Dear Friends and Neighbors,

Did you hear? Beaverdale has again been named Best Place to Live in the Metro by the readers of the Des Moines Business Record! That’s four years in a row. Congratulations to all Beaverdalians! 

What else is new with the BNA and in Beaverdale? Lots! Read on to find out:

Development at Beaver and Douglas:  If you read the Des Moines Register this morning, you learned that Hy-Vee, Inc. has decided to go public with its intentions to build a new store in Beaverdale near the intersection of Beaver and Douglas Avenues. Rumors of Hy-Vee’s possible arrival have been swirling for quite awhile, but prior to now the company has refused the BNA’s requests for comment on the company’s plans. Hy-Vee is hosting the first of what we hope to be several meetings on the issue on Wednesday, August 22, at 6:00 p.m. at Hoover High School (cafeteria area). Please consider attending this important meeting.

The BNA Board of Directors has previously sought your feedback about possible development on the corner of Beaver and Douglas, but we wanted to again invite you to e-mail us your thoughts. How do you feel about the construction of a new Hy-Vee in Beaverdale? What are the pros? What are the cons? While the Board sometimes receives very brief comments in response to inquiries of this type, we especially would like to learn why you feel as you do about this topic.  If you have something to share, please take a few minutes and e-mail me at BNAPresident@beaverdale.org. Your response will be shared with the Board and other local leaders, including Tom Vlassis, city councilman for our ward, and may be posted anonymously on the BNA website (beaverdale.org).     

“Housing stock” sub-committee:  The BNA is continually monitoring the well-being of our neighborhood. It goes without saying that our homes and other residences are a vital part of the equation. What is the status of Beaverdale’s housing stock? How does the big picture of where and how people live and work in the Des Moines area affect our neighborhood now and in the future? How can we maintain and improve our housing stock?

All of these questions—and other related ones—have been on the collective mind of the BNA’s Public Affairs committee and the BNA Board in recent months. As a result, the Board has created a new subcommittee to consider some of these issues and advise the Board. This subcommittee will be chaired by Holly Olson, interim chair of the Public Affairs committee. The first meeting of what we refer to as the “Housing Stock” subcommittee will take place Saturday, August 25, at 1:00 p.m. in the meeting room at Ace Hardware. Please consider joining this subcommittee if these types of issues are of interest and importance to you.

Planning for Beaverdale’s future.  The Beaverdale Revitalization Board Design Committee has asked the BNA to invite you to three meetings it will be holding next week to discuss an exciting new plan it has been working on in hopes of establishing a framework to guide our neighborhood as it encounters change in years to come. The Design Committee discussed this plan in an article in the most recent edition of The Sidewalk, noting:

“Members of the Design Committee have donated professional services and many hours of precious free time to get the ball rolling, but the work has really just begun. Developing a viable and comprehensive master plan needs to be a community-wide effort; it needs to take shape gradually, and to evolve and adapt as people step forward to offer their viewpoints and suggestions—people like you who live in the neighborhood and appreciate its unique features and advantages. 

During the coming weeks, you’ll have numerous opportunities to participate directly in the planning process. [Three initial] public meetings that have been scheduled specifically to familiarize you with the current draft of the plan and obtain your input as to how it should be revised. If you decide to attend one or more of these meetings, think about what changes are likely to impact our neighborhood during the coming decades, and how we can make those changes work in our favor while preserving and enhancing the things that already make Beaverdale so special.”

The three initial public meetings scheduled by the Design Committee will take place August 21, 23, and 27, each at 6:30 p.m. at the Northwest Community Center (5110 Franklin Avenue). You are encouraged to attend one, two, or all of the meetings. The underlying presentation at each is intended to be the same, but the conversation inspired by the presentation will no doubt differ based on those in attendance.

Beaverdale Fall Festival:  This year’s Fall Festival is September 21 to 23—only thirty-six (36) days away! Most people assume the BNA is responsible for producing Fall Festival each year. In fact, Fall Festival is the result of the efforts of another Beaverdale organization (Beaverdale Fall Festival, Inc.) and its cadre of committee members and volunteers. These hard-working folks have assured us that everything is on target for another stupendous weekend of events.

One big change for Fall Festival this year is that a portion of Beaver and Urbandale Avenues will be closed Friday evening and throughout the day Saturday. In years past, there have been several close calls between pedestrians and vehicles driving through the area. The Fall Festival committee sought the City’s consent to close the street to make it safer and easier for those in attendance to circulate between all of the activities taking place in “downtown” Beaverdale. More information about Fall Festival, including a schedule of events, can be found at its website, fallfestival.org.

See you around the neighborhood,
Bill
President, BNA