North Salina Community Development Efforts Highlighted by Barb Young

# North Salina Community Development Efforts Highlighted by Barb Young

Barb Young, a volunteer with North Salina Community Development, presented the organization's neighborhood improvement initiatives at a recent meeting of the Community Art and Design Committee.

Young, who works at Triad Manufacturing in north Salina, described how the all-volunteer group has been working to revitalize an area that has experienced "a long decline over a number of years."

The group recently partnered with K-State Research and Extension for a "First Impressions" study completed in fall 2023, with results reported in 2024. The study examined how North Salina appears to visitors during their first five minutes in the area.

"A lot of it comes across as mainly an industrial area with a little bit of residential sprinkled in," Young said of the findings. "There's not a lot of in between."

North Salina Community Development has implemented several projects to improve the neighborhood's appearance and livability. These include the Front Porch Project, funded by a Dane Hansen grant, which has improved approximately two-thirds of the 53 houses targeted in the area.

Other initiatives include mailbox wraps featuring addresses and artwork, pole banners, sidewalk improvements in partnership with the city, and approximately 19 little libraries installed throughout lower-income areas of town.

"That has been a really neat thing. It's brought a sense of community," Young said of the little libraries, noting their popularity increased during the pandemic when children couldn't attend school.

The group also partnered with West Art, which topped trees for safety and replaced them with more appropriate varieties. Smoky Hill Construction contributed by installing little libraries free of charge, including repurposed Salina Journal newspaper boxes that have been powder-coated and placed throughout the community.

Young noted that North Salina is approximately 60% rentals and 40% owner-occupied homes. The improvements are creating a ripple effect, with more landlords investing in maintenance and residents taking greater pride in the neighborhood.

The area has experienced population decline since the last census, which Young partially attributed to the loss of Hawthorne School in the late 1990s. "You know, you talk about communities when they lose a school is really hard," she said. "And so if you're a young parent, why would you go into a neighborhood where there's no local school?"

Young identified potential locations for public art in the neighborhood, including the north-facing wall of the Salvation Army building on North Santa Fe, which features a gym with multiple windows.

"I think the neighborhood is ready," Young said, expressing interest in bringing more public art to North Salina. "We need a reason for folks to stay there and to take pride in what they're doing. And I think art is one vehicle to do that."