INC NEWS - DRAFT March Minutes

[Deanna Crossman]

InterNeighborhood Council Delegate Meeting
Tuesday March 25, 2008

In Attendance
Deanna Crossman 	Walltown
Janet Hitti		Parkwood
Donna Allison		N Durham
Chuck Clifton		 Long Meadow
Carolyn Paige		APS of Durham
Susan Glowacz	     APS of Durham
Brenda Howerton	     Tarleton West
Marty Wilaby	        Hope Valley North
James Chavis	       PAC1
Grace Wakeman	Morehead Hill
Tyler Waring		Downtown/Cleveland Holloway
Scott Carter 		Woodcroft	
Bertha Johnson	City of Durham
Rhonda Parker		DPR/City of Durham
Sheri Allen		Old Oxford
Cindy Boak		Old Oxford
Pamela Henry Mays	OOCA
Patrick Baker		City of Durham
Pam Meyer		Durham County
Bill Anderson		Duke Park
Myer Sugg		TLNA
Craigie Sanders	Grove Park
Mike&Cheryl Shiflett	Northgate Park
Rosemarie Kitchin	Falconbridge
Melissa Rooney	Fairfield
Pat Carstensen		Cross County

Meeting called to order at 7:05pm.

SmartCommute Challenge  - Kirsten Reberg-Horton

Pledge to try a new method of transportation between April 15-May 30th
(bike, walk, carpool, bus, etc).  They can help with a pledge drive in
your neighborhood and have signs for front yards if you would like to
promote awareness of the challenge.  They ask you to spread the word,
if you're interested, in your community newsletters and neighborhood
listservs.  Last year they saved 2.3 million commuting miles!  Check
out www.GoTriangle.org if you need help finding new routes or
suggestions.  Also, if you're interested in actively participating,
contact Kirsten at kirstenrh at yahoo.com.

Waive fees for neighborhood associations at Parks and Rec – Chuck Clifton

Long Meadow formed their neighborhood association 1.5 years ago and
have made significant progress connecting the neighborhood and ousting
drug dealers, etc.  They now meet monthly with 15-22 people and are
having difficulty finding a meeting place.  However, the Lion Park
community center is in their neighborhood with 6 meeting spaces, but
they charge the neighborhood $35/hour.  They have asked for a fee
waiver and was denied because they weren't a 501(c)3.  They appealed
and were denied even a reduced rate.  Longmeadow has proposed a
resolution proposing a fee waiver at parks and rec facilities for
neighborhood meetings.  They ask we endorse the resolution.

Parks & Rec response: they would like to offer a partnership where a
neighborhood association is asked to volunteer their time regularly in
exchange for time at the community center (for example, as part of a
youth mentoring program, or Adopt-A-Park or Adopt-A-Trail 4-6 times
per year).

Please present the resolution at your next neighborhood meeting and we
will discuss and vote in May (April is the INC Meet the Candidates
meeting).

Suggestion modifications: "any appropriate City meeting facility,"
"for neighborhood business meetings"

Open discussion: Items of Interest for Upcoming Budget   City/Co
managers, Budget and Management Services Directors (Bertha Johnson and
Pam Meyer)

Concern:  Neighborhoods established in the 1930s and 1940s have willow
oak street trees that are rapidly reaching the end of their life
expectancy.  The neighborhoods will take a big hit when they're all
lost (values, crime, utilities).  We need to replace them.

Response:  General services has a tree program and was discussed at
coffee with council.  Their budget was set today and does have money
set aside for the tree program.

Concern:  Keep Durham Beautiful is growing exponentially in size and
performance and would like an assistant for the leader.

Concern:  Bicycling facilities on city streets and trails.  Are there
funds to expand facilities.

Response:  Matching funds exist for bike lanes and amenities in new development.

Concern:  Save money by asking that money that goes to non-profits be
providing a service that should be provided by the city (and not
double dipping with the county).  Also, non-profits should target
private fundraising if not for essential city services.  Also make
them accountable to show benefit.

Concern:  Identify neglected houses and fine and penalize them until
they are in compliance.  Use the funds acquired to benefit the
community.

Concern:  Recommend that non-profits do more canvases and reach out to
the communities more.  Be more personally active in the community.

Concern:  ComNet is gaining popularity.  With the neighbors doing all
the canvassing, we encourage that there are funds to fix/repair
street-level deficiencies that are identified to keep the momentum
going.

Concern:  Request a Neighborhood Liason in the City Managers office
that can canvas the community and identify needs, help bridge the gap
in communication between the neighborhoods and city offices.

Concern:  YMCA received $70,000 per year previously.  Schools are
outsourcing their after-school programs to organizations that are
private with closed boards and there is no oversight.  Want oversight.

Concern:  Stop serving lunch at the shelter to drug addicts without
providing other services and letting drug addicts wander back onto the
street.

Concern:  Emphasize services for the homeless and those in need,
encourage training/shelter.

Concern:  What is the budget trend for the police force in the coming
year.  Has heard there has been loss in the police dept due to higher
pay in surrounding cities.

Response:  Pay classification study for all city employees that will
be completed in May.  The police budget will be presented tomorrow, so
they don't know yet.  They do want more officers, as well.

Concern:  Neighborhood advocate with legal/planning experience – is
there talk of funding for that position?

Response:  The request is in the budget, not yet committed to.

Concern:  Have one shift per week that police walk their neighborhoods
instead of driving through to get them interacting and talking with
their police.

Response:  Problem is staffing.  Patrol officer complaint is that they
are jumping from call to call until they are off and don't have time
to interact with neighborhoods.  There is also intense competition for
police retention and Durham has a reputation for being a great
training ground, so we have a lot of loss after a few years on the
force here to other small communities that offer higher pay.

Concern:  Charge problem properties with their tapping our police
resources so greatly (50-100 calls per year).

Response:  Getting top ten locations in each district that have the
highest number of calls to the police dept.

Concern:  Police as frustrated as the neighborhoods for seeing the
people that are arrested one day back out on bond the next.  The
revolving door is frustrating and can lead to police force loss.
Also, need better facilities for police substations (example, district
1 was just closed for health issues).

Concern:  National Night Out has great police turnout that never
attend PAC2 meetings.  Have an equivalent event two or three times per
year to get neighborhoods more active.

Updates:

Thanks to all who helped with the Neighborhood Hero Awards – they were
a great success!

Parks&Rec – summer camps starting,
Art Walk – April 5th-6th CCB Plaza (Sat 10-7:30, Sun 1-6pm)
Earth Day -- Durham Central Park 1-6pm April 19th
Adopt-a-Park/Trail – contact Rhonda Parker (Rhonda.parker at durhamnc.gov)
More info at www.durhamnc.gov/departments/parks

APS of Durham – now has full-time vet, cat facilities enlarged and
communal now, new development director, April 19th Gala at Washington
Duke, May 17th walk at Wallace Wade (bring your pet!)

Keep Durham Beautiful - Monday April 28th Croasdaile golf tournament

Collection boxes in the Right-of-Way – the matter is being
investigated – complicated – in the works is regulation to govern them

TMLS listings – neighborhood field is now totally editable

Neighborhood Revitalization Taskforce is developing a home owner
education workshop in June to learn about mortgages – would be great
of INC to participate

Tree save resolution was sent out to the listserv – will be discussed
and voted on in May

John Schelp – West Durham hike with history through natural and urban
areas – April 12th, meet at NC School Science and Math at 9am – look
for announcements on the listserv

Earth Day also has several creek cleanups organized – look for one near you!

Announcements

INC Candidate Forum – as our April delegate meeting - come 30 minutes
early and bring two friends!  Casual interaction and then an
opportunity to speak for 2 minutes about their platform.  The DA and
Co Commissioner panels afterward.


Resolution:

Whereas, neighborhood associations and associated neighborhood watch
programs are a crucial element in crime prevention, and

Whereas, regular neighborhood meetings are the foundation of these
neighborhood associations, and

Whereas, many neighborhood associations lack both space for regular
meetings and the funds to rent meeting space according to the current
schedule of fees at the City of Durham Parks and Recreation, and

Whereas, neighborhood associations are organizations formally
recognized and encouraged by the City of Durham, and

Whereas, neighborhood associations are an integral part of successful
government in the City of Durham for the following reasons:

1.	They play a central role in the Durham Planning Department's
Organization Notification Directory Program,
2.	They are an integral vehicle for neighborhood engagement by the
Department of Neighborhood Improvement Services' Community Relations
Coordinators and
3.	They provide focused and consistent feedback on a range of issues
to the elected officials and staff of the City of Durham;

Now Therefore, the Durham INC requests that the City of Durham make
public meeting space at all Parks & Recreation facilities available to
all neighborhood associations registered with the Durham Planning
Department at no charge to these neighborhood associations and require
no deposit for the use of these facilities.

Meeting adjourned at 9:10pm.