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N. Monroe Business Outreach Event (Apr 17)

N. Monroe Business Outreach Event (Apr 17)

The Emerson-Garfield Neighborhood Planning group will be holding a business outreach event at CSL Plasma (2126 N. Monroe) on Thursday, April 17 at 7pm.

Business Outreach, April 17

The event is open to anyone who owns a business or property along or near N. Monroe, primarily those north of the “five corners” intersection with Indiana and NW Boulevard and south of the North Hill. The aim is to inform participants how the planning group arrived at some proposals for improvements to N. Monroe following a nearly two-year effort, and to solicit input from the business and property owners that speaks to their vision for this important corridor.

Light refreshments will be served at the event, which should run no more than 90 minutes. A number of guest speakers will be addressing the benefits of a large-scale revitalization effort, including Councilwoman Candace Mumm, urban planners, and business leaders from the E. Sprague and S. Perry districts.

Materials for the March 12 EGNC Meeting

Materials for the March 12 EGNC Meeting

As another Emerson-Garfield Neighborhood Council meeting nears, the snow has given way to rain. At least it’s some sort of seasonal progress. And it’s reason enough to join the EGNC on Wednesday, March 12 at 7pm in the Corbin Senior Center (827 W Cleveland) as we begin preparing in earnest for the exciting year ahead.

And that’s not just feel-good inspirational fluff. There really is some exciting stuff going on.

This EGNC meeting brings five guest speakers — all of whom have been limited in advance to ten minutes or less. That means you’ll get your informational fix but it won’t eat up your entire evening. Most of the speakers have agreed to hang around after the meeting so you can pose your questions on an informal, one-on-one basis.

Dom Felix will be talking about the Spokane Police Accountability and Reform Coalition (SPARC). Kim Ferraro will be giving a preview of what’s happening at the West Central Community Center. Buzz Bellessa of North Hill Neighborhood Council will be proposing a developer agreement for the city-owned property on the corner of Cora and N. Monroe. Angel Spell of Spokane Urban Forestry will address everything to do with street trees. And a representative of the Spokane Human Rights Commission will explain what their organization has been up to.

Due to unforeseen circumstances, Karen Cornwell of Avista will not be presenting. We hope she’ll be able to reschedule for April’s meeting.

Also on the agenda is the scheduling of mobile speed signs (for traffic-calming analysis), preparation for next month’s EGNC elections, discussion about the proposed Summer Parkways event in Emerson-Garfield, Neighborhood Planning updates, and lots more.

Download the March 12 meeting materials here:

We look forward to seeing you there!

N. Monroe Traffic Presentation

N. Monroe Traffic Presentation

Below is a YouTube movie of the presentation on N. Monroe given by Bob Turner, Senior Traffic Engineer for the City of Spokane, at February’s Emerson-Garfield Neighborhood Council meeting.

It contains statistics such as average daily vehicle counts and vehicle speed as well as a ten-year retrospective of collisions and pedestrian fatalities. Some of the figures might be surprising, even if they do seem to be at odds with our day-to-day experience on N. Monroe.

Toward the end there’s a list of conclusions that can be drawn (or not) from the available data. Some of the recommendations and concerns tie in to Emerson-Garfield’s current Neighborhood Planning effort.

The individual slides should be fairly self-explanatory. If they aren’t, we can try to address your specific questions in the comments below.

Urban Farming Hearing (Feb 26)

Urban Farming Hearing (Feb 26)

The Spokane City Plan Commission is holding public hearings on Wednesday, February 26 at 4pm in City Hall (808 W Spokane Falls Blvd, City Council Chambers, Lower Level) to receive public testimony on an ordinance related to the topic of urban farming.

The ordinance is for the proposed adoption to the Spokane Municipal Code of section 17C.380, which is related to the regulation of market gardens.

Urban Farming banner

Any person may submit written comments to the Plan Commission and appear at the public hearing to submit oral comments on the proposal. Copies of the draft ordinances before the Plan Commission are available at spokaneplanning.org.

A State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) Determination of Non-significance (DNS) was issued on February 10 pursuant to WAC 197-11-340 and section 17E.050 of the Spokane Municipal Code. Comments on the DNS must be submitted by 4pm on February 26.

To submit comments or request more information, contact Tirrell Black at tblack@spokanecity.org or (509) 625-6300.

October Neighborhood Council Meeting Recap

October Neighborhood Council Meeting Recap

Mere days before the Emerson-Garfield Neighborhood Council convenes for its meeting on Wednesday, November 13 at 7pm in the Corbin Senior Center, we thought it a good time to bring everyone up to speed on what the EGNC did last month.

After the meeting kicked off in the usual manner shortly after 7pm, Matt West of the Lands Council gave a presentation about Spokane River toxins and eating fish caught there. One of the two more common toxins is PCBs/PBDEs (flame retardants). Exposure to these chemicals comes from eating fish caught in the river. The other toxin is heavy metals, which are remnants of a century of mining upstream. Exposure to heavy metals comes from ingesting dirt or contact with broken skin. More information is available through the Lands Council.

Garbage Czar Karl Boldt noted that dump passes would be available after the meeting and on October 26 at the Corbin Senior Center.

Information concerning Photo Red funds was discussed next. Up until a recent decision by the City Council, all profits derived from red light fines — for context, $437,000 was raised in 2012 — were used to fund traffic-calming improvements like traffic circles and curb bump-outs. The recent vote by the City Council changed this allocation so that in the future, $100,000 of the total funds will go to the Spokane Police, $50,000 will go to the COPS program, and $20,000 will go to graffiti abatement. The rest will go for traffic calming. It should be noted that the EGNC, along with the Community Assembly and many other neighborhood councils voted (in an advisory capacity) to keep all funds collected through the Photo Red program strictly for traffic calming projects.

It was announced that Christ Clinic had successfully applied for a permit to allow them to use a house adjacent to their property for commercial use. It was previously zoned residential and a minor zone change was allowed.

Corbin Senior Center reported a successful Walk-Along at Corbin Park, which brought out more people than last year and raised $1,000. Harvard Park sponsored a Spaghetti Fundraiser, which brought in another $1,000. The Munch and Mingle Auction sold out the day before the event. Unfortunately, the Parks Department did not increase the contract funding amount for Corbin, even though a number of people (including representatives of the EGNC) wrote letters. Senator Andy Billig has offered to guide Corbin towards the possibility of maybe getting a grant for a new elevator. Corbin’s name will appear next month as we dole out Community Development Block Grant funds with a request for funds for a variety of needs.

The Emerson Community Garden is wrapping up its season, and there is a cleanup day scheduled for Sunday, October 20. Membership is just $20 a season and everyone shares in the harvest.

As of this meeting, there were two remaining Emerson-Garfield Farmers’ Markets for the season. Four raffles are set for the final gathering on Friday, October 18, and you must be present to win.

Megan Kennedy, who heads the Neighborhood Planning Committee, announced there is a big planning workshop meeting scheduled for the next evening (Thursday, October 10) from 6:30 to 8:30pm. Another meeting is scheduled for Thursday, November 14 at the same place and time. The more people who attend, the better and more inclusive the planning effort will be.

Lt. Dean Sprague gave the monthly crime report. Statistics show that neighborhood crime rates are down. Starting on the first of the year, the Spokane Police Department will be surveying itself regarding racial profiling. Currently, 88% of those arrested are white males. Officers will be filling out information detailing demographics after every arrest that will then a collated, synthesized and processed to see how they are doing.

The Community Assembly has a retreat scheduled for Saturday, October 12 where the focus will be reinventing Community Assembly and Neighborhood Councils. Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich will be the keynote speaker.

New playground equipment for Emerson Park was installed in July. Sidewalks are also complete for this year and many of the projects are just now being wrapped up.

Training seminars for Building Stronger Neighborhoods have been going on, and the next one will be on October 21 at Corbin Senior Center. It will address the pros, cons and how-tos of neighborhood councils forming nonprofit organizations

The meeting was adjourned at 8:12pm.