Hillyard Merchants meeting
Vendors are ready for the Hillyard Howl this weekend – apples and some candy have been donated by local businesses and volunteer groups. A decision was made to purchase more candy. Kiwanis has delivered a bunch of Halloween decorations already.
The Hillyard Howl is at the Capitol Building, starting Friday and running through Halloween. The bulding is being cleaned up and decorated right now. The thermostat was missing after a recent remodel so the Merchants purchased one and are now are able to turn on the heat. Remember to bring canned food for Second Harvest Food Bank and you'll get a discount on your Halloween photo. The blog volunteered to be a judge at the Halloween costume contest on Saturday at 3 p.m. - so get on it! The blog is a tough judge...
Girls Day Out, November 13 – planning is still going on – businesses are participating, the next planning meeting is Wednesday at 6 p.m.at the Outlaw Cafe.
The Merchants are also getting ready for the arrival of Santa. His chair is getting “spiffied” up and some other preparations are being made. The Hillyard North Pole location is not 100 percent secure yet - but don't worry, it will be ready by Christmas.
The letter to the city and the Spokane Police Department about getting more police coverage is being worked on. It looks like it will be petition style, so businesses and neighbors can sign it. Everyone agreed that the more signatures the better. Stay tuned for updates.
Businesses were encouraged to keep their sidewalks clean, especially for cigarette butts. It's difficult to find a solid outdoor ashtray that people don't destroy or knock over and go through.
There is another issue with people looking through the dumpsters and trash cans in Hillyard. There's consensus that some of these people look for paper work and receipts, and business owners were reminded to shred everything they throw out. Several have been caught on the businesses' surveillance cameras.
A committee for next year's parade and festival is already being established. Next year is the 100th year of the festival and parade. One question is how to get children and young people more involved in the festival, possibly a baseball game with the Indians? Hot rod rides could be offered to some of the kids.
Some business owners are concerned that business isn't as good as it used to be – one question was how to get shoppers to stick around for longer, during these events.
There's a Round Table at 8 a.m. next Tuesday morning – all chairs of all organizations in Hillyard are invited to meet – meeting is at the Outlaw Cafe.