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September Neighborhood Council Meeting Recap

September Neighborhood Council Meeting Recap

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.

Photos Needed for 2014 Spokane Neighborhood Calendar

Photos Needed for 2014 Spokane Neighborhood Calendar

This is your last chance to submit photos for the 2014 Community Assembly Spokane Neighborhood Calendar!

The Office of Neighborhood Services is still looking for more photographs for next year’s calendar, but they need them submitted by Tuesday, October 1. This call is open to anyone who would like to submit a photo.

Requirements for Photos:

  • Photos must be neighborhood-centric (no iconic Spokane pictures such as Riverfront Park, Monroe St. Bridge, etc.). This calendar aims to represent the different neighborhoods that exist in the City of Spokane.
  • Photos must be 3300×2550 DPI and taken with a camera with no fewer than 8 megapixels.
  • The image may be digitally enhanced/created by the photographer.
  • Please no cellphone photos unless it is 8 megapixels or more.
  • Hard copy photos must be submitted at the size of 5×7 inch, no smaller.

If you are taking a photo of a specific person and would like a permission form, one can be provided to you. If you are taking a photo in a public place and people are in it, it is not necessary to get permission from the persons in the photo.

Digital photos can be e-mailed to jayc@spkn.net. For info on how and where to submit a hard copy photo, please send a request to the same e-mail address.

Proposed Changes to Photo Red: Your Input Is Needed

Proposed Changes to Photo Red: Your Input Is Needed

The Spokane City Council is currently looking at the Photo Red program to see if they want to recommend to the Spokane Police Department to move forward with retaining or amending the contract language.

Neighborhood councils like ours need to be proactive when it comes time for open discussion as to where those funds may be allocated. There is expected to be discussion as to using some of the funds for purposes other than neighborhood traffic calming projects such as roundabouts and speed limit signs. Right now, Photo Red funds can only be used for traffic calming, and a recent vote by the EGNC came out in favor of keeping it this way.

The Community Assembly (which is sort of a roundtable of all Spokane neighborhood councils) is asking for our feedback on this issue so as to introduce it as a discussion topic for the City Council this autumn.

We ask that residents of Emerson-Garfield Neighborhood take the following informal poll(s) so we can provide feedback to the Community Assembly.

[yop_poll id=”2″]
[yop_poll id=”3″]

If you voted “No” on the poll titled Photo Red Funding, please use the comments section below to suggest where you would spend Photo Red funds in addition to neighborhood traffic calming projects.

Thanks in advance for your feedback!

April Neighborhood Council Meeting Recap

April Neighborhood Council Meeting Recap

We’re a bit late in posting the recap of the Emerson-Garfield Neighborhood Council meeting that took place on April 10 — but better late than never, right?

As always, what follows is the digested version of events. The full minutes from the meeting are available for download here.

The meeting began a bit late due to persons of the political persuasion speaking to the group prior to the official start of the meeting. There was a brief discussion about the absence of any business owners in our neighborhood attending the meeting and how we might get some business owners to attend. Chair Liorah Wichser announced that she spoke with the Adult Education Center on Monroe and Montgomery and they have offered the use of their parking lot for some as yet unknown E-G sanctioned event. Just something to keep in mind for the future.

Garbage Czar Karl Boldt reported that the Spring Cleanup is on schedule and planned for Saturday, April 27 from 9am–12:30pm. [Ed. note: The Spring Cleanup was held and went exceedingly well.] It will again be held at Faith Bible Church, located on Cora, just east of Post street. We will be accepting garbage, “clean green” yard waste, recyclables and used electronics. Karl does have a crew available to pick up garbage for anyone who is not able to do it themselves. Dump passes from whatever money is left over will be available at the October E-G Meeting.

Eline Helm is trying to coordinate some summer concert events in our parks. She would like to do one in Emerson and one in Corbin. It was the consensus of those at the meeting that she should try for one in Emerson in July and see how that goes. It is tentatively scheduled for the last Sunday in July, which would be the 28th.

Movie nights are on hold.

The Emerson Community Garden, located on Madison just south of Emerson Park, is planning another season and they are starting off with a work day on Saturday, April 20th from 1-4pm.

Paul Kimball also reported that he has been working with neighborhood kids who hang around the park and putting them to work where he can. He would like to know if people in the neighborhood need work done around their properties. This is an excellent learning opportunity for these kids who are otherwise kind of aimless and gives them a chance to learn some discipline and skills and earn a little money. Contact Paul on (509) 863-5133 if you want to help out.

The next item on the agenda was election of officers. Megan Kennedy offered herself for Vice Chair, Jay Cousins will remain as Community Assembly, and Stan Burke will stay on as Secretary. The only office with two candidates was for Chair. E.J. Iannelli and Tom Powell gave brief speeches outlining why they wanted the job. A silent ballot was taken and E.J. won.

Corbin Senior Center: The yard sale scheduled at Corbin Senior Center for May was canceled due to lack of interest. Corbin received a grant from Rotary Club 21 for $821.43 for installation of an additional door in the storeroom of the Henderson Room. Corbin had three laptop computers stolen for a loss of $1,799.97. Insurance reimbursed them minus the $500.00 deductable. Laptops or iPads will be purchased to replace the missing items. Corbin is partnering with Lions Club for a breakfast on Saturday, April 27 from 8:30 to 11. So before you dump your garbage, have a hearty breakfast at Corbin. The Golf Scramble is coming June 21 at Indian Canyon.

New business: We have two high school interns available to us to develop our social media presence. STA held an open house prior to the evenings meeting which E.J. attended. They are trying to let the public know about the changes they are planning for routes. Molly Meyers from STA will be at our May meeting.

Neighborhood Planning: The Neighborhood Planning Committee has four members and they are proceeding as best they can. Jay Cousins reported that the Dept. of Neighborhood Services is offering adjacent neighborhoods the opportunity to pool their money in order to help create goals and policy statements but Jay has been unable to find an adjacent neighborhood interested in planning.

Nonprofit formation: Liorah reported that in order to form a nonprofit, we need board members; some of them will require some expertise. It will be almost essential to have a lawyer as a board member. Therefore, if you are a lawyer, or are thinking about becoming one, consider volunteering for this board!

Community Assembly: Jay had some questions to ask to find out the consensus of our group concerning proposed changes to the on street parking ordinance. Currently, the ordinance states that cars must be moved after 12 hours. The choices for the new change are to extend it to 24 hours, make it one business day with weekends excluded, or a designated time with weekends and holidays excluded. By a show of hands, the majority chose one business day with weekends excluded. Jay will report that to the Assembly.

Next Jay asked about the group’s desires for the next upcoming street bond. The group tied between street upgrades being curb to curb, meaning just the areas of the street from curb to curb being repaved and complete streets, which involves improvements to the street, the sidewalks, the parking strips and swales where needed.

Community Development: Sarah Kimball reported that 29 spots for sidewalk repair have been identified. That repair work will begin soon and continue until they run out of money. Not all spots will be repaired. The new playground equipment will soon be installed at Emerson.

Finally, Liorah presented two new official positions for the Emerson-Garfield committee. One is the Community Development Representative, which we have but is not listed in our bylaws, and the other is a Treasurer position. A motion was made to accept the new positions as written. The motion was seconded and passed without further discussion.

March Neighborhood Council Meeting Recap

March Neighborhood Council Meeting Recap

[Ed. note: This is a condensed version of the official minutes, which are available for download here.]

The March Edition of the Emerson-Garfield Neighborhood Council came in like a lion at a couple of minutes after 7pm on March 13.

Chair Liorah Wichser started the meeting with a vote for a new logo for the Neighborhood Council. Three submissions had been submitted by three submittees, all of whom were present. A silent vote was taken and the winning logo was submitted by Liorah Wichser. It was a very fair vote and totally a coincidence that the Chair of the Committee has a name very similar to that of the the winning artist.

Thanks to Joe Snodgrass and Stan Burke for their artistic submissions. [Ed. note: All three logos will be featured in an upcoming post.]

Garbage Czar Karl Boldt spoke next and gave a report on the Neighborhood Clean-Up Day scheduled for Saturday, April 27 from 9am to 12:30pm. It will again be held in the parking lot of Faith Bible Church at 600 W Cora. There will be bins for garbage and clean green, just as in the past. In addition, there will be a recycling bin for metals of all kinds (other than radioactive) and an area for household hazardous waste. That means paint, chemicals and radioactive iridium 358. The Salvation Army will also be there to accept resellable items you would like to donate. [Ed. note: An upcoming post will have more information about Neighborhood Clean-Up Day.]

There will be a large furniture pick up scheduled for later in June. You need to register with Karl at (509) 325-3031.

Next was a brief update on the status of registering the group as a 501(c)(3) organization. Bylaws are being written up and a board of directors is going to be needed. The board will probably consist of 5 to 7 people and you can be one of them. Contact Liorah if you so desire.

Elections of new officers will be scheduled for next month. Liorah, E.J. and Stan are the nominating/railroading committee. Liorah has announced she is stepping down. E.J. has said he would like to become chair if no one else is so inclined, and Stan, your humble writer of minutes, will stay on for a fourth year if no one else wants the job, but he would also happily step aside. That means the vice chair and/or co-chair job is open and ready for someone like you. Contact anyone of the officers to submit yourself for electoral consideration.

The Corbin Senior Center has been buzzing with activity. The Luau was a great event. The 9th Movin’ & Groovin’ Fair was a happening event with 70 vendors, lots of great food and lots of people attending.

There will be a Pancake Breakfast on April 27 from 8:30 to 11am. Tickets are $7 per person and are available at the front desk or at the door the day of the event — so get some breakfast and then dump your garbage at the aforementioned Neighborhood Clean-Up.

Corbin and Emerson-Garfield will be holding a yard sale on May 11. The Corbin Golf Scramble will be at Indian Canyon on June 21 and sponsored by Pine Ridge Alzheimer’s Care Center.

The Neighborhood Planning Committee is still suffering from a woeful lack of attendance. Committee Chair Jay Cousins and one other person were at the last meeting. If you want a say in the future of how the neighborhood looks, the meetings are held on the first Thursday of the month at Corbin Senior Center. The next meeting is Thursday April 4 at 6pm. You should go.

Lt. Dean Sprague informed the group of the latest trends in crime in the neighborhood over the last month. There is all kinds of information available at www.spokanecops.org.

The Community Assembly met recently and discussed the stormwater/sewer project and heard a speech from the mayor.

In neighborhood news, Eline Helm is spearheading a Concert in the Park Series. Nothing is scheduled yet but this effort is underway and Eline would love more involvement.

Community Development rep Sara Kimball was not available but sent an update on sidewalks. Priorities are being organized for the 29 areas of concern. Not all areas will be addressed this year as funds (as always) are limited. The new swings in Corbin Park are in and two new horseshoe pits will be installed in the area of the old swing set. The new play equipment for Emerson Park has arrived and will be installed in late April.

The committee chose to recommend cross walks in the area of the Safeway store as the priority for our traffic calming projects.

With that, the meeting was adjourned at 9:12pm.