Meeting called to order at 7:20 PM
PRESENT: [12 people present]
MEMBERS:
Brian Habekoss (President) John Leyba (Vice President) Robert Solís (Secretary) Joe Carpenter (Director) José González (Secretary) Loui Tucker (Director) Sabine Zappe (Director)
James and Amy Rincón Mark O'Connor James Harrington Eva Windeman
Guest: Rachel Reyes (Pierluigi Oliverio's office)
BUENA VISTA PARK ISSUES
John mentioned that a few issues with the park have been reported. The park is unofficially open and is in use, but a few problems have come up.
First, one of the gates was ripped off the hinges on the Mayellen Street side. On the Scott Street side the gate counter-latch is damaged and the gate can no longer be closed properly. When the park was initially developed the gates were specified so small children wouldn’t easily run outside the park and end up in the street. After some discussion there was agreement that the missing gate needs to be replaced with an upgraded version that can resist vandalism. Joe suggested that District 6 should talk to the park contractor and replace the faulty gate under warranty.
Second, many neighbors believe this is a dog park. Dogs should not be off-leash in compliance with the City ordinances. Also, the lawn is showing signs of damage from the amount of pet urine. The City of San Jose should address that issue and place signs with the dog on-leash ordinance. Mark suggested we not to be too restrictive with dogs in the BVNA park since we don’t have enough local access to dog parks in San Jose. Eva agreed that the park was needed for dogs. Joe mentioned the possibility of having a dog park in a nearby lot but that is unlikely to happen in the short term
James Rincón mentioned that there should be a way to record the tire screech of speeding vehicles. There are a lot of skid marks on the pavement on Scott near the park and vehicle speeding has also been an issue on Menker Avenue for years. He asked if the DOT or the City of San Jose could install speed bumps or some sort of speeding deterrent. Brian mentioned that speed bumps aren’t really an option because the fire department doesn’t like them and District 6 Councilmember Oliverio said the idea was a non-starter in the past.
Joe stated that there are different approaches to speed bumps, like brick areas on the street with painted yellow stripes to create the illusion of a speed bump in conjunction with signs. James Harrington also suggested one approach is to talk directly to the car dealers on W. San Carlos, explain our concerns, and ask them to tell prospective car buyers to slow down when taking their vehicles for test drives. Rachel Reyes suggested that if we as neighbors all request the DOT and the District 6 to install a speed radar sign, we could get one if we send enough signatures/emails.
BUENA VISTA PARK MAINTENANCE
The Buena Vista park now has a storage shed to hold gardening tools and an electricity outlet to plug in a lawnmower or any other trimming tools.
According to the agreement with the city and San Jose Parks Foundation, a crew of park volunteers should take care of immediate maintenance issues for a week period. A park captain will take a shift on a given daily basis for a period of a week to keep the park clean of graffiti and pick up garbage.
The official ribbon cutting of the park has been agreed on October 6th, 2013 at noon. The Buena Vista Cap Grant should have money for refreshments.
BUENA VISTA PARK TREES
Robert and John propose that the current park trees should be replaced by the contractor because the original agreement specified shade trees like sycamore and not myrtles, which provide much less shade and take too many years to grow.
NEIGHBORHOOD DEVELOPMENT COURSES
Brian and Robert will attend the courses on community gardens, neighborhood community management classes and other important leadership workshops on September 21st at the San Jose State University.
WEST SAN CARLOS URBAN VILLAGE MEETING
The final meeting of the West San Carlos Urban Villages workshop will take place on Monday, September 23rd. Important issues will be discussed that will affect the housing density and services in the W. San Carlos corridor and S. Bascom Avenue.
ARTBOX VANDALIZED ON LEIGH AVE AND PARKMOOR
One of the art boxes was vandalized and the artwork was covered with spray paint. Although it was possible to remove most of the graffiti, some sections will need touch-up. The artist is requesting $50 to repair it. James Harrington offered help through the Odd Fellows.
SIDEWALK ISSUES IN W. SAN CARLOS AND MERIDIAN
Joe has gotten in touch with District 6 and with the DOT supervisors requesting that the builders open a temporary sidewalk that will remain open most of the time. Current construction has completely blocked the sidewalks and this is not acceptable in an area where so many people walk.
ELECTIONS 2013
Elections were held and the new board of directors is as follows:
Joe Carpenter - President Brian Habekoss - Vice resident Jose Gonzalez - Secretary Robert Solis - Treasurer Louie Tucker - Director Sabine Zappe - Director James Harrington - Director Mark O'Connor - Director John Leyba – Director
Shelby Palms and Steve Klein were absent but it was agreed they could remain directors if they chose to.
OUR CITY FOREST
Our City Forest is a non-profit organization that provides free trees for in San Jose. Homeowners who agree to have trees planted on the park strip in front of their homes must commit to taking care of the young trees and water them regularly for the first five years. More information is available at www.ourcityforest.org.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:40 pm