November ENA Meeting Topics
The Edgemoor Neighborhood Meeting on November 1 will be a membership meeting. Meeting topics include nominations for Board members to be elected at the Annual ENA Meeting in February, Edgemoor Neighborhood Plan, Disaster Preparedness program and the Chore volunteer Senior assistance program.
Edgemoor Neighborhood Plan
The City of Bellingham has mandated that each neighborhood update their neighborhood plan and an ENA committee has been formed for this purpose. If you would like to work on the Edgemoor Neighborhood Plan committee, please contact Martin Nickerson at martinnickerson@yahoo.com or John Erickson at kim@northwestcampers.com .
ENA Safety Committee
Block Watch
Safety Committee Chairs Don and Brad are looking for more Neighborhood Block Watch captains. Anyone interested should e-mail them: DBMiles2@comcast.net . They will be having a meeting with the present captains and new captains together with Tara Fleetwood from the Bellingham Police Department.
Neighborhood Disaster Preparedness
Disasters are major events that can strike anywhere and at any time. In a disaster, traditional 9-1-1 and First Responder capabilities such as fire, police, medics, and utility personnel will be overwhelmed and unable to immediately assist individuals.
Preparing your neighborhood is vital. Neighbors will likely be the first ones to offer you assistance. Neighbors that are prepared are more effective in their response to a disaster and have an increased capacity to be self-sufficient for the first 72 hours after a disaster.
Take action today. Begin by thinking about who you consider your neighbors to be. We suggest 15-20 households because the first hour of a disaster response is vital and you want the size of your neighborhood to be manageable. Map Your Neighborhood (MYN) provides excellent guidance on what to do next, as do many local programs.
The Map Your Neighborhood Program is up and running. This is the Washington State Program to prepare neighbors to help neighbors during emergencies and disasters when First Responders will be unavailable to help quickly, if at all. Meetings will be held throughout the city. We have two people trained to do these meetings in Edgemoor...Pam Bakke and Lois Miles. You are welcome to contact them to help create a core neighborhood (15-25 homes) and hold a meeting. Lois- DBMiles1@comcast.net and Pam Bakke pambakke@netscape.com.
Mayor's Neighborhood Advisory Committee
At the October 10, 2007 MNAC meeting, representatives had the pleasure of meeting the new Neighborhood Services Coordinator, Linda Stewart, who will officially begin the job on October 22nd. She told us about her impressive background in community work that suggests she has a lot to offer us in her new job. She plans to visit all the neighborhoods and I expect we will enjoy hosting her at an ENA meeting in the near future. She can be reached at lstewart@cob.org
We received our copy of the new Bellingham Neighborhood Association Group Insurance Policy. It will be available at our next ENA meeting.
Neighborhoods reported in on their activities and concerns. Sunnyland, for example, reported considerable traffic problems in their area since the opening of Trader Joe's! They are requesting a traffic study ASAP.
We had a presentation from Len Johnson, the new Waterfront Development Manager. Len has a background in large scale redevelopment projects, environmental, land use, infrastructure issues. He showed us a powerpoint summary of the project. There will be a public forum on the status of the waterfront redevelopment project at the Squalicum Boathouse on October 17th from 6 to 8 PM. According to Lam, all options are still on the table, including doing nothing, and the new mayor and City Council will have an opportunity to have an impact on the project.
The Old Town Sub-Area Master Plan was offered for MNAC questions, comments and review. Development Specialist Tara Sundin gave an overview of the plan for this new urban village and both the Lettered Streets Neighborhood and the Central Business District are supportive.
Terry Bornemann reported back to the MNAC following up on his earlier pledge to look into the question of illegal rooming houses in single family neighborhoods. Terry reported on the action taken at the last City Council meeting to increase efforts on code enforcement and asked that neighborhoods keep in touch about how this is working.
Pam Went, MNAC Alternate for Brad Rose
Citizen's Academy
The Bellingham Police Department is accepting applications for their Citizen’s Academy 2008.
The Citizens Academy is a 12-week program designed to help Bellingham residents increase their understanding of how the Police Department works within the community. The participants in the Citizens Academy have the opportunity to meet and learn about the men and women who are protecting their community. They are also given insight into the daily decisions the officers must make and the reasons behind those decisions.
The academy includes courses on the following topics:
 | Firearms |
| Patrol Procedures |
| SWAT |
| Use of Force |
| Investigations |
| Narcotics |
| Traffic |
| K-9 |
| Crime Prevention |
Each are taught by police officers and Department personnel in their areas of expertise. There will also be tours of the Bellingham Police Department, Whatcom County Jail and the 911 Communications Center.
Citizens eligible to apply for the Academy must be 18 or older, and live and/or work in Bellingham. Participation in the Academy includes a commitment to attend all the training sessions. Winter 2008 classes will start Tuesday January 8th continuing for 12 weeks. The classes are held from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. in the Bellingham Police Department's Training Room. Applicants must complete a background check prior to acceptance. There is no cost to participate in the Citizens Academy. Applications are available from our web site at www.cob.org/police. The completed applications need to be mailed to Officer Tara Fleetwood c/o Bellingham Police Department at 505 Grand Avenue Bellingham WA 98225 no later than November 30, 2007.
For more information call Crime Prevention Officer Tara Fleetwood at (360) 676-6924 or email at tfleetwood@cob.org.
Local Events & Announcements
Wednesday, October 31 || 3-6 pm
A Haunted Halloween in Historic Fairhaven |
FAIRHAVEN
NEIGHBORHOOD - General Membership Meeting at 7PM
Wednesday November 7th at
Fairhaven
Park Pavilion
Everyone Welcome
Topic:
Fairhaven
Neighborhood Plan Update
Visit the Fairhaven Neighbors' website at
http://www.fairhavenneighbors.org/FNI/Welcome.html