PRESENT: [25 people present] Brian Ward (President) Loui Tucker (Secretary) Lali Armstrong
Terri Balandra Jan Boyd Joe Carpenter Kyle Drager Sharon Drager Michele Damron Mike Damron Sally Henning Ken Henning
Presentation by Kyle Drager
Brent Jenson Chet Lockwood Katy Lockwood Carol Parker Scott Parker Steve Rogers CT GT Sabine Zappe
John Myers and Jim Weston (representing County Supervisor Ken Yeager’s office)
Lan Tran (representing City Councilmember Pierreluigi Oliverio's office)
BUENA VISTA NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION Minutes of the Meeting Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Meeting called to order at 7:08 PM by President Brian Ward.
Kyle Drager is an Eagle Scout working on community service badge. He plans to sign up 15 homeowners in the Buena Vista and Burbank neighborhoods (between San Carlos and Parkmoor, between Meridian and Bascom) for trees to be supplied by Our City Forest. They will be in 15-gallon containers and 6-9 foot tall trees and will be planted the end of September. He will be walking around the neighborhood the last week of June, all of August and at least three weeks in September.
Kyle passed out samples of the flyers he is using (one side in English, one side in Spanish). An announcement will be sent out on the BVNA yahoo email list.
MINUTES - Minutes of the May 27, 2008 meeting were approved.
TREASURER’S REPORT. The treasurer was not present and no formal report was made. Loui Tucker reported that there are funds in the bank account due to income from the Home Tour and some expenses from the tour still needed to be paid.
HOME TOUR PRIZE DRAWING The names of the homeowners who participated in the BVNA Home Tour were placed in an envelope and Steve Rogers drew the name of Brian Leipzig. Brian will be notified by email that he won the one- night stay at the Cliff Crest Inn in Santa Cruz.
STATUS OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD John Myers from Supervisor Yeager’s office and Lan Tran from City Councilmember Oliverio's office being present, BVNA members offered their input and observations regarding activities and circumstances in the Neighborhood.
Lyn Romero (City Code Enforcement) had reported to Lan Tran that the debris and items dumped on Chiechi had been removed. However, several residents of that area in attendance at the meeting said this was not true. There are still 2 love seats, a mattress, and 2 shopping carts. There is also a love seat at the corner of Douglas and Willard and two mattresses on Scott.
Another resident reported an incident involving a group of kids who walked down Menker and smashed nine car windshields. The police were called and the kids were caught but it upset Brian Jensen to be told by the police officer that “this is what you get when you live too close to apartments.” Unfortunately, Brian didn’t get the name of the officer. Lan Tran said she would look into the matter as this is not an acceptable attitude.
Minutes of BVNA General Meeting 6/24/08
c. The old red truck that was parked on Scott is now on Parkmoor, with a new trailer. The broken glass remains on Scott Street where the truck used to be parked. Because the trailer is too wide, it will probably be hit again – it’s an accident waiting to happen.
If there are problems with broken, bent, or otherwise damaged signs, contact the Westside Maintenance Yard at 366-3100.
The Meridian median strip is badly in need of gardening. Can whoever is in charge of that area be requested to clear out high weeds, dry grass, etc.?
Laswell and other streets on the west side of the Burbank/Buena Vista neighborhoods are being resurfaced.
The property at 488 Laswell (also numbered 2161 Scott) was illegally converted and the owners have been contacted. The parking that was put in will be taken out. The owners have a deadline to comply before the County steps in and does it themselves and bills the owners.
The house where the owner cut down 5 mature trees, has tall weeds and an abandoned car is being dealt with – fines for cutting the trees and replacements required, weeds have been cleared, car was towed.
Burbank Theater is still being handled by Lisa Rose regarding graffiti and other issues. The owner is still a problem.
Graffiti on a fence at 389 (approximate) Richmond. Reminder that the Anti-Graffiti Hotline is 277-2758. You just have to identify the location, size and color. You can also send an email. Sally Henning again reminded people they can obtain an anti-graffiti kit.
475 Page Street has been identified as a “gang house” and is being addressed.
The Clifton-Scott site that was going to be a park has been cleared of some of the old
buildings, but what is happening with the contaminated soil? Is the owner really planning
to build on the lot?
There is graffiti on the pull-down doors of the Meinke Muffler Shop on the corner of Buena
Vista and San Carlos. You can only see it when the business is closed and the doors are down. It is large and very visible.
ITEMS OF SPECIAL CONCERN Police Captain Calderon was invited to attend this meeting to discuss the “boom cars” (cars with
excessively and deliberately loud stereos) that are a big problem on Menker, specifically across from the Menclair Apartment complex near Menker and Moorpark, but also elsewhere in the neighborhood. He was unable to attend. Two handouts were provided. One was a flyer entitled “STOP THE BOOM” (one side in English, the other in Spanish) and the other was a proposed draft of a “Good Neighbor Addendum.” There was a discussion and many comments from the residents. There was some concern expressed about the overly broad scope of the proposed “Good Neighbor Addendum,” especially in areas that are already covered by existing local and state laws, and whether the BVNA should have its name attached to it.
It was stressed that the addendum is just a draft, and a work in progress. A special meeting was suggested to deal with this issue further.
MISC. OLD BUSINESS The “Home Improvement Project” outlined at the last meeting now has the name of the ION
(“Improve Our Neighborhood”) Project. The goal of the ION Project was reviewed and it was suggested that the Hennings be the first recipients of the project. They need help with a badly overgrown bird-of- paradise plant, a damaged fence, and an unusable gate. The Hennings will pick a date for the project and volunteers will be organized to work on this project.
Minutes of BVNA General Meeting 6/24/08
NEW BUSINESS Joe Carpenter brought up the problem with various signs being tacked or bolted or nailed 12 feet
off the ground on wooden telephone poles in the area. A sign advertising window tinting was pointed out on the telephone pole at the end of the park where the meeting took place. There is an ordinance which clearly states these signs are illegal. The posting businesses can be fined $50 per sign. If the City and County are as hard-pressed for cash right now as they state, why aren’t these business and their signs being addressed? Perhaps a start would be to call the numbers on the signs and advise the owners that their signs are illegal and must be removed.
IF YOU READ THIS FAR - EMAIL ME - AT loui@louitucker.com. I’LL BUY YOU LUNCH!
ANNOUNCEMENT July 28 at 6:00 PM there will be meeting of the “2040" Task Force. This group meets to discuss
goals for the City and County for 20 years and 40 years. Anyone can attend. NEXT MEETING
The next meeting will be Tuesday, July 29, 2008 at the home of Brian and Lisa Jensen at 403 Mayellen. The meeting adjourned at 8:30 PM.
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