Thoughts Ideas and Giggles

Land Park is nestled just south of downtown Sacramento.  It boasts a very active neighborhood association -Land Park Community Association - that has gone through some significant changes, including a board of 15, of which only 3 were returnees.  It was a sign of the hope the neighborhood had to be better represented.  I am very proud to list the successes we had in 2009.

The most significant change was a board that worked together.  While we had differing opinions, we were willing to discuss, compromise and come to a mutual understanding.  We showed respect for each other and have been very deliberate in our representation of the community.

Our ongoing events resulted in great attendance, even though both the Taste of Land Park and the Picnic in the Park was held in sweltering heat.

We brought to the neighborhood a new event - the Picnic in the Park.  It was free to the community as a thank you for all of the support they have given to LPCA.

We changed the bylaws, the most significant change being the inclusion of the local businesses in the membership.  To this date, the local businesses were asked to donate to our events, but were not allowed to be members.  It was an inexcusable stance which we were thrilled to eliminate.  We hope to include our local businesses in many of our debates and decisions.

We are working hard to make up for a loss in maintenance in William Land Park.  We are spending a significant amount of money to reinstate the Rock Garden to it's former glory.  The bureaucracy is continuing to put up road blocks, so this is still a work in progress.

We have worked diligently to encourage the development of Curtis Park Village, while voicing our concerns regarding a few of the issues.

Probably one of most successful new programs is Listserv, which is real time reports from our neighbors regarding crime in the neighborhood. It has resulted in phenomenal and immediate communication resulting in arrests and preventative measures.  It has been extremely popular with many neighbors joining LPCA just to be able to subscribe to this benefit.

The coming year promises to bring more changes and additions.  We hope to continue to be of value to our neighborhood...stay posted!

Sacramento's Land Park Community Association is hosting it's second quarterly membership meeting this Wednesday night at James Monroe Eskaton on Freeport Boulevard at 6:30.

LPCA had scheduled Kevin Johnson to be our speaker.  Earlier this month we were told that he had a conflict in his schedule and would not be able to attend.  However, as of this week, his staff was trying to work it out so he could attend.

Also, we will be covering topics such as the Curtis Park Village, the First Annual Picnic in the Park, the Taste of Land Park and discussion of a few bylaw changes.

It is our hope that many of our Land Park neighbors will join us and give us input.  We look forward to seeing your Wednesday night!

www.PaulaSwayne.com
DRE#01188158

I was fortunate enough to be voted in as a Land Park Community Association board member.  Today I attended my "orientation" meeting with about 12 other board members...all but 3 are brand new. The best news is that all of the people I met seem like genuinely nice people with no ego involved!  We all agreed that the next several months will be critical in setting the tone of this new board.

There are some really exciting events being planned!  On June 27th, we are going to host a picnic for our membership in the park as a thank you for being a part of the association.  This is brand new and is a nice way to let our 550 members know we appreciate them.  There are at least three more events we are hoping to bring to our community this year. Of course, the "Taste of Land Park" will be the September event.

Also, we are trying to increase the participation of our membership.  We are hoping to offer incentives to become a member such as discounts at local businesses.  We are inviting any member to attend any meeting that they are interested in and we hope that they will participate with their own ideas.

We do have some immediate concerns...mainly the 35-60% cuts in the Parks and Rec Department.  The meeting to decide what will be done is this month, so we are working fast to address this issue.

Well, those are just a few of the concerns we have...I will keep you posted on our progress!

www.PaulaSwayne.com

I wrote an earlier post about the election last night of 14 new board members on to the Land Park Communnity Association board.  I thought you might like to learn who will be representing your Land Park  neighborhood interests.

Two Year Seats went to:

Terry Grimes
Craig Powell
John Jenson
J.R. Riddell
April Meszaros
Dave O'Toole
John Schade

One Year Seats went to:

Matt Traverso
Michael Mock
Jim Quessenberry
Mark Abrahams
Dennis Kellogg
Christine Ault
Paula Swayne

*This has yet to be confirmed, but should be in the next couple of days.

I hope you will find our representation of your concerns positive.  I am sure if you have concerns, any one of us would be happy to hear from you.

www.PaulaSwayne.com

Last night was the BIG night...the voting in of 14 new board members! This is huge considering there is a total of 15 board members...only the current President was not on the slate of candidates.

We gathered at Tower Theater. The lobby was filled with Land Park Community Association existing members, candidates and new members.  It was a full service event with the sign-up table for those wanting to become a part of this association, another table distributing ballots and another accepting proxy votes.    We could even buy popcorn and sodas to support the theater and replace what would have been a healthy dinner!

At 7:00, we took our seats in the theater.  It appeared that theater lights could only be so bright...because we certainly had ambiant lighting which set an interesting atmosphere!  County Supervisor Jimmy Yee spoke along with Councilman Rob Fong.  The last speaker was Captain Shilly (I apologize if I am spelling this wrong) of the Sacramento Police Department.  We learned about the challenges facing our county, city and police budgets and how each is approaching these challenges.  We spoke of the infamous Bridge to Broadway (and it's current non-status), the proposal to move the Zoo (at best 20 years away, if done at all), efforts to improve the Broadway corridor, the continuing hope that Trader Joes is going to replace the Prime Market on Sutterville and South Land Park Drive and what we can expect of our police (who I believe are doing their best in a difficult situation).

Finally, we discussed the casting of ballots and 2 new by-law changes. We adjourned to place our votes and mingle with our neighbors.  It was an enlightening and interesting night!

www.PaulaSwayne.com

Oh...did I mention that I got voted in as a board member? Yeah!

It was an interesting night. It was also an impressive night.  At the front of the room at Eskaton in Land Park sat 19 candidates hoping to be elected into the Land Park Community Association board.  They represented every demographic in the neighborhood.  One gentleman was raised in Land Park.  Another was raising his young family in the area.  We had proffesionals knowledgeable about land use, events coordination, politics, construction, architecture and urban planning, business management and so much more.  It is a wonderful slate of candidates and we should be proud to vote in any 14 of them.

There was a common theme...to promote and support the very best that Land Park has to offer.  There are plenty of challenges...the ongoing discussion regarding a bridge over the Sacramento River connecting West Sacramento to Sacramento at Broadway, traffic and all of the issues that it brings, commercial revitalization, and cuts to William Land Parks budget, to name just a few.

The rest of the room was filled with those who care and are concerned about the future of Land Park.  They sat attentively as each candidate had 3 minutes to share with the attendees their agendas and qualifications. 

One complaint was that there wasn't enough specific information on how each candidate stood on important issues...and it was a valid point. Hopefully next year that opportunity will be given.

Finally, it was a night we should all be proud of...it is a new beginning!

www.PaulaSwayne.com

After much fanfare, Land Park Community Association is starting fresh.  In a meeting on February 11th, sweeping changes were made to the association's by-laws.  With the board now having the capacity of 15 members and presently having 4, it will have 11 brand new board members.  There will certainly be a time of adjustment and work toward cohesiveness, but the hope is that this board will better represent a changing and well established neighborhood.

On April 29th, the association will be hosting Mayor Kevin Johnson, Councilmember Rob Fong and Supervisor Jimmie Yee at it's annual membership meeting.  In addition to Councilmember Fong's "State of Land Park" address, the local police commander, Captain Dan Schiele will present a briefing on crime in Land Park and the association's involvement in crime alerts.  If you are interested in attending, it will be at Tower Theater beginning at 6:30 (doors opening at 6:15).

There is a host of important new information from LPCA, so please feel free to see all of the projects they have going, the news they have and the schedule of LPCA events at http://www.landpark.org/.

www.PaulaSwayne.com