North Hill May Form Council

It looked like a parade.

Mayor Jack Geraghty strolled through the Garland business district last week with a band of neighbors, media, shopkeepers and members from the community policing group following in step.

He ducked inside stores, like the Rocket Bakery - one of the newest and most popular spots in the district.

He chatted with long-time business owners, like Ed Weber of the Spokanite Cleaners.

And he shook hands, a lot of hands.

The mayor, who tours neighborhoods regularly, heard about potholes, business woes, crime, park lighting - and the lack of money to make it better.

The North Hill, which received federal community development money for 18 years, was taken off the list two years ago when neighborhood incomes increased, making the neighborhood ineligible.

It’s a sign of success, but also takes away thousands of dollars received annually to improve parks, sidewalks, senior housing and fund social programs such as Block Watch and Meals on Wheels.

“The Garland is moving along pretty well,” Weber told the mayor. “We always have our ups and downs, we are having a slight down right now, over the past six months. But it’s part of a cycle.”

The mayor walked some of the tour, but was also chauffeured in the community’s new “Mobile COP Station,” an old library bookmobile festooned with banners, flags and the goal “to go boldly where no substation has gone before.”

It looks vaguely like the paddy wagons that patrolled earlier in the century.

Eventually, it will be remodeled with cabinets, chairs, phones and even computers. The mobile station will park at different locations to deter crime or act as a command post in emergencies.

The mayor experienced potholes on Wall Street, heard about commercial interests encroaching into neighborhoods, learned that the North Hill has the largest number of family homes on major arterials in the city and that Willard is one of the city’s biggest elementary schools.

“Wall is a disaster, we really need to do some work there,” the mayor agreed.

He encouraged the community to form a neighborhood council.

“That will help you get into the system and work toward solving some of these concerns,” he told a group that gathered in the Garland Theater at the end of the tour.

That’s exactly what they had in mind.

Last Thursday, nearly 50 North Hill neighbors met at Willard Elementary school to consider forming a council.

The main concern was one also voiced on the mayor’s tour: the importance of keeping the Garland District unique and independent.

“We have had a group of people involved here for years and years,” said one woman in the audience. “Now, suddenly, are we going to have all these other neighborhoods coming in and wanting to help us?”

Molly Myers, city neighborhood services director, told the group neighborhood councils can help pull communities together and strengthen the sense of individuality.

“By working together and sharing information, you maintain the integrity of your neighborhood,” she said.

“You don’t have a steering committee anymore - you’ve graduated, because you did what you are supposed to do with the program. Congratulations!” said Myers, referring to the loss of the community development money.

“But it’s important that you find a way to be tied into the big picture,” she added. “It’s critical for getting information for your neighborhood.”

Jay Cousins, active in the Emerson-Garfield neighborhood near the North Hill, attended the meeting to encourage the group to organize a council.

He said he was doubtful when the city proposed neighborhood councils, but now believes they can work.

“I thought it was a stunt by the city to impose another layer of government on us,” he said. “We decided to get inside and make sure this doesn’t go against us.”

Madeline Kardong has lived in the North Hill neighborhood for 18 years.

She helped organize the neighborhood council meeting and the mayor’s tour of the neighborhood. “There is a lot of pride of ownership here,” she said. “It is a concern for us that we maintain our North Hill identity.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: WHAT’S NEXT North Hill residents will meet again at 7:30 p.m. June 12 at Willard Elementary School, 500 W. Longfellow, to consider organizing a neighborhood council.