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Recap of the February 2016 E-G Neighborhood Council Meeting

Recap of the February 2016 E-G Neighborhood Council Meeting

This is a brief recap of the Emerson-Garfield Neighborhood Council (EGNC) meeting that took place on February 10, 2016.

Patrick Striker, the Executive Director of the Spokane Community-Oriented Policing Services (Spokane C.O.P.S.) program gave common-sense advice about preventing crime. Some of his tips included:

  • Do not leave anything tempting in a vehicle, such as a laptop bag, regardless of whether or not it contains valuable contents. As jackets can also be used for covering valuables, that may also be tempting to a criminal.
  • Get to know your neighbors so you can identify unusual activity or vehicles.
  • Report anything suspicious you see by calling Crime Check at 456-2233, even if you don’t expect the police to act on it. Incidents have to be logged to establish crime patterns and focus police patrols.
  • If an incident is happening right at the moment, call 911.
  • Volunteer for Neighborhood Observation Patrol (NOP) or at your local C.O.P.S. Shop. In Emerson-Garfield, that’s C.O.P.S. North Central.
  • When criminals see more activity and oversight in a neighborhood, such as with an active Block Watch, they are less confident in committing crime.
EGNC_Feb_2016
Kathy Armstrong and Patrick Striker of Spokane C.O.P.S. speak to the neighborhood council

Patrick also noted that code violation complaints can be submitted through a C.O.P.S. Shop, so all of the documentation can be recorded with the Shop as the source to keep you anonymous. If you do file directly with Code Enforcement, you may check a box on the form to remain anonymous if you feel threatened.

Kathy Armstrong of the Spokane Police Department reported on the Department of Justice Reform Recommendations, with forums bridging the gap between law enforcement and the community. The DOJ works together with the reform committee. Officers go through Crisis Intervention Training (CIT) to handle individuals with mental health issues. In addition to 40 hours of CIT, officers have also gone through training with Spokane Mental Health. There is additional training planned with World Relief to educate officers on the cultures of those who are immigrating into Spokane.

Jonathan Mallahan of the City of Spokane’s Division of Neighborhood and Business Services (currently called the Office of Neighborhood Services) reported on the upcoming organizational changes at the City. He stated that there will be no reduction in the workforce during the reorganization of departments, which is scheduled to take place on March 1, and that many of the current departmental duties will be brought into closer alignment. Many of the questions that were brought up following Jonathan’s presentation were related to Parking Services, so an additional speaker will be invited to a future neighborhood council meeting to address that topic.

A call went out for volunteers at the Emerson-Garfield Farmers’ Market for the 2016 season. Several members stepped forward to assist and share responsibilities.

The new Neighborhood Notification Ordinance, which currently notifies the EGNC chair and vice chair of the applications for construction projects, was discussed along with recent training sessions on the issue. Neighborhood Notification is intended to keep residents apprised of what is happening in terms of neighborhood development and will give them some voice in the process. Anyone will be able to sign up for permit and land use alerts within a certain distance from their property.

Traffic-calming requests are due by the March 9 EGNC meeting and will be put forward for approval at that time.

Laura Schlangen reported on the Corbin Senior Activity Center. Beth Daniels is the new administrative manager and will be responsible for tours. The Movin’ and Groovin’ Fair will be on March 5. The Parks Department has decided not to give financial support to the center’s elevator project.

Jay Cousins reported on the recent Community Assembly meeting. The main issue was a prolonged discussion regarding the ongoing funding of citywide sidewalk projects. Because so many decisions are pending, there will be no sidewalk projects in 2016.

The Land Use Committee, which Barb Biles attended, discussed the impact of high-volume housing at Indian Trail, but there were no issues discussed that would impact Emerson-Garfield.

Jonathan Martinez reported on the Rental Housing Stakeholders Group. Concerns regarding landlord-tenant issues will be presented at the YMCA corporate building on Boone and Monroe on February 23 at 3:30pm.

The West Quadrant Tax Increment Financing Committee (WQTIF), represented by Megan Kennedy, did not have a quorum for the past two meetings. The main focus in our neighborhood with the committee is North Monroe. An additional position on the committee is open, so please consider serving.

Carlie Hoffman reported on topics discussed at the recent meeting of the citywide Pedestrian, Traffic and Transportation (PeTT) Committee. The Washington State Department of Transportation may provide counters to measure bikes and pedestrians if the City can find funds for installation and maintenance. The City is also currently working on updating the Transportation chapter of the Comprehensive Plan.

No More Office of Neighborhood Services?

No More Office of Neighborhood Services?

[NOTE: Within minutes making of this post, we received a call from Jonathan Mallahan of the City of Spokane. He stressed that the Office of Neighborhood Services is not going away and that the initial blog post announcing the City Hall reorganization (linked below) could perhaps have been clearer about this. We’ve invited him to speak at the next EGNC meeting to clarify any uncertainties and added a question mark to our title above. Please read the following with this in mind.]

Mayor Condon announced yesterday that the City of Spokane would soon be undergoing another organizational restructuring.

A blog post on the City website had the following to say:

A consolidated Neighborhood and Business Services division, under the leadership of Jonathan Mallahan, will integrate planning, developer services and parking into what was previously Neighborhood Services to better align our customer service efforts.

This means the Office of Neighborhood Services as we know it is going away. Technically, this is a violation of the City Charter (Article VIII), which calls for a very specific ONS department:

Section 71: Neighborhood Councils Program – Creation

A neighborhood councils program is hereby created which shall consist of the following bodies: Neighborhood councils, the community assembly and the office of neighborhood services which shall be established in accordance with the rules and procedures designated in the following sections.

Effective Date: November 2000
Ordinance C32687 Section 1

Is it merely a name change or does it have more far-reaching implications?

The idea of neighborhoods and businesses being served by the same department does have some advantages, as neighborhoods and business tend to be viewed by the wider community as separate entities, not parts of the same whole. That has had the potential to cause unnecessary rifts where there should be collaboration.

But if the change results in a diminished focus on neighborhoods and the increased transfer of their power to City Hall, it would threaten to take even more self-governance away from Spokane citizens and put it in the hands of a small number of bureaucrats. That’s a change that only the bureaucrats themselves would welcome.

We’ll be following this development and discussing it at the next Emerson-Garfield Neighborhood Council meeting on Wednesday, February 10 at 6pm in the Corbin Senior Activity Center (827 W Cleveland).

Neighborhood Notification Training (Dec 28)

Neighborhood Notification Training (Dec 28)

Following the passage of the Neighborhood Notification Ordinance, neighborhoods have had questions about the notifications they have received and how they are expected to respond.

To better educate and prepare neighborhoods for this responsibility, the Office of Neighborhood Services has organized a training in partnership with the Building & Developer Services Department to help neighborhood councils navigate the development notifications. The training session will be held on Monday, December 28 starting at 5:45pm in the Newton Room of the West Central Community Center (1603 N Belt).

NeighborhoodNotification

This training will teach your neighborhood what notices you will be receiving, the process itself, and how you can be engaged in the application review and decision-making process. All neighborhood councils are strongly encouraged to attend this training!

Please RSVP to Jackie Caro at jcaro@spokanecity.org or by calling 625-6733. To confirm your attendance via the Facebook event, click here.

Recap of the December 2015 E-G Neighborhood Council Meeting

Recap of the December 2015 E-G Neighborhood Council Meeting

This is a brief recap of the Emerson-Garfield Neighborhood Council meeting that took place on December 9, 2015. The meeting began at 6:30pm after a half-hour of mingling and sharing dinner as part of the Winter Potluck.

Guest speaker Roland Lamarche, chair of the Community Assembly‘s (CA) Community Development Committee, talked about proposed changes to how Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding is allocated for sidewalk installation and repair. He began by noting how Spokane’s CDBG program was meant to target neighborhoods with the greatest need, but that hinders the effectiveness of the current sidewalk program.

George Dahl then gave a presentation about the program, its shortcomings, and potential remedies. Tim Musser, our neighborhood’s representative on the CA Community Development Committee, also provided input about how the sidewalk maintenance is often overlooked by landlords in low-income neighborhoods.

[EDIT: Here is George’s presentation. Here is an FAQ for the proposed changes to the CDBG sidewalk program. And here are the minutes for the CA/CD Committee meeting at which the proposal was decided. All are PDF format.]

According to municipal code, the repair of sidewalks is the responsibility of the adjacent homeowners. Neighborhoods have collectively received about $700,000 per year to help address poverty through capital-improvement projects, and approximately $500,000 of that has been used for sidewalk repair. Yet the areas that qualify for CDBG funding are determined by census and change each year. It is therefore not uncommon for low-income individuals with dangerous sidewalks to have wealthier neighbors in their area who disqualify them from CDBG funding, and vice versa.

The committee’s proposal is to remove the area-specific qualifications for sidewalk funding and allow households to individually qualify if they earn less than $36,150 (if a one-person household). The higher an owner’s income relative to this benchmark, the higher the share of the cost they would be responsible for. Priority would be given to the disabled, the elderly, and the lower income.

The typical cost of a repair ranges between $1,600 on the low end and $3,000 on the high end, with the higher expenses usually being associated with larger tree roots. With the cost being shared by the owner, there may be a disincentive for “extravagant” requests that their entire sidewalk be repaired, and if only the damaged portions were repaired, the funding could theoretically be distributed across many more properties.

This proposed process is all very new and in need of further refinement. Anyone with questions or concerns is encouraged to e-mail George Dahl at gdahl@spokanecity.org.

Jay Cousins, Emerson-Garfield’s CA representative, reported that the CA will meet on the first Thursday of each month at 5:30pm starting in January 2016.

Within days of last month’s neighborhood council meeting, it was announced that the Cedar Street sidewalk project would be funded by Photo Red dollars. It was proposed that the $11,010 of funding it was due to receive be reallocated to the asphalt walking path project in Emerson Park, thus ensuring its completion. The council voted unanimously to approve that motion. The neighborhood council members then discussed possible CDBG projects to consider in the future.

The council also voted not to meet in January 2016, per custom, pushing the next meeting to Wednesday, February 10.

“Cleanup Czar” Karl Boldt reiterated that Faith Bible Church is still very eager to host another cleanup project next autumn.

On Monday, December 28 at 5:45pm, the West Central Community Center will be hosting a training session on the Neighborhood Notification process.

Laura Schlangen reported on the Corbin Senior Activity Center. The Spokane Magic Club fundraiser was well attended and netted the center almost $300. A Christmas luncheon themed “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day” will take place on Friday, December 11 beginning at 11:30am. The Tap Grandmas will perform a holiday show on Wednesday, December 16 at 6pm.

The meeting adjourned at 7:30pm with enthusiastic holiday well-wishing.

Recap of the November 2015 E-G Neighborhood Council Meeting

Recap of the November 2015 E-G Neighborhood Council Meeting

This is a brief recap of the Emerson-Garfield Neighborhood Council meeting that took place on November 11, 2015.

Officer Tracy Douglas reported on the monthly statistics for area “P2,” which includes Emerson-Garfield as well as West Central and parts of the North Hill Neighborhood. There were no sexual assaults in our area last month, nor any commercial robberies. There were two robberies of a person, one domestic violence incident, and 14 violent crimes in the last month. For residential burglary, there were nine this month, and the same number of garage burglaries. Commercial burglaries are at seven, less than 13 in the previous month. Vehicle theft is at 20, slightly more than last month, but less over the yearly average. There was a decrease in overall property crime compared to the previous year.

Miscellaneous notes: Neighborhood officers are being pulled out of COPS shops to put the officers in precincts instead. A property near 1800 W Montgomery is a drug house that is being shut down on November 12 due to the involvement of the neighbors. If you leave your vehicle running and unattended, parked on a street rather than in your own driveway, you could be fined $124. Officers like to have address numbers shown on alley garages to use as a point of reference. Officer Douglas also warned against having a glass window built into your back door, which is very tempting for thieves to break when entering.

Councilmember Candace Mumm reported on Drumheller Springs Park by Ash and Euclid. A neighboring piece of property, 3121 Ash, came up for approval for sale as a CDBG property and might be used to enhance the park.

North Monroe is going to be completely renovated during its repair, not least because of its 110-year-old sewage infrastructure. The long-dormant North Monroe Business Association really needs to be reenergized and involved.

Councilmember Mumm said in closing that there is an active effort to put Knox Presbyterian Church, where the Emerson-Garfield Farmers’ Market is currently held, on the register of historical buildings.

Gayle Haeger and Rachel Sumagpang spoke about a house at 820 W Spofford that the nearby Spokane Central Seventh-Day Adventist Church bought for an after-school program for kids from third to fifth grade (tentatively) that will be held between 3:30 and 5:30pm four days per week. They are looking for volunteers and encourage interested adults to get in touch.

The meeting shifted to the allocation of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding. After the CDBG allocations determined in previous months, the neighborhood was left with $24,145 to allocate. It was proposed that $2,135 be allocated to the West Central Community Center for an even $10,000 along with the already reallocated 2015 funds; $11,010 toward the $78,198 sidewalk project on Cedar from Alice to Euclid; and $11,000 toward a $24,793 dog-walking path in Emerson Park that might also discourage transient camping in that area.

The proposed allocation was approved by a unanimous vote with no abstentions. Jackie Caro, even while absent (which is rare), was applauded for her involvement with our neighborhood’s CDBG projects and her guidance.

Amy Dutton reported on the Northwest Boulevard Greening Grant planting that took place on October 31 and involved 15 volunteers. While the area looks beautiful, the southern triangle was not completed in time, as the other two traffic triangles took much more effort than anticipated.

Karl Boldt reported on the neighborhood cleanup program. Faith Bible Church has stepped up in wanting to be involved with the neighborhood. The church brought two dumpsters for “clean green” on November 7, and their volunteers spent three hours driving around the neighborhood to help people rake and dump leaves. Saturday, May 21 is the proposed date for the 2016 Spring Cleanup.

Transitions had a community meeting on November 10 regarding the development of a 24-unit cottage-style development for low- or moderate-income housing. Transitions was very eager to solicit the feedback of both neighborhoods that adjoin the property. If you have strong feelings about that area or the proposed development, it is recommended that you follow up with Transitions directly.

Laura Schlangen reported on the Corbin Senior Activity Center. There was a full house of 120 people at a recent performance by the Corbin Players, which included eight short plays. On Saturday, December 5 at 5:30pm there will be a performance by the Spokane Magic Club, with a requested donation of $3.50 per person and $7.50 for an entire family. The elevator was estimated to cost around $400,000, and $291,000 of that will be covered by the Department of Commerce.

Jay Cousins reported on the Community Assembly. The Neighborhood Notification process is now in effect. There are going to be two people per neighborhood who are listed with neighborhood services who are going to be notified of any projects happening in the neighborhoods, and then those two people are responsible for disseminating the information to the neighbors.

Beginning in 2016, there will be a pool of $15,000 among the 28 neighborhoods to draw from for neighborhood projects, such as concerts in the park. It is generally agreed that the funding is not quite enough, so there is an effort to increase the pool. Neighborhoods can apply to the Office of Neighborhood Services for the funding of a project.

The Community Assembly’s Community Development Committee is proposing changes to how sidewalk funding is distributed. They suggest a total pot of $150,000 (half of the $300,000 allocated in 2014) for sidewalk improvements anywhere in the city, as long as the area is in a zone that qualifies based on CDBG criteria. There is a concern that the City has not taken responsibility for maintaining the sidewalks or street trees that are considered to be on City property, a model that was reported to be more common in cities west of the Mississippi. The committee felt that it should be up to the landowners, rather than the neighborhoods, to apply for sidewalk repair projects.

Megan Kennedy reported on the West Quadrant Tax Increment Financing (WQTIF) committee, which currently operates with five voting members. The committee and their advisor, Andrew Worlock, are evaluating whether the committee is to be an ear for revitalization projects initiated by others, or if they are to take their own initiative for projects (or a balance of both). Most of the projects are capital-oriented and favor improvements that would increase the economic viability of an area for businesses. Emerson-Garfield is looking for an alternate representative on the WQTIF to assist Megan. Meetings currently take place quarterly but potentially could happen more frequently.

The meeting closed with a reminder to bring a dish to the Winter Potluck on Wednesday, December 9. Everyone in Emerson-Garfield is invited!