The meeting was called to order at 7:03PM. There were 39 participants in attendance. Location was at Natty Boh Tower.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
The next dumpster day will be November 19. A reminder will be emailed to members the day before and a Facebook post will be shared once the dumpster arrives. The dumpster has been arriving promptly at 8AM (sometimes earlier) for the last two years. On dumpster day, just ahead around at 8:30 and it will be there. Please ensure anything placed in the dumpster is fully inside and not sticking out to prevent injuries. Any glass should be laid up against the side.
Saturday, September 17 will be the Brewers Hill Movie Night presented by Powerfest. Location will be at the lot at Dillon and Fagley Streets. The movie will be The Sandlot. Event is free.
The Brewers Hill Pumpkin Patch will return on Saturday, October 1. About 100 small (not mini) pumpkins will be available for kids to take home. Location at the lot at Dillon and Fagley Streets. Event is free. More details will follow.
The Porch & Patio event is scheduled for Saturday, October 22. Tickets will be $30 in advance and $35 the day of. More details will follow.
The third annual Brewers Hill Kid and Pet Halloween Costume Parade will be Saturday, October 29. Event is free. More details will follow.
Dypski Park reopened on the 1200 block of Ellwood just south of Elliot Street
The topic of converting Foster and Fait into one-way streets was mentioned. This would be an extension of the one-way streets current on Foster and Fait to cross Conkling and extend to Haven. Joe advised if anyone had feedback on that idea to stay something now or see him or Phil after the meeting. The board is working on sending out a communication to solicit feedback to determine how to proceed. If it is determined to request one-way streets, DOT will have a 5 month period for public comment before finally implementing.
The next and final meeting of the year will be November 8, 2022 as which time voting will take place for the open board positions starting January 1, 2023. The open positions are President, Treasurer, and 3 At-Large Members. This date is also the general election date so be sure to vote early or vote before the meeting.
NOMINATION OF BOARD MEMBERS
Nominations were heard for the open positions of President, Treasurer, and At-Large members. There were 7 nominations submitted online. One person was nominated by another resident, and those nominations were accepted. Submitted nominations were read out starting with At-Large Members, then for Treasurer, and finally for President. After each list of names, it was asked if there were any other nominations. No one nominated from the floor.
The following nominated themselves prior to the meeting
Treasurer
Andy Flacks, former At-Large board member in 2021
At-Large Members
Alison Magagnosc, submitted nomination for Secretary in 2021
Melissa Vincent
Magadline Tuma
Donna Beitler
Danielle Woods-Lewis
The following nomination was made online by other residents and was seconded at the meeting
President
Brant Fisher, inaugural President from 2017-2020, immediate past president in 2021
The current president, Joe DiSeta, shared that the bylaws indicate that he would stay on the board as the immediate past president in an At-Large Member position for one year. He shared that he has chosen to step down from that role and not be on the board in an official capacity. Since there were 5 nominations for At-Large Members with 4 new people, he wanted to give the opportunity for people who wanted to be involved to actually be involved not not take away a position.
Voting will occur in November where each nominated person must be in attendance.
GUEST SPEAKERS
Ashley Franz from Even Keel Wellness Spa Ashley introduced herself and was happy to be part of the community. Even Keel is a wellness and beauty spa that offers massage therapy, facials, body contouring, waxing, and spray tans. Everything is individually geared toward clients and the focus is to help you feel better. Depending on your insurance, they can sometimes accept HSA and FSA.
On October 16, they will host an event for community members who are on their cancer journey. Even Keel will offer free services - a 45 minute massage and facials, lash extension, and spray tans.
They also offer roof top yoga on top of Natty Boh Tower. The next rooftop yoga is September 24 at 10AM. Sign-up link is on Instagram.
Even Keel offers group events such as group massages, facials, etc. It's a great way to promote self-care for employees.
Ashely would love our help spreading the word to the community that they are now in the neighborhood. Go check them out!
The entrance to Even Keep in on O'Donnell Street. The easiest way to enter is by using the steps in the parking lot off of Dillon Street.
Contact info: https://evenkeelspa.com/
Kinshasa Vargas Pile, Community Engagement Librarian fom Enoch Pratt Library Kinshasa introduced herself and provided a lot of community related items going on at Pratt Library. She also wants to ensure that interactions at all locations are warm and welcoming. The library has no many services that is offered to the community such as social work and wellness services. Pratt is in the planning stages for a community pantry at the SE branch in the cafe space. If you know of any food rescue partners or would like to volunteer in the future, please contact Kinshasa.
She mentioned that the central location partnered with the Franklin Street garage for free parking.
Pratt has a bi-monthly magazine, The Compass. This month it shows all the savings you can find for e-books, books, movies, music, databases. You can review the September/October edition to stay up-to-date on everything happening at Pratt Library.
Contact info: kvpile@prattlibrary.org
Baltimore City Department of Public Works Darron Waller provided updates on the water main replacement project in Brewers Hill. March 2023 is the scheduled completion date although they are trying to work to have an earlier end date. 70% of phase 1 is complete. Phase 1 included the following streets: Foster, Fait, Grundy, Fagley, Eaton, and Haven. Phase 2 includes Fleet and Dean. Once the project is complete, complete re-pavements will be done from curb to curb. It was asked if striping would also be included and it was confirmed that the street will
return to prior condition to include road striping, stop bars, ramps, and curb cuts. At present, this does not include paint of crosswalks but BHN will follow-up about this. Work will continue through the winter and exterior bypass lines will remain. As water is pooling in storm drains, DPW will makes sure the contractor cleans out collected debris moving forward
Contact info: Darron Waller, 410.215.2815, Darron.Waller@baltimorecity.gov
Major Anthony Smith & Officer Anthony Lieverge, SE BPD
Major Smith joined the Brewers Hill Neighbors meeting for the first time since becoming the SE major in late 2021. He reviewed some crime stats for the neighborhood and surrounding area. There has been an increase in property crimes, larceny, and shoplifting. No homicides or shootings occurred in the area. There was a reduction in larceny from autos in Brewers Hill, and the major stressed about not leaving anything in cars as this create a great crime of opportunity. He did mention that catalytic convert theft is on the rise because it is a very quick theft, usually within 30 seconds. He encouraged everyone to get some sort of camera as these are very helpful with police investigations. Since the city watch cameras are not at every intersection, and present in neighborhoods, cameras at residences can help when a crime or other police involved activity occurs. The Major provided the SE district's email, which is an email group. Any concerns or tips can be emailed there and that will be delivered to the Major, other command staff, and NCOs. The Commander's Monthly Crime & Community meeting is helped on the 4th Wednesday of the month. It is a hybrid meeting on zoom and in person in the roll call room. You can get the zoom info on the SE BPD web page.
Contact info: SoutheasternDistrict@BaltimorePolice.org
CLOSING REMARKS
The board is discussing how meetings will be handled going forward. The virtual meetings have been helpful and easy and seems to draw a good number of participants. However, the in person meetings that were held this year were fun and had a good response. The thought is to do a combination of in-person and virtual meeting throughout the year. Possibly at least two in-person meetings (maybe more) and the rest would be virtual. This is something that the board will need to determine going into the new year, however, the January meeting likely would be virtual.
MEMBERSHIP UPDATE
The following membership stats were shared:
28 new signups this year with 7 over the summer including 3 in September.
72 members renewed in 2022
Total member count is 101, a 5% increase from last year
Joe shared some of the results from the engagement survey from the summer of 2021. One of the questions was "Do you pay your dues?" If not, indicate why. The top answer was that they did not know there was dues, which translated to they did not know there was a neighborhood association. Please share with neighbors who may not be members, or may not know BHN exists, or to new neighbors moving in. The more members we have, the more engaging the community will be. Residents can check our the website for information and events www.brewershillneighbors.org and they can sign-up from the Membership page at the top!
ADJOURNMENT
Meeting was adjourned. Thanks and appreciation was again given to David and Rick for hosting our meeting up on the rooftop and grilling burgers and sausages for all to enjoy!
The next and final meeting of 2022 will be November 8, 2022 at which times voting will take place for President, Treasurer, and At Large Members for the next term starting January 1, 2023. This date is also general election day, so make sure to vote early or vote before the meeting!
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