By Heather Graves
Editor
GREEN BAY – After moving to the Tank Park Neighborhood in October 2021, newly-appointed Tank Park Neighborhood Association President Shelby Woller said it was always her plan to become involved.
“In November, we received their newsletter, and I knew immediately that I wanted to be involved,” Woller said. “I followed it on Facebook and waited for my time to shine.”
She said she was hoping to attend a meeting and perhaps volunteer.
“As it turned out, the winter events ended up being canceled and then very early this spring there was a call for all new board members. Some were moving away. Some were retiring from the association. They didn’t have anyone left and were going to have to dissolve the association if no one stepped up to take over. So I threw my hat into the ring and it ended up being a perfect fit.”
Woller takes over for previous president Lily Rhode, who is moving after getting a job in Washington, D.C.
“Lily has been so, so kind and helpful and has been taking care to make sure I know everything I need to before she leaves town,” Woller said.
She said she didn’t know much about the neighborhood before the move.
“My husband and I had finally saved up enough money to purchase a house and were watching the market actively for about two months before we found the home we moved into,” Woller said. “To be honest, I didn’t know much about the neighborhood before moving in. In the current market, if you like a house, you buy it without much research. It’s very fast moving. I feel like we were lucky to purchase the home that we did.”
She said she couldn’t be happier to be part of the Tank Park neighborhood.
“So far, what I love the most about Tank Park is the centralized location and the park, of course,” Woller said. “We are really close to Ashwaubenon, being on the inner west side, as well as the new up-and-coming Shipyard District. Originally, I was delighted to be so close to our community gardens and two really lovely parks for my daughter to play at – Tank Park and Seymour Park.”
She said as much as she likes the physical location, the people of the neighborhood are just as great.
“Everyone is incredibly friendly in my neighborhood,” Woller said. “When my husband and I had come out for a couple house showings, neighbors waved and said hello, and some even made an effort to flag me down and ask some questions – was I buying the house, etc. It just felt really warm and welcoming.”
The work ahead
Woller said she is up for the work ahead of her.
“I’m definitely suited to leadership, and I have a lot of really big ideas for the neighborhood,” she said. “That being said, if anyone else has any ideas I also love to receive feedback. I’m getting all of our socials set up as we speak, so I can have more interaction with the community. I don’t want to make any big changes without everyone being on board, or at least aware.”
As Tank Park Neighborhood Association president, Woller said her role primarily focuses on ideas and paperwork.
But she doesn’t plan on stopping there.
“I love to get my hands dirty and do all kinds of projects hands-on, but a lot of what I have to do as president is secure funding for the projects, plan the meetings, attend other meetings, get the newsletter going and manage our online engagement. The list kind of goes on like that. I feel like for every hour of hands-on work I put in, I’ll have five or six hours of desk work to do to make it happen.”
Woller said her goal for this year is to establish a strong footing, so “we’re all at least digitally connected.”
“If I can achieve that, I think we will have an incredibly easy time moving forward,” she said. “I don’t want to leave anyone out of the big discussions we’ll be having – especially when it comes to this place where everyone lives.”
Woller said she wants to make an effort to have more community cohesion by way of events
“Like playdates at the splash pad for those of us with younger kids, and maybe a tutor or two available for any students in the neighborhood who might want to take part in a study group,” she said. “Seasonal events like a Halloween in the Park party or something. I’m still brainstorming. I hope by the time I get all of our social (media platforms) live and a newsletter out, I’ll have some community feedback and will be able to work on some of those ideas as well.”
As far as issues needing addressing, Woller said the main one seems to be litter.
“We seem to have a litter issue coming from Ashland and a little bit from Broadway, but I’m not sure yet how it’s getting to our yards and our streets,” she said. “I haven’t actually seen anyone throwing trash, and I’m wondering if maybe it’s blowing off trucks or falling out of bins somehow. But I know I’m not alone in saying I’m picking up four to five cans/bottles a week from my yard.”
Woller said she also wants to address the crosswalk at Third Street on Ashland Avenue.
“I think it should be a little safer than it currently is,” she said. “I see kids crossing there all the time and there’s not much by way of safety blinkers or anything. I feel like we shouldn’t just try to route them down the alley or nearby streets. We should just make it safer to cross Ashland.”
Woller said and obviously, the potholes can’t be overlooked.
“Yeah, we have potholes and the streets could use a little love, but I feel like we have a really nice little neighborhood where we are,” she said.
Importance of neighborhood associations
The Tank Park Neighborhood Association is one of more than 40 neighborhood associations within the City of Green Bay, and is part of the city’s parent organization Green Bay Neighborhoods.
According to the Green Bay Neighborhoods website, neighborhood associations act as a voice for the neighborhood residents, linking them to local government and the larger community.
Woller said the best way to change the world is to start at home.
“It sounds silly, but I really mean that,” she said. “The best way to change the way we treat each other, our environment, our society, is to start at home. I work every day to instill these values – respect, dignity, positivity – in my home and my family, and the next step out from there is my neighborhood. Maybe if I work hard enough for us, those feelings can extend to the city.”
Woller said neighborhood associations, like those in Green Bay, make it so easy to do that.
“They are the sum of a huge group effort of all of us that are involved to make everyone’s individual neighborhoods great,” she said. “Green Bay Neighborhoods provide so much in administration and assistance for us to run these associations, and I feel like they have a wonderful, impactful program that’s only going to keep getting better.”
For more information on the Tank Park Neighborhood Association visit @TankParkNHA on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.