Front Porch Photoshoots this Sunday

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This upcoming Sunday Mae Wells-Kress will be offering quick 10-minute front porch photoshoots for families from 11 am – 4 pm. All photos will be delivered via email and will be lightly edited. Donations are encouraged and 100% of proceeds will go towards rebuilding the West Albany fence along Central College road once construction ends this summer. 

Please use the signup link below to choose a time slot. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60B0A4AABAD23ABF49-front

2020 Dues

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We have run into an issue where the West Albany Civic Associate PO box did not auto-renew and many residents have received returned checks as a result. We have since fixed the issue and checks can now be mailed to the PO box again. We do apologize for the inconvenience. In the event you prefer not to pay postage again, you can still make payments online at http://www.westalbany.com/membership and you are welcome to bring checks to the West Albany open meeting next Thursday at Quest Church from 7-8 p.m.

If you prefer to not pay postage again, please send us a message, and we can arrange for one of the board members to pick up payment, or for you to drop off payment at a nearby board members home.

Join the West Albany Board

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There will be a closed WACA board meeting for existing committee members, and those who would like to join the board on the evening of January 21st. If you are interested in joining the board in a role of welcoming committee member, President, Vice President, or communications, please email WestAlbanyCivicAssociation@gmail.com for more information including the time and location of the meeting.

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July 4th Activities and Safety Tips

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Happy 4th of July West Albany residents! Independence Day celebrations are among us, and the board would like to share events going on in the area, as well as safety tips and numbers to call in the event celebrations don’t go quite as planned.

 

Parades and Fireworks

  • Columbus: Red, White & Boom, July 3, Downtown; parade, 5:30 p.m., begins on Main Street bridge, north on Front, ends at Front and Spring; fireworks, 10 p.m. Doo-Dah Parade, July 4, 1 p.m., begins on Park, west on Buttles, south on Dennison, west on Collins, north on Neil, east on 2nd, south on High, ends at Russell and High.
  • Gahanna: Parade, 10:30 a.m., begins at Clark Hall, west on Granville, finishing at Royal Manor Plaza; Community Family Day, 5-9 p.m., Creekside Park and Plaza; fireworks, 10 p.m., Gahanna Municipal Golf Course.
  • New Albany: Parade, 11 a.m., beginning at Church of the Resurrection, east on Dublin-Granville down Market to Main to High to Chatham Green; New Albany Evening Festival, 6:30 p.m., live music and food, New Albany High School; fireworks, dusk.
  • Westerville: Parade, 1 p.m., from St. Paul’s Catholic Church down State to Electric; Rotary 5k Run/Walk, 8 a.m., Alum Creek Park North; Rotary Children’s Fun Run, 9:15 a.m.; Live music and entertainment, 2 p.m., South High School; fireworks, dusk.
  • Granville: Parade, 10:45 a.m., along Broadway; street fair July 3-6, downtown Granville, entertainment, rides, concessions; Fireworks, July 5, 10 p.m., music at 8 p.m.,Wildwood Park.
  • Johnstown: Fireworks, July 3, 8-11 p.m., at Racoon Creek near Rolling Meadows.
  • Sunbury: Parade, 10 a.m., begins at Big Walnut High School, north on Columbus, east on Rt. 37 and ends back at the school; festivities on the square 7 a.m.-3 p.m., including activities for children starting at 11 a.m.; festivities at Big Walnut High School 6-11 p.m., including a 7 p.m. outhouse race and fireworks at dusk.

Safety Tips

  • Pet Safety: The loud boom of fireworks adds to the impressive experience for many people across Central Ohio enjoying displays, but can spark panic in pets. Each year the 4th of July season marks a jump in the number of dogs turned in to animal shelters after running away from home. The best thing folks can do to avoid losing their dogs during fireworks is to leave them at home, in a secure room, in the house, or in their crate. Dogs that end up at Franklin County Animal Shelter will be put on hold for 3 days if the shelter is unable to find identification. For lost pets, call the shelter at (614) 525-3647, and be sure to put a notice up on the West Albany Nextdoor page as well as Pet FBI.
  • Fireworks Safety: The best way to protect your family is not to use fireworks at home. Instead, attend public firework displays and leave the lighting to the professionals.If you do choose to light fireworks, please follow these safety tips:
    • Keep it legal, obey all local laws regarding the use of fireworks
    • Always have an adult present
    • Always read and follow the cautionary labels
    • Never allow children to to play with or ignite fireworks
    • Never try to re-light or pick up fireworks that have not been fully ignited
    • Keep a bucket of water or a garden hose handy in case of a fire or mishap
    • Light fireworks one at a time, then move away quickly
    • Never make your own fireworks
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Neighborhood Block Watch Update

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  • Please be advised that there have been reports of cars being broken into and rummaged through this week. Please be sure to lock your cars and keep all valuables and belongings out of site when parking your car on the street or in the driveway.
  • School is out for the summer so please be aware that children are at play throughout the neighborhood. Drive slow and keep your eyes open for kids on bikes, scooters, and running around.
  • Many people are getting rid of patio furniture and cleaning their garages out. Please be advised that if you drag large items to the street, you must have a bulk pickup request from Columbus 311. The city will not pick up items without a request.
  • There have been many people doing renovations now that the weather has decided to cooperate. Temporary storage bags and dumpsters are permitted but for a maximum of 2 weeks. In the event you must retain the disposal system for a longer time frame, please utilize your garage or an area not visible to the street to house it.
Garage Sale

2019 Community Garage Sale

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Garage Sale

Saturday, June 8, 2019
8 am - 3 pm

The Community Garage Sale will take place on Saturday, June 8th from 8am-3pm. If you would like to participate please contact Westalbanycivicassociation@gmail.com or fill out the form below to let the board know so that your home can be included on the map.

Deadline to register to be included on maps in June 1st.

 

Thank you to Addie Ashworth who has graciously volunteered to sponsor this event.

Townhall Meeting Notes 5-7-2019

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Presenters

Mae Wells-Kress, Communications Chair

TJ Keating, Treasury Chair

Nelson Grover, Landscape and Maintenance Chair

Meeting Overview

Attendance: Roughly 30-40 people

We had a great turnout and a lot of great energy at the open meeting. There were a lot of new faces and people are starting to step up to help with areas that have fallen through the cracks. We had a lot of great discussions and came out with action items.

Topics of Discussion:

Annual Dues:

  • We are only at 30% of homes paying dues this year. Each year it continues to decrease, last year was close to 40%. We are at a tough spot as we are unable to make a lot of repairs and improvements to the neighborhood due to lack of financial participation. We ask that everyone please contribute to the neighborhood costs, we are in dire need of financial participation in order to continue maintaining our grounds. You can pay your dues online here.

  • Dues are $65 annually. Much lower than all surrounding neighborhoods which charge around $40 monthly. Homes in Upper Albany West pay $427 more per year than the homes in our neighborhood.
  • Dues cover landscaping, maintenance of the fence (which is why it is in such bad condition), garage sale ads, social events (which is why we have not had many events over the past few years).

     

Landscaping and Maintenance:

There was much concern over the appearance of both the landscaping at the entrances and the grass bordering the fence line.

  • We are in contact with our landscape company, Arnholt, to ensure that they are in fact weeding the beds and putting down fertilizer on the grass to combat the weeds.
  • We are also looking to see the cost of upping the number of applications for weed treatment, moving forward on this would depend on the price as well as how households have paid their dues for the year.
  • We need to contact Lifestyle Communities to ask that they remove the old mailbox post on Harlem. The mailbox was property of the home that resided across the street before they tore it down, so it is their responsibility to remove it, as it is anchored with cement and not able to be removed by hand.
Board Positions:

The West Albany board needs help. We will be creating a post on facebook and nextdoor listing the areas where we need help. We would like to gain volunteers to join the board in the following areas:

  • Social Committee: A few people dedicated to planning a block party, fundraising and social events.
  • Welcoming committee: We will be adding on a welcoming committee in attempts to not only make new residents feel at home, but also inform them of the West Albany Civic Association, rules, dues and social media accounts to follow.
  • Extra Hands: We always need volunteers to help with delivering newsletters, clean up events, and social event set up/ tear down, and we will most likely need a few people who can help with some heavy lifting this fall with the sign.

 

The Fence Debacle

This topic was a bulk of the discussion this past meeting. In case residents have not been made aware, the city is widening Central College Rd and putting in turn lanes, sidewalks as well as a traffic light. Because of the construction the city has eminent domain and we are forced to comply to the following actions:

  • The city will remove the PVC fence along Central College Rd. This is their responsibility and we are not financially responsible for it.

  • The city will acquire 10 feet of land from residents whose yards back up to Central College Rd. These residents are being compensated from the city to buy the land.
  • We are financially responsible to put up a new fence. We have started to get quotes and so far they are running between $8,900-$14,000 to replace that stretch of the fence.
  • This is the largest hold up for the association. Our dues are only in at 30% this year, and unless we can get closer to full participation, we will not be able to fund the fence.
  • We are looking to raise money for the fence this year, if residents would like to make suggestions and help, we are all ears.
  • We are looking at fighting the fence, but this is doubtful and the city plans to put sidewalks in along all of Central College.
Additional Construction in the Area:

The city of Columbus will be putting in a new fire station at the corner of Harlem and Central College

Social Events
  • Garage Sale: This year’s garage sale will be on June 8th. Please email westalbanycivicassociation@gmail.com or send a contact note to state that you would like to participate.
  • Block Party: We would like to hold a block party this year. We will use this as an opportunity to help fund the fence, charging a small price for admission. This is a great way to meet your neighbors, have a burger, and enjoy the weather. Please contact the board if you are interested in volunteering to help or would like to plan the party.