Neighborhood association members find such groups help them work cooperatively and get things done
Facing the possibility that a long-awaited park in their neighborhood might never happen, residents of the Princeton Valley neighborhood on Eau Claire’s north side banded together this summer to push for the initiative.
Their effort was successful when the City Council decided in August to require developers Haselwander Bros. to include land for a park in that neighborhood as part of a housing project there. Their work also prompted the formation of the Princeton Valley Neighborhood Association.
“A lot of us got together to work to get the park here, and we realized that forming a neighborhood association was something we wanted to do,” said longtime neighborhood resident Julie O’Brien, a member of the new association. “We figure forming an association is a way we can work more closely together and with the city.”
People living in other parts of Eau Claire have a similar idea. Since this spring, in addition to Princeton Valley, neighborhood associations in three other parts of the city’s north side have started or are forming and more could follow, Eau Claire Councilwoman Emily Berge said.
Neighborhood associations are active in other parts of Eau Claire as well and currently number 19 in the city. They consist of volunteers who work together on quality-of-life issues related to the areas where they reside.
Neighborhood association members address many topics on their own, but sometimes their work involves partnering with city staff. In fact, creating a stronger, combined message to have the ear of City Hall is one reason neighborhood associations form, those involved with those groups said.
“This gives us a collective voice,” Princeton Valley Neighborhood Association President Ken Van Es said. “It says to the City Council that hey, there are a lot of people here who feel this is an important issue, whatever that issue might be.”
Van Es said he hopes the formation of a neighborhood association prompts communication among residents, thereby creating a more proactive approach to issues rather than a reactive one.
“Our goal is not to just oppose issues,” he said. “It is to work for what is best for the entire neighborhood.”
O’Brien is heartened to see the neighborhood association come to fruition. She first thought of forming an association in Princeton Valley seven years ago, she said, but the idea was delayed by a series of health challenges in her family.
Then neighbors rallied during the summer for a park they feared would never happen because the last phase of the Princeton Valley development was planned without one.
“A big part of this neighborhood association being formed was the timing of the park issue,” she said.
Van Es said discussion of a neighborhood association in Princeton Valley dates to at least 1983, when he moved there. “But for various reasons it never happened,” he said.
‘Be involved’
During Berge’s campaign for an Eau Claire City Council seat, she advocated that the city north side, which she represents, receive more attention from City Hall. Since being elected to the council in April, Berge has worked to make that happen. Part of her effort to garner more say for north-siders is the formation of neighborhood associations.
“I want people to be involved with their city, and I feel like neighborhood associations are a good way to strengthen neighborhoods,” Berge said. “They are also a good way to foster communication between the city and city residents.”
In addition, Berge said, neighborhood associations help connect neighbors. People who live near each other but previously didn’t interact are more inclined to do so when they gather around issues where they live that matter to them, she said.
“Neighborhood associations can be a bridge between local government and the city,” Berge said, “and it needs to be a bridge that goes both ways.”
City Council acting President Andrew Werthmann said neighborhood associations offer a direct means for city residents to become actively involved in issues connected to where they live. He backs the formation of a growing number of neighborhood groups, he said.
Those associations can have direct impacts, he said, on issues such as safer railroad crossings, community beautification, formation of parks and parking policies.
“It is really important to help people realize the important role they play in shaping ideas and policies in this city that help improve the quality of life in neighborhoods,” Werthmann said.
Issues addressed
Neighborhood associations in Eau Claire date to the late 1970s, when they were started in five of the city’s older neighborhoods, including Randall Park, Mount Washington, North River Fronts, the North Side Hill and 3rd Ward. Twenty years later, all except the Mount Washington group remained active, city officials said.
In the mid-1990s, other neighborhoods formed associations. In 1996 a neighborhood association began in the Runway Avenue area, followed the next year by the formation of one of those groups on the East Hill. Neighbors in the East Hamilton Avenue area started an association in 1998, and the following year Mount Washington neighborhood residents restarted their association.
Associations are formed under a variety of circumstances and sometimes are prompted by issues of concern to residents, as was the case in Princeton Valley. Oftentimes those neighborhood groups deal with such issues as working with police on matters of concern, or planting boulevards or other areas to improve the appearance of the city.
Sometimes, however, citizens rally around bigger issues, such as when Eastside Hill Neighborhood Association members worked with city officials nearly two decades ago to ensure Boyd Elementary School would be redeveloped in such a way as to conform with wishes of those who lived nearby.
Councilman Dave Strobel served 14 years on the East Hill association, including stints as president and vice president. In addition to the Boyd school issue, the group worked on such matters as finding a site for the new Flynn Elementary School, the Boyd Park footbridge and improvements at Boyd Park.
Neighborhood associations “allow neighbors to work together on issues affecting their neighborhoods,” Strobel said. “It helps the city to hear from an organization that speaks with a single voice, and it gives neighbors a much bigger voice than an individual would have.”
More recently, the Historic Randall Park Neighborhood Association has offered input on trying to boost the number of nonrental homes there and on a city ordinance intended to crack down on problematic alcohol consumption.
O’Brien and Van Es said the Princeton Valley Neighborhood Association is still getting up to speed. They said they are working to continue to let resident living in that neighborhood know about the organization.
“We need to get bigger and refine our communications,” O’Brien said. “It will be a process for a while.”
But she said many who do know about the neighborhood association are happy it has formed and eager to work with their neighbors, she said.
“There is a lot of enthusiasm for this,” she said. “People are saying, ‘Look what we can do when we band together.’ That seems like a good start.”
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