 Photo by City Sanitary Service. Now that we're past the equinox, it's won't be long: Those leaves are gonna fall. As in previous years, we'll have a Dumpster-sized leaf box on SE 19th Street, just east of SE 159th Place and Homestead Park. The dates:
If you don’t see the leaf box on those dates, check back in an hour. It's likely being emptied. Leaf boxes are free to us, paid by the city because ours is a recognized neighborhood association. To keep it that way, please follow the city’s directions: leaves only. No bags or branches, or other yard debris. Need a reminder? Visit the calendar to set one up.  As you may remember: On last fall's ballot, the city's Proposition 4 did not pass. Coming up this November, Proposition 5 will again ask for increased police funding — but on a smaller scale.
The City of Vancouver website has an explainer page covering what will be on the ballot and how it differs from last time. It implies improvements in police response times and the number of uninvestigated cases as outcomes. The online voters' guide has arguments both for and against the proposition. Watch for ballots in the mail in mid-October.  Photo by HolidaysCalendar.com Update, July 31: 36 sellers, adequate weather. Thanks to all who participated. CHNA spent $272.64 (for the Columbian ad, balloons and photocopying 400 maps) and received $255 from participants. It's an odd-numbered year, so the neighborhood garage sale is on! It's Friday-Sunday, June 27-29, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day.
CHNA will run ads on Craigslist and Nextdoor, and in The Columbian. CHNA will also put up signs at the nine major intersections on McGillivray, Mill Plain, Village Loop, 164th, and 160th. Each participant will be given maps of all the participating houses to give to garage-sale goers or allow them to photograph. The cost for participating is $7. Participate on one, two or all three days. Register using this form by 9 p.m. Friday, June 20. Please note: You are responsible for signs directing people to your particular location. Any signs you put up should be stand-alone, not attached to city-owned poles such as stop signs, street signs, light poles, etc. Thanks! Saturday, April 19, 8 a.m.-noon, Mountain View High School parking lot. Coupon required. Add this to your calendar.  Photo by Ramsay Community Association (Calgary, Alberta, Canada) Spring means spring cleaning, and therefore Neighborhood Cleanup. Heads up: This year's edition is a few weeks earlier in the season than the last couple. Got junk? Each load requires the green coupon on page 3 of the latest CHNA green paper newsletter, soon to be delivered to your home. (Some of these are dated April 12, but the cleanup really is on April 19.) Please sign and address it before you arrive. Got more than one load? Maybe you can use a neighbor’s coupon. But if you're using a small car or bike or wheelbarrow, we can make allowances for you to make multiple trips on one coupon. Need help loading or transporting? Call in advance: 360-896-7291 (voice mail). Best not to wait until the last minute. Last year the three packer trucks filled up before the noon closing time — so people who arrived close to noon couldn’t dump their stuff. Accepted items
Items NOT accepted
Volunteers needed We need two unloaders, one yard debris monitor, and one greeter. Shifts are from 7:50 a.m. until your replacement volunteer shows up at 10 a.m. We also need a pickup and driver to transport the bicycles downtown after we close. To volunteer, contact us. New this year: “Too Good to Toss” At their discretion, volunteers will move what seems like useful items into a “Too Good to Toss” area. If you like something in that area, take it. Anything left at closing time will go into the packer trucks. The City of Vancouver sponsors this event. For efficiency, it’s combined with the Mountain View Neighborhood Association (MVNA).  Conduit in place, box coming next. Photo by the town of Holly Springs, North Carolina. Ziply Fiber will install fiber-optic internet in the neighborhood and elsewhere in the city this year. Installation will be in the city’s utility right of way — which is within six feet from the curb, on the yard side. Most of the work will involve tunneling underground (not digging trenches) to install conduits. The ends of the conduits will be in boxes similar to those used for sprinkler-system controls. Ziply has a two-year restoration guarantee for any foliage damage from this work. For every 100 or so potential users, Ziply will install distribution hubs on concrete pads. These will look similar to the green utility boxes we currently have. They will require removing some foliage. For questions or concerns, email [email protected] or call 1-855-950-0779. Or you can report construction-related repair or cleanup needs on its website. This project will only bring fiber-optic internet into the neighborhood, with the city’s permission. Of course it’s your choice whether to have it hooked up at your house. Ziply is owned by Bell Canada, a private company. Ziply contracts out the installation work.  Photo: City of Vancouver Homestead Park's new play structure was completed on the last day of 2024, right on schedule! The installation includes three benches: one near the old bench location, another near the new swings, and one close to the ages-5-to-12 play areas (nearest the net system).
About the grass: Replacement wouldn’t succeed in colder winter temperatures. The city covered the muddy areas with hay straw until seeding in the spring. The new garbage can near the structure has an open top. Will it be too stinky for people using the nearby bench? If so, we’ll deal with it. If not, we’re good to go. Either way we appreciate the third disposal option. Construction began in late September 2024. Stateline LLC from La Center, WA, was the contractor. Omar Guzman, city park designer, coordinated the project. Two design concepts were developed in February 2024. In March 2024 over 200 residents (!) responded to a survey which came in heavily requesting traditional swings. Some preliminary work began in early July which is also when we had an open-house style event sharing the plans. We saw a presentation by Omar at our annual meeting. Also: new benches on the east side Our two new, neighborhood-paid-for, comfy benches on the east side of the park are IN. Thank you to those who paid for their curb number to be painted, who attended recycling classes, who helped with recycling at our cleanups, who donated money specifically for this cause, and who wrote the grant request (which was rewarded) and babysat it through the process. We also benefited from the construction timing of the new play structure. The same workers installed the benches and did not have to make a special trip. The total cost of the two benches came in at $7,227.55 including tax (subtotal $6,650.00, Washington State Sales Tax [8.7%] $578.55). Terry Snyder, long-time city parks designer (who also helped with our fitness equipment choice and installation) wrote: "I provided you an estimate months ago of $6,000 for the two benches. Your cost will still be $6,000 and the city will cover the extra $1,727.55. We’re thrilled with how the park is shaping up." Thank you, Terry! And thank you City of Vancouver for paying the difference. |
Previous news posts |
||
