East English Village Neighborhood Association Board Minutes – August 11, 2026 Meeting held In Person (5911 Bishop Street) and via Zoom Call
Present:
Greg Stolarski, President
Willie Burton, Treasurer
Maureen Dritsan, Secretary
Kathie Roddie, Street Rep Bishop
Lil Cortes, Street Rep Harvard
Priscilla Wilson, Street Rep Yorkshire
Judy Roth, Street Rep Harvard
Justin Hewitt, Street Rep Kensington
Ron Otto, Garden Club Co-Chair
Bettina Boyd, Holiday Event Chair
Minutes of July14, 2026 EEVNA Board Meeting reviewed. Motion to approve by Lil Cortes, seconded by Justin Hewitt. All in favor.
President’s Report:
Reviewed Goals & Plans for 2026 to focus on:
· Build Community
· Improve Safety
· Neighborhood Improvement
President’s Report - Plans/Accomplishments 2026
· Increase Resident Participation Discussion of how we can encourage more resident involvement especially among our new residents. What will attract more participation and take some of the pressure off the Board. Greg reviewed a Survey he prepared which included basic info w/questions such as Do you attend EEV Meetings? How often do you attend? Do you receive/read the newsletter delivered to your home? Do you think a printed/delivered o home newsletter is an important expense? Have you attended special events? If so, which events? What would encourage you to get more involved in the community? Would you be willing to sponsor or serve on a committee for an event? Are you on our current text distribution list? Input was provided and Greg will finalize document which will be included in our Fall newsletter as well as on our FB page and text distribution. Hopefully, info will help guide the Board in determining where to focus our energy for the 2026-27 year. Board members encouraged to invite three new residents to a meeting or event over the course of the year.
· Events – Budgets need to be established for each and every event to be considered/approved and submitted to Willie:
o Neighborhood Cleanups – EEV Neighborhood Cleanups were held on July 11 (Chandler Park Dr/Cadieux) and Aug 8 (Cadieux/Harper Lot) from 9 AM – 1 PM/ Same small number of individuals volunteering. We need to encourage additional resident participation.
o Morningside Summer Sizzler Cancelled – Saturday, July 18, from 1-4 PM at Three Mile-Munich Park cancelled due to poor air quality as a result of the smoke from Canadian fires. No rescheduled date has been announced.
o EEV Annual Garden Tour, Signage Landscaping– Ron Otto reported that eight gardens were featured. Forty-seven individuals attended the event on July 25. Eight gardens were featured with very positive feedback including a couple of individuals who expressed an interest in relocating to EEV. will be on the tour this year. Afterglow took place at Ron’s home following the event for the homeowners whose gardens were featured, the volunteers and Board Members. Detroit News Home Page featured a photo of Ron’s garden and info regarding the tour. Several people indicated they had seen the info publicized.
o EWDC Warren Fest – September 19, 2026 12 – 9 PM. Have not received updated info from Joe Rashid regarding details as to how EEV might be involved.
o Trunk or Treat – Participation w/DPD 5th Precinct and EWDC on both events
o Holiday Event & Tree Lighting w/Alger Theater Establish date/budget w/Jackie Grant
o EEV Residents Holiday Association Party – Chairperson Bettina Boyd reported to Board. Event is to be held on Tuesday, December 1st from 7-9 PM at the St. Clare Event space (Cost: $600.00) Committee decided against having a traditional holiday dinner due to the close proximity to Thanksgiving. Bettina spoke w/Jason, owner of Bogartz. Possibly a menu of sliders or lemon chicken. Bogartz to get some pricing. Ron suggested also contacting Diana Gomez, Kitchen Manager at EWDC. Planning on games/gifts for the This is for Residents Only and RSVP will be necessary to determine amount of food to order. A “Kids Corner” w/a simple craft like making an ornament or decorating Christmas cookies. A Cookie Exchange is also part of the evening. Music for evening was discussed. Carole Hoste was mentioned as a possibility as she is a DJ and has equipment. Ron suggested streamlining everything through Eventbrite. He will assist Bettina in the setup. We could also reach out to local politicians for donations. Plan to send a letter w/follow-up phone call w/request.
o 5th Precinct & EWDC – Active Participation throughout the year. Greg announced that our Neighborhood Police Officer Karen Maxey is retiring from DPD. Appreciation event open to the public is planned for August 13 from 12-3PM at the 5th Precinct and another one on September 2. Officer Maxey has been a great friend and support to EEVNA Board previously approved $100.00 Gift Card which Greg will present.
o Quarter Cuts – Crew cut five properties including Rhema Church on Cadieux. Grass was quite long and required cleanup prior to cutting at that site. Invoice being sent by Vaugn Arrington. Greg will determine other lots with total expense not to exceed $1,000 for the season. Fortunately, with minimal rainfall, grass has not grown very much. David Weisman property (6014 Yorkshire/corner of Berden) is still problematic. Not maintaining.
o Wayne County Street Maintenance – Wayne County Grass Cutting and Maintenance contracts were approved by the County Commissioners. Board approved a follow-up letter that was sent to Wayne County Executive Warren Evans (copying the Commissioners) thanking them for the approval but expressing our concern and requesting earlier finalizing of contracts for 2027. Copy of the letter was sent to Board.
Beautification Month – No awards this year. Board agreed selling EEV Pride signs as a fundraiser should be considered.
Home Plaque Fundraiser –Maureen & Justin delivered plaques to the households. There is one remaining plaque. Info was posted on FB but no response from residents.
T-Shirt/Hoodie Fundraiser –Possible Fall Fundraiser - TBD
Other Event(s) – No additional social events are being considered at this time. Councilwoman Latisha Johnson planning a Bar Crawl Event Sept 25, 2026 a5 5 PM w/First Place Lounge, Me & You, Warren Café and Little Liberia on the Agenda. We will publicize the event but not actively involved in the planning or executing.
East Warren Development Corporation Concerns – Also, election for EEVNA Commercial Liaison will be coming up. Jay Williams, owner of Next Chapter Books is our current representative. We will reach out to Jay and invite him to our September Board Meeting to obtain more info regarding the role and determine whether he is interested in remaining as EEVNA’s rep.
EEVNA, Morningside and the Alger Theater have all expressed concerns about status of the corridor with minimal updates. No newsletter article submitted despite advising of the submission deadline. No representation at General Meeting. EEVNA Board to determine how to best proceed in future collaborations w/EWDC.
1st Vice President – No Update – Tamika not in attendance
2nd Vice President – No update – Brad not in attendance
Treasurer’s Report of July 2026 Reviewed. Motion to approve by Maureen Dritsan, seconded by Kathie Roddie. All in favor. It is critical that budgets be submitted for all proposed events. We also need to investigate ways to encourage additional resident, local business/organizations financial contributions or grant opportunities in order to sustain the cost of these various expenses.
Smydra Foundation: EEV wants to publicly recognize their generous support of EEVNA. Submitting request to express appreciation w/presenting the “Spirit of Detroit” Award as two other eastside organizations, The Friends of the Alger Theater and St. Matthew’s St. Vincent de Paul Society have also been included as recipients of the foundation. We are still trying to coordinate a date that meets the Smydra’s schedule – possibly Sept or Oct General Meeting. We want to ensure a good turnout for this meeting.
New Business
EEVNA Letter of Support for St. Matthew Church – Board previously agreed to submit a letter responding to the Archdiocese of Detroit restructuring plan underway. A letter outlining the potential adverse impact closing St. Matthew Church could have on our Detroit neighborhoods was sent w/copy to Board.
Bridge Detroit Porchside Program – Maureen previously presented an outline of the program to engage residents as to what makes their neighborhood great and what areas might need improvement. Board agreed to participate in Sept or Oct in lieu of the scheduled Board Meeting. Ron volunteered to host. Maureen approached Bryce Huffman but there was a conflict w/dates suggested. Board decided that with all the other event commitments, we would decline participation. Maureen is on the Community Advisory Board for Bridge and will let Bryce know of the decision.
Next EEVNA Board Meeting: September 1, 2026
Next EEVNA General Meeting: September 15, 2026
Submitted: Maureen Dritsan, Secretary