Alcatraz Avenue Neighborhood Association

July 2001 Minutes

Minutes of Meeting: July 11, 2001, 7:00 p.m.

Location: Over 60 Health Center: 3260 Sacramento St. Berkeley, CA 94703

Attendees:

City of Berkeley: Margaret Breland, Ronnie Turner, Officer Luttrell and Officer Murphy
AANA Officers: Ron Casimere (Chair), Ray Pelegrino (Vice Chair), Fredia Smith (Treasurer), Andrea Cesar (Communications Coordinator) and Lori Lott (Secretary)
Alcatraz Avenue Neighbors

1. Meeting called to order at 7:19. Roll Call of AANA officers.

2. Introductions of those attending the meeting

3. Reading of the minutes by Lori Lott. Motion to adopt the minutes passed unanimously.

4. Financial Report: Fredia Smith reported that our B of A bank account has been closed, and a new account has been opened at Co-op Credit Union on 7/6/01.
Balance Carried Over = $ 283.71
Expenditures = $ 36.75
Current Balance = $ 246.96

5. City of Berkeley Update:
Councilmember Breland reported that the City Council has passed it's budget and discussed City plans. She also reported that the Tobacco Ordinance has been overturned. The Council will be in recess for the month of August. She reviewed our list of initiatives, and stated that all Berkeley residents are complaining about the same things. She also reported that the City is contracting with a company to trim the trees, and will provide us with a schedule of when to expect our trees to be trimmed. The City has lost another Traffic Engineer, so it appears that our traffic calming issue at King and Alcatraz will not be resolved anytime soon. Ms. Breland also reported that the City will look into getting money for pedestrian lights on the 1300 and 1700 blocks of Alcatraz.

Ronnie Turner reported that we should expect to see outages in the pedestrian lights due to the current energy crisis. None has occurred yet, but if they do, we can voice our concerns to Tom Myers and Michael Caplan (Neighborhood Liaisons), and they will bring them to the attention of the City Manager. The burnt-out property in the 1600 block has been purchased by Mr. Choyce, and he is starting work. Ronnie reported that money from the Housing Department is available to qualified senior citizens and people with disabilities for home repairs. He was also asked to provide an update on a blighted property on the 1900 block (that was reported at our 3/14/01 meeting). The owner has responded to the complaint, and will be working with the Housing Department to improve the situation. A resident complained about a property in the 1700 block with a leaky sewage line, and Ronnie will look into it. Again, residents complained about the water being pumped from the basement of the Over 60 Center building. The standing water which collects leaves, oil, and trash in the street is a concern, but even more importantly, the sidewalk gets slippery and could create a hazard for the elderly people who enter the building. Ronnie reports that there isn't really anything that can be done, since the building has a basement and the water table is so high. However some suggestions were made by residents that could help: More frequent street sweeping and ensuring that the storm drains are clear could keep the street cleaner. The suggestion was also made for the Over 60 building to have a larger holding tank for the water (i.e. a less frequent, higher volume flow) that might move down the street to the drains better than the current slow, constant "drip". Ronnie will discuss this possibility with the owners.

Berkeley Police Officers Luttrell and Murphy were in attendance for vacationing Beat Officer Murray. They heard complaints from residents about a problematic property in the 1400 block of Alcatraz (i.e. noisy, traffic, suspected drug activity, etc. that has been reported at many previous meetings), and will forward this information to our beat officer. Officers were questioned about the little girl who was recently hit on Alcatraz Ave. The case is still under investigation, so they were unable to comment. Other complaints included drivers doing "doughnuts" in the street and loud music in cars. If at all possible, get license # and call in to report (981-5900). Lt. Muller will be retiring next week, and his replacement will be Lt. Bruce Agnew.

6. Review of proposed bylaws: Ken Huie presented the bylaws for the AANA for review. They were discussed, and a motion to adopt the new bylaws passed unanimously.

7. 2001 Initiatives:
We will continue to work on traffic, drug activity, and other priorities (as discussed at the June 13 meeting), but it was decided that our highest priority will be trying to reduce the number of liquor stores in our area. Andrea Cesar provided arguments for why the liquor stores in our neighborhood are the root of many problems, and Ray Pelegrino presented suggestions on trying to get other types of businesses established here. The question is how do we go about doing this? We can protest licenses for new stores, but it is VERY difficult to close down an existing liquor store. The City can offer some incentives to get liquor stores to close, but they can't deny or revoke licenses (since the State issues the licenses). We can go door-to-door to get petitions signed to send to State Representatives and the ABC. We must have strong justification and be willing to go the full distance (i.e. if we try to limit hours of operation, there will be public hearings we will need to attend en mass!)
It was suggested that Andrea and Ray get in touch with Tom Myers and Michael Caplan to discuss strategies for addressing this issue.

8. Other Business:
A. Ray Pelegrino was sworn in as Vice Chair of the AANA by Councilmember Breland.
B. Ray reported needing more meeting flyers to distribute in the 1300 and 1400 blocks (i.e. 200).
C. A motion was made to start our meetings at 7 pm. It passed unanimously.

9. Next Meeting is scheduled for August 8 at 7:00 pm at the Over 60 Health Center.

10. Meeting adjourned at 8:58 pm.