Minutes of General Meeting
December 14, 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.

Phil introduced the guests and DENA officers to the assembly. The guests were Lieutenant Gary Norvell and Sergeant Maurice Jennings, both from the Concord Police Department. Michael Bryant and Jerry Curtis were absent. 		 
 
  1. Bill Cecil Eulogy
    Phil announced to the meeting that Area 5 Representative Bill Cecil has passed away. Bill was the Area Five Representative, as well as responsible for putting out the general meeting signs. He will be greatly missed.
  2. Reading of Minutes
    An overview of the September 2005 general meeting was given by Francie Price. Copies of the minutes were distributed.
  3. Treasurer’s Report
    Ken Weis gave the treasurer’s report. The ending balance as of Wednesday morning was $1974.12. Ken gave an overview of DENA’s finances:
    • Resident donations, approximately $400 a year
    • Printing costs for newsletters, approximately $500 a year
    • Cost for making the meeting signs, approximately $350 a year
    • Miscellaneous expenses, including the tent purchase and postage costs, $200
  4. Crime Update
    Lieutenant Gary Norvell of the Concord Police Department discussed crime in the Dana Estates area. There were no violent crimes committed in our area in the past 60 days. Some of the crimes that were reported are the following:
    • Six burglaries, but only one appeared to be a legitimate case.
    • Three stolen cars (Saturn, Honda).
    • Four acts of vandalism (broken car windows, egg throwing, broken house windows).
    • Five car burglaries (large bags were taken in four of the cases).
    Car thieves can easily steal Saturns and Hondas, so anti-theft devices for these cars are recommended. Also, do not leave things in your car. Laptops and bags/backpacks are popular targets. Put things in your trunk, out of sight, if you have to leave something in your car.
  5. Emergency Preparedness
    Sergeant Maurice Jennings of the Concord Police Department spoke on emergency preparedness. (A copy of the PowerPoint presentation is available upon request.) One should be prepared for any kind of emergency, including an earthquake, hurricane, tsunami, terrorist attack, fire, etc. Anything can happen at any time. In an emergency, listen to KCBS on 740 AM on your radio or Channel 28 on Astound or Channel 29 on Comcast for emergency announcements.

    For anyone interested in learning to be better prepared for an emergency, Sgt. Jennings recommends that you take the City’s Community Emergency Response Team training class. The class gives a person good practical experience for what to do in an emergency.

    Janice Fujii accompanied Sgt. Jennings to the meeting. She provided information as to what a pet owner should have on hand in the case of an evacuation.
  6. Community Emergency Response Team
    Suzi Peek, DENA’s web master, completed the CERT training provided by the City of Concord. She said you can take the class to know how to protect your own family, to help neighbors, or to work with the City to help your neighborhood. The class is six weeks long and well worth it. If there is enough interest, the City is willing to give a training class to Dana Estates residents. Suzi is taking sign ups.
  7. DENA newsletters
    Holly Belknap spoke regarding putting the quarterly newsletters together. On average, a newsletter takes between four and six hours to create. Articles are often submitted by other board members. Our thanks to Holly for the great job she does!!
  8. Non-Profit Application
    Phil informed us that we are close to getting our 501(c)(3) non-profit group status. However, we may have to file income tax returns. Anyone willing to help with this task, please come forward!!!
  9. Dana Estates Web Page
    Suzi discussed the updated DENA web page, and the DENA Yahoo group. If you have not looked at the DENA web site, you should!! All Dana Estates residents should feel free to contact any board member via the web page.
  10. DENA Elections
    Elections were held for Vice Chair, Treasurer, and all five Area Representatives. There were 14 ballots received. All board members were reelected. Teri Lusk approached Phil regarding running for the open Area Five Representative position. There were no other nominations for the position, and although Teri was unable to attend the meeting, Teri was elected as the Area Five Representative. There were also three amendments voted on and approved by all voters. Two amendments were necessary to comply with IRS regulations for non-profit organizations, and one amendment was to create the position of web master.
  11. Next General Meeting
    The next general meeting will be held in March. It was suggested that a possible speaker for the next meeting could be a spokesperson from the Regional Park District to discuss their ideas for the Naval Weapons Station land use.
  12. Miscellaneous
    • Arsenic testing will be completed on private property, mostly on properties on Elkwood Drive, due to their proximity to the Naval Weapons Station.
    • National Night Out will be in August 2006. Feel free to provide any suggestions on how to make it bigger and better than last year!
 
  Adjournment – Meeting was adjourned at 8:50 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Francie Price
Secretary