SKYVIEW NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION MEETING
TUESDAY, MAY 8, 2001 (7:30PM)
SKYVIEW BAPTIST CHURCH, 211 W. KOENIG
Fellowship Hall

In attendance: Andrew Davis, Carol Olewin, Fred Daughtry, Eric Vormelker, Stephanie Rogers, Lisa Schneider, Karen Cleary, Michael Kersey, Bruce Logan, Samantha Staples; Guest Speaker: Dave Westenbarger

I. Announcements -- Lisa Schneider

Much thanks was expressed to the following people for all their efforts and generosity:
Fred Daughtry & Skyview Baptist Church -- meeting space/newsletter printing
Rene Tello, Chris Fowler, Rindy Fox, Colin Garvey, Fred Daughtry, Wendy Domjan, Sam Staples, Bruce Logan-newsletter delivery

National Night Out: We agreed that we should celebrate this event (August 7th) in conjunction with Skyview NA's ONE YEAR anniversary. Everyone made a commitment to present ideas at the June meeting where we will begin to plan the event.

Neighborhood Conference: Stephanie Rogers said she might be able to attend part of this as a Skyview NA representative. We all agreed to talk with other residents who might be interested in attending as well.

Police Monitor: The City of Austin is soliciting applicants for a Police Monitor Position and nominations for membership to a new Citizen's Review Board. Both Carol and Stephanie expressed interest in this.

Neighborhood Parks Grant: The Austin Parks Foundation offers grants to improve neighborhood parks. We discussed this information for future consideration. The grants offered range from $300-$2500 and are available for park beautification projects, new and enhanced programs, and special community events that bring neighborhood parks to life.

Hope Food Pantry: We received information about the Trinity United Methodist Church's Hope Food Pantry (600 E. 50th). They asked us to pass information about their services on to anyone in our neighborhood who might benefit from them. They are also in need of volunteers and donations. Call 420-0710 for information. Some items needed are: Quart jars, toilet paper, diapers, baby food, baby formula, Randall's coupons. They are open on Wednesday and Thursday from 10-noon.

II. Upper Boggy Creek Bikeway Presentation -- Dave Westenbarger

We began the meeting by reading into the record the email opinions of two members who could not attend the meeting. Karen Weintraub of Duval emailed in to register her opposition to a hike and bike trail along the railroad tracks behind her house. Rene Tello phoned in his support of the proposed project.

Dave again answered questions on the Upper Boggy Creek Bikeway. He acknowledged Ms. Weintraub's concerns. He has been in talks with Hoover's (the new tenants of the Butter Krust Bakery building), who are very enthusiastic about the project. Dave suggested running the bikeway along Airport under Koenig/290 and rejoining the tracks north of Hoover's as a possible solution to both crossing Koenig and the concerns of Duval residents. He also brought a map with several other possible alternatives which could address these two concerns.

He provided informational fliers for us and answered a number of questions. He described further elements about the funding/planning/design process and indicated that there will be many more opportunities for a lot of public input as it progresses. If it passes this first funding hurdle, the project will still take several years to develop and complete.

Everyone there agreed in principle to the concept of this project and we passed the resolution as written with the following ammendment at the end: "And that concerns of residents along Duval are adequately addressed." A letter will now be drafted and sent to TXDot and the City Council saying that the Skyview NA supports the concept of the Upper Boggy Creek Bikeway.

III. Koenig Lane recap -- Eric Vormelker

Eric gave a quick recap on the Koenig Lane situation. According to an Austin American-Statesman article after the last CAMPO meeting, City Councilmember Daryll Slusher plans to bring the Koenig Lane funding back for a re-vote at the next CAMPO meeting on June 11. If you are interested in speaking at that meeting, it will be held in the Thompson Conference Center on the UT Campus starting at 6:00 p.m.

IV. Childcare -- Sam Staples asked if there was any facility at the church where parents could bring their children if they wanted to attend meetings. Fred said there was, so Sam recommended that for future meetings, we announce this availability to help parents attend.

IV. Garden Tour -- Sam Staples is working on planning a garden tour for the neighborhood for later in May.

Mark your calendars for the next meetings of the Skyview Neighborhood Association which are scheduled for:
June 12, 2001
July 10, 2001
August 14, 2001