[Ed. note: This is a condensed version of the official minutes, which are available for download here.]

The March Edition of the Emerson-Garfield Neighborhood Council came in like a lion at a couple of minutes after 7pm on March 13.

Chair Liorah Wichser started the meeting with a vote for a new logo for the Neighborhood Council. Three submissions had been submitted by three submittees, all of whom were present. A silent vote was taken and the winning logo was submitted by Liorah Wichser. It was a very fair vote and totally a coincidence that the Chair of the Committee has a name very similar to that of the the winning artist.

Thanks to Joe Snodgrass and Stan Burke for their artistic submissions. [Ed. note: All three logos will be featured in an upcoming post.]

Garbage Czar Karl Boldt spoke next and gave a report on the Neighborhood Clean-Up Day scheduled for Saturday, April 27 from 9am to 12:30pm. It will again be held in the parking lot of Faith Bible Church at 600 W Cora. There will be bins for garbage and clean green, just as in the past. In addition, there will be a recycling bin for metals of all kinds (other than radioactive) and an area for household hazardous waste. That means paint, chemicals and radioactive iridium 358. The Salvation Army will also be there to accept resellable items you would like to donate. [Ed. note: An upcoming post will have more information about Neighborhood Clean-Up Day.]

There will be a large furniture pick up scheduled for later in June. You need to register with Karl at (509) 325-3031.

Next was a brief update on the status of registering the group as a 501(c)(3) organization. Bylaws are being written up and a board of directors is going to be needed. The board will probably consist of 5 to 7 people and you can be one of them. Contact Liorah if you so desire.

Elections of new officers will be scheduled for next month. Liorah, E.J. and Stan are the nominating/railroading committee. Liorah has announced she is stepping down. E.J. has said he would like to become chair if no one else is so inclined, and Stan, your humble writer of minutes, will stay on for a fourth year if no one else wants the job, but he would also happily step aside. That means the vice chair and/or co-chair job is open and ready for someone like you. Contact anyone of the officers to submit yourself for electoral consideration.

The Corbin Senior Center has been buzzing with activity. The Luau was a great event. The 9th Movin’ & Groovin’ Fair was a happening event with 70 vendors, lots of great food and lots of people attending.

There will be a Pancake Breakfast on April 27 from 8:30 to 11am. Tickets are $7 per person and are available at the front desk or at the door the day of the event — so get some breakfast and then dump your garbage at the aforementioned Neighborhood Clean-Up.

Corbin and Emerson-Garfield will be holding a yard sale on May 11. The Corbin Golf Scramble will be at Indian Canyon on June 21 and sponsored by Pine Ridge Alzheimer’s Care Center.

The Neighborhood Planning Committee is still suffering from a woeful lack of attendance. Committee Chair Jay Cousins and one other person were at the last meeting. If you want a say in the future of how the neighborhood looks, the meetings are held on the first Thursday of the month at Corbin Senior Center. The next meeting is Thursday April 4 at 6pm. You should go.

Lt. Dean Sprague informed the group of the latest trends in crime in the neighborhood over the last month. There is all kinds of information available at www.spokanecops.org.

The Community Assembly met recently and discussed the stormwater/sewer project and heard a speech from the mayor.

In neighborhood news, Eline Helm is spearheading a Concert in the Park Series. Nothing is scheduled yet but this effort is underway and Eline would love more involvement.

Community Development rep Sara Kimball was not available but sent an update on sidewalks. Priorities are being organized for the 29 areas of concern. Not all areas will be addressed this year as funds (as always) are limited. The new swings in Corbin Park are in and two new horseshoe pits will be installed in the area of the old swing set. The new play equipment for Emerson Park has arrived and will be installed in late April.

The committee chose to recommend cross walks in the area of the Safeway store as the priority for our traffic calming projects.

With that, the meeting was adjourned at 9:12pm.