October is a beautiful month and our neighbors are taking full advantage of the great weather we have had to keep their properties looking great. There are many homes cleverly decorated with beautiful fall mums, pumpkins, Halloween decorations and such – it is great to walk or drive in the area and see what the neighbors are up to.
593 Hudson Ave Breanna and Michael Brower’s Home
The Swisher Mansion of Chris Paloma
EMINDER TRICK OR TREAT IS THURSDAY OCT. 28 5:30-&:00 PM. We will have lots of guests in the neighborhoods on THURSDAY OCTOBER 28! Be prepared for them from 5:30 – 7 pm. It’s a great night in our area!
SIDE WALK UPDATE – 2 years ago Mark Fraizer took it upon himself to form an HHCA sidewalk committee to help HHCA residents fund sidewalk repairs and replacement on their public walk. He secured $7,000 for the HHCA to use to encourage it’s residence who have failing walks to make the improvements with as much as $625 per property in assistance money. Year one was last year…. Mostly a disaster due to COVID and scarcity of contractors. This year we faired much better! So far these properties have seen upgrades and received grant money to support their projects from the HHCA. 564, 430 Hudson Ave were finished last year. Now we add: 418, 424, 520 and 495 Hudson Ave to the mix. 34 Elizabeth is beginning a project as I write this. 3 applicants withdrew their projects and 2 more asked for applications. The project was first opened to Hudson Ave, then Elizabeth and then North Street. There is still at least $1,400 in the account unencumbered by requests for funds. If you live in the HHCA area and can get your public sidewalk done by Nov. 30, 2021 – and want to apply for the funds… please email me (bobqsp2@windstream.net) and I will forward you an application. The grant money will be returned at the end of November if not used or unless they grant us an extension.
There have been a number of improvements to alleys in our area. Street lights, pot holes etc. are the responsibility of the street dept. HHCA has a very good working relationship with the department. If you need a light bulb replaced in a street light, a hole patched in the street or alley, don’t hesitate to call and share with them the address of the needed repair or in the case of a street light – the pole number too (it’s street side) (740) 670-7734!
The drain at the intersection of the alley in the 400 block and Sisal St. had an incredible dip after they repaved Sisal. The drain was raised with a concrete form and blacktop added to make the “dip” disappear. Great work!
Our next membership meeting is November 11 at 7:00 PM at the USW Hall. We will have HHCA elections! We will have lots of items to share from committee reports including the Christmas Decorating Contest AND – we are looking at announcing a special HHCA tour of a local museum in December. There are details that need to be worked out – but this is another of Newark’s Gems.
Seems there are many OU attendees in our neighborhood…. Tony Barbuto – a grad of OU and a member of the OU Marching Band (tuba), met our scholarship winner Hailey Jendanklang who is also a drummer in the band at an event at OU. He said “I went looking for the drummer from Newark”. Small world!
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HHCA Neighborhood Garden at North Street Park
A huge thank you to the volunteers who have helped Paul Gregory and I get soil and concrete block to North Street to finish off the project of making 10 concrete block beds. Ryan and Brody Meldahl who provided the dump trailer, the muscle and the driving skills to get the vehicle into the park. Dwight McBride for helping load the concrete block. Tim Gartner who helped unload the block, and Jose Cabral who assisted Paul in making the beds and filling them. With the huge success of prolific beds, the green house, the water gathering system and the tool loan shed… this project only promises to grow (pun intended) next year. I believe I have heard talk of a pollinator garden too. If you want to claim a bed for next season… PLEASE contact Paul soon. There was no charge to “own” a bed for the season to HHCA members and a very nominal fee for non-members, but all “owners” were expected to chip in to maintain the area.
All HHCA members and their neighbors are encouraged to attend the VIRTUAL SEWER SEPARATION MEETING on Wednesday October 27 at 6:30 PM. The information will be very important and the HHCA has been invited to make suggestions and give ideas for how we might preserve our Historic area in the planning of the new street (Hudson Ave) after the work below the surface has been completed. We will likely lose trees in this construction and we need to think ahead as to what we would like to have in their place. We also have the opportunity to suggest traffic slowing features (calming circles, speed humps, stop signs, crosswalks, etc). Please be at this virtual event! I had forwarded this letter to all HHCA members 2 days ago. Please refer to it.
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CHRISTMAS DECORATING CONTEST IS IN THE WORKS FOR 2021!
Not to rush things… but “Prior Proper Planning Prevents….” Sandy Gartner, Bobbi Meldahl and Liz McBride have already been planning to do the HHCA Wide Christmas Decorating Contest this December. The purpose of the contest is to create a little neighborhood fun and pride. There will be several categories –as they had last year. Each “winner” will receive a special HHCA ornament. Judges will be driven throughout the entire HHCA area to make their votes. Judges will be non-residence of the area and non-members of the HHCA. It’s for fun… and if it’s anything like last year – the houses in the area will be beautiful and will be the talk of the town. Many cars drove through the area very slowly last year just to take it all in.
Newark Development Partners Guest Presenter at the October 14 HHCA Meeting:
Fred Ernest (Executive Director of Newark Development Partners who purchased the former Church of the Nazarene at Wyoming and Hudson and several adjacent properties) shared with the 36 people in attendance – that the group is looking to preserve the Nazarene Church building and find a suitable use for it. The group is approaching investors and have met with several developers to explore possibilities. We are all excited about the possibilities for the use of the area and respect their desire to make use of the “church” structure (verses demolishing it). These are exciting times for the south end of Hudson Ave. You may access NDP at: info@wedignewark.com
Please help me: I need pictures and ideas for future articles. Pictures of homes decorated for fall are very timely. Maybe an uplifting article on neighbors helping neighbors. Email me whatcha got…PLEASE !
Prepared by: Bob Meldahl – HHCA President