CTC Board: July Update

Dear Neighbors,

Summer is in full swing, and it’s been wonderful to see all of the CTC residents out playing on the basketball courts and enjoying the playground equipment. Here is a recap of our annual board meeting at the CTC, what the Board has been working in during the last months and what has been going on in the community:

Building and Grounds Updates

Laundry Use and Reporting Issues

A reminder that laundry units operation hours are from 7:00am-10:00pm daily, outside of these hours is considered quiet time, so please be respectful of your neighbors and the community. If there are issues with machine performance, you can reach out to BDS and provide the unit number you’re having an issue with. If we have documented patterns with issues, we can better serve the community as a whole. A recent audit with BDS showed minimal calls to their support service with consideration to how many units that we have here on site.

Garbage and Recycling Disposal

Trash and recycling bins are plentiful at CTC. If a bin is full, please consider placing items in a nearby receptacle that has room for it. Because of high winds, trash can blow throughout the community if it is placed outside of these designated bins. Let’s keep our community clean and welcoming as this can also be a deterrent to theft and crime. 

Community Safety and Security

New Pilot Program for Catalytic Converters

Catalytic converters thefts continue to be a high-level concern among both CTC residents and the community at large. University of Minnesota Police are collaborating with the MN Department of Commerce to implement an adhesive ID tracking program (CATGUARD) and all CTC residents are qualified to receive one. The program is a pilot for heavily targeted vehicles. UMPD are still offering free CATGUARD labels to interested CTC residents. Labels can be shipped by the UMPD to your home address by requesting one at ctc@umnctc.org. As a reminder, it is important to stay diligent and report crimes as this can assist in placement of cameras in areas that are seeing theft. Arrests have been made due to the community taking action. 

Community Updates

Cleveland Ave Reconstruction

Construction along Cleveland Avenue has begun and will last throughout the summer. Vehicle are able to park in the Ray Place Lot but be aware of temporary no parking signs in some spots when cleanup and lawn maintenance are being done. Find construction updates on Ramsey County's website.

Volunteer Thank You

As we all know, volunteering is one of our main cores and what strengthens our beautiful community. In that sense we want to express a big Thank you to residents that have volunteered their time to lead the monthly food/supplies donation drives, that lead the night lights inspection and that proposed the idea of revitalizing the rock garden. Thank you Matthew Young, Haku Bo and Brad Walker! 

Fiscal Updates

The FY 2022-23 Rental Rates went into effect July 1, 2022, with a rent increase ranging between 2.75-3.25% depending on the unit type. The board voted on the approval of this increase after it was reviewed by the finance committee. A large contributing factor to this increase is our required 4% increase from the University Requirements. The Budget is looked at closely on what to cut so that this 4% is not reflected directly to the rent increase for the residents. Rent increases have been statewide, and the management team and the board do their best to minimize cost being passed on to our residents.

Community Voices

Remember that we love hearing from you! Your feedback and ideas are a great contribution to building a better community. Please feel free to reach any Board Member, send us an e-mail to Management or directly to the Board (board@umnctc.org), or join us during the Community Voices space of our Board meetings (or even stay for the whole meeting as well). You can also find ways to get involved here!

Board of Directors Updates

Member Welcome + Farewell

During the last months we have welcome the new Board members elected during our last annual meeting and that officially started their term on June.  Once again welcome Ever Mkonyi, Jyoti Sanini Sharma, Manlin Cui, and Taiwo Aremu and thank you for joining the Board! Also, last May we had to say goodbye and good luck to Senanur Avici Tosun a wonderful and valuable team member who finished her term at the Board. Thank you Sena, for sharing your time with us! And our more recent farewell was to Tanner Deeds, our chairperson of the board for the last two years that has stepped down as he is moving out of the CTC. Tanner has been an extraordinary resource in ensuring that every voice is heard, and he has been a tireless advocate for making the CTC a wonderful place to live. Your inspiration and leadership will be greatly missed, we cannot thank you enough Tanner and hope to continue your vision for the future in your closing words from our annual meeting:

Parting Words from Former Chair, Tanner Deeds

‘I want a different phrase to be what we leave with, and that is: let's get to work CTC! Let's get to work on the management side because you're a part of our community, too. Let’s get to work on making sure the transition is clear, and that there is an agenda and path forward for all residents, and that next board to the future board. Let's get to work on your vision for the community. Let’s get to work on the things you want to change and continue and emphasize to the residents. Let's get to work on making CTC the model for student community cooperatives. Let's make it a place everyone wants to live in so I’m going to challenge you to do 2 things when you see something beautiful, wonderful, and nice, whether it's a blooming tree or someone picking up trash: point it out to your neighbor and pointed it out to the community as a whole through the various Facebook pages.’

New Executive Committee

Finally, during our last Board meeting the new executive roles (to serve June 2022-June 2023) were voted: 

• Chair: Ryan Johnson 
• Vice Chair: Munkh-Erdene (Muugii) Bayarsaikhan
• Treasurer: Jyoti Sanini Sharma
• Secretary: Taiwo Aremu

Also, Amer Al-Homoud will serve as liaison with the Program Committees, Manlin Cui will serve also as liaison with the Operation Committee, and Ever Mykoni, May An and Sofía Simeto will serve as Board members.

Sincerely,

Ryan Johnson, Board Chair

Sofía Simeto, Board Representative