Meeting Minutes: Friends of the Community Path 05/06/2002

Attending:

Joel Bennett, Lynn Weissman, Karen Molloy, John Mann, Turil Cronberg, Bill Lanford, Bryce Nesbitt, Korrinn Fu, Arun Sannuti, Alan Moore, Martha Podren, Ron Newman.

Updates:

City Wide Cleanup was fun, productive, and useful; Joel and Bryce did some canvassing along Alpine and Princeton Streets and found abuttors very positive; many asked to sign their names; 80% were at home; all but 2 were supportive; this was a mixed-age community.

Community Meeting at Brickbottom was also successful, about 25 people, some expressing concerns. These concerns were well addressed, and those people appeared to leave feeling much less concerned (they're not yet path supporters, but are much less worried).

Letters of support from businesses are slow coming. In an effort to get things moving again, several people committed on focus on just one (not two) letters per month.

The new brochure will go to press after Karen's comments are read and merged in. The text will appear also on the Web site.

Community Outreach:

Aldermen must be contacted, so they can respond to citizens' questions and issues. Turil will look into FoCP giving a presentation at a public meeting; others will contact their respective aldermen, and upon hearing from Turil we may, via email, organize a rapid effort to contact aldermen.

Press coverage will not be pro-actively sought, until at least it is clear that the MBTA won't feel surprised or blind-sided - likewise with abuttors.

Door-to-door canvassing. Bryce and John this week, Joel and Lynn as they arrange. Trying to cover the area between, say, Lowell and Sycamore, before the 5/14 community meeting at the VNA Assisted Living Facility.

Bike to work day events: we will sell / give away bells to cyclists, from a booth manned during commute hours. Bryce and Alan Moore are among the volunteers. We need volunteers for afternoon commute.

Groundworks will be our fiscal sponsor so we can accept funds as donations to a non-profit organization. GW will charge 5%.

For Artbeat, Greg Jenkins of the Art Council proposed FoCP assist materially with running a recycling operation, thereby earning funds. This would entail trucking multiple containers, setting them up, and collecting the refuse. The core group felt overworked, it was decided to recruit volunteers through the larger e-mail list.

Bryce made and mailed postal cards to all non-resident abutting owners, of which 150 are absentees, mostly living nearby but some, for instance, in Florida. Does not expect feedback but has invited any concerns or comments. This includes businesses.

Realtors were informed about the FoCP activity via postcard.

MBTA Outreach:

Bryce and Joel have been successful with the MBTA. They obtained a sketch drawn up by MBTA for the retaining-wall scheme for path placement, with cost estimates. They have learned from T Advisory Board that it is best to work top-down, approaching new manager Michael Mulhern rather than visiting the several department heads.

Jeff Levine reports that City's meeting with the T was also positive. City and FoCP are keeping "red bridge" off the discussion as it is a critical issue for the T. The way seems clear for a City, FoCP, and MBTA joint meeting!

Website: has been recently updated Email - we're moving to use friendspath@yahoogroups.com to broadcast mail. As of May 7 replying to such notes will send the reply ONLY to the sender, thus presumably eliminating a problem that was deterring people from using this method.

Upcoming Next meeting is Monday, June 3 at John Mann's house, 64 Hudson Street, almost directly behind the Armory on Highland Avenue. Bring pot-luck, the meeting will include a party celebrating a year of FoCP activity.

Redbones Bike Night takes place Monday, May 13. Turil, Joel, Ron, Korrinn, and Bryce intend to attend

May 14 has both the community meeting at the VNA Assisted Living Facility, and a program by the Somerville Community Health Agenda Team at the East Somerville Community School at 115 Pearl Street. John and Korrinn will attend the latter, Joel, Karen, and Turil the former.

Historic ride is Saturday, May 18 (19th rain date) and meets at 10:00 at City Hall. Ron is one of the leaders.

Adjourned about 9:15 pm.