RNCC Meeting Minutes, January 13, 2014
1. The meeting was called to order at 6:58 pm by President Don Woodrow.
2. President’s Remarks – President Woodrow welcomed us back to the multipurpose room and directed us on how to exit in case of a fire. He told us about a NY Times article on Eminent Domain that he felt told both sides in a clear and concise way. You could find it on Tom Butt’s E-forum.
3. MSP approval of the Minutes from November 18, 2013 General Meeting.
4. Representatives from the following 19 neighborhoods introduced themselves and some gave reports: Carriage Hills North, Cortez/Stege, Eastshore, Fairmede/Hilltop, Greenbriar, Hilltop Villages, Marina Bay, May Valley, North & East, Panhandle Annex, Parchester Village, Pt. Richmond, Pullman, Richmond Annex, Richmond Heights, Richmore Village/Metro Square, Santa Fe, Shields/Reid, and Southwest Annex.
5. Announcements from RNCC PIO: Garland Ellis spoke about the MLK Day of Service on the Greenway, the Library Foundation’s 2014 lecture and debate series beginning Thursday, February 13, 2014. He also brought us some information regarding the South Richmond Transportation meeting, an LBNL public comment meeting and a free tax service at 3555 Fred Jackson Way.
6. City Department Heads/City Official Reports:
Public Works: Yader Bermudez handed out his 3 week street paving list and his public works update. They have received a 1.5 million dollar grant to fix the Richmond Parkway lights. They will start to get bids for this project and will try to have all the lights up and running by 2015.
Engineering Services: Tawfic Halaby was not available.
City Manager/Community Coordinator: Rochelle Monk spoke about some volunteer programs in the City, including Bring me a Book and Read Aloud programs. The WriterCoach Connection program has received $100,000 to bring its program into Richmond High and Kennedy. She is still working hard with the Cities of Service program. She also asked for NCs to think about hosting the Finance Dept when they do their 2014-2015 Budget. She also gave us the City’s holiday schedule for 2014.
Mayor’s office: Nicole Valentine spoke about the Mayor cosponsoring the minimum wage increase for the city of Richmond. The Mayor’s office will have the official Black History Month proclamation the first week in February.
Police Department: Chief Magnus was unavailable but Michelle Milam from Crime Prevention was there in his place. Michelle spoke about the decrease in violent crime for 2013. The police department has had an auto burglary campaign that was very successful. They have been using social media to get the word out about distracted walkers and help with robbery prevention. She also talked about NCs getting new Beat officers and it is a good idea to exchange cell phone numbers with the officers.
Fire Department: Terry Harris spoke to us about finally signing a contract with Chevron to embed a fire inspector on site at Chevron. He also spoke about what a Fire Marshall does; he reacts to issues, he Enforces the fire laws of the City, County and State and prevent. If you see fires always call, you may be the first to report it.
Code Enforcement: Tim Higares spoke to us regarding getting new code enforcement officers, the last ones did not pass the background checks. The ADA parking enforcement officer is in the background stage, so we hope to get them up and running soon. Also, the building trades worker is still in process, so no new hires in Code Enforcement as of today. They are still working on the warrants for a house at 159 1st St. and the one on Leaky Way. Both will be demolished soon. The are focusing on illegal dumping and have applied for a $200,000 grant for education and enforcement of illegal dumping.
Environmental Manager: Lynne Scarpa spoke to us about snails and slugs. She brought visual props so we can interact with them. She also passed her 2014 calendar so we will be ready to answer questions in the coming months.
Planning Department: Hector Lopez brought the updated list of planning projects under review and spoke to us regarding a high volume of plans coming into the city.
7. Presentations:
1) Pt Molate Advisory Committee – Jim Hite and Charles Smith – they spoke about the reopening of Pt. Molate beach and passed out a survey they wanted us to fill out and return. The City is still cleaning up the spilled fuel and they are in need of more money than they received from the Navy to do the clean up. The Pt. Molate Advisory Committee needs more board members, so if you are interested, you can go to the City’s website and apply. They would like to come to NC meetings to find out what people want out there.
2) Clean Air Rich – Dr Valerie Yerger and Dr Robin Battle – they spoke on the second phase of their program that is based on the multi-unit non-smoking ordinance. They are looking to speak with residents that live in multi-unit housing to do the research based on the data and interaction they are receiving from residents. They are hoping that through education they will empower people to speak out if the ordinance is being violated in their housing units.
8. Old Business: Janie Holland had asked the NCs to sign up for refreshments for the 2014 meetings. Some people were not there or did not sign up so they were added to the list. The list will be sent out at the next General membership meeting.
9. New Business: No new business.
10. Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned by President Woodrow at 8:56 pm.
Respectfully submitted by,
Stanly Anderson
Recording Secretary
The next General Meeting will be Monday February 10, 2014 and the next Executive Board meeting will be January 27, 2014 in the 2nd floor Conference room, above Council Chambers.
Thank you to Point Richmond and Santa Fe NCs for tonight’s refreshments