HISTORIC BREWERS HILL ASSOCIATION

REGULAR MEETING AGENDA

 

Date:    Tuesday, February 28th, 2023

Time:    6:00pm to 7:30pm

Place:    Mi Casa Su Cafe 1835 N DR Martin Luther King Jr Dr

 

1. Call to Order

   1. President opens and welcome members

   2. Introductions of new board members

 

1. Treasurer’s Report & Membership Update

   1. Review of association’s financial accounts and current membership

   2. Current Balance: $6,223.26

   3. Memberships in good standing: 44 Memberships (H/I) in Total

      1. 31 Household (H); 13 Individual (I); 75 Members in Total

      2. Reminder to renew membership for 2023!

   4. Donations: Amazon ended their AmazonSmile program on Feb 20th

1. Secretary’s Report

   1. All approved meeting minutes available at: historicbrewershill.com

1. Vice President’s Calendar of Events

   1. O’Brewers Hill Social: Friday, March 17th @ Dead Bird Brewing Company

      1. Live drawing, candy, decorations, apps provided by Deadbird. Drink, socialize, enjoy the festivities

   2. Easter Egg Hunt: Saturday, April 8th- details to follow!

   3. Annual Beautify Brewers Hill Neighborhood Cleanup: Saturday, May 6th- details to follow. Partnering with St. Marcus once again!

   4. Coming soon: Website calendar plugin

1. General Business

   1. Crime and Public Safety

Property Crimes:

• Recently there have been a number of car break-ins. Four or five individuals are driving up and down streets. While one person remains in the car, the others jump out and try door handles or smash windows. The driver allows them all to get away quickly if they are confronted. Generally, they are looking for guns. The police know who they are and have arrested them before, but it is hard to keep them off the streets. 

• There is a fix for Kias (models from 2016-19) that addresses the issue making them super easy to steal, but owners need to have it installed. Keep an eye on the news for when that rollout will begin. Current model Kias have addressed the problem.

  • The first Wednesday every month at 5:30, the police have a crime and safety meeting/report. 

  • Consider using Crimestoppers to report a crime if you are worried about staying anonymous.  

1. Short Term Rental Update 

   1. We held a small listening session with Halyard Park

   2. Our next joint community listening session will be in April, date TBD 

2. New Brewers Hill Merchandise available at Society6: society6.com/hbha

3. Poll on what topics matter to you for upcoming meetings

   1. We will share the results at an upcoming meeting!

1. Development Listening Session 

   1. Pattee Group & the 140 W. Garfield, former church location

When Pattee addressed the gathering, his general message was that he was excited about the property and he is very interested in using it to make our neighborhood better in some way. He wanted neighbors to feel free to speak up about what type of space they would like to see, or what types of businesses they would like to avoid. He shared some details about the space. Currently, the Church has a historic designation. It is missing stained glass, but there are plans to get plastic overlays created that will restore what it used to look like. (About $10,000) They will be re-roofing the entire building.  They’ve fixed the slate (that is falling apart). There is also a kitchen on the lower level – although it would likely need to be updated. Then, Pattee opened it up for audience participation and asked what people would like to see in the location.

Some ideas included:

• Food truck park (like Zócalo), 

• event space (like Anodyne coffee at 2nd and Bruce)– the church has a great acoustic space (seating for 60 under the internal balcony) 

• Ride sharing (any business needs a specific amount of parking)– but do we want to take the entire empty lot for a concrete parking lot or do we want to be more forward thinking? 

• A climbing space (similar to Adventure Rock) since the ceiling is roughly 60 feet tall

• A public market (similar to the one in the Third Ward)

• A multiuse space – parking and neighborhood events (like in the summer months)

• A small acoustic or comedy venu (Franks productions) 100-150 person venue – dinner, drinks, show. His email will be shared (we have not nearly enough comedy places)

• A Jazz place like the Jazz Estate 

• Something productive (similar to AVLI) – An audience member said that they don’t want to see a payday loan store, pawn shop, daycare, etc.

• The owner of interval coffee suggested possibly a lunch/dinner place. 

• Community art space 

1. Local Government

   1. Sara Geenen, candidate for Court of Appeals District 1 – Introduction

Because we are a non-profit, HBHA does not support any political candidates. Geenan asked to speak to our neighborhood, and we gave her a slot. Here is a summary of her message. Geenan is currently a lawyer that represents labor discrimination cases – She says she wants to fight for workers and fight against corporate interests putting their fingers on the scales of justice. She is running for the court of appeals  (There are 4 Court of Appeals districts in the state of Wisconsin. There are 16 judges total – 4 in this district.) Geenen is a self-described progressive candidate. 

1. Spring Election – Tuesday, April 4th

2. Notice of Public Hearing:

   1. Avli Inspired Greek: Tuesday March 7th at 11:15am

1. Adjournment

   1. Next Regularly Scheduled Meeting Date: Tuesday, June 20th at Sanger House Gardens