That’s one of the signs you can expect to see around North Delridge before the next meeting of the North Delridge Neighborhood Council – purchased with money from an outreach grant, and unveiled at last night’s NDNC meeting. Also discussed last night: They’re still working on next steps for the Cottage Grove “tot lot” playground upgrade, for which they have received a $15,000 matching-funds grant from the city. Expect an official update soon. Meantime, next year’s Neighborhood Street Fund plans for the area were outlined – projects that have been requested for years, as NDNC co-chair Mike Dady pointed out – including a sidewalk along Brandon from Delridge to the park and traffic calming on 26th SW north of Brandon, between Cottage Grove and Greg Davis parks; still some work to be done on projects approved for this year, as well, including calming on the 21st/Dawson hill that’s “supposed to start any day now” (that’s the hill heading down to Oregon, scene of this guardrail crash we covered recently). For the “juicy invitation” and a few more items, read on:

Here’s the invitation: The annual North Delridge neighborhood Ciderpress is coming up this Sunday, 11 am-3 pm. As Betsy Hoffmeister put it, “This brings the community together to have a fun event, get to know your neighbors” — it also honors the Cottage Grove area’s history as an orchard district, and celebrates the growing movement toward sustainable, local food (and beverages). Here’s how it works: If you have fruit trees such as apples and pears, bring fruit (wash it at home first) to Ciderpress, where a press will be in action and churning out juice throughout the event. But don’t worry if you don’t – you’re still welcome – bring snacks to share if you can; “even if you come with no apples, you’ll go home with cider,” Betsy promised. Bring your own containers if you have them, but again, don’t worry if you don’t, the host has some quart jars to share. E-mail Betsy at betsy (at) hoffmeisters.com for the address.

One more topic discussed before the NDNC adjourned — neighborhood growth issues, including a plan to pursue an update on whether Delridge Neighborhoods Development Association is still pursuing the possibility of redeveloping the Boren school site into a residential/commercial project (our last mention was in May 2007). Dady said it’s tough for the neighborhood to keep dealing with schools (like Chief Sealth, currently) moving into and out of the site: “The neighborhood’s already seen enough transition.” He and other attendees wondered why Delridge-area land zoned as NC-40 (potentially four stories with street-level commercial space) hasn’t been redeveloped that way, so far; “We need economic and business development,” Dady said, not just “townhouse infill”-type development. The group agreed to invite DNDA executive director Derek Birnie to a future meeting to talk about the Boren site and economic development in general.

One potential upside of Sealth’s presence at Boren was noted: Increased police presence in the area, particularly in the afternoon. Library manager Karen Spiel says she’s been assured police are making the area “an absolute priority” at that time of day, and library staff is advised to call if they see anything suspicious. Another attendee talked about neighborhood break-ins believed to be the work of “kids” who had struck before, and said the neighborhood was frustrated by a 2-hour response time when neighbors detained one young suspect – they’re planning to attend future meetings with police to bring up their concerns.

The North Delridge Neighborhood Council meets at 6:30 pm the first Wednesday of each month at Delridge Library.