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[Week of
August 15]
To be considered for even a portion
of the TE funds, we had to jump through many literary hoops. (Did I
mention none of us are writers?). Answering any one of the questions was
a task in itself, but there were dozens of questions! We knew what we
wanted to say and if anyone asked us we could answer. Writing is
different. Previously, we had separated the application and each of us
was assigned to specific parts. Some us needed to write and some of us
had to research. To pull all this together and not sound sporadic, we
knew we needed more help. So, we trotted off to EWU and enlisted the
help of Dr. Robert Schwartz, Entrepreneurship Professor. We met several
times with Dr. Schwartz and Nola Lloyd, MPA graduate assisting the
Center for Entrepreneurial Activities (CEA). We met in coffee shops and
we met in offices after hours and on weekends. Slowly we were getting
our thoughts transferred to text.
Do you know the difference between SEPA and
NEPA? We didn’t, but we do now (sort of). It’s an environmental thing.
What about things like ROW (right of way) and the vacation of an
alleyway? (No, I didn’t know alleys could take vacations either.)
However, it seems that the parking lot behind the Alaskan Tavern is
actually an alley. It can’t really be used as a street because the
portion of the alley located on the north side of the property took a
vacation some years ago and there’s a building sitting where the alley
used to be.
Next we had to figure out how much money we wanted. The Spokane area has
a $2.4 million share of the statewide funds. We needed to put a dollar
figure to our concept. So we enlisted the services of a local landscape
architect, Ken Van Voorhis of Sherry Pratt Van Voorhis, P.S. He put the
pencil to paper and came up with a figure. Man, we didn’t plan to build
a crystal palace but it sure seemed like Ken got one mixed up in there
somewhere. Ken went over the numbers with us so we could figure out
where we wanted to make changes. It’s almost as
expensive to rip out old asphalt as it is to put new asphalt in.
We also learned that the price of concrete has gone up
considerably over the last year. So, we put our heads together, crossed a
few trees off the list and came up with a figure we could live with. We
didn’t want to be greedy and go after more than our share, but darn it!
Hillyard has been ignored for too long.
In addition to what we
wanted, the SRTC wanted to know how much money we
(Hillyard) would be adding to the pot. Some of these applications ask
for matching funds, and although this particular one didn’t, anything we
can add is icing on the cake. With the written part being reviewed, and
the cost of the project in hand, we went looking for money. That
took us to the Hillyard Community Development Steering Committee. They
liked the concept plans and voted to throw some CDBG funds toward the
project.
[Week of
September 29]
Ok, where are we now? EWU is reviewing our written piece, we have the
project costs, and we even have some community money to sweeten the pot.
What else do we need? Oh, letters of support and endorsement of the
project from the community, business owners in the area, and the
blessing of our City Council representatives.
It’s crunch time. Off we go. Phones blazing, email packets flying
through cyberspace, and shoe leather to the pavement. On one day alone I
was on the phone with Dave Griswold dozens of times. He was actually
walking from one business to the next. He would get a couple of letters,
head back to his office, scan them and email them to me so that I could
include them with the application. It was brutal - but, we did it! We
received dozens of letters in support of the project. Even the owners of
the Alaskan Tavern gave us their blessing. If Hillyard gets the funds,
the Alaskan risks losing the parking out back (remember that alley
vacation thing?). But, they know that what’s good for Hillyard and the
community as a whole is better than
what’s
good for one person or one business. They only asked that we keep
them (Alaskan) involved in the process.
 [Week of
September 5]
It's Labor Day, and we've been at this
all weekend. It’s time to pull everything together and get it off
to the City Planning Department tomorrow. Our deadline is Tuesday,
September 6th. Melissa Wittstruck is our contact person with the
City, and she worked with Darrin Greichen and Jerry Sinclair on our
project. Ours
is not the only community submitting an application, and they have to
read all the applications word for word, edit and rearrange to be sure
our thoughts come across professionally and not necessarily opinionated.
I know for a fact we did some editorializing in the Hillyard app – it
was hard not too. After all we’d been through, our passion was hard to
hide. We wanted the City and the SRTC to know not just ‘what’ we wanted;
not just our ‘visual concept’; but more importantly, we wanted them to
know how we ‘felt’ about this project and about Hillyard.
[Friday,
September 9]
Emails were exchanged with Melissa
all week, requesting bits and pieces of information; clarification on one point
or another; the questioning of certain numbers; do we have pictures of
this, that, or the other. At 10:00 am this morning, the
application was submitted to the SRTC. It is now in the hands of
those who will be making decisions. No more changing this word, or
adding that photo. It's done. A lot of people worked tirelessly to
get the best application we could for Hillyard. We don't just want
to be in the running - we want to cross the finish line (first!).
Personally, we would like to thank tons of people,
numerous businesses, many organizations who, without their support and efforts, this project would not have come
this far.
-
Tom Heckler - for being
available and willing to offer historical information.
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Mike Fagan - for his
writing, research, and contacts.
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Ken Van Voorhis - for
being patient and giving with all our novice questions.
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The folks at Caffe
Godimento for opening up early and putting up with us for hours.
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Dave Griswold - for
being our runner. Whatever we needed, he got it. His tenacity was
unwavering.
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Luke Tolley - for
stepping in at the last minute and taking over some of the
writing. It was wonderful to have a fresh set of eyes.
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Ann-Marie Hamilton - for
tirelessly staying behind this most recent effort (Main Street) that
evolved into HDRP.
Again, we appreciate all the
help. Our efforts are now in the hands of the SRTC. Hopefully they
see Hillyard in the same light we do. We enjoyed working with all
of you and hope to continue in the future. Hillyard has learned
from this trek. Hillyard is ready for the next challenge.
Donna Fagan, Co-Chair,
Historic Hillyard Partnership
Sandy Martin, Co-Chair, Historic Hillyard Partnership
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Concept Plans
A Special Thanks
to the following individuals, businesses and organizations
for going above and beyond for the benefit of Hillyard:
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Marj &
Mike Brewer |
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Tom
Heckler |
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Dr.
Robert Schwartz |
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Nola
Lloyd |
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The
Hillyard Steering Committee |
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Ken Van
Voorhis |
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The City
of Spokane Planning Dept. |
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Donna &
Larry (Alaskan) |
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