November 2022 Community Meeting Recap
Note: Any changes to the minutes should be directed to Lynnie at secretary@upperfellspoint.org.
Hybrid Meeting
Everyone was welcomed and new attendees introduced themselves.
Also, Telik Johnson from the state attorney’s office and Ethan Hasiuk from Councilman Cohen’s office were in attendance.
Guest Speakers
Moveable Feast (MF) - Angie Kelley, Community Engagement Manager
MF prepares/delivers medically tailored meals and provides nutritional education to Marylanders experiencing food insecurity and chronic illnesses. The services started in the 1980’s after the HIV crisis.
Some of their upcoming events are:
Ride for the Feast - bike rides of 40-100 miles and is their biggest fundraiser ($700K).
Client Care Package Drive - compile 850 bags with sanitizer, masks, lotions, soap, etc. for 850 clients.
Cranksgiving - teams of bicyclists collect food items in a scavenger hunt.
On Dec. 1st, Ministry of Brewing will be donating $1 from every pour to Moveable Feast.
Ways to volunteer are to help package/deliver meals for clients, and to work on single day events and fundraisers or send a donation. MF usually does not have volunteer opportunities on the weekend. To view their newsletter - http://mfeast.org.
Joshua Espinoza, the UFPIA’s Land-Use Committee, briefly presented an overview of the proposed new Land-Use Guidelines. An in-depth discussion will occur at the January 2023 UFPIA meeting and there may be a vote. The draft of the guidelines are on the UFPIA website – click here.
Officer Reports
President:
Bill reminded everyone of some upcoming events:
12/3 - Lighted Boat Parade in Fell’s Point at 6pm
12/4 - Winter Lights at Patterson Park at 4pm
12/17 - Tuba Christmas at the Inner Harbor at 3:30pm
12/21 - Window Solstice starts at Charm*d Kitchen at 5:30pm
This month’s UFPIA proceeds from the raffle will be donated to Moveable Feast.
Also, there is no community meeting in December.
Vice President:
Wendy stated that:
BGE has been tagging doors asking residents to contact BGE to schedule a time so they can connect the new gas meters to your house. Currently, they are working on the 100-300 blocks of S Wolfe. Contact Jason at 410-207-3475 to schedule your connection.
The UFPIA Light Up Your Holidays will be on Dec. 15th at 6pm but to participate in the contest, you must sign up by 12/10 at https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0d4aa9ab28a0fb6-light. Prizes are VISA gift cards of $150 for first place, $75 for second place and $50 for third place. The event is free and the stroll begins in front of Little Donna’s (1812 Bank). Stops along the way will be at Benders, B’More Taqueria, Spirits, Antojitos Hernandez, Angie’s Seafood, Ann’s Grocery and Ministry of Brewing. Also please bring a new, unwrapped toy for Toys for Tots.
Secretary/Parliamentarian:
Lynnie and Erik presented a Google groups blocks initiative to move away from the current “block captain” approach for targeted communications (such as BGE construction, internet outages, social, etc.). The opt-in option would be accessible to those without facebook or Nextdoor and would not be required/mandatory. To see the proposal - click Here. Option 1 would have four quadrants (line break includes both sides of the street) and require less volunteers. Option 2 would include individual streets. Either option would be available in Spanish.
Votes:
Motion 1: To support the proposed Google groups blocks initiative; motion passed. Motion 2: The Google groups blocks initiative format would be in quadrants as opposed to by individual streets; motion passed.
Committee Reports
Beautification
Mallory Kuehn—beautification@upperfellspoint.org
Clean-Ups: On Dec. 3rd and 17th from 9-11am.
If you need free leaf bags, contact Mallory.
Community Garden
Jan Mooney - communitygarden@upperfellspoint.org
The season is drawing to a close and gardeners are cleaning out their plots.
Education
George Croom — education@upperfellspoint.org
No news
Land-Use
Mark Hoffmann - landuse@upperfellspoint.org
See above under guest speaker #2.
Safety (sub-committee)
Chris Moad safety@upperfellspoint.org
No news
Media
Jan Mooney - newsletter@upperfellspoint.org
There has been a problem with the printing of the newsletter for the last two months so we will be trying to find another printer next year.
There is no newsletter or meeting in December.
Traffic & Parking
Kurt Schiller - trafficparking@upperfellspoint.org
Moveable Feast/Cranksgiving - Nov. 19th - UFPIA had 11 cyclists at the event.
Traffic Calming (ROWart) - On stall until NPL finishes their gas lines upgrade next summer; however, we may be able to start painting some of the planters early next year if we can find a location.
New Business:
Julienta lives in our neighborhood, is a climate change educator from Argentina and is now working at the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. She is working on increasing public transit and increasing the move to zero waste. Contact info - jrodrigo@cbf.org.
Patterson Park Academy of Music Chorus will be performing free concerts on:
a. Dec. 4th – Patterson Park by the Observatory at 4:30pm
b. Dec. 11th – Ministry of Brewing (1900 E Lombard) at 5pm
c. Dec. 15th – UFPIA’s Light Up Your Holidays starts in front of Little Donna’s (1812 Bank) at 6pm
d. Dec. 16th – Ministry of Brewing (1900 E Lombard) at 6pm
e. Dec. 21st – Window Solstice Event outside of Charm*d Kitchen (123 S Chester) at 5:30pm
Suzanne mentioned that the street light was removed from Bank/S Durham but Councilman Cohen’s office is working to get the light back. Also, if you want to compost your pumpkin, contact her at suebeebailey@yahoo.com.
Ethan Hasiuk (Councilman Cohen’s office) mentioned that they are working on a traffic calming collaboration with Washington Hill, Butchers Hill and the UFPIA. To contact him, 410-929-5479 or ethan.hasiuk@baltimorecity.gov.
Sweet Carolina’s stated they would like to be open on Sundays.
To vote on issues at a meeting, you must have paid your current dues (based on calendar year beginning in January), attended 2 of the preceding 11 meetings, live in our boundaries and be age 18 and/or attended UFPIA sponsored events/activities per our Meeting & Voting Regulations.
