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Materials for the June 10 E-G Neighborhood Council Meeting

Materials for the June 10 E-G Neighborhood Council Meeting

The Emerson-Garfield Neighborhood Council meets tomorrow (Wednesday, June 10) at 6pm in the Corbin Senior Center (827 W Cleveland).

Unless the council votes otherwise, this will be the last meeting before the neighborhood-wide Summer Potluck on August 12, so it’s a good idea to attend and keep up to date on all that’s happening before the summer hiatus.

This month’s guest speaker is representatives from Spokane Public Montessori at Havermale, who’ll be talking about their new Bicycle Laboratory grant and the spring bike-centric event they’d like to plan along with the help of the neighborhood council. As Summer Parkways has decided to re-focus their efforts on the South Hill, this is a pleasant coincidence and could bring a similar event back to Emerson-Garfield.

Next we’ll talk about some of the preliminary locations the Greening Grant committee has identified for autumn plantings. That’ll be followed by rounding up some volunteers for the Summer Potluck as well as the traffic-circle plantings on Montgomery — which have been a long time coming.

There will be a brief recap of how the season opener of the Emerson-Garfield Farmers’ Market went, and we’ll also hear about the sidewalks that are scheduled to be installed on the N Maple traffic island later this summer. After a few more odds and ends (including whether or not we want to meet in July), we’ll close with the usual roundup of reports from neighborhood reps who are keeping up to date on citywide issues like crime, planning and land use that are affecting or could affect Emerson-Garfield.

As always, we ask you to keep our printing expenses low and download the materials beforehand as PDFs:

The neighborhood council is open to anyone who lives, works or owns property in Emerson-Garfield and homeowners as well as renters are encouraged to come to these meetings. We regularly see attendance of 40+ people from all over the neighborhood, and there are no dues, fees or other obligations to participate.

It’s a great way to stay informed, meet your neighbors and take an active, grassroots role in shaping your neighborhood for the better!

Sidewalks on North Maple

Sidewalks on North Maple

The Office of Neighborhood Services has passed along a preliminary design for the sidewalk through the traffic island on North Maple.

This, you might recall, was the barren, City-owned property where volunteers from the Emerson-Garfield Neighborhood Council planted trees in 2014 and, more recently, EGNC volunteers planted yucca and juniper as part of the citywide Greening Grants initiative.

N Maple sidewalks

The installation of the sidewalk should make it more attractive and safer for pedestrians, including many schoolchildren, who, for the sake of convenience, tend to walk along the North Maple guardrail instead of crossing further into the residential area.

This project will be advertised for bids by the end of June. Construction is slated to begin on all traffic-calming projects throughout Spokane in August.

If you have any comments or questions about the sidewalk based on the preliminary design above, get in touch.

Also, keep in mind that this wasn’t something that magically came about through the urban improvement fairies. This was a resident-driven initiative that was realized with the help of the EGNC. If there’s a dangerous or unattractive spot near your home or place of business, a little legwork on your part can transform it — so come bring it to the attention to the neighborhood council! The next meeting is on Wednesday, June 10, starting at 6pm at the Corbin Senior Center (827 W Cleveland).

Recap of the May E-G Neighborhood Council Meeting

Recap of the May E-G Neighborhood Council Meeting

This is a recap of the Emerson-Garfield Neighborhood Council meeting that took place on Wednesday, May 13, 2015.

The guest speakers for the month were Julie Oliver and Lisa Woodard of the Spokane Regional Clean Air Agency. The agency has been around since 1967. It is responsible for issuing permits, performing on-site inspections, responding to citizen complaints regarding issues such as outdoor burning, and regulating asbestos safety.

Julie and Lisa reported that the main air pollutants in Spokane are particulate matter (PM) and ozone. Inhalable coarse particles are found near roadways and in dust storms, whereas fine particles are a result of outdoor burning. To reduce PM, they incentivize the removal of old woodstoves. Ground-level ozone is commonly referred to as smog, and can give your lungs the equivalent of a sunburn. One method to reduce ozone is vapor recovery at gas stations that have a high throughput and are close to residential areas, such as Safeway on NW Blvd. Ozone can be at its highest on hot days (over 90°), so it’s best to switch to an electric or battery-powered mover or cut your grass on cooler days.

You can check whether outdoor burning is permitted on the agency’s website (linked above).

Jonathan Martinez volunteered to represent the neighborhood on the Public Safety Committee as part of their initiative to address landlord and tenant issues. Almost 50% of the population of Emerson-Garfield rents, which makes it all the more important to have a neighborhood voice on this committee.

Al Steuart highlighted the events that will be featured at the Emerson-Garfield Farmers’ Market throughout the summer, starting on Friday, June 5. If you have any clean compost, including leaves, Al would like to use it. You can reach him on (760) 223-0161. Any extra compost will be used for the Emerson Community Garden.

At the market, the KERNAL program proposed by Catholic Charities is looking for sponsors to help them cover the cost of materials. Kids will be taught fun skills such as how to compost, how to make their own jump-ropes, and will receive tokens to exchange for vegetables. The South Perry Farmers Market found this program to be very successful last year. If you’d like to help Steve Anderson campaign for business sponsors, which will receive recognition and advertising, please contact him.

The Emerson-Garfield Farmers’ Market also recently announced the winners of its annual poster competition. This year’s participating neighborhood schools were Trinity Catholic School and Spokane Public Montessori.

Timothy Diko and Melissa Parker reported on this year’s Concert in the Park. It will be on Sunday, August 2 in Emerson Park, starting at 6pm. Broken Whistle will be performing.

If you are interested in forming a group to advocate for events and improvements on behalf of Emerson Park, contact Steve Anderson (e-mail linked above).

Amy Dutton reported that the Greening Grant Committee will meet on Friday, May 29 at 6pm at Emerson Park. Anyone interested in selecting locations for future tree plantings and beautification efforts is encouraged to attend.

Steve Anderson has arranged a 10% discount at Gibson’s Nursery & Landscape (1401 S Pines) for all Emerson-Garfield residents. Proof of ID is required to receive the discount. Bulk purchases could receive as high as a 15% discount. He is working on coordinating similar discounts for E-G residents at other area nurseries.

Candace Mumm offered a report from the Spokane City Council. The revitalization of N Monroe Street has seen some additional progress as well as challenges. In addition to the surface-level improvements, there are 106-year-old utility pipes under the street that need to be replaced. However, certain businesses appear to be more concerned about the through-traffic count than the benefits to safety, infrastructure and storefronts.

As a resident and patron of those businesses, you can inform them why it is important to have a walkable environment, and why cars that obey the speed limit can be a boon to business. Residents who are in favor of N Monroe revitalization can counter vocal naysayers by contacting the City Council as well as writing letters to the editor and to the mayor in support of the road diet (more info on that is here).

Councilwoman Mumm also noted that complaints have arisen over 60-foot cell towers being placed in two back yards, and a six-month moratorium was placed on installing them. Regulations are being proposed that could limit those towers to commercial zones.

Laura Schlangen reported on the Corbin Senior Activity Center. Their Madhatter’s Tea Party is on Friday, May 22 at 1:30pm. The annual Golf Scramble will be held on Friday, June 5. The Munch and Mingle Auction is on Saturday, September 19.

Karl Boldt reported on the recent Spring Cleanup. This year there were over 60 volunteers, 140 participating residents, 21.2 tons of refuse and 1.92 tons of recyclable material. The event is already scheduled for next year: Saturday, May 21, 2016. Since we only used $3,957.50 of the allotted $6,500 budget, additional dump passes will be given to residents throughout the year.

Jay Cousins reported on the Community Assembly. As part of its renewal, the CA will try to be an equal partner to neighborhoods and the local government, balancing the two groups.

The CA is also currently working on ordinances regarding outdoor storage and vehicles. One issue was whether to allow 1 to 4 cars per residence in addition to the four (4) cars that each residence is allowed to have legally. The final decision was to allow two (2) additional cars that are not visible from the street. There is already an ordinance against parking on the front lawn, so Code Enforcement should be contacted at (509) 625-6083 for relevant violations.

After final announcements about upcoming neighborhood events, the meeting adjourned just after 7:30pm.

 

Materials for the May 13 E-G Neighborhood Council Meeting

Materials for the May 13 E-G Neighborhood Council Meeting

The Emerson-Garfield Neighborhood Council meets this evening (May 13) starting at 6pm in the Corbin Senior Center (827 W Cleveland).

Apologies, by the way, that this announcement with meeting materials is delayed by about 24 hours. We had some last-minute additions to the agenda.

The guest speaker this month is the Spokane Regional Clean Air Agency. They’re going to provide some background on their organization and address any seasonal or persistent air-quality issues in Emerson-Garfield and Spokane as a whole.

Then we’ll move into finding a neighborhood rep for an important Public Safety Committee initiative, a pre-season teaser of what’s in store for the important third season of the Emerson-Garfield Farmers’ Market, and a look at how this year’s Concert in the Park is shaping up.

Plus we’ll discuss a proposed Friends of Emerson Park group, learn about some sweet discounts that have been wrangled exclusively for E-G residents at area nurseries, and hear from a variety of folks about what’s going on around the neighborhood and at the city level.

As always, you can download the materials beforehand as PDFs:

If you live, work or own property in Emerson-Garfield, you’re invited and encouraged to come to these meetings. We regularly see attendance of 40+ people from all over the neighborhood, and there are no dues, fees or other obligations to participate.

It’s a great way to stay informed, meet your neighbors and take an active, grassroots role in shaping your neighborhood for the better!

Photos from Spring Cleanup 2015

Photos from Spring Cleanup 2015

It was another banner year for the Spring Cleanup event, which was held on April 18.

In under four hours, 21.20 tons of trash were collected and hauled away. That saved Emerson-Garfield residents $3,957.30 in dump fees and helped to clean up many yards, garages, alleys and attics in the neighborhood. A total of 3,920 pounds of metal were collected for recycling.

Those figures weren’t quite as high as last year, but there were other numbers that far exceeded any previous Spring Cleanup — namely, the number of volunteers. There was a rough head count of about 60 at one point. To put that in context, the first Spring Cleanup event in 2010 saw approximately eight volunteers.

During the course of the event, the volunteers helped direct traffic, unload vehicles, serve snacks, hand out neighborhood information, and make trash runs for those who weren’t able to come to the site themselves.

Below are some photos of the event and the volunteers who spent their Saturday morning helping out the neighborhood in a big way. Many thanks to Lani Boldt for the photos.

Spring Cleanup 2015-6
Spring Cleanup 2015-14
Spring Cleanup 2015-10
Spring Cleanup 2015-4
Spring Cleanup 2015
Spring Cleanup 2015
Spring Cleanup 2015
Spring Cleanup 2015
Spring Cleanup 2015-11
Spring Cleanup 2015-13
Spring Cleanup 2015-8
Spring Cleanup 2015-5
Spring Cleanup 2015-1
Spring Cleanup 2015-2
Spring Cleanup 2015-7
Spring Cleanup 2015-3

A huge and special thanks goes out to Faith Bible Church. They partnered in a big way this year, bringing a crew of volunteers plus snacks for drivers to make their wait in line more pleasant. Yep, that’s right — at this year’s Spring Cleanup, you not only got to dump your refuse for free, you also got fed! FBC was also generous enough to hold a pizza party for volunteers after the event was over.

As in years past, the Salvation Army and a Geiger work crew were also on hand to help e-cycle still-functional electronics and help with the unloading process.

If you missed this event but still have refuse to offload, don’t panic. Starting in June, ten dump passes worth $20 each will be made available to Emerson-Garfield residents on select dates of the Emerson-Garfield Farmers’ Market. Those dates are June 5, July 10, August 7, September 4 and October 14. You can claim the passes at the central market booth on a first-come, first-served basis.