Nearly 70 people attended Rae Gabelich’s “town hall meeting,” at which she encouraged the audience to participate in neighborhood associations.
BY NICK DIAMANTIDES
Staff Writer
Many people in Long Beach wish that their neighborhoods would improve in various ways, but few actually do anything to make them better. In an effort to get more people involved in their community, last week, 8th District Councilwoman Rae Gabelich and her staff conducted a “town hall meeting” that focused on various ways that residents can create positive changes in the city.
About 70 people attended the meeting, which took place at Hughes Middle School during the evening of January 28.
“In our city, and especially the 8th District, our great strength is our neighborhoods,” Gabelich said. “However, in the 8th District, there is a great deal of potential that we can still realize by coming together with our neighbors.”
The councilwoman noted that more than 140 neighborhood associations exist in Long Beach. Twelve such organizations are in the 8th District, but less than half of them meet regularly. Lamenting the dwindling numbers of people engaged in helping the city improve its quality of life, Gabelich encouraged everyone in the audience to get more involved in their neighborhoods.
To make that encouragement more tangible, Gabelich had invited an array of community activists and city officials, who participated in a panel discussion on the venues available, and methods that work for organizations that strive to bring about positive changes in the city.
The speakers included: Jason Brown, who talked about progress on the Atlantic Avenue repaving project; John Keisler of Animal Control Services; Margaret Madden of the Neighborhood Resource Center; Laurie Angel and Linda Ivers of the North Long Beach Community Action Group; Pat Murphy of Neighbors of Rancho Los Cerritos; John Royce of California Heights Neighborhood Association (CHNA); and Scott Jones, founder of We Love Long Beach.
The meeting lasted about three hours, and although each speaker shared valuable information and insights with the audience, space limitations prevent the Signal Tribune from describing all of their presentations.
Madden noted that the Neighborhood Resource Center, which is located at 425 Atlantic Avenue, is part of the City of Long Beach Community Development Department and offers a number of free services and resources to organizations trying to better their neighborhoods. She added that her office can supply residents with contact information that might help them start a neighborhood association in their own area.
Royce, who is CHNA president, encouraged the audience members to take small steps toward making the areas in which they live better. “If you walk by litter, you can either just leave it there or pick it up and throw it away,” he said. “If you have older neighbors who can no longer do the upkeep on their yards, you can just mow their lawn and trim their shrubs. It takes so little time to take care of little problems before they become big problems.”
Royce also gave audience members some tips on how to run a successful neighborhood association. “Life is busy, and there are lots of reasons why not to get involved,” he said. “But if you choose to do so, you will find that a small group of dedicated people working together can accomplish a lot in their community.” He stressed that in a neighborhood with thousands of residents, the common pattern is that less than one hundred of them will take the time to participate in a neighborhood association, but that fact should not discourage anyone from starting such an organization.
He also emphasized the importance of agreeing on common goals. “We literally have neighborhood associations that are coming apart at the seams because people are jumping in the boat and rowing in different directions,” he explained. “They are not willing to give each other a chance to make a mistake.” He added that the reason CHNA has worked so well over the years is that most of its members are willing to learn from mistakes rather than castigating leaders for initiating programs that fail. “Nobody is angry at any other board member,” he said.
Royce added that the ebb and flow of membership is a normal part of any organization, but in order to remain viable a neighborhood association must always stay in touch with local residents and offer programs and events that interest them. He also stressed the importance of spending association money on visible projects and being very transparent as to how much was spent. “Otherwise you will have people saying, ‘They make all this money, but I don’t know what they spend it on,'” he said.
According to Royce, neighborhood association leaders also need to realize that not everyone has the same amount of time available to participate in association programs. “Some people might be able to spend 100 or more hours per year on association programs, while others might only be able to give four or five minutes,” he said. “Just express appreciation for even the smallest amount of time and don’t try to pressure people into doing more than they are able.”
Gabelich reminded the audience that many resources are available to people who want to make a difference in their community. “Neighborhood associations can be great tools for identifying and addressing problems in your area, communicating information, tapping into city resources and getting to know your neighbors,” she said.
To speak to someone in the Neighborhood Resource Center, phone (562) 570-1010.
