Something in the Air?

There's something new in there air, or there soon will be: noise and dust (and possibly a lot of it). If you live in in the Emma Dickinson neighborhood this pertains to you!

Most of you who've driven down River Road know where the Monroc site is - it's the big gravel pit just south of the Clark Fork River, between Russell & Reserve. Here's a bird's eye view of it here. Ouch. It's ugly. And it's got another 7-8 years (maybe more) before all the gravel's been extracted. And it's going to get worse before it gets better.

Earlier this year, T&T Contracting requested a permit to build an asphalt plant on the site (you can imagine how good that would smell). Fortunately, that got squashed.

In October, however, they requested a gravel crushing permit for the site (details). And that got approved. So now, rather than just dig / wash the gravel, they want to be able to crush it too.

Concerned citizen Sean Scally puts it like this:

"The approved plans call for heavy industrial gravel crushing using 1.4 million watts of diesel generated power in the middle of a growing residential and recreational area in the Missoula Air Stagnation Zone in a floodplain on the Clark Fork River with no safe access, oh yeah and I forgot all this traffic will be on a school bus route (River Rd) a 20′ road with no curbs, gutters or sidewalks."

You don't have to be a rocket scientist to see problems here.

Most of us have nothing against crushed gravel. The real issue is where it happens.

The Monroc site used to be "out in the country" (hence the name 'Orchard Homes'), but now it's smack dab in the middle of residential city neighborhoods. Only the Monroc site itself is still technically part of the county (not the city), and it's zoned industrial (not residential). Which means, it's not subject to the city noise / air quality codes.

So technically there's no reason why they can't host a gravel crushing operation there.

Practically, however, there's no reason why they should. Regardless of how it's zoned, it's still in the middle of a residential neighborhood, right next to a vital part of our watershed. It's already dusty, loud, and dangerous. And adding a gravel crushing operation is going to make all of those things worse, not better.

Here's the good news. Folks are getting the word out, and there's a public hearing on the issue (details). Here's the bad news: it happens tomorrow...

• WHEN: Thursday December 18, 2008 @ 12:15 PM
• WHERE: Main Conference Room on the 2nd floor of the Health Department Building, 301 W. Alder Street, Missoula, MT 59802.
  

Which means, if you want to have a voice in this matter you need to a) spread the word and b) make every effort to be there.

Will keep you posted...

Meeting Notes

Hey folks! Christian here, blogging the highlights from tonight's Emma Dickinson Neighborhood Meeting tonight!

First and foremost, a huge thanks to all of you who joined us! We had over 25 people from our neighborhood come out to share some fantastic Biga pizza and figure out how to make our neighborhood better!

Here's what we talked about during the course of the evening:

1. A new NAME for our neighborhood! - Over the years "Emma Dickinson / Orchard Homes" has been less and less meaningful as a name for our neighborhood: the Emma Dickinson school is now called the Lifelong Learning Center, and the 'Orchard Homes' part of our neighborhood (to the west of Reserve) is being split off into its own neighborhood. So we talked about a name which might be more meaningful! Most of those who were present really liked the idea of "River Road Neighborhood" for our new name! We'll vote on this at our spring meeting...
   
   
2. A new TRAIL for our neighborhood - Dave Shaw (from the Parks & Rec department) explained how the city is working on creating a new trail through our neighborhood. This path runs from east to west and lies (roughly) along the lines of the Old Milwaukee Trail. This trail will be significant - a 10 foot wide paved trail that will allow pedestrians, bicyclists, and joggers to safely access the Missoula trail systems which lie to the east of Russell and the west of Reserve.
   
   Imagine being able to hop on your bike with your kids and ride safely downtown to Caras Park or all the way out to Kelley Island! At this point, Parks & Rec hopes to complete negotiations on the easements by the end of this year. Once this is finalized, construction could begin as early as next summer!
   
   
3. A new PARK for our neighborhood - As you've probably noticed, our neighborhood doesn't have many parks. That's starting to change with the addition of Lafray Park (just off of River Road on Lafray Lane). If you've driven by and taken a look, you've seen that much of the construction is already completed - the only thing that's missing now is a play structure. So tonight we solicited input for what kind of structure we'd like to build!
   
   Jeremy has done a lot of research on options for play structures. Here's the biggest challenge we face: COST. We currently have about $30k to work with. The fall zone area (which is mandated by the city) underneath the structure consists of wood fiber that is hammered down and compressed to cushion against falls. It will cost $13-17k alone. The play structures themselves typically cost around $30k. And installation is roughly 30% of the cost of the unit.
   
   Which means... we're short.
   
   There was a lot of discussion about how to work around this:
   
   • we might be able to do some of the installation ourselves under the supervision of a certified foreman (lots of support for this)
     
   • we might also be able to do some fundraising and look for grants (we could really use some help with this - please contact Jeremy for details)
   
   Cross your fingers as we move forward with this! If all goes well, it'll be ready to use by Spring / Summer of 2009.
   
   
4. A new ZONING CODE for our neighborhood - Laval Means from the Office of Planning and Grants talked about how the city is working to revamp the current zoning policies (they haven't really been overhauled since the 1980s and they're basically a mess). Laval was here to explain how the process is going (a little more than halfway).
   
   There was a pretty detailed handout available - I'm not entirely sure how to digest it here (Jeremy, any ideas?). As I'm typing notes, here's what stands out to me:
   
   • most of our neighborhood is residential, but there's a lot of mixed use area (commercial along the 3rd Street and Russell Street corridors).
     
   • none of the boundaries will change, but a lot of the different zone types will be combined and modified.
     
   • there will be some broadening some of the housing types allowed (and revamping the cluster option).
     
   • there will be some changes to setback (decreasing), minimum lot size (decreasing)
   • at this point my vision blurs and I stop typing...
     
   
   Bottom line: the zoning regulations are complex, which means revamping/simplifying them is complex. If you care about these types of things, you need to get involved in the process.
   
   There's going to be a public worship on the progress in early December. For details, contact Laval at 258-3797 or visit http://zoningmissoula.com
   
   
5. A new BOND ISSUE on the ballot - This November, there's going to be a county wide bond issue on the ballot for an Emergency Operations Center (911 calls) and Secure Storage (for evidence, records, etc). Larry Farnes made the pitch.
   
   In a nutshell, the city is running out of space at the court house - they need a place to move the 911 call center, store search and rescue equipment, and archive evidence.
   
   What's it going to cost? $24 million dollars. As a taxpayer, this means if you own a $200k house, this bond will cost you $27 bucks/year over the next 20 years.
   

Wow. That's a whole lotta "New!" going on. Pretty exciting stuff, and we deeply appreciate you being a part of it.

As a final note, we asked for input on where people would like to see improvements in our neighborhood. The biggest complaints: no sidewalks, few parks, and people drive too fast on David & Curtis. There are also concerns about the Russell / 3rd Street revamp.

If you missed this meeting and would like us to remind you before the next one, email us and say "Hey, add me to your mailing list!" We'll do our part and keep you posted!

Lots of great stuff happening these days. If you'd like to pitch in and get involved, please let us know!

Oct. 8 Meeting - 6:00 PM - Emma Dickinson School

Did you see the signs around the neighborhood?

Did you read the posting at this website (www.emmadickinson.org) regarding the meeting?

Did you talk with someone over the last month who was knocking on doors to ask you survey questions and let you know about the meeting?

Did you read a notice in the newspaper about this meeting?

Did you get a postcard in the mail?

Hopefully, you are coming to our neighborhood meeting on Wednesday, October 8th at 6:00 pm at Emma Dickinson School on Curtis. This is where Lifelong Learning (Continuing Education) has their headquarters.

Your leadership team has been very active over the past months and wants to talk with you on Wednesday evening.

We will have dinner for all attendees and are expecting a good turnout.

Bring your kids and neighbors. We'll have fun activities (& food) for kids! Design your playground!

See you then!

Mike Hathaway
Delia Hagen
Christian Cryder
Jen Calder
Jeremy Flesch

As always, let us know what's on your mind - we're available by e-mail, phone, comments on this website and more!

Wednesday, October 8 6 PM - Neighborhood Meeting

Calling All Ages!

Come and tell us what you like on a playground.
Slides
Climbing Structures
Swings
Bars for hanging
Fort Areas for playing Hide & Seek
'Skate Board' type Balance toys

We have limited funds for a playground structure at Lafray Park and want your input on what will fill the currently empty circle in Lafray Park.

We are having a Neighborhood Meeting on Wednesday evening, October 8th at 6:00 PM at Emma Dickinson School / Lifelong Learning Center on Curtis Street.

Dinner will be provided! Yes, food for both kids and adults will be provided! Come and voice your opinion on the playground and many other topics and get fed at the same time.

We will also discuss the Milwaukee Trail connection which will be coming through our neighborhood. Come and hear about the proposed route and discuss how we as a neighborhood can get the maximum benefit from this trail!

This is the most important neighborhood meeting for you to attend this year!

We hope to see you there!
If you have any questions, feel free to contact Jeremy at 207-1277.

Playground -- Playground -- Playground

Lafray Park has a specific area set aside for a playground! Over the next months, we will be deciding on the structure, 'fall area' material, which company to purchase the equipment from and much more. There will be lots more information to come. Stay Tuned!

Name of our neighborhood

What is the name of our neighborhood?

The official name is 'Emma Dickinson / Orchard Homes' neighborhood. What do you think of that name? Does it represent who we are? When you are talking with someone from another neighborhood and you mention our neighborhood name, do they know what you are talking about? Is our name too long or just right?

We are discussing our 'name' and would like your input! Should it remain the same or should it be changed to something easier to say that rolls off your tongue a little better?

Some ideas mentioned thus far:
1. Keep it the same
2. River Road
3. River City
4. City Park

There are many other options - please contact us with your ideas. Contact information is all around the blog. Thanks!

You are Invited - Leadership Team Meeting

Greetings. I hope everyone has had a great Summer!

The Leadership Team will be meeting on Thursday, September 11, 2008 at 7:30 AM at the Good Food Store. We will be meeting in the food area and enjoy breakfast together. You are invited to come and find out more about the neighborhood and offer your input to how we can become better connected as neighbors. There are lots of exciting projects coming in the next 2 - 12 months. Please read the blog postings for more info on those projects. Any questions, please use the link at the left or contact Jeremy Flesch at 207-1277.