When residents of Phelps Grove help their neighbors, improve the neighborhood park, participate in city government and enjoy sharing time and ideas, those of us who live here know we’re living in a good place.
Earlier this summer Michelle Harvey, vice president of the Phelps Neighborhood Association (PNA), and Patrick Niedermeyer, a PNA executive committee member, learned that two of their neighbors needed help. One needed two gates and part of a fence replaced, and the other needed a new fence installed.
Michelle, Patrick, Patrick’s son Cooper, and neighbors Ginger Tarrasch and Al and Marissa Minta quickly drafted a plan, procured materials, tore out Francie Wolff’s old gates and some unwanted fence, set new posts, built two new gates and took the trash to the dump, while Marissa prepared homemade lunches for everyone.
Later another neighbor, Claudette Sheets, asked for help installing a new fence system she had already purchased. Patrick, Cooper and Michelle responded immediately. They, with the help of Claudette and her daughter Alicia, rented an auger, purchased materials, and drilled holes for the fence posts (after Utility Locates were called). The posts were set in concrete, and the fence will soon be completed. Then Claudette’s new puppy can go into the back yard and be safe.
We see neighborhood commitment in the garden renovation project at Phelps Grove Park. A recent milestone was replacement of bricks in a garden bed which, in March, had been totally covered with dirt and Bermuda grass. Many volunteers had removed weeds and tree sprouts, planted new flowers, and put in the edging. Recently, however, the Parks Department put down a gravel base, and PNA executive committee member Connie Ryan and Andy Massoth, a Woodland Heights volunteer, restored the brick pathways to their former beauty. Soon a trellis donated by other neighbors will be installed, and one part of the garden restoration project will be complete.
PNA executive committee members have also been active in committees that partner neighborhood residents with city staff. Eric Pauly, the former president of the Phelps Neighborhood Association, coordinated the 2024 four-neighborhood spring cleanup, is a member of the Planning and Zoning Commission, and was part of the Citizens’ Commission on Community Investment, which helped to craft Proposition 1, the continuation of a ¾ cent sales tax which will support the Fire and Police pension fund and provide $30 million a year for projects like the expansion and renovation of the Springfield Art Museum, which is in our neighborhood.
Other executive committee members attend Neighborhood Advisory Council meetings and were members of committees that worked with City staff to bring current city codes in line with Forward SGF concepts.
Finally, on Sept. 22, 2024, PNA members met at the pavilion at Phelps Grove Park to share a meal and conversation with neighbors, exchange plants, tour the gardens and elect new officers and executive committee and board members. A presentation on the benefits of Proposition 1 followed these elections.
“Pride in our neighborhood encourages neighbors to help neighbors, and the result is increased pride in our neighborhood. This is a great cycle for our future,” said Dave Trippe, president.
