NENA

NENA Update 2-28-10

Aluminum Can Drop Off
First Block Watch Signs Installed

Dear Neighbors,

Monday, March 1st is Recycle Aluminum Day – Don’t forget to drop your recycled aluminum cans off to June Kane’s home at 1630 W. Flower Circle North. Recycling not only helps our environment, but also helps increase our NENA funds! On average we receive about $12 a month from recycling. Thanks so much June for overseeing this venture for NENA!

First Block Watch Signs Installed: BIG Thanks to Marvin Dinges and Jim Breithaupt who volunteered their Saturday morning to install our first Block Watch Signs. There are 10 locations that now have signs. It was a great effort and we had a lot of fun talking and getting to know each other as we placed the signs. We’ll schedule another date to put the rest up (about 15 other locations). The signs are a good way to let others who don’t live in the neighborhood know that we watch out for each other and report crimes happening or suspicious activity. Thanks again Jim and Marvin!

Warmly,

Nicki Kirkeby
NENA President
480-586-8556
nmkirkeby@cox.net

NENA Update 2-21-10

Alley Pick-Up This Week
Help put up Block Watch Signs Next Saturday
Deadline for Advertising in Newsletter March 19^thCoronado Historic Tours next Sunday
Update on Elimination of Historic Tax Reduction

Dear Neighbors,

Alley Pick-Up This Week
February 20-28^th Neighbors can place bulk trash in your back alleyways from February 20^th through the 28^th. The City of Phoenix accepts: tree limbs, branches and stumps 4’ in length or shorter and 12” or less in diameter, palm fronds, grass & yard trimmings must be bagged or boxed and securely tied, appliances that do not have refrigerant/CFS’s (washers, dryers, stoves and heaters are ok), televisions and stereos, furniture, and carpeting. The City does not accept: appliances using DFC’s or refrigerants, glass (windows, shower doors, mirrors), demolition debris, bricks, dirt, rocks, roofing, tires or metal atom parts greater than 20 pounds.

On March 1^st the City of Phoenix will start picking up in our area. Once the bulk trash has been picked up please DO NOT place bulk trash items in the alley until the next Bulk Trash Pick-up Time. If you see items left in the alley after bulk trash pick-up, please call Neighborhood Services to report it. They will contact neighbors in the area to see if they have placed the items in the alley or determine outside of NENA has dropped the items illegally in the alleyway. For more information go to http://phoenix.gov/garbage/trshmain.html

Volunteer for Block Watch Sign Installation Saturday, Feb 27th
This Saturday, February 27^th NENA neighbors will get together to put up our first 18 Block Watch signs throughout the neighborhood. These signs will be placed back to back (so there will be nine total locations) and attached to No Parking signs in our most troublesome areas in NENA. If you have input as to a No Parking sign in your area that could use a Block Watch sign please contact Nicki at the email address on the bottom of this email. It shouldn’t take more than 3 hours to put these signs up and we are most grateful to Campus Vista neighbor, Marty Huber, who has graciously agreed to help us with this effort. Marty put up all of Campus Vista’s Block Watch signs and is willing to help us do ours. We’ll meet at Nicki’s at 0900 and after we’re done with our work enjoy pizza and refreshments. To volunteer contact Nicki at nmkirkeby@cox.net

Deadline for Advertisements for NENA March 19^th
If you would like to advertise in the next NENA newsletter please contact Kate Cross at johnmayhew@earthlink.net This is a great way to get the word out for a business or upcoming event. Ads run $35 for a business card size.

Coronado Historic Home Tour
On Sunday, February 28 the Coronado Historic Home Tour’s will take place. There will also be a table available to gather more signatures (as well as enjoy the day’s festivities and tour) For more information on the tour visit: http://www.gcna.info/homeTour.php

Update on Elimination of Historic Tax Reduction

I have sent the letter and signatures that we collected at the our NENA Groundhog’s Day event to Senator Cheuvront and have also emailed him on the issue. I have not heard back from him as of yet. If anyone has heard from our Senator please forward his response to nmkirkeby@cox.net I know that Senator Debbie McCune Davis has been very responsive to concerned citizens in her district. The following is an update from Jim McPherson from the Arizona Preservation Foundation.

Courtesy of the Arizona Preservation Foundation
Fact Sheet & Fiscal Analysis at http://www.azpreservation.org

NEWSFLASH!
NewsChannel 3 reporter Kirsten Joyce reports homeowners moved into Phoenix's historic districts because of a big tax incentive, but in order to generate more money for the state those homeowners may be forced to give the incentive up. View the news segment at http://bit.ly/bIQ7hV

We Oppose SB1166!
Taking a formal stand against Senate Bill 1166 are the groups below. Arizona’s preservation community thanks them for their support.

Mayor and City Council of the City of Phoenix (2/9/10)

Mayor and City Council of the City of Tucson (2/9/10)

Board of Directors of Valley Forward (2/17/10). This association (http://www.valleyforward.org) brings business and civic leaders together to convene thoughtful public dialogue on regional issues and to promote cooperative efforts to improve the environment and livability of Valley communities.

Signatures Collected at Willo Home Tour
A strong outpouring of support for Arizona’s heritage was demonstrated this past Sunday. Over 800 signatures of individuals opposed to SB1166 were garnered at the February 14 Willo Home Tour. Stopping by the booth to lend their personal support were Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon, Phoenix Vice Mayor Michael Nowakowski, State Representative David Lujan, State Representative Kyrsten Sinema, Justice of the Peace Steven McMurry, and candidate for State Representative Ken Clark. Special thanks to Brad Bauer (Willo), Nicki Kirkeby (North Encanto), Steve Procaccini (Coronado), and Martin Vogel (Encanto Palmcroft) for helping to organize this grassroots effort! Great tour by the way!

Next on the Docket

Then on Sunday, February 28 it’s on to the Coronado Historic Home Tour to gather more signatures (as well as enjoy the day’s festivities and tour): http://www.gcna.info/homeTour.php

As some of you may know, SB1166 was initially scheduled to be heard by the Senate Finance Committee this morning, but it was pulled from the agenda. The Legislature has been given one more week to introduce legislation, so it’s quite possible it (SB1166) could return.

Today in History: February 17, 1977

The following note and linked attachment (http://www.box.net/shared/fdfnk84h86) were provided by Phoenix attorney Robert Warnicke. It’s quite a coincidence that the linked document concerning the origins of the state historic tax classification program was written exactly 33 years ago today. Hmmmm…. prophetic? Thanks so much to Robert for going “above and beyond,” like so many of you who receive this communiqué, to protect our state’s historic resources.

“Attached please find the interesting bits of the legislative history on what I believe is the original bill that ultimately became A.R.S. § 42-12006(1) and A.R.S. § 42-120101(2) as they exist today. I don't know if you or anyone else looked at it or even knew where to look for it, but it is what I do when I find myself trying to figure out "legislative intent." Sometimes legislative history is helpful, sometimes, not so much.

I believe this is one of those more helpful times.

They hoped to stabilize historic areas and maybe even reverse a trend: I think we can show just how effective the program was without too much trouble. The nice part is that we can now show this was the entire purpose of the law and that it worked as planned. We can now actually quote from the legislative history.

There is also some raw numbers analysis of property value comparisons that could be useful to show how it was then, and how it is now.

What I found particularly interesting is the analysis that many of the properties had value that was separate from the historic buildings, and that by lowering the tax they were creating an incentive to saving the buildings and stabilize the neighborhood. I suppose it is obvious, but it presents the issue in a much better way than I think it has been discussed. It also gets us away from Senator Gray's focus on the tax break should be justified with actual dollars spent on the property (although I doubt many of us will have trouble with that).”

“Nothing is dead until the legislative session ends”

In conversations between neighborhood advocates and state legislators opposed to SB116, it’s been noted that Senator Linda Gray could attempt to amend any other legislative bill with SB1166 language and opponents wouldn't know until the last minute. To “level the playing field,” it’s recommended that you, your friends, neighbors, and leaders of historic districts and collegial organizations continue to contact their state senators and ask to be kept informed if SB1166 or bills with SB1166 language come up for a vote at any time. As noted by one state senator, “Nothing is dead until the legislative session ends.”

How to contact your legislators

Senate Finance Committee

The Honorable Ed Bunch, 602-926-4916, ebunch@azleg.gov (NEW!)

The Honorable Ken Cheuvront, 602-926-5325, kcheuvront@azleg.gov

The Honorable Ron Gould, 602-926-4138, rgould@azleg.gov

The Honorable Jack Harper, Chair, 602-926-926-4178, jharper@azleg.gov

The Honorable Barbara Leff, Vice Chair, 602-926-4486, bleff@azleg.gov

The Honorable Debbie McCune Davis, 602-926-4485, dmccunedavis@azleg.gov

The Honorable Richard Miranda, 602-926-5911, rmiranda@azleg.gov

The Honorable Russell Pearce, 602-926-5760, rpearce@azleg.gov

Your District’s Legislators
If you would like to express your views to your own State Senator or State Representative (if they are not listed above), visit http://www.azleg.gov/alisStaticPages/HowToContactMember.asp

Warmly,

Nicki Kirkeby
NENA President
480-586-8556
nmkirkeby@cox.net

NENA Update
February 4, 2010

Groundhog’s Day Event This Saturday
Update on SB1166 Legislation

Dear Neighbors,

Groundhog’s Day Potluck This Saturday

This Saturday, February 6^th from 11am to 2pm (Catalina between 16^th Dr & 17^th Ave) Come join in the fun as neighbors get together to enjoy each others company and eat some great food. Councilman Tom Simplot will be arriving at 11am to visit with neighbors. The Phoenix Fire Department will be joining us with their fire engine….how cool is that! Chris Divine will be singing and will provide recorded music when not performing. There will be some “special” activities too!

Don’t be shy….come meet your NENA neighbors!

Donations or pot luck dishes are OPTIONAL

NENA will provide hot dogs, hamburgers, chips, water, sodas and lemonade!

Update on SB1166 Legislation

Below is the message forwarded to me by Brad Brauer, Willo President, who attended the stakeholders meeting on Monday, Feb 1^st to discuss SB1166.

Friends and Neighbors,

I spent the afternoon at the AZ Senate meeting with Senator Linda Gray to discuss her bill to reclassify our Historic Properties. What I take away from this meeting will probably not surprise a lot of you – the AZ Legislature is looking for money wherever they can find money. The proof that this system has been successful in creating neighborhoods, increasing property values (and tax revenues) and cleaning up years of deterioration does not seem to have an effect on Senator Gray. In a meeting with approximately 15 people, including representatives from Medlock Place, Willo, Encanto Palmcroft, FQ Story, the City of Phoenix Historic Preservation, the City of Glendale, AZ State Historic Preservation, Maricopa County Assessor, the AZ Association of Realtors, a Tucson historic neighborhood resident and a representative of the Arizona Education Association – only two people were supportive of this bill. Senator Linda Gray and the Rep from the AZ Education Association. The state budget is slashing the education funds, so it’s not surprising that the AEA is supporting Sen. Gray.

A great group of people truly explained the benefits of these neighborhoods, to their Cities and the state, the limitation put upon homeowners by HP and the difference between maintaining and restoring these homes versus the simple slab homes built in the 60’s , 70’s and today. It was brought up that the increase in a tax to historic neighborhoods would provide a negligible increase to the state. Also that without the tax break there is nothing to require homeowners to retain the historic character of their homes, but none of this information really changed Senator Gray’s mind. She asked for suggestions from the meeting on how to prevent fraud, a sunset on the tax break or a reduced reduction. The response from the group was that a sunset was unacceptable as was a reduced tax break (example – 25% instead of 40-50%). It was suggested that we somehow prove annually to the county that we are putting money into our homes and that they are a primary residence not a rental. I’m sure that the county would be unable to accommodate that request, as they can’t afford the staffing to review homes that are coming up on their 14^th year in this program. Rentals are not supposed to receive the tax benefit, but Keith Russell, Maricopa County Assessor, could not find that requirement in the statute nor could the State HP director, they just assumed it’s in there.

Leaving the meeting - it is apparent to me that we will see some form of amended version of this bill before some committee in the AZ Senate. If this stays with the Finance Committee – we have “no” votes currently from Sen. Leff, Sen. McCune-Davis, Sen. Russell Pearce, Sen. Miranda and most likely Sen. Gould. Currently, Sen. Cheuvront has stated that he would vote against this bill as it is written, but if amended, we may lose our Senator’s vote. Senator Waring and Senator Gorman have resigned to run for the US House in Shadegg’s place. That leaves Sen. Steve Pierce and I’m not sure how he will vote. I think we still have all the votes necessary to kill this bill in committee, but will need to keep our eyes on it to prevent it from advancing under the radar. Contacting your Senator and other Senators on the Finance Committee is highly encouraged.

Brad Brauer, President

The Willo Neighborhood Association

Additionally, Brad wrote Representative Debbie McCune Davis and here is what she responded:

The bill may reappear on the Finance committee agenda when Senator Gray has language to amend the bill. The feedback from the stakeholders would not indicate an agreement among participants. This means that Senator Gray cannot represent an amendment as a consensus proposal. Keep working with the other members of the committee to prevent this bill from advancing.

When asked if there is any way that Senator Gray could attach this to another bill and slide it under the radar, her response was:

Yes. We'll have to be vigilant. Nothing is dead until the legislative session ends.

So we need to keep communicating with this committee and specifically, Senator Cheuvront. For those attending the Groundhog’s Day Event, we will have a letter you can sign on to and we’ll mail to the Finance Committee. Brad also mentioned that Robert Pela (FQ Story) will be writing something in the New Times, regarding the short sightedness of this bill.

Here are contact numbers for all the Finance Committee

Members

Position

Phone

E-mail

Ken Cheuvront

Member

602-926-5325

kcheuvront@azleg.gov

Pamela Gorman

Member

602-926-5284

pgorman@azleg.gov

Ron Gould

Member

602-926-4138

rgould@azleg.gov

Barbara Leff

Vice-Chairman

602-926-4486

bleff@azleg.gov

Debbie McCune Davis

Member

602-926-4485

dmccunedavis@azleg.gov

Richard Miranda

Member

602-926-5911

rmiranda@azleg.gov

Russell Pearce

Member

602-926-5760

rpearce@azleg.gov

Jim Waring

Chairman

602-926-4916

jwaring@azleg.gov

Warmly,

Nicki Kirkeby
NENA President
480-586-8556 C#
nmkirkeby@cox.ne

NENA Update January 30, 2010

Elimination of Historic Tax Reduction Update
Recycle Aluminum Cans Monday, February 1^st
Groundhog’s Day Event (Bring a dish or a donation or just come over!)
Know any New Neighbors who’ve moved into NENA?
Nominate a home for the Point of Pride

Dear Neighbors,

Elimination of Historic Tax Reduction Update – I’d like to thank everyone who wrote emails and/or attended the Senate Finance hearing this past Wednesday regarding Senate bill 1166 that proposes the elimination of the tax reduction for historic homes. The meeting was well attended with several NENA neighbors (June Kane, Marvin Dinges and Steve Weiss to name a few) in attendance.

The bill was introduced by Senator Linda Gray of District 10. She expressed the following concerns about historic tax reductions; how long should residents continue to receive these perks; how large will historic districts be allowed to go; and who checks to make sure that the owners of these residents are actually living in the properties and not renting them out?

The committee heard from Willo President Brad Brauer (a 25 historic district resident) who spoke about how the historic areas in the 80’s and 90’s were not desirable areas and the tax reductions and the historic grants helped to convert these areas into safe, thriving neighborhoods.

GG George, who established the first Historic Neighborhoods Coalition, spoke eloquently about living in a piece of Arizona history.

Louisa Stark, a Board member of the Phoenix Elementary School District asked if the monies raised from this legislation would go directly to the Phoenix Elementary School District. Senator Cheuvront explained that there would be no financial gain from this legislation, but that the % of taxes would be evenly distributed to all home owners. While Senator Cheuvront expressed that he did not believe it was right to subsidize the taxes of residents of historic districts, he said he is not in favor of this bill. He does believe there needs to be more accountability in regards to owners who rent their properties who take advantage of the tax reductions (the reductions are only for owners occupying their residence). Senator Cheuvront went on to explain that the school district would have their bond increased and would not see a tax increase. Ms. Stark expressed that even if the school district received an increase in their bond, the School Board would not be in favor of eliminating the tax reduction for residents of the historic districts. She stated that residents of the historic districts have been supportive of school legislative issues and the Board believes it would put an unfair burden on the residents of these areas.

There was no vote taken at this meeting and Senator Gray had arranged for a “stakeholders” meeting to take place this Monday, February 1^st. Unfortunately, Senator Gray did not have the benefit of hearing the concerns of the residents attending the hearing, as she had to leave after introducing the bill, as she serves on another committee. Following the hearing, several of the attendees were seeking to be invited to the stakeholders meeting, but there was no one there that could say residents would be allowed at the meeting. Several of the attendees were planning on visiting Senator Gray’s office to request being at the meeting. I have written Brad Bauer to see if he knows if any residents will be allowed to participate. It would only seem appropriate to have representatives from the various historic districts, as we certainly have a “stake” in this. As soon as I hear back from Brad I will let neighbors know the status of this meeting. The bill requires an affirmative two-thirds of both the Senate and House before being able to pass this legislation.

There will be a letter at the Groundhog’s Day Potluck that residents can sign onto to voice their opposition to this legislation.

Monday, February 1^st Recycle Aluminum Day – Don’t forget to drop your recycled aluminum cans off to June Kane’s home at 1630 W. Flower Circle North. Recycling not only helps our environment, but also helps increase our NENA funds! On average we receive about $12 a month from recycling. Thanks so much June for overseeing this venture for NENA!

NENA Groundhog’s Day Potluck: Next Saturday, February 6^th neighbors will come together for a family cook out, games and socializing. The event takes place from 11 am to 2 pm and will be held in the same location as the arts and craft street fair on Catalina between 16^th Dr & 17^th Ave.

There will be special activities and contests (that means prizes) for the children, as well as the adults. Vice Mayor Tom Simplot has confirmed his attendance and we’re hoping the Mayor and the Phoenix Fire Department will be able to attend as well. We’ll hear the music of Chris Divine, who played at our Street Fair too.

We realize that times are tough right now for many of our NENA residents, so NENA will provide hot dogs, hamburgers, sodas and waters. Anyone wishing to bring a dish or make a donation to the NENA fund is welcomed to do so, but don’t worry if you’re not able to do either…..there is always plenty to go around and we really just want neighbors to meet other neighbors! See you Saturday! We’ll be starting our set-up around 9:30 am if anyone would like to help out.

Know a New Neighbor Who’s Moved into NENA? Be sure to pass along names and addresses of any new residents moving into NENA to our Social Chair, Trish Hermann at teherrmann@gmail.com. Trish will contact the new neighbor(s) and welcome them to the neighborhood and also give them a small welcome package from NENA. The package has our latest newsletter, menus from local restaurants, a Block Watch sign and referrals to businesses in the area from the NENA Board.

Point of Pride Nominations due March 23^rd: There are some amazingly beautiful and unique homes in our neighborhood and the Point of Pride is a great way to recognize a NENA neighbors efforts. Point of Pride recommendations can be sent to Jim Jeffries at jlsk766751@aol.com

Warmly,

Nicki Kirkeby
NENA President
480-586-8556
nmkirkeby@cox.net

NENA Update January 1, 2010

Aluminum Can Recycle Day: Please drop your aluminum cans to June Kane’s residence on Friday, January 1st at 1630 W. Flower Circle North. Recycling not only helps our environment, but also helps increase our NENA funds!

NENA Groundhog’s Day Potluck: Mark your calendars for the Groundhog’s Day Potluck on Saturday, February 6^th from11 am to 2 pm. The event will be held in the same location as the arts and craft street fair on Catalina between 16^th Dr & 17^th Ave.

There will be special activities and contests (that means prizes) for the children, as well as the adults. Mayor Phil Gordon and Vice Mayor Tom Simplot will be invited to attend and so will the Phoenix Fire Department. We hope to hear the music of Chris Divine, who played at our Street Fair too.

NENA will provide hot dogs, hamburgers, sodas and waters. Everyone attending is asked to bring a dish to share with others. There is a $10 per household donation requested that will help offset the cost of this event and help fund future NENA events.

NENA Newsletter: You should have received your January NENA newsletter. Be sure to hang on to it to refer to for upcoming events.

Know a New Neighbor Who’s Moved into NENA? Be sure to pass along names and addresses of any new residents moving into NENA to our Social Chair, Trish Hermann at teherrmann@gmail.com. Trish will contact the new neighbor(s) and welcome them to the neighborhood and also give them a small welcome package from NENA. The package has our latest newsletter, menus from local restaurants, a Block Watch sign and referrals to businesses in the area from the NENA Board.

Eco Spartans Yard Sale: A NENA resident thought neighbors might be interested in participating in a yard sale put on by Camelback High School’s Eco-club. Neighbors can pay $10 for a space with a table provided and keep all the proceeds from their sales or drop off a donation for the event. Attached with this email is a flyer with more information for those who may be interested.

I wish you all a healthy and happy 2010!

Warmly,

Nicki Kirkeby
NENA President
nmkirkeby@cox.net
480.586.8556

NENA Update November 30, 2009

Aluminum Can Recycle Day: Please drop your aluminum cans to June Kane’s residence on Tuesday, December 1^st at 1630 W. Flower Circle North. Recycling not only helps our environment, but also helps increase our NENA funds!

NENA Quarterly Meeting this Wednesday, December 2: The meeting begins at 7pm, but neighbors are encouraged to come 15 minutes early for a meet and greet before the meeting. There will be holiday treats and refreshments and if you’d like to bring your favorite holiday treat to share please feel free to do so. We’re also trying a holiday gift exchange at this meeting, so if you’d like to participate please bring a unisex gift valued at no more than $5. It does not need to be a new gift, but can be something you have around your home. At the end of our meeting we’ll put numbers on the gift packages and those participating will draw. The agenda for the meeting is attached to this email as well as follows the end of this message. We hope to see a GREAT turn out for the meeting!

Phoenix City Manager Seeks Budget Input from Citizens: Rosemary Holusha forwarded the following information for NENA neighbors. The Arizona Republic recently reported that the new city manager is soliciting input for the budget. Cindy Hernandez, editorial writer at the Arizona Republic, has emailed Rosemary saying: "I am always accepting letters to the editor from readers giving their ideas on how to balance the budget. Letters are limited to 200 words; columns limited to 500 words. Please let your Association know.” Cindy's email is: cindy.hernandez@arizonarepublic.com

It appears that programs such as the Electric Light Parade; Shemer Art Center and the Phoenix Art Center have been kept due to the great attendance at the meetings. Others were not so fortunate – as the pools closed earlier and maintenance has been drastically cut back at Encanto Park. As has been library hours and obtaining new books.

You can give your ideas to Vice Mayor Simplot’s office or call new City Manager Cavazos’ office at 602-262-694l. You can also email his office at david.cavazos@phoenix.gov

This article also talked about MORE cuts to fire, police along with libraries, neighborhood services, parks & recreation, children's sports, etc. from the General Fund. The new city manager's salary is $280,000 plus $600 monthly car allowance & other payments. Public hearings begin in February.   It does make a difference to comment.

Point of Pride Nominations due December 22^nd: There are some amazingly beautiful and unique homes in our neighborhood and the Point of Pride is a great way to recognize a NENA neighbors efforts. Point of Pride recommendations can be sent to Jim Jeffries at jlsk766751@aol.com

Deadline for Ads for NENA Newsletter December 22^nd: The deadline for submitting an ad for the NENA newsletter is December 22^nd. Please contact Kate Cross at johnmayhew@earthlink.net

Agenda for next NENA Meeting

NENA Quarterly Meeting Agenda
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
7 pm @ Phoenix College Willo Room

Welcome

Acceptance of previous meeting notes

Financial Report (Sara Hesch

Ongoing Business

Block Watch sign installation (Jack & Sally Brusco)

30 Block Watch signs purchased with grant money

9 locations on telephone poles & 9 on no parking signs

Need volunteers willing to help install when weather cools off

Point of Pride nominations (Jim Jeffries)

If you have a home you wish to nominate contact Jim at jlsk76651@aol.com

Newsletter

Ads for NENA newsletter due by Sept 22

Contact Kate Cross at johnmayhew@earthlink.net

New Business

Groundhog Day Potluck

Saturday, Feb 6^th

Planning Committee

Peter Piper Fundraising Week

Announce week in Jan after newsletter delivered

Stop Sign on 18^th Ave & Mulberry Drive

What do we need to do as an association to accomplish this

Home on SW Corner of 16^th Ave & Thomas

Discuss options to change zoning to Business Zoning

Good & Welfare

Holiday Gift Exchange & Holiday Treats

NENA President
Nicki Kirkeby
nmkirkeby@cox.net
480.586.8556

Dear NENA Neighbors,

This Saturday, November 14^th NENA will sponsor our first Arts & Craft Street Fair from 10AM to 3PM. The event will take place in the same location where our Ground Hog Day event takes place, which is on Catalina between 16^th Dr. and 17^th Ave. The street will be barricaded off for our event.

We have a wide variety of artisans participating and some of the arts and crafts you will be able to purchase include: a mix of jewelry, metal yard art, unique paintings in mixed mediums, stained glass, quilted items, belts, handbags, aprons, scarves, clothing, framed photography, stationary, scrap book materials, note cards and much more!

There will also be live entertainment provided by Chris Divine (a NENA neighbor), as well as recorded music, grilled hot dogs, chips, sodas and waters. If you would like to donate a dessert to the NENA food table it would be welcomed. The proceeds from the food sales go into our NENA fund to support future events.

The event will be advertised in the Arizona Republic in the Arts/Craft/Bazaar section, as well as on Craig’s List. The sandwich boards will go out early this week to remind neighbors of the event and on the day of the event the signs will be moved to the parameters of NENA and will have bouquets of balloons attached to them drawing attention to our event. I will also be printing 1,000 flyers and will distribute some to local businesses for their front counters and will also have flyers on my front porch for neighbors to pick up if they would like to distribute at their place of work. I have attached the flyer for our event with this email, so please feel free to forward to your friends and families. My address is 1539 W. Mulberry Dr (one block south of Osborn between 15^th and 16^th Ave.) for anyone who wishes to pick up flyers.

It’s not too late to participate as a vendor. Contact me at the info provided at the bottom of this message.

This is going to be a great event for our neighborhood! I hope everyone will make it over to support the vendors who are presenting their beautiful wares!

If you would like to help out as a volunteer for the event please contact me at the number below.

Can’t wait for Saturday!!!

Nicki Kirkeby
NENA President
480-586-8556
nmkirkeby@cox.net

NENA 2^nd Annual Food Drive

This Saturday, October 24^th, volunteers will pick up donations from NENA neighbors for the St. Mary’s Food Bank. Please place your donation out by noon and volunteers will pick them up before 5pm. These are difficult times for many in our community, including neighbors who live in NENA who have lost their jobs and are having difficulty securing work. The St. Mary’s Food Bank provides an amazing service to the community. If you would like to volunteer to help collect the donations (one person drives a vehicle while the other person walks the block bringing donations to the vehicle) please contact Barb Simpson at 602.672.1614 bwitzke_rdh@qwest.com

Additional helping hands will make the pick-up much easier. Thanks so much Barb for overseeing this event again!

Successful Super Block Sale

36 households participated in the Super Block Sale this past weekend earning $180 for NENA. Many thanks to Ceci Andrews who rode the neighborhood on her very cool bicycle (I think she had a few offers for it in fact) and collected the $5 donation to NENA! Thanks Ceci.

Do You Know Someone New Who Has Moved Into the Neighborhood?

If you have someone new who has moved into the neighborhood in the last month or so, please let Trish Hermann know at 602.669-7336 or email her at tehermann@gmail.com Trish is ready to deliver a welcome gift bag with information on NENA and will also find out a bit of information about our newest neighbors to share in the next newsletter. Thank you Trish for welcoming our newest neighbors to our community!

Aluminum Can Pick-Up

Please drop your aluminum cans to June Kane’s residence on Sunday, November 1^st at 1630 W. Flower Circle North. Recycling not only helps our environment, but also helps increase our NENA funds! Thank you June for overseeing the can collection!

Point of Pride Nominations due December 22^nd

There are some amazingly beautiful and unique homes in our neighborhood and the Point of Pride is a great way to recognize a NENA neighbors efforts. Point of Pride recommendations can be sent to Jim Jeffries at jlsk766751@aol.com

NENA President
Nicki Kirkeby
nmkirkeby@cox.net
480.586.8556

NENA Update September 29, 2009

Aluminum Can Recycle Day: Please drop your aluminum cans to June Kane’s residence on Thursday, October 1st at 1630 W. Flower Circle North. Recycling not only helps our environment, but also helps increase our NENA funds!

Curtains A Big Hit with NENA Neighbors: Over 20 NENA neighbors, friends and family attended the NENA fundraiser, Curtains, at the Phoenix Theatre this past Sunday. NENA neighbor and Managing Director for the theatre, Dan Schay, treated neighbors to wine and appetizers before the show and after the show gave us all an amazing tour of the theatre. We visited the backstage, the costume productions room, stage set area where they construct the sets from steal. We learned about the history of the theatre and expansion plans for building a state of the arts theatre soon. The theatre is seats less than 400 people, so every seat is spectacular.

The theatre offers a “dip your toe in the water” type package for $99 that includes tickets for 3 shows. What a great Holiday Gift Package! Contact Lindsay Halvorson for more information at 889-5283 or email her at l.halvorson@phoenixtheatre.com Oh and the show….. tremendous! Great actors with amazing voices, costumes and a hilarious script! Thanks to everyone who attended and helped raise money for NENA and BIG thanks to Dan for being such a wonderful host to our event! www.phoenixtheatre.com

Check out our New Website: The NENA website has a fresh look with easy navigation and appears full screen on your computer. Check it out at www.northencanto.com A Discussion Board will be added to the website in the near future. Many thanks go out to Deanna Fusco (who creates our fabulous newsletters) for the graphics on the website and to Brian Clark, the webmaster for the Association of Flight Attendants Council 66 who designed the website.

NENA Newsletter: The October edition of our NENA newsletter will be delivered to your homes in a few days. It will have details on our upcoming events including:

Ice Cream Social & Raffle
Saturday, October 10th
4pm to 6pm
3018 N. 15th Drive
(Ellen Perkin’s Home)
Celebrate good times, good neighbors & great ice cream!

NENA Annual Super Block Sale
Saturday, October 17th
$5 fee will be collected from each household participating
Signs will be posted prominently around the perimeter of the neighborhood

NENA’s 2nd Annual St. Mary’s Food Bank Drive
Saturday, October 24th
Attach the flyer you receive in the October newsletter to your donation & Set donation out by noon on the 24th
Donations will be picked up by 5pm the same day
Our goal is to exceed last year’s amount of 544 pounds!

NENA’s First Arts & Craft Street Fair
Saturday, November 14th
10am to 3pm
$25 per vendor
Vendors providing their own tables
Will be raffles, face painting, music & lots of great shopping
Contact Event Coordinator: Nicki Kirkeby at nmkirkeby@cox.net

Point of Pride Nominations due December 22nd: There are some amazingly beautiful and unique homes in our neighborhood and the Point of Pride is a great way to recognize a NENA neighbors efforts. Point of Pride recommendations can be sent to Jim Jeffries at jlsk766751@aol.com

I hope to see you all at our upcoming events!

NENA President
Nicki Kirkeby
nmkirkeby@cox.net
480.586.8556

September 10, 2009

Dear NENA Neighbors,

During our last two NENA meetings our Community Action Officers have spoke about new precinct boundary changes that will be taking place next year. NENA may be moved into the Maryvale precinct or possibly into the Squaw Peak precinct. NENA residents may wish to attend one of the meetings scheduled below to learn about how this may affect our neighborhood. There were concerns raised by NENA neighbors who attended the meeting who did not want to be included in either the Maryvale or Squaw Peak precincts. These informational meetings will help us understand fully what to expect and what we can do to influence keeping us in the Precinct we currently are in. Below is the message from the City of Phoenix “Pipeline” newsletter. It is also attached with this email for those who would like to download it to read.

New Precinct Boundaries

Community Briefings

Throughout the remainder of 2009 and culminating in July 2010, the Phoenix Police Department will be realigning precinct boundaries and staffing to accommodate for the addition of two brand new police precincts. Many items have been taken into

consideration and many studies completed on how best to affect these changes. In an effort to keep the public informed of the police precinct boundary changes and all criteria that has been part of this decision making process, several informational, Town Hall type, community briefings have been scheduled in each section of the city. They are as follows:

Desert Horizon Community Groups
Cowden Center
9202 N 2nd Street
Thursday 9/10/2009 5:30 p.m.

Cactus Park Community Groups
Cholla Library
10050 Metro Parkway East
Tuesday 9/22/2009 5:30 p.m.

Squaw Peak Community Groups
All Saints Episcopal School
6300 N Central Avenue
Wednesday 9/23/2009 5:30 p.m.

Central City Community Groups
City Hall Assembly Rooms
200 W Washington Street
Thursday 9/24/2009 5:30 p.m.

We hope that you will plan to attend one of these briefings so that you will have a clear understanding of this process. Some communities will not see any changes, many others will. Please rest assured the service from your police department will remain seamless; when the time comes for the new boundaries to take affect, each community leader will be notified as to their new precinct personnel contacts such as: Precinct Command Staff, Community Action Officers, Crime Free Multi Housing Officer, Abatement Detective, Community Programs Officer, and Neighborhood Enforcement Teams. We look forward to the addition of the two new precincts in anticipation that we will be equipping ourselves better to address the needs of our citizens. We hope to see our Central City neighborhood leaders on Saturday, September 24th.

Phoenix Theatre NENA Fundraiser: Don’t forget to order your tickets for the Sunday, September 27th performance of Curtains, a musical, murder mystery at the Phoenix Theatre. There will be a wine & cheese reception at 6:00 p.m., hosted by NENA neighbor, Dan Schay, who is the Managing Director for Phoenix Theatre. The show begins at 6:30 p.m. followed by a back stage tour of the theatre. Tickets are $45 ($13 being donated to NENA) and can be ordered at 889.5283 or email Lindsay Halvorson at l.halvorson@phoenixtheatre.com

Let’s make this a BIG success!

Point of Pride Nominations due September 22nd: There are some amazingly beautiful and unique homes in our neighborhood and the Point of Pride is a great way to recognize a NENA neighbors efforts. Point of Pride recommendations can be sent to Jim Jeffries at jlsk766751@aol.com

Deadline for Ads for NENA Newsletter September 22nd: The deadline for submitting an ad for the NENA newsletter is September 22nd. Please contact Kate Cross at johnmayhew@earthlink.net

NENA President
Nicki Kirkeby
nmkirkeby@cox.net
480.586.8556

NENA Update July 29, 2009
Aluminum Recycles: Please drop your aluminum cans to the Kane residence on Saturday, August 1^st at 1630 W Flower Circle North. Recycling not only helps our environment, but also helps increase our NENA funds!

Sliding Parts for Double Hung Aluminum Windows: If anyone is interested in parts for double hung aluminum windows a neighbor has replaced their windows and is offering the left over parts to anyone interested. Kelcy Layton will only be holding onto these parts for the next 2-weeks, so contact ASAP if you are interested by emailing: kelcylayton@hotmail.com

Phoenix Theatre NENA Fundraiser: Don’t forget to order your tickets for the Sunday, September 27^th performance of Curtains, a musical, murder mystery at the Phoenix Theatre. There will be a wine & cheese reception at 6:00 p.m. with the show beginning at 6:30 p.m. followed by a back stage tour of the theatre. Tickets are $45 ($13 being donated to NENA) and can be ordered at 889.5283 or email Lindsay Halvorson at l.halvorson@phoenixtheatre.com

November Arts & Craft Street Fair: So far there have been 7 neighbors who have expressed an interest in participating in an arts and craft street fair. Please email nmkirkeby@cox.net if you are interested in participating as a vendor. Vendors will contribute $35 to NENA and vendors will provide their own tables/tents.

NENA Website: The revamped website is almost complete and will hopefully be unveiled within a week or two.

Block Watch Sign Progress: 5o Block Watch signs have been purchased with Block Watch Grant Funds. Unfortunately, the business that had provided a verbal installation bid increased their bid dramatically and made it impossible to cover installing all 50 signs with the remaining funds. Hardware to install 9 signs on telephone or light poles have been purchased with the remaining grant and plans will be made when the weather cools to coordinate a volunteer neighborhood installation. We can get firm bids from sign installers for next years grant and plan accordingly when applying for future funds.

NENA President
Nicki Kirkeby
nmkirkeby@cox.net
480.586.8556