Neighbor Night Out - a great success
Thank you to all the neighbors who hosted and attended neighborhood parties this past month. As luck would have it, the weather was only 2 degrees cooler than a typical August evening, but fortunately we are used to it by now. Touching base with neighbors is always a great reminder and confirmation of your fine choice in neighborhoods.
Another community milestone reached! - More to come
The grand opening of the Fire Station #37 marks another major milestone for the community. This is one of many Braeswood Place milestones reached over the last twenty years. It is quite impressive to realize how many neighbors pooled their resources of time, ingenuity and money to transform and maintain the neighborhood thus far.
As a community, we are not done yet; we have 4 more street reconstruction projects to complete (BPHA Areas 1, 2, 4, 8, 9, S. Braeswood and Buffalo Speedway north of the bayou). Other upcoming projects include the widening of the bayou and rebuilding of the bridges at Buffalo Speedway and Stella Link. Each year when the city discusses budget cuts, we are there to make sure our projects are recognized and remain in the plans. Urban re-development cycles are notoriously slow. The effort to replace the fire station began 20 years ago. We all signed the petition for new streets and sidewalks well over 10 years ago and we have perhaps 5 more years before all of the projects complete. Steady support from volunteers ensures we are involved in these projects and see them to completion.
Speaking of volunteers..
Did you know that there are over 120 neighbors delivering Sentinels each month? There are approximately 25-30 serving on BPHA Board and Committee positions. It is a small portrayal of the strength of the neighborhood and interest in being informed and involved. BPHA is focused on key long-term projects and consistent maintenance services that are of value to residents.
We have so much more we would like to do and could use your help to develop new ideas and improvements for our area. Your Area Director or the BPHA mailbox (bpha@swbell.net) would love to hear your ideas and suggestions and if you have the ability to help organize an initiative, join us for a few meetings and let's see what we can get started. You will be pleased to meet fellow neighbors who are knowledgeable, resourceful and dedicated to further develop the community.
We have a few volunteers who are moving on to other initiatives outside of BPHA. We would like to thank Maria Grey for all her work on Neighborhood Appearance and Home Tours over the years and Nancy Daly for her tremendous and steady efforts as copy editor for the Sentinel.
We also have a new Sentinel Editor, Alison Bell! Alison Bell is a long time resident of Braeswood Place and we welcome her support. Our dear neighbor Sharon Plummer is passing the baton to Alison this month. Sharon has been a tremendous volunteer to the neighborhood. She has taken on the job for Sentinel editor for years and prior to that has worked in the BPHA office. You all are also likely familiar with her steady roles on the Board, providing research and discussion to how BPHA can best serve neighbors. We are all very grateful for her years of contribution to the neighborhood.
November Elections
It is that time of year when we ask neighbors to elect their representatives for the BPHA Board. We have three Board members retiring this year. We would like to thank Dale Brant, Cade Burks and David Rowley for their years of service to neighbors and look forward to opportunities keep in touch over the years to come.
