We are putting our summer gardens to rest. The fall leaves and cool air of October have passed and winter is coming.
NANA co-sponsored the first annual North Avondale Porch Fest on a beautiful cool, sunny Friday evening where neighbors, friends and families came together to enjoy live music, ice cream and hibachi grill selections. There was also fun for the kids, including the bouncy castle, cotton candy, popcorn and snow cones. I want to thank everyone that made the festival a success. A special thank you to Matt and Heather Ruehl (Marion) for opening their beautiful home and spacious gardens and Dawn Johnson for helping organize this special event. There were so many more that contributed a few hours to help. A huge heartfelt thank you to Marla Barone, Maura Wolf, Teresa Harten, Charlene Morse, Sarah Cornell, Vanessa Wong, Walter Koucky, Cindy and Troy Robinson. Thank you to everyone who came and supported North Avondale.
We now have twice the leadership of the Beautification committee as Jennifer Harten (Wess Park) joins Bridget McComas (Dickson) as co-chair. They are working on solutions to fund long term beautification projects and attract more volunteers. NANA received a generous donation for Beautification from our neighbor and member Jack Wolking (Belvedere). Thank you Jack for fulfilling a need to fund our beautification projects around the neighborhood. NANA is also thankful for our partnership with Dave Boutelle from Cincinnati Parks and the team who replaced two struggling trees at Seasongood Square. Cincinnati Parks plans to replace a few plants that have recently gone missing from the circle garden at Seasongood, too.
The Law and Safety and Zoning committees are hard at work. NANA approved the purchase and installation of a flashing stop sign to be installed at Clinton Springs and Mitchell to help remind drivers to observe the new stop signs heading east down Mitchell. The committee also resolved a safety issue for lighting along Clinton Springs and Wess Park Drive. The Zoning committee continues to work with the City Department of Planning and Engagement on the Master Plan. The city has assigned a planner, Abby Couch, to work with NANA and the Master Plan team. The Master Plan team meets the first Thursday of every month at the North Avondale Recreation Center from 7:00pm-8:00pm. More to come.
Be on the lookout for NANA’s Annual Membership and Donation drive. In November, you will receive a donation request letter via mail that includes a giving envelope for donations along with your annual membership renewal. Now our members can direct their contribution to specific projects like beautification, social activities, youth activities or safety. We need everyone’s continued support to make our neighborhood a better place to live and raise our families. Please consider giving back and volunteering a few hours each month.