Bluff Park Neighborhood Assoc. *** Beach Area Concerned Citizens

PRESIDENT''S NOTES- A RECAP OF 2001

Nov 16, 2001

Well, can you believe it! Here we are at our last Newsletter of 2001! So many things have happened since we started this year that I thought I would recap progress in achieving our Strategic Plan goals for 2001. Believe it or not we have made progress in improving the Quality of Life for all of our Bluff Park residents.

Increased membership to 350 residents was the goal. Wendy Harn and Cindi Rogan tackled the task. We have actually achieved 485 members. The membership roster is complete and up to date thanks to Mike Hernandez. We are still working on an approach to welcoming new residents but the task is very difficult with so many apartments and no formal way of being notified in an automatic way. We would sure welcome some help on this goal - if you have any ideas how to do it, please contact us with your thoughts.

Louis Foch has done an outstanding job of keeping us informed of crime trends and ways to keep from being a victim. Through his efforts we are a standing member of the East Police Advisory Committee (EPAC) and we have Community Police representatives visit us at each General Meeting with the latest on crime issues to be aware of in the neighborhood. We also have one very active Neighborhood Watch Group operating in Bluff Park but we need more. If you need more information on neighborhood Watch and guidance on how to establish a Group, please call Louis.

John Parkin with some assistance from Dave Hurlbut has worked on nuisance removal and code compliance. They have kept the monthly Bluff/Beach Cleanup alive with the help of the Long Beach Surfrider Foundation. We can always use help in this area. It is always on the second Saturday and meets on the Bluff at Orizaba Ave. from 9am to 10am. John's effort in almost single handedly acquiring grant funding and planting close to 100 trees in Bluff Park was outstanding. He has some plans to increase the tree population on Broadway Ave. in Coordination with the Bluff Heights Neighborhood Association during 2002.

Donna Herman and her core committee of three, Helena Segalhorst, Carol DeGroot and Cindi Rogan again came thru with a marvelously successful Bluff Park Home and Garden tour. Congratulations to them and Long Beach Heritage for the effort and focus that they have brought to our neighborhood.

November and December are the months for nominating "most improved homes " and outstanding "holiday decoration" residences. You should see more on these topics elsewhere in this Newsletter.

The three California Native Plant Demonstration projects, part of the overall Bluff Restoration Project are pretty much on schedule. to be planted in November, the most beneficial time.

The engineering tasks, have fallen significantly, behind due to extremely poor leadership on the part of the City Staff. A recovery plan, to keep the project on schedule is in the preparation stages and should be available in the next few weeks. John Fialko has been monitoring this Project and can use some help in working with the City Staff to prevent further erosion of the Project timeline.

We have had success with the "Street Sign Conversion" program, the installation of signs that reflect our Historic District status. Municipal codes have been changed and sign designs are complete. Sample signs were available at the Home and Garden Tour refreshment areas for review. All comments received were favorable. Continued progress hinges on the City Staff (Ruth Ann Lehrer) to complete and submit the final approval paperwork so we can receive from CalTrans "Authorization to Proceed". John Fialko and Mike Hernandez have been working on this Project for the BPNA.

The BPNA Newsletter Improvement Team, made up of Cindi Rogan and Mike Hernandez, have done a remarkable job of improving our Newsletter format, its content, its appearance and delivery. Thank you to both of them for their effort and dedication to make this Newsletter an enjoyable event for all of our Bluff Park Residents.

The Art Museum / Neighborhood liaison team,headed up by Sarah Savell, is making a lot of progress in achieving the co-existence of a sedate Historic Neighborhood with a progressive Art Museum, that hosts many fund raising events. Many of the concerns and impacts have been resolved to a satisfactory solution and we are continuing to work to resolve other issues.

The Traffic Committee, Kay Dermer, Sylvia Diegnau, Steve Everett, Wendy Harn, Laurie MacBeth, Bob Paull, Sarah Savell, Greg Scott, David Scully, Marilyn Scully, and Lorraine Ward have been continually working on traffic issues in Bluff Park. The committee is working toward the implementation of a ?‘traffic calming?’ program for the neighborhood.

The above reflects only the major elements that your Association has undertaken in 2001 - 2002. This review does not cover the many other problems that have been resolved, by the Board, which would have negatively impacted our Quality of Life. Your Board of Directors hope that we have earned your confidence as a worthwhile and effective organization, working on your behalf.

We encourage you to join us and participate in achieving the BPNA stated Vision of:

"The Bluff Park neighborhood of Long Beach is recognized as one of the most desirable family oriented locations to reside in the state of California. The people that live there, as well as those that visit, recognize the neighborhood as a friendly, caring and participative group of residents and families of many diverse backgrounds, ethnicities, living preferences and other unique characteristics that strive to live in harmony and mutually support each other in general."


A Nominating Committee has been appointed to identify Association Director positions for the one-year term starting in January 2002.

If you would like to get more involved, please identify yourself to Cindi Rogan (260-8395 c21cindilee@aol.com) Mike Hernandez (434-3628 miko@earthlink.net), Louis Foch (434-7066 foch@earthlink.net), John Parkin (433-6076 jwparkin@msn.com) or Sarah Savell (439-3855) so that your interest can be identified, job descriptions discussed and commitments made.

We need help to continue your Association's quest to improve our neighborhood's quality of life for all residents.