LAND PARK COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING

Be sure to put March 16th, 2011 on your calendar! Land Park Community Associationwill be hosting its annual membership meeting on that night at Eskaton Monroe Lodge at 3225 Freeport Blvd. Starting at 6:30, the members will be updated on current issues facing our neighborhood and get an opportunity to share with the board their concerns.

The featured guest speaker will be Councilman Rob Fong who will share with us his view of current issues facing the city and the Land Park neighborhood. We will be voting in the new Land Park Community Association board as well...so we will need your vote!

Other items on the agenda are an update on the Sacramento River Crossings study and the associations role in that study, an update on the upcoming April 16th Egg Hunt and Taste of Land Park and developments regarding the Sacramento Zoo and the possibility of a steam train extension.

These are all important events and we encourage you to come and participate!

LAND PARK COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING

Be sure to put March 16th, 2011 on your calendar! Land Park Community Associationwill be hosting its annual membership meeting on that night at Eskaton Monroe Lodge at 3225 Freeport Blvd. Starting at 6:30, the members will be updated on current issues facing our neighborhood and get an opportunity to share with the board their concerns.

The featured guest speaker will be Councilman Rob Fong who will share with us his view of current issues facing the city and the Land Park neighborhood. We will be voting in the new Land Park Community Association board as well...so we will need your vote!

Other items on the agenda are an update on the Sacramento River Crossings study and the associations role in that study, an update on the upcoming April 16th Egg Hunt and Taste of Land Park and developments regarding the Sacramento Zoo and the possibility of a steam train extension.

These are all important events and we encourage you to come and participate!

LAND PARK COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION...GREAT MEETING COMING UP!

For those of you who are following the big controversy about the "River Crossing", this Wednesday would be a great day to attend the monthly meeting of the Land Park Community Association. You will have the opportunity to listen to some of the proposed solutions to the need of West Sacramento to have better access to Sacramento as well as to ask questions.

Also, we will have the opportunity to learn more about theSetzer property and its proposed development. This should be of particular interest to residents west of Riverside Blvd as well as Realtors specializing in the area.

Also, we will be voting in 3 new board members to fill in vacated positions...so if you are a member, this is your chance to have a representative that reflects your viewpoint.

If you would like to attend, the meeting will be at Eskaton on Freeport Blvd at 6:30PM this Wednesday, August 18th. We would love to see you there!

LAND PARK COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION...ANOTHER CRAZY ELECTION

May marked the one year anniverary since there was a major upheaval of the Land Park Community Association board of directors and a larger and almost all new board. Much has been tackled in the past year to mend fences and create a renewed faith in the direction the board was taking. It has been an exciting time with positive results. We went from approximately 150 members to a sustained 450 members. We have included a business membership and have had wonderful support from our local businesses.

Other items we have accomplished are such things as a successful "Taste of Land Park" (wine tasting, restaurant sampling and car show) that netted over $8,000. For the first time, we thanked our neighbors for their support by holding a free Family Picnic Day with games. Despite soaring heat, it was attended by approximately 100 neighbors. We initiated the Volunteer Corp to compensate for the disastrous cut in park maintenance personnel...now we go out and prune, plant and and clean up. We lent our support to our Curtis Park neighbors by endorsing the Curtis Park Village developement. We encouraged and discouraged cell towers, depending on viability of the locations and appearance. We co-hosted, along with the City, the annual Easter Egg Hunt which was attended by hundreds of children who picked up thousands of plastic eggs stuffed by the local boy scout troop. We are developing a better relationship with our councilman with monthly meetings. We are watching closely a move to expand the Sacramento Zoo...a great idea in theory, but a disaster for the existing park's use.

The election that just took place was suppose to be a simple one. There were a couple of contested positions, but no animosity was forseen. In fact, we still have 3 open seats we are hoping to fill in the coming months. The unexpected antagonism occured when one of the board members from the previous regime did not win as president. It was unfortunate and the resulting diatribes were sad. Since that election, the losing board member has resigned all positions he held within the board as did one of the other old regime board members.

We are now busy filling very large shoes of the two who resigned. We are fortunate to have a very capable member step up to one of the positions. It is believed that one of the other positions will be filled at the next board meeting. There are other committees that will need attention and with the talent we have within our membership, it is certain we will find other talent out there.

So, as has been the history of this board, there is never a dull moment. However, we look forward to a positive coming year with many challenges and hopefully, many great outcomes.

LAND PARK'S EASTER EGG HUNT..A GREAT SUCCESS!

What a great morning! Little ones started arriving at around 9AM this morning to participate in the Great Easter Egg Hunt. There was so much to do, the "hunt" couldn't start until 10AM! There was a constant line for face painting, stars seeming to be the popular choice. Cute little bunnies made their appearance in the form of balloons animals. Carnival games kept children of all ages busy. Mr. Cooper contributed to the atmosphere with his guitar and more innovative children's songs than can be imagined. And, finally, what Easter Egg Hunt would be complete without the Easter Bonnet contest? There were Freeport Bakery cookie platters for the prettiest, most colorful, funniest and most creative hats. Even the Easter Bunny made an early appearance!
Huge kudos should be given to Boy Scout Troop 136, Den 9 for assembling and stuffing 9,000 eggs...yes, nine thousand eggs! Children separated themselves into 3 different hunting areas...0-3 years, 4-9 years and 10 years and older. At 10AM (or a little after, since the event coordinators watch chose to stop at 9:40), the mayhem began and within 5 minutes, 9,000 eggs had found a home!
Thanks should be expressed to the City of Sacramento and Land Park Community Association for sponsoring this event. Other sponsors were McDonalds (who supplied coffee and orange juice), Freeport Bakery, Kellie and Paula Swayne with Windermere Dunnigan Realtors, Crocker Electric, the Sacramento Zoo, Mister Cooper Music and Boy Scout Troop 136, Den 9.

LAND PARK COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION - LOTS HAPPENING!

It is becoming very apparent why every Sacramento neighborhood needs advocates to maintain and improve their community in a thoughtful and intelligent way. Tonight the Land Park Community Association heldtheir February public meeting. Several upcoming challenges to the neighborhood were brought to the attention of the LPCA board and attending neighbors. Here is a highlight of just a few of the concerns expressed:

An organization entitled "SAFE" is advocating changes to be made to Freeport Boulevard to improve thesafety of bicyclists and pedestrians. They have asked that LPCA take a position in support of their cause. LPCA is working with them to address their concerns.

The Business Journal published that the Tower Theaterbuilding is now for sale. LPCA will be monitoring the progress of the sale and the buyers intended use for this historical landmark.
It appears that the city has funded the repair of the remaining lamp posts on Land Park Drive, which are in dire need of repair. This should be completed by the end of the year.

There is some question as to who has proposed expansion of the Sacramento Zoo. It appears to be either the City of Sacramento or the Zoological Society. In any case, the expansion is the old Zoo 2002 Plan reincarnated. This would expand the zoo to the land that presently houses the pony rides, the gardens and Funderland. It would also expand the golf course parking to a multi-level parking lot. There is more, and it would be premature to list the exact proposal. Let it be said that the reason that this organization was originally created was to fight this expansion (then known as the Association to Preserve Land Park) and we just might have to take up the wishes of the neighborhood again. Stay posted.

LPCA would love to have you be a part of the association! Please get on our website and join!

Land Park is nestled just south of downtown Sacramento. It boasts a very active neighborhood association -Land Park Community Association - that has gone through some significant changes, including a board of 15, of which only 3 were returnees. It was a sign of the hope the neighborhood had to be better represented. I am very proud to list the successes we had in 2009.

The most significant change was a board that worked together. While we had differing opinions, we were willing to discuss, compromise and come to a mutual understanding. We showed respect for each other and have been very deliberate in our representation of the community.

Our ongoing events resulted in great attendance, even though both the Taste of Land Park and the Picnic in the Park as held in sweltering heat.

We brought to the neighborhood a new event - the Picnic in the Park. It was free to the community as a thank you for all of the support they have given to LPCA.

We changed the bylaws, the most significant change being the inclusion of the local businesses in the membership. To this date, the local businesses were asked to donate to our events, but were not allowed to be members. It was an inexcusable stance which we were thrilled to eliminate. We hope to include our local businesses in many of our debates and decisions.

We are working hard to make up for a loss in maintenance in William Land Park. We are spending a significant amount of money to reinstate the Rock Garden to it's former glory. The bureaucracy is continuing to put up road blocks, so this is still a work in progress.

We have worked diligently to encourage the development of Curtis Park Village, while voicing our concerns regarding a few of the issues.

Probably one of most successful new programs is Listserv, which is real time reports from our neighbors regarding crime in the neighborhood. It has resulted in phenomenal and immediate communication resulting in arrests and preventative measures. It has been extremely popular with many neighbors joining LPCA just to be able to subscribe to this benefit.

The coming year promises to bring more changes and additions. We hope to continue to be of value to our neighborhood...stay posted!

Sacramento's Land Park Community Association Membership Meeting

Sacramento's Land Park Community Association is hosting it's second quarterly membership meeting this Wednesday night at James Monroe Eskaton on Freeport Boulevard at 6:30.

LPCA had scheduled Kevin Johnson to be our speaker. Earlier this month we were told that he had a conflict in his schedule and would not be able to attend. However, as of this week, his staff was trying to work it out so he could attend.

Also, we will be covering topics such as the Curtis Park Village, the First Annual Picnic in the Park, the Taste of Land Park and discussion of a few bylaw changes.

It is our hope that many of our Land Park neighbors will join us and give us input. We look forward to seeing your Wednesday night!

www.PaulaSwayne.com
DRE#01188158

LAND PARK COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION NEW DAY!

I was fortunate enough to be voted in as a Land Park Community Association board member. Today I attended my "orientation" meeting with about 12 other board members...all but 3 are brand new. The best news is that all of the people I met seem like genuinely nice people with no ego involved! We all agreed that the next several months will be critical in setting the tone of this new board.
There are some really exciting events being planned! On June 27th, we are going to host a picnic for our membership in the park as a thank you for being a part of the association. This is brand new and is a nice way to let our 550 members know we appreciate them. There are at least three more events we are hoping to bring to our community this year. Of course, the "Taste of Land Park" will be the September event.
Also, we are trying to increase the participation of our membership. We are hoping to offer incentives to become a member such as discounts at local businesses. We are inviting any member to attend any meeting that they are interested in and we hope that they will participate with their own ideas.
We do have some immediate concerns...mainly the 35-60% cuts in the Parks and Rec Department. The meeting to decide what will be done is this month, so we are working fast to address this issue.
Well, those are just a few of the concerns we have...I will keep you posted on our progress!
www.PaulaSwayne.com

I wrote an earlier post about the election last night of 14 new board members on to the Land Park Communnity Association board. I thought you might like to learn who will be representing your Land Park neighborhood interests.

Two Year Seats went to:

Terry Grimes
Craig Powell
John Jenson
J.R. Riddell
April Meszaros
Dave O'Toole
John Schade

One Year Seats went to:

Matt Traverso
Michael Mock
Jim Quessenberry
Mark Abrahams
Dennis Kellogg
Christine Ault
Paula Swayne

*This has yet to be confirmed, but should be in the next couple of days.

I hope you will find our representation of your concerns positive. I am sure if you have concerns, any one of us would be happy to hear from you.

www.PaulaSwayne.com

LAND PARK COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION...A NEW DAY!

Last night was the BIG night...the voting in of 14 new board members! This is huge considering there is a total of 15 board members...only the current President was not on the slate of candidates.
We gathered at Tower Theater. The lobby was filled with Land Park Community Association existing members, candidates and new members. It was a full service event with the sign-up table for those wanting to become a part of this association, another table distributing ballots and another accepting proxy votes. We could even buy popcorn and sodas to support the theater and replace what would have been a healthy dinner!
At 7:00, we took our seats in the theater. It appeared that theater lights could only be so bright...because we certainly had ambiant lighting which set an interesting atmosphere! County Supervisor Jimmy Yee spoke along with Councilman Rob Fong. The last speaker was Captain Shilly (I apologize if I am spelling this wrong) of the Sacramento Police Department. We learned about the challenges facing our county, city and police budgets and how each is approaching these challenges. We spoke of the infamous Bridge to Broadway (and it's current non-status), the proposal to move the Zoo (at best 20 years away, if done at all), efforts to improve the Broadway corridor, the continuing hope that Trader Joes is going to replace the Prime Market on Sutterville and South Land Park Drive and what we can expect of our police (who I believe are doing their best in a difficult situation).
Finally, we discussed the casting of ballots and 2 new by-law changes. We adjourned to place our votes and mingle with our neighbors. It was an enlightening and interesting night!

Oh...did I mention I was fortunate enough to be voted on to the board? Yeah!

LAND PARK COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION ELECTIONS!

I wrote several posts regarding the Land Park Community Association. Within the Land Park neighborhood a rather robust discussion was being conducted regarding the association's bylaws. There were 2 factions...the status quo group made up of long-standing board members who had contributed heavily to the association and the new group made up of newer members who felt there was a need for change.
I certainly was empathetic to both groups. I had been a founding member of what was then the Association to Preserve Land Park, created approximately 20 years ago to have input into drastic proposed changes to William Land Park. One of the founding board members was still on the board up to last February. Another had been a board member almost as long. They had given generously of their time, knowledge and energy.
The "Land Park Renaissance" group felt that the old regime had such a strong hold on the board that they could reject any new ideas with which they did not agree. Being a strong proponent to term limits, I agreed with their proposal of term limits and enlarging the board in order to prevent what they felt was a inordinate stronghold on the board. I wasn't quite as enthusiastic about the strategy involved in attaining this change.
The end result was that the new Land Park Community Association bylaws did pass and now there are 11 board positions to be filled. After a long back and forth discussion with myself, I have decided to run for one of the positions. I hope I can contribute to a better functioning board, better representing the Land Park neighborhood that I love. There is a need for new and fresh ideas...so why not consider joining me and hopefully becoming a Land Park Community Association board member as well? Oh, and please wish me luck!
www.PaulaSwayne.com

TAYLOR'S MARKET...A LAND PARK TREASURE

You have seen the quaint neighborhood markets in movies and heard of them, but only in past tense. They delivered to the loyal neighbors. They listened to the neighbors and stocked their requests. Neighbors visited neighbors as they shopped.

Land Park is fotunate to still have such a market. Taylors Market is just such a market, only stepped up several notches. They ease the dinner dilemma of what to cook with ready to heat lasagna, tamales, stuffed baked potatoes, salmon, chicken and more.

They are reknown for their true old butcher shop, complete with every sort of meat, poultry and fish imaginable. The quality is unsurpassed. The selection is beyond the impressive, including such rare items as quail eggs, rabbitt, buffalo. They even pre-make marinated chicken breats, fajitas, meatloaf, stuffed salmon and much more. They are well known for their varieties of home made sausages.

If you are looking for a wonderful wine to go with that perfect dinner, just ask for "Dick's Picks". The have an extensive selection of wines and beers. Want one of those harder to find local sodas? Taylors Marke will probably have it. Do you crave fresh coffee beans that you can grind yourself? Come to Taylors and enjoy selecting your own brew.

The eclectic choices offered of marinades, vinegars, rubs and seasonings offers a great compliment to any meal. Chutneys, demi glaces, salts of every type, balsalmi vinegars...it is all here.

For those who appreciate fresh breads, Taylors brings in fresh, locally made breads daily. Baguettes, sour dough, raisen bread, bagels, and seasoned breads simply are unsurpassed.

When you are looking for that special grocery shopping experience, visit Taylors...you will never look back!
www.PaulaSwayne.com

INTRODUCING NEW LAND PARK COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION!

After much fanfare, Land Park Community Association is starting fresh. In a meeting on February 11th, sweeping changes were made to the association's by-laws. With the board now having the capacity of 15 members and presently having 4, it will have 11 brand new board members. There will certainly be a time of adjustment and work toward cohesiveness, but the hope is that this board will better represent a changing and well established neighborhood.
On April 29th, the association will be hosting Mayor Kevin Johnson, Councilmember Rob Fong and Supervisor Jimmie Yee at it's annual membership meeting. In addition to Councilmember Fong's "State of Land Park" address, the local police commander, Captain Dan Schiele will present a briefing on crime in Land Park and the association's involvement in crime alerts. If you are interested in attending, it will be at Tower Theater beginning at 6:30 (doors opening at 6:15).
There is a host of important new information from LPCA, so please feel free to see all of the projects they have going, the news they have and the schedule of LPCA events at http://www.landpark.org/.

http://www.paulaswayne.com/