The decade-old Stella-Mann Neighborhood Association was in danger of dissolving last November when no one volunteered to be the new president.
That's when Ron Walcott, a life-long resident of the area, agreed to take a turn.
"It's way too important to let it be dissolved,'' he said.
Now Walcott and some of his longtime neighbors are discussing ways to revive the association and encourage neighborhood involvement.
"I think in this age, where everyone is busy and working and doing the best they can, neighborhood associations have to change with the times," he said. "Everybody is very, very busy. You can't have a bunch of extraneous meetings."
One idea is to modernize the way of doing things. No more meetings that drag on for hours, Walcott said, and perhaps a Web site residents can access for quick bits of information and updates.
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Walcott would like to see the association begin to operate as more of a resource hub for residents. The neighborhood Web site would let people know about services, emergencies and any other issues important to those living in this area bounded by East Golf Links, East Escalante, South Kolb and South Wilmot roads.
He said people might have ideas or concerns they'd like to share, but don't have time to attend regular meetings.
Getting people linked by way of e-mail is another goal.
A few years ago, residents came together when a child went missing, said Bev Elcess, former association vice-president.
Elcess said they had a phone tree and many people volunteered to help before the child was found at a friend's home.
Today, Elcess and Walcott would like to add an e-mail connection to that process, and also post such emergencies on the Web site.
"Then they could say, 'Oh, I saw that child,' " she said of putting information on a neighborhood Web site.
Elcess, who has lived in the area 36 years, said the association got started in the early 1990s. In 1998, it received Back-to-Basics money to modernize the neighborhood and its streets, lighting and parks.
The neighborhood was cohesive at that time, she said. "At that time, there was a lot more interest,'' she said.
Since then, the enthusiasm seems to have waned. When Elcess and Mary Williams, the current vice-president, recently requested artistic help in a newsletter for a lighting project, for example, no one responded.
"It just seems there is more apathy now and the only time people come forward is to complain," Williams said.
They think one reason might be the changing ratio of renters and homeowners. Today, they said, a lot more residents are renters and some people don't stay long enough to take an interest in the area.
Other ideas include simple changes, such as printing the neighborhood newsletter on paper with more vibrant colors. She said this might help people take notice.
Networking more with other neighborhood associations might also help in terms of planning, and sharing resources and ideas, Walcott said.
Tom Friend, secretary for the city of Tucson's Department of Neighborhood Resources, said City Council ward offices usually help out the neighborhood associations with networking. Association members can contact Neighborhood Resources to get names of other neighborhood association officers.
Tucson has 131 neighborhoods, many of which have neighborhood associations.
