Flowers of Marengo

Flowers of Marengo

This is your neighborhood organization! We meet the fourth Sunday of each month: 2-4 PM @ 1789 N. Marengo Avenue. Next Meeting: May 28, 2000. Please come and meet your neighbors.

Neighbors Helping Neighbors

Flowers of Marengo participated in Christmas in April with needed repairs (painting the outside of her house, gardening and other repairs)) to Lucille Pryor's house on Summit Avenue (April 29,2000).

Public Health Grant Awarded

Flowers of Marengo, along with neighboring community groups, received a grant from California Partnership for Public Health to work with the Pasadena Health Department improve the health of our area in Northwest Pasadena. The involved agencies, under the collective title, Washington Area Neighborhood Revitalization Project, include Monk's Hill, Households Of North Raymond (HONOR), Los Robles Corridor, Lightbringer Project and Flowers of Marengo. The project will last four years. We are currently planning how to involve more of the community in identifying unmet health needs and improving our health and safety. We need more interested neighbors to help us. For more information, please call xxxxxxxx.

Fair Oaks Senior Housing

The Pasadena City Council approved zoning changes necessary to build a high density, low income senior housing project planned the area at North Fair Oaks and

Tremont. Although Flowers of Marengo opposed this project as it is currently designed, we chose not to join a law suit by the Back Porch Coalition to stop this project. We are seeking ways to support the project, but need to be assured that major design problems have been overcome and sufficient conditions of use in place to assure us that this will provide an acceptable quality of living space for the seniors who will join us as neighbors. We have sent a letter about our concerns to the City Planning office, with copies to Joyce Streator, Council Representative from District One and Jane Lukas, LCSW, Acting Director of the Pasadena Senior Center.

Flower of Marengo Web Site

Visit our web site and stay informed about our activities and accomplishments: www.neighborhoodlink.com/pasadena/flowers

We post minutes from our meetings, general information, how to contact officers, etc. You also can leave us a message about your neighborhood concerns. If you do not have internet access in your home, you can call the Pasadena City Library, Pintoresca Branch, to see about using one of their community computers.

Use the Flowers of Marengo Neighborhood REPORT CARD

Although we have noticed that Pasadena City staff have been more responsive in helping us with neighborhood problems, there is room for improvement. They can't help us if they don't know about the problems, so we have developed a "Report Card" to help you report problems to the right agency. Once you have reported the problem, send a copy of the report to an officer of Flowers of Marengo so we can follow-up and track the problem to make sure it receives a response.

Have You Paid Your Dues to Flowers of Marengo?

Our dues are flexible: what ever amount you and your family can afford. If you can't afford anything, that is OK as well. Dues are good for the whole calendar year. Dues are totally voluntary. We use the money for dues for neighborhood holiday decorations and for the annual neighborhood party (renting equipment for the kids, buying the chicken and hot dogs and supplies). Margaret Baxter is the treasurer (626 797-5536) and she reported that we currently have a balance of $394.25.

Election of Officers!

The current President (Robert Wittry), Vice-President (Herman Calderon), Treasurer (Margaret Baxter) and Fundraiser (Sarah Bixler) have all agreed to be nominated for another year's term. Please come to the May meeting to vote for them.

We are still seeking someone willing to serve as secretary so that Judith Saunders can help more with the Public Health Grant. If you are willing to help with secretarial tasks, please let us know.

Traffic

Los Angeles County staff have, at our request, re-timed the lights on Woodbury in order to encourage traffic to use either Los Robles or Fair Oaks as the major north/south thorough-fares. This should help reduce the volume of traffic on Marengo, and may reduce the number of people who continue to speed and run stop signs.

Flowers of Marengo Goals for 2000

We are working on goals that will focus the efforts of Flowers of Marengo neighbors, such as Continuing to Reduce Traffic Volume and Speed, Developing a Welcome Packet for New Neighbors, Planning the Annual Neighborhood Party, Developing a Family and a Neighborhood Disaster Readiness Plan, etc. We need your ideas and your energy.

Animal Control!

We have a small trap available that Flowers of Marengo residents can borrow. Robert Wittry keeps the trap, so call him if you need to borrow it.The trap does not harm the animal. The Humane Society will pick up the trapped animal and take it to their agency, but you will need to go there to pick up the trap once it is empty, since they won't return it. This sure beats having to pay a big deposit or fee for a trap to get rid of an unwanted possum.

Your Roof As A Crime Fighting Tool

The helicopter police need our help in order to identify residential structures. They have requested that some of us paint our addresses on our roofs. Neighborhood Connections office has the stencils that we need to use, along with the instructions.

Washington School Monthly Cleanup: Spend Quality Time Together as a Family.

We continue to meet the first Saturday of each month at Marengo/Penn @ 8 A.M. to sweep and pick up broken glass and paper around the border of the school. We also have been able to get trash barrels placed around the school yard so that people have a place to put their trash. Bring your rake and broom, and come help for an hour or two.