Following the potluck beginning at 5pm, join your neighbors for a neighborhood meeting at 6pm at Emerson Park.
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Keep in mind that everyone who lives, works or owns property in Emerson-Garfield is welcome, so we look forward to seeing you!
Our neighborhood’s annual Summer Potluck is taking place this Wednesday, August 10 starting at 5pm in Emerson Park. An informal meeting of the Emerson-Garfield Neighborhood Council meeting will follow at around 6pm.
As always, this neighborhood potluck welcomes everyone who lives, works or plays in Emerson-Garfield. It’s a great way to meet your neighbors and members of the community in a relaxed, family-friendly environment.
Not sure if you live in Emerson-Garfield? Find out here.
There will be free hotdogs and hamburgers until our supplies run out. Please also bring your appetite and a dish of your own for sharing — whether that’s a salad, an favorite entrée, nibbles or a dessert.
At the neighborhood council meeting, we’ll be discussing things like CDBG funding allocation for 2017. Looking forward to seeing many new and familiar faces!
Oh, and want to RSVP on Facebook? You can do so on the event page.
This is a brief recap of the Emerson-Garfield Neighborhood Council (EGNC) meeting that took place on May 11, 2016, led by newly elected co-chairs Carlie Hoffman and Tim Musser.
Guest speaker Kate Burke of the Spokane Edible Tree Project talked about how her organization searches the city for fruit and nut trees that aren’t being harvested and then takes on that task. The harvest is then donated to area food banks. They are currently mapping trees they can harvest and encourage both mappers and volunteer harvesters to get in touch with them. The organization is holding a Volunteer Kickoff event on Thursday, May 26 at the Saranac Building.
David Steele of the City’s Parking Services Department was scheduled to speak but was not in attendance.
The City is looking to revise and improve the way it deals with the repair and construction of sidewalks. Potential models might be found in cities east of the Mississippi, where municipal governments handle sidewalks differently. The opinions of the various neighborhood councils are being solicited concerning a coordinated comprehensive sidewalk program responsible for sidewalk replacement and repairs. This would most likely involve an increase in fees and/or taxes. A discussion took place about how the group felt; the consensus was that the City should actively being researching alternatives in order to gain a better idea of what the costs would be.
The neighborhood council will be submitting funding applications to the Community Assembly for the Emerson-Garfield Farmers’ Market and Concerts in the Park.
Heather Schelling volunteered to be the neighborhood and district representative on a Solid Waste Collection task force that could improve garbage pickup routes.
Barb Biles, who serves as Emerson-Garfield’s representative on the Land Use Committee, reported that this group is looking for ways to increase density within the city rather than sprawl at the periphery. They are looking for people to join a focus group on infill housing. They would like responses by Thursday, June 23 to prepare for the focus group’s first meeting on Thursday, June 30.
The 2016 season of the Emerson-Garfield Farmers’ Market starts on Friday, June 10. After considering a few other proposed locations, the market will be moving to the parking lot of the Adult Education Center (2310 N Monroe) at the intersection of Montgomery and Monroe at the start of this season. Volunteers are needed – please sign up! A sponsorship program was also launched.
Bri Musser, who stepped forward last month to take over Concerts in the Park, proposed several possible dates and said she was still looking at bands.
Spring Cleanup is on Saturday, May 21 from 9am to 12:30pm at Faith Bible Church (600 W Cora). Bring your wretched refuse, yearning to go to the dump.
An improved pedestrian crossing island is being installed this summer where Adams/Knox crosses NW Boulevard to make it safer for schoolchildren on their way to nearby Trinity Catholic and Spokane Public Montessori.
Laura Schlangen reported that the Corbin Senior Activity Center is still working on the revised plans for the elevator. There are no plans on when it will be built. They have applied for another grant to pay for elevator. Tea in the Afternoon was well attended but Corbin’s town hall meeting was not. The annual Corbin Golf Scramble will take place Saturday, June 4. Golfers and sponsors are still welcome to apply.
Tim Musser reported that that CA Community Development is compiling a list of “readymade” projects that will be easy for neighborhood councils to select and implement.
As for other reports, no Pedestrian Transportation and Traffic (PeTT) meeting was held this month. The neighborhood’s Community Assembly rep was absent. The Rental Housing Stakeholders group is still looking for a neighborhood representative (preferably a renter) to serve on it. Building Stronger Neighborhoods is not meeting until later in the month.
City Councilmember Candace Mumm talked about the recently approved North Monroe Corridor Advisory Group. In other news, she said the council is moving forward with an investigation concerning the dismissal of Police Chief Frank Straub. They are working on transparency and gaining access to roughly 7,000 documents that have not yet been released.
This is a brief recap of the Emerson-Garfield Neighborhood Council (EGNC) meeting that took place on March 9, 2016.
Bobby Williams, Fire Chief at the Spokane Fire Department, presented information on the ballot question regarding renewal of the EMS levy at the same rate as was approved in 2010. The levy would require a simple majority of 51%. He reported that the average EMS response time is five minutes, ten seconds, but if the levy is not successful, 70–90% of personnel would be let go, putting that response time in jeopardy. The levy goes before the voters every six years. Ballots will be in the mail between April 6 and 8.
Ray White presented information regarding Community Living Connections, a program to help care for the aging and disabled. A call center at (509) 960-7281 is provided to help seniors who call in with needs and concerns. Also provided is options counseling, whereby a counselor will go out and meet with people that need help solving living issues and challenges associated with aging.
Ben Cabildo of Community-Minded Enterprises presented information regarding new neighborhood-oriented TV programs. His organization has a studio that citizens can access to get information out through Comcast channel 14. Also, they have an open mic program where citizens can speak about concerns and issues. This is available every second and third Thursday. The services are available for non-profits and small business. Individuals are charged only $75 per year to use equipment, and non-profits are charged $350 per year.
City Councilwoman Candace Mumm shared information regarding gender equality hiring in the City. She is working on a report regarding this issue. Spokane City is in the process of looking for a new Chief of Police and an investigation is taking place within the Spokane Police Department. She also talked about the expansion of the Drumheller Springs Conservation Area.
Only one residential traffic-calming application was turned in by the meeting’s deadline. Malia Woods was the applicant; the area of concern was the intersection at Atlantic, Euclid and Cora. She is hoping for any intervention that would help traffic to slow down, as there are many children in this area. The council approved this application.
The Emerson-Garfield Farmers’ Market needed the council’s approval of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to use the parking lot at Silver Auctions for the market. This was approved with only one abstention. The chair and vice chair will sign the MoU.
Elections for executive positions on the neighborhood council will be held during the April meeting. Interested candidates were asked to come forward for all five positions: Chair, vice chair, secretary, Community Assembly rep and Community Development rep.
Neighborhood budget applications for event resources are due April 30. Neighborhoods can apply for a maximum of $500. The council intends to put in an application for the farmers market as well as Concerts in the Park.
Karl Boldt reported regarding the 2016 Spring Cleanup in our neighborhood. He noted that he will be absent on the day of the event (May 21) and that there have been policy changes with the Department of Corrections that could prevent them from assisting as usual. These issues need to be resolved by April 1. Karl also asked for additional volunteers to help throw trash into the dumpsters during the event.
Laura Schlangen reported on the Corbin Senior Activity Center. The 12th annual Movin’ & Groovin’ Fair was a great success. Day tours have been well attended, and the Alaska Cruise is filled up. The next big event is Tea in the Afternoon on April 29, with advance tickets selling for $15.
Tim Musser reported on the Community Assembly Community Development committee and the application schedule for Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding. Each neighborhood needs to list what improvements need to be made via an application process.
Barb Biles reported from the Land Use Committee. There are currently some issues in Indian Trail regarding the zoning change in this area. Residential two-family zoning also has a possibility of being changed.
Carlie Hoffman reported on a discussion at the Pedestrian Traffic and Transportation (PeTT) committee regarding the repairing of roads.
Jonathan Martinez has had to step down from the Rental Housing Stakeholders Group due to work commitments. The neighborhood council is therefore looking for renters to represent themselves as well as the neighborhood on this committee.
A representative from Parking Services will be speaking at the May meeting per last month’s questions.
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.