The Simpson Stump October 2023

Communities Matter. Community Matters.

Gearing up for the holiday season around the neighborhood. That means a few of our annual events will be right around the corner. 

First up: The annual Luminary display. Thanks to funds in the grant we were awarded we will have enough supplies to cover a vast majority of the neighborhood. Our only limiting factor to making this the year we cover our entire square mile in luminaries will be volunteer support. We are looking for folks volunteering to be street captains. Street captains will be given the supplies enough to cover the area they volunteer for and will be putting out luminaries on their street. Anyone wanting to participate this year please reach out to us as we will need all the help we can get. 

Next up: The hot chocolate social. This started as an impromptu event because so many neighbors were out strolling around enjoying the luminaries. The only thing that could make that community experience better is hot chocolate. It’s grown to include holiday tunes, snacks, hot chocolate, as well as a small fire pit to warm up by (burn ban allowing). As this is a busy day for us we will be looking for volunteers to help set it up and provide snacks and assorted goodies to share. 

Finally: The annual holiday decorating contest. This will be our 5th year doing this contest and it's no cost to enter. Simply have your holiday display up and on the evening of December 22nd. Our judges will be driving around picking out the winners. The categories, as always, are:

• Best Over All Display - this is the display that just makes every judge smile

• Best Classic Display - this is the best display that doesn’t include blow up figures, lasers, or projectors

• Clark Griswold - this is the most blinding, every square inch filling display in the neighborhood

19th Avenue Community Safety Plan

The Simpson Neighborhood Association is participating in a new Community Safety Plan based around the 19th Ave corridor between Indian School and Dunlap.  You may have seen news in the past few weeks about a similar group based around 27th Avenue. This group will serve the same function for 19th Avenue, and are a few weeks behind 27th Ave.

While we will be sharing additional information at neighborhood meetings, it is critical we (the neighborhood and the city) hear about the situations our neighbors are experiencing. You can email us directly and we will share the information with the various city departments. IF you’re able to, we ask that you also report these issues through the myPHX311 website (phoenix.gov/myPHX311) or through Phoenix PD. Reporting through official channels creates a history that can be followed up on and identified for correction. If the city doesn’t know there is an issue, they can’t look at helping solve it.

Easements and Right-of-ways

One of the more confusing requirements from the city, and one that we get questions about, is what is a Right of Way, and what are Easements?

Right-of-Way: This is part of a property that people other than the owner have a right to use / travel through. Sidewalks are an example of a right-of-way that are located on our properties, but are available to others to use. This sometimes applies to alleys as well (but not always, which is why we get questions about it). Right-of-ways must be kept clear and functional, and the city requires the property owner to ensure they’re usable (such as repairing or keeping the sidewalk clear).

Easements are similar, but not limited to just people traveling. Much of Simpson has easements in our alleys, which allow for power, sewer, utilities, trash pick up, and other services to use the part of land behind our houses, even though in many cases, the property is owned by an individual. Less well known, most houses and apartment complexes have easements along the front yard as well for future use by the city. Lately this has only come up when the city has been replacing the sidewalk ramps at intersections, but it does limit how close to a road fences and buildings can be.

That’s only the tip of the iceberg, but hopefully answers some of the easy questions that might come to mind when the water bill or letter from COP mentions these two items.

Community Updates

As there are always things going on in a neighborhood and city this size, here are the ones coming up in the next few months:

Upcoming Events

• Next Neighborhood Meeting will be November 7th @ 6:30 pm - Valley Hope Fellowship (formerly known as First Indian Baptist Church), 2205 W. Georgia

• Luminary Display will be out starting December 15th through December 17th 

• Hot Chocolate Social December 15th starting @ 6pm - 1944 W Luke Ave

• Holiday Display Contest will be December 22nd

• Neighborhood Yard Sale March 2024

• GAIN Event March/April 2024

Get Involved

Volunteer Opportunities abound especially now that we have funding and additional administrative overhead. 

• Street Captains to put out luminaries for the holidays

• Volunteers to provide snacks for hot chocolate social

• Volunteers to assist as a treasurer 

• Volunteers to assist as a secretary willing to help coordinate future newsletters, record minutes, etc.

Follow Us

Look for Simpson Neighborhood Group on Facebook or join Nextdoor for additional online interactions.