Story and photos by Keri DeTore
Reporting for West Seattle Blog

The High Point Neighborhood Association (HNPA) held its quarterly meeting tonight at the High Point Commons Park Amphitheater under clear skies and with a higher-than-usual turnout – including young attendee Elena, who rode her new bike to the meeting, with dad Jeff (above photo).

Andrew Mead (left), immediate past president of the HNPA (who will be stepping into the role of Vice President) introduced new Board Trustees and the new executive members of the Board. New Trustees are: Eleanor Hall, Chris Smithco and Ayan Jama. The new executive committee is: Jennifer Cobb, President; Andrew Mead, Vice President; Miranda Taylor, Secretary; and Chris Smithco, Treasurer. Trustees are representatives elected by their neighbors in one of four “voting groups” that High Point is divided into. These Trustees serve two-year terms.

The Trustees have started a series of “Coffee Table Meetings” which are held in High Point residents’ homes and are designed to generate discussion of issues important to the High Point community. If you’re interested in joining or hosting a meeting, e-mail Jennifer Cobb: jennifer.cobb@highpointneighborhood.org
.

He’s also the contact if you are interested in a $3,000 Neighborhood Challenge Grant that’s available to High Point residents who have a great idea for their community and want to put it into action. Past examples of grant recipient projects include the High Point Diversity Festival, the P-Patch, The Mural Project and the Summer Youth Activities Fair. The aforementioned Mural Project will be kicking off Tuesday, September 22nd at the Commons Park Amphitheater between 3 and 6 pm. The mural will be a depiction of 50 people who gather together to have their photograph taken at that time. Please bring your neighbors and get your photo taken to be included in the mural!

The meeting included a guest speaker: Kelly McKinney from Seattle Neighborhood Group. With a twenty-year career focused on neighborhood crime prevention, McKinney spoke to residents about being vigilant and looking out for one another. The key message was getting the right information to the right people; she passed out contact numbers for resource groups.

Food and drinks were served after sundown to honor the breaking of the fast for the Muslim observance of Ramadan.

Also announced tonight:

****A daily evening walking/running/exercise group will start tomorrow, September 11 at 7pm at Overlook Park. This group will meet every evening and walk or run around the pond. For more information contact Lark, 501.5611, or Miranda, 932.4371.

****Tim Gallagher, Superintendent of Seattle Parks and Recreation, will be speaking at the High Point Community Center on Thursday, October 1st from 7-9pm. The community will have the chance to meet Gallagher and his staff and speak with them regarding issues and ideas.

****The next quarterly HPNA meeting will be held January 14 and a representative from the Delridge Neighborhoods Development Association will be attending to discuss “creating great neighborhoods.”

The official HPNA website is at www.highpointneighborhood.org.