News – MONA

MONA Board MEETING 11/12/25

Board members- Present: Dan Slaugher (379 UT), Esther Marks (125 UT), Carol Glanville (290 UT), Joyce Polhamus (107 UT), Matt Hicks (1581 Masonic), Susan Takaki (263 UT). Absent: Mimsy Goodman (50 Piedmont), Katie Wilcox (74 PIedmont).

Memberships & Accounts

Cash reserves: ~$6000

Paid expenses since last report: $200 plaque design, $56 block party fee

Events

Holiday decorating – $1500 budget (to replace some wreaths destroyed last year by wind) Includes new caroling books, used to have to use 2 books, now only 1 book with all the songs

Holiday Caroling & Party, December 7 – 5-6 (caroling) 6-8 (party)

— Because thanksgiving is so late, there are only 2 weekends to have holiday parties

— Susan to get Jumbo prawns and case of white wine & juice

— Cookie & Sock contest- not happening this year, but wear festive socks and bring cookies

— Keep the route the same

— Katie will be in charge if Dan cannot attend

— Joe and Susan to help Esther bring food over

— 5 pizzas double cut- Joyce

— Matt will get wine cups

General Membership Meeting, February TBD
- New police chief
- RPD-Coyotes, DBI
- Discussion of family zoning plan?
- Need to have meeting in February to announce April congressional candidate forum

Board Meetings – January, March?

Volunteer work days April 4, July, October

Mt Olympus Park Block Party in May
- Not happening if Forum is confirmed

Supervisor forum in August or September?

All SF Symphony

Piedmont Block Party October __

Possible Halloween 2026 decorating contest?
- With congressional and district 8 forums not a good idea

Recruitment of new board member(s)

Projects

Sidewalk opposite park renovation – Carla Short (DPW) looking into possible redesign
- Dan will follow up

Lights in Mt Olympus Park – RPD looking into costs, PUC/PG&E cost to transfer electric, stabilizing walls, etc.

Plaque in Mt Olympus Park – design revised (to make it cast-able in metal), waiting for estimate of cost
- Sent off design to plaque makers, but it might be too detailed to be cast. Simplified drawing submitted waiting to see if it can be made.
- In lieu of work day, have a party for the plaque?

Renewal of Ashbury Ter pillars – Katie, new quotes?

Other parts of neighborhood (Roosevelt/17th, Delmar, Masonic)

Commitment to 2 forums:

Host primary in April for congressional – will need auditorium and redwood room at Randall Museum

Has to be non-partisan, no party affiliation, but will have 2 democrats running

Separate forum for the D8 supervisor general election – in Fall

Too long to do together

Money & TIme
- Will have to charge more. 5 neighborhood groups gave $100. Buena Vista, Corbett, Duboce, Glen park, Upper noe valley
- Live streaming was a huge part of the budget. 636 views. Should livestream in the overflow room. $1200 cost + $90 microphone rental.
- Ask for money before they become sponsors. Need to find ideal amount to charge that neighborhood groups would be willing to pay
- Last time, initial ask was to promote and offer to help in exchange for neighborhood group name on sponsorship.
- Need budget for the forum. Last time $1290 but didn’t have to pay for rental (waived $300). Looking at $1600 per forum. Neighborhood organizations with printed newsletters: Duboce, Eureka Valley are key
- Sponsorship levels? – Might be too complicated
- $200 sounds reasonable

Security- is this needed? Congressional race will receive national attention. There is concern about one of the candidates getting negative attention.

Reporters

Find media partner to take care of video and live stream (ABC 7?)
- Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez was great host, maybe The Standard to be the media partner
- Would it dissuade other organizations from being a part of the forum?

MONA should offer to host District 8 meeting on a Thursday evening: January or February

Meet with Page & Rakesh (BVNA)

Before gathering have a plan that we can announce at District 8 meeting

MONA Board MEETING 8/6/25

Board members present:Dan Slaughter (379 UT), Esther Marks (125 UT), Miriam Goodman (50 Piedmont), Joyce Polhamus (107 UT), Matt Hicks (1581 Masonic), Susan Takaki (263 UT)
Memberships & Accounts- 57 members on auto pay. 1 reminder usually sent in July for renewal emails. $5642 in checking account
Events
1. Symphony All SF Concert, Sept 11- In the past, had to be a member to buy tickets, but not enforced currently. Discussion.
2. October Work Day in the Park, Oct 4 – 10 am-12pm.
  1. July workday people showed up towards the end.
3. Piedmont Block Party, October 19 – 2:30-5 pm.
  1. Can use Mimsy’s house/driveway to store things.
  2. Need: tables, food, beverages. Katie, Susan, Joyce to coordinate supplies
  3. Reach out to Samantha to see if we can use her garage in case of inclement weather
4. Holiday Caroling & Party, December 7 – 5-6 (caroling) 6-8 (party)
  1. Current caroling route doesn’t cover 17th street or Roosevelt. Could add Loma Vista to the route.
  2. Confirmed at Joyce & Stuart’s house. Will iron out details at next meeting
5. General Membership Meeting, February.
  1. Think about who we want to to invite to speak at the general meeting
6. Consider Supervisor candidate forum in early September 2026
7. Board Meetings – November, January?
Rezoning Plan

City to make 80,000 units to comply with state law. Height increases not in our neighborhood
Revised rezoning plan- rezones for density to allow 4 units in all types of zones. Should not take a position without a general membership meeting
Alert people to rezoning plan. Send plan + maps and city contact info to all members without taking a position.
Should we make it clear what impact this rezoning will have on our neighborhood? Explaining becomes difficult. Maps are clear.
Projects
1. Sidewalk opposite park renovation – Carla Short looking into possible redesign
  1. No update. Dan to follow up
2. Lights in Mt Olympus Park – RPD looking into costs, PUC/PG&E cost to transfer electric
  1. Rec and park supervisor- needs all the power to be transferred to park by PGE before moving forward with the project
3. Plaque in Mt Olympus Park – design approved, cost $200, waiting for estimate of cost to fabricate-
  1. Once estimate is provided, then we can go to city to get funds released. Confirmed with the Recs and park supervisor that it will be installed for free.
4. Renewal of Ashbury Ter pillars – Katie, new quotes?
  1. Pee & graffiti proof. Mimsy’s guy estimated repairs, improvements at $14,000?
  2. Will revisit when Katie is present
5. Other parts of neighborhood (Roosevelt/17th, Delmar, Masonic)
400 UT- no updates on when renovation/rebuild will happen
Welcome brownies
1. 37 ashbury sold, appears people have moved in.

MONA Board Meeting – 6/11/2025

I. Board Members Present

Dan Slaughter (379 UT), Esther Marks (125 UT), Carol Glanville (290 UT), Katie Wilcox (74 Piedmont), Miriam Goodman (50 Piedmont), Joyce Polhamus (107 UT), Matt Hicks (1581 Masonic), Susan Takaki (263 UT)

II. Memberships & Accounts

• Current balance: $5,300
• ~70 members on autopay

III. Events

A. Debrief

1. General Membership Meeting (March 27): Well attended (~18 members). Consider next meeting focus and invitees.

2. Mt. Olympus Park Block Party (May 18): Great turnout.

B. July Work Day in the Park

• July 26 | 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM

C. Symphony All SF Concert

• September 11 – 32 tickets available, but Mitzi (bulk buyer) will be away. Suggest ordering ~20 tickets.

1. Consider organizing a pre- or post-concert gathering (need volunteer host).

2. Action item: Send email to members ASAP.

D. October Work Day in the Park

• October 4 | 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM

E. Piedmont Block Party

• October 19 | 3:00 PM – 5:00 PM

F. Holiday Caroling & Party

• December 7

G. General Membership Meeting

• February (Date TBD)

H. Board Meetings

• Suggested months: August, November, January

IV. Projects

A. Sidewalk Opposite Park Renovation – Fence deemed dangerous; DPW added more railings.

B. Lights in Mt. Olympus Park – Barbara Hale and others are supportive. Need electricity in park. PG&E owns poles. Railings with downlights could be an option. Unlikely due to cost, but worth exploring.

C. Plaque in Mt. Olympus Park – Proposed 3×3 plaque to be installed by Parks Dept (free). Placement: ground near monument pedestal. Wording under review.

D. Renewal of Ashbury Terrace Pillars – Awaiting response from painters. Need someone for paint & stucco.

1. Streetlight bases on Piedmont – Faded paint. Research whether PUC or PG&E is responsible.

E. Other Projects

1. Mural for 17th St (Monument Way) stairs (Rick Thurber idea) – no Board Member wants to take it on so idea tabled.

2. Potential mural on retaining wall dividing Roosevelt

3. Other renewal ideas linking neighborhood to Buena Vista Park or Masonic entrance

V. New Resident Welcome Package

• Consider another set of brownies

VI. Merger with BVNA, DTA

• Unclear how a merger would benefit MONA. Decline.

VII. Website Update

• Consider updating or creating Facebook and Instagram pages

VIII. Election Planning

• District 8 Supervisor Election – November 26, 2026. Suggest hosting candidate forum.

GENERAL MEETING MINUTES 3/27/25

Board members present:Dan Slaughter (379 UT), Esther Marks (125 UT), Miriam Goodman (50 Piedmont), Joyce Polhamus (107 UT), Matt Hicks (1581 Masonic), Susan Takaki (263 UT)

Memberships & Accounts- 57 members on auto pay. 1 reminder usually sent in July for renewal emails. $5642 in checking account

Events

Symphony All SF Concert, Sept 11- In the past, had to be a member to buy tickets, but not enforced currently. Discussion.

October Work Day in the Park, Oct 4 – 10 am-12pm.

July workday people showed up towards the end.

Piedmont Block Party, October 19 – 2:30-5 pm.

Can use Mimsy’s house/driveway to store things.

Need: tables, food, beverages. Katie, Susan, Joyce to coordinate supplies

Reach out to Samantha to see if we can use her garage in case of inclement weather

Holiday Caroling & Party, December 7 – 5-6 (caroling) 6-8 (party)

Current caroling route doesn’t cover 17th street or Roosevelt. Could add Loma Vista to the route.

Confirmed at Joyce & Stuart’s house. Will iron out details at next meeting

General Membership Meeting, February.

Think about who we want to to invite to speak at the general meeting

Consider Supervisor candidate forum in early September 2026

Board Meetings – November, January?

Rezoning Plan

City to make 80,000 units to comply with state law. Height increases not in our neighborhood

Revised rezoning plan- rezones for density to allow 4 units in all types of zones. Should not take a position without a general membership meeting

Alert people to rezoning plan. Send plan + maps and city contact info to all members without taking a position.

Should we make it clear what impact this rezoning will have on our neighborhood? Explaining becomes difficult. Maps are clear.

Projects

Sidewalk opposite park renovation – Carla Short looking into possible redesign

No update. Dan to follow up

Lights in Mt Olympus Park – RPD looking into costs, PUC/PG&E cost to transfer electric

Rec and park supervisor- needs all the power to be transferred to park by PGE before moving forward with the project

Plaque in Mt Olympus Park – design approved, cost $200, waiting for estimate of cost to fabricate-

Once estimate is provided, then we can go to city to get funds released. Confirmed with the Recs and park supervisor that it will be installed for free.

Renewal of Ashbury Ter pillars – Katie, new quotes?

Pee & graffiti proof. Mimsy’s guy estimated repairs, improvements at $14,000?

Will revisit when Katie is present

Other parts of neighborhood (Roosevelt/17th, Delmar, Masonic)

400 UT- no updates on when renovation/rebuild will happen

Welcome brownies

Board introduction: members in attendance: Dan Slaughter, Carol Glanville, Esther Marks, Matt Hicks, Mimsy Goodman, Susan Takaki
Upcoming MONA events:
- Mt Olympus Park workday Saturday April 5
- Block party twice a year (May 18 and October TBD)
- District 8 sponsored mayor forum TBD
- SF symphony Community Day in September
- Holiday caroling & party

• ~18 neighbors in attendance (excluding board members)

• City representatives from various departments presented updates and priorities.

Rafael Mandelman- President, Board of Supervisors

• Entering 2025 with 5 new supervisors and a new mayor; potential budget cuts are a concern.

• Previous reliance on fixed funding is shifting; current budget cuts feel more serious.

• Emphasis on housing development, mental health (expanding sub-acute beds from 140 to 240), and behavioral health services.

• Focus areas: EV charging, traffic, contracting reform, rezoning/upzoning.

• Contact: mandelmanstaff@sfgov.org

Carla Short – Department of Public Works (DPW)

• Handles street cleaning, urban forestry, road paving, architecture, and community beautification.

• Supports 1000+ community events/year (e.g., beach cleanups, tree planting).

• Maintains sidewalks and public pathways. Responded to 118,000 service requests last year.

• Will work with neighbors near Mt. Olympus Park on bush overgrowth issues beside sidewalk.

• Report issues via 311.

Eva Chang – DPW Community Support

• Supports school cleanups and community improvement projects.

• Contact 2–3 months in advance for project support.

• Upcoming: James Lick Middle School cleanup in June (landscaping, graffiti abatement, litter, school improvements).

• 17th Street mural/stair project: 1–2 years for mural; 3–5 years for tile work (ADA compliance).

Joel Ramos – MTA

• Utilizing AI for efficiency – AI-assisted bus and train camera reviews (can complete tasks in 2 weeks vs. 6 months).

• MTA faces funding shortfalls: $15M deficit, needs $50M to stay operational.

• April 1st proposal to reduce redundancies; community resistance to cutting transit frequency.

• Issues with traffic from Waze rerouting cars through neighborhoods, and other traffic & parking concerns; interest in installing speed humps.

• Contact: joel.ramos@sfmta.com

Barbara Hale – SFPUC

• Oversees water, wastewater, stormwater, and power (via Hetch Hetchy system).

• Also responsible for streetlights and electricity generation/distribution.

• Serves 385,000 customer accounts with renewable energy.

• Cities like Palo Alto, Santa Clara, and Healdsburg operate their own power utilities; SF is considering the same.

• Upgrading streetlights (such as switching to “historic” style) requires community agreement and cost-sharing through tax bills.

BOARD MEETING MINUTES

Feb. 13. 2025 – 6:00 pm

379 Upper Ter

Board members – Present: Dan Slaughter (379 UT), Esther Marks (125 UT), Carol Glanville (290 UT), Joyce Polhamus (107 UT), Matt Hicks (1581 Masonic). Absent Mimsy Goodman (50 Piedmont), Katie Wilcox (74 Piedmont), Susan Takaki (263 UT).
Memberships & Accounts – We have about $5700 in our account but still have to pay invoice for holiday decorations. Spent about $800 total on the holiday party.
Events
1. Debrief – Holiday Caroling & Party Dec. 8, 2024 – Fantastic event with about 70 carolers and way more than that at the party. Cookie contest was very important to people so we should consider making a more formal set-up for that next year to make sure it is fair. Almost all parents were really good with kids, but there were a few kids that were somewhat unsupervised, sitting on glass tables, etc. Maybe a reminder next year or Dan will be enforcer. All agreed Esther’s food and Matt’s drinks a big hit once again.

General membership meeting – considered various dates and agreed on March 27th as the best date with back up of March 18. Dan will reserve Randall Museum and discuss with absent board members.
1. Theme: Infrastructure and Beautification – ask DPW & PG&E representative to attend so they can discuss projects in the area. If DPW cannot come perhaps MTA to discuss traffic and parking issues. Or Police captain. Also invite Rafael Mandelman to provide 10 minutes on city priorities for our neighborhood.
2. We would also discuss project for renewing Ashbury Ter pillars and perhaps other projects – Mt Olympus Park, sidewalk opposite the park, mural for wall at the bottom of Monument Way Steps (17th St), other?
April work day in Mt Olympus Park – Set for April 5 10-12
May Block Party – Mt Olympus Park – May 4 or 18, 3-5 pm. – Dan to poll board members to determine best date. Publicize with flyers and emails. Food, beverages and no theme needed.
New resident welcome package – Joyce distributed some towards end of last year. Discussed how to make more impactful and agreed to distribute within a month of new resident moving in. Dan will send Joyce new property transfers every month.

Board Meeting – November 6, 2024 @107 Upper Ter

Board members – Present: Dan Slaughter (379 UT), Esther Marks (125 UT), Carol Glanville (290 UT), Mimsy Goodman (50 Piedmont), Katie Wilcox (74 Piedmont), Joyce Polhamus (107 UT), Matt Hicks (1581 Masonic). Absent: Susan Takaki (263 UT),

Memberships & Accounts – we have approx. $6200 in our account including payments from 2 more NA that sponsored the Mayoral Forum

Events

Debrief – Piedmont Block Party – Great success, weather was great. Joe & Susan, Samantha, Amy & Mitch and other neighbors very helpful. Next year consider more tables, more chairs, banner up earlier, extend hours to 3 hours, and try to have an activity like a bounce house or some games.

Holiday Caroling & Party Dec. 8 5-6 6-8

Flyers & emails – Dan will prepare and distribute

Caroling route – Start at Mt. Olympus Park, down MO Stairs, Upper Terrace to Ashbury Terrace, Piedmont to Masonic and the party at 107 UT. Wilcox to look for candles to distribute to make it more festive.

Food, beverages, Setup-Cleanup. Esther to provide food but people can bring also, especially cookies for the contest (also a sock contest) with prizes. Matt Polito to provide cocktails, Matt Hicks to bring plastic cups for wine and hot cups for cider, Katie Wilcox to bring cider, Dan to bring name tags, Susan to make Costco run for 2 cases of white wine & 1 case of red wine.

Next year schedule –

Jan Board Mtg

Feb General membership Mtg – combine with BVNA & CVMA to support relaunch of BVNA – Dan will inquire. Launch fundraising for Ashbury Ter pillar refurbishment with different levels ($500 Pillar of the ‘hood, $100 Light of the ‘hood, $50 Donor), perhaps discuss other neighborhood improvements like the sidewalk area across from the park, some other area?

April Bd Mtg & workday

May Block Party – at Mt Olympus Park again and ask people to bring musical instruments for a band!

July work day

Sept Bd Mtg & Symphony

Oct Block Party – on Piedmont again (see above)

November Bd Mtg

Dec Holiday Party

New resident welcome package – another set of brownies maybe in Spring – Joyce distributed a few and willing to do again in 2025 at least til we run out of boxes

BOARD MEETING 10/10/24

Board members– Present: Dan Slaughter (379 UT), Esther Marks (125 UT), Carol Glanville (290 UT), Susan Takaki (263 UT), Katie Wilcox (74 Piedmont), Mimsy Goodman (50 Piedmont), Joyce Polhamus (107 UT) . Not present: Matt Hicks

Events-
1. Debrief- Fall Candidate forum together with other neighborhood associations
  1. All board members agreed the forum was a huge success
  2. Esther- KQED thought our forum was outstanding. Matt very professional and detail oriented
  3. Randall theater is great venue to host this type of event
  4. Lessons learned: Total expenses $1290. Each of the neighborhood associations were supposed to contribute $100. Esther contacted each of the NA’s and so far has received $400
If people are going to sponsor they need to pay in advance

Debrief- Symphony 9/12/24
1. No pattern re: attendance. Symphony under new leadership. Used to be same program as opening night, but no more.
2. Symphony opened ticket sales to public this year. What to do for next year?
  1. Move ticket purchase deadline up,
  2. Mitzi is bulk buyer, she has a community of people that want to go
3. Ordered 32 or 36 tickets. Sold 10 or 12, rest went to Mitzi in 2 separate batches
  1. Lower attendance due to scheduling conflicts, or possibly lack of interest
4. Mimsy- Felt like symphony 101. At least conductor said “hi” this year, last year he had his back to us. Feels like this event draws new members. In the past, very popular event- it used to sell out.
  1. Katie- no, just coincides with membership renewals.
5. Esther- update on Beth T.
  1. Katie coordinated the ticket buy, and Beth took care of physically distributing tickets. But doesn’t completely understand the nuances (ie delay in delivering tickets to Mitzi). Thanks to Beth for helping out and maybe she will agree to help with this or other events next year!
6. Program not appealing to younger generation
Piedmont block party- 10/20/24 2:30-5:00PM
1. Dan brought flyers to distribute
2. Katie- block party through Phoenix Day is easier than doing it through the regular permitting process, but the city’s team is difficult to deal with
3. Looking for someone else to take over this task?
  1. Esther- Matt said he would take care of the permitting process
    1. Katie- Matt would have to live on Piedmont
    2. Esther- if people want Matt to take care of permitting, he will do it
    3. Katie- has anyone been to mint plaza to take care of the block party tasks?
    4. Katie- stick with Phoenix Day
    5. Mimsy- when do cars have to be off the street?
      1. Katie- has a process for clearing the street
    6. Katie- Kris and Daniel will receive barriers. Plan to put 3 barriers at Ashbury (at Piedmont) b/c people do not stop at stop sign. Other 3 barriers on the other side of the crosswalk.
      1. Katie will put barriers up on Saturday at 7:00AM
    7. Dan- tables, food, beverage, clean up
      1. Esther- food
      2. Drinks- need water & wine
      3. Dan will give susan supplies bin
      4. 4 white, 2 red, 4 rose. Water in metal or paper, not plastic and chalk for street art
      5. table-Katie will talk to Samantha, Susan also has big table
      6. Dan-open house day of block party, will come at the end.
      7. Available members to meet at 1:30pm to set up
      8. Flyer distribution
        
        Susan- 200 block UT, clifford, roosevelt, 17th
        
        Esther- 100 block UT, Loma Vista
        
        Katie-Piedmont & Ashbury Terrace
        
        Matt- Delmar, Masonic
        
        Dan- 300/400 UT
      9. Katie- has bubble machine she can bring, high round table, and will do kids bike and scooter track
      10. Katie- MONA membership option. Can create QR code
      11. Mimsy- Jim Ayers to play music
Holiday Caroling and Party- 12/8/24 at Joyce’s house (107 UT)
1. Current route (start at mailbox at Clifford/UT) works well but doesn’t touch on some parts of the neighborhood (Roosevelt, 17th, Clifford)
  1. Alternatively can start at monument and go directly down the stairs.
  2. Katie- will not get people if start at monument
  3. Dan-Can include “flat” part of Clifford
    1. Start at mailbox right when its getting dark. Sunset is at 4:40PM so will have 5:00PM start time.
    2. Last year a few people arrived party 6:00pm before the caroling ended to greet the carolers
    3. Steph to lead the singing
    4. Big challenge was getting pizzas – approved delivery.
      1. Dan- Let’s try Xtreme Pizza or Escape from New York.
    5. Mimsy- could Rion play an instrument?
    6. Dan/Esther- Matt Polito to be bartender
2. Many people with kids that showed up last year all came from 433 UT
3. Joyce- No wearing shoes in the house this year due to work being done in the house
  1. can have sock contest with prize, cookie contest with prize
4. Need to meet in between block party and caroling in November- THURSDAY 11/7/24 at Joyce’s (107 UT) (Now set for 11/6)
Next year’s meeting schedule (We can always adjust as we go along)
1. Jan Board Meeting
2. February General membership meeting
3. April Board meeting and workday
4. May Block Party
5. July work day
6. September Board meeting and Symphony
7. October block party
8. December Holiday party

IV. Holiday Decorating-

MOTION: $1500 budget for new ribbons, lights, installation, and dismantling. Most of this budget is installation and dismantling.
1. MOTION PASSED- unanimous

V. Rescue SF-

i. MOTION: Rescue SF non-partisan guide on homelessness- answers to questionnaire by all 5 candidates. Send link to our group?

MOTION DENIED-unanimous

VI. Ashbury Heights pillars- (to be addressed after the holidays)

Quote for repainting and/or powerwashing and sealing (to prevent future graffiti)
1. Need to decide on type of paint (easy clean, pee repellant )
  1. Will cost between $2000-$3500
Only $6000 in MONA’s bank account, so need to fundraise to get the pillars painted
1. Start the conversation with neighbors at the block party

VII. Use for $10,000 DPW fund-

a. Plaque- Dan has manufacture to do it. Can we spend $500 for a design?

i. Mimsy-Can we take it out of $10K?

ii. Carol- can we see it before it’s done?

iii. Esther- we have until 2025 until $10K is gone.

iv. Dan- trying to move project forward before we run out of time. Rec and Park will install it for free

VIII. New Resident welcome package-

i. Joyce- There are 2 new residents in first block of UT

ii.For follow up at next meeting

BOARD MEETING 8/1/24

Board members present: Dan Slaughter (379 UT), Esther Marks (125 UT), Carol Glanville (290 UT), Joyce Polhamus (107 UT), Matt Hicks (1581 Masonic Ave)

Budget report and membership report – Esther. $6005.00. 100 Households out of 500 are members, very high membership rate.

Events
– Sept 5 Mayoral Forum, 6:30-7:30, doors open 6 pm, 185 capacity first come/first served
Farrell, Lurie, Peskin & Safai have confirmed participation. Breed is in communication but concerned about format/rules including particularly the rebuttal rules. Steering committee (Esther, Matt and representatives from Duboce Triangle Neighbors Ass’n (NA), EVNA & Glen Park NA) meeting Aug 2 to work on rules, etc. 11 District 8 NA’s are confirmed as sponsors. Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez, Pres. of NoCal Society of Journalists and formerly with KQED & SF Examiner, is moderator. Topics will be worked out by asking each NA for 3 proposed questions, then boil those down to 5 questions on 5 different topics. Rules: no clapping, cheering, booing; no campaigning (literature, signs, T-shirts) inside the event, literature table just outside and people can do whatever they want outside the venue. Run of show: host welcome, moderator intro & format/rules, opening statement from each candidate (2 minutes), each candidate goes first once followed by other candidates responses, up to 2 rebuttals limited to those candidates mentioned. Agreed to budget “reasonable amount” for audio/visual/livestream to the extent we cannot get from the Randall or volunteers. Other NA’s to contribute to the budget.. Call for volunteers to help with the event on the day of.

Sept 12 Symphony – Dan to check with Katie Wilcox on progress. Tickets purchased.

Oct 5 Mt Olympus Park works Day

Piedmont Block Party – agreed set for Oct 20, Phoenix Day. Dan to ask Susan to acquire permit, look into buying a banner, and then set other tasks after Mayoral Forum

Holiday Caroling & Party – agreed set for Dec 8. Dan to ask for host.

Report re efforts to revitalize Buena Vista NA. We will see how that goes.

D8 Town Hall re proposed up zoning in certain neighborhoods citywide (but not ours). Sept 9, Noe Valley Rec Center. Agreed okay to advertise via newsletter to those MONA members interested, but MONA takes no position or sponsorship.

Sidewalk opposite park – discussion as to whether to try to re-landscape with help of neighbors, city. No resolution, continue discussing.

New resident welcome package – Thanks to Joyce for taking those around this year – delicious brownies and great looking box.

Carol noted 3 house/garage break-ins in past 2 weeks, even though our area remains a relatively low crime area.

BOARD MEETING 3/27/24

Board Members present: Dan Slaughter (379 UT), Esther Marks (125 UT), Carol Glanville (290 UT), Susan Takaki (263 UT), Katie Wilcox (74 Piedmont), Joyce Polhamus (107 UT), Matt Hicks (1581 Masonic)
Events
1. Park work day- April 6 10:00-12:00
  1. Esther comments on how nice the park looks.
  2. Dan: Due to rain, $ from Rafael, consistent gardening.
  3. Katie- getting crabgrass also helped.
2. Summer block party- Sunday May 19 3:00-6:00pm
  1. Carol- invite the virtual statue guy to come
  2. Katie- might need a new name besides summer block party
    1. Dan- we’ll just call it neighborhood block party. Usually in may it doesn’t rain, weather is better, less fog. Can use Dan’s carport if need be. Not much protection, but can use.
    2. Susan- what about 400 apartment building carport?
      1. Dan- the one with all the trash and debris?
    3. Carol- why isn’t the (400) building moving forward with the permit?
      1. Dan- they did come and fix the sidewalk
    4. Katie- what is the vision for the party
      1. It will be on the monument, no need for permits
      2. Esther- for the flyer, we usually include the membership form. Can we plan to do that again?
      3. Dan- we should try to pass out flyers around May 1st.
      4. Esther- members can take an area to flyer (like we did for holiday party). Matt will take over Mimsy’s area.
        
        Matt- upper Piedmont & Masonic
        
        Susan- 17th & Roosevelt & Clifford & 200 block of UT
        
        Joyce- 0-100 Block of UT & Loma Vista
        
        Dan- 300-400 UT
      5. No need to worry about a permit, Dan will invite Frankie (gardening supervisor) to the party.
        
        Food & Beverage- Susan will share updated spreadsheet with board members
        
        Esther will take care of food
        
        Dan will bring table
        
        Bubble machine?- Katie might have a couple and will bring
        
        Joyce to ask Wade if he still has bubble machine from prior party
        
        Speakers- Dan has 2
3. Park work day- July 27 10:00-12:00pm
  1. Not popular work day b/c no one is really around during the summer. We’ll see how the April one goes and then deal with July.
4. Fall Candidate forum together with other associations- Sept 11 or 12?
  1. Candidate Form- mayoral candidate forum, invite district 8 group (all they will do is send it to their list)
  2. Carol- how do we know if the candidates will come
  3. Dan- that’s their job
  4. Esther- people would like to have it at Randall since there is a parking lot.
  5. Carol- Randall is remodeling the auditorium, it should be ready in time
  6. Esther- Harvey Milk Academy is another option. Matt has a contact at ABC 7 news that could be the moderator. We would need to come up with questions in advance
  7. Matt- when we reach out to the groups, need to gauge how interested they are in being involved in this.
  8. Dan- there might be 2 or 3 people interested in being involved.
  9. Katie- what about Mandelman? Could he be a potential moderator?
  10. Group- NO
  11. Susan- Dan Handler. He was the MC for McKinley school fundraiser Dogfest every year that his son went to the school.
  12. Dan- moderator job is many fold. Crowd control, Journalist viewed as neutral.
  13. Esther- 90 mins limit
  14. Katie- for the whole thing, or just the forum?
  15. Esther- forum, then refreshments afterwards
  16. Dan- 1 hour enough, needs to be to the point or you lose people. The actual forum can’t be more than 1 hour.
  17. Matt- Heather Knight might be good
  18. Matt and Esther will narrow down the candidates.
  19. Carol- Tom Amiano?
  20. Dan, Esther- no
  21. Matt- it’s (candidate race) going to be a much shorter time frame. Most candidate forums occur late feb through may. This one is late sept through november. We should pick a date- 11th or 12th. Then reach out to potential moderators
  22. Dan- should we reach out to the district 8 groups?
  23. Esther- Dan will contact Jennifer Wagner (Eureka Valley NA)
  24. District 8- cole valley, eureka valley, mission dolores, castro, glen park, diamond heights
  25. Esther- less complicated if Matt reaches out.
  26. Matt- do you want to reach out to everyone or the presidents?
  27. Esther- she and matt will discuss
5. Symphony-
  1. Dan-Beth Thurber volunteered
  2. Katie- she’s bought tickets often. I created a spreadsheet for the ticket buy every year. Would like to meet with Beth to go over what’s been done in the past. Opening night will be interesting this year.
Ashbury Hts pillars
1. Katie-They look terrible.
2. Matt- likes the lights
3. Dan- need someone to get a quote to clean pillars.
4. Katie volunteered to get quotes for power wash and anti-graffiti paint.
  1. Found paperwork, knows the colors.
  2. There is a Piedmont street fund that was pooled to take care of pillars. Still a little bit left, maybe a couple thousand dollars.
5. Dan- we can do a fundraiser. Ask people for $ at neighborhood party.
6. Katie- there was a non-profit started to maintain the pillars.
7. Dan- probably not there since it needs to be filed each year
8. Esther- 30 years ago, pillars in worse condition than now. A couple on Ashbury Terrace fundraised ($500/household) to get pillars repaired.
9. Katie is in possession of the historical records of the pillars
10. Esther- depending on the cost, we can ask people for donation.
11. Joyce- $500 is a big ask.
$10,000 in DPW money (runs out in June). Status re: moving to RPD and pay for plaque for monument?
1. Esther-$ stays in the account if it goes past june
2. Dan- we can move funds to park and rec
3. Esther- need a project in order to transfer the funds
New resident welcome package-
1. Joyce- bringing brownies as a new neighbor gift
2. Carol- T Shirts?
Possible projects that would justify asking for additional donation
1. Sidewalk opposite park- replant and maintain- Defer to next meeting
2. Some welcome to the neighborhood monument/landscaping at masonic/Roosevelt and/or 17th/Roosevelt – Defer to next meeting
Upzoning issue raised by Meg Starr- join coalition?
1. Dan- not going to be implemented anytime soon
2. Esther- Per Meg, happening throughout the city. There are 67,000 units that are vacant. Whole purpose of the forum is to educate people about what is happening, not to sway people one way or another.
3. Katie- but the website is clear about their position which advocates against upzoning as proposed
4. Esther- not worth pursuing because cannot see board getting involved in this matter
5. Dan- the city has a fairly robust community outreach program. Coalition is opposed to upselling. That is taking a position, and he doesn’t want to do it.
6. Esther- that’s fine, again, it’s not worth pursuing
7. Dan- we are all on the same page about not participating. But is Meg expecting us to pass along the message to the general membership? If so, that is like taking a position.
8. Esther- no, just get back to Meg
9. Carol- we are paying our density dues.
10. Dan- MONA is not doing anything and he’ll respond to Meg.
11. Esther- emphasis is on the western side of the city. Certain locations such as a vacant Walgreens on Clement and there are 2 dwellings above it
12. Joyce- where do you want the density? Planning dept should be part of those discussions. Even if it gets upzoned, it will be 4-10 years before the whole thing gets done. In 20 years a lot is going to happen, it’s setting the tone for what the future is going to look like. You gotta grow somewhere.
13. Esther- don’t waste time on it as a board
14. Joyce- individually, people should get involved. People should get educated.
Website update
1. Website created by someone who moved out of the neighborhood
  1. Joyce- looked at the website and got to learn something about everyone on the board.
  2. Dan- Joyce and Matt need to write their own bios
  3. Dan- would be great to get Carol’s presentation on the website, and more info about the neighborhood, posting upcoming events, and uploading post-event photos. Dan knows how to put the meeting minutes and photos on the website.
  4. Joyce- can ask her son to spiff up the website a bit. If we know specifically what we need, she will ask him
  5. Matt- some neighborhood associations don’t even have a website
  6. Katie- she would like to take a look. AI for different platforms can do a lot (ie square space).
  7. Dan- will give Joyce and Katie access and they can take a look and see what they want to do

General Member meeting – 02/08/24

Re-election of current board members to 2 year terms (Unanimous) – Carol Glanville, Mimsy Goodman, Esther Marks, Dan Slaughter, Susan Takaki, Katie Wilcox
Election of new board members to 2 year terms (Unanimous) Joyce Polhamus & Matt Hicks
Announcement of MONA’s 2024 Events
1. Mt Olympus Park volunteer workday, April 6 (10 am -12 pm) (and in mid-July, early October)
2. Block Party @ Mt Olympus Park, May 19 (3-5 pm)
3. All SF Symphony – September
4. Mayoral candidate forum – September
5. Block Party @ Piedmont – October
6. Holiday Caroling & Party – December
Request for project leaders, volunteers
Safety presentation
1. SFPD Officer Charles Dagit & Alan Levy
History of Mount Olympus Neighbors Presentation
1. Carol Glanville & Joe Gorczyca

BOARD MEETING 01/11/24

Board members present: Dan Slaughter (379 UT), Esther Marks (125 UT), Carol Glanville (290 UT), Miriam Goodman (50 Piedmont), Susan Takaki (263 Upper Ter).
1. Soon to be elected board members present: Joyce Polhamus (107 UT), Matt Hicks (Masonic Ave)
Budget report and membership report – Esther. $6005.00. 100 Households out of 500 are members, very high membership rate.
Events
1. Debrief – Holiday caroling & party (December 10 2023)
  1. Dan-The best caroling and party we ever had. Lots of carolers-~40 people including kids.
    1. Large contingent from 433 Upper Ter. At least 4 or 5 households came from there.
    2. The caroling route doesn’t include the whole neighborhood- no loma vista, delmar, roosevelt, 17th.
      1. Carol- those are the newly added areas
      2. Dan- even more important to include them
      3. Need to find a more central location but still UT/AT
      4. Matt- if we continue to get 40 people can do it in 2 groups.
      5. Dan- but we don’t know in advance, and no one rsvps
      6. Carol- hire someone? Dan- maybe ask for a leader, there can be musicians that we don’t know about in the neighborhood
  2. FOOD: Esther- great idea to have food delivered. Katie got it from Costco last year.
    1. Dan- use local restaurant from cole valley/haight, might be slightly more expensive
    2. Susan and Joe willing to pick up if we get pizza from Tony’s
  3. HOLIDAY NEIGHBORHOOD DECOR: Stephen- took stuff down from Ashbury pillars, Matt will help take down the ribbons from the poles.
    1. Mimsy- ribbons reusable? Dan- no, stuck to poles
    2. Esther- decorations at pillars so beautiful
    3. Dan- many more people with holiday lights,and that probably helps
    4. Joyce- houses on Masonic below Java no longer decorate
2. General member meeting – Feb 8 – 6:30-8:00 (Randall Museum)- reserved the room on the second floor, NOT the theater. Meeting room holds 30-40 people. 1st floor meeting room – 40-50. THeater holds 150.
  1. Carol- Before the Randall Museum was remodeled we always filled the theater. The last big meeting was the under grounding of the wires, well attended b/c people wanted to know how it was going to happen
  2. Elect or re-elect all board members (2 year term)- takes about 5 minutes, it has been 2 year s since the last election
  3. Historical presentation (Carol, Joe)- Carol sent Joe an email, Carol dropped off some documents.
  4. Dan- schedule for historical presentation: 2 weeks before the meeting ~1/25 send Dan and Carol a draft of the presentation.
  5. Carol- can Keili send carol a copy of her paper on Mt. Olympus
  6. Dan- Keili can send Dan and Carol copy of the paper and they can make suggestions
  7. Dan- 15-20 minute presentation. Carol- important to have great slides, controversies?
  8. Joyce- photos from the neighborhood before or when it was first being developed?
  9. Carol- have photos of the oldest house in the neighborhood-, farmhouse on Piedmont. Organizing info in a way that it fits into 15-20 mins.
  10. Joyce- do spinoffs- high level overview first then branch out to concentrated topics
  11. What else?
    1. Presentation re new housing plan from Planning Dept?
    2. Presentation from MTA re traffic calming strategy?
    3. RPD and/or DPW and/or SF Beautiful/FUF re park and sidewalk across from Park – walls, lights, railings or other capital improvements?
    4. SFPD re crime prevention & reporting? Dan emailed police captain to invite him to meeting but no response. If he doesn’t respond, what to do?
      1. Carol- no crime in the neighborhood. Dan- yes there was a break in the lobby of 370 Upper Ter, but not in the report.
      2. Esther- Amy and Rob wanted police report and never got response.
      3. Dan-will ask David Burke- liaison between police dept and board of supervisors.
        
        Need other ideas Joyce- people can mingle
    5. Rafael Mandelman to speak about? Not inviting him b/c not up for election
3. Park work day April 6, 2024. BV park workday? – outside our neighborhood and they have their own workdays.
  1. Dan- Volunteers do a lot vs what paid gardners do. Same person that is assigned to MONA is assigned to BV park. Current gardner is Manny. He comes 3 days a week.
4. Summer block party instead of July work day at Monument? July 27?
  1. Various places- in the park, no permit, just have a party. It will be hit or miss, or have it in May?
  2. Mimsy in lieu or in addition to Fall block party on Piedmont?
    1. Dan- in addition.
  3. Carol- we didn’t advertise the Piedmont party as a MONA sponsored party.
    1. Dan- need a banner.
    2. Esther- decrease the number of clean up days and have a block party instead. Weekend before memorial day?
      1. Sunday 5/19 3:00-5:00pm at the monument park – decided.
    3. No theme?
    4. Carol- food truck?
      1. Dan- there is a minimum spend.
      2. Esther- sandwiches and salad fine.
      3. Joyce- ice cream truck?
      4. Dan- no need to plan out now can do later
5. Candidate forum together with other associations – maybe August, closer to Nov. election?
  1. Esther- mayoral candidate forum.
  2. Dan- have it at Randall Museum, invite D8 and have them invite their people. All we need is moderator and candidates. Incumbent, Mark Farrell, Daniel Lurie, Asha Safai.
  3. Esther- some kind of criteria to limit the candidates since there are actually many that have no chance and can be disruptive. Other offices?. Mayor forum is best. Lower down elections (like Central Committee on March ballot) is boring but they get zero press. When people go to vote, they are voting blindly.
  4. Mimsy- take the top 5 people on the polls?
    1. Esther- financial backing based. Need some kind of criteria that use a blend of fundraising and polls.
  5. Matt will organize the mayoral forum. Get the candidates to come and get a moderator.
  6. Esther- Joe Eskanazi? SF Standard, online local publications.
  7. Dan- More than 1 moderator, panel, to keep it from being slanted.
  8. Esther and Matt will work on it, shooting for early sept. 9/11 or 9/12
  9. Carol- are we skipping the symphony? Dan- we don’t even know the date.

Ashbury Hts pillars – get a quote for repainting and/or power washing and sealing (to prevent future graffiti). – will discuss next meeting since Katie is not here.
$10,000 in DPW money. Status re moving to RPD and pay for plaque for monument?

Mimsy- embedded in sidewalk, metal plaques starting at $9.00. $10K is crazy.
Dan- that’s how much it cost in the Castro.
Esther- you need something substantial and need someone to do the work.
Mimsy- why not do it on the wall?
Dan- Carol was super reluctant b/c its putting it on the monument
Mimsy- $ could be spent on other things, like streetlight poles.
Dan- nothing is being decided, and waiting for Carol to get back to us with estimate. The fund is in DPW.
Matt- What about standing metal sign? We are getting that already from RPD and they have requirements for standardization.

BOARD MEETING 11/08/23

Board Members present: Dan Slaughter (379 UT), Esther Marks (125 UT), Carol Glanville (290 UT), Katie Wilcox (74 Piedmont), Susan Takaki (263 UT), Miriam Goodman (50 Piedmont)

Potential board member Joyce Polhamus in attendance

I. Membership:

2 couples joined MONA from block party that Dan met
Explore having Ipad at events for people to sign up and pay for membership

II. Events
Symphony- challenging to figure out how many tickets to order. Last year pretty close
- Limit for tickets=35, last year we ordered 32. This year bought 32, alot of regulars didn’t buy as anticipated. Now that all events are back, people have conflicts
- Ask people in advance even though we don’t know the date.
- Might have interest from some people from the block party

Block party-

Next year have Signage at the two ends of the Block saying that MONA sponsoring party
Or maybe a Banner- always ways to put up banners (between poles, a-frames)
Communication- Susan
Block party same place and/or another part of neighborhood?
1. Katie-Need a certain percentage of people on the block to ok the block party. Since Piedmont small block ideal location
2. Dan- problem is only people in the surrounding area come. Might try different locations to attract different parts of the neighborhood
3. Katie- if location is moved then we need to find someone who lives on the street apply for the permit
4. Katie-the MW Stairs block party, using the carport ideal.
  1. Dan-block party on alleyway might be better since we won’t need permits (private street).
  2. We could have a block party without permit, really don’t need one (ie Laurel’s block party on Upper/Clifford).
  3. Permit is really for large events such as Haight Street Fair
5. Esther- do it in Mt Olympus park.
  1. Dan- we can, just need to tell people in the surrounding area.
  2. Carol- combine workday and party.
  3. Dan- Can’t do both workday and party so can do 2 instead of 3 workdays, especially since the last workday was sparsely attended. Have the party in the park in July instead.
6. Piedmont was great because lots of families with kids- ability to let kids roam.
7. Don’t need to decide today. But should keep it during school year to attract the families. So maybe keep Piedmont block party in Fall and one in May in the park

Caroling

Starts at the mailbox at 5:00, until 6:30.
Joyce- doesn’t care how long the party is.
Neighbors come at 6:00 to party to receive the carolers. Nice to have an audience to greet the carolers
1. Very lively and lots of people last year. Location of house is great.
2. Dan-Need to think about the route- last year started at mailbox, went around UT to park, down the steps back to UT, down UT to Ashbury Ter up Piedmont, up the hill on Masonic. About 20 people showed up (Ashbury Ter, Piedmont, Roosevelt).
  1. Should include Roosevelt/17th. Easiest way is Roosevelt b/t Masonic and Loma Vista.
3. Food-
  1. Esther makes food, Katie brought Costco pizza, Matt for drinks. Hot cocoa station.
  2. Mimsy- hot cider? Katie- can do cider station to involve adults.
  3. Markus, Alan, Mari helped set up.
  4. Dessert-
    1. Esther lots of cookies left over. Have a cookie and sock contest.
    2. Dan- what to do for prizes?
    3. Mimsy- cookie cutter and foot cream

Holiday Decor- Stephen will do with 3 people for the cost of labor ($1000)

Joyce- when do they go up? Dan- after 11/28
$1000 approved

General Member Meeting

Keili can do the whole presentation. Dan- past and future of Mt Olympus
1. Dan- 2/7, 2/8, 2/15. Will reach out to Randall to find out available dates and see if Keili is available.
2. Mimsy- Randall board meetings held on Thursday
3. New board members and re-election of current. Katie- we should specify that we are looking for renters to be on the board. Discussion of potential board members.
4. We should have another board meeting in January before general meeting
  1. Elect board members
  2. Historical presentation
  3. Guest speakers- we could probably get anyone we want. Mandelman, SFPD.
Topics of interest: Coyotes, crime, MUNI, doom loop, PGE. General consensus the SFPD would be best.

Election forum with other neighborhood associations-
- Esther: we should host at the Randall. There is parking, auditorium.
- Carol: in the past we did it at Davies Hospital.
- Dan- would include Eureka valley, we are not going to run it but coordinate it.
- Esther- District 8 comprises 22 neighborhood associations.
- Mimsy- can do it at school auditoriums.
- Dan- first step is email to the list of NA’s and then find location.
- Katie- If we did it at Randall, has inherent value to our neighborhood. Pull from Castro, Cole Valley Merchants Assoc, Haight.
- Dan will send email to NA’s.

Misc
1. Ashbury Ter Pillars-
  1. Looks run down with graffiti, crack.
  2. Privately owned but Lights hardwired to the city so don’t want to draw attention to that.
  3. Katie-Neighbors on Piedmont St made improvements 20 years ago. Get a quote and do some kind of fundraising.
    1. Katie- is there someone who we can get quote from since it’s such a small job.Dan will ask Stephen if he knows anyone
2. Plaque- We have 10K leftover from Mandelman’s fund budgeted to DPW. We can transfer it to RPD and they can use that money to buy a plaque for the park. Esther- DPW budget person who can transfer funds to RPD.
  1. Katie- something else instead of plaque? Dan- city and residents will not agree to something new but if it was there before it can be done.
  2. Mimsy- maybe can use someone that made a trophy for Marty.
  3. Esther- who wants to take on the plaque project?
3. Traffic calming-
  1. Carol- did anyone get notified of surfacing of the street? Dan- never got notice. Joyce- got notice.
    1. 2 part process saves longevity of street. 6 streets being done
4. Carol got letter from city because green can was on the sidewalk
  1. Public works team established to enforce rules- a whole new dept to monitor trash?!?!
  2. Trash collection times are an issue

BOARD MEETING NOTES 8/3/23

Board Members present: Dan Slaughter (379 UT), Esther Marks (125 UT), Carol Glanville (290 UT), Katie Wilcox (74 Piedmont), Susan Takaki (263 UT), Miriam Goodman (50 Piedmont)
Budget report (Esther)- $7000 Cash on hand, 100 members. $800 of $7000 is due to 445 UT paying for 5 years worth of membership for the 8 units.
1. Dan: ~500 households in our neighborhood, mostly houses and condos in our neighborhood hence the high percentage of members
  1. Website is set up for people to automatically pay every year, if they choose

Recruitment of new board members
1. Joyce was invited to attend this meeting but she was out of town. She will think about joining board and wants to wait
2. Discussion of other potential board members
Monument way stairs- finished except DPW unable to replace the wooden fence because it is estimated to cost $80,000. They will do landscaping with succulents and low water plants in the triangle area with woodchips
1. Maintenance: Wind blows things away. Pile of stuff at the top of the stairs in the corner, everything else gets pushed to the bottom. Summer it’s not so bad, winter is worse.
  1. Carol: call 311 and they will take care of it.
  2. Dan: appealed to neighbors twice to clean the stairs- Dave and Bob (330 UT) volunteered to do it when they are in town, once in a while but not consistently. Brynn Noel (433 UT) also offered.
    1. It would be nice for a neighbor who uses the stairs to call 311 if they see trash pileup
    2. Carol: highly trafficked stairs due to people using it to catch public transport
2. $10,000 left in the budget for stairs. Can use it for additional landscaping;
  1. Ask if DPW will use it for the sidewalk across from the monument
  2. Carol: She and Craig trimmed the bushes in the past.
  3. Mimsy: Street lights need to be repainted
    1. Carol: belongs to PGE
    2. Dan: call 311 and you will get directed to PGE
  4. Esther: DPW funds can be transferred to another SFcity department but cannot be used by a private company
  5. Katie: Pillars need to be repainted. Not by DPW. Last time pillars were maintained was about 30 years ago
    1. Esther: DPW needs to transfer funds to another SF city department not private company
    2. Katie: paperwork Courtney and Topher water the urns and they have info on the pillars (ie paint color)
    3. Mimsy/Esther: can we get someone to take on this project?
    4. Dan: Let’s start with Anya and then get Ian to transfer the money to whoever might do it. DPW will do their own estimate. It’s a 1 day job with long, good ladders. If private person doing it will cost around $5K, but city estimate will be much more.
    5. Esther: will reach out to Anya for contact so Katie can follow up
Events
1. Reminder email for Symphony. Ordered maximum (38?) tickets. Mitzi will take extras. Less than half of tickets remaining
  1. Dan: will send out 1 or 2 reminders.
2. GENERAL MEMBER MEETING
  1. Last meeting Feb 2022. Thinking to do it early November, but early Feb might be best (Wed or Thurs)
  2. Carol: wants to turn things over to Joe for the slideshow for historic presentation. Susan will have Joe reach out to Carol
  3. Dan: Can have candidates make an appearance at the meeting due to upcoming general election
3. October block party
  1. Dan: Received a general invitation from the city to host all the block parties on the same day: easy to get permits.
    1. If we do it again will we do it on Delmar and Piedmont? General consensus among board members that this is the best location for the block party.
    2. Katie: Can Mimsy take on getting permits for the block party? YES. Deadline to apply 8/31/22 for Phoenix Day 10/15/23
    3. Katie- gather signatures from 60% of block in order to move forward with fast tracking the permit
    4. Mimsy- what about using the monument circle?
      1. Dan: we already have workday there, it gets windy
    5. NOTE: Bubble Machine was a big hit
4. Holiday Party and Caroling (December)
  1. Esther: use Joyce’s house for the party?
  2. Esther: Do after Wade and Greg’s party so we can get leftover wine
  3. Dan: 12/10 or 12/17. 12/10 seems to be the best
  4. Dan: will check with Joyce regarding date
  5. Mimsy: choir master or singer? Give Steph some solos?

Oct 7th workday
1. Dan: we always do 1st sat in October, it might rain November. Dan already checked with Frankie- applied at the beginning of the year
2. Dan: at last workday did not clip the bush b/c clipper didn’t work. Will buy a new clipper/trimmer as current one is 20 years old.
  1. See if frankie can do it or pay someone to do it using MONA money.
3. Katie: has arborist coming for a project so will ask them about it.
  1. Carol: doesn’t need to be an arborist
  2. Katie: agree, but need to hire someone to trim the bush. You should be able to see over it.
  3. Dan: this will cost $1000

Website
1. Ingrid Barison (447 Roosevelt) volunteered to revise website. Dan has been working with her and will send around her proposal for comment. She is not willing to take on making revisions going forward though.
New Resident Welcome package
1. Esther: waste of money
2. Dan : people move into the neighborhood. The idea is to do something different than mail. It’s a marketing idea.
3. Carol: T-shirts
4. Dan: muffin basket with food\
5. Carol: tote bags
  1. Dan: need something to put in them
6. Katie: likes cutting board idea, shelf stable, it doesn’t have to be a whole logo thing.
  1. Dan: use the same font that we use in the newsletter
  2. Carol: what material is the cutting board?
  3. Mimsy: wood. Under $5.00 each but need to order at least 1 dozen.
  4. Dan: less than 10 households per year. Order by end of the year. Esther: how to present it?
  5. Dan: put ribbon around it and card about MONA. might ask Ingrid to design a card.

VIII. Possible projects that would justify asking for additional donation.

Sidewalk opposite park- replant and maintain
Plaque for monument- $10,500 for sidewalk ones in Castro
Dan: triangle by the stop sign at Masonic/Roosevelt could be landscaped, or get MTA pay for it.

MISC

Katie: would be cool to post giveaways, services, referrals on MONA website

Dan: would need to be monitored, table for discussion at next meeting

Adjourned

MONA BOARD MEETING 3/2/23

Board Members- Present: Dan Slaughter (379 UT), Esther Marks (125 UT), Carol Glanville (290 UT), Katie Wilcox (74 Piedmont), Miriam Goodman (50 Piedmont), Susan Takaki (263 UT)

Budget report- Esther: $5400 remaining
First board meeting of 2023- Each board member to commit to a project/responsibility:

Dan- Monument work days, answer calls, tax return,
Katie- symphony, co-chair holiday party w Esther, help out with gaps, mimsy + katie block party
- Block party date should not be close to symphony
- Should occur in the spring (May is good after rainy season)
Mimsy- new resident welcome package, block party w Katie
Carol- read park station newsletter, turn over archives, etc to Joe, who wants to go to Rafael’s crime meeting on 3/10?
Susan’s project- logo? Would be nice to have on Mimsy’s new welcome package items

Recruitment of new board members

Katie- we have roles, assign function. Bylaws have a standard president, secretary, treasurer. Most boards are bigger and have committees, we are not big enough. Not enough involved members.
- In the past- public safety, utilities, traffic and parking (infrastructure). Benefits are knowing someone to call and who to follow up with. 311 works.
- Katie willing to take on website in exchange for social coordination.
Dan- communications is another responsibility, some orgs have newsletters. Website could have neighborhood events listed
Katie- we can recruit someone else to join the board.
Dan knows someone who would volunteer for webmaster. $2500 to set up website, to maintain website and add content is a JOB. Time consuming b/c need to put up new content every month. Find content, get it, put it up in a way that’s engaging, and inform people that is there.
Katie- It would be nice just to have it as a starting point, photos, long blog.
Carol- photo of the month
Katie and Dan- find the social coordinator first. Discussion of potential board members. Decision to approach Ulrich Lewen (69 Piedmont) and Joyce Polhamus (107 UT)
Katie- Ashbury gates got tagged, found the original paint color. Need to find time to power wash and then paint. Will take a day and needs to be planned.
Carol- who is painting w easel on the corner?

V. Monument Way Stairs (17th to UT) –

Supposed to finish in March. After finished, do a bit of landscaping possibly.
Katie- emails regarding this project kind of confusing
Entire project will be completed and open by May- can have block party in May.
- Connects us with 17th ST. Relatively large space that people can hang out. Negative- street surrounding area not safe.
- Esther- Can use carport space. Should have party to celebrate. Impressed w Anya, give her recognition for her work on this project.
- Mimsy- out of town till 5/14.
- Katie- Ribbon cutting independent of block party. Unless we can do carport. Can use the alley.
- Dan- might be too ambitious to do block party and ribbon cutting for stairs.
Esther- Bench at top of stairs, replace eucalyptus trees with another tree that won’t clog the drain. Wind break needed but leaves are a concern.
- Anya will open up stairs as soon as they can, lots of people use the stairs. They will have site meeting to come up with plan.
- Dan-$10K for fence not that much.
- Katie- ask people what they want fence or bench or landscaping at party
Group- Block party: 6/3/23 3:00PM-5:00PM, in the alley way.
- Esther will bring cones up and Joe can put out cones to block the alley.

VI. Symphony- September

Did not discuss

VII. General Member Meeting- agenda for the year

Date not determined
Katie- Pieces of information. Short history.

VIII. Park Work days:

4/1/23, 7/22/23, 10/7/23
Native plants: slow growing.

IX. Communications

See above

X. New resident welcome package

In progress, not discussed in detail

MONA BOARD MEETING 09/27/22

Attendees: Mimsy Goodman, Carol Glanville, Esther Marks, Katie Wilcox, Susan Takaki, Dan Slaughter

Budget report and membership report – Esther

Recruitment of new board members (Clifford Terrace, Delmar, Masonic, Loma Vista, Roosevelt, 17th St, renter, website pro):
People want to help out but it is hard to come up with job description such as secretary, treasurer.
- Take on tasks (ie symphony tix, website, communications, project)
- Katie: Room for 2 social directors.
- Carol: Tech person needed.
Dan:We need additional board members because:
- Diversity (ie what’s going on in different parts of the neighborhood),
- Traditionally no one does anything unless they are on the board. Signing up for the board is an indication of one’s willingness to do something.
- Mission statement in the bylaws: MONA advocates and organizes to beautify the neighborhood public spaces, monitor for crimes and other issues, liaison for other neighborhoods [This is paraphrased and incomplete, the complete mission statement is in the By Laws].
  - Main purpose is to have some neighborhood group for people to meet neighbors and socialize.
  - When something comes up people already know each other and it’s easy to mobilize.
Katie- Do we have any big holes in the neighborhood? Parts of Clifford, Loma vista, Masonic. We had Phil Crawford and Sarah Monroy on Clifford. Need someone else like them. The other need is a person that could take projects and run with it.
Ulrich could be an option. He might do a project, could be worth approaching if there is a specific need. Long term, committed to neighborhood

Lessons Learned from Block party and Symphony: Plan block party next year for late spring before school lets out and people start going on vacations.

November General Membership Meeting

Wednesday 11/2 @ Randall Museum
- Room reserved – thanks Mimsy!
- What time is the meeting? 6:00-8:00
- Will we have food/drinks?–Esther will bring
- Discussed having a MONA board meeting before the membership meeting regarding the caroling and afterparty details. All members agreed to just communicate via email and discuss after membership meeting if need be.
- Katie: General Meeting master calendar for next year (can be vague by seasons), opportunities for volunteer, and suggestions for events.

Speakers/Presenters, Ideas:
- Forum w Sup Rafael Mandelman and his opponent – decided that was not a big draw since opponent has little support and we have seen Rafael a lot.
- General discussion of MONA, Ongoing Projects, volunteer opportunities
- Police captain- All board members agreed this is a good idea. Dan agreed to contact SFPD and Captain Jack Hart said he will 90% be there, or will send a representative.
- Historical program- All board members agreed this is a good idea. Carol and Joe to put together

Neighborhood Decorations:

Decorations: we’ll put up what we have. Lightpole wrapping throughout the neighborhood would be a bigger project. For example, our decorator had to pay for workers to reach the Ashbury Terrace pillars to hang those decorations last year, $400 paid pro-bono for that.
Approved $500 at last meeting for additional decorations.
To extend that to neighborhood-wide decor like wrapping light poles, etc. would cost another $2K? Discussion about just wrapping one pole in each area of the neighborhood. Mimsy- lots of traffic recently, not sure about creating more traffic by making our neighborhood a holiday-decor sightseeing destination.
Mimsy- do we want to do more to welcome new areas recently added to MONA like 17th and Roosevelt? Decorating borders?
Dan: Maybe just wrap a pole at Frederick /Delmar, Roosevelt/17th, Ashbury gates, Masonic /UT, Loma Vista. Ribbons will be thrown away. Pay labor. $1500 for Ribbon +Labor. Discussion about finding neighbors to donate their time. Susan to find contractors for decorating poles gratis. Get Jim & Chris involved.
Decided not to spend additional $ for decoration beyond the $500 and to try to get anything additional using pro bono labor and materials.

Neighborhood Building Notifications and Policy

Dan: Currently we are aware of proposed projects at 213 UT, 245 UT, Dawson/Clinton’s project at 17th/Roosevelt and up the hill to UT. Dan receives notices when they are required and every once in awhile receives calls regarding these (and other) projects. Another recent one was on Delmar. Our policy has been that MONA will not take a position or be involved in organizing opposition or support or even communicating about the project unless the project is so large as to affect most of the neighborhood. To take a position, the membership should vote, yet much of the neighborhood would not be interested in any particular development. Instead, Dan has just made someone from the board or another active member in the immediate area of the project aware of the project (although often they already had received notice) and then let the immediate neighbors take it from there.

Carol: traditionally in the the past, MONA has taken a position at times. This included with respect to the proposal to build houses at the sharp turn of Upper Terrace and some of the large buildings up by Mt Olympus Park. All of these were very long ago.

Esther: nice to have a forum for people to get issues presented.

Dan: If neighbors have issues with a project, they can organize on their own. They can also contact the planning dept which already has a very extensive neighborhood notification and input process.

Carol: You have to work hard to defeat these projects. Goes against 30 years of tradition.

Dan: Discussions happen at pre-app meeting, having MONA set one up doesn’t make a difference. Getting MONA involved necessarily means that MONA is taking the side of one neighbor over another. Contentiousness is inevitable.

Katie: Do we have the bandwidth to take on organizing opposition or support of particular developments, including understanding what the development entails and the various arguments in favor or against. Esther thought board did not have capacity to do the research and keep informed

There is no consensus to change the current policy.

Landscaping for Monument way stairs

Esther: Anya (DPW contact) mentioned phase 2 of the project which will include landscaping. will begin 3/1/22.
They provide rough estimate for landscaping based on funds from Rafael.
Esther to reach out to Anya to get update. Projected to last 10 months total?

Caroling

Caroling 12/11 @ 5:00PM – ask for RSVPs in communications
Party at Joyce Polhamus/Stuart Eckblad’s house@ 107 Upper Ter.
- Meeting at the mailbox at Upper and Clifford, go down UT, left on masonic to Piedmont, and around to the party house.
- Dan has caroling books.
Bring and drop food and drinks beforehand. Katie and Esther do a run through with Joyce and Stuart? Esther to set up Katie and Esther meet with Joyce and Stuart regarding details closer to event date.
- Ask attendees to bring either food or drink depending on odd or even number address
- Child safety concern. Keep all the children downstairs?
- Dan to come up with nice way to say you need to monitor your children

MISC

Logo- send Susan logos that you think are good. Susan to ask Keili’s art class.
Plaque for monument: Dan is still investigating
Monument Way steps: rebar in street belongs to contractor for that, not 400 UT
Carol: Re: Sidewalk, referred to Urban forestry. Advertising for cement guy, must be using $ to pay the cement guy.
Mimsy: has a contact within city hall. (I don’t remember the context of why this came up)
Volunteer work day at Monument- Saturday 10/1/22 @ 10:00AM

MONA BOARD MEETING 08/09/22

Attendees: Mimsy Goodman, Carol Glanville, Esther Marks, Katie Wilcox, Susan Takaki, Dan Slaughter

Membership Flyer distribution
- Mimsy: ran out of flyers, piedmont apartment building- how to distribute flyers? Esther will provide more flyers. Invite Trevor & Dennis
- Susan will pass out flyers this weekend.
- Katie hasn’t spoken to 2 people on Ashbury terrace re: perspective board participation. Katie wanted to make sure they were MONA members and reconfirm names before approaching
Roosevelt Way was invited to join MONA because- close to neighborhood, mutual interests, they don’t belong to a neighborhood assoc. Several neighborhood orgs are so large- Eureka runs to cole valley, no corona heights NA, etc. Former MONA president lived on Roosevelt
- Mimsy: If going down to Roosevelt, why not go down to museum way. Agreed to table further expansion for now
- People from Roosevelt have joined, and 17th St. They use the 17th St steps.
- Someone from Roosevelt asked if they could belong to MONA, probably due to Dawson/Clinton project
Water main project update- Dan will send update. Clifford to Ashbury St.
- Fire hydrants replaced during recent water main work on Upper Ter. Old hydrants still there. They will not take away until water main project (including down the hill into Haight) is done.
17 Street Steps- no work started yet. Staging at circle.
New resident welcome package- Mimsy: hardest thing is volume. Found cutting board made out of wood for $6.00 EA. May have to order 25. Dan likes the one with the hole in it. Katy- buy some pre-printed? If we have a ton of extras we can sell at Cole Valley fair or other neighborhood fair. Mimsy- dishtowel idea is also good, Dan: if you can get a cheap enough dishtowel it will be good.
Mimsy not doing logo. Dan volunteered to take on logo.
- Susan will ask Keili to ask her artist friends if they are interested. Dan will see if we can use crowd-source website. Components: view, parks, middle of city, charming houses, mount hill. Not real (to scale) map logo with sutro, houses,etc. MONA with artwork built into the logo. Logos should have meaning
- Katie- map of SF and put X where MONA is.
List of projects that need possible donation:
- Putting a plaque on the monument where there used to be on etched into the stone ”Erected by Adolph Sutro 1887” . It’s really hard to see. Dan, if we are going to put something there: picture of statue with wording.
  - Dan passed out flyer with photo of statue and wording:

Mount Olympus Park

A gift to San francisco from Adoph Sutro, the monument and Triumph of Light statue formerly erected here at the center of the city, were dedicated on November 24, 1887. Then portion of poem read and dedication ceremony (Dan: Can we attach flyer and photo to this document for our records?)

Mimsy: why cant’ we say something about it being the geographic city center. Dan: needs to put wording that people can’t complain about – so it says “center of the city”.
$10K estimate is how much the plaques in the sidewalk in Castro cost. Installing on a pillar may be more expensive. Mimsy: does city pay for installation. Esther: that is a fundraising thing. Dan: easy to do on wooden benches, but we are dealing with concrete and stone. In favor of just the plaque with wording as suggested. The next step is someone to design the plaque, figure out how much to install, and get the city to approve. Carol- parks dept, maybe arts commission must be consulted. Carol: gift to city, has to be accepted. Esther: likes Dan’s approach, let’s go ahead and do it and then figure it out. Carol: consultation is required. Dan: we will have the consultation if we need. We are gathering facts now. Esther: Dan & Katie taking this project on

Esther: SF beautiful. Fundraising plan for plaque, we can use them as fiscal sponsor (so donations are tax deductible). Budget should be ok. They spoke to general membership meeting before – Darcy? Before the pandemic, it was Carol’s idea.
Workday: 10 people showed up. Frasier, Ed & daughter, park dept moving along, gardener gone over 1 month due to covid (in charge of buena vista, corona, mt olympus). Hopefully back soon.
- Esther: Jo Hefferenan wants to donate extra cacti, are there gardeners daily. Next workday?
- Susan: Wish we could have more color at the park. Took photos of parks in presidio for inspiration for our park. Dan: Very very high wind, not alot of sun, soil is not deep. Frankie chose plants that he thought would survive. There are succulents with purple flower, bloom frequently. Did frankie spend all $5K? Carol- arboretum will have plants. Frankie is aware that we want more color. Some of them will bloom. Some of the plants won’t survive. Susan to talk to Frankie
Block party- Mimsy submitted application. Approved. Delmar at Piedmont.
- Flyer people that live on the block. Dan send email to everyone. Katie to draft flyer and email, Dan send reminder 2 weeks before party. Katie- heavy on activities on Sept. Mimsy- need table, something to put on them. Flyer is to impacted neighbors, email is to MONA.
- Esther: Katie-get some neighbors to help with block party details
- Need something to block off: Dan : Have to use bike rack things. MTA will deliver if we pay the fee.Barricades are needed to tell people we are having an official party. We need to reach out to people directly to get them to complete a task.
- Katie: master list. Flyer, and will get that done on Friday. Who can do what. Zoom call to follow up. Esther: table are needed.
Katie drafted email re: symphony. Dan: Emails go to members and non-members. MItzi, $20 for symphony, Dan$20 for symphony and you need to be a member. Katie got 26. Last year bought 23, but Katie bought 3 and she had to sell 4 so the baseline is 16. 30 maximum, and we bought 28. Mitizi says she may have people that want to buy tix.
- Joe suggested cocktail event before or after symphony.
- Same program as opening night gala. Esperanza Spalding. Casual, hip fun environment. Energy and vibe is better
Should hold general membership meeting in fall- mid oct or early nov. 11.2 or 11.3.
Need theme. History preservation important.Historical presentation. Need someone as a custodian as historical documents. Solicit some neighbors for information. Joe nominated as historical custodian
Caroling party- Carol: we can ask at general meeting. Dan need date first before asking anyone. 12/11 Sunday. Have the party in the certain area of the house to be able to include the kids.
Street lights were replaced on Ashbury terrace but not piedmont and delmar. Light at corner for clifford and upper. Who installed the historic lights in the first place? On UT. It’s PG&E. PGE responsible for maintaining. 311 complaints will go to PGE. Neighbors painted the globe black. What to do about decorating light posts for holiday?
garbage – 3:30AM on piedmont. 8 months ago, 6AM for 3 months, back to 3:30AM.

MONA BOARD MEETING 06/22/22

Members present: Mimsy Goodman, Carol Glanville, Esther Marks, Katie Wilcox, Susan Takaki, Dan Slaughter
Susan agrees to be Secretary for MONA – unanimously approved
Membership flyer distribution:
- Mimsy-Delmar & Piedmont
- 200-400 UT Susan
- Rest of UT & Loma Vista, Masonic, Ashbury terrace- Esther
- Sarah Monroy – Clifford Terrace
Membership Misc info
- Right now there is no subscription service connected to our website. So people can only make a single donation, no way to have it repeat annually. To do this our WordPress website needs a Stripe account. WordPress only uses Stripe, which takes a percentage of each payment. Susan to reach out to Carine to find out who I can reach out to at Stripe to see if they can waive fee which is 4.5% per payment (so, .90 on $20)
- It would be nice to automate subscription so people do not have to remember to renew each year. Of course, anyone can opt out at any time.
- Previously, Dan sends email in July for everyone who hasn’t renewed for this year.
- Approved to open Stripe account and add subscription option to website

Recruit new board members-
- Katie- will approach Ashbury Ter couples- Che Fico and couple in gray house with young toddler. Katie’s neighbors (not anytime soon, but maybe in near future)
New resident welcome packet- something more than a flyer. I climbed Mt Olympus T-shirt/ How much $$ to spend on packet? How many shirts. Sizing is an issue. Dishtowel. Potholder, something practical. Dishtowel w MONA on it.
- Carol- MONA once had a logo, stationary. Not terribly sophisticated though. Companies bid for designing of logo, per Dan
  - Crowdsource logo, then go on object. Screwdriver, tool kit – decide later
  - Mimsy volunteered to look into welcome object
Discussion of Possible projects for which we could ask for additional donations
- If we had a fiscal sponsor, donations would be tax deductible. Parks Alliance will do it but will take a percentage of whatever is raised and likely any other fiscal sponsor would also. Something like 10%.
- Esther- how large a project? Does it matter if it’s tax deductible?
  - Carol- corporations will match donations
  - Katie- for approved orgs only though
  - Dan- $$ going to Parks Alliance (or whoever the fiscal sponsor is) and MONA tells them what to do with $$, can’t just sign up w them and tell them what to do. Need a set project, with budget.
  - First step- what is the project,
    - Get a fiscal sponsor who is appropriate.

Dan proposed plaque to put on the monument in Mt Olympus Park. Picture of plaque and words underneath. Carol asked why RPD would not just pay for the plaque and Dan explained they have already declined to do that. Currently, there is no plaque there, etched in stone “Erected by Adolph Sutro 1887”, but can’t really read it unless you already know what it is – pretty much worn off totally. There are metal plaques all over the city, with pictures and description. Castro and Embarcadero, for example, put there by people raising $. At least $10K as an estimate based on the cost of the plaques in the sidewalk in Castro.

450 households in MONA area not incl Roosevelt and 17th, but including all households, tenants, vacant units, etc.
Esther suggested SF Beautiful as a fiscal sponsor for plaque project. Mike Heffernan would take it on.
- Carol asked – Why Mike H? He did the street lights per Esther.
- Carol noted that temporary photo blow up of things important to neighborhood were done once, but Dan noted this would be permanent
- Katie- why would we do this? Doing it for donations?
- Dan- doing it bc nice thing for neighborhood, and we can get $ from city. Likely could get a budget add-back from Sup Mandelman. How much to ask for?
- Katie- would be nice to have plaque to explain why the park and monument are there. RPD’s old sign at least said Mt Olympus park, so people would know where they are at, and what the monument is if they look it up, but now RPD has a generic park sign that does not even identify the park by name.
  - 100 households are members currently, what percentage will contribute? Need a plan that gets us to the total amount needed. Need a way to get the message out, a reason to donate, and shout them out on the website. For example, if you need $10k, you need 100 people to give $100. If you don’t think you will get 100 people, then you need more from each person. At least 30 people in neighborhood who can do that.

Mimsy- possibly people donating brick with or without their name on it, Dan- where to put brick, I don’t think we are reconstructing the monument?
Dan- get people who would not otherwise be involved to get involved. 4 people @ 5K, everyone else $100. Public park makes project more complicated.
Carol- 4 benches around the park. One in bad repair. Plaque on each bench with name of donor. Dan – that adds cost and complexity – these are concrete benches that would need metal plaques affixed to them – that might eat up more than $5000/bench!.
Esther- people should donate without needing their name on something. Ashbury Terrace pillars fundraising only, not names.
DAN & Katie volunteered to take on plaque project and advance the idea

BLOCK PARTY
- submit application before 7/1/22 $150 vs $200 fee.
- Someone has to submit application that lives on the street. Delmar, Piedmont easy to close. Hosting block party near Delmar/Piedmont will encourage people from Delmar to join.
- Close Delmar between Piedmont and Frederick. Mimsy will submit application on SFMTA.com (Go to neighborhood party section on SFMTA website).
  - Give Jim Laufenberg (lives on Delmar and a member) a chore so he can be involved. Dan will reach out to Jim to help out with block party
- Bounce house, ice cream guy, make you own ice cream? Not this year.
- No alcohol, period. Bring your own alcohol, no alcohol provided.
- Date, location, permit. 9/18/22 3:00-5:00pm.
- Barriers- how to obtain, ask Laurel Rohde. Make it look nice, setting the tone for the next year.
Holiday Decorations
- Approved $500 for additional decoration for monument and AT pillars, more to the pillars this year especially on the side toward our neighborhood. Hard to figure out how to put it on the pillars.
- AT pillars are going to be powerwashed and painted b/c it got tagged.
- Katie has info for pillar restoration. Looking for volunteers for restoration of pillars. Katie will wash the pillars in advance, so work can be done after. Set the date so people know when to come help and Dan can send out notice for volunteers
Symphony:
- Mitzi Palmer has renewal form from city. Katie is on the list as contact. Dan will reconnect Katie and Mitzi.
- 4 tickets were not used last year. Allotment? Katie will get back to us. “If you think you might be interested please reach out.” Usually do it in advance. Earlier you order the better the seats. Members only can get tickets. Good way to get people to join.
Skipped a few agenda items TBC
- 7/30 next workday in the park, 10/1 as well.
  - Katie- Suggestion on workday- what about volunteers that live outside of neighborhood? Will put notice on sandwich board at Monument for next workday 2 weeks in advance.
  - Carol- bulb planting in the park in Oct?

MONA GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING 2/24/22

– Roughly 18 Neighbors in attendance at Randall Museum

-Presenters:

Department of Public Works: Raymond Lui and Anya Disbrow (anastasia.disbrow@sfdpw.org)
District 8 Supervisor: Rafael Mandelman (Jackie Prager, David Burke in attendance)
SF Safe: Art Campos, Public Safety Coordinator

-Recognition of outgoing MONA board members Sarah Monroy and Herb Williams

-Re-election of current board members: Dan Slaughter, Carol Glanville, Esther Marks, Mimsy Goodman (unanimous)

-Election of incoming new board members: Katie Wilcox and Susan Takaki

-Motion to add adjoining streets to MONA: Roosevelt Way (17th Street to Masonic) and 17th St (Roosevelt to Clayton)
All board members elected and motion PASSED unanimously

Dept of Public Works: Monument Way stair project:

Construction beginning May 2022
Cal State Constructors hired to do the project
No stairway access during estimated 4 month duration of project
Will be very loud noise the first 2-3 weeks of the project
Work hours 7:00am-3:00pm
They plan to store construction equipment on Upper Ter, but residents noted narrow sharp turn and suggest using street space on Roosevelt (near 17th). Scope of project to include 175 ft new concrete stair and walls, new handrailing along entire stairway (on both sides), recessed lighting placed every 8.5 ft along entire east side of stairs (will remain on all night). Electrical box panel also to be installed on the wall facing 17th street.
Budget for stairs: $1M.
DPW inspects stairways every 4 years. These have been on their radar for quite some time

Issues, questions:
- How to integrate landscaping funds from Mandelman with stairwell project? Answer from DPW: stairs first, then landscaping second
- Concrete retaining wall from 353 Upper Terrace to remain
- Sewer drain- existing drain clogs during rainstorms, is DPW adding new drains? Answer: current drain “tough situation, happens everywhere”. Not adding new drains
- Need for lighting on bottom steps @17th Street. DPW will need to research.
- Removal of planters owned by 330 Upper Ter
- Signage- who maintains? DPW
- Adding colorful tiles, etc- can be both publicly & privately funded. No current plans to do that

Mandelman

Only 13 graduates from Police Academy this year. Losing 100 officers/year. Police force consistently down over the years.
David Burke- district 8 public safety liaison- go to for break-ins, crime, etc
When emailing Mandelman, please also CC someone from his office as he receives high volume of emails
Current issues he’s working on:
- Homeless, mental health needs
- Expand shelter capacity
  Focus on conservatorship
  Land use/Housing: limit monster homes
  Chair of transportation authority- caltrain & high speed rail @ Salesforce Transit Center
  Environmental legislation- adding more EV charging stations
Questions from neighbors:
- $5K addback allocation for Mt Olympus park- if not used will be resorbed back to general fund
- Buena Vista pPark- specific locations need extra cleaning due to human biohazard. Mandelman was not aware of how bad it is there
- How can people help with the homeless/mental health/crime crisis? Two things:
  1. Ask city to commit to shelter people to get them off streets. Can also check out Rescue SF
  2. Figure out placements for people that need extra supervision, not incarceration, non-jail alternatives for petty criminals

Steph Blachowski asked re add lighting in Mt Olympus Park. Follow up with Jackie Prager
Carol Glanville noted PGE not doing their job, some streetlights not functioning properly, for years. Mandelman’s office can help expedite that issue
How are the millions spent on homeless allocated?- Shelter is not cheap. $150/per person/night – because the shelter needs staff to make it safe, effective. Need to focus on immediate shelter vs permanent housing

SF SAFE

Provides individual residential security assessments for free
Suggests installing motion sensor lights to deter criminals
Safety tips for preventing garage break ins
- Plexiglass instead of glass
- Deadbolts
- Motion sensor lighting, especially dark areas. Or keep dark areas lit all night

MEETING ADJOURNED

MONA BOARD MEETING – 01/27/22

Present:

Dan Slaughter
Carol Glanville
Esther Mark
Katie Wilcox
Herb Williams

I. Budget Report – Esther

Cash on hand $5746.97

85 members currently (may not be completely accurate)

II. Recruitment of new Board members

Discussed our desire to add 1-2 additional board members. Would be good to have someone tech savvy who could manage the MONA website, and maybe someone with experience with city govt agencies. These are nice to haves, but agreed that getting new board members to sign on is more important than requiring specific expertise.

We discussed approaches to recruiting new board members: e.g., ask people at park day, solicit people at upcoming full membership meeting, and can directly ask individuals we think might be good and might be willing.

Still need to schedule full membership meeting. Esther still trying to get response from Randall Museum folks without much success. If no firm date scheduled by Feb 15, we will consider other options (outdoor at park or museum amphitheater, etc.)

III. New Business

– Block party: discussed locations at Piedmont/Delmar/Ashbury Terrace corner or 100 block near intersection of UT and Ashbury Terrace or at Mt. Olympus Park. The Piedmont corner is pretty busy, so maybe close off Piedmont block is a better option. We would want to put out tables and chairs to make more comfortable and inviting.

– Potential timing: May 14 ’22 maybe 1-4pm. Katie will spearhead. We will need to get permit for closure and event. Will use MONA funds to provide some foods/beverages. Can also ask members to bring food items and beverages of choice.

-Crime meeting at Laura Sanchez: Outdoor meeting with residents and Police and Supervisors – Very good turnout.

It was discussed the idea of having a group of neighbors get same camera and have footage available from different angles or vantage points if there is an incident. This could be complicated to administrate. We will ask SF SAFE to come to full membership meeting to give us a presentation on how to participate in a camera system.

-Increasing dues: Discussed possibly raising MONA dues. Discussed purpose of increase. Should be based on a set of projects we want to complete: social to encourage participation and membership, and physical improvements to common areas and neighborhood generally, e.g.: block party / replanting sidewalk area across from park / neighborhood cleanup/weeding / supplemental lighting and landscaping for 17th Street stairs, more elaborate holiday decorations (light poles, etc.) Having set proposed projects would drive support for increasing dues.

– Also discussed no dues increase but asking for contributions for particular projects for the coming year.

Need further discussion of potential projects and whether we need additional dues or contributions. Board members will each think about and propose potential projects and budgets for next meeting.

Meeting was adjourned at 7:35 pm.

MONA BOARD MEETING 09/21/21

Board Members Present:

Dan Slaughter (host)

Esther Marks

Mimsy Goodman

Carol Glanville

Topics Discussed:

Dan noted that Sarah Monroy resigned from the board a week prior to this meeting, citing her family and other community responsibilities. We thank Sarah for her service and wish her well. She promises to remain involved with MONA as a member.
Welcome to Katie Wilcox (74 Piedmont), in attendance at this meeting, who has agreed to join the board subject to vote at next general meeting. Katie will spearhead MONA’s social events.
We discussed the need to recruit additional board members, especially one from Clifford Terrace, Delmar, Masonic, Loma Vista. We would also like to recruit someone to help with the website and a renter, for diversity.
Budget Report (Esther): Current MONA treasury balance is over $6K. We have not had many expenses over the last year. Esther & Sarah Monroy’s & Mimsy’s membership flyer project over the summer and Dan’s reminder emails successfully spurred renewals and new memberships.
We discussed a block party in October, to coincide with the city’s “Phoenix” program intended to mark the re-emergence of social programs as the pandemic wanes. By consensus, we all felt it was too late to plan and execute such an event, but we will look for opportunities for a block party next year.
Holiday Decorations: We again discussed Piedmont Gates and Mt Olympus Park holiday decoration and agreed on a budget of approximately $500. Dan reported that Stephan Blachowski is willing to decorate and Dan will coordinate with him to purchase the decorations and put them up by December 4 weekend. We discussed informing the Piedmont neighbors that generally take care of the Gates to make sure they are aware of our plans and Katie said she would do that.
Holiday Caroling & After Party – We agreed on December 12 as the date for this event, with caroling beginning at 5 pm and the after party at 6:30 pm. We agreed it would be good to promote the event through social media and otherwise, making sure to note that kids are welcome and that people may place a candle in their window to show support or just turn on a porch light. Dan will ask neighbors that previously volunteered for the party if they are still interested, or find somewhere else to hold that. As always, MONA will pay for beverages and people can bring food to share.
Expansion of boundaries – At previous meeting we voted to add Roosevelt Way (both sides) from Masonic to 17th St, and 17th St (both sides) from Roosevelt/Uranus to Clayton. That expansion is subject to general membership vote at next meeting. We discussed whether to include the 1400 block of Masonic as well, but decided that area is more closely related to Haight Ashbury District.
General membership meeting – we are awaiting word from Randall Museum as to when we can have a general meeting in one of their meeting rooms. Since holidays are approaching, general meeting will be next year.
Monument Way Stairs – DPW’s project to replace the top portion of these stairs is slated to be started and will include lighting. After this board meeting we learned that the project will start “after the rainy season.”
Sidewalk area across from Mt Olympus Park. We will continue to solicit volunteers to maintain and beautify this area, perhaps putting plantings under the bushes and at the ends – MONA could buy plants if necessary.
Bus Line #6 – SFMTA is considering eliminating this line which many people (especially on Delmar) use regularly. Newsletter sent asking people to take MTA’s survey to express their opinion re removing this line.

Meeting was adjourned without discussing other agenda topics because of time constraints.

MONA BOARD MEETING 05/05/21

Wednesday, May 5, 2021

Board Members Present:

Esther Marks (host)

Dan Slaughter

Mimsy Goodman

Carol Glanville

Herb Williams

Topics Discussed:

– Budget Report (Esther): Current MONA treasury balance is over $5K. We have not had many expenses over the last year. Esther & Sarah plan to distribute membership flyers to the neighborhood in June.

– Holiday: Piedmont Gates Holiday decoration. Stephan Blachowski has said he would be willing to decorate if we propose and finalize early (November). The idea was also suggested of maybe having a decorating “event” just after Thanksgiving with Stephan directing the decorating among neighbors. We can provide a budget and Steph would source and acquire the decorations.

– New Board member: General agreement that we should seek to recruit another board member to replace Laurel Rohde. We discussed that it would be good to get someone enthusiastic about planning social events, etc. Dan proposed “Ed” from the 433 UT building. Mimsy suggested Katie and Rob Wilcox. Dan will ask Katie and Rob and go from there.

Some expressed that it would be good to maybe have a renter added to the board.

– New Resident Welcome Package – We discussed maybe putting together a new resident welcome package that might include the “I climbed Mt. Olympus” t-shirt; a fun facts sheet or newsletter, and other miscellaneous items. Who from board will be responsible? Not clear. We can maybe ask the new board member.

– MONA Boundaries: Hanus Jelinek of 520 Roosevelt inquired about extending MONA boundaries to include his area. (Roosevelt/17^th/ Loma Vista). We discussed and there was a motion to expand the MONA boundaries to 17^th street from Clayton to Roosevelt, Roosevelt up to Masonic. Both sides of the street. The motion was seconded and passed by unanimous vote. Dan will draw up a new map of the boundaries and bring to next board meeting. We will need to arrange to hand out membership fliers to the newly included buildings. Esther will assign. (This all assumes that the membership votes in favor of the expansion – at next general meeting – as required by By Laws.)

– Next General Membership Meeting – Possibly late October or early November. Dan will check to see availability of Randall Museum and let us know/schedule.

– Park Issues

Sidewalk area planting. Recently weeded/cleared. Dan and Herb will speak to Parks/Rec assigned maintenance guy (Shon) to ask about possible additional planting and care. We will need someone from MONA to supervise/oversee/care for any new plantings. Potentially Shon could resolve this issue by including it in his purview of planting/care (which we’ve always wanted anyway). We know that we have been told that sidewalk area is not a Parks and Rec area, but Shon seems to be willing to work in that area anyway.
We will try to find a volunteer to spearhead the sidewalk beautification and maintenance effort. Possibly use some MONA funds to buy plants and have new planting done as part of the next work day.

– Traffic limiting / Esther reports that there has been some progress with the traffic management efforts. Loma Vista is getting speed bumps; Upper Terrace (Masonic to BV East) is progressing toward speed bumps (notices going out)

Meeting was adjourned without discussing other agenda topics because of time constraints.

MONA BOARD MEETING 07/23/20
Present:Dan MimsyHerbEsther Carol (at end)
Discussed:
1. Neighborhood Cameras: Dan learned that a local individual (Eric Larson) is willing to pay for installation of cameras for neighborhood groups for increased neighborhood security. There are some concerns over who would “monitor” the video or be responsible for reviewing video when necessary for crimes committed and footage might be needed for police investigations. We think it makes sense to make the inquiries to see if the program would apply to MONA and see what the mechanics would be. Dan will make a note about the possibility of the program in the newsletter.
2. DPW finally came to trim and shaped the bushes opposite the park steps. Looks great. Now we have to maintain. One suggestion is that we buy a hedge trimmer and maintain them on a volunteer basis. DPW will not maintain. If we trim them every few months, it will remain an easy maintenance job. Herb has volunteered to be the keeper of the MONA hedge trimmers. Others in the neighborhood can borrow them. We can rotate volunteers to do the trimming. Herb said he would be happy to start the rotation. – Motion was made, seconded and passed to buy hedge trimmers at a max of $350, but afterwards we realized we have hedge trimmers purchased long ago and held by a neighbor. If those still work we can save the $350. We will draft a legal release document for those who will operate or borrow the trimmers.
3. Dawson & Clinton Development (Roosevelt/17th – Upper Terrace). Dan found out that they are selling the property/development. Dan thinks it will probably sell, though it is hard to know to whom or to what end. D&C previously pledged $150,000 for neighborhood improvement projects and it is unknown whether a replacement developer would make the same/similar commitment.
The meeting was adjourned.

MONA BOARD MEETING 03/04/20

(by Herb Williams, Secretary)
Minutes
Present:Dan Slaughter, Sarah Monroy, Carole Glanville, Laurel Rohde, Esther Marks, Herb Williams

Discussed:

Budget report and membership report – Esther & Dan
1. MONA took in $1575.45 in dues in 2019
2. Most came through using the envelopes left at neighborhood mailboxes.
3. Currently have $4134.77 in account / from the dues, and low spending/costs
4. May is next planning distribution of membership forms
5. Sarah will update membership letter before next distribution.

Spring or Fall block party or other social event?
1. Talked about something near PIedmont/Ashbury Terrace / having best garden contest (Greg/Wade will abstain)
2. Laurel thinks September is timing sweet spot.
3. Mimsy is assigned to think about potential events/project
4. Now doing 3 Work Days in the park per year. April, July and October (April 4 / July 11) April Workday now canceled due to Corona Virus issues
5. Maybe add a social/food/drink element to the work day to encourage more participation – Will add “catered” lunch after workday. Workday 9-12 and Lunch 12-2.
General membership meeting date? Speakers (new Park Station Police Chief? Mandelman again? Chiu?
1. We should probably have a general meeting twice a year. There’s no big need, but it’s a good idea.
2. Last one was November. Next one sometime in May. Agenda would speakers from city departments, new police chief, etc.
3. Could also poll attendees on possible events/parties, etc. “Would you be more like to attend. A/B/C?
Park and other public spaces
1. Work days scheduled for April 4, July 11 and October 3. April work day now canceled due to Corona virus issues
2. Parks Alliance – fiscal sponsorship (would need to apply next year as deadline for this year is in March) – or consider other fiscal sponsor?
  1. What will they sponsor? Sidewalk strip across from Mt. Olympus Park. Need to get rid of current landscaping, plant trees an maintain
  2. Carol will write up a request/question to the neighbors whose properties are responsible for the sidewalk section that needs work.
3. We need a “project” with a budget, what?
  1. Monument Way Stairs – waiting for DPW to say when they will start, what they will do – then we might consider fundraising for additional work (lights? Landscaping?)
    1. DPW guy says they are “about to put it out for bid.” Plan includes a lighting design. Dan has asked for the plans/drawings.
  2. Sidewalk across from Mt Olympus Park – consider project to re-landscape with trees that would be maintained by DPW, other plantings to be maintained by us.
  3. Some project that relates to Delmar, Piedmont & Ashbury Terrace area?
Traffic
1. Clifford/Roosevelt – progress?
  1. No progress that we know of at this point. Will try to get the MTA to come to the May general membership meeting.
2. 5-way stop – progress?
  1. No progress that we know of. We will keep checking
Various projects – D&C project (last estimate groundbreaking Summer 21 with payment of our $150k then); 247 UT; 272 UT (now apparently to be sold instead)

MONA BOARD MEETING 11/06/19
Attendance:Dan Slaughter, Sarah Monroy, Carol Glanville, Miriam Goodman, Esther Marks, Herb Williams

Holiday Caroling and Party

Considering the waning attendance the last few years, query whether we should continue?

Most think we should do something. Maybe not outdoor caroling in light of weather riskiness at that time of year.

Tentatively: Caroling starting at 5p and then a party at a home at 6p.

Dan proposed sending out a call for a volunteer to host, but we don’t expect an enthusiastic response.

If we don’t find a host we can just do caroling (with refreshments on the mailbox corner).

Budget Report and Membership drive – Esther

– After enlarged boundaries – new members enrolled from Delmar, Loma Vista and Upper Terrace

– Budget:

Treasury is almost $4000. Only significant expenses this period are the small fee when people pay membership dues by credit card (on website) and rental of rooms at Randall Museum for membership meetings.

– Spring Block Party

Some think we should have a block party in the spring – something in central location is probably best. Maybe where Delmar/Piedmont/Ashbury Terrace intersect.
April probably too early for weather confidence. Maybe early May is better timing

Mimsy will assume responsibility for coming up with a recommendation for a project or social event.

It was suggested we maybe have a Delmar best landscaping contest (and if successful, extend to other streets/sections) to encourage more direct participation among new and old members

Traffic calming

We have noticed traffic sensors at each of the 5 streets intersecting Masonic/Upper Terrace (streets before and after Masonic) /Loma Vista/Roosevelt Way

Board confirmed that Sarah can represent to SFMTA and other traffic calming city agencies that MONA supports some action at Clifford Terrace and Roosevelt

Parks and Public Spaces

– Possible projects: We asked about putting lighting on the stairs. If DPW says no, we could make a project (write a grant proposal or use Dawson/Clinton donation); landscaping on stairs; irrigation system in Mt. Olympus, or others.

– Sidewalk across from park stairs – Parks/Rec said they can cut down bushes and plant trees that will be maintained by the city. We should follow through and finalize process

Dan will put out “Help Wanted” email that lists things we need (gardening, hosting, etc.)

Carol proposed that we thank those residents who volunteer their homes for polling places.

Meeting was adjourned.

MONA GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING 09/18/19

(by Herb Williams, Secretary)
13 MONA members in attendance, 2 neighbors from Roosevelt, plus city staff

Randall Museum. 6:30 pm
– Welcome and Agenda – Dan Slaughter

– First Speaker: Ray Lui – Structural Engineer, Section Manager-Design & Engineering – Dept of Public Works
Ray discussed the needed repairs to the Monument Way Stairs (between Upper Terrace and 17th Street)
DPW has put together plans for repairs and they have money to rebuild the upper portion of the stairs Upon inspection, the bottom area of the stairs near 17th Street appear in pretty good structural shape. Repairs needed in upper section and rampSome steps will be added / walls are leaning and will be rebuilt DPW expects to get plans to contractor candidates and within a few weeks get an estimate. The project should start shortly thereafter (and the neighborhood Project would likely start in Winter 2019-20. Stairs will be shut down during construction. 90-120 days till completion.
DPW will try to preserve the style of the 1926 wall and will add handrailing Additional lighting is still an unanswered question. Need to determine from what source to pull power. Electrical engineers will inspect and draw up plans.
Regular maintenance by Ray’s section is only structural checks every 4 years. There is a separate DPW section in charge of street sweeping that would be responsible for public stairways also, and it was noted that usually only the bottom of the stairs is swept (every once in awhile) and trash accumulates on the stairs and around it. If there are problems between inspections (including need for sweeping), best for community to make 311 calls to report problems.

– Second Speaker: Carla Short, Superintendent, Bureau of Urban Forestry, DPW
Carla addressed the question of maintenance of the shrubbery in the public right of way across from entrance to Mt. Olympus Park (the sidewalk strip).   In July 2017 pursuant to Prop D, DPW took over maintenance for all street trees in public right of way. Even if not actually in sidewalk (and even unofficial streets) Before, the the city had assigned responsibility to adjacent property owners including any landscaping or other plantings under the trees.
The new city responsibility only extends to trees and not any shrubbery or other plantings.   The plantings in the right of way across from the park are not considered trees and therefore will not be maintained by SF Public Works. The shrubs at the sidewalk are officially the responsibility of each of the 4 property owners that are adjacent (back of properties that front on lower Upper Terrace – 248, 260, 266 & 272 Upper Ter).
There was extensive discussion about how unreasonable it was to ask those property owners to maintain a space that we believe DPW originally planted, and which is on the other side of a city-installed concrete fence.Carla posed some possible options. Public Works can set up work day with community to help maintain the area, providing tools and assistance. This would be one time only and would include trimming the bushes.Also can work with neighbors/owners to replace shrubbery with trees which would then be maintained by Public Works. If plant trees the neighbors are responsible for regular watering for first 3 years.   Public works trees can be surrounded by decomposed granite covering and no additional planting, or we could have plantings which we would have to maintain. Public Works would provide tree type options and community can choose what trees to plant.
Carla also noted that the area can be added to the District 8 Community Clean Team project that would help maintain the area annually. MONA could schedule a work day to correspond with the Clean Team work day.
On a separate note, Carla will determine if the Eucalyptus trees at top of Monument Way Stairs are in public right away and thus the responsibility of Public Works. She will also determine if the trees are eligible for removal.

– Third Speaker: District 8 Supervisor – Rafael Mandelman
Rafael discussed traffic calming issues and current status. An evaluation of area on Roosevelt between Clifford Terrace and Museum Way is scheduled for Spring 2020. Other requests may also be in progress. Representatives from Roosevelt (outside MONA area) inquired about the intersection between Masonic/Roosevelt and generally about speed of cars on Roosevelt.
A Transportation Network Company (TNC rides – Rideshare companies) tax is on the ballot for November. Rafael encouraged us to vote for the measure as it will provide additional money for traffic calming and similar projects.
Rafael introduced his Legislative Assistant, Erin Mundy (in attendance) and noted that she is the point person on these traffic issues (among other things). He encouraged people to reach out to Erin with follow up. Erin.Mundy@sfgov.org. 415 554-6086
Rafael took questions and commented on issues around mental health, homelessness, motorized (including electric) scooter rules, drug use, congested Bay Area roads and MUNI improvement efforts.

– Boundary proposal
Following the guest speakers, the membership took up the question of extending the boundaries of MONA membership.
The proposal was to add to the MONA area:- The first block of Upper Terrace (0-99)- Loma Vista Terrace and – 100 block of Delmar
The matter was discussed and a motion was made and seconded. The motion passed with a majority “Yes” votes and no opposition votes (there were some abstentions).
Dan Slaughter reminded everyone of the next volunteer work day in Mt. Olympus Park, Saturday, Oct 5 from 9 am to noon.

The meeting was adjourned at 8 pm.

MONA BOARD MEETING 08/14/19
Minutes:

Present –
Dan Slaughter, Herb Williams, Carol Glanville, Miriam Goodman, Esther Marks

Meeting called to order.
– Discussed how to get a broader representation from other streets into the association (other than “mostly” Upper Terrace).
Some think we should add first block of Upper Terrace, Loma Vista, and Delmar (1 block) . . . most think there is no downside to increasing the boundaries to include these.
Motion was made and seconded to add those 3 streets – and was passed.
Noted later that a by-law vote at a general meeting is required, so Dan will add to agenda of September 18 general meeting.

– 501c4 – status has been approved by both IRS and CA Franchise Tax Board. Means MONA dues and other income does not have to be reported to tax authorities as income. However, donations are not tax deductible.
– Ester delivered membership envelopes to neighborhood homes and approximately 10 new members have joined.
– Park and other Public Spaces – we missed July deadline to apply for fiscal sponsorship with the Parks Alliance. Possibilities for grants from Supervisor Rafael’s office – many options, but a great deal of work is required because of high competition. DPW has stated that the structural engineer who went to examine the Mt. Olympus Monument Way Stairs is going to come to our general meeting in September. Dan will try to contact engineer ahead of time to find out what he plans to cover. Sup. Rafael Mandelman is scheduled to attend as well.
– Dan also spoke with DPW about the sidewalk across from Monument Park. DPW says they did not plant the bushes, and that they are only responsible for tree maintenance. Dan is continuing to talk to DPW about options for them to take control/care of the sidewalk strip.
– Traffic: Most neighbors are concerned about neighborhood traffic. Esther talked with many neighbors when distributing membership information. No one objected to the idea of a circle at the 5-way intersection at Upper Terrace/Masonic/Roosevelt Esther has applied for traffic calming at the intersection. Also Esther also made a 311 application for evaluation of the intersection at Clifford and Roosevelt – a staffer has been assigned to evaluate that request.
– Street lights
PG&E has been adding new lights and changing lights in older fixtures along Upper Terrace. Some of the lamps flicker or go off and on. Carol is speaking to PG&E about resolving the problem.

– Crime/Police Interaction
Park Station Police Newsletter has a weekly crime blotter and other information relating to policy activity in their jurisdiction which is much wider than MONA area.
Note that in previous board meeting Esther advised that a couple of checks paid to the city for permits for block parties were not cashed. We agreed Esther should close out those payments and add amount to budget balance.
Reminder – General Meeting September 18, 2019 at Randall Museum (Upstairs Room).

Adjourned.

MONA BOARD MEETING 05/01/19
Attending: Dan Slaughter, Carol Glanville, Sarah Monroy, Herb Williams, Esther Marks

The meeting was called to order at 6:30p
I. General- We decided the next general membership meeting should??be September. It can help up increase interest in the upcoming SF symphony event.
– We also discussed: Inviting Rafael Mandelman (Dist 8 Supervisor) to the general meeting. Invite a DPW representative – Mohammed Nuru (Director of SF DPW)
-We again discussed that a board member should attend the SFPD Park Station neighborhood meetings. Mimsy has previously volunteered to be the police liaison. In her absence, we decided Mimsy should go to the next meeting and report back to us at next the board meeting (or general membership meeting).
– When sending out the notice of the general meeting, we should note that the above guest speakers from the city (DPW, City Supes, etc.) will attend. This should encourage attendance.
– We should discuss the new recycling rules at general meeting.
II. MTA – Parking Permit proposal. Nothing seems to be happening so we should leave it alone.
-Back Alley Way – Discussed trying to get it made a one-way to avoid over use by ride share drivers, etc, Dan will speak to Ardene Anderson about polling the property owners who abut the alley. We think a one way coming down the hill would be ideal.
III. RPD (Rec and Park)
– We want to ask Rec and Park to add a trash can to the Mt Olympus Park. We decided the best location would be the sidewalk area near water cage which is DPW responsibility. We assume if placed, they will handle trash pickup. As a fall back location, RPD could maybe place the can at the top of the stairs (and around the back side so as to not mar the appearance from the street)
– The board agreed that we should have a Park Day quarterly instead of twice a year. We should have name tags available so people can get to know each other. Dan should continue to meet with Frankie before the event to set up a plan for the Park Day. Next one should be July 13 or 20.
– Parks Alliance – Carol is still looking into this. Nothing has changed. Esther thinks we should raise money first then find a fiscal sponsor. Dan will get a Parks Alliance application for us to review and decide if we should apply.
-Esther’s Financial Report. Current balance. $2197- Laurel paid for the block party with a check that wasn’t cashed by the city. ($247) – MTA check we paid for the block party itself was never cashed. ($192)- So those bchecks could possibly clear later.
– 501c4 – we are waiting for state approval. Federal approval is complete.
IV. Social activities.
– Next block party? Laurel said it was a lot of work and wasn’t really worth it because of low turnout. Maybe we change location to the monument? Should we think about combining with BVNA (Java St. Party)? Maybe we make it a dog-focused event or other draw to attract more people. Herb suggested maybe we combine with Park Day (October) and encourage attendance at the party that will start at conclusion of park work (noon?).
Membership Drive – Dan revised and printed flyers. Sarah will distribute on Clifford Terrace. Katy doing Piedmont and Ashbury Terrace Esther – Masonic and Upper Terrace. Dan will send out emails to lapsed members. Hopefully will result in flood of new/renewing members
Scott Weiner’s Housing Bill SB50 – we think it best not to take a position on this.
Website – We should continue to increase and improve the site. Herb’s bio is still needed.
Newsletter – Dan will do as needed

Adjourned 8 pm

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