A Lakewood Neighborhood Association Rises From the Ashes

The Pacific Neighborhood Association has been around for many years. Participation waned and soon it fell by the wayside. In early 2010, the City of Lakewood asked for volunteers to revive the association. At the May meeting,
officers were voted in to hold office for a year to bring some life back into the neighborhood.

Has it helped?

Check with the Lakewood Police Department to see how the number of calls for service for the area compares to when the association was inactive.

The president came into office bursting with ideas to implement. He felt he was being held back by several of the other officers on the board. Those officers will no longer be in the way of progress in the new year of 2012.

We can expect some mighty changes and some positive impact from the group on the neighborhood. President Obama ran for office proclaiming a change. That is what we are looking forward to in 2012 — a refreshing change to revamp the Springbrook neighborhood.   

Goals to strive for in 2012 include ways to attract more businesses to the
area. Several people have commented it would be nice to have some family
restaurants along Pacific Highway to send the motel clientele to for meals. Others
would like to see a banking facility for local use. Many want to see a
local grocery store to be built for the area. Motels & casinos may bring in
a larger tax base, but is that what the people of the area actually want?

The Pacific Neighborhood Association will hold its quarterly meeting on Nov. 29, 2011 from 6-7 p.m. at City Hall, 6000 Main Street. Several officer positions will be open and there will be a call for volunteers to step up from the crowd and help take charge for 2012. Get involved in solving problems instead of standing around the watercooler complaining. Be a part of the solution!

Membership standards are pretty simple to meet. Anyone who resides or
works in the area qualifies for membership and can run for any available office
that is open. At one time there was a separate landlord and owner group and a
business group. They both fell by the wayside and now a start has been made to
recover the group. Any businesses in Lakewood Police District 2 who wants to
join can come on down to the meeting at the end of this month. Get on the mailing
list for what is going on in your neighborhood.

Business members it would not hurt to do a little networking at the meeting. Let others know what kind of product or service you provide. Perhaps while helping improve the neighborhood, you can also drum up some additional business. Just walking down one short street, I was amazed at the number of people I had never seen before. I have been in the area since August of 2009 and thought I was pretty familiar with the area. It turns out there is a lot more to the neighborhood than meets the eye from the street as you drive by the area. Stop and get to know your fellow residents, neighbors and businesses!