The meeting was held at the Red Cedar School.

Signed in were: Mary and Darwin Dudley, Fred Kletke, Jim DeWitt, Joanne Russell, Kristi White, Jim Bebermeyer, Greg Bebermeyer, Linda and Chris Smith, Liz Schweitzer, Dave Dornan, Josh Smith, Esther Young, Joanna Stark, Jeff Friedle, Megan O'Brien, Kathy Boyle, Bill Hartwig, Nancy Dixon, Mark Pullano, Linda Dunn, Ellen and Ed Kirk, T.J. Swick, Anne Seuss, Kathy Jacobs, Marcie Schwartz, Chris Barton, Mark Grebner.

Also present were Howard Asch from the Dept. of Code Enforcement for the City of East Lansing and Mindy Emerson, principal of the Red Cedar School.

Program:
Joanne Russell, president of the RCCA Board, opened the meeting and welcomed everyone. She then asked Jeff Friedle, also a Board member, to introduce our guest, George Hosek, who is Executive Director, Michigan Stormwater-Floodplain Association. and has worked both with FEMA and the Dept. of Environmental Quality for the state.

He gave an overview of the history of the federal floodplain insurance program which was created in 1968. He gave definitions of a flood, shared maps of our flood area (including the great flood of 1975), explained what the insurance costs, what it covers, and that it is administered differently in each state. He kindly answered a series of specific questions on the topic.

Business meeting:
1. The minutes of the last annual meeting of May 4, 2007 were unanimously approved.
2. Reports included:
    Thanks to Brendan Boyle, the city submitted an application for a soundwall along 127 where it touches the Ivanhoe area. The city will have to pay a share of the cost if it is approved; given that there is no money in the current state budget for these improvements, it is not likely to receive funding.
    We requested money from the city CDBG program for more street lighting in the Flower Pot area. They will need to do a study first and will not be able to consider funding for this until at least 2009.
    The State Police post on Harrison is being vacated. Joane contacted both the MSU president and provost asking about their plans to install more university parking on the 44-acre site. We would prefer another campus building like the MSU police or the MSU Museum. Their response was that it will be parking. The board ash asked the university to keep the Marigold strip in the R-2 zone.
    There was a special use permit request from Oodles of Noodles in recent months for an entertainment license for their restaurant so that they could have private parties with dancing there. We supported the request with the stipulation that it would be used for private parties only.
    The owner of the Howard Johnsons property had requested a permit to install student apartments in the area behind the hotel building. We opposed that request. He is now asking the city to approve a 77-room Holiday Inn Express which we support. Low water pressure is a concern in the Ivanhoe/Trowbridge area. City pipes are smaller than elsewhere in the city. The city is expected to address this issue along S. Harrison and Trowbridge by increasing water capacity with new pipes in 2012. We will have a representative at the Planning Commission meeting tomorrow to address our concerns about the water but otherwise support the request for a Holiday Inn Express.
    We have had 5 board members attending a monthly meeting with city staff, Trowbridge property owners and business owners as well as MSU representatives to develop a plan for more development along Trowbridge road. Meetings have been spent surfacing a timeline, and goals that will take at least another year to develop a formal proposal for review. It is also hoped that a group of MSU urban planning students will be able to work with the city more formally on this next spring.  We thank Roger Hamlin for his MSU class's attention to this project this spring as well and for their wonderful reports presented a couple of weeks ago. Their real estate/investment emphasis was very helpful.
    Breslin traffic is no longer being diverted into our neighborhood. The Board has been working with the MSU police to develop an alternate route for car traffic after games.  The city is working on expanding the permit parking area in the flower pot area. We are working with the city to determine which additional streets will be covered west of Larkspur and then get the signatures needed.
    Kathy Jacobs has additional written history booklets of our area ($10; all proceeds are donated by Janet Ronk to the RCCA) and Joanna Stark has the DVD for sale ($15). The neighborhood reunion was a great success last fall.
    Our voting precinct has been moved to Spartan Village which makes it a challenge for many people to vote. Bill Hartwig has spoken to the University Lutheran Church which has agreed to allow their building to be used. We will work that out with the city staff but it likely will not be changed in time for this November.
    Community Relations Coalition (CRC) has had a couple great neighborhood events this year. Megan O'Brien, our CRC intern who lives in our neighborhood, gives an overview. Great job!
    Joanne presents proposed changes to the bylaws suggested by the board, mostly involved changes in term rotation of board members. The changes were distributed in writing; a motion was made to approve th changes and they were adopted unanimously.
    Eight names were proposed for the 8 terms on the board that are open; with no nominations form the floor, here was a motion to nominate these 8 names and the motion passed unanimously.
    Mindy Emerson, principal of the school, described the upcoming 60th anniversary of the school coming up this academic year. There will be a reunion for anyone and everyone on Thursday, Oct. 2 and an opportunity on Oct. 3 for former students to come back and share their memories with the school children. Postcards will go out eventually. Fundraising ideas include a new free-standing sign for the school; a new sound system; a peace pole.
    General concerns raised included dead trees near the school, lots of deer in our area. The board is thanked for their work on the parking issue.
    The annual meeting is adjourned.

Submitted by Liz Schweitzer