CHAIR'S AGENDA AND NOTES
 BROMLEY HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION MEETING
 MARCH 12, 1992
 7:30 p.m.

 GUEST OF HONOR:  Mayor Elizabeth Brater, City of Ann Arbor.

  I.  Minutes of December 17, 1991 meeting--handout
 II.   Treasurer's report deferred until later--instead,  a brief
       history of the recent interaction between BHA and City.
 III.  Old Business
 IV.  New Business--including Backyard Composting presentation.
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 GROUND RULES FOR TONIGHT'S MEETING
 The composting presentation is to start about 9:00.

 1.  Sandy will read from a prepared document.
 2.   The Board and the Guest of Honor will discuss the topic just

 read.
 3.  Discussion will be invited from the floor.
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 I.   Minutes available as handout from Cindy Baker--circulated to
 all Board members present.
 II.  Treasurer's report deferred.
 Instead,  for the benefit of the Mayor and for others who do  not
 regularly attend these meetings,  there will be Introductions and
 a Brief history of recent interaction between BHA and City
 Introductions:
 Current Board:   Sandy Arlinghaus,  Pres.; Elfriede Hofacker, VP;
 Cindy Baker, Sec'y; Jim Henderson, Treas.; Claudia Chaffee, Marie
 Kilbane, Mike McConnell, Ken Reader.
 Members  of  previous  boards (BHA formed  9/29/86--there  was  a
 predecessor (North Campus Heights Association),  starting perhaps
 in 1963 but not continuing until 1986)--the current Board extends
 its  deepest  appreciation  to these individuals--they  have  all
 worked   long  and  hard  to  support  the  interests   of   this
 neighborhood at various stages of its development.  Their efforts
 serve as inspiration for the rest of us.  Thank you--
 Bill  Baker,   Mel  Barclay,   Carolyn  Bovenkerk,  Norma  Getty,
 Marguerite  Harms,  Len Meltzer,  Howard Parker,  Lillian Rogers,
 Carole Rycus, Howard Schafer,  Morris Taber, Barbara Wexall.
    We  have  adopted the view that a cared-for neighborhood  is  one
 that is clean and is one in which urban detail is attended to.  A
 cared-for  neighborhood is self-perpetuating;  it sends a message
 to prospective buyers as well as a variety of others.   The  City
 has been extremely cooperative and supportive of our efforts;  in
 addition  to the Mayor's Office,  Wendy Rampson and Nancy  Gibson
 have  been willing and responsive regular listeners who  transfer
 our various concerns to appropriate offices within the City.   We
 thank  them  and  the many others in City Hall who have  been  so
 helpful.

 Interaction that has led to results--over past 1.5 years.
 1.  New stop signs to replace worn ones.
 2.  Misspelled sign on Briarcliff replaced.
 3.  New Neighborhood Watch signs where needed.
 4.  Two new permanent picnic tables in Bromley Park.
 5.  One new temporary picnic table in Bromley Park.
 6.   Rerouting of heavy trucks, off Huron Parkway--No Trucks sign
 installed.
 7.  Repainting of lines in Prairie to create a third lane.
 8.   Rerouting  of  School  buses that were taking  a  short  cut
 through  Bromley.   Now  such  buses use Nixon;  all  others  use
 Aurora.
 9.  Apparent widening of Prairie at Plymouth.
 10.   Continuing  efforts of the Zoning Department to  work  with
 Plymouth Mall and First of America concerning parking lot lights.

  Because  the City has helped the neighborhood,  and  because  the
 neighborhood  has helped itself,  there is a renewed pride in the
 neighborhood  on  the  part of a large  number  of  individuals--
 evidence:

 1.   The donation of a handmade picnic table to Bromley Park from
 an anonymous resident of Bromley.
 2.   The  efforts of a group of neighbors on Nixon Road to  clean
 out the cut-through on City property from Briarcliff to Nixon.
 3.   Letters  of appreciation and constructive input.
 4.  Morris Taber's gift to Thurston Library in recognition of the
 improved appearance of the neighborhood.
 5.  New fences in some backyards along Huron Parkway facade.
 6.   Complete repainting of the Dolphin Swim Club building, sign,
 and associated facilities.
 7.   Efforts  of  the Pool Board to raise money for the  Pool  in
 imaginative ways.  Swim Team,  raffle,  bake sale... BHA applauds
 them!
 8.   Constructive  interaction  between the Pool Board and  BHA--
 (e.g.,  BHA donated a roast turkey to their party,  and hot  dogs
 with trimmings to a football weekend;  BHA also continues to note
 their activities in our Newsletter).
 9.   Cleaner  sidewalks and tree lawns--result of greater care on
 part of pet owners.
 10.   Effort  of  Mary Ann Gasiorek in organizing a  neighborhood
 garage sale.

 III.  Old business.
  1.  CONGESTION.
 The intersection of Plymouth and Prairie--
 this intersection is being widened on the side of the street that
 presently  has one lane.   There are now three lanes for  easing,
 only  somewhat,  the  exit from Bromley at this  location.   This
 intersection  is  apparently  too close to  the  intersection  at
 Plymouth  and Huron Parkway to warrant a traffic light;  Plymouth
 is  to  serve  as a swift-moving  conduit  for  surface  traffic.
 School  buses  have  been rerouted to remove the danger  at  this
 intersection  reported  by many (Thank-you note  sent  to  Public
 Schools;  reference from Art Hughes in the City).   There are now
 no  buses  using Prairie as a short-cut;  all  non-special  buses
 enter  Bromley via Aurora.   There remains considerable danger of
 head-on collisions at this intersection for east-bound traffic on
 Plymouth  turning  left into Bromley during  morning  rush  hour.
 City cannot repaint Plymouth lines;  lines must conform to state-
 wide traffic regulations.   Best bet is to avoid this situation--
 enter  on  Aurora  or  Bluett.   BHA wrote  a  letter  to  Police
 Department  involving selective enforcement at this intersection.
 Need written log of incidents--time and situation.
  Traffic lights--
 There  is  currently no safe exit,  with a  traffic  light,  from
 Bromley. Our neighborhood of 231 homes needs at least one traffic
 light  for  residents who are willing to drive a bit  farther  in
 order to exit the neighborhood at a light--for example, at Bluett
 and Nixon.  A light at this location would help our community and
 others, too.
      There  is also a related serious problem at  Huron  Parkway
 and  Nixon.   First,  there is a need for selective  enforcement;
 many  drivers simply do not look--they are not yet accustomed  to
 the new intersection.  Second, the stop sign on the Huron Parkway
 Extension  forces the eastbound traffic on the extension to  stop
 almost  out  of natural sight range of the southbound traffic  on
 Nixon.   Finally,  the pedestrian hazard at this intersection  is
 severe.  Selective  enforcement might help,  but most of us doubt
 that it will solve the problem.   We assume that at some point in
 the near future,  the City will repaint the crosswalk lines which
 also will help some.   A far more difficult problem is that  many
 senior  citizens  use this pedestrian route,  on either  side  of
 Nixon--they  walk  from  home to the shopping  malls  often  with
 little  carts.   Many cannot clear this intersection in an amount
 of time that satisfies anxious drivers constrained only by a mere
 stop sign.   The road is simply too wide for that to be possible.
 We think that a traffic light would solve this problem.

2.  HURON PARKWAY FACADE
 i.   Wish for City to landscape the 3-foot wide strip between the
 sidewalk and Huron Parkway--to have them do so,  perhaps, as part
 of the landscaping effort of the Huron Parkway Extension and berm
 associated with the Traver Village development.   The landscaping
 of Huron Parkway south of Plymouth Road is lovely;  we would hope
 that the landscaping on the Extension, and the berm, will be too.
 It  would appear to us to make good sense to fill in the  gap  on
 Huron  Parkway,  between  Plymouth  and  Nixon,  with  attractive
 landscaping,  as  well.   This would produce a consistently  nice
 impression of Huron Parkway; without it, the Huron Parkway facade
 that abuts Bromley may suffer in contrast.
 ii.   Parks  Department said they had no budget for this sort  of
 project and suggested that I contact UM to see if this might be a
 suitable  student  project  for  a  course  in  the  College   of
 Architecture  and  Urban Planning.   Have made only very  general
 inquiry;  one  response to that was that the City  might  request
 this from UM for this strip of land.
 iii.   Talked  with  a professional outdoor sculptor  about  this
 issue;   the   siting   of  large  outdoor   sculpture   requires
 considerable  attention to landscaping--think of the fences as  a
 large  outdoor sculpture.   His view was that shrubs  of  limited
 growth,  6 to 8 feet tall,  would form a nice facade.  He thought
 the  main difficulty in choosing plants would be in getting  ones
 that  are  salt-resistant;  he  suggested that any  good  nursery
 should  be able to come up with good information on  this  matter
 and  on  other  issues  related  to  roadside  plantings.   As  I
 understood it,  his view was that limited growth shrubs also have
 limited root systems (reducing danger to sidewalk and shrub);  he
 thought that a plant such as forsythia,  that blooms early in the
 spring,  that  self-propogates,  and that forms a dense branching
 structure would be good.   Some sort of distinctive long  display
 of a single flowering shrub would form a landmark display,  as do
 the crab apple trees on Awixa.  There is, of course, the issue of
 maintenance  with a planting of this sort--who supplys the  water
 and  the pruning (Orchard Hills Homeowners Association apparently
 maintains  its center boulevard strip).   Perhaps BHA  should  be
 willing to do this--hiring it done from the YouthBank.   Issue of
 source for watering--can a faucet or two be installed?
  3.  BOOKS DONATED TO THURSTON SCHOOL LIBRARY
      When  his  term of service was up,  former BHA Board  member
 Morris  Taber made a donation to the Board in recognition of  the
 improved  appearance of the neighborhood.
      With Morris's gift,  Shari McConnell selected and  purchased
 the  following  books that have been donated to  Thurston  School
 Library--
  Butterflies  and Moths by Barrie Watts from the  Keeping  Mini-
 Beasts series.
    To Ride a Butterfly,  edited by Nancy Larrick and Wendy Lamb--
 pictures,   stories,   poems,   and   songs  by  52  authors  and
 illustrators  in celebration of the 25th anniversary of  "Reading
 Is Fundamental" (RIF).
     A  custom-made bookplate was inserted in each book;  Charles
 Engle donated his time and equipment to type and lay out the text
 agreed  upon  by Morris and the BHA Board.   Bill  Arlinghaus  of
 Digicopy donated scanner time and produced Charles's text on gold
 adhesive labels.
    The inscription on the bookplate is as follows:
 "Donated to the Thurston School Library.  Made Possible by a Gift
 from  Morris  Taber to the Bromley  Homeowners  Association.   In
 recognition of the appearance of our neighborhood--in particular,
 in honor of:
 1.   the donation of a picnic table, built by a Bromley resident,
 to  Bromley Park;  2.   the efforts of the Dolfins Pool board  in
 painting  their  building,  sign and other  improvements  to  the
 property;  3.   the efforts of families on Nixon Road in cleaning
 out  the  cut-through from Nixon  to  Briarcliff;  and,  4.   the
 continuing  efforts  of  the Hewens' household  in  planting  and
 maintaining the rose garden adjacent to Bromley Park.  September,
 1991."
     This donation of books is an important community project; it
 links  the Founding BHA Board with the present one;  it links the
 Homeowners Association with Bromley volunteers not on the  Board;
 it  links  extended  family not living in Bromley  to  BHA;  and,
 because   library  books  circulate  among  the  youth   of   our
 neighborhood (and others),  it perpetuates a present appreciation
 of Bromley.
 Thank you, Morris, Shari, Charles, and Bill!
 A thank-you letter was received from Thurston School Librarian,
 Anne Dake
  4.  PETS
 Need  sign  in Bromley Park to encourage dog owners to  stop  and
 scoop--attach  it  to  Bromley Park sign already secured  in  the
 ground?
  5.  LIGHTS IN FIRST OF AMERICA AND PLYMOUTH MALL PARKING LOTS
     Zoning  Coordinator  Jim de Wolfe spoke  with  Mr.  Moss  of
 Plymouth  Mall  who  will  work to redirect  lights  to  be  less
 offensive--over time,  they can get out of synch, due to wind and
 other  environmental forces.    (Look for effects over the course
 of  the  next  couple of weeks.)  He also  spoke  with  First  of
 America--their  lights meet code;  they will check out the  wall-
 mounted  one  over  the  ATM.   That light  is  there  at  Police
 request--F.A. will see if they can angle it down.   Again,  this
 will  happen  over  the  course of the  next  two  weeks  or  so,
 depending  on  weather  and such.   The problem here  is  one  of
 balance;  no one wishes to offend selected individual households.
 But  it is also the case that all of us,  including the  affected
 households, need to know that the parking lots are well-lit--both
 for  consumer  convenience and for public safety  throughout  the
 night.
  6.  DOLPHIN POOL
 a.   The  City cannot provide an extra,  new street light at  the
 foot of Briarcliff.  BHA will work with Pool Board to get a light
 suited to their needs,  that will not offend neighbors,  and that
 will  be easy to maintain and have low operating costs.   Need  a
 BHA Board member to do this.  Perhaps $50 for this??
 b.   Work  with  Pool  Board  to  get  advertising  for  the  BHA
 Newsletter from businesses; split the money with the Pool Board--
 c.   Give  Pool Board updated directory reflecting changes in our
 data  base;  they will work with us and give us new  information,
 too.
  7.  ROAD SURFACES
     The  City  continues  to patch our bad  intersections  on  a
 regular basis and it cleans the streets and plows them at regular
 intervals--all  of  the services are  very  good.   However,  the
 patches   have  patches  and  unfortunately  whole  surfaces  are
 disintegrating.  The same is true along Huron Parkway.
 8.  HELIPORT
     There   have   been  increased   sightings   of   low-flying
 helicopters  along  an east-west track over  Bromley.   They  are
 large  and make a good deal of noise.   What is the status of the
 situation at Ann Arbor airport with respect to hospital aircraft?

 BHA  opposes  a  new heliport in this region (as well  as  a  new
 airport or any similar facility).

 9.   NATURE  CENTER--any  new  information??   BHA  supports  the
 efforts  of  the group involved in restoring the  nature  center.
 Can we help them?
IV.  New Business
 a.  Letter to Parks Department--requesting extra sand at the base
 of  the slide in Bromley Park to cover exposed  cement  supports.
 Also  requested  sand elsewhere,  under swings and  around  other
 playground   equipment.    Asked  about  possibility  of  getting
 appropriate paint from the City if BHA can get the  labor.   Also
 asked  for "stop and scoop" sign.
 b.   Apparent  buried telephone lines.   It seems that the little
 orange flags in some tree lawns suggest that our neighborhood  is
 getting underground telephone cables.  That would be great!
 c.   Thurston School's Cub Scout Pack 160 is in desperate need of
 a  Cubmaster and several other committee members.   If we do  not
 have  these positions filled by adult volunteers (not necessarily
 parents) for 1992-1993, our Pack will lose its charter.  Call Bob
 Hubbard at 769-0822 or Debbie Lloyd at 995-3734.
 d.  Thurston Players--donate $25 this year??
 e.     There  will be a Bromley Subdivision Garage Sales  Day  on
 Saturday,  May  2,  from  9:00 a.m.  until 3:00  p.m.   Mary  Ann
 Gasiorek  will  place one large garage sale ad in the  Ann  Arbor
 News  and  have signs placed at each entrance  to  Bromley.   BHA
 should  support  Mary Ann--perhaps pay for newspaper ad  and  buy
 balloons  to  tie to participating homes--designate $50 for  this
 effort.   Get  Pool Board on it too--likely they  have  discussed
 this  already--good opportunity for them to show off in an effort
 to recruit new members.   Supply them with hot dogs and rolls  to
 sell--another  $25??   Designate  a day prior to this as  Bromley
 Cleanup day--pull grass out of cracks in streets,  pick up trash,
 help a neighbor, help clean out a cut-through...
  f.  Neighborhood Party in the Park??
  g.  BACKYARD COMPOSTING--PRESENTATION BY THE CITY
    Nancy Stone is contact person in Department of Solid Waste.
    She initiated the contact with BHA--many thanks!
    Presenter this evening is "Mr. Compost!"