I've been watching city council meetings and reading the conversations on "Education Hill of Redmond" Facebook Group and it's obvious that both want better communication of city government with the neighborhoods. In fact, one of mayoral candidate Steve Fields message is that Redmond's neighborhoods have been left behind while the city concentrates on developing the downtown. Councilmember Kim Allen recently recommended to the Mayor that council should hold some of their meetings in various neighborhoods so they can explain growth concerns and communicate better with the residents; city hall is too removed from us.
I found a city -- Bend, Oregon -- that is very organized in running neighborhood associations for their residents. Each association has a website and communication vehicle to reach their city and each other. The link to Bend's neighborhood associations is found here: http://www.bend.or.us/index.aspx?page=832. I recommend you take a look. It is very impressive. A few years ago I recommended Bend's neighborhood association model to the city. They ignored it.
The City of Redmond held "Community Advisory Committees" (CAC) several years ago for a few neighborhoods. Unfortunately, only select residents were invited to attend and the meetings were not ongoing. I tried to get on the Education Hill CAC but wasn't invited. Ouch.
The Education Hill Facebook Group lit up with comments about 166th Ave and downtown growth. It was satisfying to communicate with our Ed Hill neighbors and even Councilmember John Stilin got online. But Redmond government can do a lot better than informal Facebook Groups organized by citizens. Redmond government needs to step up with an ongoing and organized forum for our neighborhoods. Learning about the Bend association model would be a good start. The time is ripe. Our neighborhoods are looking for help.
By Bob Yoder
I found a city -- Bend, Oregon -- that is very organized in running neighborhood associations for their residents. Each association has a website and communication vehicle to reach their city and each other. The link to Bend's neighborhood associations is found here: http://www.bend.or.us/index.aspx?page=832. I recommend you take a look. It is very impressive. A few years ago I recommended Bend's neighborhood association model to the city. They ignored it.
The City of Redmond held "Community Advisory Committees" (CAC) several years ago for a few neighborhoods. Unfortunately, only select residents were invited to attend and the meetings were not ongoing. I tried to get on the Education Hill CAC but wasn't invited. Ouch.
The Education Hill Facebook Group lit up with comments about 166th Ave and downtown growth. It was satisfying to communicate with our Ed Hill neighbors and even Councilmember John Stilin got online. But Redmond government can do a lot better than informal Facebook Groups organized by citizens. Redmond government needs to step up with an ongoing and organized forum for our neighborhoods. Learning about the Bend association model would be a good start. The time is ripe. Our neighborhoods are looking for help.
By Bob Yoder