The Online Resource for the Boulevard Park Neighborhood Association, Sacramento, California
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The Business Pages of BPNA
The Boulevard Park Neighborhood Association wants to be transparent
in our decisions and activities. On this page you'll find links to
Association business and critical contact information.

If there is additional information that you need just EMAIL us with your
concerns and a BPNA member will get back to you. Thanks you for your
interest in the Boulevard Park Neighborhood Association. We hope you'll
be an active member of our fabulous community!      

UPCOMING MEETINGS:





MEETING AGENDA(S)
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MEETING MINUTES
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BPNA BYLAWS
The Boulevard Park Association
Board of Directors - 2009

    Chair
    Catherine Turrill
    turrillc@csus.edu
    278-5786

    I moved to Sacramento when I joined the fulltime faculty at California State University in 1995, and
    settled immediately in the Boulevard Park neighborhood. Quite frankly, this part of midtown was
    one of the things that attracted me to Sacramento. Never a confirmed automobile owner, I was
    delighted to find such a comfortable neighborhood within an easy bus or bicycle-ride of my job and
    gladly handed over my car and its keys to my youngest sister. After renting an apartment in an
    early 20th-century four-plex on 19th Street for four years, I found a gently-used bungalow of about
    the same vintage on 22nd Street and plunged into home ownership (although, really, I now think it
    is the reverse: the home owns me!).

    Although I am a specialist in Italian Renaissance art and teach the European art history classes at
    Sacramento State, I have a long-standing interest in American architecture (it was one of my
    specialties as a graduate student at the University of Delaware). I am actively involved with the
    annual home-tours sponsored by the Sacramento Old City Association. I have enjoyed doing house
    research for the SOCA home-tours, BPNA’s monthly newsletter, and my own records (tracking the
    ownership of my house, which was built for a Southern Pacific Railroad employee in about 1906,
    was great fun). I have been a member of the BPNA Board since January 2007 and served as
    secretary in 2009.

    When not delving into the libraries and archives of Sacramento, I am pursuing research on
    Renaissance artists in the museums, libraries, and archives of Florence, Italy, where I also taught a
    new art history course for the CSU system last summer. For the past several years I have been
    reconstructing the career and art production of the first well-known female painter of Florence,
    Plautilla Nelli, currently the subject of a small exhibition in her native city, “Pray for the Paintress.”
    Our second book on her, Plautilla Nelli, 1524-1588: The Painter-Prioress of Renaissance Florence,
    was published by Syracuse University Press last year.


    I was easily lured to midtown by my beloved in 2004 from Woodland, where I had lived since 1986.
    We were married in 2005, and promptly began remodeling our Boulevard Park house. In late 2008,
    we agreed we had not done things quite right, and remodeled our master bedroom for
    the second time.

    I appreciate the strong sense of community in, and the friendly neighbors of, Boulevard Park. My
    wife, Karen, and I have volunteered at the BPNA spaghetti dinner the last couple of years, have
    attended meetings of the BPNA, listened to concerts at Grant Park, and have watched fireworks
    on the Boulevard. I have helped out BPNA by delivering the monthly newsletter for the last few
    years.

    Karen and I both work in “the grid” (as we call the area bounded by the American River and the
    freeways). I am a program manager for the California Department of Water Resources,
    coordinating statewide hydrologic data. I take pleasure in riding my bike to work. I regularly
    play squash at Rio Del Oro Racquet Club, and was the czar of the Sacramento Valley Squash
    League for four years in the early 1990s.

    I enjoy the seasons of Sacramento, the August nights as well as the January storms. Karen and I
    delight walking around the neighborhood beneath the tree canopy at all times of the day and
    night, dipping our feet in the American River, and patronizing the businesses in midtown.
    We recently acquired a plot in a local community garden, and look forward to its bounty.

    I have been a member of the Boulevard Park Neighborhood Association since 2006. While living in
    Boulevard Park, we have made many good friends. We are proud to call Boulevard Park home. I
    would like to serve on the board and continue to get to know my neighbors and strengthen
    our community.


    Treasurer
    Hal Edmonds
    599-5814
    capnhal@gmail.com

    It has been my privilege to serve as a member of the Board of BPNA for the past three years.
    During that time, I have co-chaired the annual Spaghetti Dinner and the Holiday Party and served
    as block captain for the distribution of the Park Beat newsletter. I also began the initiative to
    incorporate BPNA as a non-profit, assisted by the law firm of Banks and Watson led by BPNA
    member Larry Watson. The incorporation was completed this year. I also led the effort to develop
    our new BPNA web site, which went on line during the summer of 2009.

    My wife Liz and I moved into midtown in 1976, and have lived in our house on 22nd Street for over
    28 years. We have raised three boys here, all of whom attended local public schools before going
    on to college. I operate a business in Alkali Flat, a short bike ride from home. Before starting my
    own business, I developed and ran a jobs training program for the City and County of Sacramento.
    Over the years I have been involved in a number of organizations in the community, having served
    on the boards of the National Alliance for Business, the Volunteers of America, the East Sacramento
    Little League, Blue Cross of California and the California HealthCare Foundation, and am a retired
    Captain in the U.S. Naval Reserve. I believe we need to be active and vigilant in protecting the
    unique living environment we enjoy here in Boulevard Park, and would appreciate your vote for
    another term on the BPNA Board.

    Margaret Buss
    448-6246
    mbuss@jps.net

    I moved into Boulevard Park in 1990, attracted by the fine old houses, beautiful tree canopy, and
    lively urban mix. The neighborhood when I arrived already had a strong sense of community but
    was still dealing with dumping on the 21st and 22nd Street medians and in the alleys, drug
    dealing, and prostitution, not to mention high volumes of speeding traffic. I have seen the
    neighborhood pull together to deal with these problems and more, and have watched with
    pleasure as it developed into an ever more attractive place for families, while still providing that
    lively urban diversity of residents and businesses.

    I was one of the original members of the then newly re-formed BPNA, later serving on the Board for
    several years both as a Board member and as Chair. I remained an active member of BPNA,
    volunteering for the annual Yard Sale, Spaghetti Dinner, and graffiti clean-up. I have been a
    Newsletter Block Captain since BPNA’s inception, and, as one of the founding members of the
    Green Thumb Brigade, have worked as a member of that small but valiant crew since 1997. Having
    served on the Board last year, I would like to continue on the Board this coming year, working on
    issues important to the neighborhood and the Central City.

    Asha Jennings
    803.7409
    ashajennings@gmail.com

    When I moved back to Sacramento in 2003, I chose to make my home in Boulevard Park. It did not
    take long for me to realize what a wonderful community this is and I soon bought my first home on
    22nd and E Streets. I was initially attracted to the neighborhood by the beautiful architecture and
    tree-lined streets, but there is so much more to appreciate behind the scenes. I value the diversity
    of our neighborhood and the strong sense of community we have.

    I first became involved with BPNA when I volunteered to be the Park Beat newsletter editor in
    2006. It has been a rewarding experience to edit our neighborhood newsletter every month and
    let everyone know of both upcoming events and BPNA’s interesting history. I hope to expand my
    involvement through a position on the BPNA board this year. I value the role of BPNA in fostering a
    sense of community through bringing neighbors together and promoting our neighborhood’s
    interests. I hope to continue to encourage the pride we take in our unique neighborhood. I still live
    on 22nd Street with my husband Jim and I work as an attorney in Sacramento. I have been a
    volunteer for the American Diabetes Association for twenty years and have served on the planning
    committee for the Tour de Cure since 2004. I am excited to be running for the BPNA board and
    would appreciate your vote.

    Tom Martens
    718.4563
    tnlsac@comcast.net

    My wife Lorna and I have lived in Boulevard Park for the past 11 years. From the moment we
    arrived and were warmly welcomed by our 22nd Street neighbors we knew that this neighborhood
    was something special. Like you, I have come to regard Boulevard Park as the best and most
    distinctive neighborhood in Sacramento. Neighborhoods matter – they are the most basic
    community environments that affect and generate our quality of life.

    As the City of Sacramento continues with development and redevelopment it will be increasingly
    important for our community to remain involved and engaged with the business community and
    local government. I want Midtown to continue as the place where funky one-of-kind stores and
    restaurants can prosper and everything I need is accessible by foot or bike, where I can meet and
    greet passers-by from my front porch, and where families can thrive and diversity is celebrated.
    Living in a place steeped with history has brought me a new appreciation and awareness of the
    value of preservation. It goes beyond just preserving and restoring the grand house that we feel
    privileged to live in – it also extends to preserving Boulevard Park as a sustainable community.

    I’ve been peripherally involved in a number of the ongoing Boulevard Park community events in the
    past and at this point in my life I’m ready to be more engaged in the larger planning and promotion
    of Boulevard Park’s “community” spirit. I believe a community like ours does not just happen - it
    takes commitment, engagement and intention. As a High School Principal, in the Elk Grove Unified
    School District, I have worked on a number of a community-based educational projects with a focus
    on
    shared outcomes. It would be my pleasure to serve on the BPNA Executive Board and I would
    appreciate your support.



    I moved to Sacramento in July 1968, after completing four years at the University of California,
    Davis where I majored in history but had a true liberal arts education. Eight years later, drawn by
    the old houses and beautiful trees that reminded me of my childhood, I decided to make Midtown
    my home. I lived in the Marshall School Neighborhood for almost 20 years and played an active role
    in the movement against the expansion and intrusion into the neighborhood of Sutter Hospital and
    its satellite buildings. I was active in the Sacramento Old City Association and held several offices in
    that organization, including President, Vice President, and Home Tour Chair. I have been a
    volunteer or a house captain for the SOCA Home Tour almost every year since then. Other
    volunteer activities have included Habitat for Humanity, the original Midtown “traffic calming”
    committee, and the Sacramento Jazz Jubilee. I have lived in the Boulevard Park Neighborhood for
    almost 14 years. Although I have not played an active role in the BPNA, I have routinely
    volunteered for the annual Spaghetti Dinner.

    I love Midtown and its ambience. I love the old houses and the trees. I love being able to take the
    bus to work. I love walking to breakfast on Sunday mornings and walking to visit my friends. I love
    that people sit on their front porches and socialize with their neighbors. I love the vast cross-
    section of cultures and interests. Midtown has been my home for over 30 years and I hope that it
    will be for a long time to come. Because it is my home, I would like to become more involved in the
    neighborhood and the efforts to enhance and protect the qualities that make Boulevard Park,
    Midtown, and the Central City such a wonderful place to live. Also, as a renter and an advocate for
    affordable housing, I feel that I can contribute a perspective to the board that will augment efforts
    to encourage all neighbors to participate in our membership and activities. I would deeply
    appreciate the opportunity to be involved in the BPNA Board and ask for your support.