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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!

Recap of the November E-G Neighborhood Council Meeting

Recap of the November E-G Neighborhood Council Meeting

Here’s a recap of the Emerson-Garfield Neighborhood Council meeting that took place on Wednesday, November 12. Once they’ve been approved, you can download the full minutes from this page.

The first speaker was Tim Schwering, the Director of Strategic Initiatives in charge of civilian oversight for the Spokane Police Department. A sample body camera was passed through the room. He noted a study of camera use in Rialto, CA, which showed a 59% decrease in the use of force and an 87.5% decrease in complaints.

Three sample body camera videos of a single interaction were shown for a demonstration: one from each of two officers involved in handcuffing a man wanted for felony, and a third camera from a distance. The attendees shared their opinions of the videos.

Tim reported that the SPD will introduce 220 body cameras, which will be recharged after each shift, and the data will be uploaded to evidence.com at the same time. Any time a video is reviewed, a record is kept of the time and date of the review. There is an average of 3GB per officer per shift. Between the equipment and record specialists, the estimated cost to Spokane is around $350,000 a year, which would come from the general fund.

Next Karl Otterstrom of the Spokane Transit Authority spoke about High Performance Transit routes. STA predicts a 30% increase in ridership on these routes and will extend its hours of operation accordingly. In the fall of 2015, improvements to the Monroe/Regal corridor would be in the first phase. A sales tax increase of 3/10 of one percent would be needed for this improvement. (For a sample of real-time schedule prediction, visit OneBusAway.org for Puget Sound.)

Rick Harris from the West Central Community Center explained the center’s CDBG funding request to replace some of its carpet with tiles that can be individually replaced. Between 42 and 46% of those who are using the WCCC are from the Emerson-Garfield neighborhood. The total carpeting replacement would cost around $11,000; approximately one-third of that would ideally come from Emerson-Garfield.

A representative of the Lands Council (also on behalf of Fulcrum Institute) requested a $5,000 CDBG contribution from the neighborhood towards a $30,000 greenhouse that would be used for training former inmates at the new facility on N. Ash. Two other neighborhoods have been asked for the same amount and have approved the request. There are 71 people currently in training, so the contribution would be approximately $70 per person. This investment would have a long-term return, as there is a 15-year lease on the property.

The initial proposal from the E-G CDBG funding advisory committee was $20,000 for N. Monroe revitalization, $30,000 for sidewalk installation and repair, and $4254.79 for the WCCC. A motion was made to change the allocation. There was a 95% vote in favor of allocating $25,572.79 to the sidewalk budget, $5,000 to the Fulcrum greenhouse, $20,000 to a N. Monroe bus shelter, and $3,682 to the WCCC for carpeting.

There was a unanimous approval among voting members for the expansion of E-G’s boundaries to include the land ceded by the Northwest Neighborhood Association.

Captain Tracy Ponto-Douglas of the SPD read a record of the crimes for this year compared to this time last year. Compared to last year, overall crimes are down approximately 8%.

Because the temperatures have fallen below freezing, the November 15 tree planting will be postponed until spring 2015 and will be a much larger weekend event.

The Parks and Recreation Department will be installing a new roof on the restrooms at Corbin Park. They are also planning to redo the tennis courts.

Starting January, Corbin Senior Activity Center will have five new board members.

Jay Cousins, E-G’s Community Assembly rep, summarized the CA’s discussion of short-term (less than 30-day) rentals and the City’s current position that licensing fees should be the same as the Davenport’s.

Recap of the October E-G Neighborhood Council Meeting

Recap of the October E-G Neighborhood Council Meeting

The October 8 meeting of the Emerson-Garfield Neighborhood Council began at its new time of 6pm.

Christa Richardson of the Corbin Senior Activity Center started off the meeting by sharing the good news about their Munch and Mingle auction on September 27, which raised $20,000. Of that, $4,000 was directed towards the elevator. The center’s new van arrived as well.

The Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) applications were explained, and attendees were invited to participate in determining how the funding for 2015 will be allocated among the neighborhood. Six volunteers formed a committee that will meet prior to the November 24 deadline to do so. Their proposal will be discussed, refined and put to vote at the November 12 meeting of the E-G Neighborhood Council.

Timothy Diko and Melissa Parker have been scouting out locations for sheltered bus stops, bike racks and trash cans to be placed along Monroe Street. Those kinds of projects were chosen because they would not require follow-up costs and would be long-lasting. The consensus of the meeting attendees was that the stop on the west corner of Montgomery and Monroe could use a shelter and nearby bike rack, and the stops on either side of the street at Grace and Monroe could also benefit from the same.

Northwest Neighborhood identified a block of land adjacent to Emerson-Garfield where the residents tend to identify more with Emerson-Garfield than Northwest. Their organization voted to cede the land to E-G. The boundaries to the north are Fairview and Ash to Cochran, south across the T.J. Meenach bridge, along the Pettit Drive Ridge, to Indiana; Indiana east to Belt, and Belt north to Fairview.  A concern was raised regarding the average income of that section of land, and what effect that might have on Emerson-Garfield’s qualification for CDBG funding. The vote to approve the boundary extension was tabled until November.

The Greening Neighborhoods Grant was approved for both applications. The Maple traffic island vegetation can be acquired soon, but the other area may need to wait until November.Spokane Urban Forestry will determine the dates. Over a dozen attendees volunteered to help with planting when the time comes.

On Washington near North Central High School is an organization, Community Frameworks, that would like to contribute to the redevelopment of that area, to include practical beautification and increased walkability. They hope to develop a 33-unit apartment building for lower-income residents. Emerson-Garfield Neighborhood Council wrote letters of support for their funding applications.

Because there are three elementary schools (i.e., Garfield, Audubon, Spokane Public Montessori) in a roughly one-mile area within E-G, there is a justification for putting together a Safe Routes to School task force with the goal of working with the Spokane Regional Health District to develop an entire pedestrian- and bike-friendly network of paths to these schools. Several volunteers, including councilwoman Candace Mumm, expressed an interest in participating.

A motion was made to provide meeting notes for review and approval by e-mail, rather than waiting until the following monthly meeting. It was decided to e-mail the minutes shortly following each meeting, and voting members can then respond to the e-mail.

Tim Burns, the Police Ombudsman, reported that the five-member citizen oversight commission over Spokane Police Officers is in effect as of September 15. The sheriff’s office has expressed an interest in a similar committee. Adrian Dominguez, an epidemiologist with the Health Department, represents our district (District 3) on the oversight commission. Each of the other two city council districts selected one representative, and the mayor selected two.

City Council member Candace Mumm reported on the approval of a $67,000 traffic calming grant. A pilot program near Gonzaga will experiment with a permeable pavement solution, which could work with N. Monroe as well. The Women and Children’s Free Restaurant has purchased Center Pointe near the Community Frameworks building for their new location. The new city budget proposal was released, and a priority was given to fire safety.

Sara Kimball reported on sidewalk repair near Emerson Park, in response to some large tree roots. There were four curb cuts near Jefferson and Alice for ADA accessibility. A sidewalk on the west side of Madison all the way from Indiana to Emerson Park may be in development in the near to long term.

The Emerson-Garfield Farmers’ Market is on track to have over $40,000 in sales this year. A long line of residents interested in claiming dump passes came to the market for their first time on October 3 and commented positively on the market. The market’s season finale will be on October 17 and will feature a cider press (apples can be brought or bought).

Tim Schwering, Director of Strategic Initiatives at the Spokane Police Department, arrived after the meeting had ended due to a long Q&A session at a talk earlier in the evening. He has rescheduled to present on the police body cameras at the November 12 meeting.

Recap of 2014 Summer Potluck at Emerson Park

Recap of 2014 Summer Potluck at Emerson Park

What follows is a condensed version of the minutes from the short meeting of the Emerson-Garfield Neighborhood Council that followed the annual Summer Potluck on August 13, 2014 in Emerson Park.

The next generation of Emerson-Garfield Neighborhood planners
The next generation of Emerson-Garfield Neighborhood planners (courtesy Bri Musser)

Prior to the meeting, during the barbeque, some neighbors brainstormed with Joe Cannon, a restoration ecologist from the Lands Council, about what trees would be ideal to plant throughout the neighborhood as part of the current Greening Neighborhoods grants.

The meeting was called to order at 7:05 pm, and a quorum of 18 voting members was present, along with 10 guests. The June minutes were approved without any changes.  There were no additions or changes to the agenda, and there were no guest speakers.

The Greening Neighborhood grants were discussed first. There are three projects in the works, each of which is a volunteer project. These projects include the east side of Mansfield near Washington, Cora east of Monroe, and a continuation of the previous planting project on N. Maple.

A draft of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Project Hope Spokane and the Emerson-Garfield Neighborhood Council was presented in order to identify the roles and responsibilities of each party regarding the Emerson-Garfield Farmers’ Market. It was requested that the EGNC arrive with feedback and be prepared to vote on the MoU at the next meeting. The market saw $3,200 in total sales on Friday, August 8, and there is now a permanent street sign on Monroe.

Safe Routes to School is looking for interviewers for Garfield and Audubon Elementary who will help determine priorities for things like sidewalks and crosswalks. There is an interview outline you can follow — but keep in mind that the deadline for interviews is the end of August. Get in touch if you’re interested.

The traffic circles on Montgomery/Madison and Montgomery/Cedar are out to bid, and they will be installed by the end of autumn. The funding is done with Photo Red dollars, not tax dollars. Emerson-Garfield will also get sidewalks on Adams and Madison, filling in gaps.

For Corbin Senior Activity Center, there is still no arrival date for the van that they ordered in the spring, and they are hoping for September. The center’s biggest fundraiser, the annual auction, will be held there on Saturday, September 27. This year it’s called “Athenian Nights.” They would appreciate donations and attendance, as the fundraiser helps keep their doors open. So please donate!

Also, a mere $24 will get anyone over the age of 18 an annual membership to the Corbin Senior Activity Center. Membership entitles you to use of their facilities (like the Wii) and discounts to businesses all along N. Monroe.

The CSAC also installed cameras throughout the building in order to improve safety and discourage vandalism. The money for the cameras came from a donation by a former board member. There is still a separate cost for the installation.

If you are interested in being a board member for the CSAC, a three-year term will be starting in January, 2015. You can find out more information by calling Christa at (509) 327-1584 (x10).

Megan Kennedy led a toast (of sparkling cider) in celebration of the Neighborhood Plan, which is now complete. The City Council unanimously adopted the plan by resolution on July 28.

Eline Helm reported on Concerts in the Park. The feedback has been very positive; Sarah Brown and her husband clearly did a wonderful job. There were approximately 100 people in attendance, and $55 in donations was gathered in the collection during the event. Donors from the previous year gave larger amounts this year.

The meeting was adjourned at 7:27 p.m.

E-G Summer Potluck in Emerson Park (Aug 13)

E-G Summer Potluck in Emerson Park (Aug 13)

The annual Emerson-Garfield Summer Potluck will take place in Emerson Park this Wednesday, August 13 starting at 6pm.

The neighborhood potlucks are open to everyone who lives, works or plays in Emerson-Garfield, so feel free to come for the first (or fifteenth) time and invite other people on your block. These potlucks are a great way to meet your neighbors and members of the community in the relaxed surroundings of our neighborhood parks.

Vintage potluck

Don’t forget to bring a dish to share! It can be anything — a salad, a bowl of fruit, a bag of snack chips, or your world-famous enchiladas. There will be a limited amount of free hot dogs grilled by our resident BBQ maven as a bonus.

The August meeting of the Emerson-Garfield Neighborhood Council will follow the potluck at 7pm. You can download the minutes from the June meeting (pending approval) for review as well as the August agenda.