2018 has been another busy and productive year for the Lindenwood Park Neighborhood Association (LPNA). Our Board members Doug Dick, Lindsay Alsop, Craig Strohbeck, Greg Roggeman, Lisa Roggeman, Milton Murry, Tim Nowell, Jessica Sullivan, Carol Hofer, Emily Rogier and myself have given much of their time and talent to keep the Lindenwood Park Neighborhood Association vital and beneficial to the Lindenwood Park neighborhood. Of course, it can’t be done without the great number of volunteers who serve on committees, help with events, maintain gardens, attend Tweetups and meetings, etc. We are so proud and grateful for the strong community you form. Our neighborhood businesses continue to support us in any way they can. This partnership between residents and businesses is one of the forces that keeps the Lindenwood Park neighborhood stable and strong.
Events:
One of the highlights of 2018 was Linfest which was chaired by Lisa Roggeman & Jessica Sullivan. Linfest happens in Lindenwood Park on the first Saturday of October in even dated years. This popular Fall Festival showcased entertainment and businesses from the Lindenwood Park Neighborhood and surrounding area. This year a new artisan section was introduced. It was a fantastic family friendly event attended by hundreds and brought neighbors and non-residents together to see what our neighborhood has to offer.
Our summer concert series – Lindenwood Live! – was a huge success. Our concert committee, Tim Nowell, Greg Roggeman and Doug Dick did a great job booking the bands, signing up food trucks and securing permits. We were blessed with great weather and the three concerts attracted hundreds of music lovers. It was so popular that we decided to add another date in 2019.
LPNA’s Movie in the Park – Shawn the Sheep, occurred late in September and entertained around 100 residents in Lindenwood Park. The LPNA uses Frontyard Features for this event. LPNA has been hosting this event for 14 years and has decided that this was the last year. Instead, another concert will be added to the Lindenwood Live concert series.
THE LPNA Trivia Night was held in July at Timothy Lutheran. The theme was, Saturday Night Fever/the 70’s. The Trivia Night committee consists of Pat Acquisto, Tom Acquisto, Mary Cahn and Sean Cahn. It was fun and crazy with a costume contest, table decoration contest and many prizes from our generous neighborhood businesses. This is one of our biggest fundraisers every year with proceeds going towards free events and neighborhood beautification.
Another valuable fundraiser is the Flea Market in the Spring. Lisa Roggeman chairs this event held at Timothy Lutheran’s gym. This year was a success with 23 tables sold and multiple donations from Lindenwood Park residents for the LPNA tables. The profit from this fundraiser also helps cover the cost of free events.
Tweetups were held on the last Tuesday of every month except December. Tweetup are happy hours organized by Lisa Roggeman. These happy hours are a chance for everyone to try one of our many wonderful Lindenwood Park restaurants, while meeting fellow residents and elected officials. This year we visited some great restaurants old & new. Our neighborhood is lucky to be home to so many eateries and this is an excellent way to take advantage of it!
The Holiday Lighting Contest is held during December and arranged by Jorie Shuckman who gathers a team of judges to drive the neighborhood and witness the cheery lighting displays. In 2017 they chose three houses and of course the judging is not easy because there are so many gorgeous displays. Jorie is busy organizing the 2018 contest as I write this.
We typically have a Lawn & Garden Contest in early summer, but unfortunately it did not happen in 2018 because the fearless leader of this event had a double knee replacement so needless to say he was not in a lawn & garden mood.
Beautification:
There were two park cleanups organized by our Park Chair, Craig Strohbeck. Craig has done a great job with the help of volunteers, for a number of years making sure that the gardens are maintained, mulch is laid, and tree are trimmed. We are fortunate to have several gardeners who consistently maintain the corner gardens and gazebo garden.
Our community garden angels are Mliton Murry and Sharon Panian. They manage the garden on Smiley at Leola which consists of 20 beds that are maintained by individuals. Milt & Sharon arrange for everything the gardeners need for a successful harvest as well as water, weed and mow. Recently they have undertaken the garden at Wabash between Oleatha & Pernod. This year phase two was completed with the help of neighborhood volunteers who gave up their time to pull weeds, lay plastic and plant native plants. The garden is a beautiful eco-friendly sight in a once weedy area on Wabash.
The highway cleanup team, called the Green Team headed by Tim Nowell meets once a quarter to pick up trash at Hwy. 44 EB and Jamieson. Anyone can volunteer to help, the more the merrier and this year they picked up about four to five bags of trash at each cleanup. They also cut up bigger branches and sometimes mowed. The entrance to our neighborhood looks great thanks to the Green Team.
Communications:
Our webmaster Greg Roggeman worked with Hot Lava Media this year to revamp the membership page of our website. New and renewing members can register and pay on the LPNA Membership Page. Even if not paying on the website, members are encouraged to still register so Greg and Lindsay Alsop, the Membership Chair can keep track of members and dues. This enables Greg to make sure you are getting newsletters and announcements. Greg does a great job with the website and we are fortunate to have him. However, it is not an easy task for one person, so we are always looking for volunteers with web experience.
Lindsay & Rita Alsop used a report of new home sales in the area to make sure that each residence got a welcome packet. The packet contains valuable info on the neighborhood and ensures that the LPNA appreciates our new residents.
Our new Block Captain Chairs, Elizabeth Hatfield-Merida and Emily Rogier jumped into their new positions with enthusiasm. In spite of Liz having a baby and Emily becoming an LPNA Board Member they managed to add three new block captains in 2018 and are always looking for more. They also organized a very fun block captain appreciation party at Epiphany Lanes.
Streets & Property:
The committee led by Walt Winters was very busy in 2018. They handled several complaints about properties and worked with the alderman and the city to get the problems resolved. Some of the problems involve talking to owners and the owners take care of the issue and some involve lengthy struggles that often lead to police and court involvement. Although we are fortunate to not have a great number of problem properties, the committee would like to keep it that way by dealing with problems in a timely fashion.
Safety:
The LPNA worked closely with Officer Vince Stehlin to write impact letters to the courts about crimes committed in our neighborhood. Although the letters do not suggest to a judge how to set bail or sentence a criminal they do inform the judge of the impact the crime had on our sense of safety and stability. A group sometimes attended the hearings along with Officer Stehlin and Alderman Vaccaro.
Business:
The LPNA helped several new businesses in the neighborhood by writing letters of conditional use to the City. This protects both the business and the residents by making sure that everyone is on the same page about how the business can successfully coincide in a residential neighborhood.
The LPNA and Alderman Vaccarro hosted a town hall meeting concerning the Circle K expansion. Residents met with the attorney for Circle K and the City Street Department to discuss anticipated traffic problems. As a result, Ballard posts were installed at Jamieson and Fyler to test the possibility of bump outs on those corners to cut down on speeding and the running of stop signs. The Street Dept. and Circle K agreed to meet to discuss other concerns raised by the City.
The LPNA has agreed to install planters on Ivanhoe with the help of the Ivanhoe businesses.
The LPNA does as much as possible to promote area businesses through Tweetups and social media. We strongly encourage all members to shop and dine locally!
I wish I could mention every volunteer by name because there are so many that help throughout the year! Nothing can happen without volunteers and you are so appreciated, whether you worked an event, maintained a garden, pulled some weeds, picked up trash, donated to the flea market, etc., you are what makes this a great neighborhood!
Sincerely,
Pat Acquisto
President,
Lindenwood Park Neighborhood Association