Councilwoman Peggy Neely’s
Neighborhood News Council Corner Column
Campo Bello II – Fighting Back
A northeast Phoenix neighborhood is coming together as a community. I chose the area bounded by Bell, Union Hills, 32nd Street and Cave Creek to become the latest Fight Back neighborhood in City Council District 2. It’s called the Campo Bello II Fight Back and dozens of residents there are strategizing on how to make their slice of the city better.
“I bought my house because I wanted to live in this neighborhood,” said Keith Vinton, chairman of the group. “I like the diversity and location and I want the neighborhood to go uphill, not downhill.”
Vinton summed up the basic goal of the Fight Back program perfectly. Each of the eight City Council districts designates a new Fight Back neighborhood each year. The city provides the neighborhood with money and the residents choose what projects to tackle.
The locally-decided improvements not only enhance neighborhoods’ residential blocks, but also make businesses in these areas more viable. One neighborhood at a time, the process improves the economy for the whole city.
The Campo Bello II Fight Back residents have already identified priorities for their $50,000 budget. They will focus on identifying and cleaning up blighted areas, making infrastructure improvements, setting up programs to help children make good choices, installing new street lights and speed humps and helping police by identifying potential problem sites.
“I’ve gotten to meet some of my neighbors and establish friendships,” said Vinton. “All of us feel like we are taking ownership of our neighborhood.”
Councilwoman Peggy Neely represents Phoenix City Council District 2. If you have questions about this or any other topic, you can reach her office at council.district.2@phoenix.gov or 602-262-7445.
