GOOD NEWS FOR OUR PARK!
First, I want to share the exciting news. The Neighborhood Association has been working diligently to obtain historic lighting for the north end of Boswell Park. I am excited to report we have been successful in partnering with the County Parks and Recreation for the purchase and installation. We will have three historic lamp posts installed sometime late summer! We will also install another street light on the West side by the basketball court. In addition, we will soon have more picnic tables and a second basketball backboard installed next to the playground equipment.
Now, I will share the challenges ahead for College Hill.
VANDALISM PROBLEMS
We continue to experience a tremendous amount of vandalism at the park. Recently, we have had severe damage to the gazebo, graffiti on all surfaces, and sidewalk bricks dug out by the Wall of Fame. I need to ask all parents to talk to your children about how this harms our neighborhood and destroys a great asset that not all neighborhoods have available to them. We need to have those participating in these activities turned into the police so it can stop.
Call 368-9200 to make a report.
FINANCES
Do you enjoy the 4th of July parade and activities, the National Night Out event, the Christmas lighting decoration competition, or receiving the quarterly postcard/newsletter? If you do, we need your help! These activities are funded through the collection of the $10 annual dues, the quarterly metal recycling drive, and the winter chili feed. We have an extremely low number of households paying the $10 annual dues and participating in the recycling drives. We currently only have about 30 -40 households out of 650 in the neighborhood.
Please begin participating to help pay for these events. The $10 dues can be mailed or dropped off to Brendan Jensen at 1275 SW Jewell Ave. The recycling drives occur between 9:00am – 10:00am the second Saturday of March, September, and December and the first Saturday in June. Just sit metal recycling on your porch and we will pick them up. If you want to participate in the recycling, but don’t want to hold your metal items for three months, contact Joyce Smith at 235-6824 or Carol Christensen at 357-1437 to pick it up more often. If you have a company pick up your recyclables, save out your metal for the neighborhood! Remember, we take all metal items from cans to large items such as appliances, etc.
NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION PARTICIPATION
The last challenge I want to ask for your participation in is to get involved as a volunteer with the neighborhood association. College Hill is a fabulous neighborhood with a great number of social activities that other neighborhood associations don’t organize. But to keep this going and to continue to have a great neighborhood, we need new individuals to help. There are several opportunities available from attending the monthly meetings at the Westminster Presbyterian church on the third Monday of the month at 7:00pm to holding an elected office, to helping with one of the activities, to chairing a committee. Some examples of openings include chairing the merchandise, the chili feed, 4th of July, or National Night Out committee, or preparing and delivering welcome baskets to new residents, etc. You are needed to keep this the greatest neighborhood to live in Topeka! Contact Brendan Jensen today at 274-9887 to match your talents to an opening.
I hope you will see the importance of these issues and do your part to keep College Hill the BEST and ONLY neighborhood to live in. My second term as President will end at the September annual meeting but I am still very much vested in College Hill. I have enjoyed serving on the board as Vice President and President for the past six years. I hope you will get involved soon!
Joyce Smith, President