Hi friends and neighbors,
Here’s a short recap from our July Neighborhood Council meeting, so you’re in the loop whether or not you were able to join us.
A leadership transition — and a promise. Two of the people who’ve held this council together are stepping down: our Chair, Stephanie Watson, and our Vice Chair, Duane Huesers. We owe both of them an enormous thank-you for their leadership and everything they’ve built for this neighborhood.
Here’s what we want you to know: we are not going dark. A neighborhood council is bigger than any two people, and we’re treating this moment as an opportunity — to build a stronger, deeper team and put a real succession plan in place. If you’ve ever thought about getting involved, this is the moment, and there’s a place for you.
Making city hall readable. Here’s the problem in one number: 1,345 pages — the length of the City Council packet for a single recent meeting. Just one meeting, of one government body. No volunteer has time to read that.
So we’re building a system that does the heavy lifting: it turns those giant agendas into plain-language summaries that tell you what a decision actually means for our neighborhood (and how it impacts YOU), and what you can do about it — step by step. We’ll use these to create blog posts, website updates, and newsletter recaps with clear action steps — so we can be better informed AND act on it efficiently. And because we believe in doing this in the open, the method we use will be posted here as open-source material, so any neighborhood in Spokane can replicate it. Coming soon.
We’re tracking every open issue. We’ve started a running list of every known concern and open discussion in the neighborhood, organized so nothing falls through the cracks, with the goal of tracking each one until it’s resolved. The issue tracker is being built now and will be released soon. Know something that belongs on it? Email us at latahvalleync@gmail.com.
Save the date: Thursday, September 17. Join us for a Neighborhood Celebration at the Conservatory (behind Vinegar Flats, on Inland Empire Way). Come meet your neighbors and celebrate everything we’ve built together. More details to come.
This council belongs to all of us, and the more of you who lean in, the stronger we’ll be. Thank you for being part of it.
— Eme Ray, Latah-Hangman Neighborhood Council