Centennial Neighborhood Association
Boise’s westernmost Neighborhood Association, working to make Boise and the Centennial neighborhood a better place to live, work and raise a family!
At Tuesday’s (7-11-2023) City Council Meeting the adequacy of BPD staffing was discussed as it relates to Boise’s growth as well as the increased demand for services brought on by more and more out of town visitors.
See the Chief’s Testimony – Time Stamp 0:33:00
Gary Dufault also addressed CTNA’s in this area during his testimony. West Boise needs patrol services and not just emergency service.
Of the nine people testifying, seven were either related to our Centennial Neighborhood Association or the “Citizens for a Library” group. It was all about our issues last night when it came to testimony.
Young 9-year-old Molly Froerer spoke about the importance of libraries to her personally. Well done, Molly! After the meeting, BPD Chief of Police, who also attended the meeting, commented that he “wanted to clap” for Molly after her testimony.Very positive and encouraging! “Citizens for a Library” and your Centennial Neighborhood representatives were there to testify. I just spent the last few hours watching and unpacking details, taking notes of the taped meeting at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jv8Mre8G_UQ . Note that testimony was limited to three minutes per person for this meeting.
Time0:00 – Start of Boise City Council Meeting to vote on the 2023-2024 Budget Presentation
41:29 Beginning of citizen testimony, Council members questions and comments
1:24:45 Watch all but if you want to skip and hear Molly first, here’s your spot
Watching this meeting in its entirety, at least from the start of testimony, is highly informative. I was extremely impressed by the Mayor and Council interactions with those giving testimony. I’m not a fan of what are often dull and monotonous public meetings. This meeting was neither.
With Mark Salisbury’s permission I am posting his reflections on Tuesday’s meeting from the “Citizens for a Library” Facebook page. Great job, Mark
| Mark Salisbury | Jul 12, 2023, 11:33 PM (20 hours ago) |  | |
| to bcc: me | |||
Hello Citizens for a Library in West Boise,
We made an impact last night but there’s more to do.
Thank you for supporting this initiative!
Unabridged Version
I posted this on Facebook earlier today: https://www.facebook.com/groups/westboiselibrary. <– join this group if you use FB.
Last night was a success. I delivered printed copies of our petition, with names of signers, and a few pieces of supporting information, to City Council Members, Mayor McLean, and Library Director Dorr. Besides myself, Gary Dufault, Amanda Salisbury, Jennifer Froerer, Molly Froerer, and Joe Lague offered testimony in support of this effort. Others expressed a desire to be there but for various reasons were unable to be (Nancy Cowles, Jennifer Gravel, and Tammy Rampton, and Codi Galloway have worked hard on this and weren’t able to attend). Molly Froerer was the youngest person to testify, and she stole the crowd — Police Chief Ron Winegar told her he wanted to clap when she finished!
They heard our message loud and clear. I know they recognize the gap that exists in West Boise, and I believe they would like to do something about it. They understand that many citizens care about this. I was encouraged by the questions that were asked by City Council members and the support they offered for improving library access. The conversation shifted to the mechanics of how we get this done.
Names of 835 Boise Citizens were included on the petition we delivered, including comments from many who have signed the petition online.
By signing this petition, by testifying, we’ve shown them that Boiseans do value library service, and believe equitable access is important.
We’re not without obstacles, however.
I’m learning how city government works through this process. When I started this, I believed that showing the City Council that there is a need to address, that there are enough people who believe this matters, would be sufficient to prioritize this problem and allocate funds to address it.
I knew that Library Director Jessica Dorr, the staff at the Boise Public Library, and the Boise Library Board of Trustees would need to back any development plans and ultimately request the funds from the city. (Did you know that Boise has a private foundation that supports the library? https://www.boisepubliclibrary.org/about/support-your-library/library-foundation/. Donors gave millions to build a new downtown Boise Library in 2019. These funds were returned after that effort failed). I understand the desire to not misstep right now. Last year the Boise Library collected citizen input. Included in this year’s city budget are funds to pay a consulting agency to help develop a new master plan, which will include examining how facilities are expanded and improved.
By showing them (library staff and city leadership) that citizens care about facilities (and the library knows this also through the outreach they did last year), we’re helping to provide evidence that citizens will support funds going towards library improvements.
There are really 2 options for how we could see library access improved in West Boise:
1) A facility is leased to add a library branch. Collister and Hillcrest are renovated shopping mall space. The city likes them because they are relatively inexpensive.
2) A dedicated facility is constructed. This could happen on land already owned by the city or land could be purchased.
At the conclusion of the study (which will look at the entire city), I believe multiple scenarios will be presented, ranging in cost and scope. To decide which scenario to pursue, I believe the library staff and board of trustees won’t want to hear just from the Mayor and City Council, they’ll want to hear from citizens also.
Our hope is that when this study is completed, we’re ready to turn to visible action.
We suggested that the library / city should examine West Boise in particular for how to expand while the study is taking place as the gap is so obvious.
What do we need to do in the meantime?
– Remain engaged. Find out what’s happening. Offer input to the city and library when the opportunity is available to do so.
– Build more support. Talk about this initiative. I’m leaving this petition open until money is allocated and a place is designated for a library in West Boise.
– Support and use the library.
– Finally, have some patience. Realizing this will take some time.
Big thanks to Council Member Luci Browning Willits for supporting this initiative and getting these great pictures!
Also, I want to acknowledge the efforts, prior to this meeting, of the Centennial Neighborhood Association. Gary Dufault, CTNAs’ President, in addition to speaking last night, has been very supportive and engaged in this effort. The Centennial Neighborhood Association, which has 13,000 Boise residents, is fully within the West Boise Library Desert. Larry Ice and Joe Lague, also members of the CTNA board, testified at the City Council Meeting last night as well. It’s awesome to see our Neighborhood Associations energizing Boise and representing their communities!
Sincerely,
Mark Salisbury
Citizens for a Library in West Boise Organizer
This Tuesday, July 11th, Boise City Council is meeting at the Boise City Hall at 6 PM to review the FY’24 budget. Several of our neighborhood association members will present a petition to improve library coverage in West Boise. We invite you to come and support this too.
Here’s a good link about how to testify/sign up/participate over zoom for the city council meeting if you can’t be there in person.
https://www.cityofboise.org/departments/finance-and-administration/city-clerk/public-meetings/#Participate.
If you plan to attend Tuesday’s meeting in-person you can sign up to testify at City Hall before the meeting. The earlier you sign up the earlier you will be able to testify. Note the start time for the meeting is 6 PM. Testimony is limited to three minutes per person testifying.
Many, if not most of us, have firsthand experiences or stories that reflect how important public libraries are to ourselves and our families. Consider if you have a story to tell that reflects on better access to a public library in west Boise.
| Taxes | We all pay equal taxes to support libraries, but we don’t have equitable access. |
| Cost Efficiency, Expediency West YMCA | A new, dedicated building would be preferred but we recognize this is expensive, the quickest most efficient path to improve access would be to lease space in an existing building. This could be done near the West YMCA in the Boise Research Center or other retail locations that have become vacant due to a trend away from brick-and-mortar retail. |
| Walkable City | We want Boise to be more walkable and bikeable. Part of making it more walkable and bikeable is having places to walk and bike to, within a reasonable distance. |
| Not Just Parks | We have good access to parks, for which we are grateful, but parks are not the only city service we care about. |
| Library Study | When the library study is completed in a year, the same coverage gap will exist. Can we not recognize this and begin to act now? |
| Library Study | The study doesn’t need to be completed to see where we have poor coverage. It’s obvious to anyone when they look at a coverage map of Boise. |
| Action Now | Action we could take now: Step 1) research different options – we can tell you about them, we know West Boise, we live there. Step 2) purchase land. Can we include money from this year’s budget to purchase land for a library in West Boise? |
| Action Now | We’ve identified locations near West Boise MacDevitt Park. We Don’t want to name it publicly. We’ve seen other potential locations disappear due to development. Great locations have been disappearing, West Boise is developed. |
| Action Now | It’s important to act sooner than later, as available space is only going away. |
This morning (July 8) neighborhood association members collected signatures in support of this petition at Albertson’s at Eagle and McMillan. You can sign this petition online at https://citizensforalibrary.org/west-boise. Tammy and Jeremy Rampton along with their daughter, Eve, and Clair Salisbury gather petition signatures outside Albertsons at McMillan and Eagle Road. We want to thank our local Albertsons for being a great supporter of Centennial Neighborhood.
West Boise Needs a Library Too – Door-To-Door Campaign Kicks Off Saturday, May 13, 2023
At our most recent board meeting, we agreed that having a library within or closer to our neighborhood would be a tremendous boost to our community. Supporters of this initiative will be going door to door on Saturday at 1:30 PM to collect signatures and distribute flyers. If you would like to help, please sign up here:
Past Updates:
Mark Salisbury updated CTNA tonight on the library meeting that was hosted by Mark and his wife, Amanda, last night.
“We had a great meeting last night! I’ve started working on a presentation for the library board / city council, which I shared with everyone who was present. I got some valuable feedback – thanks everyone who was here for your ideas. We got a little more organization, with several people volunteering to help this effort in a variety of ways. I’m excited to see where we go.
And the pie — lots of pie, it was delicious.
If you believe having a library nearby is worth some effort, I’d love to hear from you.
Thanks especially to Amanda Salisbury for all your help 
“
Join us on Facebook!
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1266257710908051
It’s “Spring” or is it “Summer” already? No matter what it is, there must be some great pictures of our Centennial Neighborhood you could send in!!!
Wanted! -Send your photographs of our great Centennial Neighborhood to centennialnaboise@gmail.com. Each month we will select and feature a new photograph with credits to the photographer. Let’s “show” the rest of Boise how proud we are of Boise’s westernmost Neighborhood. Your photo will be displayed on Centennial’s website – https://www.centennialna.org as well as our Facebook page – https://www.facebook.com/centennialna. Selections will be made at the end of each month. If your photograph doesn’t make it to our Home Pages this month, watch for it on a new special display page we are developing – no pun intended – well maybe a little intended 🙂
Email your photos to – centennialnaboise@gmail.com. as an attachment. Please include: your name and Description of where the picture was taken in our Centennial neighborhood. If you would like to be added to our neighborhood email list, please also add your email and street address. We will not show your email or street address in the post.
Submitted photographs will not be used by CTNA for any purpose other than displaying on our website or Facebook page. centennialnaboise@gmail.com centennialna.org https://www.facebook.com/centennialna
Thank you for helping to make our Centennial Neighborhood a Great Place to Live, Work and Raise a Family!
Hello Neighborhood Leaders –
I am reaching out on behalf of Nicole who will be back on Tuesday to share community outreach events on the proposed Tenant Protections Package city staff presented to Mayor and Boise City Council.
Community members are invited to learn more about each of the proposed protections and provide feedback. There are two ways to provide input. Community event information is below, we also have an online form for those who are unable to attend in person.
Community Outreach Events
Please share with your neighborhoods and let me know if you have any questions.
Thank you!
| Lana Graybeal (she/her)Sr. Manager, Community OutreachOffice of Community Engagement208-972-8509lgraybeal@cityofboise.orgcityofboise.org Creating a city for everyone. |
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
May 10, 2023
MODERN ZONING CODE DATES SET FOR CITY COUNCIL
After a unanimous recommendation for approval from the Planning & Zoning Commission, Boise City Council will consider the modern zoning code the week of June 12, 2023. Residents are encouraged to provide verbal testimony at the public hearing, either in-person or virtually. Written comments will be accepted until June 8, 2023 at 5:00 p.m. and should be submitted to zoningrewrite@cityofboise.org.
The full reserved hearing schedule is outlined below and will take place at city hall in the Maryanne Jordan Council Chambers; days and times will be adjusted as needed, please check the public meetings webpage for updates to the schedule.
· Monday, June 12, 2023 – 4:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
o Presentation from staff and neighborhood associations
o 6:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. dinner break
· Tuesday, June 13, 2023 – 2:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
o Public testimony
o 4:00 p.m. – 4:15 p.m. break
· Wednesday, June 14, 2023 – 4:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
o Public testimony
o 6:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. dinner break
· Thursday, June 15, 2023 – 4:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
o Q&A, rebuttal, deliberations, decision
o 6:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. dinner break
The hearings will be available to view through a live stream on the City of Boise Public Meetings YouTube Channel. To learn more visit the modern zoning code webpage. Any accommodations needed for the public hearings, such as language interpreters or ASL, can be made by reaching out to communityengagement@cityofboise.org or calling (208) 972-8500.
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| Nicole Carr (she/her)Energize Our Neighborhoods Program ManagerOffice of Community EngagementCell: 208-805-2170Office: 208.972.8502ncarr@cityofboise.orgcityofboise.org Creating a city for everyone. |
Dear neighbors,
Next week Boise City Council will hold a public hearing on the modern zoning code. The news release shared today includes a schedule, pre-registration for testimony, and an email address to share written comments.
The executive summary is attached and you can also view it online here.
For questions related to the hearing and/or zoning code, please reach out to Lindsay Moser, Communications Mgr. – Planning & Development Services (PDS) lmoser@cityofboise.org or 208-972-8496.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
June 5, 2023
CITY OF BOISE INVITES RESIDENTS TO PARTICIPATE IN PUBLIC HEARING ON MODERN ZONING CODE
Next week Boise City Council will hold a public hearing on the modern zoning code and is inviting the public to participate by providing verbal testimony. Sign-ups are now available, and residents are encouraged to pre-register online. Written comments will be accepted until June 8, 2023, at 5:00 p.m. and should be submitted to zoningrewrite@cityofboise.org.
The Planning and Zoning Commission recommended staff create an Executive Summary, which is now available on the city’s website, along with all other project documents.
The full reserved hearing schedule is outlined below and will take place at city hall in the Maryanne Jordan Council Chambers; days and times will be adjusted as needed. Please check the public meetings webpage for updates to the schedule.
· Monday, June 12, 2023 – 4:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
· Tuesday, June 13, 2023 – 2:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
· Wednesday, June 14, 2023 – 4:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
· Thursday, June 15, 2023 – 4:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
The hearings will be available to view through a live stream on the City of Boise Public Meetings YouTube Channel. To learn more visit the modern zoning code webpage. Any accommodations needed for the public hearings, such as language interpretation or ASL, can be made by reaching out to communityengagement@cityofboise.org or calling (208) 972-8500.
The following is a communication from Don Day, BoiseDev followed by CTNA’s response. It’s a long piece to read but if you are interested or concerned in how the current Zoning Rewrite package could impact the future of Boise – then it’s well worth your time
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To Boise Neighborhood Associations- March 27, 2023, To Boise Neighborhood Associations
I’m reaching out to each of Boise’s Neighborhoods to gauge their stance on the proposed Boise Zoning Code Rewrite for an upcoming story. As you know, the first comment deadline has passed, and we want to help the public see how the city’s neighborhoods view the plan before public testimony in April. Could you answer these three questions, and reply by Friday, March 31?
1) Does your neighborhood association support the Zoning Code Rewrite as proposed? (Yes, no or undecided)
2) What if any changes would the NA want to see to the ZCR?
3) Does your NA feel the city conducted proper outreach to help shape/provide input on the rewrite?
Thanks! —
DON L. DAY | BoiseDev Founder & Editor
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March 31, 2023, Centennial Neighborhood Association Response – to be discussed on April 20, 2023, board meeting
To: Don Day, BoiseDev
The attached document is a position by consensus of the Centennial NA board of directors. We were unable to call a special meeting of the association’s general members within the timeline for response to your request. Accordingly, we cannot stipulate that this represents the consensus of the entire constituency of Centennial NA. We have been working diligently to keep the membership aware and informed and are therefore confident in offering this response. We are following through with an upcoming Centennial NA meeting on April 20, 2023, to further vet topic consensus and be prepared for the subsequent public hearings.
We are appreciative and are in admiration of the evident effort of BoiseDev’s “Deep Dive” into the ZCR. Thank you for the opportunity to weigh in.
On behalf of the Centennial NA board of directors,
Gary Dufault, President
Centennial Neighborhood’s Reply
1) Does your neighborhood association support the Zoning Code Rewrite as proposed? (Yes, no or undecided)
No, we support some of the rewrite, but are opposed to some.
2) What if any changes would the NA want to see to the ZCR?
Parking
Parking space restrictions are not appropriate for Boise. We are a private vehicle culture. The public brings up parking at every opportunity and it’s usually the #1 issue. The lack of parking affects everyone, but those without other options are impacted the most. Adequate parking drives the economy. We do not want to devolve into a city, like so many others, where commercial endeavors fail from lack of access and parking, motorists driving around in circles looking for parking and parking disputes turning into violence. We should encourage people to get out of their cars by positive actions and attractive alternatives, not by trying to punish them with negative actions and unrealistic options.
Affordable Housing
Project Approval
While we support streamlined approval, we do not support the efforts to stifle public comment on any project. There are pieces of the ‘modern’ code designed to limit public participation such as elevating the design review to a commission, allowing planners to make more desk approvals and creating the role of a ‘Fair Hearing’ that will be appointed by and accountable to the administration. We also note the current practice of reducing the time for public comment, especially for the Neighborhood Assns. which have been labeled as remnants of the old, failed urban renewal efforts of the past.
3) Does your NA feel the city conducted proper outreach to help shape/provide input on the rewrite?
We feel that the city has made extensive, but meaningless outreach.
Affordable housing is needed, but that should not be the predominant goal and following the examples of cities that have failed in this effort will only lead to failure here. We have the chance to create a code that will encourage affordable housing while also encouraging vibrant, quality development that protects what we love about Boise
The final phase of the Boise Zoning Code Rewrite is upon us. This is public comment time, which is when the CTNA can choose to participate followed by approval by the city. The time to voice an opinion is now or never!
This link to Boise Dev is a great summary of the rewrite. It also contains the public meeting dates starting 4/24 and a link to the actual rewrite draft. Centennial Neighborhood Association will be considering its position on the “Rewrite” at its upcoming board meeting, Thursday April 2oth. https://centennialna.org/event/ctna-2nd-quarter-board-meeting.
Your Centennial Neighborhood Association supports the need for Boise to have a library closer to the citizens of West Boise. Ideally libraries are within walking or at least biking distance. The Library! at Cole & Ustick is more than five miles away from parts of our Neighborhood Association. Many citizens of Boise live within 1 mile of a library, and most are within two miles. “?” West Boise stands alone in a “library desert”!
If you are interested in supporting this effort, help is needed. You can help in the following ways:
Join the “West Boise / East Meridian Needs a Library! Too” Facebook Group set up to bring together people who support this idea.
Sign this petition – https://www.change.org/p/west-boise-east-meridian-needs-a-library-too
Spread the word.
