This is a quick recap of what took place at the Emerson-Garfield Neighborhood Council meeting on September 11, 2013. As always, the full (and much more amusing) minutes for recent meetings are available on our Downloads page.

The meeting started at 7:01pm with introductions. The meeting minutes from June and August were approved.

The issue of neighborhood mailings was dealt with next. Emerson-Garfield is among the few remaining neighborhoods that has monthly minutes and agendas mailed to voting members. The option was presented to continue the monthly mailings or go to a mailing four times a year. This would save the Office of Neighborhood Services some money and allow for more focused mailings.

After a discussion, a motion was made to move to postcard mailings to the entire neighborhood four times a year instead of the current process of mailing the meeting materials to EGNC voting members each month. The vote was 11 for and three against, so the motion was approved. Monthly minutes and agendas will continue to be available online and there will be some print copies available at each meeting.

A call was made for more participation from everyone concerning volunteer positions — whether it’s helping out with the Farmers’ Market, Neighborhood Planning, assisting Karl the Garbage Czar, or even bringing a treat to monthly neighborhood council meetings.

Jay Cousins announced that there will be a Community Assembly Retreat on Saturday, October 12 from 8am to 2pm at Youth for Christ (1309 N Ash) [map]. The theme will be “Reinventing Community Assembly and Neighborhood Councils.” They will be looking at different ways to do what we’ve been doing and hopefully doing it better. RSVP to communityassembly@gmail.com.

Laura Schlangen gave a report concerning the activities at Corbin Senior Center. They conducted lots of tours this summer, the most popular being Moon Pass and Coulee Dam. Lots of classes are starting soon, and as usual, the Balance Class is looking like it will fill up. There will be was a Walk-Along at Corbin Park on September 19 from 8am to noon. The Munch and Mingle is coming took place on September 21.

The Emerson Community Garden continues to flourish and an autumn work day is planned but no date is set yet.

The Emerson-Garfield Farmers’ Market has turned out to be a very successful outreach tool for our council. Lots of people are learning about the Neighborhood Council by showing up at the market. Sales are steady but could be better. Lots of people still don’t even know about it.

Neighborhood Planning is enjoying some stronger participation but more bodies are always welcome. There are two public planning workshops coming at Corbin Senior Center. On October 10, people are welcome to come and discuss the issues they think are important for planning in our neighborhood. On November 14, the discussion will center on solutions to the issues brought up at the previous meeting. Have I mentioned what you, yes you should do? I think I have!

Lt. Dean Sprague talked about crime. Car prowling and property crimes are the big issues in our area. The Spokane Police Dept is issuing E-lerts through the COPS Shops about crime trends and hot spots. You can sign up for E-lert e-mails through the COPS Shops or on the Spokane Police website.

The Hillyard Meet & Eat will start took place at 6pm, Monday, September 24 at Gateway Church (5201 N. Market).

Fall dump passes will be available at the end of the October EGNC meeting and again at Corbin Senior Center on October 26. Saturday, May 10, 2014 is the tentative date set for the Spring Clean Up day. Volunteers are needed for that.

City Administrator Theresa Sanders then took the floor to present the City of Spokane Budget Report. You can find out all about it online at www.myspokanebudget.org.

The four priorities set forth in the 2014 budget report are:

• Drive down crime
• Improve streets
• Make the river cleaner, faster
• Create multiple impacts: getting the most out of each dollar

The presentation took about 25 minutes, and the meeting was closed at 8:20pm.