May
13, 2006 Meeting
Preparation
An
e-mail was
sent to each member who has provided a contact e-mail address.
Susan Chu phoned
other members on the
phone contact list.
Acknowledgments
Susan Chu brought brownies. Also had a few bottles of water
and some packaged health food bars left over from the Tour de Fourth.
Attendees
12
members, including one brand new and one for first time in over
a year. 1 guest.
Meeting
Agenda
Items:
- Discussion of Viña Vieja Park
- status of finishing it
- pedestrian path and gates issues
- resident questions and comments
- Upcoming Area Events
- Tour de Fourth walk/bike event, May 13, 9 to 11 am. Right
before our meeting.
- Proposed by-laws on-going
discussion
- Questions, change requests?
- Current plan is to hold vote at June 10 meeting
- anything
else attendees wish to discuss
The meeting began shortly after 11:15 am in Hastings
Branch
Library's meeting room.
Discussion
of Viña Vieja Park
- status of finishing it
- Top for historic picnic shelter should be installed soon.
- Edison is supposed to put its fence in soon instead temporary
orange plastic fencing
- Susan happened to talk to Edison's contractor for the
fence. He said it will be a white vinyl fence, providing more
screening for the houses then just the chain link will.
- Question - will the vinyl fence be used for all the Edison
"safety zone" or just behind houses? Makes sense behind houses to
limit visibility, but presents conundrom for south end of park where
allowing residences facing Avocado and passersby to see into the park
would be better for park security and a nicer view then just the weeds
on the Avocado side of the fence.
- Edison has promised to clean up the shed mess left from the
nursery after they contact Norman's to make sure they don't want it (a
strange excuse).
- pedestrian path and gates issues
- Gates are supposed to be unlocked when the park opens at
dawn, locked after it closes at dusk.
- Have been problems with them remaining locked late and entire
days.
Meeting attendees reported that the gate at Avocado and Alameda is
locked again today (day of meeting), although the inner gates are
unlocked.
- In raising a ruckus about it on Tuesday and Wednesday the 9th
and 10th, were told that uocking/unlocking of gates and restrooms is
done under
contract with the city by a company called Intercom Security.
Were told that on Wednesday city staff were meeting with them to
straighten the
situation out. The gates were open on Thursday and Friday.
- Have requested phone number to call when they aren't
opened/closed properly. So far the request has been ignored by
city staffers.
- Question was raised as to whether the city might make an
agreement with a resident and backup resident near to the gate to
open/close them.
- vandalism
- Late last Saturday night a pickup truck did doughnuts in the
park grass, damaging it. Anybody who notices vandalism underway
should call the police. (626-744-4241. If someone may be in
danger, call 911.) While it is probably true the police won't
usually get there in time to catch miscreants in the act, they need to
be made aware of what is happening, when it is happening, and as much
descriptive information as possible. And don't assume someone
else will call them.
- other questions and comments
- Why are the restrooms all lit up at night when the park is
supposed to be dark at night?
Upcoming
Area Events
- Actually, now a past event. Tour de Fourth walk/bike
event, May 13 was right before our meeting.
- Should have received a "passport" in the mail
- Turnout ok, not a lot of people, but some. Lots of
other things going on.
Proposed
by-laws on-going discussion
- Passed out copies to new attendees who hadn't already got
copies at previous meeting.
- Summarized provisions a little: membership, term limits, steering
committee, other committees.
- Very little discussion.
- Question after meeting adjourned as to whether the limited term
of officers starts with this year's term or with last year's term.
- Plan is still to hold vote at June 10 meeting
- Based on Ratification section of proposed by-laws, a copy of the
by-laws and notice of the
vote has to be distributed to residents at least a week before the
vote. Thinking of doing it as part of another newsletter, but it
is a fairly large amount of text.
Other
topics of discussion
- Want speed humps on Avocado
- people speed on Avocado and around the corners to/from all
the intersecting streets
- what needs to be done to request humps? petition and
traffic survey?
- who is speeding? - mostly young and/or inattentive residents
- if get license plate of offenders can report them to traffic
enforcement to have a warning issued
- need to get specific phone number for that. Phlunte
Riddle now in charge of traffic division
- Why doesn't city enforce overnight parking regs in our
neighborhood? Increasing numbers of cars left on street all
night, including street sweeping nights.
- Do the street sweepers ever come anymore? Yes, usually
early Wednesday morning in the 1 - 3 am time frame. Does one very
fast pass on each side of the street. Does poor job if there is
much of anything to pick up - just flattens pine needles and
cones. Leaves piles of stuff in some places. Does
decent job in other places.
Next meeting is June 10,
same
time, same place.
Adjourned about 12:15 pm.