1. The meeting was called to order at pm by President Stanly Anderson at 7:08 pm. This meeting might be filmed and streamed on Facebook so if you do not want to be filmed please let Cesar Zepeda know.
2. MSP approval of the Minutes from the September 11, 2017 meeting.
3. Representatives from the following (14) neighborhoods introduced themselves and some gave reports: Belding/Woods, Castro Heights, Coronado, Fairmede/Hilltop, Marina Bay, May Valley, North & East, Panhandle Annex, Park Plaza, Pt. Richmond, Richmond Annex, Richmore Village, Metro Square and Santa Fe Neighborhood Councils.
4. Announcements from RNCC PIO: Madalyn Law announced the RNCC holiday party on 12/11/17, the Santa Fe Hug a Bear Dinner on 12/08/17, the Riggers Loft Winery “ Holiday on the Bayou” 12/02/17, the Commission on Aging Senior Winter Ball on 12/16/17, the Crime Prevention banquet on 12/13/17 and the Richmond Community Christmas event on 12/16/17 from 10 A.M until 1 P.M. at Kennedy Hight School.
5. City Department Heads/City Official Reports:
Engineering & Capital Improvements: Yader Bermudez/Rob Chelemedos, Not Available
City Manager/Community Services: Rochelle Monk the Community Services Department is hiring part time employees and they will have an youth job fair on 1/27/17 from 10 A.M. until 12 noon, the East Bay Park District will be involved as well and there will be a free lunch.
Mayor’s office: Sequoia Erasmus told us that November is National Homelessness Month, they had the groundbreaking ceremony for the ferry, they will also be having a ribbon cutting ceremony for the new BART entrance at Nevin St. in December.
Police Dept.: Lt. Stina Johanson told us that crime is up by 9% but that homicides are down by 48%. They have completed the first Citizens Academy and will have another one in 2018. They have 12 open positions they hope to fill in 2018 and they are still working with the Cadet program as well. Please be aware of your surroundings on BART as there has been quite a few robberies on BART, RPD and the FBI gang task force have been working together to combat the issue.
Dept. of Infrastructure and Maintenance and Operations: Eva Mann spoke to us about the increase in illegal dumping around Richmond and they will be moving their cameras to hotspot locations like Espee, 5th & Bissell, and 7th & Maple. They are also getting 5 new cameras to place around the City. They have also demolished a few more houses in the City, like 447 A Street and 1737 Esmond Ave. If you notice any homeless encampments that are on BART property, contact Caltrans.
Planning Dept.: Staff, Not Available, but did send the projects under review list.
Fire Dept.: Adrian Sheppard talked about the toy drive and hoped that we would all support it. He talked about the Napa and Santa Rosa fires and that the wildfire season may not be over because of the lack of rain. The City will be getting a new Fire Truck and engine. We just had a CERT graduation so another 18 people have joined CERT. They have graduated 10 firefighters and hope to add 18 more over the next few months. With the population growth there is a vegetation growth and RFD is partnering with Dimo and the BNSF to clean up the encampments within the area. They will also be doing some promotions as firefighters retire. Chief Sheppard will be talking with the President of Contra Costa College to partner together to have a fire training area at CCC.
WCCUSD: Marcus Walton, Not Available
6. Presentations:
1) Republic Services: Bielle Moore brought recycling coordinators Reagan and Terry who talked about the residential and commercial recycling and the changes they have made to composting. They handed out lots of brochures and each member received a reusable cold shopping bag. They talked about what can be recycled now and how to bundle some things to be recycled. They also talked about the yearly bulk item pick up that you need to schedule with Republic Services a week in advance. Hazardous waste can be dropped off on Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 9-4 (closed for lunch between 12:00 and 12:30) is located at 101 Pittsburg Ave in Richmond. They also have a HHW pickup for seniors 60 years and older and the disabled, please call 888-412-9277 for an appointment.
2) CHDC and Mercy Housing presented their plans to renovate the Hacienda apartments. One of the key changes that will occur after the completion of the renovation is that the Richmond Housing Authority will transfer ownership from themselves to Mercy Housing Management Group, who will have onsite staff to manage and maintain the property. They are asking for community support and input into this project. One of the ideas they have is that the entrance for the project is on Barrett Ave instead of on 13th Street. They want everything to be more open and safe.
7. Old Business: None
8. New Business: None
9. Adjournment: This meeting was adjourned by President Stanly Anderson at 9:14 pm
Respectfully submitted by,
Jan Mignone
Recording Secretary