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October 19, 2009
The Peter Howell Neighborhood Association Board of Directors meeting started shortly after 7:00 pm on Tuesday, October 13, 2009. In attendance were Don Ijams, Nancy Huff, Abby Rosen, and Chris Brooks; absent was Jesse Zoernig. The meeting began with a general discussion by Don Ijams about the roles of the Neighborhood Association (NA) and the Board. He noted that while the outside borders of the neighborhood may change, the interior, residential portions are fairly stable; only changes are occasional transition from owner-occupied to rental housing. There was a general discussion of whether there should be more contact with the neighborhood by the NA - more mailings, more meetings. It was agreed that the current practice appears to be sufficient (two meetings a year and a picnic). Attendance at meetings varies; people mostly come out when there is an issue of interest to them on the agenda. More meetings would probably lead to smaller attendance. Don stated that he no longer wished to be president of the NA because of other personal commitments and asked if another board member would serve as leader of the Association. The Board decided that Nancy Huff was best suited to become new president of the NA; Nancy agreed to serve as president and was unanimously confirmed by board members present. Other officers of the NA were then selected: Chris Brooks agreed to be new vice president (replacing Elaine Lim who declined to participate in board this year); Don Ijams would be Treasurer; and Jesse Zoernig was retained as Secretary (all by unanimous consent of the Board members present). Don Ijams discussed the present status of NA finances.
The board decided to leave open the possibility of adding additional board members in the future. The meeting adjourned at 8:25 pm Notes by Chris Brooks | |||||||
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September 21, 2009
Peter Howell neighborhood residents met on Wednesday, September 16, 2009 at 6:30 PM in the Palm Room of the Lodge on the Desert. Thirty one names were on the attendance list. President Donald Ijams welcomed all to the meeting and introduced Ward 6 Council member Nina Trasoff. Nina announced upcoming citywide and Ward 6 office events. October 7th 6:30 PM is the date for a Ward 6 Forum on Key Services where residents will be asked for their judgments on which city services are most important and what resource ideas people might have. Trasoff described the City's current and coming year's budget positions and asked for questions from the audience. Councilwoman Trasoff was questioned about the proposed closing off of Elmwood St from Alvernon to Longfellow St as part of the Randolph Park Hotel upgrade project. She is concerned that all neighbors are not in favor of the street closing and wants citizens to contact her office if they choose so she may know their concerns. Trasoff also updated the audience on the urban street car project and on other aspects of downtown development. Tucson Police Department Midtown Division Officer Smith provided an update on crime and disorder incidents in the neighborhood within the last six months. He also provided some suggestions for securing residents' home and property against theft. Some of these tips can be found in a TPD Home Security publication. Don Ijams followed up with explanation of the printed crime statistics he provided for meeting goers. He noted that because our neighborhood is high in the number of single family homes as compared with rentals or businesses, we have a lower crime experience than many other Tucson neighborhoods. Crime and police incident counts in the neighborhood continue at low but steady levels with not much increase or decrease during the past year. Mike Censky of HSL Construction Services gave the audience an update on the Randolph Park Hotel upgrade project. Mike brought a layout of the project for attendees to see. He noted that the appraisal of the one block of Elmwood St. is nearly finished and that the formal presentation to Tucson Mayor and Council is likely to happen soon. No construction on the project is foreseen for at least one year. Since the wall running north and south between the hotel and adjoining properties is not strong enough to be raised in height, a new wall just inside the current one will be built, higher than the current one, to effectively buffer hotel activities from surrounding neighbors. Eighteen new suites will be built, new parking and entry areas are planned and $15 million is expected to be spent upgrading the total property. The current three story maximum height of buildings will not be exceeded. Peter Howell Neighborhood Association annual elections were held. The following residents were unanimously elected to the board of directors for a one year term: Jesse Zoernig of N. Longfellow Av., Chris Brooks of E. Kilmer St., Abby Rosen of E. 2nd St., Nancy Huff of E. 1st St. and Donald Ijams of E. 4th Pl. The board will meet within the month to elect officers from among their number and to discuss the upcoming year. The Youth Volunteer Corps, part of the Volunteer Center of Southern Arizona, has a number of activities ongoing for young people in our area. Neighborhood improvement projects are part of their programming - your suggestions for such projects are requested. A variety of items were discussed at the end of the meeting, including the possibility of extending the 'Poets' name to other parts of the neighborhood (including Alvernon Park) and exploring the process needed for Historic District designation. The next neighborhood meeting is planned for March 2010. Your ideas for meeting content will be most welcome. Notes by Jesse Zoernig, PHNA Secretary / Additions by Donald Ijams | |||||||
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July 22, 2009
Between 25 and 35 Peter Howell neighbors attended a meeting at the Randolph Park Hotel during the evening of July 21. The Planning Center has been hired by HSL (Aztec Inn Properties, LLC) to assist them in a major upgrade and remodel of the hotel. The Planning Center invited the neighborhood to the meeting to hear the latest plans for the site and particularly to consider the pending abandonment of one block of Elmwood. St. A mailing to invite neighbors to the meeting was sent to all addresses in the neighborhood. Quoting from the newsletter sent to neighbors: "Aztec Inn Properties, LLC, owner and operator of the Randolph Park Hotel, has submitted a proposal to the City of Tucson to purchase the right of way of East Elmwood Street, from Alvernon Way to Longfellow Avenue. The proposal converts the right of way into a new entry for the hotel, along with 18 new suites and additional parking. In a letter from The Planning Center, a consulting group for the project, to adjacent homeowners, the project to renovate and beautify the Randolph Park Hotel would provide new and enhanced perimeter screen walls and landscaping to provide privacy and security to the adjacent residential areas, as well as 'new exterior enhancements and architectural detailing to provide an overall new image for the existing hotel. Other benefits to neighborhood residents include reduced 'cut-through' traffic associated with the hotel and Old Pueblo Grill.' " Neighbors looked over a poster sized layout of the proposed changes to the hotel property that included the land where the block of Elmwood St is located. They asked a number of questions, fielded by Linda Morales and Steven Eddy of the Planning Center and by Omar Mireles and Mike Censky of HSL. Many questions surrounded ingress and egress from the hotel property, condition of and traffic on Whitman St., what the value of redevelopment would be to the neighborhood and what would happen to the piece of land (now Elmwood) between the new hotel property line and Longfellow Av. Questions were answered in a forthright manner with an open mind and a willingness to cooperate with the neighborhood. Timing of the project was also discussed. The Planning Center expects to have the street abandonment proposal in front of City of Tucson Mayor and Council as soon as possible, maybe in September or October. Appraisal of the property now occupied by the street segment has been received. Once the street abandonment is complete, full development plans will be finalized and processed through City departments. Construction could begin in Summer of 2010. The meeting lasted about 1.5 hours. D. S. Ijams | |||||||
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April 19, 2009
Sixty people and one dog signed in at the annual Peter Howell neighborhood picnic yesterday (there were a few folks and dogs who did not sign in). The picnic, held from 4 � 7 PM in Alvernon Park at 4th St. and Longfellow, took advantage of the splendid weather. Thanks go to VP Elaine Lim who successfully organized this event as she has for a number of years. Thanks also to the PHNA board members and neighbors who helped with the set up, cooking and cleanup. Grills were available, tea/lemonade/water were provided and a number of tasty dishes were shared. Door prizes were awarded to lucky picnic goers and neighbors. A map with pins on picnic attendees� properties showed a wide spread coverage of our neighborhood. A number of new picnickers were brought by other neighbors. We enjoyed a visit with Councilwoman Nina Trasoff. For the first time in my memory, we had several residents of the Peachtree Place Apartments on Alvernon join in. They were most heartily welcomed. What a relaxed, old style picnic we had. Delightful. D. S. Ijams | |||||||
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March 21, 2009
The Peter Howell Neighborhood Assn. Spring Meeting was held Wed. March 18, 2009, beginning at 6:30 PM, in the Palm Room of the Lodge on the Desert Hotel on Alvernon Way. Over 70 people attended the meeting. Board members present were President Don Ijams, Vice-President Elaine Lim, Secretary Jesse Zoernig, members Abby Rosen, Julie Pupkoff and Chris Brooks. Treasurer Sonya Heller was absent. Agenda:
Local historian Jim Turner told of growing up in the Peter Howell neighborhood, famous people who have lived here and interesting buildings in the neighborhood. Pictures of several residences/buildings with noteworthy architecture (including the Joesler/Loerpabel House on Longfellow) were shown. A number of audience members participated with their recollections of past times. Thanks to Jim Turner for a nice presentation. Our scheduled Tucson Police officer was unable to break from work for our meeting. Don used PowerPoint to present crime statistics, showing a map of 2008 city-wide police activity with Peter Howell accented. He also showed several graphs of counts of all police activity, crime incidents and thefts. He made the point that much of our police activity occurs on the major streets surrounding our neighborhood, rather than within the neighborhood itself. Our crime levels are at about the same relative low levels as they have been, with occasional one week spikes. Lock your houses and cars, even in your driveways, and call 911 for any person or thing that may be construed as suspicious - this information helps us and the police dept. keep our neighborhood safer. Don welcomed input from residents about neighbors in financial trouble who need help as the recession deepens. Council aide Laura Burge added Tucson area information about food shelters and kitchens needing fruit from our trees - please consider any way that you can to help a person in need. In late April, Tucson's neighborhood leaders will be meeting with the new management of the City's neighborhood resources functions. Neighborhood Support Network Group leaders will address issues that are relevant to community members at listen to new directions suggested by the City. Areas for collaboration will be discussed. As city finances are pinched, residents can help by removing buffelgrass on private property and help keep public property weeds down. County code is changing so that buffelgrass and other non-native plants will be labeled as noxious weeds, leading to potential enforcement procedures if residents fail to maintain their property. Pima county hazardous waste will donate paint for covering up graffiti - please talk with neighbors about helping them with graffiti they may have on property, and call utility companies to inform them of graffiti on their publicly mounted utility boxes. Saturday, April 18th, 4-7 pm is our Annual Neighborhood Picnic in Alvernon Park at 4th St. and Longfellow. VP Elaine Lim organizes this yearly event. Grills will be available for you to grill vegie or meat - please bring a dish to share, your own grillables, alcohol free drinks and picnic ware, a door prize for picnic goers and neighbors! This is an entertaining opportunity to get to know your neighbors and to be neighborly by getting out in a relaxed way. See if you can find someone on your street to bring along to the picnic. Water Harvesting is in. Resident Carol Brown will meet with folks who want to know more. She and others have training in many aspects of using rain water constructively and in noxious weed identification and control. She can be reached at whwpud at aol.com. Safe Routes to School grant money includes money for road speed humps, and while some streets around Peter Howell School have humps already petitioned for and construction arranged for, not all residents appreciate all forms of them. Concerns continue to be expressed about water flow during Monsoon rains and wheel chair user access where sidewalks are problematic. Jack Smith of Intermountain Centers for Human Development, a not for profit agency that provides individualized services for at risk populations (http://www.ichd.net/default.html), spoke about youth needing foster homes and how Intermountain can help you learn more about foster care and keeping kids in their own neighborhoods. He gave a check for $100.00 to PHNA on behalf of Intermountain Centers for Human Dev. as a good faith gesture of community support. The Youth Volunteer Corps works out of the Volunteer Center at 924 N Alvernon Way. The Corps has trained leaders who take kids out for community service / neighborhood improvement projects. If you have a neighborhood improvement project idea, please let Don know or call them at 881-3300. HSL is still in the planning process for redevelopment of Randolph Park Hotel. Up next will be the effort to procure the 3900 block of Elmwood Street, for a fee, from the City in order to combine it with the hotel property for redevelopment purposes. Notes by Jesse Zoernig, PHNA Secretary / Additions by Donald Ijams | |||||||
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October 25, 2008
The Peter Howell Neighborhood Association Board of Directors met October 21, 2008, 7 p.m. at the home of Elaine Lim. Board members present included Don Ijams, Julie Pupkoff, Elaine Lim, Chris Brooks, and Jesse Zoernig. Sonya Heller and Abby Rosen were absent. Current Association officers were all reelected for the 2008-09 term by acclamation:
The Board welcomed new member Chris Brooks who lives with his wife and two children on E. Kilmer. Board members spent time bringing Chris up to speed on neighborhood issues and history. The remodeling plan for the Randolph Park Hotel / Old Pueblo Grille area was discussed. The Planning Center has been hired by HSL Properties to coordinate portions of the development project. Linda Morales is the principal contact. Work with the City on closing the 3900 block of E. Elmwood will begin this fall. The next meeting of PHNA will be on Wednesday, March 18 2009 at 6:30pm. The location is yet to be determined. The meeting may include Jim Turner, of the Arizona Historical Society, as a speaker. Jim's talk about the history of Peter Howell neighborhood was well received in September 2006. We hope to have him back in March. The PHNA Annual Picnic is set for Saturday, April 25, 2009. This event is a family oriented potluck. Special kid's activities will be planned for the enjoyment of the whole family. A hat may be passed at the March meeting to collect petty cash for kids' door prizes at April picnic. Don articulated details of Pima County/Tucson Safe Routes to School and Bicycle/Pedestrian Education Program. Project No. TEA-PPM-0(158)A involves our Peter Howell Elementary School area. Discussion ensued regarding potential locations of speed humps for traffic mitigation on routes with frequent use by school children. Several new speed humps are planned for near the school and two are planned for N. of 5th St. All proposed speed humps need the standard 60% signature rate from directly affected residents. The Safe Routes to School project has been ongoing for several years and started with a careful determination of routes used by children. Likely locations for the two speed humps N. of 5th are somewhere in the 3900 block of E. 3rd St. and just south of 4th St. on Irving. The proposed speed humps will be paid for by the grant. Timelines for the project are January 2009 for establishing the locations N. of 5th, with signatures, and June 30, 2009 for completion of construction. More information is here or questions/concerns may be sent to Don Ijams at dsijams at gmail.com. Elaine Lim hopes to have a PHNA newsletter in your mailbox by December 1. Please get any information you wish to have included to Elaine before Thanksgiving, Thursday, November 27, 2008. Elaine can be reached via email at etl at u.arizona.edu. | |||||||
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September 20, 2008
Notes from the Peter Howell Neighborhood Assn. Annual Meeting - September 17, 2008 at the First Brethren Church, 201 N. Columbus Blvd. 6:30-8:30 PM. Thirty neighbors and guests signed the attendance list. Omar Mireles of HSL, owners of the Randolph Park Hotel, and Linda Morales, of The Planning Center, presented an architect's view of planned hotel expansion. HSL, with the assistance of The Planning Center, is beginning the process with City Traffic Engineering and councilwoman Nina Trasoff's office of attempting to acquire Elmwood St and to turn it into joint property between Old Pueblo Grill and Randolph Park Hotel. This presentation was the second one provided to the neighborhood. A new hotel facade and new lobby are the first renovation plans, to begin in January 2009. Ward 6 Councilwoman Nina Trasoff spoke of the City's financial deficit, from $10-$40 million for this coming year. She asks for citizens to understand service reductions and to work together for a better future. She offers email signup for her office's 'Perspectives' online newsletter. Trasoff expresses excitement about the choice by Madden Publishing to move 80 employees into the downtown MacArthur Building. She invites people to visit Ward 6 offices, off Speedway and Country Club, to appreciate an art display and to review the new water harvesting cisterns and swales, and associated desert plantings, put in at the Ward office using volunteer work. The Ward office has three meeting rooms for public use, and wall space for art work. A Lodge on the Desert update was presented by PHNA president Don Ijams: The first round of three new buildings will be completed by the end of October. The first building to be turned over will be the Hacienda which will house the library and new lobby, the second building is the Palm Room which is the new meeting room and the final building in the first turn over is building 7 which houses 12 guest rooms. The total project is scheduled to be finished by June 2009. Tucson City Police Officer J. Murphy presented a break down of area crime statistics. Officer Murphy appreciates and encourages continuation of citizen vigilance which results in a greater number of reported calls, which translates into better information for police. He stated our neighborhood has about 840 structures, (homes or business). For anti burglary efforts, Officer Murphy suggests audible alarms, which alert and scare off intruders, and lighting. Don Ijams followed Off. Murphy's presentation with handouts showing crime rate information and weekly graphs, which is available on the PHNA website. Annual elections for board of director members took place. Donald Ijams, Elaine Lim, Sonya Heller, Jesse Zoernig, Abby Rosen and Julie Pupkoff stood for re-election. Chris Brooks, of E. Kilmer St., was also nominated. All were elected for a one year term by unanimous vote. Speed humps are to be installed on some streets around the Peter Howell School, thanks to resident Karla Spiegler and others in the area. A grant related to Safe Routes to School was obtained through the work of Matthew Zoll, president of San Clemente Neighborhood Association. The grant covers school-related traffic improvements that can be made in surrounding neighborhoods. Money exists in the grant for two more speed humps for the school area North of 5th. Possible locations mentioned include: on Irving Circle North of 5th and on 3rd St or Longfellow near the park. The usual petitions will need to be signed by nearby property owners. More information will be provided before any decisions are made. Sonya Heller presented her intention to use Make a Difference Day on October 25th for using the Trees for Tucson program and planting as many as possible. Anyone interested in $6.00 trees for streetside planting or home shading may contact Sonya Heller at sm_heller at hotmail.com. Don Ijams mentioned that a grant has been obtained that will allow a neighborhood sign to be installed at Speedway and Alvernon designating Peter Howell Neighorhood. Similar signs will be installed on the other corners of Speedway and Alvernon, as well as at the four corners of Speedway and Country Club, designating respective neighborhoods. Mary Jane Schumacher presented a handful of buffelgrass to show what everyone can remove from their yards and surrounding areas, to help restore native species currently crowded out by this invasive weed. Edward Coderre, of the Southern Arizona Information & Referral Service, described the availability of information or referrals his agency offers on almost anything. Matthew Bertrand, of the Youth Volunteer Corps, Volunteer Center of Southern Az, offered flyers on the organization that has youth working after school in a variety of areas, including watershed mgmt. projects. The Youth Corps is looking for more young people to join in. Laura Burge of the Ward 6 council office, offered that city workers are learning the ropes and regulations for construction permitting for cistern additions to properties. Citizens are encouraged to call Councilwoman Nina Trasoff's office or City of Tucson Development Services for information related to water harvesting construction projects. Treasurer Sonya Heller reports $1670.34 in the PHNA checking account and $45.46 in the savings account. The PHNA Board of Directors will be meeting in late September or early October to elect 2008-09 officers. The next neighborhood meeting will be scheduled in March 2009. The Neighborhood Assn. will host its annual picnic in Alvernon Park probably in April 2009. Notes by Jesse Zoernig, PHNA Secretary / Additions by Donald Ijams | |||||||
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April 2, 2008
Fifty five people signed the attendance list at the March 26 Spring Meeting of the Peter Howell Neighborhood Association, held at The Lodge on the Desert. Association President, Don Ijams, welcomed the overflow crowd to the meeting at 6:30 PM and introduced the first speaker, Maria Lane, General Manager of the Lodge. Maria described progress on the construction project that the Lodge is undertaking, showed architect images of the anticipated project when finished and answered questions. Ijams next presented 2007 crime statistics for the City of Tucson and for Peter Howell neighborhood. Many citywide crime rates per 100,000 have been declining during recent years, with the continuing decline in burglary and violent crime especially noted.  Peter Howell had 2,262 police incidents on
record for 2007, with 527 of them being crimes. When incidents from Alvernon, Broadway and Speedway are set aside, there were 175 crime reports for the
year. Neighborhood monthly crime counts are fairly flat over the last 24 months. Don commented that compared with the rest of the City, Peter Howell
neighborhood is relatively crime free.
Tucson Police Department Officer Ian McCutcheon spoke noting citizen responsibility to lessen crime, using such strategies as the following: protect outgoing and incoming mail, to prevent fraud; never give out personal information to someone unknown who has called you; if your business experiences suspicious phone calls, report that to the Better Business Bureau with significant detailed documentation of offenses; lock cars and homes, and keep items safely stored. Officer McCutcheon noted that dogs on your property are a deterrent to criminal behavior occurring there, and that drug users are the most usual perpetrators. El Con Mall's Home Depot parking lot is a car theft hot spot. Ward 6 Councilperson and Vice Mayor Nina Trasoff gave a detail packed presentation with the aside that meeting attendance of this size is impressive, and a great sign of involvement. She noted that Ward 6 has 42 neighborhood associations. Council aids work hard to respond to neighbor concerns - Laura Burge is the aid assigned to Peter Howell. Trasoff noted an Environmental Plan is in discussion by the Council, where members are looking at Land Use Codes, Zoning issues, etc. which have inconsistencies in many places. Ms. Trasoff notes we have a difficult budget year ahead, with $12 miilllion to make up before July 1st, 2008, and more financial stress for the coming fiscal year. Thanks to PHNA Treasurer Sonya Heller Irey, Doug Koppinger of Trees for Tucson presented information regarding how to obtain nearly free trees for homeowners, community projects, and public area plantings. Koppinger recommended planting during the October - January period to reduce stress on trees, and to look on the Trees for Tucson website for more information. Trees come in '5 gallon' containers and current selections include: Honey Mesquite, Willow Acacia, Blue Palo Verde, with Desert Willow also available in the fall. A neighborhood tree planting event may occur if enough interest is shown. The Peter Howell Neighborhood Association Annual Picnic is to be held Saturday, April 26th, from 4pm -7pm or so. Bring dishes to share and food to grill if desired. Donated grills will be provided, as will other items. Come, meet your neighbors, have fun, bring family, discuss serious and fickle issues of the day. More information to follow. Sonya reported that the PHNA Bank Account has $1663 in checking, set aside for previously discussed Traffic mitigation plans on 1st and 2nd St., and $45.21 in the savings account. PHNA has a Yahoo group forum for interactive discussion of Neighborhood, or citywide, issues. Please check it out, participate and learn. It's a great place to list and hear about neighborhood crime concerns, as well as other topics. Sonya Heller who manages the site will help you navigate the Yahoo forum. If you are interested, contact Sonya at sm_heller at hotmail.com. The Neighborhood Snail mail Newsletter comes out twice yearly. It goes to every household in our neighborhood. The next regularly scheduled neighborhood association meeting will occur in September 2008. Notes by Jesse Zoernig, PHNA Secretary / Additions by Donald Ijams | |||||||
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January 22, 2008
The Peter Howell Neighborhood Assn. Board of Directors met at the home of Elaine Lim Wednesday evening, January 16, 2008. Board members present included Don Ijams, Julie Pupkoff, Elaine Lim, Sonya Heller, Abby Rosen and Jesse Zoernig. Our treasurer Gene Wright, most sadly, passed away January 11. No other neighborhood folks were present. Gene Wright's service to the neighborhood was noted as was his friendly and helpful manner. He will be greatly missed. A memorial service is planned for Sat. Feb 2. Sonya Heller was unanimously elected Treasurer, taking Gene's place. The Board will find a time convenient to Gene's wife, Doris, to begin transfer of neighborhood association materials. Changes to the neighborhood were discussed. Sabra, the new Glot Kosher Mediterranian restaurant on Speedway, has a Wednesday movie night and is not open Friday or Saturday nights for meals. Discussion of the upcoming Neighborhood Newsletter led to various ideas. A section will be prepared to make it easy for neighbors to alert Neighhood Assn board members of neighbors likely needing help of any kind. Also, volunteers able to assist needy neighbors, such as delivery of services information, are certainly welcome. Community Home Repair Projects of Arizona, Inc (CHRPA) 745-2055 home repair project for low income citizens was described as a good resource to keep in mind for our neighbors. Don Ijams talked about recent activities of the Neighborhood Support Network, a burgeoning organization for neighborhood leaders from across the City. The group plans to share information regarding successful projects, new initiatives and tips for getting results. Network website. The next meeting will be held January 19 at Freedom Park Center, 5000 E. 29th St. One of the proprams described on the NSN website is by Civano Neighbors, at Irvington and Houghton. They have an Aging In Place Program, from which locals could learn. Elaine suggested folks introduce new neighbors in the newsletter with short intro paragraphs about newcomers. Also for the newsletter, Julie may write about neighborhood homes which have sold. February 15th is the final day for getting newsletter information to Elaine Lim at [email protected]. Perhaps neighbors have an interest in tree planting, which can be financially assisted by the City of Tucson. Let us know if you wish to get involved in neighborhood enhancing tree planting. Board members agree the Tucson Police force deserves thanks for their efforts in handling our recent meth house problem. Please note that dog walking includes the opportunity, and responsibility, to clean up after your dogs. This is ever important in the park, where children romp and roll. Thank you. The Poet's Corner electronic (email) information share group/Group Watch, now being managed by Cirsten Carle, is a successful method of getting crime or suspicious activities information out to neighbors. This sort of effort would be good to happen elsewhere in Peter Howell Neighborhood. Anyone with time and ability to monitor events, receive and share emails with in the neighborhood, using 'BCC' for safety, please contact Don Ijams. The Spring neighborhood meeting will be held on Wednesday evening, March 26th, 2008. Several locations for the meeting are being researched. There will be a presentation and discussion of crime information for the 2007 year. A member of the Tucson police will be available for question and answer. Other presentations are being sought. The annual neighborhood picnic will be on Saturday, April 26th, 2008. 4pm -7pm at Alvernon Park. This fun time is a good way to meet neighbors and have a pleasant afternoon. Donations for 'door' prizes are needed, and may include, well, almost anything - coupons, services, items, - any other ideas? Abby Rosen will receive door prizes for use at the picnic. Elaine Lim is coordinating the picnic. The concept of a Peter Howell neighborhood swap meet / yard sale was raised. If you have interest, please share it with the Board, so we can help with organization. March 10, 2008 is the beginning of the next Brush and Bulky disposal week. Neighborhood cleanup is made much easier with this valuable City service. Notes by Jesse Zoernig, PHNA Secretary / Additions by Donald Ijams | |||||||
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October 20, 2007
The Peter Howell Neighborhood Assn. Board of Directors met from 6:30 - 8:00 PM, Wednesday, October 17, 2007 at the Martha Cooper Library, 1377 N. Catalina Av. Present were Donald Ijams (E. 4th Pl), Abby Rosen (E. 2nd St), Sonya Heller (4000 Blk E. 4th St), Gene Wright (E. Holmes St), Julie Pupkoff (E. Alhambra Pl), and Jesse Zoernig (300 Blk N. Longfellow Av). Elaine Lim (E. Hawthorne St) telephoned in advance that she could not be present. Don addressed the need for Board officers to be elected. Don was nominated and elected President. Elaine, in absentia, had agreed to be Vice President again if nominated and was elected. Gene Wright was nominated and elected as Treasurer. 2006-07 Secretary Mary Handley is no longer available, and Jesse Zoernig was nominated and elected Secretary. All votes were unanimous. After discussion of possible conflicts with public events, the Board decided that the Spring Meeting of the Association would be Wednesday, March 26, 2008. The neighborhood picnic date was set for Saturday, April 26, 2008. Elaine Lim will coordinate the picnic and topics for the March agenda are being solicited. A number of topics were discussed is some depth, for the benefit of the new Board members. These included traffic control measures of past and present, the liquor license renewal/transfer process, interaction with the City's Dept. of Neighborhood Resources and hotel construction plans along Alvernon. Also discussed were crime concerns in the recent past, neighborhood cleanups, Tucson Police Department organization and areas, the Betty Quinn homicide and the neighborhood's reaction to it. The Poet's Corner email information 'tree' was noted and several Board members asked to be included on that list. Notes by Jesse Zoernig, PHNA Secretary / Additions by Donald Ijams | |||||||
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October 2, 2007
The annual meeting of the Peter Howell Neighborhood Association (PHNA) was called to order at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, September 26 by Board President Don Ijams. In attendance were over 50 people from the neighborhood. After introducing the current officers of the PHNA Board of Directors, Don introduced the first speaker of the evening, Ron Platt, a registered land surveyor, working in the City's Department of Transportation. Joining him were lawyer Jim Frish and a representative from the Code Enforcement section of the Department of Neighborhood Respources. Ron presented an overview of the homeowner's rights and responsibilities regarding easements. A number of attendees had questions for the presenters, with specific examples being brought forward. The bottom line is that homeowners are free to use all of their land as they see fit, only needing to adhere to easement requirements (along with other land use and zoning requirements); they may not interfere with the work of utility personnel or others using legitimate easement access. Ron also stressed that maintenance of land under easements and alleyways, as well as sidewalks, were the responsibility of the homeowner. Next, representatives from the Tucson Police Department (TPD) spoke and answered questions. Issues covered:
Joan Gilbert, Principal of Peter Howell School, announced that the school had been adopted by Wild Oats Market. Wild Oats will be donating money and merchandise to the school. In addition, the school will also be the recipient of the United Way's Days of Caring. Several groups will be volunteering at the school next month. Contact the school at 232-7200 to learn how you can assist with these projects. Don called for nominations to serve on the PHNA Board of Directors for 2007-2008. The following individuals were nominated and approved by acclamation:
Don reported on the Randolph Park Hotel's (formerly the Clarion) plans for renovation and expansion. Included in their plans is the closure the 3900 block of E. Elmwood. The architect is currently negotiating with individual homeowners, prior to taking their plans to the city. The Lodge on the Desert has also presented plans for renovation and expansion. Work is to begin soon. The meeting was adjourned at 8:30 p.m. Minutes taken and submitted by Elaine Lim, Vice President, PHNA | |||||||
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April 18, 2007
The Peter Howell Neighborhood annual picnic was held last Saturday at Alvernon Park. There were about 25 people in attendance and there were a number of nice discussions and friendly exchanges that took place. We cooked some hamburgers, hotdogs and kabobs, drank some lemonaide and had a nice assortment of dishes brought by neighbors. Just a nice breeze, not the wind we had the year before. Good time. The Peter Howell Neighborhood Association has a new message center and virtual group meeting site. It is: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/peterhowellneighborhood/ You may access the site by going to the website above and clicking on the button that says "Join This Group" After you've joined, you can send a message to the group as you wish. On the receiving end, you can choose to receive an email from the group for each one posted, or choose to just log in once in a while and read all the recent messages. Please feel free to post messages that would be of interest to our neighbors. I hope we can enjoy this site and keep it pleasant and worthwhile. There are lots of other possibilities - give it a try. Please contact our neighbor Sonya Heller Irey if you experience any difficulties.
March 23, 2007
| The Spring meeting of the Peter Howell Neighborhood Association was held at the Martha Cooper Library on Wednesday, March 14, 2007 and convened promptly at 6:30 p.m. There were 48 names on the sign-in sheet. Mr. Jim Glock, Director of the Tucson Department of Transportation, addressed the impact of the new bridge on Alvernon. No traffic volume studies have been done as yet but he commented that hearsay had it that more traffic has been generated and the audience tended to agree. March 23 is the target completion date for the irrigation and improvements to Alvernon Way medians. He discussed City planning documents about the major streets and roads and said that eventually Alvernon was projected to become six lanes, but also added he did not think such an expansion was very likely. He commented that perhaps it would be better to look at intersections and need for right turn lanes or bus lanes. Don Ijams gave a graphic presentation to illustrate his 2006 Crime Review. His bar graph display gave a good picture of how crime rates for a number of crime types have increased or decreased over the past 13 years. Burglaries are down city-wide although there are still 5000 burglaries reported a year. Larceny (theft but not burglary) is also down, as well as arson and other assaults. The auto theft rate is up and frauds continue to be way high. Overall the violent crime rate is down, which is great news. He pinpointed the Peter Howell neighborhood on a large and colored design and showed that in proportion to others, our neighborhood has a light crime rate. Julie Pupkoff reported on websites and also had hand-outs regarding how landlords can protect themselves and the neighborhood from problem renters. Two members of the Tucson Police Department gave a report on the homicide in Poets Corner and that the investigation was progressing well with some very good leads and suspects. They were appreciative of peoples' response to their higher visibility in the area but also cautioned that as problems in other areas of the patrol division emerge, the department will have to move resources. They also discussed the problem area of the alley behind 3900 E. 1st Street and suggested that the merchants on Speedway were cooperative and may be of some help in lighting the area. Joan Gilbert, Principal, represented Peter Howell Elementary School and invited all to the Spring Carnival May 4th. City Councilmember Nina Trasoff had a schedule conflict and was out of town so she was ably represented by her associate, Laura Burge. Laura discussed the Overlay zones being developed and that Proposition 207 presented some difficulty. However she added that historical districts don't present much problem other than maintaining the historical architecture. A report on coyotes and their activities in the area was made, with the advice to be aware that they are wily, will eat nearly anything and travel in packs sometimes, sending a scout out to lure the unwary and then the pack closes in. The advice is to NOT feed wild animals or be nice to them, but to scare them off with noise and gestures. Announcements were also made regarding the following:
Respectfully submitted, Mary Handley, Secretary / Don Ijams, President
January 28, 2007
| The Board of Directors of the Peter Howell Neighborhood Association met Wednesday, Janaury 24, 2007 at the Martha Cooper Library at 6:30 p.m. Those in attendance were Donald Ijams, President; Elaine Lim, Vice-President; Gene Wright, Treasurer; Mary Handley, Secretary; Abbey Rosen, Newsletter Coordinator, Julie Pupkoff and Mrs. Gene Wright. The Board first considered what role, if any, the Association should play in maintaining the appearance of the neighborhood. Don Ijams has received several complaints about weeds and debris in yards in the neighborhood. Complaints regarding violations in the neighborhood could be referred directly to the City of Tucson Code Compliance staff. An intake form from the Department of Neighborhood Resources is available on the internet. Board members thought that the Association should be cautious about becoming too involved in these complaints. However, as a neighborhood association, there may be some role to play, prior to formal complaint. For discussion purposes, the president created a friendly form under the Peter Howell Neighborhood Association logo in which the landlord/owner/occupant of an address might be informed of the complaint causing concern to neighbors or residents of the area, using wording such as:
This plan was suggested for trial implementation since there has been a complaint made about one particular corner property within the neighborhood. After viewing the property, board members will advise the President if they feel he should not take this action. Several items were presented for short discussion:
April 14, 2007 is the date set for the Neighborhood Association Picnic with Elaine Lim in charge. She will ask for assistance, as needed, closer to the date. Also in attendance at the meeting was Mrs. Gene Wright whose comments and contributions were appreciated. All board meetings are open to all members and are announced in advance. It was determined that no board meeting will be held before the March 14 general membership meeting. The meeting was adjourned at 7:35 p.m. Mary Handley, Secretary / Don Ijams, President Meeting Notes from 2006 and before | |
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