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©2000 Neva-Wood C.O.P.S.

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©2000 Neva-Wood C.O.P.S.

Neva-Wood C.O.P.S. Substation

The Neva-Wood COPS may be the premium COPS Shop organization. While spawned and nourished from within the neighborhood's Steering Committee, the COPS Shop is now an independent organization that operates under the guidance of Spokane COPS - which reports to the Chief of Police.

Several of our hard-working neighbors retain membership in both organizations and we hope that will always be the case. Officer Will has always been a good influence on both of these important neighborhood organizations and we hope that, too, will continue.

For the first three years of its existence, Neva-Wood COPS operated out of Deborah Wittwer's home. Then it set up a temporary COPS Shop in the Franklin Park Mall. The Northtown Mall also provided temporary space for the COPS Shop.

And so we celebrated the five-year anniversary of the Neva-Wood COPS Shop by providing it with a permanent home in November of 1998.

Our other grand cause to celebrate is the completion of the Nevada/Lidgerwood Neighborhood's three-year building construction effort, and the end of its twenty-year wait for any kind of office space.

Thanks for getting us off to a great start. We have a lot of things going on and several successes to celebrate, the biggest of which is the completion of our COPS Shop and Neighborhood Council offices. The Grand Opening was held at 2:00 PM on Saturday, November 7, 1998.

We continue to set the standard for other neighborhoods to follow, so come see what's there for you. Thanks for all of your help in getting us where we are today. I look forward to meeting you!

The building of the Neva-Wood COPS Shop and Neighborhood Council offices at the northwest corner of Addison and Wellesley had taken so long that many have trouble remembering how it all started. Even for those that were actively involved in the construction, some of the early days have become a blur. It seems appropriate that we take time to remember all the efforts and original planning that took place many years ago, that brought us to where we are today.

The Nevada Lidgerwood Steering Committee was established in the late 1970s to work with the Community Development Department to identify ways CD Block Grants could be used to improve the lives of low to moderate income people in the neighborhood. Since then, CD funds have been used for the paving of streets, development of parks, construction and repair of sidewalks, as well as many other programs for the benefit of the residents in this neighborhood. The Steering Committee preceded our current Neighborhood Council and still exists as a sub-committee of the Neighborhood Council.

Our neighborhood has always been a strong supporter of Block Watch and several of our Steering Committee members were, and still are, Block Watch Captains. In fact, our neighborhood allocated a portion of its Community Development funds to support Block Watch programs.

A conscientious patrol officer by the name of Duane Willmschen (Officer Will) accepted an assignment to our neighborhood, because he knew it would be a challenge. We had the second highest crime rate in Spokane, just behind Hillyard. Will shared his crime statistics with us and they later became the benchmark against which we could measure our crime-reduction progress. Over time we developed a holistic view of crime, safety, and quality of life and began to integrate the whole picture with terms like neighborliness and empowerment. Block Watch experience had already taught us the value of communication. Our primary source of empowerment was the organizational and financial support that we got from Community Development. Officer Will soon became a part of our Steering Committee and played a lead role in our quest to clean up the neighborhood. His initial focus was on getting rid of excessive abandoned cars.

In the fall of 1993, Will contacted most of our 130 Block Watch people and invited them to the Steering Committee meeting to talk about crime in the neighborhood. After Will gave his talk about COPS Shops, he said he sat down and the meeting went on to other subjects without further discussion about his topic. After what seemed to be 15 or 20 minutes, a feisty retired schoolteacher by the name of Helen McMillan got up and said something to the effect, "Officer Will came out here tonight to get a COPS Shop started! Now who is willing to help?" That started the ball rolling!

While the whole Steering Committee was very supportive of the COPS Shop operation, a smaller nucleus of enthusiasts actually ran with the ball. The initial COPS Shop group included Donna Breidenbach - CD Steering Committee Chair, Mel West - CD Neighborhood Coordinator, Deborah Wittwer and her teenage protégé Harmony Dusek, Helen McMillan, Hellen Sinclair, Jim Patterson, Jo Rask, and Officer Will. Their first formal meeting was held in September of 1993 at Donna's house. They also invited Cheryl Steele, from COPS West and Kristina Johnson from the Spokesman Review.

That meeting laid the groundwork for a program that would give the neighborhood a greater police presence and mobilize neighbors interested in taking a stand against crime. Taking a stand meant supporting police officers that worked in our neighborhood along with taking responsibility for caring and watching out for each other. The COPS Shop group became committee members who reported to, and sought support from, its parent organization, the CD-funded Steering Committee. Two major decisions made by the group were: (1) to form a COPS Shop group to work with neighbors and the police department, and (2) to find a location to house the COPS Shop.

When the COPS Shop folks reported their objectives to the Steering Committee, the Steering Committee not only made a commitment to support the building needs of the COPS Shop, but also expressed a need for a home for the parent organization, as well. We felt that a strongly united neighborhood that looks after its elderly, and especially its youth, would also be a neighborhood where crime is low. We also felt there would be great synergy in keeping all of our programs under one roof. So many people were involved in so many aspects of the neighborhood that we didn't know how to do it any other way.

The COPS Shop idea took off like gangbusters under the leadership of Officer Will and Executive Team Chairperson, Deborah Wittwer. They started a number of new and innovative programs in the neighborhood, including Take Back The Park and Alley Watch. As membership grew, crime began to shrink.

Finding a home for the program was a challenge. Local realtors and the city's real estate department canvassed the neighborhood looking for a suitable building to house all of the activities required by the neighborhood. After two years of searching and false starts, we determined that there was nothing in the market that would meet all of the needs of the neighborhood, so we decided to build our own building.

Once the direction was set, several more people were enscripted to help. New members included Jody Edwards, Donna Krisp, Cindy Martello, Gordon Sinclair, Arnold Timerson and Dale Wahl. Within a couple of months the group exploded into a membership of more than 40 people. Among them was a young architect by the name of Al French.

The story goes something like this: The building committee had located four old buildings that were candidates for the COPS Shop. However, each needed some renovation to make it suitable for our needs. During one of the large COPS Shop meetings, Officer Will asked, "Does anyone know of a good architect?"

Several people pointed to Al. Will said, "Will you help us?"

Al said, "Sure!"

Will said, "We can't pay you anything. Will you still help us?"

Again Al said, "Sure!"

Little did Al realize he was not only in for some challenging architecture work, but he would have to design and construct the building, too. Others did their best to help, but often Al was the only one with the tools and skills for a particular task. Many times he went over and worked alone, often at night, after a hard day at the office.

The city already owned the house on the corner of Addison and Wellesley and the house to the north was for sale. The Steering Committee, with the help of Community Development, sought and acquired the necessary funding to purchase the two houses, with the intent of remodeling and combining them into one structure. The purchase of the two houses closed in early 1996 and demolition started immediately. There are photographs in the COPS Shop and Council offices that depict the houses prior to demolition, and the grueling progress that finally yielded the finished product.

A design was generated to combine the two houses into one building that would house the COPS Shop activities, as well as the Steering Committee's work. A large meeting room was incorporated into the project so neighbors would have a central location for our meetings. Additional CD Block Grant funds were allocated to the project to cover the cost of materials for the remodel. It was anticipated that the labor to construct the project would be handled by volunteers from the neighborhood. This was a massive undertaking by the Steering Committee, but the members felt the need was great enough to warrant the dedication. The Steering Committee also had an experienced construction supervisor that would assist in the construction of the building. As part of the project, we also had to organize a Local Improvement District to help pay for the paving of the alley behind the building.

Prior to the start of the new construction, the supervisor got a job offer in southern California, which he took, and hasn't been seen since. Al French, architect, became Al French, construction supervisor, and the project continued. Volunteer support from the Steering Committee and community was fantastic during the early stages of construction. We would have 20 to 40 volunteers most weekends, plus volunteers working during the week. Many suppliers and trades people supported our effort with labor, as well as significant discounts on materials. These people and companies were permanently recognized by names on a plaque hanging in the finished building. We, as a community, will be forever in their debt and greatly appreciate their support in this undertaking. We thank them for sharing our vision.

Spokane COPS was formed in 1996 and the activities of our COPS Shop were moved from the Steering Committee’s control to that of Spokane COPS.In April of 1996, the Steering Committee restructured itself into one of Spokane’s first Neighborhood Councils.While our new identities provided some benefits for the COPS Shop and Steering Committee, they also created some complications, primarily around control, use, ownership and jurisdiction over our respective programs and the building.One drawback of being progressive in your programs is that you also encounter organizational growth pains.The restructuring resulted in a redefinition of responsibilities and defined working relationships between the separate organizations.It also led to delays in construction and a loss of volunteers who felt disenfranchised from the project.Fortunately, there were enough volunteers dedicated to the vision to continue the project.We also were able to negotiate a home for the Steering Committee and council, which was one issue of the dispute.

With a significantly reduced volunteer force, the pace of construction slowed considerably.The Neighborhood Council and Steering Committee maintained its commitment to complete the project for the benefit of the neighborhood.Volunteers learned new skills while honing existing ones.

The NE Washington Sheet Metal Educational Training Trust did our mechanical system installation as part of their training program.This was a major help.Target Store employees spent an entire weekend doing site work chores and prime painting the building.Whitworth College students joined us in two separate workday sessions in which they sent nearly one hundred students per day.The Zion Church’s Youth Masters Program had also been a great help on many occasions.Rogers High School provided some students to help for a couple of months, as well as the ESD 101 program.Washington Water Power provided all of the exterior lighting on the building, which really looked great during the evening hours.

Through the spring of 1998, the bulk of the labor continued to be Neighborhood Council members, with COPS Shop volunteers helping when they could.That spring we reached a point that required some serious skills in electrical, sheetrock and finish work.Up to this point, all funding had been provided by CD Block Grants from the neighborhood.It was now at approximately $204,000.

Spokane COPS and the Police Department were anxious to have the project completed and offered to provide some finding to bring in a contractor to help finish it.Spokane COPS provided $1,200 to hire a sheetrock hanger.A mutual agreement was reached between the Police Department, CD and neighborhood that provided the following additional funds;the Police Department provided $5,000, CD provided $5,000 from a citywide account and the Steering Committee reallocated an additional $10,000.A bid process conducted by Spokane COPS and Mooney & Pugh Contractors was selected to help complete the project.

With Mooney & Pugh onboard to finish the skilled tasks inside the building, volunteers focused on completing the furnace room, storage room, Neighborhood Office and the outside work.

We installed the irrigation system and landscaping and WOW, what an improvement!Skip Taylor of Elite Painting & Coatings came in and painted the exterior of the building and that, too, was a major improvement!

The Neva-Wood COPS Shop folks moved into the building on the first of October 1998, along with Officer Will and Juvenile/Correction and Probation Officers.We held several meetings in the building and it worked great!Most of the work was completed by grand opening.

Four Neighborhood Council and Steering Committee people maintained their dedication to complete the construction of this project during those past three years.They are:Al French, Wendell Ibach, Mickey Thompson and Mel West.These four men had given up nearly every weekend, as well as time, during the week to complete this project.They had dedicated a significant part of their lives to making the project a success and this neighborhood a better and safer place to live.

If you should run into them in the neighborhood, be sure to say, “Thanks for your work!” It’s sure to mean a lot to them.Thanks, guys, and thanks to all you other volunteers who came out to lend a hand and help keep the dream alive.This is a great success story for the neighborhood and we’re setting the standard for other neighborhoods.

We shudder when we hear of the nation’s problems being blamed on big business.We have found Spokane businesses, both big and small, to be warm and generous with both their time and their money.It’s true that they tend to seek only good investments.Please note that these businesses consider your welfare to be a good investment.

The Nevada-Lidgerwood Neighborhood would like to recognize those businesses in the community that shared our vision and contributed to our effort in constructing this very vital facility for our residents.

We are grateful to the many people who came out to work on the building, plus those who often provided the workers with a good meal.Working conditions included rain, snow, mud and dust – yet people remained in good humor and seldom hesitated to tackle even the most hazardous or miserable jobs.