Dearborn
Federation of Neighborhood Associations
Meeting
Minutes for March 04, 2009
1.
Call to order:
Terry
Pulido: Called
the meeting to order at 7:34pm.
Members
in Attendance:
|
Ann
Basse
|
John
Cascardo
|
Jeffrey
Swantek
|
Jackie
Laskowski
|
Sylvia
Tillman
|
|
Dave
Tillman
|
Scott
Smith
|
Craig
Dahlke
|
Shelia
Brooks
|
Terry
Pulido
|
|
Marshall
Wehr
|
Jean
Joseph
|
Ned
Nikodem
|
Rick
Fletke
|
Myron
Lemecha
|
|
Mark
Lipischak
|
Jill
Card
|
David
Bierman
|
|
|
Guests:
|
Joan
Reed
|
Salvitore
Siedli
|
Salvitore
Perroni
|
|
Cpl.
Ibrahim Dabaja
|
Chief
Ronald Haddad
|
Chaleb
Khouryzat
|
2.
Approval of the February minutes.
Mark Lipischak motioned
to approve the minutes, Rick Fletke seconded. Minutes were approved.
3.
Treasurer’s Report:
Ned Nikodem
Presented the treasurer’s report:
Beginning balance
$879.43
Income
+
$40.00
(Dues)
Balance as of 03/04/2008
$919.43
4.
Guest Speaker:
Chief of Police Ronald Haddad was introduced to the group. Chief
Haddad stated that officer safety, respect and
courtesy to residents will be a top priority in the
culture of his administration.
Methods and ideas are being explored to improve
customer relations and the overall perception of the
Dearborn Police. With this in mind, the Chief is
reaching out to neighborhood associations and
attending their meeting when his schedule permits.
Chief Haddad
informed the DFNA that crimes of opportunity are on
the rise in the city. Break-in of vehicles and garages
top the list. Any easy target is attractive to a
criminal, and we were cautioned to make sure that
valuables were placed out of sight in parked cars and
garages remain locked and lighted if possible. Areas
with spikes of these types of crime are being tracked
and aggressively patrolled to detour further criminal
activity. To
bolster the presence and foster cooperation the police
will be “dropping in” on merchants and businesses
to meet the employees and help keep an eye on the
shops and community. These efforts will help with
community contacts, crime education / prevention and
visibility of our police force.
Dearborn has one of the best response times of
any police force in the country.
The Chief attributed this fact to the way the
city is divided in to beats, each of which has
dedicated patrol cars and a strong police presence.
Several neighborhood representatives
congratulated the chief on his new position and
complemented our police officers for their
professionalism, dedication and friendly attitudes.
Cpl. Ibrahim Dabaja
was also introduced. Cpl.
Dabaja is the Administrative Security Officer
assigned to the office of the Mayor.
Welcome
Gentlemen!
5.
New Business: Joan Reed of the Dearborn
Chamber of Commerce
Spoke to the DFNA about the second season for the
Dearborn Farmer’s & Artisan Market. The
Farmer’s & Artisan Market will start its new
season on Friday June 5th.
In a new location. Look for the Market to be
set up around the Bryant Library, 22100 Michigan
Avenue. Market
hours will be 8:00 AM – 1:00 PM Fridays June 5th.
to October 30th.
Ms. Reed informed the group that in order for a vendor to sell at
the Farmer’s & Artisan Market they must:
·
Produce / grow at least 80% of what they
sell.
·
Use proper hygiene and apply to health
code standards if they provide samples of a food
product.
·
Prepared foods must be made in a State
certified kitchen.
·
Vendors must be licensed and the license
displayed.
·
Regional growers are featured.
Ms.
Reed asked for feedback on the market and
suggestions that would enhance the Dearborn Farmer’s
& Artisan Market. Items suggested included:
·
Better signage to advertize the market.
·
A permanent shed to act as an anchor of
the market.
·
Extending or staggering the hours to
allow working people a chance to experience the
market.
Joan informed us that the vendors were positive about Dearborn and
were eager to participate. Fridays were selected based
on vendor availability; they have previous commitments
with more established outdoor markets.
The
goal of the Dearborn Farmer’s & Artisan Market
is to Bring shoppers in to the downtown and stimulate
business in the area, as well as the market vendors,
and promote awareness by the residents of what our
downtown business district has to offer. More
information on the Dearborn Farmer’s & Artisan
Market may be found at:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=53952006428
Or
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=37787452021
6.
New
Business: Rick Fletke
and the Dearborn Board of Realtors asked if there were
any additional neighborhood specific information
available to new residents; a sort of “follow up packet” of information that may pick up where
the Welcome Home Dearborn campaign left off.
Information such as Neighborhood resources,
shops, parks / recreation and any other information
that is unique to the area.
City
maps of our respective neighborhoods need to be sent
out to the associations and checked for accuracy of
their boundaries.
Chaleb Khouryzat asked if the Federation of Neighborhoods could
offer any assistance in lowering his property tax due
to the declining economic climate and subsequent loss
of property value.
It was suggested that this is a matter better
left up to the tax assessor’s office. In addition,
ideas were floated that this may also be a good topic
for the local paper and city to highlight.
Myron Lemecha Spoke of the Dearborn Symphony concerts and informed
us that Dearborn Symphony was chosen #1 Symphony by
their peers, a musician’s symphony. To help
introduce and highlight the talents of the Symphony,
Myron offered tickets to the “Pops” concert held
03/06/2009. The
concert lived up to Myron’s description and more! A big Thank You to Myron!
Terry Pulido suggested
having a Dinner meeting at Henry Ford Community
College’s Fifty-one O One restaurant. The meeting
would be held in a banquet room at the college. There
would be a charge for dinner. Time frame was left
open, but October was suggested.
7.
Adjournment:
With
there being no further business Rick
Fletke motioned for adjournment, Mark
Lipischak seconded.
Meeting was adjourned at 9:25 PM.
8.
Associations in attendance:
|
Aviation
|
City
of Dearborn
|
Dearborn
Hills
|
|
Dearborn
Park
|
Ford
Homes
|
Golfcrest
|
|
Golfview
|
Hemlock
Park
|
Highland
|
|
Mayor’s
Office
|
Oakman
Grove
|
Riverbend
|
|
Snow
Woods
|
West
Lane
|
Woodworth
|
|
Howard
Park
|
|
|
The next meeting will be held in the Mayor's
conference room 04/01/2009 @ 7:30 pm. These minutes
have been compiled and submitted by Dave Tillman,
Secretary DFNA.
http://www.dfna.org