The Robla Park Community Association was formed in November 2001 after the groundbreaking of Robla Community Park by a group of Robla residents.

We needed a way to communicate our neighborhood concerns to our city and county government.

We are a grass-roots group that wants to see our neighborhoods safe, clean and providing programs that reach all of our neighbors.

During the formation process, we were fortunate to have the guidance of our Sacramento District 2 City Councilwoman Sandy Sheedy and the staff of Neighborhood Services Area 4.

The association's mission statement follows:

"Our vision is to unite the neighborhood by working together for an improved quality of life and the beautification of our community for the enjoyment of all its residents."

The key to the success of any community association or organization is participation and communication.

To communicate within our community, we use the resources available to us. One such resource is the Robla Elementary School District. This communication is accomplished in a variety of ways, usually by delivering informational community association fliers (announcing a meeting or special events) to school offices to be printed in school newsletters.

We also distribute informational fliers to Robla businesses and to Robla residents via mail and telephone.

We don't have the time, funding or resources to produce a monthly community newsletter.

Another manner of sharing information is through meetings. General meetings are held quarterly on the fourth Wednesday of the month at various Robla schools from 7 to 9 p.m. For the general meeting agenda, our No. 1 contact is Sheedy, with whom we exchange information regarding our community and city needs.

Sheedy is the first presenter, followed by presenters from pre-selected city departments or other locations to keep our community informed on important subjects or to help solve community problems.

Sandy Sheedy cares. She is always there for the Robla community, supporting its progress and addressing its needs.

The Action Committee meeting is open to any interested Robla residents who wish to attend. This meeting is held from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on the second Wednesday of the month at the Norwood Junior High School library room. This meeting is used for planning the agenda of general meetings and special events, plus sharing community concerns and information.

Vincene Jones, city of Sacramento Neighborhood Services director; Sacramento Neighborhood Services Area 4 Department Manager Liz Brenner; and their staff members are another vital resource for the community association. We also work with Neighborhood Services coordinator Sergey Terebkov.

We attend monthly leadership meetings alternating between the Robertson Community Center at 3525 Norwood Ave., Del Paso Heights, and the South Natomas Community Center at 2921 Truxel Road. Meetings are on the second Monday of the month from 7 to 9 p.m.

Leadership meetings permit the Robla Park Community Association and others to interact with one another and with Sacramento departments to gain knowledge of how city government is conducted. The purpose of this process is to put communities in touch with city departments.

Community association representatives attend these monthly meetings as well as monthly Neighborhood Response Team meetings conducted by Neighborhood Services Department coordinators. These meetings are held on the fourth Monday of every month from 6 to 8:30 p.m. alternating between the Robertson Community Center and the South Natomas Community Center. The Neighborhood Response Team works with Sacramento city code enforcement to address illegal dumping and other city code violations.

The boundaries of the community association are north to Neal Road, south to Interstate 80, west to Northgate Boulevard and east to McClellan Business Park. Go to www.roblapark.com, e-mail rpca@comcast.net or write to P.O. Box 340232, CA 95834-0232.

Mary Ann Lujan is the president of the Robla Park Community Association. Leo Lujan is the treasurer.