Dickens of a Dinner—Ann Carson gave the board a rundown of the very successful Dickens of a Dinner that took place last month. The event made $1,788. Plaques given to hosts of houses on the Dickens route cost around $700, bringing net profit down to $1,000. Attendees totaled 66 people. Board member Joe Boyd brought eight women! Manny and Paul on the 300 block of Walter won the lighting contest and received the $50 gift card. Dave and Audra won 2^nd prize. Third prize featured horses inside a wagon at a house on Walter NE. We congratulated Ann for the 200+ hours she spends every year to recruit houses, volunteers, and stores, as well as managing behind-the-scenes tasks too numerous to list. Salley Trefethen added that the event is much more about community building than the money.

Project Innovate—Bonnie has been following the progress of the slow-but-steady UNM/private/public purchase of the downtown Baptist Church site that when built will provide an “incubator” environment for enterprising people wishing to investigate

Subway update—Subway’s appeal now goes to City Land Use (LULO), which will be based on Subway’s contention that the Hearing Officer’s decision was arbitrary.

Non-irrigated xeric plants in bulb-outs on Lead and Coal—No trees were planted in these six areas due to lack of underground irrigation. In the interests of keeping them alive through our hot and dry months, Bonnie Anderson, Lee Spittler and other

Block party/annual meeting—Feedback re the block party was positive. Newcomers to the neighborhood Amy and Larry said they were able to meet many people. Joni commented that the non-amped music was better suited to conversation and meeting people. Everyone agreed. The block party was a money maker: Moisés donated $40 in tips and donations from the keg; the raffle earned the chickens $170; and fees from first-time and renewing members garnered $92. Expenses were in the $200 range. Paid members voted for candidates for board for a two-year term.

New board member—Board member Jesse Arneson and family

Block party—Since the block party doubles as the annual meeting, the board planned a newsletter to be distributed the required 30 days before an annual meeting. The newsletter will include the slate of candidates and annual report. Zoey Fink, who is heading up the party, will write an article announcing it. Joni will ask Greg and David C. about distribution.

Tree project—The board voted its $5

Tree Project—Since several residents of the neighborhood attended the meeting, Elaine McGivern began with a summary of the tree project grant from its beginnings on July 1, 2012, to the present. The terms of the project have gone through many evolutions, the latest being the granting of a much-needed extension from June 30 to December 31. The extension was granted by Bernadette Miera, Cultural Services Manager/Neighborhood Coordination, with whom Elaine has been working closely. Additionally, a revised plan to plant the trees on Elm and High was again revised to provide the trees to neighbors willing to take on care and maintenance.

Mother’s Day Home Tour—Bonnie reviewed tour assignments.

Newsletter—Joni Neutra reiterated her desire that the Newsletter go “green” by going exclusively to a web-based version to eliminate the need for use of paper. The board generally felt that the newsletter published biannually was infrequent enough to maintain the print version.

Newsletter—Because people need advance notice of the Mother’s Day tour in the Huning Highlands neighborhood, the board discussed timing of the newsletter and agreed on other articles to be written.

Updates

Tree project—Elaine summarized the grant and progress thus far for the benefit of several neighbors who came to the meeting. One change to the original plan is that neighbors will volunteer to plant and maintain the trees in front of their homes.

Easter Egg hunt—The annual event was a big success with 48 kids. Bonnie and Kathy went over to clean the park prior to the hunt only to find it spic and span, thanks to David Chamberlain whose

Easter Egg Hunt—The annual hunt will be March 30 at Highland Park. Zoey Fink will deliver flyers door-to-door on the north side of Central. David Chamberlain will do the same on the south side. Bonnie Anderson and Kathy Grassel will clean the park. Lee Spittler and Steve Grant will hide eggs and keep order.

Fire Station—Our position has been to wait and see. We discussed being more proactive by encouraging creative development through an RFP. The RFP would be presented to the Metropolitan Redevelopment Agency to let to garner creative ideas. Bonnie said

Minutes—The November minutes were read and approved.

Dickens of a Dinner—We shared highlights of the Dickens of a Dinner fundraiser that was held on Saturday, Dec. 1.  While attendance was down slightly from previous years, the event was very successful.

Expenses—The Board approved two miscellaneous expenses: $60 for a live animal trap (for a neighborhood raccoon) and $85

No quorum—The meeting lacked a quorum. The October minutes were read, but approval is postponed pending a quorum.

Attending—Many neighborhood residents attended. Benjamin, Sharon, Sam Kochansky, Alyssa Kessler, Paul Padilla, Angela, and Allie Moore introduced themselves and their interests in the neighborhood. Bonnie welcomed them and explained the workings of the association and the board.

Lead/Coal Project—We discussed the progress of the Lead/Coal project. Bonnie reported that improvements are actually going to

Minutes from the August meeting were approved. September’s meeting lacked a quorum; minutes were read but there was no need to approve.

Dickens of a Dinner—Ann Carson appealed for volunteers to fill one of the many possible jobs to make the upcoming 23^rd annual Dickens of a Dinner the huge success that the Huning Highlands neighborhood has come to expect. The event is to be held

The meeting lacked a quorum; therefore approval of the Minutes from the August meeting was deferred to the October meeting.

Three new members attended the meeting: Zoey who lives at 708 Central SE, Gordon at 216 Edith SE, and David at Silver and Edith SE.

Bonnie Anderson proposed dropping

Minutes from the July meeting were approved.

Historic buildings—Artist Judy Chicago and spouse photographer Donald Woodman, accompanied by architect Chuck McGuire and their contractor Gregg Flynn, attended the meeting to present their plans for an extensive rehab and remodel of their future residence on Arno SE. Chicago and Woodman moved from the East to New Mexico and have lived in Belen since 1972, having renovated an early 20^th century Victorian hotel to serve as their primary residence. They are in the process of getting necessary permits for the Arno house and will be going before Landmarks seeking approval for an addition and setbacks. They showed the board historic photos from 1918 along with