The Boise Parks and Recreation Department completed the Catalpa Neighborhood Park during the summer. The CNA hosted a well-attended grand opening with music and a cakewalk in September. Neighborhood businesses sponsored a drawing, providing over a thousand dollars worth of prizes. There was considerable enthusiasm for similar neighborhood activities in the future. The Catalpa Neighborhood Park will receive its "Bounce" sculpture in 2003. Modifications for safety reasons pushed back the sculpture¹s original 2002 completion date. The sculpture was funded by the Mayor¹s 2001 Neighborhood Reinvestment Program. The CNA successfully applied for and received a grant from the Mayor's 2002 Neighborhood Reinvestment Program. The funds will be used to create five roadside signs, to be placed at major entry points to our neighborhood, welcoming people to our neighborhood. This is part of an effort to create more of a sense of community within the neighborhood, as indicated as desirable in our neighborhood survey. (See Sign Committee information below). The CNA provided two opportunities for candidates to address association members as part of a CNA effort to encourage voter education and participation. Candidates who requested an invitation to the Catalpa Neighborhood Park's grand opening to learn of our concerns were welcomed. Three attended the grand opening and mingled with the public. Candidates were also invited to speak at our October monthly meeting. David Langhorst and John Franden listened to our concerns and briefly addressed the meeting. The former is now a state representative and the latter is now an ACHD Commissioner. Three committees were created in 2002 to enable dedicated volunteers to examine issues as thoroughly as deemed necessary and make specific recommendations for action to the association. Active committees consist of the Hill Road Action Committee (a.k.a. Traffic Committee), the Neighborhood Planning Committee, and the Signs Committee. The Hill Road Action Committee is chaired by Fonny Davidson. Its creation was instigated by the ACHD public meeting in July 2002 at Hillside Junior High regarding the Hill Road/36th Street/Catalpa Drive Intersection Plan. Subsequent reports that the plan generated mostly negative comments, which were being ignored by ACHD, raised serious concerns. It was decided that impact of the proposed plan was such that prompt and thorough examination was needed. The committee's first act was to investigate the motive and logic behind ACHD's perplexing Hill Road/36th Street/Catalpa Drive Intersection Plan. The committee evaluated the merits of the proposed plan and upon determining its unsuitability, promptly took action. They petitioned both Mayor Brent Coles and the ACHD Commissioners for an eight (8) month moratorium on finalizing the plan. Mayor Coles responded with a formal written request in support of our endeavors. The moratorium was granted in October 20002 by ACHD¹s Commissioners to provide us with time to examine alternatives and present them to ACHD. The Hill Road Action Committee called two public meetings in order to determine public sentiment regarding ACHD's original plan. The meetings were held at Cynthia Mann Elementary School on November 13, 2002 and at Hillside Junior High School on November 14, 2002. Total attendance at both meetings was estimated at 500. Planners from ACHD were on hand to present their plan. Dan McComb, a retired planner, of the Hill Road Action Committee presented the Committee's findings and analysis of said plan. A hand vote showed that only four individuals supported the ACHD plan. The remainder were strongly against it and supported the association's endeavors to find alternative. This provided the Committee with the mandate of determining appropriate options. After meeting weekly from July to November, the committee took a break, to resume activity in January 2003 The Neighborhood Planning Committee is chaired by Ed Keener. It was decided in early 2002 that the neighborhood would benefit from a neighborhood plan. The first step was to conduct a neighborhood survey. Professor McDonald and his Sociology graduate students at BSU kindly created, helped deliver, and tabulated the survey for us, gratis. The survey demonstrated that residents have a high-perceived quality of life. The neighborhoods best features are its: quiet nature, good neighbors, close to foothills, close to downtown, good schools, good location, and rural nature. Problems identified were: traffic, unkempt appearance of homes and lots, lack of sidewalks, presence of strip clubs, loose animals, and barking dogs. On the wish list for the future were: improved appearance of homes and lots, more parks, reduced traffic/increased road safety, preserved rural quality, and maintained quality of life. The survey also indicated a desire for more neighborhood activities where residents could meet each other, such as block parties. Since the results of the survey were released, the Neighborhood Planning Committee has been working on utilizing its findings to create a neighborhood plan. The committee is working closely with Lance Evans, the city neighborhood planner, using the SWOT model (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats). The plan will be completed towards the end of 2003. The Sign Committee is chaired by Joan Wallace. The committee is tasked with determining the design of the neighborhood signs and contracting their production with a local company. Design selection should be completed by this summer and signs installed later this year. Officers voted in at the annual CNA election in January, 2003, are: Janet French as President, Barney Skogerson as Vice President, Leslie Felton-Jue as Secretary, and Julie Klocke as Treasurer. Below is a listing of neighborhood businesses that helped sponsor CNA activities for the benefit of our neighborhood in 2002. We are grateful for their support and active involvement in our neighborhood.
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