Resident launches fundraising campaign to give Kenneth Village a makeover
The “Kenneth Village People”, a name the group just came up with and giggled about, includes, from left, Chris Cragnotti, Pilar Molina, Jackie Bartlow, Cliff Claycomb, Tonya Lariviere, Jerri Cragnotti, and Kandice Astamendi. The group stands in front a clock on Kenneth Road in the Kenneth Village area of Glendale on Friday, October 9, 2015. The group is using a “Go Fund Me” site to raise money to restore and repair historic features in the village, including the clock, a banner, street lights and the village’s website.
Kenneth Village is behind the times — at least its street clock is. The public timepiece is running slow, and it, along with a few other spots along the stretch quaint shops, are in need of some sprucing up.
Resident Cliff Claycomb, who lives just around the corner from the small northwest Glendale commercial district, recently launched a Go Fund Me campaign that’s already raised $3,100.
In addition to the clock, he wants to repair a tattered banner over Kenneth Road that he says looks like it’s been through “chemical warfare.” The banner also bears the name of a defunct website dedicated to Kenneth Village, one Claycomb says he wants to relaunch.
“We’re looking at ways to make the village more attractive to the neighborhood and people from surrounding communities … Things haven’t been cared for like they should be,” he said.
That’s because a merchant’s association in the neighborhood became inactive shortly after the recession hit. Also, when the Redevelopment Agency program was ended by state officials in 2011, funding for local business improvement districts also dried up.
Kenneth Village merchants are among those who chipped into the Go Fund Me campaign, and Claycomb said he wants to see more of that down the road.
He said the fundraising effort was meant to get the ball rolling in reforming the merchant’s association and for store owners to start paying dues to cover maintenance.
“Hopefully, if we achieve our objectives, the neighbors will have a much nicer village,” Claycomb said. “The folks in the surrounding communities can discover it, and the shop owners can be more prosperous.”
Pilar Molina, a landlord with Quest Realty Group, which manages some Kenneth Village properties, also donated to the cause and said other landlords are going to have to step up, too.
The shopping district has the potential to be like Montrose, she said. Outdoor Christmas lights and pumpkins lining the street around Halloween are two upgrades she’d like added to the district. Perhaps a neighborhood Easter egg hunt could be organized, too, Molina said.
“We have to make [shop owners and landlords] realize that they need to be a part of it in order to make their businesses succeed,” she said.
Claycomb is used to getting projects off the ground. In past years, he’s organized clean-ups the day after Halloween to rid the sidewalks of candy wrappers.
He said he’d like to get his hands dirty on the Kenneth Village improvements as well, but will likely hire someone to get the job done and get the OK from the city.
Claycomb and shop owners had their first meeting with a city staffer on Friday. They’ll have to get the city’s permission first to do any work because it will be on public property, Claycomb said.
“I’m the type of homeowner where I just grab a toolbox and go down there and just make it happen, but we can’t do that obviously because it’s city property,” he said.