The May Newsletter is Here!

In the President’s article you read about the recently approved county ordinance providing neighborhood associations with notification of certain types of activities within an organized neighborhood association. The city also has a similar ordinance requiring neighborhood association notification. These notifications include such activities as rezoning petitions, street vacation, pubic utility easements, drainage issues and several other activities that effect the local defined neighborhood association. It is good information and helps us to keep informed about certain activities where we may want to be involved.
Are there any benefits to being organized as a neighborhood association other than notification of various activities? Absolutely.
 

• Most important is having a larger voice in local government actions.
• You can become involved from very little to having a great deal of input and feedback about most local government
• Most governmental agencies desire responsible public input.
• Most governmental agencies listen to organized neighborhood associations when presented respectfully.
• The amount of involvement is only constrained by time.
• Grants for neighborhood improvement are occasionally made available by the city. Hopefully the county will soon do likewise.
• Grants from many other sources are sometimes available and a formal neighborhood association stands a better chance to secure the grant than an ad-hoc group.

How do you become an organized neighborhood association and participate in these benefits? Mainly you must have a neighborhood organization operating under a set of written by-laws with a unique name, open election of officers with specific terms of office, defined boundaries within Vanderburgh County and open to membership for any resident or property owner within those boundaries.

As Westside Improvement Association we participate in many activities and represent a large region of Vanderburgh County. In fact our defined boundaries, as contained in our by-laws, are north from the Ohio River up the west side of Fulton to Diamond, west on Diamond to St. Joe, north on St. Joe to the Gibson County line and than west to the Posey County line, south to the river and back to Fulton. Within our boundaries are many organized neighborhood associations such as Western Terrace, Mt. Auburn, Hilltop, Chain, Poplar Grove, Wabash Avenue of the Flags, Howell Booster Club and the newly formed Howell Neighborhood Association. Most of these neighborhoods are represented on our board.

If you would like to form a Neighborhood Association in your area or know of others that might be interested in doing so, the WIA would be very happy to help as would the United Neighborhoods Of Evansville (UNOE). You can contact me or UNOE can be reached by calling 428-4243 between 9:00 A.M., and 3:00 p.m.

Neighborhoods can have more control over their destiny and improve many things by responsibly representing their area, becoming more involved in local government, and joining with the many other neighborhoods who do make a positive difference for the area.

by Fred Padget
 

© 2012 Westside Improvement Association, Inc.