News from Patrick Flynn

One of the advantages of representing neighborhoods in which I grew up (no snide remarks about my maturity, please) is the opportunity to address issues in different ways.  Here’s an example:

Back in August I received a call from a neighbor expressing concern about her ability to see approaching traffic when turning from one street to another due to vegetation growth.  In transportation vernacular we would describe the situation as a compromised sight triangle.  The normal response to such a scenario would be to forward the issue to right-of-way enforcement and let them sort out the matter.  In this case, however, I knew the area and the owner of the offending foliage quite well.

Because said owner was a gentleman of advanced years I called one of his daughters and explained the situation.  She appreciated the heads-up and referred me to her brother who, after taking the time to meet with the neighbor expressing concern, personally trimmed back the hedge to improve visibility at the intersection.  And, to my pleasant surprise, my neighbor took it upon herself to follow-up with a thank you call.

That spirit of cooperation and caring is one of the things I really appreciate about our community and, lest readers think this post merely a feel-good piece, leads to this important announcement from the Anchorage Community Land Trust:

Mountain View community plans event to empower residents in directing the future of the neighborhood.

Mountain View Community Summit, October 5th and 6th at Clark Middle School, 150 Bragaw

The Mountain View Community Summit will take place on October 5th and 6th, 2012 at Clark Middle School bringing together community members in the Mountain View neighborhood to assess the progress of revitalization and determine new efforts for community betterment.  This first-ever gathering will ask residents their needs and focus on developing goals and action steps to continue to build a community that works for the people who call it home.

Don Crandall, Mountain View Community Council Vice President, said “This is a purely grassroots effort developed by the Community Council and the Anchorage Community Land Trust. We need the voices of residents and we want to find leaders and difference-makers. We’re doing this because we want to encourage people to keep doing things that strengthen our community and to combat the things that don’t. We want to better understand how to promote a good quality of life for those who call Mountain View home and we want to build a new core of community leaders who will see that work through. We are asking our residents to come together and participate in building the groundwork of our community’s future towards the next 5 to 10 years.”

The Summit will be facilitated by Peter Kageyama, author of “For the Love of Cities” who encourages residents to actively ‘love’ their cities and transform them into places they enjoy with simple, meaningful changes. Peter is returning to Anchorage for this event with the Anchorage Economic Development Corporation cosponsoring his journey as a part of their Anchorage “Live.Work.Play” initiative.

The Summit is in the process of being planned by community members.  The Mountain View Dream Team, a network of community change-makers, is promoting and publicizing the Summit and inviting their neighbors to attend. The Dream Team will ensure that the Summit provides outlets to action for residents. During the Summit, residents will focus their energy on developing goals and actions steps in categories like Community Safety and Harmony, Real Estate Development, the Mountain View Drive Commercial Corridor and more.

On Friday night, Peter will lead participants in a “For the Love of Mountain View” program and on Saturday residents will participate in various forums, conversations and surveys on a number of topics. The Community Summit has real outcomes as well – it will be a stepping stone for  developing a Mountain View neighborhood plan and a Mountain View ‘Matrix’ will be created. This document will be an evolving document intended to be used by residents to carry out projects that were identified at the Summit as important initiatives for the neighborhood. The Matrix will provide information about a project idea, who would lead the action, potential partners and funding sources, along with an estimated timeline. This document will be kept active and updated by the Mountain View Community Council, cosponsor of the Summit.

ACLT contacts: Erin Hardy (274.0152) or Kirk Rose (274.0181)

Put another way, here’s a terrific opportunity to not only position Mountain View for continued improvement but also to form the bonds that strengthen neighborhoods.  It’s your opportunity to grab!

Regards,

Patrick