Ambulance drivers have complimented The Downtown Security Network because they can now get in and out of the city faster then ever before. Uhm, here’s hoping there’s fewer and fewer reasons that ambulances even NEED to be down here at all.
Then we start talking about graffiti. It seems like there’s more of it, how come? Apparently the chemicals needed to remove it can’t be used in cold weather, so the graffiti does seem to build up over the winter months. But if you see any, call the DID directly so they know for the next warm day.
The question of the night: Is this artistic graffiti or gang graffiti and how would we know the difference and does it matter? The fact is both can exist in any city and at this time most of what we see downtown is not gang related. This is a good thing for us to keep an eye out for because if we see TONS of art graffiti going down, maybe we should consider offering alternative space for these artists to express themselves.
Speaking of, the DID is going to be putting up those long-awaited community kiosks for the posting of flyers and announcements downtown – we love this idea! This will hopefully happen at the beginning of summer on Union & Weybosset and one on Fountain & Dorrance. The Design Committee voted unanimously to approve these.
The kiosks are 23 x 96. And while there are expectations for protocol on these, we look forward to seeing our hood show some creativity and common sense so we can all post freely without having to monitor the items (which might very well be impossible).
Then Sue Lapidus tells us about progress on the lot of the former Police and Fire Station. The Proccacianti Group wants to landscape this for the two years before it can be developed. The plan went before the Design Review Committee — no comment until the Zoning Board sees it.
The Proccacianti Group wants to buy planters for the space that they will donate to the city after the two years. A win-win! But a city forester has to approve this and currently his plan is dig up the sidewalk and plants trees – which will take a year!
Sue asks if the DNA will support The Proccacianti Group’s efforts and we definitely agree. It makes sense for now and the long term. We will write a letter. There should be a hearing in March we will try to attend as well.
NEXT STEPS FOR GOALS
I let everyone know that the DNA officers spoke in front of the DID to let them know about our goals and our desire to work with them to continue evolving our town. The next step is to meet with the Mayor on February 14th about share our goals and mission with him. We’re really looking forward to it. We will also share our goals letter with other neighborhood groups and parties.
Josh gives the floor to Senator Paul Jabour who talks about his efforts to assist our neighborhood, city and state, including opportunities with the movie industry and the resulting tax credits.
He talks about a grant that AS220 will be getting (we’re very happy for them!) in an effort to bring more art and funds for these arts to our city and neighborhood.
He also tells us about a grant we can apply for as a neighborhood group which we will get on right away. We hope to set up a full-functioning DNA website as well as purchase a projector and screen for future meetings and presentations, to name a few action items.
Josh thanks everyone for coming and adjourns the meeting at 830pm.
Stay tuned for news on our upcoming March meeting.