MARYSVILLE It was a do-it-yourself day at the Brighton Park neighborhood Sept. 22, all because Tim Soderquist was taking a leadership class.
The Boeing engineer was leading the second attempt at revitalizing his neighborhood, but cleaning up the overgrown trails and play areas in the residential development was just the tip of the iceberg.
Soderquists real objective was to build the connections between neighbors, many of whom didnt know each other before he began doorbelling in the hills of the southeast Marysville community.
Cleaning up the common areas and trails through Brighton Park was just the symptom of a larger effort. Soderquist has lived in the community for a dozen years and wanted a framework for projects that would involve people and get them to care about their surroundings.
The Sept. 22 work party saw a dozen residents clearing a walking path, removing blackberry bushes that had grown more than 15 feet high, choking a stand of alder trees next to Craig Petersons home.
He has lived at his railroad-themed house for seven years and didnt really know that many of the folks in his neighborhood, just his immediate neighbors. Peterson said the clearing and cleaning makes the area safer in a couple of ways. First, the hangouts for neer do wells are removed and the place looks better. Second, the people exerting the elbow grease get to know each other during the work. That means as a community they know who belongs and who doesnt. Getting out and sprucing up the place also brings new energy and ideas to the fore, he added.
I think its a good thing, Peterson said. Were starting to see the neighbors and know who we are.
Cleaning the common areas will help property values by removing eyesores and will help prompt others to meet the standard. Peterson wasnt the only one who predicted the project would revitalize the homeowners association. Spending just three or four hours a month could make a huge change, he predicted.
I never knew there was a trail, exclaimed Jace Helms, a relative newcomer who has lived for only a year in the development off of 67th Avenue NE. A couple of hours made a huge difference.
As a first-time homeowner Helms said it was important to him to have nice neighbors who are involved in their community and care about each other. He said Soderquist was onto something.
It was a good idea, Helms said. Im always down for yard work.
To get the ball rolling Soderquist went knocking on doors, introducing himself and his idea. The first work party the week before drew only five people, but the next more than doubled the attendance. It wasnt a hard sell getting people involved, but nobody wanted to be the first. He spent about three weekends going from house to house, a couple of hours at a time. It wasnt hard work but it became time consuming as he stood on peoples porches for a half-hour at a time. Once he got them talking, it seemed other people had the same idea about building a sense of community among what would otherwise just be a collection of houses.
I had no community here, Soderquist lamented. I didnt know any of my neighbors.
Now after just a couple of weekends people know each other and they know whos kids belong to whom, he added. That makes everybody safer, he added.