November 9, 2023 Board Meeting

In our recent board meeting, we were delighted to welcome Sonja from Poor Richard’s and engage in discussions ranging from Historic Uptown updates to Treasurer and Communications reports. Explore the key highlights and stay informed about our neighborhood’s progress. Please note, that there will be no meeting in December; we’ll resume our discussions in January 2024.

1. November 9, 2023 Board Meeting
   1. Welcome Sonja from Poor Richard’s
   2. Historic Uptown Updates
   3. Treasurer Updates
   4. Communications Updates
   5. Historic Preservation

Welcome Sonja from Poor Richard’s

Board Members: Cheryl & Christy

Sonja from Poor Richards attended the meeting. She lives and works in the Uptown neighborhood. We gave introductions and I told her a little about our Neighborhood. She organizes Poor Richard’s Rubbish Roundup which occurs every Tuesday from 3:00 – 5:00. She said they need donations of thick contractor trash bags and gloves. We are going to contact her for more details.

Historic Uptown Updates

Board Members: Cheryl

• Abbreviation – We all agreed the abbreviation for Historic Uptown is ‘Uptown’. Acronyms were too short and didn’t describe the name completely enough (HU, HUN, HUA).

• Logo – finalized and no date will be added to reduce confusion.
• Traffic Safety Study – the next meeting with the City is Dec 14th at @3:00. Tam raised a concern about reducing parking on corners. This would be done on a case-by-case basis and is meant to increase safety only at intersections identified as dangerous by studies. It is not meant to be applied indiscriminately.
• Neighborhood Nameplates – to create a design, the board would need to know what size, color, font, and shape are allowed for the nameplates. Also, if a logo is allowed. Dianne will send a message to the City of Colorado Springs for more specifics. Mariah mentioned there may be funding for Weber/Wahsatch historic district signs. Contact Jarrell at JJarrell@ppld.org. Cheryl will contact him.
• Neighborhood Monuments – Due to the high cost ($3K-6K), we need to explore funding before discussing a design. Cheryl will discuss this with CONO.

Treasurer Updates

Board Members: Jeff

• Bank Account – Opened a bank account with the Bank of Colorado. Cheryl and Jeff as signers on the account.

• Status of the name change to the IRS – in progress, the application is pending with the IRS
• Status of the 501(c)(3) application – will start the application once the name change is approved.

Communications Updates

Board Members: Mariah

• Statistics – 186 new visitors to our website in the past 30 days (203 total)

• Raise Awareness – We need to get the word out! Mariah recommends:
  • Postcards – placing postcards in the door cracks. Jeff and Cheryl would be happy to fund the postcards. The postcards would contain our website, and Facebook QR codes to bring awareness.
• Ways to Participate – Bring in neighborhood participation by:
  • Have a class on Historic House Research. Mariah said many ONEN homes have a history of their home in a notebook that realtors show to potential buyers.
  • Engage in neighborhood sign design.
  • Neighborhood events (Underline is interested in supporting events)
  • Participate in CONO’s Neighbor Up event in May. Possible places to hold the event, are Boulder Crescent Park, NextUp, Cheyenne Diagonal, Grace Episcopal, or close off a side street block in the neighborhood.
  • Participate in the Saint Patrick’s Day Parade (2/20/24 deadline) Any volunteers to coordinate this? Too late to register for the Festival of Lights Parade.

Historic Preservation

Board Members: Cheryl

• Cheryl is working on documenting the process for Historic Preservation Overlays.
• Monica mentioned Judy got a grant for working on Mesa Road’s historic designation. Cheryl will send a message to Judy asking for details on the grant.