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Materials for the February 12 EGNC Meeting

Materials for the February 12 EGNC Meeting

We know the snow is knee deep in places, but there are 101 (count ’em) reasons to brave the winter weather and make it to the Emerson-Garfield Neighborhood Council meeting on Wednesday, February 12. It starts promptly at 7pm in the Corbin Senior Center (827 W Cleveland).

At this meeting the EGNC will be taking sidewalk and traffic-calming requests. This means that if you have sidewalk that is missing or in need of repair outside your home, business, church or other property, you should be there to mark the spot on a map and help rank these proposals in terms of priority before submitting them to the city.

There will also be guest speakers with useful and interesting information on a variety of topics, including pedestrian and traffic studies on N. Monroe, energy-efficient home improvement options, news and thanks from the West Central Community Center, and a proposed law enforcement partnership to reduce underage drinking.

Plus there’s the usual slew of announcements and updates, reports on the significant progress among the Neighborhood Planning effort and how that will make the leap into implementation, check-ins from the Spokane Police and COPS, and news on changes to Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) eligibility.

Download the February 12 meeting materials for approval here:

We look forward to seeing you there!

Submit Your Traffic-Calming and Sidewalk Requests

Submit Your Traffic-Calming and Sidewalk Requests

It’s time to make your annual neighborhood traffic-calming and sidewalk requests.

Here are the sort of problems you can address:

  • A stretch of sidewalk in Emerson-Garfield that is missing or in need of repair
  • An arterial or residential street in Emerson-Garfield where drivers speed, accidents occur frequently, and/or the safety of pedestrians is endangered.

To see the boundaries of Emerson-Garfield, check this handy map.

And here are the sort of solutions you can propose:

  • Curb bump-outs
  • Signage
  • Roundabouts/traffic circles
  • Chicanes
  • Improved visibility
  • Crosswalks
  • Private mini-copters to ferry you to/from the destination of your choosing

Once you submit these requests, they’ll be reviewed by the Emerson-Garfield Neighborhood Council (which you can be a part of if you’re not already), prioritized according to urgency, then passed on to the City of Spokane for analysis and implementation. Most, if not all of the money for these projects comes from sources such as Photo Red dollars and federal Community Development Block Grant funding.

The council welcomes any and all requests, but please be aware that at some point you might have to collect supporting signatures from some residents in the affected area, especially for traffic-calming projects. Though it might take an afternoon or two (less if other neighbors pitch in), signature-gathering is a straightforward and usually pleasant process. If that sounds daunting, the council is happy to assist with advice or even a bit of legwork.

It’s important to remember that your requests have real impact. Every year sidewalks are installed or replaced throughout the entire city as a direct result of these efforts, and Emerson-Garfield (specifically, Montgomery Ave between Monroe and NW Blvd) is the future site of an ambitious residential roundabout project thanks to resident-led traffic-calming requests.

Our deadline is March 7, so please send your requests ASAP. In fact, it’s best if we have  them in hand prior to our upcoming neighborhood council meeting on Wednesday, February 12. Submit them through our easy-to-use online contact form — just be sure to select “Traffic Calming/Sidewalks” from the drop-down menu.

Status on Traffic-Calming Applications

Status on Traffic-Calming Applications

First post of 2014, and we’ve got both good and bad news on previous traffic-calming applications made by the Emerson-Garfield Neighborhood Council.

Let’s start with the good, taken straight from the e-mail we just received from the city:

The Emerson Garfield Traffic Calming Application from 2012 for infill sidewalks on the East Side of Adams from Mansfield to Alleyway and on Madison between Mansfield and Alleyway have been chosen by the City Council to be implemented.

The project is being moved to the final design phase and then into implementation. The build year for the project will depend on the complexity of the project and the design needed; some projects fall into a two year cycle for design and build.

Just to reiterate, that’s a request from 2012. The images below give a rough idea where the sidewalks are to be installed.

And the bad:

The applications from 2013 were not chosen for implementation, the crosswalk at Jackson and Maple St. and the Signage at Cora and Euclid. The crosswalk at Jackson was not chosen due to its close proximity to a school crossing one block north of this location. The Signage at Cora and Euclid did not meet the signatures that were needed to move the project forward.

That crosswalk on Maple was requested on account of the busy intersection there, which sees a lot of foot traffic (in addition to automobile traffic) from Safeway. While it’s true that there are two pedestrian crossings a few blocks to the north and south, traffic of any kind naturally tends to follow the shortest and most direct route. There’s a case to be made either way. The signage was a good idea but, as the e-mail indicates, saw no follow-through.

If you have traffic-calming or sidewalk suggestions for application in 2014, please submit them to the EGNC for consideration. But in the case of traffic-calming, also be prepared to gather the necessary signatures.

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.

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.