Residents living in the Manito Park area are meeting tonight to organize a neighborhood council.

The meeting will be at 7 p.m. at Wilson Elementary School, 911 W. 25th, to consider bylaws and boundaries.

If the residents succeed in forming the council, Manito would become the 12th neighborhood in the city to organize.

Three other neighborhood councils on the South Side have been approved by the City Council. They are Cliff-Cannon, Rockwood and East Central neighborhoods.

Each of the councils has influence over the delivery of city services in their areas and can monitor broad issues such as public safety, traffic and historic preservation.

Representatives from each neighborhood have seats on the city’s Community Assembly.

The Manito neighborhood would be bounded by 17th Avenue, Grand Boulevard, 29th Avenue and the western bluff of the South Hill.

Neighborhood councils started forming a few years ago as part of an effort by City Hall to share power with citizens.

Manito residents are concerned about parks, historic preservation, traffic and public safety, among other issues, said Molly Myers, manager of neighborhood services for the city.

“It’s an area that feels it wants to be represented at the table with the Community Assembly,” Myers said.

, DataTimes