September is the time of year when the Ward Parkway Homes Association sends out our yearly membership mailing. The mailing includes lots of important information about the coming year. This year is no exception. You should receive your mailing by mid-September. Check your mail for this important information.
While the WPHA sends the membership mailing information every year, this year we are taking a little different approach. First, we are formalizing all new and renewing membership activities into a more organized 2020 WPHA Membership Drive!
The Membership Drive kicks off with the mailing. Here’s what you’ll find inside:
The second part of the 2020 WPHA Membership Drive is our involvement in the Waldo Fall Festival on Saturday, Sept. 21, 2019. Members of the WPHA Board of Directors as well as volunteers will staff a booth all day. We will be there to any questions you may have about the Ward Parkway Homes Association. Stop by and say hi!
Finally, the Membership Drive culminates at our fall WPHA Neighborhood Night Out on Sunday, Sept. 29, from 4 to 7 p.m. at District. Pour House + Kitchen. As always, beverages and nibbles will be provided, along with door prizes. Watch for a flyer delivered to your door with all the details.
The WPHA hopes to continue to provide the level of interaction and community engagement requested by our residents. A survey was conducted in 2018 and we took your feedback to heart. The WPHA strives to provide the right level of family-friendly activities alongside activities for grownups only. We can’t wait to show you what we have in store for 2020!
Due to the increase of suspicious activity in our area in late August, our KCPD security patrol added a few extra shifts to offer more coverage.
The security patrol has also begun a month-long traffic enforcement effort several times a week at different locations where we have complaints. During the first day, the officer stopped seven cars and issued 10 tickets and one warning.
Also during August, a KCPD security patrol officer observed the back door ajar on a house where the resident had requested our vacation house watch service. Two officers checked the house to make sure everything was normal. Upon being contacted afterwards by the security patrol, here’s what the homeowner had to say:
“Thank you! The alarm company called me because the alarm went off when the door was opened. After the door was closed, I remotely locked it and re-secured the alarm system. I appreciate the heads up!”
Many Jackson County residents are facing dramatic increases in property tax assessments this year, including in the Ward Parkway Homes Association. Thousands of people have filed formal appeals of their assessments, and thousands more requested informal reviews.
On behalf of our residents, the Ward Parkway Homes Association sent a letter to the following local leaders on Aug. 8, 2019, expressing serious concerns about the property reassessment process.
The WPHA will share with our residents any feedback we receive.
Gaye Tillotson is a long-serving Ward Parkway Homes Association Board member and treasurer. Here’s what she has to say about her 40 years in the neighborhood:
“My husband, Terry, and I have lived on West 72nd Street since October of 1979. We fell in love with the neighborhood and the house and enjoyed raising our son in this family-oriented area. I didn’t work until he was two and then only at night so I was home with him during the day. There were lots of mothers at home on the block, so regardless of where he landed, someone was always watching. My son never lacked for a playmate and his Dad spent lots of time playing catch with all the neighborhood kids. Our neighbors were our friends.
Our home was built by Napoleon Dible (around 1940), as were lots of homes in this area. We have done all the usual projects involving “upkeep” and “improvements” externally and internally. When we moved in, we were the youngsters on the block, and now we are the oldsters. We love our home and still love the neighborhood.
My husband is now retired from the federal government and I am still working but only part time. Terry spends his time in the yard, doing projects around the house or playing golf. I love to read, paint and do handwork. We both love to watch our Royals!”
Gaye and Terry Tillotson