Minutes of General Meeting
March 23, 2005
 
 
  The meeting, held in the City of Concord’s Permit Center Conference Room, was called to order by Chair Phil Schafer at 7:00 p.m. Copies of the agenda were distributed.

Nancy Bolcerek was absent.

Chair Schafer introduced the guests and DENA officers to the assembly. The guests were Peter Dragovich, Assistant to the City Manager; Lieutenant Mike Wells, Concord Police Department; and Kelly Warren, Contra Costa Water District.
  1. Reading of Minutes
    An overview of the December 2004 general meeting was given by Francie. Copies of the minutes for both the December general meeting and March board meeting were distributed.
  2. Treasurer’s Report
    Ken Weiss gave the treasurer’s report. The ending balance as of March 23, 2005 was $2,602.49.
  3. Water Conservation
    Kelly Warren from Contra Costa Water District spoke regarding water conservation. CCWD performs single family home reviews of water usage. The walkthrough is 1½ hours long. Scheduling is only 1 to 1½ weeks in advance. For the inside of the house, this includes flow tests for shower heads and sinks, and toilet leak tests. For the outside, it includes testing water sprinklers to see the rate of flow from sprinkler heads. Different heads flow at different rates. 60 – 70% of water usage is outside usage. Designing your gardens carefully can help you save water. Plant low water plants together, medium water plants together, and high water plants together. Also, know your soil type. Different soil holds water differently; know if your soil is clay, loam or sand. Clay soil is slow to let water in, but holds it longer. CCWD will give you a monthly schedule for your automatic water sprinklers to prevent over watering of your lawn. Check out the CCWD website for more information on gardening. Their website is www.ccwater.com.

    CCWD also offers:
    • A High Efficiency Washing Machine Rebate program
    • A Toilet Voucher program - for units that use 3.5+ gallons per flush
    Contact CCWD for more information.
  4. Harry Byrne Award
    A plaque of recognition was given to Harry Byrne by the DENA Board for his many years of service to the Dana Estates Neighborhood Alliance. This included serving terms as treasurer and chairman.
  5. Spring Clean Up Days
    Concord Disposal is having a spring clean-up day the week of April 18. The City of Concord will be having the Dana Estates clean-up days on September 17 and 24. Volunteers are needed to monitor the dumpsters from 7:30 a.m. until 12:00 p.m., or until the dumpsters are full.
  6. Non Profit Application
    Chair Schafer informed us that the application has been completed and mailed off. It is not known as of yet if we will receive 501C3 non profit status, which allows donations to DENA to be tax deductible, or 501C4, which would not allow donations to be tax deductible.
  7. Web Page for DENA
    Michael stated that he is working on a web site for DENA. Some examples of what the site may provide is meeting announcements, minutes of meetings, treasure’s reports, calendar of events for the neighborhood, construction activity, etc. A link will be provided for the city’s crime alerts, as well as a listing of relevant city phone numbers.
  8. Hidden Grove Update
    Chair Schafer provided an update on the progress of homes in the Hidden Grove development. The Larkspur Drive houses will be the last houses built; this is a change from the original plans that had the Larkspur houses being built first. The houses on Willow Pass Road will now be the first ones built.
  9. DENA Area Expansion Criteria
    Bruce informed the assembly that we are currently working on formalizing criteria for future area expansions. In this way we will have a consistent method for which to consider adding new streets. The issue was brought up due to interest on Noemi Drive. Some voiced concern about straining the resources of DENA by adding more houses. Recommended expansion criteria will be presented to the board. After it is approved by the board, it will be presented at the next general meeting for approval by all members.
  10. Crime Update
    Lieutenant Mike Wells of the Concord Police Department distributed the crime statistics for Dana Estates for 2004 and year-to-date 2005, as well as fliers on car crimes. Lt. Wells stated that the most common crimes in the Dana Estates neighborhood are car crimes. Stolen vehicles and vehicle burglaries have increased significantly in the Dana Estates neighborhood. If at all possible, park your car in the garage. Do not leave anything in the car. Even an empty backpack is a target, as the “bad guys” don’t know the backpack is empty until after they have broken into your car. Anti theft devices do work to deter thieves. You can help make your area more secure by installing security lights and motion detector lights. Street parking crimes are slightly higher than driveway crimes. More than half of the car crimes occur in apartment parking lots.

    The city council had originally stated that they wanted the Concord Police Department to create their own Megan’s Law website of sex offenders, as it was felt that the city could provide more accurate and up-to-date information than the state could. However, a city version will not be created. Anyone can go to the CPD and access their computer for the most current sex offender information.

    It was noted that the crime statistics given out by Lt. Wells did not match the crime statistics given out by Mary Nakamura. There is a concern that we may not be receiving as many crime alerts as we should be receiving.

    Concern was also voiced about the increase in crime in the Dana Estates neighborhood, especially after an incident involving a man with a gun on Lynwood Drive. There have been robberies, high speed car chases, prowlers, and now the incident on Lynwood. Lt. Wells acknowledged that crime is increasing, but stated that crime is increasing throughout Concord as well as all over California. Lt. Wells said that drug use increases crime. Lt. Wells will provide statistics on violent crimes in the Dana Estates neighborhood on an annual basis.
  11. Painting of House Numbers on Curbs
    You are not required to pay someone who paints your house number on the curb if you did not request the service. Often times, fliers are put out the night before the painting, stating “Leave this flier if you are not interested in having your house number painted.” Fliers can be blown away by the wind, or not even seen by the resident until after the number is painted. Lt. Wells stated that a person who paints house numbers on curbs must have both a business license as well as an encroachment permit from the city. The police department will cite anyone painting numbers who does not have both.
  12. Astound not working
    A complaint was voiced that Astound does not work all of the time. Quite a few people responded that they have the same problem of the channel cutting out for 30 second intervals while Astound switches relay stations. There were also complaints regarding static. Repeated complaints by customers to the company brought mixed results.
  13. Increasing DENA Attendance at General Meetings
    It was suggested that the meetings might want to be alternated between different nights to increase attendance. This would give people who have other meetings on Wednesdays a chance to come to some of the meetings. Another idea was to have realtors contact us when there is a new Dana Estates resident.
 
  Adjournment – Meeting was adjourned at 9:00 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Francie Price
Secretary