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February Neighborhood Council Meeting Recap

February Neighborhood Council Meeting Recap

[What follows is a recap of the Emerson-Garfield Neighborhood Council Meeting that took place on Wednesday, February 13. You can either read slimmed and streamlined version of the minutes below, or download the full version of the meeting’s minutes here.]

The meeting began with a presentation from Judge Tracy Staab of the Spokane Municipal Court. The judge gave a Powerpoint slideshow that detailed the many facets of the Court, such as crime statistics, budgets, and punishment or rehabilitation methods. The slideshow was supposed to be made available online at the Spokane Municipal Court’s website, but has not appeared as of this post.

The popular Spring Clean Up event is still tentatively scheduled for Saturday, April 27 between 9am and 1pm at Faith Bible Church.

The call for logo designs for the neighborhood council is still out. Several entries have been submitted so far. If you have a design idea, please submit it to Chairwoman Liorah Wichser ahead of the vote in March. The general consensus was that our logo should reflect the historic nature of our neighborhood, the residential feel that we exude, the small local businesses that we have — and maybe that it should have a marmot on it.

Members were asked to provide input on the pending mission statement as the neighborhood council works to become an official nonprofit organization.

Jackie Caro from Neighborhood Services talked briefly about the traffic-calming project that had been approved on Montgomery Street between Monroe and Northwest Blvd (see here for more info). The engineers need more time to evaluate the project, which means the project has been delayed. Anyone with follow-up questions can contact Jackie at (509) 625-6733. To apply for a traffic-calming project on your street, please download the Toolbox (PDF link) from the ONS. Applications are due very, very soon.

Laura Schlangen gave the report for Corbin Senior Center. The Movin’ and Groovin’ Fair is scheduled for Saturday, March 9 from 8am to 2pm. The Corbin Golf Tournament is set for June 21 at Indian Canyon. They are in search of donors and players. Corbin will also be holding a yard sale on May 11 from 9am to 2pm. If you provide your own table, the cost is $10. It will cost $20 if Corbin provides you a table. Food will be available for purchase as well.

Jay Cousins reported that the neighborhood planning committee has a new meeting time. It is the first Thursday of every month at 6pm in the upper north room of the Corbin Senior Center. The group is small and would love more attendees.

There will be was a meeting for the review of the city’s Comprehensive Plan at the Shadle Library from 5:30 to 7:30pm on Tuesday, February 19. The purpose is to update all aspects of the plan, with a particular eye on transportation. A more general meeting for the public has been scheduled for mid-March.

Community Development rep Sara Kimball reported that the new swing set at Corbin Park has been installed. New horseshoe pits are proposed to go in the area of the old swing set. There is going to be some tree pruning in Corbin Park and as many as five trees will be removed due to disease.

Sara is also accepting applications for repairing damaged sidewalks: see this post for more information on how to repair existing sidewalk or install new sidewalks near your home.

Finally, Kelly Cruz from West Central Neighborhood Council requested a neighborhood representative from our group to be on the Community Assembly’s Land Use Committee. Tom Powell agreed to be that representative. They meet on the third Thursday of every month.

The next meeting will be Wednesday, March 13 from 7 to (roughly) 9pm at Corbin Senior Center.

Community Garden Harvest, Aug 31

Community Garden Harvest, Aug 31

It’s harvest time! Come learn about Emerson-Garfield Neighborhood’s new community garden.

Emerson Community Garden was started this year with the vision of fostering neighborhood relationships and providing wholesome fresh produce to garden members and neighbors.

The garden members are hosting a free neighborhood corn feed this Friday, August 31 at 6pm in Emerson Park. Chicken and corn will be provided. Please bring a side dish or dessert to share. All are welcome.

Instead of each person gardening their own rented plot, Emerson Community Garden is a shared gardening experience where members share in the work and in the harvest from the garden as a whole. There are opportunities for involvement at various levels. It is a great way to meet neighbors, learn about gardening, and enjoy the fruits of gardening!

For more information contact Paul and Sara Kimball at kimballs09@gmail.com.

(This post was written by Sara Kimball, who heads the Emerson Community Garden and also serves as the community development representative for the Emerson-Garfield Neighborhood Council.)

Neighborhood Potluck Wrap-up

Neighborhood Potluck Wrap-up

The Emerson-Garfield Neighborhood Potluck took place last night at Emerson Park. There was a great turnout of people from all over the neighborhood and a ton of food that included great dishes like quinoa salsa, English shortbread, Asian peanut noodles with tofu, and seafood salad (in addition to the free hot dogs, of course).

City councilwoman (and current state senate candidate) Nancy McLaughlin took part, as did former councilman Steve Corker. Downtown’s Main Market Co-op was also on hand to help spread the word about affordable local food. As part of the market’s contribution to the potluck, they brought along a giant bowl of the popular kale salad from the deli.

During the meeting portion of the event, all the attendees were given a chance to introduce themselves and talk about what they wanted for the neighborhood. Their suggestions included more bike lanes on the residential streets, better collaboration between local businesses and residents, steps to reduce crime (although a city police officer noted that Emerson-Garfield actually has one of the lowest neighborhood crime rates in Spokane this summer), and more community-wide activities.

We also discussed and voted on park improvements. Several new pieces of playground equipment — possibly including a seesaw, a merry-go-round, swings, and a slide — will replace the single unit in Emerson-Park, and both Emerson and Corbin Parks will get new electrical hook-ups for things like live music. Corbin Park will also have a new set of swings put in.

At the end of the evening, we got the chance to find out about something else that’s going on in the neighborhood — SpoFlow, which takes place every Wednesday night at Emerson Park [map] during the summer. It’s a fun live music jam session with yoga and hula hoopers.

Night Out Against Crime Wrap-up

Night Out Against Crime Wrap-up

At yesterday evening’s Night Out Against Crime event in Corbin Park, Pizza Rita raised $242 from merchandise sales and donations for COPS North Central. That’s not bad, considering that they were charging just 50¢ for large slices and pop — and they were selling the remaining whole large pizzas for just $3 (or two for $5!) at the end.

There was music by the Liverwurst Lads and Zach Hval, and later in the evening there were fire dancers from Visual Vortex. Brian Dickmann, owner of our neighborhood Pizza Rita, was on hand (along with plenty of his staff) to help run the evening and promote the many items that were available for auction — like a snowboard and vibrant Hawaiian shirts.

Night Out Against Crime, Aug 7

Night Out Against Crime, Aug 7

On Tuesday, August 7 (remember: that’s the evening before the Emerson-Garfield Neighborhood Picnic & Potluck) there will be a special fundraiser hosted by Pizza Rita on Indiana on behalf of the annual nationwide Night Out Against Crime. The event starts at 6pm and runs until 8pm at Corbin Park [map].

Pizza Rita will be selling slices of pizza and ice-cold pop for just 50¢. All proceeds from the pizza sales will benefit COPS North Central.

Pizza Rita on Indiana

A number of items will be for sale at the event through a silent auction. As with the pizza money, all auction money goes to our local COPS Shop. There will also be Live Music (Zach Hval and The Liverwurst Lads ) and Visual Vortex fire dancers.

Please remember that this is a cash only event — that goes for the auction as well as the pizza. Although there are some tables at the park, bring your own folding chairs and  picnic blankets (not to mention your appetite!). Parking is limited, too, so plan to walk or bike a few blocks instead of driving.

Questions? Contact Pizza Rita through their Facebook page or call Brian at 953-1486.

To mark the Night Out Against Crime you can also meet at your Block Watch captain’s home. But we have a feeling that cheap pizza in the park will be just a tiny bit more fun.