WHAT DOES YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION DO?
WHY SHOULD YOU BE A MEMBER?
WHY SHOULD YOU VOLUNTEER?
The Summit Park Neighborhood Association's activities fall into several categories:
Meetings
Communication
Events
Ongoing efforts
MEETINGS: There is an annual meeting in October, required by the City of Albuquerque Office of Neighborhood Coordination. SPNA provides pizza and bottled water. Our by-laws also require at least 6 monthly board meetings, but we generally have at least 8. The board plans, organizes, and carries out its goals, including events and activities. In addition, the board reviews neighbors' variance requests and provides letters of support to the zoning hearing officer. On rare occasions, the board opposes a request, but we are only aware of one such disputed request in the last 10 years. The board reviews information from the city and the county which affects our neighborhood. The board also reviews information/questions/requests from individual residents. The board participates in the Coalition of University Neighborhoods.
COMMUNICATION: SPNA mails a printed newsletter each year to every address within our neighborhood boundaries. In addition, we send a digital copy of the newsletter to each person on the email list.
Annual membership is $10 per adult, and $20 for a business. Almost all of the events listed above include some expense. We need to maintain a membership of AT LEAST 200 in order to have the funds necessary for everything described on this page.
WHY SHOULD YOU VOLUNTEER?
This is an all-volunteer neighborhood organization. Without volunteers, none of this will happen. There's a lot we could be doing as a neighborhood to make this a great place to live. All it takes is your ideas and volunteers.
WHY SHOULD YOU BE A MEMBER?
WHY SHOULD YOU VOLUNTEER?
The Summit Park Neighborhood Association's activities fall into several categories:
Meetings
Communication
Events
Ongoing efforts
MEETINGS: There is an annual meeting in October, required by the City of Albuquerque Office of Neighborhood Coordination. SPNA provides pizza and bottled water. Our by-laws also require at least 6 monthly board meetings, but we generally have at least 8. The board plans, organizes, and carries out its goals, including events and activities. In addition, the board reviews neighbors' variance requests and provides letters of support to the zoning hearing officer. On rare occasions, the board opposes a request, but we are only aware of one such disputed request in the last 10 years. The board reviews information from the city and the county which affects our neighborhood. The board also reviews information/questions/requests from individual residents. The board participates in the Coalition of University Neighborhoods.
COMMUNICATION: SPNA mails a printed newsletter each year to every address within our neighborhood boundaries. In addition, we send a digital copy of the newsletter to each person on the email list.
- SPNA maintains a web site and keeps the information current.
- SPNA maintains a post office box and checks it regularly.
- SPNA maintains an e-mail list of residents and sends out monthly e-mails with information about neighborhood events, community resources, and activities in and around the neighborhood that affect residents.
- SPNA posts information on Next Door as appropriate.
- For our annual meeting, SPNA posts 18 double-sided signs around the neighborhood, and announces the meeting in our newsletter, on our web site, on our neighborhood sign, along with sending emails and posting the info on Next Door.
- SPNA now has a neighborhood sign (thanks to the efforts of board secretary Jan Schuetz), which is funded by the City (meaning there were many forms to complete and lots of red tape). The sign was installed on Constitution, at the northeast corner of Summit Park. The sign has a message board hanging on hooks below the sign. Neighborhood communication appears on the message board.
- In August, 2017, SPNA organized its first mega-event at Bataan Park, which was a multi-generational picnic/potluck attended by 300 neighbors. There was an inflated jumper, a face painter, water balloons, and a story teller, along with pizza donated by Da Vinci's and lots of food, smiles, and wonderful fellowship. This event was so successful that we repeated it in 2018. We'd like to try and do it again in 2020.
- Summit Park has hosted multiple "Coffee in the Park" events throughout the years, and they are always well attended with great conversation among neighbors.
- SPNA provides glow bracelets, apple juice, and candy for the annual Halloween Pumpkin Glow at Summit Park. SPNA also pays for a uniformed, off-duty APD officer to be at Summit Park during the event.
- SPNA reimburses members who organize neighborhood block parties (procedures can be found on this web site).
- SPNA encourages pot lucks at one of our parks, and reimburses using the guidelines for block parties.
- SPNA has organized a neighborhood yard sale each May, since 2016. We advertise via flyers, emails, newsletter, our neighborhood sign, and postings on Nextdoor, Facebook, and Craigslist. We print 200 maps to place at our parks on the morning of the sale.
- SPNA picks up a supply of doggy waste bags (known as "mutt mitts") at Pino Yards (2-3 times per year) in order to stock the receptacles at Bataan Park and Summit Park. Wonderful volunteers check regularly to be certain that the bags in the receptacles are accessible to dog walkers.
- SPNA maintains communication with the city, the county, the Alb Parks Department, Montezuma Elementary School, and Jefferson Middle School.
Annual membership is $10 per adult, and $20 for a business. Almost all of the events listed above include some expense. We need to maintain a membership of AT LEAST 200 in order to have the funds necessary for everything described on this page.
WHY SHOULD YOU VOLUNTEER?
This is an all-volunteer neighborhood organization. Without volunteers, none of this will happen. There's a lot we could be doing as a neighborhood to make this a great place to live. All it takes is your ideas and volunteers.