RNCC Meeting Minutes, November 10, 2014
1. The meeting was called to order at 7:00 pm by President Don Woodrow. President Woodrow thanked Parchester Village and Shields/Reid NCs for tonight’s refreshments. He also told us the the name of the LBNL Richmond Campus had been changed to the Berkeley Global Campus and that UC Berkeley was going ahead with the project without the LBNL. There were handouts about the Berkeley Global Campus on the back table. He announced that our meeting location for the December meeting would be the Senior Center, 2525 Macdonald Ave at 6:30 pm. Invitations to follow. We voted to move the RNCC General meetings to the City Council Chambers and he reminded everyone that we cannot eat in the chambers.
2. MSP approval of the Minutes from October 20, 2014
3. Representatives from the following (22) neighborhoods introduced themselves and some gave reports: Belding Woods, Carriage Hills North, Coronado, Fairmede/Hilltop, Greenbriar, Hilltop District, Hilltop Villages, Laurel Park, Marina Bay, May Valley, North & East, Panhandle Annex, Parchester Village, Park Plaza, Point Richmond, Pullman, Richmond Annex, Richmond Heights, Richmore Village & Metro Square, Santa Fe, and Shields/Reid NCs.
4. City Department Heads/City Official Reports:
Public Works: Yader Bermudez was not available and no one was sent in place of Yader.
Engineering Services: Tawfic Halaby was unavailable and no one was sent in place of Tawfic.
City Manager/Community Coordinator: Rochelle Monk talked to us about the new insurance policy that the Risk Manager would like all NCs to have at their one free event and that the City would work with the NCs to make it feasible for all NCs. Her Impact Volunteering Project received a $75,000.00 grant to help more young people volunteer. She thanked the NCs that came out to help rebuild Parchester Park and told us about an UN event that had just happened called “Magnifying Richmond, where do we go from here” that had occurred on the preceding Saturday. She also thanked everyone that was involved in Scare Hunger Away, the Youth Service Commission, and Writer Coach Connection.
Mayor’s office: Nicole Valentine was unavailable but sent an email saying that City Council would begin again on the 18th of November.
Police Department: Chief Magnus was unavailable but sent Captain Bisa French in his place. She updated us on the last two weeks of violent shootings we have had. The one at Belding Garcia park started in school and someone brought a gun to a fist fight. The one on 28th and McBryde was also a school incident. They are still investigating the two killings. They have the gang unit ramped up and on the streets finding out what they can. These seem to be between the Nortenos and the Surenos, which has in the past, been issues for San Pablo but it seems to have come to Richmond. Crime is down 16% overall even with these shootings and killings. There will be a press conference and rally on Wednesday at 5:00pm at the Civic Auditorium. If your NC would like any kind of handouts, please contact Michelle Milam and the officers will start to wear body cameras in January.
Code Enforcement: Tim Higares was not available and no one was there in place of him.
Environmental Manager: Lynne Scarpa – She asked us about what creek is near our NC and if we knew, she would give us a prize. She also passed out fliers on Snails and Slugs and asked us how to kill them using integrated pest management.
Planning Department: Hector Lopez spoke to us about a lot of new applications for building in the City of Richmond. We heard about 2 projects in the Hilltop area, one for 100 units and the other for 180. Also, the Westridge Apartments want to add more buildings to their property to become more dense, population wise.
Fire Department: Terry Harris talked to us about the Bakken Crude oil that Kinder Morgan is bringing in by trains, that are not fully equiped to handle this crude. This Bakken crude is coming into Richmond on mile long trains with 100 tanker cars carrying this product. It will take 10-12 months to complete the pipeline from Canada to the Pacific Ocean. This is a better way for the bakken crude to enter our city. Terry brought us pictures of what to look for when seeing these tanker trains on the tracks. He also talked to us about the City, County and surrounding cities are not prepared to handle the type of fire this product could cause.
5. Announcements from RNCC PIO: Garland Ellis told us about the health enrollment the City was having in the Auditorium. The Planning Commission was having their meeting Thursday at 7:30 instead of 6:30 and the Sign Ordinance would be on the agenda as well as the Bottoms project. There will be a puppet show on Friday, family health clinics on Wednesdays and Fridays, a tax credit seminar and the Senior Winter Ball on December 6, 2014.
6. Presentations:
1) Elaine Welch from the Senior Helpline came to us asking for volunteer drivers for seniors that no longer can drive. She would like to have volunteers from Richmond drive those that live in Richmond as well. She is asking to speak at our neighborhood council meetings.
2) Barbara McCullough from Brighter Beginnings has been in Richmond for 30 years and now have the RotaCare Clinic on Macdonald Ave that offers no-cost urgent care to adults and children with no medical insurance. They help with better birth outcomes, family centric classes and have a Spanish speaking staff.
3) Lynn Martin from Early Childhood Mental Health Program has been serving Richmond Residents since 1974. They are very hands on, with 3 children per teacher/therapist and they have an 80% success rate. They do both on site and in the home therapy that includes family therapy as well as the child. They deal with inter generational families as well as dysfunctional ones. Their clients are the most impoverished and they do run a program at GRIP.
7. Old Business: None
8. New Business:
Nomination of the 2015 RNCC Executive Board slate. There were no nominations from the floor, so the slate was moved by Murtle Braxton and seconded by Madelyn Law and the vote was unanimous. The 2015 RNCC Board is as follows: President – Don Woodrow; Vice-President – Jerry Yoshida; Corresponding Secretary – Stanly Anderson; Recording Secretary – Jan Mignone; Treasurer – Bea Roberson; Public Information Officer – Garland Ellis; Sergeant at Arms – George Schmidt; Director at Large (1) – Naomi Williams; Director at Large (2) – Janie Holland; Director at Large (3) – Paul Conner.
The 2015 letter and dues notice will be coming out in the next few days. You will need to bring your $40.00 for dues to the December 8, 2014 meeting along with your neighborhood council’s information and RNCC representatives.
There will be a special Veterans Day event at the Red Oak Victory ship at the Riggers Loft at 11:00 am and there will be boxed lunches on the ship as well as a USO dance from 1-3 pm.
9. Adjournment: President Don Woodrow adjourned the meeting at 8:52 pm.
Respectfully submitted by,
Stanly Anderson Recording Secretary