It’s an action-packed agenda at this month’s meeting of the Emerson-Garfield Neighborhood Council, which happens tomorrow (Wednesday, October 14) starting at 6pm in the Corbin Senior Activity Center Center (827 W Cleveland).
There’s an update from Community Frameworks on the West 315 revitalization at the corner of Washington and Mission. In other development news, one resident will be speaking to her concerns over a proposed 24-cottage facility by the Transitional Living Center.
We’ll also be continuing the conversation on neighborhood crime that we began with Officer Traci Ponto last month.
The council will be voting on the ambitious joint neighborhood gateway project with North Hill Neighborhood near of Monroe and Cora. Plus there will be more info on the proposed Centennial Trail extension along Doomsday Hill here in Emerson-Garfield, as well as a list of available dates for the upcoming community tree planting along W Mansfield.
That will be rounded out by a quick overview of what’s in Mayor Condon’s proposed budget for 2016 along with news on the upcoming neighborhood yard waste/leaf pickup events. October dump passes worth $20 will be available at the meeting for residents.
If you have a tablet or a smartphone, please help keep our printing expenses low by downloading the materials as PDFs:
This is a recap of the Emerson-Garfield Neighborhood Council meeting that took place on Wednesday, September 9.
In response to concerns about an increase in crime, Officer Tracy Ponto of the Spokane Police Department addressed neighborhood crime statistics over the last month. The reports include West Central as well parts of North Hill, so there is no distinction from Emerson-Garfield, but they do indicate some downward trends. Sexual assault is down this month. Commercial robbery is down, and robbery of a person is slightly down as well. Domestic violence has seen a year-on-year decrease. Total property crimes have shown a decrease of 16% from last month, and 9.56% from this time last year.
As for incidents of concern, there was a drive-by shooting on W Euclid, which was suspected to have targeted the wrong house. There was also a report of an elderly couple’s home being booby-trapped by an intruder who had settled in their garage.
To report squatters in vacant or abandoned houses, the Office of Code Enforcement is reachable at (509) 625-6083. For post-crime calls, call CrimeCheck at (509) 456-2233. When witnessing a crime in progress, please call 911. Officer Ponto stressed that reporting crimes will influence the future patrolling of an area.
Judith Gilmore from the Fulcrum Institute reported on recent progress at the Ash Street Workforce Training Station, to which the Emerson-Garfield Neighborhood Council has allocated Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds. All three of the one-bedroom affordable apartments have now been completed and rented. The retail area is finished and tenants are being recruited to fill all three training bays. The store, called The Station, will have a beverage bar and a retail counter. There are 80 adults (parents to some 59 children) from our neighborhood who are being serviced by the station.
Michael Cathcart, representing the Alliance to Protect Local Jobs, spoke on the subject of Proposition 1 on the upcoming November general election ballot. This is the fourth ballot measure in our area proposed by the same group, and none of the other three measures was successful. In response to some of the provisions of the proposed ballot measure, Cathcart said that employers who have as few as 150 full-time employees (or 300 half-time employees) would be required to pay a vague minimum wage (approximately $18.30/hour), which is higher than in any other city. If the city did not enforce the minimum wage, then the minimum wage would rise to $23/hour. The measure would also prohibit wage increases based on experience or seniority, which may reduce retention. Furthermore, there is also no definition of the effort, skill, or responsibility used in its language, which could lead to frivolous lawsuits.
The action item on the agenda was the reallocation of the $17,865 in 2015 CDBG funds that had previously been allocated towards a bus shelter on North Monroe. It was proposed that the council direct $10,000 towards Fulcrum and $7,865 toward the West Central Community Center, two of the EGNC’s top priorities as determined by vote during the August 2015 meeting. This would give the council an additional $17,865 to allocate for the 2016. The motion was passed unanimously with no abstentions.
The two traffic-calming requests that were submitted by the neighborhood council in February were addressed. The City responses were included among the meeting agenda.
The future of the North Monroe Street revitalization was broached and discussed. There were questions over the delay in construction until 2018.
Jonathan Martinez reported on the past several meetings regarding landlord and tenant issues. The role of City of Spokane Code Enforcement was also discussed; our neighborhood’s representative is Officer Chappie. Additional attendance on the rental property committee is encouraged.
After a relaxing summer of concerts, potlucks and markets, the Emerson-Garfield Neighborhood Council is back in full swing for its September meeting tomorrow (Wednesday, September9) at 6pm in the Corbin Senior Center (827 W Cleveland).
The tentative agenda includes news on the autumn Residential Tree Program (free trees!), Community Development Block Grants, traffic-calming projects and the rash of citywide crime, plus a guest speaker and the Alliance to Protect Local Jobs explaining why his group is opposing Prop1 on the November ballot. Judith Gilmore of the Fulcrum Institute will also be providing a brief update on the Ash Street Workforce Training Station. This is all fairly meaty and interesting stuff, so please make a point to attend, get informed, and be heard.
The EGNC welcomes newcomers! Whether you’ve just moved into the neighborhood or you’ve lived in Emerson-Garfield your entire life, we encourage you to drop in and see what the neighborhood council is all about. The EGNC is nonpartisan and maintains a friendly, open-minded atmosphere regardless of individual political affiliation.
If you’ve got a tablet or a smartphone, please help keep our printing expenses low and download the materials as PDFs:
[EDIT: One member has helpfully sent a link to the current CompStat figures from the Spokane Police Department, which should be useful when discussing crime with Capt. Traci Ponto at the September 9 meeting. Download them as a PDF here.]
We look forward to seeing you tomorrow. If you’d like to RSVP on Facebook and proclaim your attendance to the world, please do so on the meeting’s event page. You can also do so on Nextdoor.
The Corbin Senior Activity Center is holding its 13th annual Munch and Mingle Gala & Auction on Saturday, September 19. It’s the center’s biggest fundraiser of the year.
This year’s theme is The Roaring Twenties. Anyone who shows up suitably attired or ready to dance the Charleston will be entered into a prize drawing.
Doors open at 3pm so you can start browsing all the silent auction items. Dinner is at 4:30pm, and that’s also when the serious bidding starts. Both dinner and appetizers are included in the ticket price.
Tickets are $30 per person in advance, $35 at the door. You can reserve tables of eight for $215 and tables of ten for $270. To book your tickets, call (509) 327-1584 and ask for Christa on extension 10.
The second annual Craftwalk at the Emerson-Garfield Farmers’ Market is scheduled for Friday, September 18. It will run concurrent with the market (i.e., 3-7pm).
Not familiar with Craftwalk? This is a special event where the market welcomes specialty non-food vendors of all kinds. Local artists and crafters with unique handmade items such as quilts, knitwear, upcycled goods, jewelry, clothing, hats, sculpture, soaps and pottery will line the sidewalk around the perimeter of the lot.
Because Craftwalk complements the usual market, that means there will be music, a full range of produce and baked goods, and authentic Korean food to eat there or take home.
Craftwalk is a great opportunity to pick up some cool items for the back-to-school season — or even get a head start on some of your Christmas shopping!
All artists and crafters are invited to take part. Booth spaces are only $10. To register, fill out the market’s online vendor application and note “Craftwalk” in any fields that aren’t applicable.
It was great to see so many crafters from right here in Emerson-Garfield taking part in Craftwalk last year.
