A Sign Coming Our Way

A sign similar to this will soon adorn Newman Park

Newmanistas will soon have a beautiful new sign for Newman Park.

City Council members voted 8-0 to approve the latest round of Neighborhood Improvement Program requests amounting to $500,000 for sidewalks, parks and signs in several neighborhoods including our own. Spearheaded by Association Vice-President, Becky Friesenhahn, the Newman Park Neighborhood Association applied for and was awarded $14,800 for a new sign for Newman Park. It won't be just any sign. It will be similar to the beautiful signs that you see at the entrances of Scenic Drive.

Neighborhood Improvement Program funds come from Certificates of Obligation. The current NIP funds are from 2008 CO's. The City is not spending money that is used for the current fiscal year budget. Nevertheless, the El Paso Times ran an editorial today opposing the NIP funding. They asked, ". . . should $14,800 be spent so that Newman Park in Central El Paso can have a sign similar to those marking the entrances to Scenic Drive?"

Ah . . . yes.

Should the El Paso Times ever be taken seriously? Give them credit for Louie Gilot and Maria Cortés Gonzalez and a good story about the Poppy Festival in Tiempo today. That's all I'm going to say.

If You Build It, They Will Come

On the morning after the swings were finally installed, there were kids swinging before 6:30. There were kids swinging all day and the day after that and the day after that. There was even a chess game or two played on one of the new tables last Thursday evening.

Comments about the improvements to the Park have been positive and enthusiastic. There have been a couple of criticisms about the exercise stations. One station is not what the Association ordered - but then board members overseeing the improvements were not allowed by the City to check the orders before installation. It is an item on the NPNA punch list - but will City officials allow even that input? So far, there has been no word about a proposed meeting for a walk through to include NPNA members as well as contractors and City officials.

Finishing Touches

The work is just about done. Newman Park has new exercise stations, colorful benches and tables and even a new dog waste stand. (It's called a "Pet Waste" stand; but do you think intelligent cats need it?)

The swings are hung and a thick layer of mulch covers the ground below the swings.

Of course, there will have to be a walk through and a punch list made before the job is really done. NPNA Vice President, Becky Friesenhahn, and Jim Tolbert drew up a list recently of items that need to be rectified.

The good news is that the job is just about done.

You can see more pictures of park improvements at the Newman Park Neighborhood Association Facebook page.

Finishing the Jobs at Newman Park

Contractors were putting in the last of the 4 exercise stations at the park today. The new benches and tables have already been installed. The swings have arrived and will be assembled once the mulch gets delivered - hopefully tomorrow.

The Newman Park Neighborhood Association has asked the City to be part of the punch list team. The response from City officials is that public participation is not customary. How come? Shouldn't it be the standard operating procedure? Representative Byrd has sent out word asking that all be involved.

Newman Park Projects Will Be Completed by Next Wednesday

Newman Park Neighborhood Association VP, Becky Friesenhahn, met with the contractor working on the NIP project at Newman Park today. It appears that benches, tables and exercise stations will be placed as the neighborhood association specified. Moreover, there seems to be confirmation that the products ordered will indeed be installed.

According to City engineers, the exercise equipment will be received tomorrow and installed by next Wednesday. City engineers also said that the swings will be installed by the same date.

Will NIP Project Actually Get Done This Week?

The contractor has begun putting in the foundations for the new benches, tables and exercise stations. And, according to Javier Reyes, P.E., of the City's Engineering Department:

"We spoke to the contractor today. He stated that he is still awaiting the 4 exercise units. He stated that he will have an answer from the manufacturer today. He did state that he will have all the picnic tables, benches, and site work done by this Friday July 17. As soon as I get an answer from him on the exercise equipment I will provide the info to you. If he does not provide the exercise equipment by the 20th he will be considered late."

Still neighborhood leaders are wondering if the plans that they agreed to will be followed. Will the placement of all the new equipment be correct? Will the new equipment come as specified? Will neighborhood leaders have an opportunity to review these matters with the City and contractors in the next couple of days?

There's Almost a Wall but Where Are the Swings?

And where are the benches, the new tables, the exercise stations? Remember the park improvements funded by the NIP money are supposed to be installed by July 20th - just 10 working days away. I've been told that no concrete pads or work on re-routing irrigation will begin until the new equipment actually is delivered. Hmmm . . .

There are some real heroes (or heroine) regarding the two year saga with the NIP project. More on that when the new equipment has finally been installed.

As you can see by the above picture, the perimeter wall for the new swings is almost complete. It is slow going with 2 or 3 men working slowly throughout almost all of the day.

Just Where Are Those Benches and Exercise Stations

As previously mentioned, Newmanistas wonder just when we will see the benches, tables and exercise stations that are supposed to be installed in the park using Neighborhood Improvement program funds. Application for those funds began nearly two years ago and approval was over a year. Bids were taken recently, then rejected, re-bidded and accepted. A&R Contractors won the bid.

With about 17 working days to go before the promised completion date, the contractor has yet to show up.

In an email to our District 2 Representative, Susie Byrd, an official with the city's Department of Engineering wrote:

Susie

We spoke to the contractor last week and he is expecting the delivery of the equipment the first week of July. Most of the work will be installing the exercise equipment, picnic units, benches, and bag dog stand. Minor adjustments to the irrigation system will be required. It is not practical for the contractor to commence work before equipment comes in. The contractor has stated he should meet July 20 deadline. However if the equipment delivery date runs late it will only delay him a couple of days.

We will keep communicating with the contractor so that he can keep up the schedule.

Thanks

Javier Reyes, P.E.
Engineering Division Manager
City of El Paso Engineering Department
(915) 541-4630 or (915) 920-5593
javierrx@elpasotexas.gov

Slow but Sure: the Swings Will Go Here . . .

In the last Newman Park Neighborhood Association e-letter I wrote:

"Work on the addition to our playground of swings continues. The City has also promised us that benches, tables and exercise stations will be installed by July 20^th. That’s just 20 work days from now. Hmmmmm. Our neighborhood association began work on securing the Neighborhood Improvement Program grant for the benches, etc. nearly two years ago. "

Okay. So now we are down to 18 days. It will be amazing to see the swings in by then.

Cement Prices Holding Up NIP Project for Newman Park

Here's the good news: Newman Park is in the queue for new swing sets this spring. Likewise, our Neighborhood Improvement Project funds have been granted and a bid went out in November to put in the concrete pads needed for exercise stations and so forth. However, the bids that came in were over what the estimate for the project is by a bit over $5,000. City engineers believe that the reason for the difference is the price of concrete. That commodity did go up in 2008 especially during the month of November. We could take out items from our improvement plan or try to come up with the $5,000 that the City is short or we could wait and see if the price of cement goes down which is what City engineers think might happen in January. Obviously, it is better to wait and re-bid even if that holds our project up for a month more.

However, the cost of cement may not be going down at all. A spokesman for an engineering firm told me:

"We have not heard of any decrease in concrete coming up – if anything it may continue to rise. I don’t know where City engineers are getting that info. It’s true that contractors are lowering some of their other costs – like profit – in order to be more competitive. The City is just as capable of building a data base and tracking the cost of materials, and unit prices. Maybe if they did they would be more realistic about budgets versus wish list. But then who knows who they call to check prices – some of their buddies - or legitimate businesses."

The best that we can do right now is wait and re-visit this again in January.

The latest Portland Cement Association forecast of cement, concrete, and construction predicts a 12 percent decline in cement consumption in 2008, followed by another 6 percent drop in 2009. Consumption may be down but what about supply? With Jobe frantically supplying cement so that the border wall can be built, supply may remain fairly constant in our area. If so, prices will go up and not down.

Again, all we can do is wait a month and see.

Newman Park Neighborhood Association August Board Minutes

Minutes for Newman Park Neighborhood Association Board Meeting, August 23, 2008 at Cinco Puntos Press, 701 Texas Avenue, El Paso, TX.

In attendance: Becky Ayala, Lee Byrd, Lynn Coyle, Lisa Degliantoni, Becky Friesenhahn, Sergio Guerrero, Abbie Majerczyk and Jim Tolbert.

President Lynn Coyle called the meeting to order at 8:05 a.m.

New board member, Abbie Majerczyk, was introduced. She replaces Diana Erickson who recently resigned from the Board.

Sergio Guerrero gave a report on the recent Neighborhood Coalition Summit. He and Jim Tolbert attended. The name of our Association did not appear on the list of Neighborhood Associations. Jim was tasked with making sure that Mark Alvarado and Bill Sparks are made aware of this oversight.

Jim recommended that we begin attending Coalition meetings on the third Monday of every month. He said that he would attend as often as he could.

Jim Tolbert brought up the Neighborhood Leadership Academy. It was decided that the Academy was good for new Associations who weren’t as familiar with City government. It was agreed that we are pretty knowledgeable about the City departments and that they are pretty familiar with us.

The Board next heard a report from Jim about the Traffic Calming/Greening Committee. The Board discussed the proposed traffic changes at Wheeling. Lynn said that she would attend the follow-up meeting at the City regarding this change. Becky Friesenhahn urged that others attend as well.

The Board also had a lengthy discussion about planting more trees in the neighborhood. Lisa Degliantoni and Sergio Guerrero said that they would assist with a grant proposal through the West Texas Urban Forestry Council to the Neighborwoods Tree program sponsored by the Alliance for Community Trees.

The Board next discussed the upcoming September 13th music in the park event. Lee remarked that the City will soon have a program that will pay for neighborhood association concerts. Lee was tasked with finding a band for September 13th.

At the end of the meeting, the following calendar in preparation for the 13th was agreed upon:

Prior to September 4 Band Selection
Thursday, September 4 Info to Becky F. for Flyer
Translation into Spanish by Sergio
Monday, September 8 Flyers Distributed

The Board briefly discussed the Halloween event. It was agreed that the event should be expanded to include other activities. As Halloween falls on a Friday this year and not on a school night, it was suggested that Trick or Treaters could return to the Park for a scary story.

The Board continues to be concerned about the deterioration of the McKee Mansion (2630 Richmond). Lee will contact Gary Williams at the El Paso Community Foundation to see if they have interest in the property. She also mentioned contacting the McKee Foundation as well.

Becky Friesenhahn next reported on the last Neighborhood Improvement Program update. She and Jim met with Lorrine Quimiro in the Neighborhood Services Department on August 13th. Final placement of benches, tables, exercise stations, etc. were discussed. Flexibility was given to City engineers for the best possible positioning of items. Becky left Lorrine a copy of the engineering drawing from the Parks Department showing where the new swings would be placed. An onsite meeting at Newman Park will be scheduled. We are on the fast track and should see the improvements completed by spring of 2009. Becky also asked that the City take responsibility for engineering estimates if too much. A major contention with the City centers on the fact that 50% of the grant for neighborhood improvements includes engineering/permitting costs. A $50,000 grant is in essence only a $25,000 grant.

Lynn asked Board members to consider that future events in the Park be advertised on a banner in the Park similar to one used at Madeline Park. A twice yearly printed bi-lingual newsletter was also suggested. It was also suggested that an event flyer be sent out to the e-letter list prior to an event. Becky Ayala will check to see if Americorp or other groups will leaflet the neighborhood for us.

Meeting adjourned at 9:32 a.m.