Dearborn Park Neighborhood Association

The association is looking into placing planters on the street corners throughout our neighborhood as a beautifi-cation initiative. We think these planters will further make our neighborhood distinctive. The proposed plant¬ers will be concrete and can be left out year round. Stones will be placed inside the base to facilitate their drainage and to increase their weight to prevent theft. Most cor¬ners have a level area between the two ramps that will allow room for the planters to be placed. The planters are
15 inches wide across the base, 17 inches tall, and 29
inches across the top. They have a simple ribbed design. Plantings will be similar to achieve a coordinated effect throughout the neighborhood. The plantings can change from year to year. The plantings will be done by volun¬teers, and the pots will need to be watered by volunteers.

~ PLANTER PROJECT Q & A ~

Q: What is the cost of the planters and who will
pay for them?
A: We have found a local business to manufacture the pot
at a total delivered cost of $40 each. The pots would be
paid for from the DPNA treasury.
Q: I am on a corner but do not have a paved, level
area that the pot can sit on. Can I still have a pot?
A: If you do not have a level, paved area the pot can sit on, you can still have one if you request it. It would be
placed on the curb lawn near the corner. A bed of stones
will need to be placed on the ground beneath the pot to keep the pot from being damaged by thawing and freez¬ing.
Q: I have a corner house and have two brown thumbs. I think the idea is great, but I am con¬cerned about being responsible for the pot. Can I decline having a pot on my corner?
A: If you do not want a pot on your corner, please notify the board of directors and we will respect your wishes. However, if you’re concerned about planting and upkeep of the pot, we feel there will be enough volunteers to plant the pots. Of course, if you can give the pot an occa¬sional drink of water throughout the growing season, the volunteer will appreciate not having to tote a watering can
down to the corner.
Q: What if someone is injured? If a pot is on my
corner, will I be responsible?
A: Since the pots will be located on city property, the
homeowner would not be responsible.

Q: Who will plant the pots?
A: We will be asking for volunteers to plan the pots. There are a variety of volunteer opportunities. You can-volunteer to purchase, plant, and water the pot on your block. If you do not have a green thumb but wish to sup¬port the plantings, you could make a donation to purchase plantings or you could just volunteer to keep it watered.
We may also have a neighborhood-wide planting day each
spring where we plant the pots that haven’t been “adopted.”
Q: How will they be planted?
A: This would be determined on a yearly basis. Typically, they would all be planted in a uniform manner with annu¬als. Evergreen branches could be placed in the pots during
the winter. We may also place an evergreen in the center
of the pot and change the plantings around the edge sea¬sonally.
Q: When will this happen?
A: We have the money in the treasury right now to pur¬chase the pots. If we receive approval from the city, gain neighborhood support, and have enough volunteers to adopt the pots, we could place the pots in late August or September and plant them with mums. However, it may not happen until the spring.
Q: I question if there is enough room on my cor¬ner. What will happen if there isn’t enough
room?
A: We do not want the pots to interfere with pedestrian foot traffic or be a safety concern. If there is not adequate space for the pot, one will not be placed unless the home¬owner agrees for placement on the curb lawn.
Q: I think this is a wonderful idea! How do I adopt a pot or offer to help?
A: Contact any board member.

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 18 7-9 P.M.
Hosted by Cher Ketelhut, 24105 Rockford
Former Dearborn Park resident and block captain Cher Ketelhut will be hosting Happy Hour at her new home in the Dearborn
Hills. Cher’s home is at 24105 Rockford on the southwest corner
of Rockford and Meridan. (Meridan is the first block west of
Telegraph.) Please make the effort to cross over into the Hills and see Cher’s beautiful Tudor-style home.

All Happy Hours are BYOB (bring your own beverage). Appetizers are not mandatory but are certainly welcome. A household membership in the Dearborn Park Neighborhood Association is required for participation.
Thanks to our May hosts Tim and Sue Masters!

As summer moves on, we are getting closer to our neighborhood-wide block party which will take place Saturday, Au¬gust 14 on S. York between Fordson and Marshall. Karen Blanchfield has been hard at work organizing this event. I un¬derstand a fire truck will be on hand for kids young and old and a live band may perform. This free event is open to all residents of the neighborhood who will become honorary members of the DPNA for the day. Please see the accompany¬ing article for details.
Our annual members meeting will be on Thursday, September 16 in the library (media center) at Dearborn High. Please mark your calendar and do your best to attend.
Our annual membership drive will be in October. Membership applications will be in the next newsletter. We ask that you renew your membership to continue the work of the association. If you are not a member, please consider joining.
Don’t forget to visit our website, www.dearbornpna.com. There is a blog where your polite opinions and comments can
be posted.
Two years have passed since the inception of the Dearborn Park Neighborhood Association. As president, I have enjoyed the opportunity to meet many wonderful people throughout the neighborhood. I feel the association should feel proud of all it has accomplished. However, I feel a new leader would be healthy for the association and consequently have decided to resign as president. I know the other officers have worked very hard in the last two years to make this association suc¬cessful and I would like to thank them for their efforts.
Sincerely, Jeff Swantek

Be creative and use for something else, or simply put into the new recycling container for pick-up on our
regularly scheduled recycling day.

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 6:30 P.M.
DEARBORN HIGH SCHOOL MEDIA CENTER (LIBRARY)

We have vacancies on the board of directors and will be accepting nominations. Please consider nominating yourself if you’re interested in getting involved!

Have you noticed bright pink markings on our streets and curbs throughout the neighborhood? Well, the city is cur¬rently surveying streets from Buckingham (north of Cherry Hill) to Fordson between Telegraph and Outer Drive for complete replacement over 4 years and plans to begin work in the winter of 2012. The plans include re¬placement of all sewer lines, storm sewers, and water main lines, as well as all streets, curbs, and sidewalks (where needed). It is anticipated the street surface will be replaced with concrete rather than blacktop. There will not be any special assessments to the neighborhood resi¬dents for this work. The city budgets for these repairs as city streets and water lines age over the years.

We will keep you updated if this information changes.

DPNA neighbors might like to join this group in trying to get a Trader Joe’s store into Dearborn.

TRADER JOES

We have had an unusually warm and early spring this year and our neighborhood looks great with the greening and blooming of trees, shrubs and flowers. We have several activities planned this spring and hope you will participate.
On Friday May 21, Sue and Tim Masters will be hosting the spring “Happy Hour” from 7-9pm at their home on S. Melborn. If you are a DPNA member and haven’t attended a “Happy Hour,” take this opportunity to meet your neighbors.
Please join us on Saturday, May 22 at 10am for a brief memorial service and tree dedication in honor of neighbors who have passed on during this past year. This service will also honor and acknowledge the trees donated in memory of loved ones by our members. The service will take place at the site of the tree planting along Fordson at S. Melborn.
On Saturday, June 19 we will have our second annual Garden Walk. We are still in need of volunteers to open their gardens for this event. If approached, please consider participating.
In the next couple months we will be receiving new trash and recycling containers. The best place to keep these items when not set out for collection is in a shed or garage. However, please consider your neighbor’s view if you cannot store these items inside a structure. City ordinance prohibits storage within view from the street.
I’d like to welcome new neighbors to Dearborn Park and invite them to join our neighborhood association. Please visit our website at www.dearbornpna.com to view our past newsletters and access a membership application. New neighbors receive the remaining year’s membership free and their dues are applied to the following year.
We have two new board members. Lisa Kirk and David Watts have volunteered to serve on the board of
directors. Please join me in welcoming them.
On April 21, our secretary and newsletter editor, Carrie Teefy, gave birth to our newest resident, a 7lb. 8oz. baby boy named Jack Connor Teefy. We wish Carrie, her husband, Jon and their new arrival well. A special thank you goes to Ed Maul for stepping in to work on the newsletter in Carrie’s absence.

Jeff Swantek
President, Dearborn Park Neighborhood Association

The City of Dearborn has a large ($15 million) structural budget deficit which will not allow providing the same amount and same levels of service it has in the past. The mayor appointed a group of 28 residents to serve on a City Task Force. These volunteers represent all aspects of Dearborn’s residents and businesses from across the City.
In January, the City contracted with Plante Moran to serve in a consultant role and to assist in creating a 5-year financial framework that will “ensure sustainability.” Plante Moran has provided a working structure and process for the Task Force and is collecting the data. The data will include current suggestions from the Task Force as well as their final report which should be expected at the end of May, 2010. Any individual Dearborn resident or group may also forward feedback to Kimberly Dunlap. Her email address is Kymberly.dunlap@plantemoran.com.
The Task Force has had four meetings and contributed several pages of suggestions for raising $15 million in revenues. Here are some major themes.
• Identification of outsourcing/privatization options
• All forms of shared service options
• Technology -web vs. phone vs. in person transactions
• Service reductions-leaf pickup, less frequent services, etc.
• Wage concessions/reductions
• Broadened job descriptions
• Reduction/downsizing of facilities
• Increased use of volunteers
• Overtime elimination
• Increased employee contributions and/ or reduced benefits
• Organizational re-structuring
• Ensure incremental revenue sources do not impede the City’s ability to attract and retain business and
residents

Additional information provided by the mayor:
• The City deals with 9 unions
• 143 permanent positions have been eliminated since 2001
• 23% of positions are non public safety
• Percentage of police and fire positions are protected by adopted City Charter
• City is exploring a buyout for a possible 27 positions
• The City’s annual report and budget can be found on the City website

In cooperation with the Dearborn Public Schools, 15 trees were planted in the area bordered by Fordson, the Dearborn High student parking lot and softball diamond. This area is a great improvement over the neglected Driver’s Ed lot that existed prior to the athletic field improvements. The neighborhood association purchased five trees. One of these trees is a memorial to our late Elmwood neighbor, Diana Gabany who passed on earlier this year. DPNA members in memory of departed loved ones donated seven trees. Judy and Mickey Patrick donated three trees in memory of their parents Ida and Irving Peters and Van Patrick, Jeff Swantek donated two trees in honor of his parents Kathleen and Ronald Swantek, Lisa and Michael Kirk donated a tree in memory of Lisa’s father, James Attridge and Jack Stadtmiller donated a tree in memory of his wife Barbara. In addition, Ruth Warner made a generous donation in support of the tree planting.

A brief ceremony will take place on Saturday, May 22 at 10am to memorialize the individuals honored by the tree planting and to mark the passing of our Elmwood neighbor, Diana Gabany.