Willow Wood Neighborhood Association
Meeting Minutes
July 10, 2019

Board Members Present: Monica Schribner, Julianne Furey, Sandy Leslie, Kate Grafel
Guests Present: Sue Lund

Approval of Minutes
The minutes of the June 5, 2019, board meeting were approved as distributed.

Treasurer Report
The account balance is $1,836.71. $835 is committed to the Mr. & Mrs. Claus event, $200 to National Night Out, and $100 to reimburse expenses from the July 4 Kiddie Parade.

OLD BUSINESS

Parks & Commons Maintenance: 
Bill from the Omaha Parks Department has been unresponsive to e-mails requesting removal of dead branches, etc. The trash can in East Park was vandalized in June and has not yet been replaced by the city.

Willow Wood Website & E-mail:
No progress has been made. Further discussion is needed regarding which technology solution(s) are best for sharing information with the public. Kate is monitoring e-mail, responding as able and referring items to other board members as needed.

Grant Applications Status:
The Peter Kiewit grant ($835) will be used for the Mr. & Mrs. Claus event. The National Night Out grant ($200) will be used for that event. Funds from both grants have been deposited in the checking account. No action is needed right now, but this item will remain on the agenda until post-event reports have been submitted.

Garage Sale Weekend Review:
The event turned out great. Participation by sellers may have been a bit low, but attendance was very good. The Google map was very useful.

July 4 Kiddie Parade Review:
Attendance was lower than in past years, which may be due to July 4 having fallen on Thursday and many people being out of town. Julianne will contact organizer Becky Scherbring for feedback.

Also regarding the 4th of July, Sandy suggested buying 3-4 signs to post near tennis courts stating fireworks are prohibited on the tennis courts and in the parks. Moving forward with this would depend on cost. This item will be added to next month’s agenda for further discussion.

Speed Limit Monitoring (OPD) – Keep Kids Alive/Drive 25
This item was tabled.

NEW BUSINESS

Did You Know
Topics discussed and scheduled to be posted on NextDoor, either as Did You Know or as separate items:

• Age of neighborhood (Julianne will research)
• 4th of July review – thank residents for following fireworks regulations, reminder about no fireworks in the parks
• Thank Becky for her work on July 4 Kiddie Parade
• Encourage residents to attend monthly board meetings
• Volunteers needed for National Night Out 
• Grill needed for National Night Out
• Promote National Night Out

National Night Out
Status of arrangements for the event:

• Tables & chairs – These have been reserved with a rental company.
• Ice cream truck – Ben is arranging this; Kate will ask Ben to print ice cream coupons.
• Food – Eric Geiger has submitted a donation request to Costco; status is unknown. Monica and Sandy will request donations from HyVee. We need hot dogs, buns, chips, ketchup, mustard, a variety of chips, bottled water, paper plates, and napkins. If donations are unavailable, this will be funded out of the association’s account.
• Grill to cook hot dogs – No arrangements have been made.
• Volunteers – More volunteers are needed.
• Trash – Monica will bring trash cans and liners. Kate will bring recycling bins.
• Event promotion – Julianne will handle this.

Julianne will post to NextDoor requesting use of a grill, recruiting volunteers, and promoting the event.

OCF Grant Opportunities (Fund for Omaha)
Julianne has researched this, and most of the grants do not apply to us. The grant that might be applicable has a minimum amount of $2,500, and this size of project is not feasible to plan before the Aug. 1 deadline. We will reconsider applying to this program next year. Potential projects include a gazebo in the park, a locked sign board, and one or more Little Free Libraries.

Landscaping
Sandy requested funding for mulch in the island at the 123rd Street entrance. We would need about 4 cubic yards, which would cost about $160. Free delivery is available at this quantity. Volunteers would be needed to assist Sandy in the work. There was also discussion about other landscaping costs that are currently covered by individual residents. Any decision about funding was tabled.

NEXT MEETING
Wednesday, August 7, 6 p.m. – Linden Place HyVee Restaurant