Alcatraz Avenue Neighborhood Association

July 2002 Minutes

Alcatraz Avenue Neighborhood Association

Minutes of Meeting: July 10, 2002, 7:00 p.m.
Location: Over 60 Health Center: 3260 Sacramento St. Berkeley, CA 94703
Attendees:
City of Berkeley: Ofc. Stephen Burcham, Michael Caplan, Patricia Duncan-Hall, Peter Hillier
AANA Officers: Ron Casimere (Chair), Fredia Street-Smith (Treasurer) and Lori Lott (Secretary)
Alcatraz Avenue Neighbors/Visitors

1. Meeting called to order at 7:18. Roll Call of AANA officers.

2. Introductions of those attending the meeting.

3. Reading of the minutes: Presented by Lori Lott. Correction was made to: "City of Berkeley Attendees". Patricia Duncan-Hall was in attendance. Motion to adopt the amended minutes passed unanimously.

4. Financial Report: Presented by Fredia Street-Smith. She reported that she had called all members on our phone list to request that they pay the AANA dues ($25 per household) tonight. She reminded us that the dues are not mandatory.
Balance Carried Over = $ 282.26
Current Balance (checking and savings) = $ 181.26

5. City of Berkeley Police Update: Ofc. Rittenhouse is on family leave. Congratulations on the birth of his child. Ofc. Burcham answered questions about a Hip Hop Party at Ashby & San Pablo that turned into a riot, due to a violation of use permit. This was caused by a "promotor" who has a history of sponsoring such parties. He rents locations (under false pretenses) distributes flyers, takes the proceeds and disappears, leaving the property owner to deal with crowds. This public safety issue goes beyond the dangers at the scene: If all police are tied up, they can't respond to other calls. The City is discussing the possibility of administrative fines on the promotor, and an informational mailing to businesses he might target.

6. City of Berkeley Update: a. Peter Hillier (new Assistant City Manager for Transportation) was in attendance. He will be looking at what the City has and hasn't done in terms of traffic calming, discuss and present priotities at the next Transportation meeting. He stated that one of his first priorities is to research grant opportunities. One grant application they will be submitting is for "Environmental Justice: Context Sensitive Planning for Communities". Following the fatality of the bicycle rider on Adeline, South Berkeley will be the focus of this grant application (3 blocks of Adeline and 6 blocks of Alcatraz). To help with the grant, Peter gave us a draft, asked that we read it, email our comments, and provide a letter of support from the AANA. Ron Casimere and Lori Lott will take care of this. Peter opened up the floor to questions/comments. Ron presented the old traffic plan that the City had approved under Jeff Knowles for traffic calming at the intersection of King and Alcatraz. Peter will look into it. He was also asked about the possibility of getting pedestrian "Santa Rosa Lights" (push button, lights flash at the level of the pavement to highlight crosswalk areas. b. Patricia Duncan-Hall reported that the City's computer server crashed on Sunday, but is back up and running. Councilmember Breland sends her best, and Patricia asked if there is any information we would like to pass along to her: Mainly the traffic engineering issues already discussed, and the fact that Alcatraz is still missing 1.5 block of pedestrian street lights (1700 block and 1300 block to Oakland border). c. Michael Caplan was present to hear our issues. He is our new Neighborhood Services Liaison, since Tom Myers has been promoted as Manager of Economic Development. The City is trying to get all neighborhood associations and neighborhood watch groups to come together to work on common issues.

7. Old Business: a. We are still discussing the possibility of the 62nd / 63rd Street Neighborhood Group sharing our meeting. Questions were raised regarding how they inform members of their meetings, and of their clean-up efforts (2 times per week). b. Problem Liquor Outlet forms were distributed, and members were encouraged to fill them out if they see problematic activity. c. Candace Miles-Threatt (who is a member of the Community Action Team) was asked if they have set a date for presenting the results of the South Berkeley survey they collected. No date has been set.

8. New Business: a. A meeting of the Mayor's office with the DA is scheduled for July 11. It is very important to attend this meeting and make it clear that we want to help reduce the crime in our neighborhoods. b. Ron received a communication from Tom Myers. The Mayor wants to include a line item in the City budget for funding for neighborhood associations' everyday operations and special functions. Tom asked us to submit a summary of expenditures for the past year. Ron, Lori and Fredia will work on this. c. Mr. Hightower is doing well, and will be undergoing his final treatment soon! d. Ronnie Turner will be leaving the City to pursue his own business at the end of the first week of August. We were encouraged to thank him for all he's done for our group.

9. Next Meeting is scheduled for August 14, 7:00 pm at the Over 60 Health Center.

10. Meeting adjourned at 8:50 pm.