Our New Sidewalk Update ~ Miller AND Jackson St!

Hello Friends & Neighbors ~

As you may have seen, our new sidewalk at W. Miller St. is on its way! You will notice the "ROAD CLOSED" barricades at Miller & Main; at Miller and Jackson, and also at W. Steele St and N. Church St. The pavement has been cut and each driveway has been smoothed for transition for our neighbors there. Miller Street now T's into Jackson, that large sweeping 90 degree turn is now gone and the island with the pole has been removed.

More good news! Part of this project was to extend more new sidewalk along the City Park side of N. Jackson St. We did not expect this to happen until next year. We got some insight, however, that this could be happening much sooner than expected....perhaps within the next couple of weeks! This is wonderful news. These sidewalk expansions tie our North Main Neighborhood to the Parks in ways we never had before.

We are told that the City will improve other sidewalks in the area if they are working on sidewalks in a particular section of town. We are encouraged to let the City know if there are other sidewalks that need attention.

We are delighted to have these changes happening to NOMA and extend our heartfelt appreciation to the City of Salisbury and the Fit Community Program for investing in our neighborhood. Thank You!

Salisbury Community Appearance Commission Compliments NOMA!

Hello Friends & Neighbors!

At the City of Salisbury's Community Appearance Commission meeting today, one of the commissioners, Mrs. Barbara Lawther, made a special effort to applaud NOMA on our organization, the web blogspot, and our accomplishments! Mrs. Lawther said she had visited these webpages, told the commission that there was a plethora of information to be found here, and made special note of the Spring Home & Garden Tour 2010 we are planning. We were highly complimented on our accomplishments!

Sue McHugh and Sean Meyers, members of our neighborhood who also serve on the Community Appearance Commission, thanked Mrs. Lawther and agreed that NOMA has a lot of positive energy and is gaining traction in the many projects and neighborhood activities NOMA is proposing.

Another member of the Commission, Ms. Greta Connor, asked what the City could do about the appearance of Long Street and our 11th Street. Much discussion centered around our 11th Street area issues, how 11th Street is a corridor to the Country Club and to City Park. A small subcommittee was formed that will take this issue to City Planners. We are considering a petition from the NOMA community to support these measures.

So congratulations NOMA in receiving such glowing compliments at the Community Appearance Commission meeting!

Way to Go, NOMA!

New! Quadrant Captains for NOMA

Good news, friends & neighbors! Quadrant Captains are on the way!

The key person in any Neighborhood Watch group is the Block Captain. This person is an integral component to keeping the block actively involved in crime prevention efforts as well as the important process of information exchange between neighbors.

Because we are still trying to get to know who many of our neighbors and residents are, we have opted to divide the North Main Neighborhood into Quadrants instead of blocks and institute Quadrant Captains. Quadrant captains are the “go-to” person to pull together city and neighborhood resources to address neighborhood issues. The Quadrant Captains gain the respect of their neighbors and make their block a better place for all to live.

The NOMA Quadrants are:

South Q: Lafayette to Miller St. / Railroad St to Jackson St.
MidSouth Q: Miller St. to 12th St. / Railroad and Richard St. to Jackson St.
MidNorth Q: 12th St. to 14th St. / Richard St. to Jackson St.
North Q: 14th St. to 17th St. / N. Lee St. to Jackson St.

We are grateful to the following people who have volunteered to be Quadrant Captains in these areas:

South Q: Josef Medlin
MidSouth Q: Jessica Koontz
MidNorth Q: TBD (we still need a Quadrant Captain in MidNorth)
North Q: Sean Meyers

The Quadrant Captain is the person who facilitates the unity of that section of the neighborhood, distributes information, and coordinates activities. The primary duties of the Quadrant Captain are:

1. Lead by Example
• Take ownership to address issues such as cleaning up litter and others identified below
• Encourage neighbors to take ownership for their blocks
• Hold a Cleanup/Party - or the “Block of the Month” award to celebrate your successes!
• Contact new residents to get them involved and to obtain their support and participation.

2. As Needed (weekly?) Keep an eye out in the neighborhood and report problems. Call, send letters, or emails.
• Litter, high weeds & grass (more than 10 inches high), overflowing garbage cans
• Rats, roaches, and other litter-related health violations
• Abandoned cars
• Unusual traffic patterns or suspicious activity (for example, large numbers of strangers visiting)

3. Develop a Neighborhood Quadrant Communication System to distribute vital information to neighbors pertaining to criminal activity and other concerns that develop in the area. This can be an email system, telephone tree, and/or a one-page flyer that can be quickly distributed.

4. Monthly
Quadrant Captains should take a walk up and down around their quadrant and keep a tally of:

• Vacant Buildings
• Building and Property maintenance issues and fire code violations
• Street maintenance issues (broken curbs, sink holes, dead animals)
• Street lighting issues


5. Quadrant Captains Should Encourage Neighbors to advise them concerning criminal activity. It is the victim's responsibility to contact the police. However, the Quadrant Captain can keep a record of break-ins, vandalism, or any activity that becomes a concern for our neighbors. This information can be provided to NOMA to post on the website or to take up with local support agencies.



Remember: Our recommendation to all citizens who see a crime in progress or notice suspicious activity is to observe and report from a place of safety. We strongly suggest that you not confront an offender unless you are in immediate danger. This applies to you and your neighbors. We do not want anyone to get hurt or injured trying to apprehend an offender or interfering with an incident other than to report the activity to the police. If you or your neighbors witness a crime in progress or observe suspicious behavior, always call 911.

Your Quadrant Captain's contact information will be distributed through our email list, so if you have not let us know your contact information, please email this to themainneighborhood@gmail.com.

Thanks to All!

321 E. Bank St ~ Be a Part of the Restoration!

If you would like to play a vital part in the fabulous restoration of the J. W. Hamill House at 321 E. Bank St., now is your opportunity! The house is being whipped into shape for October Tour. With all of the structural restoration in place, the home now needs volunteers for painting and scraping and cleaning windows. We'll be organizing volunteer crews for weekend painting festivities but if you can pop by midweek that works too!

The house also needs guides for October Tour weekend, Saturday the 10th and Sunday the 11th of October. There are (5) 2.5 hour shifts:

Saturday 10:00AM-12:30PM / 12:30-3:00 / 3:00-5:30
Sunday 1:00PM-3:30PM / 3:30-5:30

If you are interested, get out your favorite grubby duds & paint brush and contact Sue McHugh at 704.577.9965 or smchugh@carolina.rr.com.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Fantastic Neighborhood Meeting Thursday Night

Hello Friends & Neighbors!

We had a very dynamic and energetic meeting this past Thursday night. Thank you to all who came by Sue McHugh's home at 910 N. Main St. to take part.

One of our most important and impassioned decisions was to change the name of our association formally. We've been known as the Old North Salisbury Association, Inc. since 1981. ONSA, as you will often see it referred to, has done amazing work over the years - most critically keeping the zoning here in the North Main St neighborhood residential and thus keeping the encroachment of commercialism at bay. Many neighbors and residents found however that we are calling ourselves the North Main neighborhood - or NOMA for short, the City of Salisbury refers to us as North Main neighborhood and/or NOMA, and the ONSA title did not appear relevant to either North Main or a neighborhood association. The new name was voted in by majority:

North Main Neighborhood Association

We believe the NOMA name is characteristic of the changing demographic here. Where there used to be a vast array of rental properties we now have a cultural influx of home owners who are artists and artisans. NOMA reflects the new direction the neighborhood is taking.

You will see us gradually turning over to this name in our documents and publications. Thanks for all who gave their input. We must never cease to realize the efforts that were accomplished under the Old North Salisbury Association name. We are grateful to our forerunners for their persistence and dedication to this neighborhood.

Here is a brief recap of some of our other topics from Thursday night's gathering:

The NOMA Spring Home & Garden Tour 2010: We have formed an action committee looking at a two-day tour one weekend in April or May for our own Home & Garden Tour. We will be incorporating an 'arts' theme with live music and featured artists in each home. If you would like your home to be on the tour, please let us know. If you know someone whose house should be on the tour, please let us know. More to come on this!

Historic House Plaques: We are adopting the historic house plaque design that Salisbury's Brooklyn South Square neighborhood uses the show the original owner or builder of the house's name and the year it was built. We believe this will increase the awareness of the value and history of the homes here and throughout the neighborhood. These will be AFFORDABLE - not like the fancy bronze plaques you see in some historic neighborhoods - and VISIBLE FROM THE ROAD - also unlike the fancy bronze plaques you see in some historic neighborhoods. If you are interested in getting a plaque for your home, please place an order with us at oldnorthsalisbury@gmail.com. If you do not know your house's history, we can look it up for you.

NOMA Stickers: similar to the oval OBX (Outer Banks) stickers, we will be distributing stickers in the near future.

NOMA T-Shirts: We will have NOMA T-shirts for sale in the very near future. Contact us at oldnorthsalisbury@gmail.com to place an order for one.

NOMA House Flags: We are in the process of designing small flags homeowners can hang from their porches to make a very nice visual impact in the neighborhood here. They will also be for purchase. You are encouraged to place an advance order for these as well. We'll know more about the exact price soon.

A Fall Party!!: Well all work and no play just ain't right, is it? We are planning a Fall Party at a private residence, rather than at City Park like we did last year. Save the Date: October 3rd!

There's more - we'll put it in another post!

Again, we had a wonderful turnout last night. It seems more people are tuning in to the neighborhood. The ideas were flowing and people are getting to know one another! The positive energy is simply amazing!

Our next NOMA meeting is scheduled for Thursday September 24th at 7:00PM - 910 N. Main St. See you then!

Thank you NOMA!

Neighborhood Meeting Tomorrow 7PM

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Hello Neighbors & Friends! The Old North Salisbury Association will be holding a neighborhood meeting tomorrow evening:

When: Thursday August 27th

Time: 7:00 PM

Where: 910 N. Main St.

Agenda:

• Vote: Vote on changing Old North Salisbury to relevant name structure. Residents refer to the area as NoMa (short for North Main in the style of NoLa for New Orleans and NoDa for North Davidson neighborhood in Charlotte). The City refers to us as North Main Neighborhood. Vote.
• Neighborhood Home & Garden Tour 2010: Select homes, date. Start firm planning. See additional organizational notes contributed by Cherie Turner.
• Neighborhood Social: Schedule next social event? October 3^rd? Christmas Party? Dec 13^th?
• Historic Plaque Program: Sue McHugh has had meetings with the other neighborhood associations, Historic Salisbury, and members of the HPC in order to see who is doing what, how to approach, compare designs/criteria, etc. Susan Hurt says we just agree on a design and submit to Appearance Commission. The Brooklyn Square format is most affordable. A sample will be provided.
• Walking Map: To be in conjunction with House Plaques to instill sense of value. Challenge will be printing costs. Could also be used with Home & Garden Tour.
• Miller St. Sidewalk Lighting: Decorative pedestrian level lighting estimated to run $78,000.00 for Miller St. from Main to Jackson alone. Discuss more fundraisers. One idea submitted – an animal/pet care workshop.
• Neighborhood T-Shirts: Fund raising idea?
• Neighborhood Quadrants: South Quadrant: Lafayette to Miller St.; Mid-South Quadrant: Miller to 12^th St.; Mid-North Quadrant: 12^th to 14^th; North Quadrant: 14^th to 17^th. Approx 3 blocks deep by 4 blocks wide each. Quadrant Captains?
• Police Involvement: We need to implement a plan of action to have more police involvement and patrolling in our neighborhood.
• Realtor Brochure: Printing still needed!! Any ideas?
• Membership Card: Contact local businesses that will offer discounts to members. Create list of these merchants for members.
• Welcoming Committee – letters to new people, birth/death, graduations, etc. Check visitor’s center for stuff. Basket?

Your additional ideas are ALWAYS welcome. Our meetings typically last about 2 hours but if you can't stay for the whole thing it's not a problem. Bring your friends! Meet your neighbors! Stay informed!

Possible Fund Raiser - NOMA T-Shirts!

Hello Neighbors & Friends!
Would you purchase a NOMA T-shirt if it they were available, especially if the price was right? This T-shirt design is open to edits, but it's just a starter idea for us to sell T-Shirts and raise some money for the Association to provide for events, newsletters, and those lighting fixtures down Miller St.!

Your thoughts?

Mums for October Tour ~ Extend the Tradition!

The Historic Salisbury Foundation's much celebrated Historic House Tour is nearing, October 10th and 11th. A long standing tradition here is to deck our porches and front-scapes with yellow mums to welcome the many visitor's we expect from neighboring towns. The Historic Salisbury Foundation is pre-selling mums to downtown merchants and neighborhoods. If you order now, you will have your mums in place by the Tour weekend. You can purchase your mums online via the HSF website (www.historicsalisbury.org) or by stopping by the HSF offices at the Historic Train Depot.

While yellow is typically the color for the October Tour, many other colors are available. Help us decorate our neighborhoods for this wonderful and popular weekend! Order your mums now!

More Miller St. Utility Pole Stuff . . .

Duke Power crews were on site today at Miller and Jackson Streets to move the utilities. We couldn't get the guys to pose for a portait, but anyway - the work is on it's way! North Main Small Area Improvement Plan ~ Hurray!!!!

Proposed Changes to W. Miller Street ~ Traffic Calming AND a New Sidewalk!

The Pole on Miller is Moving!

We have good news to report! It's finally begun! The work on our sidewalk project on Miller Street will happen here very soon. Why? Because the process of moving the utility pole from the island in the middle of the Jackson St/Miller St intersection has finally begun. Yesterday we found that the new pole is installed, but right now it is just that - a pole. The utilities that connect to the pole must still be moved. This translates to all the cables, etc. we see hanging from the poles. We additionally saw some paint markings in the road which is further evidence that our project groundbreaking day is near. More on this as the project progresses!

Maggie Blackwell's Advice to NOMA

Hi Neighbors & Friends!

We mentioned, in a long list of other activities, that Maggie Blackwell visited our neighborhood meeting this past July. Maggie is best known for (1) her work her work with the Fulton Heights neighborhood where she was the driving force behind the creation and installation of their Centennial Park, (2) her candidacy for City Council (election day Nov 3rd 2009), and (3) her writing ~ having authored many articles for the Salisbury Post and other publications.

We had not yet shared the many insights she gave us to help us here in the North Main Neighborhood. Here are some of the many items she discussed with us:

• Maggie said the Fulton Heights neighborhood is NOT an official non-profit agency holding 501 (c) (3) status. We were surprised because this has often been recommended to us. She said in obtaining their grants and contributions for the Centennial Park, that the checks were written directly to the City and earmarked for the Park.


• Fulton Heights sends copies, five to be exact, of their newsletter to City Council.


• Now folks, newsletters are perhaps our most expensive endeavor. We had one distributed last year very successfully, however we did not touch the Old North Salisbury coffers to do it. One person paid privately for postage and another did most of the printing and folding. With over 400 households here in the North Main community, postage alone becomes quite costly. The Fulton Heights neighborhood EMAILS most of their newsletter. They can do this because they have gathered quite a list of neighborhood email addresses. This is why we are now encouraging folks to send us their email information on this site. (see right top corner)


• Maggie says the Fulton Heights community uses their extensive email list to communicate to one another. Birth announcements travel this way, news of folks who are ill and may need community help travels this way, news of any undesireables in the neighborhood travels this way. They have created a wonderful way to communicate with one another! This is definitely something we can work on . . . . again the need to develop a list of email contacts here in NOMA.


• Maggie suggested we try to focus on one topic at a time for the neighborhood. . . . to perhaps address one emotional issue and cover it before we move on to something else.


• If illegal drug issues crop up in our neighborhood, as they do in nearly every neighborhood, Maggie suggested we meet regularly with the "head drug guy" at the Salisbury Police Dept. She said to REQUEST patrolling here. She also said asking for and getting NO PARKING signs to go in front of houses that perhaps have a lot of in-&-out traffic as a method to be able to contact police when cars are there. The NO PARKING acts as a deterrent.


• Maggie strongly suggested we get children involved and engage families with children. We've often talked about perhaps a Halloween Party or Christmas holiday event, and Easter Egg Hunt but we've thus far never gotten these off the ground. Maggie says that by engaging children and families with children we get to KNOW more of our neighbors, and know who should be in the neighborhood and who should not.


• Maggie reinforced something we've supported all along - the appearance of the neighborhood. She called out the "Broken Window Theory" where someone sees a broken window and then throws another rock to break yet another . . . the downward spiral begins. Appearance is important. She recommends getting Salisbury Code Enforcement involved, and perhaps even before that, appointing individuals in our neighborhood to keep an eye out for properties that are falling out of code. This could be as simple as overgrown lawns, cars in front lawns, backyard junkers with no tags . . . or could be more complex as in rentals that don't look up to code, empty houses that are being neglected, etc.


• Maggie's neighborhood, and several others here in Salisbury, have a Neighborhood Watch program in place. We had one here - the signs are out - but we do not meet regularly on the topic. Maggie suggested we find some local handymen who may put up security lights for us. We actually can recommend someone if you email us at oldnorthsalisbury@gmail.com, but this person is for hire. If we could find someone to donate the installation, while each individual purchases their own lights, this might be another way to give back to the neighborhood.


• Maggie recommended establishing relationships with the churches in our neighborhood. This may have been done in the past because several past social events were held in church yards and gardens, but we should perhaps get back on track with that.

Lastly - the most valued advice Maggie gave us: She offered to us that each of us is gifted in some way . . . that each of us brings our gift to the community. Our neighborhood is a diverse community of painters, photographers, teachers, doctors, chefs, musicians, shop owners, business people, gardeners, lawyers, accountants, students, tailors, landscapers, and so much more. While one may be a good blog writer, another is a good fund-raiser. While some may enjoy the camaraderie of meetings, another may prefer not to be involved publicly but may enjoy creating neighborhood flags or signs. Another may be the watchful eye on neglect or crime while another may be the event planner. Some can go to SNAG meetings and City Council meetings, while others may just enjoy to spread the work of the neighborhood association by word of mouth to their friends and next-door neighbors. Find these people and let them know we need and appreciate their gifts!

We can't thank Maggie enough for the gift of her time to our association. Thank you, Maggie Blackwell!

PS: Maggie gave us a nice plug talking about her visit with us in her Campaign blog on her website:
http://maggieblackwellforcouncil.com/thecampaign.html

No Sidewalk Yet!

Well Hey Neighbors! As you may well have noticed by now, we haven't seen the promised work begin on our much anticipated W. Miller Street sidewalk and planting strip that we were told would, by contract, begin on August 10th. We asked the City what the hold-up was!!!

We learned that Duke Power needs to move that utility pole that sits in the little 'landscaped' island that sits smack in the middle of the intersection of Jackson and Miller Streets. They were to have started moving the pole on Wednesday or Thursday of this past week, however the rain 'may' have held them up. (It rained one day last week, didn't it?) As of today, we don't see any evidence that they've visited the site. We're told it will take them about 3 days to move the pole ~ then the City will release the contract to Carolina Siteworks to start the excavation for the sidewalk.

We sure would like to see the work start on this long awaited improvement to our N. Main neighborhood . . . so it can one day be finished! Good thing we didn't have Mayor Susan Kluttz out there on August 10th with a beribboned shovel waiting for a ground-breaking ceremony! We'll just have to have a humdinger completion ceremony instead! We'll keep you posted!

Decorative Pedestrian Level Lighting on W Miller St

Hello Friends & Neighbors!

Here's an update on our potential new project! We got some pricing from the City on our proposed decorative lighting for Miller Street.

For those who did not attend the last neighborhood meeting, the Miller Street sidewalk project, taking the North Main neighborhood to the Parks, does not include any decorative pedestrian level lighting and we had SO hoped for this! They will be installing the conduit to provide for the lighting at a later date. It was suggested that perhaps getting the lighting is something our organization could do for ourselves. If we raised the funds, the City would purchase, install, and maintain the light fixtures. The lights are not cheap!! It looks like we might be looking at roughly $4,000.00 ~ $4,500.00 each! Ouch! And for Miller St alone we would need 6-8 per block or about 12 - 16 lights. This translates to about $80,000.00. That's a pretty ambitious fund raiser, but if the Fulton Heights neighborhood raised the funds for their Centennial Park on their own, perhaps its in our best interest to give it a try. Imagine how nice it would be to have this lighting down Miller Street to the Park! It might even set a precedent and the lighting could be continued on Jackson and up Lake Drive where the rest of the sidewalk project is planned! (By the way, we did the math for lighting that entire sidewalk project thinking we would get the Lake Dr residents involved and it comes out to be over $300,000!! - so just thought we'd concentrate on Miller St. for now!)

The City installed a recommended fixture on E. Council St. between Main and Long Streets so if you are out and about you can go by and see what they look like. They are also installed in the county-owned parking lot at Kerr and N. Main. The difference between regular street lights is that street lighting is much higher and intended to light the traffic way, not the sidewalks. The pedestrian level lighting is 12' high, spaced closer together, and usually far more attractive.

Our proposed Home & Garden Tour, Spring 2010, may be the perfect kick-off event for this. We can look into donations from other organizations too. If anyone is particularly talented at fund-raisers, grant-writing, or down-right begging - now is your chance to shine! Contact us here by commenting after this post, or email to oldnorthsalisbury@gmail.com.

You can also share your ideas and comments at the next Old North Salisbury Meeting, scheduled for Thursday August 27th at 7:00PM at 910 N. Main St. We hope to see you there!

So Much Happening!

The Old North Salisbury Association, the North Main Neighborhood Association, met last night to discuss new projects going forward. We have been very successful in our effort towards getting the new sidewalk and crosswalk at W. Miller St and all who worked towards this should be very proud of your achievements! Here are some of the exciting new topics we covered last night:

1. A possible fund raising effort to put decorative, pedestrian level lighting along the new sidewalk project. We are in the process of obtaining cost estimates from the City to help us determine what is needed and how to go about it.



2. We discussed officially changing the Association name, currently the Old North Salisbury Association, to North Main or NoMa because it is more relative and meaningful. We are checking to see if Old North Salisbury was legally incorporated and what a name change would mean in that regard. We've asked for serious thought and a final vote at the next meeting.



3. Putting together a "Welcome Packet" for new neighbors



4. Dividing the neighborhood into Quadrants with Quad-Captains in order to better communicate with folks throughout the neighborhood.



5. We discussed getting more involved with the Police Department and getting them more involved in our neighborhood. We need to send representatives to the SNAG meetings (see earlier posting) and CALL-CALL-CALL 911 when anything even APPEARS to be amiss in the neighborhood. The squeaky wheel will get the grease!



6. We unanimously voted to include the west side of N. Jackson St. in the neighborhood. Our boundaries before this included the east side of N. Jackson but not the west. That portion of neighborhood currently is not supported by a neighborhood group or association.



7. We are looking at hosting a NoMa Home/Garden Tour in Spring 2010! How exciting - stay tuned for more!



8. We agreed to meet monthly on the 4th Thursday of the month, except for November & December when meetings will be scheduled as needed. A Christmas Party may take the place of a November/December meeting.

In addition to the above, we were very pleased and proud to have Maggie Blackwell join us as a guest. Maggie was president of the highly successful Fulton Heights Neighborhood Association and shared some of her insights and successes with us. We could not be more grateful to Maggie for sharing her time and wisdom with us. Maggie is running for City Council this fall. Not only did we get to meet and speak with this wonderful intelligent woman who shared with us her neighborhoods strengths but we got to know our candidate better as well! Thanks, Maggie!


We perhaps had our biggest turn-out in recent years at last night's meeting. So Cool! For anyone who thinks these meetings are stodgy and stuffy - they are not! We conduct the meetings in a casual atmosphere (last night we were scrunched in Sue McHugh's living room on Main St.) and everyone is welcome ~ all ideas are welcome ~ and the energy is positively electrifying! Thanks to everyone in attendance from all the corners of our neighborhood!
The next meeting will be on August 27th. We'll post the details here as that date approaches.
THANK YOU NOMA!

The Salisbury Bicycle Plan!!! Tues July 28th 6PM

Hi there Friends & Neighbors!

You may recall that there was a lot of activity surrounding a pending comprehensive Bicycle Plan for the City of Salisbury several or more months ago. It looks like the Plan is resurfacing!

You can have input and share an evaluation of the Draft Comprehensive Bicycle Plan at a presentation and open discussion on Tuesday July 28th at 6PM at City Hall Chambers - 217 South Main Street.

We've overheard neighbors asking why, when Salisbury repaves or resurfaces a road, doesn't at least that segment get its Bicycle Path installed? This is the type of info we can share with the City's Planning Board. Your observations and ideas can only make the plan better. You can get a sneak preview of the proposed plan in advance here:
http://www.salisburync.gov/planningboard/pbfrontpage.html

Call or email your comments or questions to:
Preston Mitchell
Community Planning Services
704.638.5244
pmitc@salisburync.gov

This will be really exciting to see the Bicycle Path getting some attention and becoming a reality instead of just the dream! Please share your thoughts!!

The Salisbury Bicycle Plan!!!

Hello Friends & Neighbors ~


If you've been following our neighborhood blog here (http://www.oldnorthsalisbury.blogspot.com/) you are aware that the Miller Stsidewalk project was to be awarded at City Council yesterday. Well - at yesterday's City Council meeting the sidewalkconstruction project was awarded to a company called Carolina Siteworks. AT LAST!!! According to the bid documents, the work is to begin August 10th, however we are told that the contractor can start sooner if they wish. It was interesting to note that the bids came in from several contractors and ranged from roughly $67,000 (Carolina Siteworks = low bid) to roughly $109,000! One of our neighbors, familiar with the contracting world, has already assured us that Carolina Siteworks does great work and that we will be happy!


The City Council members did not discuss the crosswalk at N. Main & Miller Street. Janet Gapen, Senior City Planner, says that the contractor will do the sidewalks and handicap ramps at the intersections, but the City will do the crosswalk.


The Miller St. sidewalk is just a piece of the project to connect the NoMa neighborhood to the Salisbury Greenway. The project is being phased - (1) the Miller St. sidewalk, (2) a new sidewalk along City Park on the west side of N. Jackson St., (3) expected sometime in 2010- a new sidewalk along the north side of Lake Road along City Park toConfederate - will ultimately connect to Hurley Park pathways and further existing sidewalks that take us to the Greenway. We asked if the N. Jackson St. sidewalk would be done in conjunction with the Miller St. sidewalk. It's possible, however the Miller St. work is contracted and the Jackson St. work will be done by the City. We should plug getting the work done as near to simultaneously as possible so as not to disrupt the neighborhood unnecessarily.


About the pedestrian level lighting we wanted so badly... it's not going to happen...yet. The contract calls for the conduit to be put in place for the lighting that MAY come in the future. We asked Janet Gapen and Craig Powers, City Engineer, if the neighborhood were to come up with the funds to get the lighting, what then? We asked if there was a 'catalog' for lighting we could choose from to get cost estimates. Dan Michelson (sp?), Chief Engineer, overheard this discussion and said that if we got the big streetlights we are used to seeing, that they would be free and the City would maintain them. If we chose decorative pedestrian level lighting, the costs - depending on design - are significantly higher and that the City would not pay for this but they WOULD maintain them and pay the electric bill. We should talk about this as a group - it would make a great fund raiser and something that could set a precedent here for the neighborhood.


Lastly, Sue McHugh, Old North Salisbury Neighborhood Association President, spoke on behalf of the neighborhood at the open forum at the end of the Council session and thanked Council for approving this, saying how excited and grateful we were to have the long-awaited project at last begin, how much it would mean to us to have sidewalk access to our parks, places for families to walk, and how we very much hoped that this was the first step toward the balance of the work that was outlined in the North Main Small Area Improvement Plan. She says, "Hey - to walk on water - first you gotta get outa the boat!!"


So . . . look for construction to finally begin on W. Miller St. Thanks so much to all of the neighbors who have taken part in the development of the N. Main Plan, to those who have shown so much patience in waiting for this project to come to fruition, and to those who did NOT show patience and kept bringing this to the forefront so that we could be the squeaky wheel!

You Are Invited! A Midsummer Night's Dream Folk Art Celebration - July 25th

Hi Friends & Neighbors!

We've received a wonderful invitation to participate in the Midsummer Night's Dream Folk Art Celebration at the Green Goat Gallery this Saturday, July 25th from 6pm to 8pm!

The celebration will be featuring artists:

Bruce Chandler

Lisa &Tim Kluttz

Brad Smith

and WHIMZIGGY STYLE

There will be music provided by The Polka Dots Three

The Green Goat Gallery and Blue Ewe Yoga Studio are owned by our neighbors Anne and Andrew Waters of Steele St. It's awesome that they've included the North Main neighborhood and the Old North Salisbury Association in thier list of invitees! You will love the fun stuff Anne has at the gallery!

For more info:

Green Goat Gallery

516 South Salisbury Avenue (North Main turns into S. Salisbury Ave at the Spencer Town Line)

Spencer NC 28159

704.639.0606

See you there!

Hurray! Miller St. Sidewalk and Crosswalk Project Finally Surfacing!!

We've been hearing the promises regarding the improvements along N. Main St. and Miller St. for months now and many of our neighbors have expressed frustration at the snail's pace with which the project has moved along. (Truthfully the snail probably moved faster!) It has just been announced that, finally, Salisbury City Council is expected to award the contract this Tuesday July 21st for installation of the new pedestrian crosswalk across N. Main St. at Miller St. and the new sidewalk along the south side of W. Miller St. from N. Main St. to Jackson St. Hurray!!!

The project is connected to the N.C. Health and Wellness Trust Fund's Fit Community Grant, which was awarded to the city last year. Connected with the sidewalk and crosswalk is a new walking program being rolled out by the City's Parks & Recreation Department - Striders for Life. The project ties into the many physical improvements planned for the N. Main Street area in the City's Small Area Improvement Plan and will additionally encourage healthier lifestyles for our residents here. Residents young and old will be able to get to City Park and Hurley Park via the sidewalks where currently they must walk in the streets to get to the parks.

The construction will reduce the width of West Miller Street from 34 to 26 feet with the addition of a 5-foot-wide sidewalk and a 3-foot planting strip. We are very excited to see this project finally reach reality!

Council meets at 4 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall, 217 S. Main St. where the project will be awarded. It would be wonderful if many of our NoMa residents could be there to witness the award and perhaps offer a round of applause!

New City Curfew: 16 and Under in by 11:00PM

The City of Salisbury announced that Salisbury City Council has adopted an ordinance to protect juveniles, under the age of sixteen, from victimization and exposure to criminal activity. The ordinance amends Chapter 20: POLICE, of the Salisbury City Code, and adds a new section to the chapter entitled Article 4. The adoption came early during the Tuesday, June 16 council meeting and establishes a curfew for youth fifteen years and younger. Beginning July 1, 2009, it will be unlawful for juveniles under the age of sixteen to be in public places, without a parent or appointed guardian, between the hours of: 11 pm and 6 am, Sunday – Thursday, and from midnight-6 am on Friday and Saturday nights. The Youth Protection Ordinance is intended to reinforce the role of the parent in raising and guiding children and to encourage parents to be responsible for the whereabouts of their children.

The curfew ordinance provides exceptions for youth who are traveling to and from school, and religious and civic-sponsored events. In addition, youth traveling to places of employment or responding to emergencies are excluded. The ordinance was not adopted to inhibit positive youth activity or activity that is being supervised properly. The Salisbury Police say that "the Youth Protection and Curfew Ordinance places the responsibility of juvenile action with the parent or guardian. Parents are expected to have concern and knowledge for their children's whereabouts and the safety of their children should be as important to the parents as it
is to us.”

Before taking action, Salisbury Police Officers will approach the apparent offender and obtain the youth's age and reason for being in the public place or establishment during restricted hours. Should the officer believe that an offense has occurred, a juvenile contact report or complaint will be filed, and the juvenile will be removed from the area and taken into custody. Juvenile violators will be subject to referral by complaint to the Department of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. The youth's parent or guardian will be contacted immediately and required to meet with the officer. The police officer may release the youth violator into the hands of a parent or guardian only. Parents or guardians refusing to take custody of their children will be in violation of the City of Salisbury code and subject to an additional fine.

The owner, operator, or any employee of a public or private establishment that allows juveniles to remain on the premises during restricted hours will be in direct violation of the Youth Protection and Curfew Ordinance. Police Cheif Mark Wilhelm informs that “to defend their establishment from violation and potential fines, establishments should request that youth dismiss from the property prior to the onset of curfew restricted hours. If youth refuse to leave the premises, proprietors should take steps to protect themselves from violation of the City of Salisbury Code. Establishments may contact the Salisbury Police Department at 704-638-5333 and request that youth be removed from their property.” Adult violators and parents or guardians of youth violators may be found guilty of a misdemeanor and subject to a fine of up to $100 at the discretion of a District Court Judge.

The Youth Protection and Curfew Ordinance describes public or private places such as streets, sidewalks, highways, alleys, rights of ways, public vehicular areas and parking lots, transportation facilities, theaters, restaurants, shops, and bowling alleys. Schools and school grounds, places of business and amusement, playgrounds, and parks are also included. Any similar areas open to the public are covered under the newly adopted code as well as common areas open to or accessible to the public. The definition of public places is inclusive of, but not limited to those areas outlined in the ordinance.

For a copy of the adopted Youth Protection and Curfew Ordinance, citizens may visit the Salisbury Police Department at 130 E. Liberty Street and request a printed copy at the front counter. In addition, an online, printable version of the ordinance is available by visiting the City of Salisbury website at www.salisburync.gov and clicking on the link entitled Youth Protection and Curfew Ordinance, under the heading of Highlights. For more information regarding the City of Salisbury, visit http://www.salisburync.gov/. For more information regarding the Salisbury Police Department, please call 704-638-5333 or visit the department online at www.salisburyncpd.org .

Community Appearance Commission & Landscape of the Month Award

The City of Salisbury's Community Appearance Commission awards a Landscape of the Month Award to one residential and one commercial site each month of the year. The Community Appearance Commission is the team responsible for the Sculpture Sculpture Show, "Discover What's Outside". As we published earlier, the Old North Salisbury Association and the North Main Street Neighborhood were very proud to have one of our neighbors awarded for May 2009.

We're sure you've walked or driven by places whose yards look really great. If you would like to submit a nomination for Landscape of the Month . . .

Send it to:
City of Salisbury
C/O Diana Moghrabi
PO Box 479
Salisbury, NC 28145dmogh@salisburync.gov

SNAG Cookout - Tuesday July 14th - 5:30PM

Do You Know About the SNAG Meetings - Every 1st Wednesday

Most of us who live here will agree that the North Main Neighborhood, N. Main Street from Lafayette to 17th St and Railroad St to N. Jackson St, is a pretty great place to live with friendly neighbors, great homes, and a safe place to walk and live. From time to time, as with any downtown neighborhood, we experience an activity that is less than desirable. Our neighbors on 14th St. have reported how they recently involved the Salisbury Police Department to help with neighboring nefarious activities there and complimented the Police on their response and their willingness to help.

For those of us who would like more Police attention in other parts of the neighborhood, there is a resource. The Salisbury Police Department encourages citizen/police interaction in order to build trust and partnerships. They have a monthly meeting, which is referred to as SNAG or Salisbury Neighborhood Action Group with citizen participation. This meeting has been on going since 1991 and meets the first Wednesday of each month, 10:30 am at the Salisbury Housing Authority on South Boundary St. behind the main Post Office (on Innes St). We encourage all our neighbors and residents to attend these meetings to discuss concerns, problems and solutions. We feel that this meeting is very important in fostering positive relationships and partnerships and may help reduce unwanted activities and visitors.

For more information, you can always call the Police Non-Emergency number: 704.638.5333. Yes - 10:30 AM is a tough hour to make for those with the typical 8-5 workday, but our attendance there could increase police patrolling here and thereby improve the quality of the neighborhood in general.

The Police Department business phone lines are staffed around the clock. We encourage you to call the business line for non-emergency type requests and we encourage you to call 911 for all emergencies.

The Salisbury Police Department ensured us that "the squeaky wheel gets the grease" so if we have issues we should be SURE to call and/or attend the SNAG meetings whenever possible.

Historic Wood Window Repair Workshop ~ Sat July 11th at the Farmer's Market

Historic Wood Window Repair Workshop
Downtown Salisbury Farmers Market
Saturday, July 11th 8:30-10:30 am

Historic wooden windows, while often targeted for replacement, are one of the most significant elements in a historic home.

Comments like "my windows are painted shut" and "these old windows let cold air in the house", lead many to consider replacement windows.

These replacements not only use non-renewable petroleum based products for the production, many have a poor track record of extended use, some failing with less than 10 years in service. Unlike wooden windows, many replacement windows have few interchangeable parts which ultimately require yet another generation of replacement and even more materials in the landfill. Most historic windows are made of old growth heart pine, an extremely durable material that with proper care can last for hundreds of years.

This workshop will show simple techniques for rehabbing original windows for practical operation and energy efficiency. Some skills that will be illustrated include: glass and glazing replacement, sash cord and weight repair, wood reconditioning and replacement, weather stripping and installation of low profile storm windows, and other useful tips for keeping the "eyes" of your historic home working properly for years to come.

Handouts and brochures for resources and supplies will be on hand for your use. The workshop is FREE!!! If you can't make it for the entire workshop, don't worry. Even if you come for a piece of it, you will be sure to come away with some valuable information!