Two items.

I have a couple of items to pass along . . .

One: Our annual Neighborhood Association Meeting and Pot Luck will be held in conjunction with the 26th Annual National Night Out on Tuesday, August 4, 2009, this time at the home of Greg & Jayne Wack, 2257 Country Lane. We’ll have fried chicken, maybe some grilled burgers & hot dogs, and soft drinks, but ask that you bring something else to share. Things will start informally about 5:30, with the ‘business’ portion of our meeting to be held about 7:00. We hope you can make it!

Two: At the meeting we hope to hand out new CCENA Directories. To do this, we need to make sure all the information we have on file currently is accurate. We will be distributing new forms to each home in our neighborhood over the next couple of days. We ask that *everyone* complete their form and return it by July 7, even if you have previously completed such a form. You can drop yours off with Sarah Catlin-Duprey (2264 Country Lane), or me (2011 N. Country Club), or mail them. In addition to creating a paper directory, we would like to create an online directory listing name, address, phone number and email addresses – but you can limit what information you have posted, if you wish. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Looking forward to seeing everyone on August 4th!

Jim Downey
jim@afineline.org

This may be of interest.

Well, the last couple of weeks Martha and I have been busy creating something new which I thought may be of interest to our neighbors. I had mentioned previously that I had been involved with the Neighborhood Leadership Program and the “Keys to the City” event. Well, one thing which came out of those was a growing awareness of the need for the various neighborhood associations in the city to share news and information. So we’ve created:

Columbia Neighborhood Alliance

Discussion forum for Columbia, MO neighborhood associations.

This forum is open to one and all, and you are welcome to participate. Particularly if you have information or experience to share with others who are looking to make their neighborhood association more effective, and to help thereby to improve our city. Stop by and give us a visit!

Jim Downey

Rave reviews

For those of you who missed it, the morning open house and garden party at the home of Randy Kilgore and Gary Smith was lovely.  We had perfect weather for it, the scones baked by Gary were delightful, and the back yard garden is an amazing oasis!

We are hoping to have another summer open house next month, and are looking for someone to host.  If you are interested, please contact Jim Downey or Martha John.

Ann Henley

Many in our neighborhood knew Ann Henley, who lived in the house next door to Gary Smith and Randy Kilgore until 2006. I heard today that she has passed away in Arizona, where she moved to be closer to her children. The obituary was in Tuesday’s Tribune, but I missed it. I hope you will be able to go to the funeral on Friday, at Memorial Park Cemetery (see the obituary for details). She was a lovely lady and will be missed.

Party, Party!

So, this coming Saturday, May 30, will be a big party day in the neighborhood. Looks like we may have good weather for it! First comes the neighborhood coffee/open house at the home of Randy Kilgore and Gary Smith, 804 Fairway, 9:00 to 11:00 am. Hope to see everyone there!

Then, in the afternoon, Mary Still is having a progressive “Garden Party Fundraiser” at three sites within the neighborhood, from 4:30 to 6:30 pm. You can get your own invitation here but here are the basics: You can tour two beautiful gardens – one at Randy and Gary’s house (if you didn’t already see it that morning), and the other at Dorian and David Pickering’s home, 2 Club Court. Then you can also stop by for a “summer celebration” at Russ and Mary Still’s home, 2000 South Country Club Drive. Mary says, “contributions at all levels are appreciated.”

So, plan to visit with all your neighbors on Saturday at several locations in the neighborhood. See you then!

In the news.

Just a brief note about the ‘Keys to the City’ event last night. Our neighborhood was well represented, with myself, Martha John, and Sarah Catlin-Dupuy in attendance. I spoke with several of the City Council members about issues relevant to our neighborhood (more on that later) and we all made good use of the time to gather information and make connections. The ‘Neighborhood Congress’ discussion was very preliminary (as covered here in the Missourian), but I think that more could come of it in the future.

And I also want to tell everyone – if you haven’t recently been by Betty Gladney’s ‘beauty spot’ at the bottom of Country Lane, be sure to swing by soon! The flowers are in full bloom and it is absolutely lovely – well worth a nice walk over, or an extra bit of time in the car.

Jim Downey

Open House/Coffee – May 30

Mark your calendars now for the next Neighborhood Open House.   Gary Smith and Randy Kilgore will be welcoming neighbors to their home at 804 Fairway from 9 to 11 am on Saturday, May 30th.   (That’s the weekend after Memorial Day.)   Gary says he’ll be serving coffee, juice and fresh scones (cherry-pecan and blueberry – yum!) on the patio.   Be sure to take this opportunity to visit with your neighbors and see one of the showplaces in our community.

“Citystream” press release from the city.

Passing this along, which may be of interest to our neighborhood members:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Toni Messina, Communications Director – (573) 874-7660 or Bill Watkins, City Manager – (573) 874-6338

‘CityStream’ links citizens and local officials

COLUMBIA, MO (April 30, 2009) – The Columbia City Council steps into cyberspace next week if all goes as planned. Citizens and others with high-speed online access should be able to view the Council meetings live, over the Internet, starting Monday, May 4. This service is in addition to meeting broadcasts over the City Channel.

Dubbed “CityStream,” this new service also will allow users to view archived meeting video within 24 hours after the meeting ends. A viewer can see the whole meeting or click on a link in an online meeting agenda and see only the video associated with a specific item. Supporting documents will be available at the same location.

“Council members have asked for this service for citizens for several years,” Watkins said, “but the cost of buying broadband capacity was excessive, considering the small number of users that could be accommodated at one time.”

Finally, Watkins said, needs converged with available technology. Granicus, the vendor chosen to stream meetings and store archive, brought a product to the table with the right features at the right price. “Granicus has government clients across the country. Although we purchased what I would consider a basic starter package, and not bells and whistles, citizens will get good value.”

Public Communications Director Toni Messina said that start-up costs are less than $15,000, plus a monthly management fee, and are supported by funding recommended by the Public Communications Resources Advisory Committee and approved by the City Council. “We applied for funding through the Committee’s competitive process earlier this year and were very pleased when we got approval.”

CityStream is not only a technological advance but also a tool for wider citizen engagement, according to Messina. “When we applied, we linked CityStream to the community’s vision for a more transparent government process. What we’ll want to know is, are more citizens getting involved by using the Internet? Do they think this service helps them communicate with local officials?”

Messina said that a link on the city’s home page will take users to the viewing site. “Effective May 4, start with www.GoColumbiaMo.com, and then click on “City Council Meetings” in the black bar at the top of the page. Tell us about your experience and how we can serve you better.”

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Jim Downey