Alta Mira Neighborhood

Newsletter - August 2008

Jul 30, 2008

Alta Mira Neighborhood Association


YOUR MEANS TO IMPROVE ALTA MIRA VOLUME 1, ISSUE1, AUGUST 2008

Your Help Needed for Exterior Wall Repair and Maintenance

The Alta Mira Neighborhood Association formed a volunteer Exterior Wall Committee for the purpose of exploring the repair of the perimeter walls of the community. The committee has obtained three bids to smooth stucco and paint the exterior walls on McClintock & Warner Roads.. The low bid was roughly $20,000. The repair and maintenance of the exterior walls is the collective responsibility of the community.

Your contribution is needed. The committee is asking that each household contribute $50, $100 or more in order to raise funds for this work. Please make your contribution by August 31, 2008. The target date to start this project is October, 2008.

Other Tempe Neighborhood Associations have asked for more. For example, Corona Estates ?– Requested that each resident send $500.00 to $1000.00 to have their walls brought up to date. The total cost of their project was $85,000.00. Camelot Estates - Asked each homeowner to donate $600.00 to renovate the walls surrounding their neighborhood.

The Alta Mira committee ensures secure methods to contribute funds by requiring that a minimum of two officers (co-chair & treasurer) verify every transaction. Options to contribute include PayPal, or directly to the Alta Mira Neighborhood Association Account.

Please join us in our effort to enhance our neighborhood by submitting your contribution byAugust 31, 2008. .
Goodwin Park Renovation Update

We live in a great neighborhood, but it is now over 20 years old and would benefit from a little sprucing up. The neighbors all agreed that this would be a great idea. The City of Tempe renovates and updates city and neighborhood parks with priority given to those parks that have gone through the master planning process.

Alta Mira neighbors were instrumental in beginning the process to have our park improved. Informal discussions began in April of 2006. A City sponsored neighborhood improvement grant was awarded in August of 2006 and the kick off for the Goodwin Park master plan began.

Once the grant was awarded we began the process to create a master plan. On October 4, 2006 the neighbors that attended our community meeting held at Desert Cross Lutheran Church evaluated three landscape architects and voted for Ruben Valenzuela to draw up the plans for our new park.

On November 11, 2006, we held a neighborhood picnic/brainstorming session to list ideas that we wanted our park to have. Ideas that were generated included more trees, ramadas, updated playground equipment, and more picnic areas.

On January 4, 2007, we met with Ruben and prioritized what we wanted to include in our park. He took the information gathered and created three designs.

A community meeting was held on March 31, 2007. We reviewed the three concepts presented and voted on one master plan. We asked Ruben to make some refinements, and then we adopted the plan at the community meeting on October 28, 2007. Once that was completed the plan was reviewed by city staff, and the City Parks & Recreation Advisory Board.


What is a Neighborhood Association?

A Neighborhood Association is a voluntary organization of residents who work together to improve and maintain the quality of life in their neighborhood. Membership is open to all residents but participation is optional. A general meeting and election of officers is held once a year.
The co-chairs of the neighborhood association are Judy Tapscott and David Richardson. The secretary is Sheila Hove. An election was held last year at a neighborhood meeting. Since that time Marian Dail volunteered to be treasurer

This newsletter, the first in recent years, is designed to give you more information on a biannual basis. The City of Tempe will pay for two newsletters and two postcards each fiscal year. It is our hope that we keep you informed of the all decision making processes that involve improvements in our neighborhood, as well as social gatherings to get to know our neighbors.

Do you know your neighbors? We have an awesome and diverse group of people living here with many different perspectives. We value your opinion and would like you to take part in our decision-making processes. Take an active role in making the Alta Mira community even stronger.


Exterior Wall Repair How to Contribute
Three options to contribute are:
Paypal ?– a secure on line contribution directly to the Alta Mira Association?’s Washington Mutual bank account. See instructions below.
Washington Mutual Bank located on the Northwest corner of Ray and McClintock will accept your contribution to account #4212986587 on a walk-in basis.
Mail a check to the Alta Mira Neighborhood Association Account #4212986587 , Washington Mutual, 4080 W Ray Road, Chandler, Arizona.85226
How to Use Paypal
Log in to www.neighborhoodlink.com/tempe/am Look for Community Pages, Exterior Wall Re-do. You will see a ?“DONATE?” button which will link your contribution directly to the Alta Mira Neighborhood Association bank account at Washington Mutual.
Or you may pay directly from your PayPal balance or linked bank account to Washington Mutual account number. 4212986587.
Or charge your donation through PayPal to your credit card.
Alta Mira Residents form Committee
During the May 10, 2008 community meeting neighbors volunteered to form a committee to develop a plan to repair and beautify the walls that surround our neighborhood. We as neighbors are ultimately responsible for the exterior walls to our neighborhood. The exterior walls are located along McClintock and Warner.
Goodwin Park Renovation Update

The Tempe City Council approved the plan in February 2008. Goodwin Park is now at the top of the list for parks to be renovated.

The Goodwin Park construction depends on whether voters approve park funding in the upcoming November 8, 2008 bond election. If this bond does pass, construction would likely begin in the summer or fall of 2010. We will want to inform our community of the importance of passing this bond. More will follow on how you might help. Above all, remember to vote ?“Yes?” on the bond election for park improvements

There will be a need for the community to meet before construction begins to prioritize the elements for park construction within the allocated budget.

Examples of elements include the playground equipment, volleyball court, ramadas, walking path, exercise course, plants & shrubs, an art feature, and the basketball court extension.

You will receive a notice when this process begins. We will need to prioritize within the Goodwin Park construction budget. While it is likely that we will have many elements included, it will not be possible to include all of them in the first year.

If you are interested in seeing the park plan, it is available on the City of Tempe Parks & Recreation Department website http://www.tempe.gov/parks Click on Construction Activity and then Master Plans. OR log in to our new website
www.neighborhoodlink.com/tempe/am . You will see Goodwin Park Plan listed. If you have further questions, please contact Judy Tapscott at rjtapscott@hotmail.com

Future Events

GAIN NIGHT- Getting Arizona Involved in Neighborhoods. This is Arizona?’s version of National Night Out. This is a great night to socialize with your neighbors. We have not celebrated this occasion in this neighborhood recently. This year it will be held at Goodwin Park on a Saturday in late October. Watch for a postcard with specific dates and times. It will be lots of fun!

Anyone interested in organizing games and activities for the kids at this picnic, please contact Sheila Hove at shove1632@msn.com.


Committee members include:

Jim & Marian Dail
Marcy Delgado
Diane Dembitz
Lisa Gibbs
Sheila Hove
Josephine Levy
Lin Palass
Stefanie Richardson
Judy Tapscott
Hank Winegar

The committee has been working on how to get this job done. The work cannot be paid for by the available grants that the City of Tempe has generously created for neighborhoods. We therefore must be creative and develop our own plans to get the badly needed work completed.

We are hopeful that the Alta Mira neighbor contributions will cover the expense. However, we may need to supplement this funding with other types of fund raising projects. Your ideas would be welcomed. Feel free to email Judy Tapscott at rjtapscott@hotmail.com

The committee has obtained a number of bids for stucco and paint. There is synthetic stucco on the market that already has the paint pigment in it. The committee has learned that this type of stucco lasts longer than regular stucco.

All neighbors whose backyard fence faces Warner or McClintock will be asked for permission to do the exterior wall repair. All permission must be received in order for this project to go forward. If your backyard fence faces McClintock or Warner, you will receive a permission form to return to the committee as soon as possible.
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Entry Way Grant Application Submitted
On May 10, 2008, a meeting was held in Goodwin Park to discuss the application of a grant to improve the Alta Mira entranceways. In previous meetings, a number of concerned neighbors felt that the condition of the entryway walls is poor and the signage is inadequate and difficult to see as you drive into our neighborhood. You may be familiar with the fact that there are four entries into our subdivision, however, there are only two signs. The signs are not alike and are not completely visible.

Alta Mira neighbor Diane Dembitz, got this ball rolling by obtaining bids for the grant application. The proposal was written by Judy Tapscott. It calls for smooth stucco applied to the entrance walls at La Vieve and McClintock, Los Feliz and Warner and Kenwood and Warner. The main entrance walls at Caroline Lane and McClintock are proposed to have a combination of stacked stone and smooth stucco with new Alta Mira lettering. It would be similar but not the same as Estate La Colina, just north of us.

We will be notified by mid to late August if we are awarded this grant.

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Alta Mira Website Created
Check out our new website at www.neighborhoodlink.com/tempe/am Thanks to Alta Mira neighbor Stefanie Richardson a website has been created to keep you updated about anything new in Alta Mira. If you don?’t have access to the internet, please contact Judy Tapscott at 480-296-9348, David Richardson at 480-777-0906, or Sheila Hove at 480-730-1632







FAQ?’s Exterior Wall Repair

Why doesn?’t the City of Tempe repair our subdivision wall?
There was a time when the City of Tempe did provide neighborhood improvement grants to offset the cost of repair. This is no longer the case.

Why should I contribute?
The repair cannot be done without residents contributions totaling $20,000. The benefit is to the whole community. The disrepair of the walls negatively affects our property values.

When should I contribute?
The association is asking that you contribute by August 31, 2008.
How do I know that all of the money is going towards this project?
The funds will be directly deposited into the Alta Mira Neighborhood Association Washington Mutual account. Two officers will regularly review deposits and sign off on all expenditures.

What will happen if we do not collect enough money for wall repair?

We will explore additional fund raising options. Ideas include another request for funds from the community, a carnival at the park, raffle, or community garage sale.

What if too much money is collected?
The money would be allocated, by community vote, to other Alta Mira improvements, such as landscape or park improvements.

How will the paint color of the wall be determined?
We will have a community meeting where options will be presented for a vote.