Edgemoor Neighborhood Association Monthly Meetings are held on the first Thursday of each month at 7 pm at Fairhaven Middle School in the Library (Unless otherwise noted in the monthly President's Letter below)

 

ENA President's Letter - March 2013

President’s Letter -  March 2013

It has been another interesting month in the neighborhood.

The Municipal Park District proposal passed the district as a whole, although it did not pass in the Edgemoor neighborhood.  The first (organizing) meeting of the Board of Commissioners will be held this Thursday, March 7^th, from 7 to 9 pm at the Fairhaven Library.  Unfortunately, it is at the same time as the ENA meeting this week, but we will be at the Fairhaven Middle School library.  So, pick the meeting you want to attend…and be sure you go to the right library!

The conversation on Edgemoor.Nextdoor regarding traffic and safety has been very active, and we will be addressing that topic at our meeting this week.  A representative of the Bellingham Police Department will be there, so it will be a great time to clarify what is and is not possible regarding traffic control, which is the first step toward us actually doing something to make a difference.  Bring questions and ideas…I would like to see a committee formed to develop a basic plan on which we could follow through.

With the BPD officer in attendance, it will also be an excellent time to discuss the recent mail theft in the neighborhood.  Since these things usually happen in clusters, it could be a good time to address how we could respond.  Again, bring ideas and questions!

We also had quite a kerfluffle over Nextdoor’s decision to activate sharing between neighborhoods.  They had so much push back from neighborhoods participating throughout the country they have dicontinued that program.  Posts made to our Nextdoor site cannot be seen by anyone not a member of the neighborhood, and we will not be getting posts from people in other neighborhoods.  However, they would like to pursue some type of sharing in the future, but this time they are looking for input from all of us.  It could be very helpful…stolen mail is an example of an issue that could be shared with a neighborhood next to us, to everyone’s advantage.  Start thinking about this…could it be helpful, and if so, how should it work?

We need to start planning for our annual meeting, which will be held in June.  At Thursday’s meeting we will develop the outline…please give feedback about what you would like to see there.

I have asked you to think about a number of things, and I know we all have a lot to think about already.  However, if there is an issue you care about, your voice will be much stronger if it is joined with others.  As a group, we might actually be able to solve some of the issues (like speeding) we have been discussing for years and calling the city about as individuals.  Writing a plan changes nothing.  Complaining to or about each other changes nothing.  The people who serve on your board of directors are dedicated to the welfare of this neighborhood, but a few people, regardless of how dedicated, don’t have the critical mass to cause change.  If you want to make a difference, help create an organization with some muscle. 

I hope to see you Thursday

 Lylene Johnson

ENA President's Letter - February 2013

Since our last meeting, two events have occurred which have sparked some lively discussions on www.edgemoor.nextdoor.com.  If you aren’t already a part of it, you might want to go to the website and sign up. 

The first event was the emergence of an organized opposition to the proposal for formation of the Muncipal Park District on which we will be voting February 12^th…unless you already sent in your ballot.  In the interest of providing information to the neighborhood on all sides of an issue impacting the neighborhood, websites from both sides have been posted on the ENA blog (www.edgemoorneighborhood.com/wordpress) and speakers have been scheduled from both sides for our meeting February 7^th.  We also hope to have our city council representative, Michael Lilliquist, to provide some perspective from the city.  With the exception of the presenters, the meeting is only for Edgemoor Neighborhood residents.  Its purpose is to clarify the issues around the proposal with a civilized discussion.

The other event was the collapse of a neighbor in the early evening, in the middle of the street in front of her home.  Several drivers, who then stopped to give aid, witnessed a car speeding by her…but fortunately, she was not hit.  This incident has stimulated a great deal of discussion regarding speeding and traffic control in the neighborhood.  The issue was addressed in the original Edgemoor Neighborhood Plan as well as the one drafted about a year ago and is frequently discussed at our monthly meetings, but nothing seems to have changed.  The later portion of the meeting will be devoted to discussing what we can do as a neighborhood to make our streets safer for all of us who call it home…from our families to our pets…and, yes, the deer, too.

This should easily fill the time from 7:00 to 9:00.

Hope to see you there!

ENA President - 360-303-1327

 

ENA President's Letter - January 2013

I hope all of you had a wonderful holiday season and are looking forward to an interesting, stimulating, successful and prosperous 2013.

As a community, we will be dealing with a number of issues left over from 2012…the Gateway Pacific Terminal; the 100 Acre Wood, now in the form of a proposed metropolitan park district; the airport expansion and its impact.  While that seems like a lot, I just returned from vacationing on a small island in the Carribean where the populace is facing the possibility of going to war in an attempt to prevent off shore oil drilling.  We aren’t the only ones with issues.   

The Edgemoor Neighborhood Association signed on to a letter in support of the Metropolitan Park District proposal.  The vote will take place February 5^th, which is before our next meeting.  Make sure to go out and vote.

At our meeting last month, those present voted to support the “Proclamation in Support of Bellingham Train Horn Quiet Zones”.  However, issues raised after the meeting led to a decision to delay submission of that document to the city.  I expect we will be discussing it further at this week’s meeting.

John Erickson will be reporting further on the possibility of a speed limit reduction on a portion of Chuckanut Drive.

The possibility of donating funds to the Center for Self Reliance to aid in restoration of the caretakers’ house was raised at the last meeting and will be discussed this Thursday.

Our speaker will be Shannon Wright, with Communitywise Bellingham Outreach. They are a “neutral organization working to provide independent analysis to inform the decision making process on the proposed Gateway Pacific Terminal”. She also happens to be an Edgemoor neighborhood resident. For additional information about the organization, visit www.communitywisebellingham.org.

Hope to see you there!

ENA President - 360-303-1327

 

ENA President's Letter - December 2012

The ENA is often asked to take positions on issues spreading beyond our neighborhood.  We will be discussing several of them at our meeting December 6^th and would appreciate your input at that meeting.

Last month’s meeting featured a presentation and interesting discussion of the proposed metropolitan park district which will be on the ballot in February.  For details on the proposal, visit www.chuckanutcommunityforest.com.  The proposal provides a way to assure the land long referred to as the “100 Acre Wood” will be preserved and the battle which has raged over it for several decades will finally be ended.  Last May, the Edgemoor Neighborhood Association Board sent a letter to the Mayor and City Council supporting formation of such a park district.  Last week, the presidents of the 5 southside neighborhoods met and discussed sending a letter from CSN (the Coalition of Southside Neighborhoods) expressing support for the park district.  At our ENA meeting next Thursday, I will be asking for direction from the membership as to whether I should sign this letter on your behalf.  Please come to the meeting and join the discussion.

The South Hill neighborhood has asked the other southside neighborhoods to sign a “Proclamation in Support of Bellingham Train Horn Quiet Zones”.  It seems it is possible to stop train whistles from being used in areas where additional safety features limit access to crossings and tracks.  This proclamation “requests the City of Bellingham to support the establishment of quiet zone(s) by initially funding a complete diagnostic analysis of the Bellingham rail corridor by an engineering firm specializing in the field in order to establish a baseline together with BNSF, the Federal Railroad Administration and the City of Bellingham from which a legal Railroad Quiet Zone(s) can be established along the length of the Bellingham rail corridor”.  While one could consider this related to the proposed terminal at Cherry Point, the reality is that there are already complaints about increased train noise.  This is another issue for which I will be asking direction from the membership at our Thursday meeting. 

Activity has increased on two major county-wide issues which may have an impact on our neighborhood: the Gateway Pacific Terminal and the airport expansion.  Watch the Edgemoor Neighborhood blog at http://edgemoorneighborhood.com/wordpress for information received by your neighborhood association.

I expect John Erickson will have more information on neighborhood traffic control at our meeting…specifically, where are speed bumps allowed and can they be funded through an LID?

Our speaker December 6^th will be Steve Wilson, from the Center for Self Reliance, (formerly the Fairhaven Rose Garden), about the current activities and future plans.

Hope to see you there!

ENA President - 360-303-1327

 

ENA President's Letter - November 2012

As you probably know, in February we will be voting on the formation of a Park District with taxing authority over our neighborhood as well as the South, Fairhaven and part of South Hill neighborhoods.  This was discussed briefly at our annual meeting in June.  Christopher Grannis & Michael Lilliquist will be attending our meeting this Thursday, November 1^st, to explain the proposal and answer questions.  As yet, I have not heard of a group opposed to it, but if you know of one, please let me know and we will try to arrange presentations on both sides of the issue.  This should be a good opportunity to get your questions answered.

We will also be discussing the city administration’s proposal regarding the role of the Mayor’s Neighborhood Advisory Council.  John Erickson, our representation to that body (MNAC), recently reported on this in Nextdoor Edgemoor, and he would like input from us for their next meeting.

Speaking of Nextdoor Edgemoor, there have been some lively discussions and some good information shared over the past month.  The number of users has continued to grow…there are now 243 members in 213 households…which is 24% of our total 899 households.

John will also fill us in on his further discussion with Steve Hogan of the city regarding speed bump requirements/limitations and the possibility of the speed indicator sign visiting Edgemoor more often.

The ENA Neighborhood Plan committee met this month and will be making a recommendation to the membership on Thursday.  They are recommending that we let the plan lie dormant rather than trying to reconfigure it and will discuss that more fully at the meeting.

One of the issues raised at our planning meeting in September concerned noise from increased airline flights.  If you would like to share input on that issue, I recently received an email from Lisa N about a meeting with Port commissioner Mike McAuley on Thursday, November 15^th at 7:00 pm with the location to be announced later.  I have no idea who Lisa N is or whether this is legitimate, but if you hear anything to clarify it, let me know and I will post the information on the Edgemoor Blog.

There is lots going on…if any of it is of interest to you, come Thursday night and share your thoughts.  See you there!

ENA President - 360-303-1327

ENA President's Letter - October 2012

The Sept 6th meeting was devoted to goal setting and scheduling for the coming 12 months.  Topics discussed included

·       Protecting Views

·       Deer control

·       Connecting as a neighborhood

·       Traffic, sidewalks ,hazardous intersections, walking

·       Airplane Noise

·       Communication within the neighborhood

·       Edgemoor Neighborhood Plan

 Actions planned relative to these topics are as follows:

§  Simon Johnson is exploring the City of Bellingham view ordinance & Lylene will have copies of the basic CC&Rs for the different developments within the neighborhood at meetings 

§  Lauri Grove, Sandie Koplowitz & Lylene Johnson are following up with the planning department regarding the neighborhood plan

§  John Erickson will be talking to the city regarding traffic & walking issues

§  Donna Davis will be working on updating and maintaining the mailing and email lists

§  Lylene will post a deer repellent recipe on Edgemoor.Nextdoor

§  John will express our concerns regarding increased airplane noise at the MNAC meeting

Speaker topics being considered are

§  The Opportunity Council, regarding the Energy Challenge program

§  The Hazardous Waste Disposal program

§  Emergency Preparedness

§  Facts about the Edgemoor Lagoon

The October 6^th meeting will focus on followup, plus discussion of a new topic from Edgemoor.Nextdoor:  What should be the purpose and focus of that forum?  If you haven’t been following the lively discussion on Edgemoor.Nextdoor, you might want to log in.  If you haven’t joined as yet, just open www.Edgemoor.Nextdoor.com, go to the bottom of the page, and sign up.  You must be a resident or property owner within the boundaries of the Edgemoor Neighborhood to join.

In the meantime, please let a board member know if you have input on any of the topics above…or, better yet, join us at 7:00 this Thursday in the Whidbey Island Bank community room off McKenzie Alley.  We’d love to have you! 

 

ENA President's Letter - September 2012

Summer has gone by quickly, but it seems like a very long time since our last meeting!  In the City:

• The Fairhaven plan was approved by the city, so building heights (and other standards) are set for the coming years.
• The zoning change was denied for the Padden Trails project, so it seems to be dead, at least for the moment.
• City Council did not agree with Mayor Kelli Linville’s zoning plan for what is now being called the Chuckanut Community Forest, and petitions are out to put an initiative on the ballot establishing a park district for the property.  Watch Edgemoor.Nextdoor for locations.
• The city is considering a stronger ban on fireworks and is asking for input from the neighborhoods.  Our MNAC (Mayor’s Neighborhood Advisory Committee) representative (John Erickson) needs your input.  Post on Edgemoor.Nextdoor, or come to the meeting Thursday, Sept 6, and we’ll talk about it briefly. 

In the Neighborhood:

• Our neighborhood plan was not docketed for consideration.  In a brief discussion with the chairman of the Planning Commission, it seems the big red flag was the proposal for some zoning changes within the neighborhood.  I don’t think we will need to start over, but we will need to make some adjustments.  It will be on the agenda Thursday evening.
• Edgemoor.Nextdoor has been active on a variety of topics, two of which have been traffic ( particularly related to the deer killed this summer) and views.  Both are addressed in the neighborhood plan (the traffic and views, not the deer), as was a recent post about an “easement” at the end of Willow Rd.  Those 3 topics will also be on the agenda Thursday evening (9/6/12).
• Some hardy souls braved the thunder, lightening and rain to attend the National Night Out at Fairhaven Middle School August 7^th.  We had firefighters, emergency personal and some great treats provided by Costco.  Officer Doll talked about being prepared for emergencies, the most likely in this area being a major earthquake.  He had some great ideas…check out notes on the blog at http://edgemoorneighborhood.com/wordpress/?p=539. 

Our meeting Thursday evening, Sept 6, will be primarily to set our goals for the coming year and establish a framework for achieving them.  It will be the first meeting of your new board since the election in June.  We would love to have you come, but if you can’t, please let us know the direction you would like us to take this year.  Remember…if you don’t vote, you can’t complain J

Hope to see you in the library of Fairhaven Middle School.  Enter from the upper parking lot on the Parkridge side of the building.  The door should be open at 6:50.

 

ENA President - 360-303-1327

 

May ENA Minutes

June Annual Meeting Minutes

 

  

January 2012 - Gateway Pacific Terminal presentation at Fairhaven Middle School

 

If you didn’t have the opportunity to attend the December 1st presentation regarding the Gateway Pacific Terminal, what follows is a summary based on notes I took. As you might have guessed, it was a “lively” meeting. What came through loud and clear was that the people who asked “questions” (more often statements of position and opinion) were absolutely opposed to the project.

The primary areas of concern seemed to be the following (not in any particular order):

• Impacts from increased train traffic on neighborhoods, property values & access to waterfront areas.
• Impacts from the transport of coal, specifically.
• Environmental concerns ranging from air, water and soil quality to public health.
• Costs of improvements/modifications to rail crossings.
• Potential expansion of the facility beyond its currently anticipated capacity.
• Questions regarding the actual number of local, permanent jobs to be provided.

Rather than attempt to accurately convey the answers given by Craig Cole & Chris Johnson, I am providing links to the printed information they provided. It seems quite comprehensive. If you have more specific questions about what occurred, I strongly urge you to attend one of the many meetings that will continue to be held throughout the county concerning the project.

We have made contact with BNSF, and it looks as though they will provide a speaker to answer questions specifically relating to the railroad. We will be pursuing that possibility after the first of the year.

All members are welcome to all meetings, so feel free to just attend and check out what is going on at any time.  I look forward to seeing you there!

Terminal Plan

SSA’s Answers to Terminal Questions

Crosscut Article

Response to Health Concerns

ENA Blog - Edgemoor Conversations

A new Blog titled "Edgemoor Conversations" has been created to provide a venue for dialog about local issue. Check it out at www.EdgemoorNeighborhood.com/wordpress

 

 Edgemoor Neighborhood Association Bylaws Update

The ENA Bylaws committee has been working to update the bylaws which were developed in 2005 when ENA was formed. Since that time it has become obvious that changes are necessary for us to be in compliance with requirements by the city and state and to better reflect the structure of the organization. The proposed changes to the ENA bylaws were presented at the ENA meeting in February and will be voted on in March. Here are links to the old bylaws, proposed bylaws and draft showing the old bylaws with proposed changes.

ENA Bylaws 2005

Proposed NEW ENA Bylaws - February 2012

Draft ENA Bylaws showing revisions 2012-2-18 (PDF)

ENA Bylaws Final 2012

 Edgemoor Neighborhood Plan Update