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Materials for the Sep 9 E-G Neighborhood Council Meeting

Materials for the Sep 9 E-G Neighborhood Council Meeting

After a relaxing summer of concerts, potlucks and markets, the Emerson-Garfield Neighborhood Council is back in full swing for its September meeting tomorrow (Wednesday, September 9) at 6pm in the Corbin Senior Center (827 W Cleveland).

The tentative agenda includes news on the autumn Residential Tree Program (free trees!), Community Development Block Grants, traffic-calming projects and the rash of citywide crime, plus a guest speaker and the Alliance to Protect Local Jobs explaining why his group is opposing Prop1 on the November ballot. Judith Gilmore of the Fulcrum Institute will also be providing a brief update on the Ash Street Workforce Training Station. This is all fairly meaty and interesting stuff, so please make a point to attend, get informed, and be heard.

The EGNC welcomes newcomers! Whether you’ve just moved into the neighborhood or you’ve lived in Emerson-Garfield your entire life, we encourage you to drop in and see what the neighborhood council is all about. The EGNC is nonpartisan and maintains a friendly, open-minded atmosphere regardless of individual political affiliation.

If you’ve got a tablet or a smartphone, please help keep our printing expenses low and download the materials as PDFs:

[EDIT: One member has helpfully sent a link to the current CompStat figures from the Spokane Police Department, which should be useful when discussing crime with Capt. Traci Ponto at the September 9 meeting. Download them as a PDF here.]

We look forward to seeing you tomorrow. If you’d like to RSVP on Facebook and proclaim your attendance to the world, please do so on the meeting’s event page. You can also do so on Nextdoor.

Spokane Police Advisory Committee Public Meeting (Mar 19)

Spokane Police Advisory Committee Public Meeting (Mar 19)

The Spokane Police Advisory Committee (PAC) is holding a quarterly meeting on Thursday, March 19 that is open to the public. It will start at 5:30pm and be held in the Newton Room of the West Central Community Center (1603 N Belt).

This meeting offers one more way that the public can engage with the Spokane Police Department. Representatives from the SPD will answer citizens’ questions and provide updates on current issues and ongoing initiatives.

PAC Meeting Flyer 2015

The PAC is a collection of community representatives who serve as an advisory group to the Office of the Chief of Police regarding community needs and concerns, as well as community responses to proposed police programs and priorities.

The PAC is looking for additional community leaders to join this committee. If you are interested, please send a request for an application to anapolitano@spokanepolice.org or call (509) 625-4063.

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.

Materials for the Nov 12 E-G Neighborhood Council Meeting

Materials for the Nov 12 E-G Neighborhood Council Meeting

We’re rapidly approaching the second Wednesday of the month, which means it’s time for another Emerson-Garfield Neighborhood Council meeting. It takes place tomorrow (November 12) starting at 6pm in the Corbin Senior Center (827 W Cleveland).

This month we’ll be hearing — no, really this time — from Tim Schwering, Director of Strategic Initiatives at the Spokane Police Department, about the practicalities and policies of police body cameras. This is all the more topical in light of this weekend’s car chase across the north side that ended in a nonfatal officer-involved shooting at the 2200 block of N Post here in E-G. The officer’s body camera was not on at the time.

The major agenda item is the allocation of just shy of $55,000 in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding to our neighborhood. As discussed at the October meeting, an ad hoc neighborhood CDBG committee met at Gerardo’s and developed a proposal to split the money in the following ways: $20,000 toward N. Monroe revitalization (in conjunction with the STA), $30,000 toward sidewalk installation and repair, and the remainder to neighborhood nonprofits. This proposal will be discussed and refined by everyone in attendance, then approved by voting members.

To that end, we’ll be hearing brief CDBG-related presentations and requests from the STA, The Lands Council (in partnership with Fulcrum) and the West Central Community Center. George Dahl, Human Services Manager at City of Spokane, will be on hand to answer questions about the possibilities and limits of funding.

This meeting could run a bit longer than usual, but we will aim to finish around 8pm. Considered, forward-thinking allocation of CDBG funding is important, so it’s worth the extra time.

As always, the EGNC welcomes everyone and anyone who has a stake in our neighborhood, whether you’re a resident (renter or homeowner), a business owner, a church leader, head of a nonprofit, or you have a child who attends one of the many schools in Emerson-Garfield.

You can download the November 12 meeting materials as PDFs here:

And if you’re on Facebook, you can RSVP for the neighborhood council meeting on the event page.

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.