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Recap of the September E-G Neighborhood Council Meeting

Recap of the September E-G Neighborhood Council Meeting

The September 14, 2014 meeting of the Emerson-Garfield Neighborhood Council got underway when Marlene Feist, Utilities Communications Manager for the City of Spokane, spoke about the street levy proposal that will be on the November ballot. This levy will complement the parks levy that is also being proposed. Many of the details of the parks levy and the improvements it will bring to Riverfront Park were addressed by Parks and Recreation Director Leroy Eadie during the May meeting of the E-G Neighborhood Council.

Marlene explained that the street levy proposal is designed to improve the arterial system, which accommodates approximately 90% of Spokane’s traffic. The levy would use 57¢ of the 93¢ per $1,000 of assessed property value, with the remaining income going to the parks program. With proper maintenance, involving grind and overlay, the life of streets could be extended to 50 years. Some of the arterial money could be used for residential areas as well.

A council member asked where the income from license plate tabs went, and the speakers confirmed that the income from renewals is directed to the improvement of residential streets.

This is a 20-year levy, and the debt will be paid off four years later. The park bond requires a 60% voter approval, and the streets bond only requires 50% approval. The ballots can be expected to arrive in your mailbox by the middle of October.

Judith Gilmore from the Fulcrum Institute spoke about her organization’s work with the Geiger Correctional Center and low- to moderate-income families in West Central and Emerson-Garfield Neighborhoods. To augment these services, they are planning to renovate a building at 1926 N. Ash, the former home of Nords Electric. The historic building has set vacant for years but is still in phenomenal shape. There are three large bays for work or classrooms for training as well as three apartments for transitional living.

Judith said that Fulcrum is looking for partner organizations that would occupy the available training and retail space in the building. Anyone who is interested should contact her via e-mail or by calling (509) 838-2799.

Jackie Caro from the Office of Neighborhood Services reported that the traffic circles on Montgomery have gone out to bid. Another project that will finish some sidewalks on Madison and Jefferson (also part of the traffic calming program) is underway.

She explained changes to the current Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding process. The majority of E-G still qualifies for CDBG block dollars, as in the past, and could qualify for a number of additional larger grants. For example, the neighborhood could apply to install new lighting on N. Monroe to increase safety and walkability. Neighborhoods can also collaborate with each other and pool money for even larger projects, such as renovations or capital projects that would impact nearby neighborhoods.

There is a training session for these CDBG projects and applications on Monday, September 15, from 5:30 to 7pm at the West Central Community Center (1600 N. Belt). Anyone can put forward applications on the neighborhood’s behalf, but all applications for neighborhood projects will need to be approved and signed by the chair of the E-G Neighborhood Council.

More information on CDBG funding and opportunities is always available through the ONS website.

A short update was given on the Greening Neighborhoods Grants. E-G has been given an extension until September 15 to finalize the paperwork. For the Stevens/Atlantic grant, volunteers will go door-knocking to obtain residents’ approval to plant and maintain trees.

A proposal was made to change the EGNC meeting time from 7pm to 6pm to better accommodate participants’ busy schedules. It was discussed that the time should be changed after the next neighborhood mailing, which will be soon enough for the October 8 meeting. The proposal was approved, with one “nay” vote.

The memorandum of understanding between the Emerson-Garfield Farmers’ Market and Project Hope Spokane was discussed. A few changes for fine-tuning the wording were recommended. The revised MoU was approved unanimously.

The council members gave retroactive approval for a sidewalk improvement project near Emerson Park, which permitted that $5,015 be reallocated from the neighborhood’s street tree fund to the sidewalk fund, even though the money will be used for street tree replacement as part of the sidewalk project.

Jay Cousins reported on the Community Assembly. The elections for the CA will be moved one month earlier to better familiarize those in newly elected positions. A workshop on Saturday, October 18 from 9am to 2pm will offer an opportunity for the public input and involvement on CA priorities.

Quality of Life vs. Quick Buck

Quality of Life vs. Quick Buck

One week ago, the Spokane County commissioners opted to gobble up another 6,000 acres of surrounding countryside to build more cookie-cutter homes and strip malls. Their expansion of the urban growth area (UGA) could end up costing taxpayers an additional $64 million. Developers and big-box stores are the ones who most stand to benefit.

Map of UGA expansion. Borrowed with the best of intentions from the Inlander's blog post.
Map of UGA expansion. Borrowed with the best of intentions from the Inlander’s blog post.

In his recent column titled “Growth vote unsupported by the math,” the Spokesman-Review‘s Shawn Vestal outlines some of the opposition to the UGA vote as well as the commissioners’ less-than-forthright approach to its actual costs:

The question of whether to expand the county’s growth boundary — whether to sprawl expensively or grow in a more concentrated, smarter fashion — has been an interesting case. Against the objections of everyone from Spokane Mayor David Condon to state growth officials to activist groups, county commissioners Al French, Todd Mielke and Shelly O’Quinn [have] voted unanimously to sprawl.

He references a less euphemistic blog post by Daniel Walters at the Inlander, “Spokane County really screwed up its Urban Growth Area math,” which in turn references a Spokesman news article on the subject.

This decision is something that will affect us at both the city and neighborhood levels.

Sprawl makes us more reliant on cars (thereby increasing traffic and pollution), creates more vacant retail stores and homes near the city center (a surefire way to speed neighborhood collapse), and costs more in taxpayer money in the long run (the additional infrastructure is expensive to build and maintain, and big-box stores draw more money away from the community than they put in). The arguments in favor of sprawl are hard to find — we’d welcome any in the comments.

One of the reasons people proudly cite for living in Spokane is its easy access to green spaces: “Just a 30-minute drive and you’re in the forest!” Urban sprawl beats nature further back, which means that 30-minute drive will eventually become an hour. With the commissioners’ approach to the UGA, over time that clever “Near Nature, Near Perfect” tourist slogan will simply become: “Near Wal-Mart.”

3rd District Town Hall Meetings (Mar 16)

3rd District Town Hall Meetings (Mar 16)

Washington Community Action Network has sent out an e-mail to notify residents that the 3rd District legislators (namely, State Senator Andy Billig and Reps. Marcus Riccelli and Timm Ormsby) will be returning to Spokane to hold two Town Hall Meetings on Saturday, March 16:

  • 10am to noon at Shadle Park High School Auditorium, 4327 N. Ash Street
  • 2 to 4pm at Emmanuel Family Life Center, 631 S. Richard Allen Ct

WA State Community Action Network

If you live in Emerson-Garfield (here’s a handy neighborhood map), you’re in the 3rd District.

Some issues and talking points WA CAN highlights include:

  • Since 2009, $10.5 billion in state budget cuts have torn billion-dollar-sized holes in education, healthcare and other essential services. The proposed all-cuts approach to the budget would pit funding for education against other essential community services.
  • There are over 500 special tax expenditures in WA State’s tax code that have never been reviewed. Most of them have no sunset date. Many tax expenditures are simply outdated or didn’t accomplish their goal like keeping jobs in Washington, therefore they should be subject to a cost/benefit analysis.
  • Washington is one of only 8 states that do not charge state taxes on the sale of stocks, bonds and other speculative investments. The result is that middle class families pay up to six times higher state tax rates then millionaires.

These aren’t the only important talking points, though, so bone up on some of the pressing issues and make sure your voice is heard by your legislators.

What’s a Tax Increment Financing (TIF) District?

What’s a Tax Increment Financing (TIF) District?

Emerson-Garfield is part of Spokane’s West Quadrant Tax Increment Financing – or TIF – District. What exactly is a TIF district? And what does it have to do with our neighborhood?

Simply put, a TIF district is a pledge from Spokane city government that it will pay for projects that will upgrade neighborhoods using future property taxes. The idea is that such improvements will increase overall property values, especially properties located within the district, and thus increase Spokane’s overall property tax revenue.

Please note that simply being located within a TIF district does not automatically increase someone’s property taxes. Each property located within a TIF district continues to be assessed individually.

Spokane created the West Quadrant TIF District in 2007. It is one of three TIF districts created by city officials. The West Quadrant TIF District includes all of the Kendall Yards development being built on the bluff overlooking the Spokane River, part of the Riverside Neighborhood next to the river, much of the West Central Neighborhood, and Monroe St. within the West Central and Emerson-Garfield Neighborhoods.

In 2007, the West Quadrant TIF district had an assessed value of $198 million, which became the district’s base valuation.

The amount of property tax that has been collected within the district each year above the 2007 property tax collected is called a tax increment. Three-quarters of each year’s West Quadrant tax increment that isn’t specifically for schools and state government will be used as seed money for approved projects within the District.

One of those approved projects is the planned revitalization of the North Monroe business district from the bridge north to Cora St., which is the north boundary of the Emerson-Garfield Neighborhood.

Other approved TIF projects are the installation of streets, sewer lines and other infrastructure within the Kendall Yards development, the extension of the Centennial Trail west from Monroe St., continuing streetscape improvements along West Broadway Ave., and improvements to the Spokane County courthouse campus.

No one expects that there will be enough tax increment collected to be able to fully pay for any of these projects. Think of the increment rather as being seed money that will attract additional money from private and public funding sources for continuing improvements within TIF neighborhoods, including Emerson-Garfield.

The West Quadrant TIF district tax increment will be collected for 25 years, after which the district will be dissolved. The hope and expectation is that by the time the district goes away somewhere in the neighborhood of $4.5 million will have been collected and that will have gone a long way toward revitalizing our part of Spokane.

(This article was written by Emerson-Garfield resident John Vlahovich, who is chair of the West Quadrant TIF District Neighborhood Project Advisory Committee.)