RNCC Meeting Minutes, January 9, 2012

1. The meeting was called to order at 7:01 pm by President Bea Roberson.

2. MSP approval of the Minutes from November 14, 2011 after corrections.

3. Representatives from the following (18) neighborhoods introduced themselves and some gave reports: Carriage Hills North, Coronado, Cortez/Stege, Country Club Vista, Fairmede/Hilltop, Greenbriar, Iron Triangle, Marina Bay, May Valley, North & East, Panhandle Annex, Parchester Village, Park Plaza, Pt. Richmond, Richmond Annex, Richmore Village & Met. Square, Santa Fe and Shields-Reid.

4. Announcements from RNCC PIO Goretha Johnson: We have MLK Day marches this weekend as well as John Gioia’s Bay Trail launch clean up.  Adult class listings and other information is included in the purple folder which was passed around.

5. City Department Heads/City Official Reports: 
     Public Works: Yader Bermudez – He brought the paving schedule for the next 2 weeks and spoke about the completion of Shields/Reid lighting, the Bay Shore Trail and BTA (Booker T Anderson) Replacement Bridge.
     Engineering Services: Tawffic Halaby – He spoke about the cement program for curb ramps; the application form is on the website and you must request for one to be installed.  He also spoke about the  sidewalk repairs where tree roots that are planted in the strip between the street and the sidewalk are damaged.  The city will assess the problem and then do repairs.
     City Manager/Community Coordinator: Rochelle Monk – Passed out fliers for the NUSA conference awards and explained that the city will pay the entry fee for any neighborhood interested.  The special event application is still moving to the Recreation Department but it may take a few more months to get it there.   She was asked about signs welcoming people to Richmond.
     Mayor’s office: Mayor McLaughlin spoke about the upcoming International Women’s Day on March 10th at Dejean Middle School and reminded people that she has “Meet the Mayor” on the first Friday of the month at the Whittlesey Room in the North & East but is open to having it in different parts of the city each month.
     Police Department: Chief Magnus – The city started the year on a positive note with a 14% decrease in violent crime and that Richmond is following the county trend.  They are working on a new radio system so all department from all cities can communicate any time they need to and the CCTV cameras are up and running on the South Side.  There will be some changes to your beat officers but you may have the same ones.  He will be involved in the civil suit trial over the next 9-12 weeks but Deputy Chief Brown and your district captains will be at your disposal.  If you have smoking violations, contact the regulatory department at 621-1281.    
     Code Enforcement: Tim Higares – Of the 1799 foreclosure cases opened in 2011, 1306 have been secured and monitored, and code enforcement has collected over $465,170.  They now have 38 code enforcement officers and are working very hard to stay ahead of all the cases.   
     Environmental Manager: Lynne Scarpa & Jennifer Le discussed the Richmond Watershed and reducing street trash that goes to the bay.  They also spoke about the MLK Day of service and the events that were happening on MLK weekend.
     Planning: Director Richard Mitchell spoke about the Richmond Livable Corridor on 2/12/12 from 9-1 and about things that were happening with Marina Way South, Residential Proposal and Brickyard Cove.  He spoke of possible businesses to come to Richmond including Whole Foods having a distribution center by UPS and Planet Fitness going in at the old Safeway bldg on San Pablo and Macdonald as well as the possibility of a grocery in the old Luckys bldg on San Pablo and Macdonald too.  They are in the process of clearing the area of the Miraflores project. 

6. Presentations: Richmond Chamber of Commerce spokesperson Becky Ross spoke about what the Planning Commission changed in the General Plan and how it would affect businesses that are here now and those that might want to locate in Richmond.  They also asked us to join with them and see how we can work together with them. 

7. Old Business: Passed out the Guidelines for the use of the RNCC tax id number.

8. New Business: None

9. Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 9:26 PM.

Thank you to Santa Fe, Richmore Village & Metro Square Neighborhoods for providing the refreshments.

Respectfully submitted,

Jan Mignone, Recording Secretary