RNCC Meeting Minutes, May 12, 2014
1. The meeting was called to order at 7:05 pm by President Don Woodrow.
2. MSP approval of the Minutes from April 14, 2014
3. Representatives from the following (18) neighborhoods introduced themselves and some gave reports: Belding/Woods, Eastshore, Hilltop Villages, Iron Triangle, Laurel Park, Marina Bay, May Valley, North & East, Panhandle Annex, Parchester Village, Park Plaza, Pt. Richmond, Pullman, Richmond Annex, Richmond Heights, Richmore Village & Metropolitan Square, Santa Fe, and Shields/Reid.
4. Announcements from RNCC PIO: Garland Ellis told us about 4Richmond having workshops for construction trade jobs, the Senior Health Fair is happening in May, the historical films on the Red Oak Victory are ending soon with the last being Swing Shift, Senior Night Out will also be at the end of May, the City of Richmond is getting ready to rebuild Parchester playground at Make a Difference Day; October 25, 2014 and there will be bicycle safety classes for adults and children.
5. City Department Heads/City Official Reports:
Public Works: Yader Bermudez was unavailable, but Warren Williams was here in his place and told us about the Parkway lighting is about 50% wired and the rest will be done soon. Then they will begin to relight all of the Parkway. They have opened the bidding process for renovating Shields/Reid Park. They will be installing the new Marina Bay Park restroom soon.
Engineering Services: Tawfic Halaby was unavailable but Lynne Scarpa brought a few things that engineering wanted us to know about. The first was making Boyd a one way street, thus making the Solano Playlot just a little bit safer. This is one of the traffic calming ideas for traffic calming at Solano Playlot that will go before the Public Safety group on Thursday. There is also a road closure on El Portal Drive in San Pablo that is a part of the I-80 San Pablo Dam Rd. Interchange Project. The road closure will begin in late May and continue through August.
City Manager/Community Coordinator: Rochelle Monk gave up her time so that Shasa Curl could talk about LBNL and UCB and what is happening at this time. She brought the Joint Statement of Commitment to Strengthen Community Partnership between UC Berkeley, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and the Richmond Community. The three groups are committed to have a fund from both public and private community. They are not far enough along to be investing in new roads and lighting. As of May 12, 2014 there is no definitive phase I.
Mayor’s office: Nicole Valentine was unavailable but sent her list of Mayor’s activities in her place.
Police Department: Chief Magnus was unavailable so LT. S. Pickett was there in his place. The crime stats are down but some crimes are going up, like robberies. We had 2 homicides over the weekend and they have some good leads on them. They have found that many of the crimes being committed are being done by people on probation, not people on parole. They have also had some gun arrests using shotspotter. The have also made 20 prostitution arrests and they are asking for geographical probation (they will be re-arrested if they return to Richmond) and they have another 20 more to go after the last sting.
Code Enforcement: Tim Higares told us about another house that they will be tearing down at 2436 Maricopa Ave. He has been hit by the hiring freeze and now only has 5 code enforcement officers, but he did get his ADA parking person hired. They have been working with Public Works and Richmond Build to get street sweeping signs out in all of the neighborhoods and by using in house people, they are saving the City plenty of money. The neighborhood cleanups are now under Code Enforcement and Hugo Mendoza will be in charge.
Environmental Manager: Lynne Scarpa talked about roses and the mildew that grows on those in the shade around City Hall and how you can get rid of the mildew.
Planning Department: Jonelyn Whales brought the Planning projects under review and answered some questions on her projects. We must contact the planner for more information.
Fire Department: Terry Harris, Fire Marshall gave us a fire extinguisher demonstration. He can come to the NCs and give the same demonstration to your neighborhood. If you have a fire extinguisher more than 5 years, throw it out and get a new one that can be recharged each year. Just an FYI, the Fall 2014 CERT training sessions are open and taking names. They will be on consecutive Thursdays starting August 28, 2014 @ 6:15 pm.
6. Presentations:
1) Beverly Roberts Charles, Richmond Program Manager, Writer Coach Connection came to us to ask us to ask our neighborhood for more coaches. They are moving into Kennedy High School and will need approximately 70 more coaches. Coaches are needed 1-2 hours, 2-3 times a month. This program has been around in other areas for a while and as they grow they need more coaches to make a difference in a child’s life. To register as a writer coach, please call June Pangelinan at 510-685-7054 or email june@writercoachconnection.org
2) Mike Aldax, Richmond Standard did not attend. 7. Old Business: None 8. New Business: None 9. Adjournment: This meeting was adjourned at 9:04 pm.
Respectfully submitted by,
Stanly Anderson Recording Secretary
Thank you to the City of Richmond and North & East Neighborhood Council for tonight’s refreshments.