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Forum on Speed Limits for Parks and Residential Areas (March 27)

Forum on Speed Limits for Parks and Residential Areas (March 27)

The PeTT Committee will host members of the city council, the police department, the streets department, and the parks department for a forum to discuss the imposition of 20 MPH speed limits around all city parks and certain residential areas the city council may chose to designate.

EVERYONE IS INVITED!

Tuesday, March 27 at 6pm
West Central Community Center (1603 N Belt),

Contact Paul Kropp, PeTT chair, by e-mail at pkropp@fastmail.fm or at (509) 638-5854 for further information.

Project Meeting regarding the Normandie Complex

Project Meeting regarding the Normandie Complex

normandie-complex

All are invited to attend a public meeting being held on Wednesday at North Central High School by the City of Spokane to discuss this property which is currently owned by the City. The City of Spokane is seeking feedback from the Emerson-Garfield neighborhood regarding community needs for this property.

PROJECT MEETING NOTICE

Normandie Complex Disposition

When: Wednesday, October 19, 6:00 to 7:00 p.m.

Where: North Central High School Library, 1600 N Howard St.

Agenda: Disposition of the “Normandie Complex”

The “Normandie Complex” is a 2-city block property owned by the City of Spokane and has been declared surplus property by the City Council in preparation for its disposition. The property is bounded by Mission Avenue on the north, Atlantic Street on the east, Sinto Avenue on the south, and Calispel Street on the west. The objective of the meeting is to gain insight into Neighborhood needs and concerns that the City should take into account while seeking and reviewing purchase offers on the Normandie Complex.

For more information call: City of Spokane
Ed Lukas, City of Spokane Asset Management
(509) 625-6286, 808 West Spokane Falls Blvd

Recap of the May 2016 E-G Neighborhood Council Meeting

Recap of the May 2016 E-G Neighborhood Council Meeting

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.

Recap of the March 2016 E-G Neighborhood Council Meeting

Recap of the March 2016 E-G Neighborhood Council Meeting

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.

Show Support for Spokane Arts (Mar 14)

Show Support for Spokane Arts (Mar 14)

Executive Director of Spokane Arts Laura Becker has put out a call for a public show of support during the City Council meeting on Monday, March 14.

Anyone interested in attending is encouraged to meet in the Chase Gallery outside the City Council Chambers (808 W Spokane Falls Blvd) at 5:30pm on that day in anticipation of a “packed house, standing room only” to demonstrate how much value the arts have in Spokane.

“Let’s be a vibrant force in the audience, a visual reminder of our strength and unity and a collective voice for our arts community,” she writes.

SpknArts

Two weeks ago, Becker and Spokane Arts Board Chair Brooke Kiener delivered a presentation to City Council regarding Spokane Arts activities and a proposed budget amendment to redirect 33% of the admissions tax to the organization in support of its operating budget and the implementation of a grants program beginning in 2017.

Here are the key points of their proposal:

  1. No new tax will be imposed. Admissions tax is a 5% fee on ticketed events, and non-profits can apply for an exemption per event up to $20,000. Right now these taxes go into the general fund, which is the current source of funding for Spokane Arts. However, the organization is subject to cuts every budget cycle. This would help stabilize funding from the City in the long-term.
  2. Currently the city is seeing an annual growth rate of over 3%. Because this is being considered so early in the budget cycle, the amount redirected to Spokane Arts would be factored into this net gain. No existing programs would be cut, and many local organizations would benefit.
  3. Over half of the funds would be used to support a grants program, which would be open to local arts, culture, and heritage organizations and small creative enterprises. Over $100,000 would be funneled back to the community every year.

This amendment is being introduced by Council President Ben Stuckart, who has long maintained that arts and culture play an integral role to our civic identity and economic prosperity. More information is available in this article from the Spokesman-Review.

As part of this drive, a limited run of Spokane Arts T-shirts and buttons that say “Spokane Arts: Art Means Business” will be distributed in advance of the meeting in the Chase Gallery. All participants are asked to wear something in the organization’s signature orange color.

If public art and citywide art projects currently seem very distant from Emerson-Garfield, keep in mind that the proposed revitalization of North Monroe (among many other things) could bring renewed art-related activity to our neighborhood in the near future.

You can find out more about the event and RSVP at the Facebook event page.