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When: TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 14 @ 6:30PM
Where: CORDATA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL -- SCHOOL LIBRARY
(4420 Aldrich Road)
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We have invited the following people to speak to us about alternative methods of responding to 911 calls where behavioral or mental issues may be involved. We will learn more about how these practices may provide alternatives to police response and better serve the community.
Lt. Claudia Murphy--Bellingham Police Dept, Lieutenant, Patrol Division
Malora Christenson--Whatcom County Response Systems Manager
Marisa Schoeppach--Homeless Outreach Team
Elaine Woods/Barbara Sandarov--Housing our Helpers Program
Join us for an important conversation and some Costco pizza!
Don't miss this meeting!
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You may have noticed some new signs around the different entrance points into Cordata. The signs were designed by Dianne Tudor, Vice President of the Cortdata Neighborhood Board. It's always nice to have resident artists in the neighborhood. The design had to be submitted to the City of Bellingham Arts Commission for approval. We were able to cover the costs of printing the eight signs through the City's Small and Simple Grant. We are very grateful to the City for these funds as well as the installation of the signs. We hope you agree that they provide a warm and colorful welcome and sense of identity to Cordata. | | |
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CORDATA COMMUNITY GARDEN
Located at the north end of Cordata Parkway has lots available
Contact us at cordatagardens@yahoo.com
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• The garden is operated as a subcommittee of the Cordata Neighborhood Association
• Founded in 2009, we are a 501 (c) 3 organization.
• Garden Season is from April 1st through March 10th the following year.
• Water is turned on from April through October 31st.
• We are an ORGANIC GARDEN.
• The garden includes 54 raised beds 4 ft x 16 ft and two ADA beds 4 ft x 8 ft 3 ft high.
• The gardener fees are $50 per year for a garden bed and $30 per year for an ADA garden bed.
• Tool Shed is fully equipped with shovels, rakes, hoes, and wheel barrels to be shared by all.
• Water, hoses and nozzles are provided.
• Enriched soil/compost and wood chips are provided on a periodic basis.
• You must supply your own small hand tools and gloves.
• A deer fence totally encloses the 14,500 square foot area.
• We have a secured Gate Access
• Each gardener takes on one job to help maintain the garden.
• Each gardener takes on an assigned common area for weeding, every other month.
• Each gardener is responsible for weeding around their garden bed as described in the garden rules.
• We host teamwork parties (Spring and Fall) 1 to 2 hours.
• We partner with the Bellingham Food Bank to donate our surplus of food with weekly drop offs.
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It may not seem like it when reading or listening to the news, but there's good news with respect to crime in our neighborhoods. | |
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The Whatcom County Sheriffs office provides crime statistics. This Crime Stats Dashboard provides information about various types of offenses that have occurred in Whatcom County over a specific date range in an easy to read format.
The chart below shows a drop in crime from September 2021 to September 2023.
You can access more data on the Whatcom County Sheriff's website.
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There are lots of ways to be a part of decisions that can shape our community, our neighborhoods, and our lives. Don't miss your chance to be heard.
1) JAIL TOUR: Not sure how to vote on the new jail proposed levy? Curious about what the current jail looks like, but not enough to get arrested? This LINK will take through a virtual tour of the jail.
2) CLIMATE ACTION SURVEY. Would you like to give your opinion about some potential climate actions that could be implemented? This LINK will give you an opportunity to provide your input.
3) The Bellingham Plan will shape the next 24 years of Bellingham's growth. Don't lose your opportunity to learn more and to provide your input about the directions the City should be taking in future planning. This Website will fill you in on previous conversations with the public and give you a chance to be heard.
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This month's resource from Greg Hope, Education and Outreach Coordinator for the City of Bellingham, is about the importance of an under-the-bed kit. An earthquake that occurs overnight catches us unaware, in the dark, and often with sharp-edged debris on the floor. Keep a few essential items in a bag or backpack under the bed that will be within reach after an earthquake. Watch this YouTube Video for more information.
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A second resource from Greg Hope is Drop, Cover, and Hold On. Drop, Cover, and Hold On is the single best protective action we can take during an earthquake. Each year, schools, businesses, and households are encouraged to take less than a minute for a Drop-Cover-Hold On drill during the annual Great WA Shakeout event on the third Thursday of October. Watch this YouTube video for more information
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The annual Santa 5K race will be held at Cordata Park again on December 17.
Run, skip, or walk this Santa themed 5K at the fabulous Cordata Park. Participants are welcome to run as fast as humanly possible or take an hour while enjoying a coffee and chat with friends.
Costumes are not a requirement, but they do enhance the experience by 28.5%. All participants will receive a one size fits most “Santa hat”. Checkin begins at 10am.
All ages are welcome. the cost is $15 if paid before 11/15 and $25 after that. Kids 12 year and under are $10. Registration closes on 12/13.Register HERE.
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The Bellingham Parks Volunteer Program offers small-scale community work parties during fall, winter, and spring at parks and trails throughout the city. Most work parties take place on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to noon.
November 4--Cordata Park
Support riparian restoration efforts at one of Bellingham’s newest parks by removing invasive Himalayan Blackberry and planting near East Bear Creek. Register HERE.
December 2--Julianna Park
Remove invasive species, plant native trees, and help us spruce up one of Bellingham’s newest parks as we continue the legacy of Julianna Guy. Register HERE
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The second phase of Cordata Park should be completed early in 2024. We were able to tour the site last week and we are so excited about this addition to our park.
This part of the park will include a covered stage with a grassy amphitheter seating area. We envision summer concerts as well as a stage for students to show off their talents, but we look forward to your ideas.
There are pickleball and basketball courts.
There is an enclosed pavillion that will have a capacity of over 70 people with restrooms and a full kitchen. We envision this to be our permanent home for the Cordata community meetings.
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READING PALS
Would you like to help a child learn to read and to love books? The Bellingham School District has a program that will match you with a school and a student from the first to the fifth grades to help on a journey to becoming a strong reader.
We have invited Jennifer Gaer, Volunteer Coordinator and Enrichment Specialist for the Bellingham School District to our January 9, 2024 community meeting where she will provide more details about the training and the program. If you are interested in getting started a little earlier, you can contact her directly HERE.
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I met with Joel Pfundt, Assistant Public Works Director and Eric Johnston, Public Works Director last week to talk about some traffic concerns that have been brought forth by Cordata neighbors. The following is a summary of the discussion and next action steps.
1. There is a plan to reinstate the Neighborhood Traffic Safety Program that was in place in prior years. This program is designed to be more responsive and inclusive to all communities with an emphasis on non-arterial streets (neighborhood streets) where there are concerns about speed and other traffic safety issues. The plan will likely be in place in 2024-25.
2. The Pedestrian and Bike Master Plan has garnered a huge response from the community. There will be additional opportunities for input as the City moves into the next phase of public input. The plan is to present the plan to the City Council in early 2024.
3. I asked about measures to reduce speeding in Cordata, particularly along Cordata Parkway, such as reducing allowable speed limits, installing speed bumps, and placing electronic speed rate signs on specific streets. The City is reviewing the method by which speed limits have been determined in the past to evaluate any needed changes. Speed bumps are not a viable solution; however, I was asked to submit some suggested sites to place a portable radar speed trailer that will, hopefully, make people more aware of their excessive speed.
4. We discussed the pedestrian crossing on Horton connecting the Julianna Trail. The City is currently installing over 20 Rapid Rectangular Flashing Beacon (RRFB) systems in the City as part of various projects and will add this area to the list as potential locations for installations. An RRFB system allows for a pedestrian to press a button that activates a flashing light to signal drivers of a pedestrian planning to use the crosswalk. We hope to see one of these installed at this site in 2024.
As Cordata grows, more potential traffic concerns will arise. Congested areas such as the intersection on Aldrich and Northwest may need to be addressed, and I feel confident that the City will continue to be responsive to our needs. In the meantime, please add your suggestions and feedback to the upcoming bike and pedestrian plans by using the links below.
The Bicycle Master Plan Update is entering the Plan Discovery phase. In this stage, the community can visit Engage Bellingham to add bike connections they would like to see on the webmap and take a survey to help inform community priorities.
Draft plan recommendations for the Pedestrian Master Plan Update are available to view on the Engage Bellingham project page. The project team is currently working on incorporating feedback to update these draft recommendations. If you would like to provide input, please email the project team at pedbikeplans@cob.org or add your comments to the “Ask a Question” section on the Engage Bellingham page.
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Several community members are working on a petition to endorse the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. The effort includes many people, organizations and other countries.
If you'd like more information, you can find it HERE.
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If you own a home in Cordata, chances are that you are in an HOA or COA. Some homeowners may be unaware of what that means until after they've closed on the property. Some homeowners enjoy the protections an HOA/COA offers while some homeowners resent the rules that they must abide by.
There have been some efforts to change the state laws around HOA/COA. One such group is the HOA Reform Leaders National Group. If this topic is of interest to you, you can see an example of one group's take on possible solutions to what they see as concerns. You can access their site HERE.
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From Atlanta comes an uplifting story of nearly 3,000 students getting a brighter future after a debtor organization bought $10 million in student loans for the purpose of canceling it.
The total cost of the purchase was one-and-a-quarter pennies for every dollar of debt—with the low value reflecting the likelihood of the university in question—Morehouse College—of recovering it.
The purchase from the Historically Black College wiped out the debt for 2,777 students, amounting to around $3,600 dollars of debt per student from the Fall 2022 school term.
Debt Collective and the Rolling Jubilee Fund were responsible for the purchase which amounted to the largest in the organizations’ histories. use this LINK to get more details and read some other Happy News stories to brighten your day.
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CNA Website
As a reminder, check out our new webpage. We will continue to send monthly newsletters, but the website provides a great deal more information such as the following pages:
Introducing the CNA
All About Cordata
CNA Newsletter
Events and News
Resources
Contact and Support
This is the community website, so we invite you to submit your HOA/COA or neighborhood news and events, photos that you'd like to submit that speak to our shared community, and any questions or comments you may have.
If you have a business that you'd like to promote, please feel free to send us text/images as well.
We hope you enjoy the website and find it useful.
And remember to use the "Send Us a Message" form on the Contact and Support page of our new webpage LINK HERE to send us your suggestions for speakers or topics for future community meetings as well as anything else you'd like to share.
We love to hear from our neighbors.
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CHECK IT OUT!!
For an update on Phase 2 of Cordata Park, use the Engage Bellingham LINK.
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Looking for alternatives
to calling 911?
Homeless Outreach Team: Weekdays 7am to 9:30pm 360-312-3717
Mobile Crisis Outreach Team: 24/7 –
1-800-584-3578
Report a crime not in progress without a suspect Bellingham Police – Weekdays: 360-778-8804
Report a crime not in progress with a suspect Bellingham Police – Weekdays: 360-676-6911
Dispute Resolution Center – Not a crisis line: Tuesday to Friday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. – 360-676-0122
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Looking for a place to donate clothes or other items other than "for profit" places? Here's a list that I found on NextDoor. Some of these may not still be accepting, so check it out before you go.
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Report Non-Emergencies
If you see something that you feel needs to be brought to the attention of the City, e.g., graffiti, broken glass in a bike lane, vandalism, the City wold like you to use their SEE-CLICK-FIX site. You can get more information at SeeClickFix FAQ
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We are now able to take CNA Membership fees/donations through Paypal. You may continue to use a check and mail to the address below.
CNA Membership
We \happily accept memberships fees/donations to the Cordata Neighborhood Association. Join either through the Paypal LINK or through regular mail at
CNA
PO Box 30061
Bellingham, WA 98228
All donations are tax deductible: ID# 17053217309029
The CNA is proud to support two other funds. Please consider supporting either or both by sending a check to the addresses below.
Donations to CNA Scholarship Fund
Whatcom Community College Foundation,
237 W Kellogg Road,
Bellingham, WA 98226-9912
Donations to a Children's Room in our Bellis Fair Branch Library
Whatcom Community Foundation
Attn: Children's Library Fund
1500 Cornwall, #202
Bellingham, WA 98225
Interested in learning more about serving on the Cordata Neighborhood Board, or just curious to know what we do? Send an email to k8mcdonald1016@gmail.com and I'll invite you to a Board meeting.
THANK YOU!
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COMMUNITY RESOURCES
The COB publishes a lovely Playbook each year with outdoor activities for everyone.
Neighbors Helping Neighbors has a Facebook page as well as a Hotline: 360-778-2762.
The Nextdoor app or website to stay in touch with your immediate neighbors.
Common Sense Media has resources for parents and caregivers working with children at home.
Support local businesses with the help of this website.
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Questions, Comments, Suggestions for the City or County Representatives?
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See you Tuesday, November 14 at 6:30 pm at the Cordata Elementary School Library.
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