NOTES FROM THE PRESIDENT

Good morning BLCA neighbors. Here are a few items that I would like to share with you.

General Meeting:

There will be a general meeting on October 28, 7:00 PM, at NW Life Church (13120 SE 192nd St  Renton, WA 98058). At this meeting the board will be updating on accomplishments and future plans. All residents are invited to attend. Please RSVP at https://www.facebook.com/BoulevardLane, so we can be sure we have enough refreshments.

Membership, VP:

The board is still looking for a neighbor to be the VP, Membership. For most of the year there is not much work. The primary responsibilities are the two membership mailings each year and maintaining the database (which isn't near as difficult as it sounds), as well as attending the monthly board meetings. Free training is included and the monthly board meetings are quite fun. If you are interested contact the board on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/BoulevardLane) or email us at boulevardlanehoa@gmail.com.

Holiday Light Walk:

The light walk will be back this year, regardless of weather! The walk is scheduled for December 21. Mark your calendars to join our neighbors for hot chocolate and coffee, courtesy of the BLCA board.

That is it for now. Take care and enjoy the changing leaves.

Rob North

National Night Out in Boulevard Lane!

Boulevard Lane residents participating in National Night Out.

This year Boulevard Lane celebrated National Night Out in our community, our first time doing so.  I think we are all in agreement that it was a huge success! 

National Night Out is celebrated on the second Tuesday of August.  It includes such events as block parties, cookouts, parades, visits from emergency personnel, rallies and marches, exhibits, youth events, safety demonstrations and seminars, in effort to heighten awareness and enhance community relations.  We chose to have a street barbeque this year!

We estimate approximately 100 people showed up to support the cause, get to know their neighbors in the community, and enjoy hot dogs from the grill.  In fact, we nearly ran out of hot dogs and had to request an emergency run to the store from Rich Upton!

We wish to extend a big Thank You to all who attended.  We also would like to extend a special Thank You to the Hilburns for making their yard and grill available, and for Jay Hilburn and our president Rob North for grilling those hot dogs just riiiiiight!

Finally, we should all extend a HUGE thank you to Andrea Upton, our VP - Community Development for organizing this event.  Awesome job Andrea!

We hope to see even MORE of you next year!

12-Mile Loop Trail Planned for Kent

The Green River Trail.

Here is some fantastic news for Fairwood residents!  The city of Kent is working on a plan to connect the Green River and Interurban Trails at the north end of the city, creating a paved, multi-use loop trail.  This would offer another excellent opportunity in the area for outdoor enthusiasts who enjoy walking, jogging, bicycling, etc.

The loop would be completed by creating a connector trail near South 196th Street, and taking advantage of the trails current intersection on the south end at Foster Park.

Read more about it here on the Kent Reporter!

National Night Out is Coming Soon!

National Night Out Is Tuesday August 6th.   We have registered the neighborhood and will be will be handing out invites door-to-door. Some delivery help would be very much appreciated!  Please contact us by posting below, sending us a message on Facebook, or using our contact information at www.boulevardlane.org.

Here is some added info about National Night Out:

The traditional “lights on” campaign and symbolic front porch vigils turned into a celebration across America with various events and activities including, but not limited to, block parties, cookouts, parades, visits from emergency personnel, rallies and marches, exhibits, youth events, safety demonstrations and seminars, in effort to heighten awareness and enhance community relations.

Here is some more information.

Hope to see everyone out on August 6th!

A Busy June in Boulevard Lane!

The month of June proved to be a very busy one in Boulevard Lane this year, with three community programs in three weeks!

First up was the annual Garage Sale.  “It was great to get out and talk to people again this year,” said Don Geyer, VP - Programs.  “People were very excited about the traffic, which seemed to be up considerably from last year.  We advertised heavily and I think our efforts paid off.  Of course, the beautiful weather didn’t hurt our cause either!”

Don reported that a couple residents sold out of all their goods on Friday, leaving them nothing to put out on Saturday or Sunday.  “Based on last year, I was told to expect to go through 20 maps at the entryway.  Well, we went through those on the very first day, and 75 maps by Sunday morning!”

Dumpster Day was also a huge hit.  Most of the Board members took turns manning the dumpster at the four-way stop throughout the day, and by the end of the day it was full.  “We saw a few trucks swing by and even some mini vans came with things to get rid of, there was even two barbecues’ being rolled up and thrown away during the event,” offered Andrea Upton, VP – Community Development.  “Watch for updates because we will definitely be having this event again!”

The second annual Soos Creek Walk/Run completed the run of consecutive events.  “I think we are going to have to add bike ride to the title next year,” explained Don.  “Bikes were very popular and rightly so on such a beautiful day, especially with the kids!”

When asked how the event is going in its infancy, Don offered “I think it is going great!  I really enjoy seeing others getting outside for recreation and the chance to meet other people from the community with similar interests.  I run and bike the trail regularly, and have always wondered how many people I see might be Boulevard Lane residents.  I’m learning it’s quite a few!”

The Board would like to thank everyone in the community who took part in these events.  It’s these kind of events and the participation that make our community so special and rewarding to be a part of.

2013 Soos Creek Trail Walk/Run!

It's time for our second annual Boulevard Lane sponsored Soos Creek Trail Walk/Run event!

The event will take place this Saturday, June 15th from 9am to noon.  The meeting place is the trailhead across the street from Meeker Middle School.

You won't be able to miss us - we'll have a table set up and balloons to get your attention!  We'll have free water and Gatorade available for participants, as well as Boulevard Lane tags to wear!

We encourage everyone to come join us.  Bring the kids!  Last year we had parents pushing toddlers in strollers, dog walkers, casual walkers, light joggers and even a couple of avid runners!

The weather forecast is looking excellent for this event - cloudy early burning off to sunny skies with temps in the mid-70's.  Perfect for exercising in!

We hope to see you there!

Dumpster Day a Success!

Thanks to all our members, Dumpster Day was a huge success again this year!  By late afternoon, the dumpster was completely full.

A big THANK YOU to Andrea Upton for organizing this event, and to the board members who took turns manning the dumpster.

Next up is the Soos Creek Trail Walk/Run this coming Saturday from 9am to noon!  Details to follow soon!

Dumpster Day, Saturday, June 8th!

Now that the Garage sale is over, time for the next event and time to get rid of things around the house!!!

DUMPSTER DAY 2013

Over the years we have seen a huge success with Dumpster Day, we are excited to announce this year’s event will be held this Saturday, June 8th from 9am to 5pm.

We will have one large dumpster located near the four-way stop at 129th place SE and SE 188th street during ...the time listed above along with a BLCA representative.

The prices are as follows:

BLCA Members/Non Members Pricing
Size Vehicle:

$10 / $15 Small = Car
$15 / $20 Medium = SUV / Mini Van
$20 / $25 Pick-Up Truck* / Trailer

*Standard pick-up trucks only, no moving trucks or moving vans. Prices are per load. Limit two per household. Restrictions and accessibility are at the discretion of the BLCA on-site representatives.

Due to restrictions the following items are not allowed: paint, pesticides, oil, fuel, auto products, tires, light bulbs, computers, TV’s, appliances, hazardous waste, water heaters, lumber, carpet, construction materials. Large furniture items must be broken down prior to being accepted. Information on electronic recycling and a map of the closest city dumps will be available upon request.

If you have any questions please contact Andrea Upton, VP of Community Development by phone at (425) 226-9620 or email at commdev@boulevardlane.org

Successful Garage Sale!

2013 Boulevard Lane Garage Sale.

Based on the overwhelmingly positive feedback received and personal observations made during our recent Garage Sale weekend, I believe the event was a success! 

It was great to get out and talk to people and sense their excitement over the event.  A couple residents actually sold out the very first day, leaving nothing to put out on the second!

Traffic was up, thanks in large part to advertising in the Seattle Times, Craigslist, Renton Patch and Fairwood Community News.  Beautiful weather didn't hurt our cause either!

Last year it was reported that we went thru 20 maps total throughout the three day weekend.  This year, we went through 20 in the first day!  75 maps total were printed off, and were gone by Sunday morning.

Thank you to all who participated in this year's event.  Remember, it is a FREE event!  It costs nothing to be listed on our map, and actually helps us in advertising the event.  Please keep this in mind for next year!

Don't forget that Dumpster Day is coming up next.  The dumpster will be located near the 4-way stop this Saturday from 9am to 5pm.  Please see our Facebook page for all the details!

We have some exciting news to share!  Boulevard Lane is teaming up with Fairwood Community News to increase our presence in the greater Fairwood area.  We will have our own Boulevard Lane web page on their site, and will use this page to share information with neighboring communities, and to exchange ideas on how to operate even better as a community and organization.

This is not to replace our existing web site.  It is simply another way to reach out to other communities in our area to improve communication and the sharing of ideas and information.

Fairwood Community News helps to support local HOAs to keep the communities the best they can be in every area.  They report and the most recent news and events in our area.  Be sure to visit their web site and save it to your Favorites!

Garage Sale Day!

Now that Bark Day has passed, it's time to start thinking about the next community event - our annual Garage Sale Day!  Sign up now to be listed on our map.  See your most recent Crier for instructions, or e-mail us.

BARK DAY—May 11 (and May 12, if necessary)

Spring is here and once again the BLCA is happy to sponsor the very popular Bark Day where residents can have bark delivered to their homes in quantities from 1 to 5 cubic yards

PRICING:

BLCA members: $18/yard for first two, and $23/yard each additional Non-members: $28/yard (LIMIT two yards)

Don’t miss out on this opportunity that only comes once a year!

Requests must be made and paid for in advance. Space is limited. If you are interested in ordering bark, please make your request no later than May 10th, 2013. Contact Andrea Upton, VP of Community Development by phone at (425) 226-9620 or email us.

Welcome to Our New Boulevard Lane Blog!

We hope you like our new digs!  Our goal is to use this blog to keep the community of Boulevard Lane informed of current news and events as they happen, much like we've been doing on our Facebook page (yes, we have a Facebook page too - friend us!). 

We hope this compliments our main Boulevard Lane web site nicely.

Sign up to follow with your e-mail address and you will get an e-mail in you inbox every time we make an update.  How cool is that?

Our main web site is still the best place to go for information, and will continue to serve as our "home base".  We are currently working to bring it update and adding improvements as well.

We welcome you comments!