Quarterly Meeting Recap

Here's a summary of the Beaverdale Neighborhood Association Quarterly membership meeting, held Tuesday, May 9, 2023 at the Northwest Community Center.

BNA President Marcus Coenen opened the meeting with the following items:

• A neighborhood survey of members will be coming out soon.
• The Bluegrass Festival plans are coming along.  It's July 15th in Tower Park.
• The City is working on designs to reconfigure the intersection of 41st Street and Beaver Avenue.  More info here.

Nancy Dunbar from the Beautification Committee reported:

• Flowers will be picked up and planted on Friday, May 19th.
• A tree will be planted in the Urbandale median for Sasha Kamper's dad on June 3rd at 10 am.
• The Beaverdale Garden Walk will be held Saturday, June 10.  Volunteers are needed.  More info here.

Don Piper from Public Affairs Committee reported on plans for the upcoming Mega SCRUB, where Des Moines residents can drop off unwanted items.  It is Saturday, May 20th from 7:00 am to 1:00 pm at Polk County River Place.  More info here.  Volunteers are needed.  BNA helps direct traffic and provide other support services along with several neighborhood associations in NW Des Moines.

Police Officer Trudy Paulson, above, reported the following crimes in April in Beaverdale:

• 2 assaults
• 4 burglaries
• 2 acts of vandalism
• 1 stolen car

Kimberly Boggus, above, from the Beaverdale Fall Festival reported the following:

• Festival is planned for September 15 and 16
• A $10,000 sponsorship from the Premier Chevy Dealers allows the parade to resume for the first time since 2019.
• Preliminary plans are for the parade to start on the north end of Beaver and proceed south to Allison.
• Parade applications will open June 1 and will be limited to 125 entries. Entry fee is $100.
• Volunteers are needed for the parade and beer tent.  
• A sponsor has been procured for a fireworks show but organizers are still looking for a suitable location.
• Fall Festival is a separate organization than BNA.  More info on Fall Festival available here.

Sarah McCarville, MidAmerican Energy's Efficiency Manager, led a discussion with how to save energy at home, how to get discounts if you need to replace your HVAC system, and how incentives for insultation will be coming out from the federal Inflation Reduction Act.

Lastly, At-Large City Council member Carl Voss attended the meeting.  He reported that at the first Farmers' Market the previous Saturday, law enforcement officers were visible wearing camouflage on top of buildings along Court Avenue.  It's part of an effort to prevent mass shootings.  Voss says any organization expecting more than 25,000 people in Des Moines this year will need to have staff and volunteers go through active shooting training.  Voss says, "It's a changing world."  Beaverdale Fall Festival will be part of that program.