By Patty Talahongva

    There are big plans in the works for a small dirt lot at the corner of 7th Avenue and Montecito. Community organizers led by resident and business owner Kurt Stickler are hoping to get a grant from PepsiCo through its “Refresh Project.” The soft drink giant is giving away up to 32 grants each month ranging from $5,000 to $250,000 for projects that improve the lives of citizens in the United States.

    There are various categories, and Stickler says he and other Melrose area activists are applying for the neighborhood grant at the largest amount available, $250K. They’ve received permission from the lot’s owner, Clear Channel Communications, to beautify the dirt lot that is home to a very large billboard owned by the company.

 

“My concerns were to balance the space of this odd lot with a garden for the neighborhoods along with providing the much-needed public parking for the businesses in the Melrose Curve area,” says Stickler. “Artists and sculptors would be featured from the immediate area to keep a very local feel to it.” He says the idea has gained wide support and adds business owners “are all looking forward to ridding this blighted lot of the chain link fencing and overgrown weeds.”

    The motto for their grant is “Putting Our Hands Together.” As part of the application they must create 3-minute video to explain their idea and show the area they believe needs improving. Several people have been busy shooting the video and they’ve enlisted the aide of Mayor Phil Gordon, who appears in the video.

    They envision a garden that could include flowers, ponds and vegetables. Stickler says all of the nearby neighborhood associations would be welcome to come plant in the space.

    The organizers also have included Darren Petrucci, director of the Architectural Department at Arizona State University, to lend a hand in the planning and development of the garden and parking area. The grant also would cover the fencing, water supply, lighting, signage and tool storage.

    Once their video application is completed and submitted by the first of March, it will be reviewed by PepsiCo and either accepted or rejected for the voting phase. Once accepted all March project videos will be posted online by April 1, where anyone in the United States can vote. Stickler’s group will be notified whether their video was accepted sometime after March 15.

    In the event his video is not one of the top-two vote getters, but is among the top 100 projects with the most votes, it will be rolled over into the next month’s voting. However, none of the previous votes will carry over, so folks would have to vote again for the project.

    Winners will be notified via e-mail. And once the winner’s information has been verified and they sign their grant agreement, they will get the first installment of their grant.

    You can visit the Melrose group’s Facebook page, under “Seventh Avenue Merchants Association,” to learn more about their efforts and to vote in the event they are one of the finalists. Voting also will take place on Twitter. Look for that link on the Facebook page or on the PepsiCo contest Web site, www.refresheverything.com.

    Stickler says supporters also can contact him directly at 602-312-0664 regarding the contest.