Whitman, Balboa/Indian Trail councils increase memberships

Two North Side neighborhood councils have been reorganizing and trying to increase their membership after attendance had fallen in recent years.

The Balboa/North Indian Trail Neighborhood Council had slipped to a handful of people until incoming council chairwoman Claudette Ganger started trying to increase participation.

The council held a reorganization meeting in September and then hosted a city candidate forum in October, both of which brought out more people interested in working on neighborhood issues

Ganger said the residential area north of Francis Avenue has been troubled by heavy traffic using residential streets rather than arterials. Traffic on Woodside Avenue between Indian Trail and Five Mile roads will be the topic of a meeting Jan. 16 at 7 p.m. in the cafeteria at Indian Trail Elementary School, 4102 W. Woodside Ave.

The council meetings alternate between Indian Trail and Balboa elementary schools. The Feb. 20 meeting is set for the Balboa cafeteria, 3010 W. Holyoke Ave., at 7 p.m. The council’s Dec. 19 meeting will be at the North Spokane branch of the Spokane County Library, 44 E. Hawthorne Road.

The Whitman Neighborhood Council began reorganizing late last summer and has increased attendance from a handful of people to about 15 to 20. Meetings are on the second Thursday of the month at 6:30 p.m. at Whitman Elementary School, 5400 N. Helena St.

Interim council chairwoman Charlene Carr said the organization is working on keeping the neighborhood cleaned up, removing graffiti and preventing petty crime. Free garbage dump passes were used earlier this year to draw residents to meetings, Carr said.

“Like any neighborhood in Spokane, we have our problem houses,” she said.