RNCC Meeting Minutes, September 16, 2013
1. The meeting was called to order at 7:02 pm by President Don Woodrow and the President’s comments were as follows: he has asked Jan Mignone to chair the nominating committee, if anyone is interested in working on the committee, please contact Jan Mignone. He also told us that even though the Planning department was not on the agenda to do a presentation, they had a project that was very important to the neighborhoods so we should hear their proposal.
2. MSP approval of the Minutes from July 8, 2013
3. Representatives from the following 14 neighborhoods introduced themselves and some gave reports: Carriage Hills North, Marina Bay, May Valley, North & East, Panhandle Annex, Parchester Village, Pt. Richmond, Pullman, Richmond Annex, Richmond Heights, Richmore Village and Metro Sq, Santa Fe, and Shields/Reid.
4. Announcements from RNCC PIO: Goretha Johnson told us about the 13th Annual Laurel Park Event on Sept 22nd with Filmore Slim. There will be a Raku Festival at the Richmond Art Center (RAC) from 10-4 along with other events happening in the City in the next few weeks.
5. City Department Heads/City Official Reports:
Public Works: Yader Bermudez passed out the paving schedule and told us that they had almost finished paving Cutting Blvd from the freeway to Carlson Blvd. They have been hard at work redoing Lucas Park and Belding Garcia Park.
Engineering Services: Tawfic Halaby was not available
City Manager/Community Coordinator: Rochelle Monk told us about Make a Difference Day on Oct 26, 2013, Arbor Day at Lucas Park on Oct 19, 2013 and that WriterCoach Connection will be expanding to Kennedy High school next year. Richmond ESC has really been doing a great job in getting people to volunteer and get involved.
Mayor’s office: Nicole Valentine was not available
Police Department: Chief Magnus was unavailable (he was returning from Hawaii) but he sent Captain Mark Gagan in his place. Capt Gagan told us about the use of wiretaps and coordinating with the District Attorney’s office that led to 23 people being taken into custody. Because of the wiretaps, they will have a better chance to put these people away for a while. They are now working to stop the young gang bangers from taking their places. They are also using Ceasefire as another weapon to turn people’s lives around. He also told us about the new predictive policing that they are using to determine when and where the next hotspot will be. Predpol has led to a 20% decrease in car thefts. They are also hiring a crime analyst and that is a non-sworn position. They are also recruiting and really would like young men and women from Richmond. If you know of someone that you think would be a good officer, get them to sign up for a ride along and see what they think.
Fire Department: Terry Harris was unavailable but he sent Fire Marshall Robin Pointdexter in his place. She told us about fire behavior; there are 3 things a fire needs; air, fuel and heat or flame. If you have a cooking fire, you will need to use baking soda to put it out especially if it is a grease fire. Don’t use flour it won’t work, just baking soda or smother the fire with a lid. Don’t leave food unattended on the stove.
Planning Department: Lina Velasco spoke about the city redoing the neighborhood council maps and people asked if Google and/or MLS might be informed so they can update their maps. She also passed out the updated planning project report.
Code Enforcement: Tim Higares told us about the new flash cams they are getting (3 cameras and 7 dummies) and they are also hiring 2 new employees. They are looking to purchase 2 graffiti sensors (they can detect the sound of paint cans spraying). They are also working on a homeless encampment ordinance as well as improving signage for street sweeping. They will be hiring an ADA parking enforcement full time. The burned out house in Parchester Village on Leke Way is the next house the City will demolish.
Environmental Manager: Lynne Scarpa talked with us about the short-term trash plan and the long term trash plan which includes styrofoam ban. We just had a coastal clean up and Richmond has 32 miles of shoreline, 20 miles of creeks and 4 miles of storm drains that it is very important to try to keep the trash in the streets and around schools to a minimum so that we can keep the storm drains clean.
6. Presentations:
1) Heather Kulp from Chevron and the new Plant General Manager, Kory Judd. Kory introduced himself and told us that he started working for Chevron in Richmond and then he was in Price Utah and now he has returned to Richmond. He talked about increasing the number of sensors along the fence line monitors and you can see these real time at www.feinceline.org/Richmond. He also talked about the air quality and someone brought up that 85% of the air pollution in Richmond comes from trains and diesel. His top priorities for the Richmond Refinery; 1) No fires or incidents; 2) everyone goes home safely; 3) meets all government regulations; 4) be the best refinery at Chevron; and 5) make the most money.
2) Maureen Hunter and Brian James from MBS Services wanted to bring to the RNCC Council their seismic gas safety valve. They have been doing this for 20 years and are leading experts in their field. You can have them speak at your NC and if you do this as a group you may get some discount from the normal cost of $200 per house. They believe this is the most efficient valve on the market and can save your house from an unnecessary fire and destruction of property. You can reach them at 925-408-3267.
3) Lina Velasco from the Richmond Planning department brought to us a project that is coming before City Council. They have a project to upgrade the Richmond Auditorium and make it ADA compliant. They will be adding an elevator to make the second floor ADA accessible as well as portable platforms and guardrails to make the platforms safe.
7. Old Business: There was none.
8. New Business: There was none.
9. Adjournment: at 9:07pm.
Respectfully Submitted by,
Jan Mignone
Recording Secretary