I am writing to give you an update about Edgemoor Neighborhood Association (ENA). In 2004, a group of residents formed ENA, a non-profit corporation, to join the group of Bellingham neighborhoods which had recently been designated by the City of Bellingham (COB). During the first few years, there was a great deal of interest in attending monthly meetings. Some of you may remember attending those meetings about topics such as the proposed Chuckanut Ridge development planned for the 100 Acre Woods, now known as the Chuckanut Community Forest Park District. Over the years, a small group of residents have remained active on the board of directors of ENA, but attendance at meetings has dwindled over the years. We are aware that increasing social media (including our own Nextdoor Edgemoor), and our busy lifestyles, have contributed to lack of participation. Consequently, last year the ENA Board decided to no longer invite speakers to attend meetings, and to only hold special meetings in the event a topic of importance to the community arises. The ENA Board has met several times to discuss how ENA can continue to operate without active participants. We have decided to reach out to the Edgemoor community prior to our annual meeting in May and ask for your thoughts on the matter. We ask you to consider these questions:
- Is Edgemoor Neighborhood Association a valuable asset to the community?
- Are you willing to participate in order to keep the neighborhood association active?
- What can we do to encourage participation in the neighborhood association?
If you are interested in reading more about the history of ENA over the years, visit the Edgemoor Conversations blog, at https://edgemoorneighborhood.com/, which contains many articles over the years. The entire list of ENA minutes can be accessed on the Edgemoor Neighborhood website at https://edgemoorneighborhood.com/ena-minutes/.
Please feel free to contact me or any of the ENA Board members if you have any questions. I hope you will consider becoming involved in Edgemoor Neighborhood Association if you feel it is a valuable asset to the community.
Sandie Koplowitz, ENA President