As I mentioned previously, I’ll be heading to Kansas City next week as a part of delegation from the city of Rancho Cordova for the All-America City Awards. I wanted to invite you to follow this exciting journey next Wednesday through Friday through videos, Facebook & Twitter. Technology is going to help us connect!!! It should be great fun. Watch the videos below or here and here.

I’ll be posting from Kansas City mainly from my Twitter account @SacAppraiser and I’ll be getting some videos up at www.facebook.com/Project680 (directly on my YouTube page at www.youtube.com/lundquistco). The official hash-tag on Twitter is #AllAmericaCity (note it is not “American”, but “America”). I’d love to hear from you during my stint in Kansas City. Your support will be a huge encouragement.

This is a real honor for me to represent Project 680 and my city. Go Rancho Cordova!!!!

I’m getting ready to head out to Kansas City in a couple of weeks for the All-America City Awards. The City of Rancho Cordova was selected as a finalist in the competition this year, and I am honored to be a part of the delegation to make the trek to Missouri. My role on the team will be to represent Project 680. I’m very excited to get to travel for a few days, be a team player for my city, and meet so many wonderful people.

Here is a synopsis of the All-America City Award competition from their website:

The National Civic League recognizes ten communities each year for outstanding civic accomplishments. To win, each community must demonstrate innovation, inclusiveness, civic engagement, and cross sector collaboration by describing successful efforts to address pressing local challenges.

I’ve never been to Missouri. What should I expect in KC? Is there anything I should definitely try to do while I’m there?

The Stagger Inn in the City of Rancho Cordova has been a blight to the community for too many years, but it’s now gone. On April 1, 2010 a group of residents and city employees celebrated at the sight of a backhoe ripping into this dilapidated building that has been vacant for over ten years. The Stagger Inn was ironically demolished on April Fool’s Day with the idea that “It Isn’t a Joke” that it’s finally happening.

Blight impacts property value and even the ethos of a community. How have you seen blight affect property value, a particular neighborhood, or the way a community at large feels about a certain section of town?

I recorded the following video on the day of the demolition. Enjoy.

I’m very excited to announce Project 680′s upcoming “Biking for Socks” event on May 8, 2010. We are doing a community bike ride in order to accomplish three things: 1) Bring awareness to the problem of student homelessness in the FCUSD; 2) Collect socks for homeless kids in the FCUSD; and 3) Gather up a few bucks to be able to give to the District Liaison for Homeless Services so she can meet the needs of students on an “as needed” basis – meaning that when the neediest of students come to her, she can simply take care of some of the things they need – whether clothing, deodarant, shoes, study materials, etc….

Please have a look at the video below and let me know if you have any questions, ideas, or a desire to get involved in any way. Click HERE if you don’t see the video in your RSS or email subscription. Also, you can sign up for the event on Facebook HERE.

Does the city you live in have an online system set up for residents to ask questions, report code violations or send in suggestions or complaints? Are you familiar with how to use it? Have you seen any results from using a system like this?

Yesterday I wrote about the life cycle of neighborhoods, and I’m convinced that one of the most important pieces of the puzzle to see a neighborhood enter a phase of “renewal” is grassroots activity among residents and a city encouraging these efforts. If there is poor communication between residents and City Hall, then that’s going to show up in many potential ways – unenforced codes, unkempt properties, lack of pride, loss of hope… Moreover, I sincerely believe there is a correlation between the level of civic engagement in a neighborhood and property values. Do you agree? Disagree?

Anyway, I thought it would be useful to make a brief video for my area to show others how to use the “My City Hall Online” system for the City of Rancho Cordova website. This system is also referred to as the “Comcate” system, and is a very useful tool for us residents. My take and experience is that the more we communicate with City Hall, the greater the chances are of obtaining the results we want to see.

I’d be very curious to hear your stories. Comments are welcome below.

If you didn’t know, the city of Rancho Cordova is home to several stellar monuments. Between appraisal inspections today I snapped the following images of a Pony Express memorial on Folsom Boulevard next to the Valero gas station on Dawes. This historic monument is an important piece of local history, yet it’s quite easy to miss because of its location in front of a vacant lot and next to commercial properties (gas station and Rosie’s Country Kitchen).

Does anyone know how many other Pony Express monuments there are in Rancho Cordova? And where are they located? What other tributes to history can one find in Rancho Cordova? Let’s see who knows local history.