RNCC Meeting Minutes, February 9, 2015

1.  The meeting was called to order at 7:00 pm by President Don Woodrow. President Don Woodrow gave a quick President’s report by explaining why there is caution tape around some of the chairs (we would like everyone to move more to the front and center), that some of the neighborhood councils may not have paid their 2015 dues yet, Bea has the form you need to fill out and return with your dues.

2.  MSP approval of the Minutes from January 12, 2015 meeting.

3.  Representatives from the following (18) neighborhoods introduced themselves and some gave reports: Belding/Woods, Carriage Hills North, Fairmede/Hilltop, Hilltop Villages, Iron Triangle, Laurel Park, Marina Bay, May Valley, North & East, Panhandle Annex, Parchester Village, Park Plaza, Pt. Richmond, Richmond Annex, Richmond Heights, Santa Fe, and Hilltop District NCs.

4.  City Department Heads/City Official Reports:

Public Works: Yader Bermudez was not available but Warren Williams passed out the paving schedule and talked about the speed tables on Moyers and 35th Street as well as new stop signs around 35th Street. They are also cleaning out the drains and working on potholes on a daily basis. They are also working in Parchester Village, 17th and 18th Streets.

Engineering Services: Tawfic Halaby was unavailable but Warren Williams would take back any questions to engineering.

City Manager/Community Coordinator: Rochelle Monk again spoke about the insurance for special events that we have during the year on City property. Kim Greer, the Risk Manager is working on an answer to this issue and Rochelle hopes to have it for the March meeting. Don’t forget to submit your special events application early so you will get the location you want. NUSA will be held in Houston, Texas this year and once they have posted the hotel, Rochelle will be making room reservations. It will be May 20th thru the 23rd. The community survey will be going out in March to approximately 3000 residents to get their response on what is happening in Richmond (good and bad). It is the same survey that goes out every other year. The ESC has 32 youth from UCB that are a part of the Richmond ESC at Cal. There will be an ESC showcase in either April or May.

Mayor’s office: Mayor Tom Butt, and staff (Terrance Cheung, Alex Knox and David Gray) spoke about themselves and what they hope to achieve in the coming four years. Four major campaigns that the Mayor’s Office has on it’s radar for 2015 are the Hacienda complex, Ferry service coming to Richmond, Hilltop Mall and the Urban Agriculture Ordinance. They are also very involved in the economic development of the City as a way for more taxes to come into the City. The Mayor did away with 2 standing committees (Public Safety and Finance) but he placed 3 Council members on an Ad Hoc Education committee to watch over the money that the residents of Richmond have given to the WCCUSD. He hopes this will keep Richmond’s money in Richmond and not in Pinole or El Cerrito. They would also like to get the Measure U taxes to go to roads as it was touted throughout the City when it was put on the ballot.

Police Department: Chief Magnus spoke about the condition of the Richmond BART station and that we should tell the new BART Director Z. Mallett about cleaning it up. He also told us that crime was down in January from last year 13% but that violent crime was up 5%. The North & East NC has had 2 home invasions in about a week and they are using all of their resources to warn people and look for the perp. There has been a rash of robberies from Richmond BART and along 23rd Street and they have made four arrests. He also talked about the lethality and risk management index that has a series of questions for sexual assault to determine what the risk is. He and Captain French are very involved in this issue and hope to have it all up and running by the Fall. The Police Captains are moving around from the different districts and this will be available soon. The Family Justice Center is getting closer to being opened and you will find all sorts of updates from the Police department on Twitter and Facebook.

Code Enforcement: Tim Higares and Alma Causey talked to us about the ADA parking and what Code Enforcement is doing to spread the tickets around the City. Each Code Enforcement person has a neighborhood and some start really early to ticket all of the cars that are in violation of the street sweeping ordinance. They only work until 5:00 pm and Monday thru Friday but we can always contact dispatch if this needs to be addressed asap. They are working with Public Works to get signs posted all around the City to make people aware. They are also working on extending the parking hours on 23rd Street so that the impromptu car lot will be closed. You can always send an email to either your Code Enforcement person or Tim Higares.

Planning Department:  TBD – No one was available.

Fire Department: Terry Harris brought us the “Richmond Fire Prevention Services Division” quarterly newsletter. The issue recaps the 2014 year and what all has occurred during the year. It talks about education of the fire inspectors and the embedded inspectors in Chevron. There are articles about Knox Boxes, TraKit, fire investigations, False fire alarms and public education. Fire Inspector Munson was recently appointed Secretary for the NorCal Prevention Officers Board. Both Fire Inspector Govan and Munson are active members with the NorCal Fire Prevention Officers Assn (NCFPOA) and their commitment has put them in the forefront of current topics within their specialized committees allowing them to pre-plan for situations within the City of Richmond.

Congressman Desaulnier’s Outreach Coordinator – Christopher Whitmore introduced himself to the RNCC (he was really there to deliver his father’s keys) but he will start to attend these meetings in the future. His office is located on the second floor above the Chambers and you can reach him by phone at 510-620-1000 or by email at christopher.whitmore@mail.house.gov

5.  Announcements from RNCC PIO: Garland Ellis told us about the Rumrill/13th Street revitalization that the City of Richmond and the City of San Pablo are working on together. He also talked about the Historic Preservation Award. This can be a person, place or thing to receive the award. See the City’s website for details.

6.  Presentations:

1) Sue Hartman and Steve Furtado from the City of Richmond IT department presented the City of Richmond free App. They showed us an overview of the new City of Richmond app for iphones and Androids. It is free and does more than COR Connect and it can be used wherever you are. With the app you can report and track issues, get City Council information or contact staff by email or telephone, receive City newsflashes, access dining and shopping establishments in Richmond, connect to the City’s online recreation system to sign up for programs and reserve facilities, access the City’s event calendar, display the current weather in Richmond and opt in to receive emergency alerts issued by the City.

2) Janet Johnson – “Made in Richmond” gift boxes was not able to present at this meeting.

7.  Old Business: There was no old business.

8.  New Business: There was no new business.

9.  Adjournment: This meeting was adjourned by the President at 9:02 pm.

Respectfully submitted by,

Jan Mignone Recording Secretary