Heritage Hill Association Board Meeting
January 21, 2015
Minutes
In Attendance: Jim Payne, Vicki Hudson, Suzanne DeHaan, Charles Roelofs, Erin Shupe, Mary
Robinson, Marie Koster, Deanna Smith, Todd Hoort, Peter Albertini, Stephanie Kolbe, Deb Bryker,
Teresa Dittmer, Ryan Huizenga
Absent: Kate Diedrich
Staff: Jan Earl
Public: John Scheid (Madison Street neighbor), Kyle Pray (GRPS community liaison)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Call to Order: 7:01pm
Jim Payne welcomed all to the 2015 HHA Board of Directors. With the beginning of the new year,
this meeting is where board members select neighborhood committees on which they want to
become involved.
Call for New Business – None.
Minutes – Minutes from December board meeting approved as written.
Correspondence Files circulating amongst board members.
Public Comment for Agenda – None.
Short presentation by Grand Rapids Public Schools’ new neighborhood/community
liaison, Kyle Pray. One of his main objectives is to reconnect/re-energize the ties
between schools and neighborhoods pushing for more community outreach through
neighborhood organizations and groups. He did imply that there were changes coming to
Heritage Hill’s Innovation Central, but had not been made privy to what those
upgrades/changes may be. Right now, he basically wanted to introduce himself.
Two Action Items and the treasurer’s report (agenda items 7, 8 and 9) were moved to the end of
the agenda due to the later arrival of treasurer Mary Robinson.
10. Staff Reports:
 Talked briefly about 201, 209 College NE. Owners have met or satisfied most house and
property code violations.
 HQ on State Street is thriving. Jan says reports from organization say the intended audience
has found the new location and it is being used.
 345 State Street construction going strong and a July 2015 opening is still planned.
 Stuyvesant Apartments are quiet.
 GRPS’s new museum school coming to museum archive building Fall of 2015.
 The opening of Pleasant Park was mentioned as one of the city’s many highlighted
achievements of 2014 by the mayor in his state of the city report.
 Search is intensifying for a grocery business for the Wealthy/Division block (ICCF’s Jonathan
Bradford has committed to a September 2015 retirement and sure would like that piece of
that neighborhood’s puzzle in place before he leaves).
(At this point, board members broke up into committees with old and new members finding their
niche, electing committee chairpersons and setting up later meetings (off-line) to discuss Board
Goals and Objectives for the 2015 year.)
11. Committee/Liaison Reports:
1. Administrative – Legacy Fund to be discussed later.
2. Fundraising – Talked briefly about some late donations - end of 2014 - from Kendall
College, Martha’s Vineyard and Mary Free Bed. Set up a meeting to discuss 2015.
3. Community Involvement – Set up a meeting to discuss 2015 Board Goals and Objectives.
4. Land Use Issues – Set up a meeting to discuss 2015 Board Goals and Objectives.
9.
Treasurer’s Report: Mary R. ran down the list of revenues and reported on how good
some of the line items were especially the residential donors, advertising, etc. She added
that the Association did well for the year meeting all the needs and expenses. Based on
reaction to the rise in membership dues, a suggestion was made to call the top 50 or so
donors just to thank them – and not solicit more money. No questions were asked
regarding the treasurer’s report.
7.
Action Item: Approval of board members sought to submit request for continued funding
from city’s Community Development Block Grant. Approved unanimously by board.
8.
Action Item: Heritage Hill Legacy Fund – Recommended by the HHA Finance Committee.
Mary R’s explanation for fund:
 Makes it simple for donors to provide long-term funding of the association.
 Covers many forms of donation including, but not limited to, cash.
 A minimum fund balance of $25,000 must be achieved before the association can begin
using interest earned from fund. The intention is to grow the fund.
 Idea is to give friends of Heritage Hill a chance to gift the neighborhood through a
long-term fund.
 The start involves getting the legacy fund policy in place, setting the structure necessary
to facilitating fund growth and then marketing the fund to the public/potential donors.
Peter A. commented he has seen this type of fund instituted by other organizations and
says it is well received and meaningful to all who take part.
Motion to establish the HHA Legacy Fund approved unanimously by board.
12. New Business – None
13. Old Business – None.
14. No Public comment.
15. Adjourned – 8:16 pm.
Submitted by Tom Truesdale