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NAC
3
Neighborhood
Advisory Council Meeting
April
10, 2006 — Minutes
Minutes
presented by Kathy Griffee
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NAC 3's April meeting was held in the
Connie Pryor welcomed attendees and gave a brief overview of the
NAC program and some of NAC 3's main concerns. Connie had attendees introduce
themselves and identify which neighborhood they lived in (Amber Meadows, North
Crossing or Willowbrook).
Connie next introduced Amanda Jimenez, the
Connie gave a
brief summary of what took place at the first-ever, city-wide NAC meeting,
which was held March 22 at the C. Burr Artz Library. The meeting was organized
by Josh Bokee of NAC 1. Each NAC sent several representatives to share their
top three concerns. A master list of concerns was compiled to enable the NACs
to work collectively to resolve shared problems.
NAC 3 board member Jerome Lyons will represent NAC 3 at the
city-wide NAC meetings.
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* City of
* Stephanie Davis, assistant to the City of
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* Cpl. Stanley was asked if he had an update on the stabbing that
occurred on
* Dave Shankle voiced his concerns for the safety of children as
they crossed the street at
* Ann Palmer-Thomas asked whether speed calming devices can be
used on
When discussion turned to speed humps, Cpl. Stanley noted that
they cost money and the City's budget is very tight. In addition, the humps
don't always have the desired effect, which is to slow speeders. Currently, the
Board of Alderman isn't sure whether it will continue its current "traffic
calming policy."
* When asked if citizens can do anything to assist the police with
speeding issues, Cpl. Stanley recommended that citizens contact their
representatives to push for funding.
* Safety concerns were also raised for high school students who
have to walk to T.J. High because the county doesn't provide bus
transportation. Walking across the
Stephanie Davis mentioned that the Maryland State Highway
Administration has informed the City that the overpass, which crosses Route 15,
has structural problems and will need to be closed in whole or part for
repairs. These repairs may take one to two years to complete, depending on
whether the State closes the bridge entirely or just one or two lanes of it at
a time. Attendees groaned to hear this news, as traffic gridlock is already a
major problem. The consensus was that closing the bridge would be an even
greater nightmare.
* Cpl. Stanley was asked if the Board of Aldermen and the Mayor
had approved funding for additional police officers. He said that no officers
would be added to the force.
Currently, there are about 130 Police officers. Some are with the
Drug Enforcement and the Community Service departments; about 70 officers work
in various other departments. The City is divided into five "beats."
Each beat contains three NACS.
Discussion ensued regarding how the number of police officers is
not keeping pace with the City’s population growth. When asked how this
situation could be addressed, Cpl. Stanley recommended that citizens push for
additional funding. Having more police officers would allow for a quicker
response time.
* Attendees wanted to know how difficult is it
to get crime information for the neighborhoods within our NAC. Cpl.
Stanley said the city has a statistician who maps all the police calls and puts
the information into a computer. Sometimes there is a delay in inputting the
information; nonetheless, the record-keeping is very accurate.
* Cpl. Stanley was asked if there a problem in
* Cpl. Stanley was asked if it was illegal to block a sidewalk
with a parked car. He said that parked vehicles can’t impede pedestrian flow.
This is becoming a more problem because of the overcrowding issue (e.g., in
situations in which 18 people, owning 10 cars, are living in a single
residence; there isn’t enough parking for that number of cars per residence).
At 7:35 p.m. Connie thanked Cpl. Stanley for answering questions.
Stephanie Davis then addressed the group.
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Stephanie was asked about the upcoming "ban" on yard
waste. She said that beginning May 1, 2006, residents can no longer dispose of
their yard waste (e.g., mowings, shrub/tree trimmings, etc.) along with their
regular trash. The yard waste will be picked up and disposed of separately. The
County has two yard waste disposal sites: one on
Following this announcement, Stephanie gave an informative
presentation on how to prepare for man-made or natural disasters. The following
matters were discussed.
* Citizens need to take responsibility over their own emergency
plans, separate from the City’s plan. However, it’s important that citizens
contact the City in advance should they have “special needs” (e.g., diabetes,
disabilities).
* Stephanie brought in her emergency kit to illustrate what items
it should contain. All of these items have been recommended by the Red Cross
for three days of “survival.” Stephanie also showed us the items she personally
added to her kit.
Stephanie bought her "Ready Kit" at the Home Depot for
$26. It is a mobile kit and can be moved from place to place in an emergency.
Connie asked Stephanie to make a complete list for our NAC of all
these items so we can provide it to interested people upon request. (These can
be obtained from the American Red Cross Web site, which is listed, along with
other Web links, at the end of these minutes.)
* Stephanie was asked if NAC 3 is the flood plan the County is
redoing. She said she wasn’t sure but would look into that for us.
The NAC meeting came to a close around 8:30, with two drawings of
two first-aid kits. Dave Shankle won the small kit. Clark Davis won the large
kit.
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Monday, May 8, 2006
7 p.m.,
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Monday, June 12, 2006
7 p.m.,
City of
Upcoming road closures (
and Opossumtown Pike
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Sites to learn more about emergency kits:
http://www.redcross.org/services/disaster/0,1082,0_3_,00.html
http://www.fema.gov/plan/prepare/supplykit.shtm
Two of many sites that sell emergency kits:
http://www.alwaysbeprepared.com
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NAC contacts
Have questions? Want to learn more
about NAC 3? Contact:
* Connie Pryor, cwpryor@adelphia.net
* Beth Conny, jbconny@adelphia.net
* Stephanie Davis,
stephanie@cityoffrederick.com
Or visit these sites:
http://www.cityoffrederick.com/index.htm
http://www.cityoffrederick.com/PublicInfo/OtherInfo/NAC.htm
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