N. Monroe Traffic Presentation

N. Monroe Traffic Presentation

Below is a YouTube movie of the presentation on N. Monroe given by Bob Turner, Senior Traffic Engineer for the City of Spokane, at February’s Emerson-Garfield Neighborhood Council meeting.

It contains statistics such as average daily vehicle counts and vehicle speed as well as a ten-year retrospective of collisions and pedestrian fatalities. Some of the figures might be surprising, even if they do seem to be at odds with our day-to-day experience on N. Monroe.

Toward the end there’s a list of conclusions that can be drawn (or not) from the available data. Some of the recommendations and concerns tie in to Emerson-Garfield’s current Neighborhood Planning effort.

The individual slides should be fairly self-explanatory. If they aren’t, we can try to address your specific questions in the comments below.

Urban Farming Hearing (Feb 26)

Urban Farming Hearing (Feb 26)

The Spokane City Plan Commission is holding public hearings on Wednesday, February 26 at 4pm in City Hall (808 W Spokane Falls Blvd, City Council Chambers, Lower Level) to receive public testimony on an ordinance related to the topic of urban farming.

The ordinance is for the proposed adoption to the Spokane Municipal Code of section 17C.380, which is related to the regulation of market gardens.

Urban Farming banner

Any person may submit written comments to the Plan Commission and appear at the public hearing to submit oral comments on the proposal. Copies of the draft ordinances before the Plan Commission are available at spokaneplanning.org.

A State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) Determination of Non-significance (DNS) was issued on February 10 pursuant to WAC 197-11-340 and section 17E.050 of the Spokane Municipal Code. Comments on the DNS must be submitted by 4pm on February 26.

To submit comments or request more information, contact Tirrell Black at tblack@spokanecity.org or (509) 625-6300.

Neighborhood Council Elections and Call for Reps

Neighborhood Council Elections and Call for Reps

In April the Emerson-Garfield Neighborhood Council (EGNC) will be holding elections for the following officer positions:

  • Chair
  • Vice-chair
  • Secretary
  • Treasurer

These positions are all currently occupied but should not go uncontested. If you are interested in running, please put your name forward at the next neighborhood council meeting on Wednesday, March 12. Keep in mind that you must be a voting member to throw your hat into the ring — which means you will need to have attended three EGNC meetings in the past six months.

Emerson-Garfield is also looking for representatives to become involved in groups that are important to the neighborhood. These include:

All of these volunteer groups generally involve a nominal time commitment of just one meeting per month. Ideally you would also attend the monthly neighborhood council meeting to keep EGNC members apprised of relevant issues and opportunities.

If you’d like to be the neighborhood rep for any of these groups (or co-rep; there’s no reason why two or three people couldn’t share a single responsibility), please speak up at the next neighborhood council meeting or get in touch beforehand. If you’re already involved in one of them and you happen to work or reside in E-G, let us know that too!

These unelected positions are just as essential as the elected officer positions. It’s important for Emerson-Garfield to have a voice as these groups develop citywide plans and policy for the future, and it’s equally important for E-G residents to be kept informed of how those plans and policies are taking shape over time.

STCU Contest: Nominate Your Favorite Nonprofit

STCU Contest: Nominate Your Favorite Nonprofit

You’ve got one day left to nominate your favorite local nonprofit as part of STCU’s Who Do You Love? contest. To do so, just fill out the simple form on this page or visit STCU’s Facebook page by tomorrow (February 20).

For those who are unfamiliar with the Who Do You Love? contest, STCU annually donates a total of $5,000 to be divided among the top three vote-getting nonprofits in our community. First, nonprofit organizations have to be nominated. The ten eligible organizations that receive the most nominations will then move to the voting round, which runs February 22 to 28 in 2014.

STCU - Who do you love? 2014

The winners will be announced by KREM-TV as soon as Monday, March 3. The victors will divvy the spoils as follows:

  • 1st place: $2500
  • 2nd place: $1500
  • 3rd place: $1000

We received word of this great opportunity from Spokane C.O.P.S., which would make an ideal candidate for nomination. Some other nonprofits deserving of nomination for their involvement with the neighborhood would include Project Hope, Catholic Charities, the West Central Community Center, the Women and Children’s Free Restaurant and the Emerson Community Garden.

Vendor Application for 2014 Emerson-Garfield Farmers’ Market Now Available

Vendor Application for 2014 Emerson-Garfield Farmers’ Market Now Available

Like the headline reads, the vendor application for the 2014 Emerson-Garfield Farmers’ Market is now available. Download it here as a PDF.

E-G Farmers' Market logoThis season the market will run from June 6 to October 17. Just like last year, it will be held in the parking lot of Knox Presbyterian Church (806 W Knox) every Friday from 3 to 7pm.

The full-season rates this year are just $100 prior to April 30 and $125 on May 1 and later. That makes a total of 20 dates, and the early rate actually works out to less per market than the 2013 rate. Booth spaces per diem are still $15. And there’s still no application fee.

This year will bring some fun and important changes. Most important among them is that the market will be accepting EBT (aka Quest, SNAP) as a payment method in addition to standard debit/credit cards. The market will be participating in Fresh Bucks incentives, too — so every $5 in tokens purchased with your EBT card gets you an extra $2 for spending. And we’re also getting things in place to take WIC family and senior vouchers.

The collaboration with Project Hope will be stronger as well, so you’ll see kids and teenagers from Emerson-Garfield and West Central who are participating in the program selling their locally grown veggies at the Riverfront Farm booth. We’re also working on holding a market poster contest within the local schools as well as some cool tie-ins with First Friday events and Summer Parkways.

If you aren’t familiar with the Emerson-Garfield Farmers’ Market, please check out this photo gallery as well as this photo gallery. We think they capture the unique spirit of this grassroots market in a concise way.

One more thing: In the coming weeks, once some details are sussed out, the application will become a joint application with Project Hope’s West Central Marketplace. That means you can use a single application to apply for one market or the other — or better yet, both!