Final November 2021 Steering Committee Minutes

BUTTERFIELD-RIVIERA EAST COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION

STEERING COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES

DATE: November 23, 2021

PLACE:  Internet, via Zoom

MEETING TYPE:  BRECA Steering Committee Meeting

STEERING COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT

James Adams

Lori Christensen

Rene Hamlin

Gay Jones

Jim Morgan

STEERING COMMITTEE MEMBERS ABSENT

Ken Crawford

Bonnie Domeny

Andrea White

NUMBER OF GUESTS/MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC: 2

1. Call to Order by Chair Rene Hamlin

2. Welcome and Introductions

3.  Questions or Comments from the Community on Non-agenda items.

None

4.  New Business 

a. From the Floor

None.

b. County Redistricting

Gay Jones stated that the final draft of the redistricting of County Supervisors Districts is out.  Rancho Cordova is split into two parts.  Riviera and College Greens East are in District 3.  BRECA remains in District 5.  The California Assembly and Senate also have new maps – there are different combinations for many areas.  Rene Hamlin enquired as to whether any action was needed from BRECA.  Gay replied that she has not drafted a letter for BRECA, and it is not clear at this point if it would make a difference.  Jim Morgan concurred that the redistricting is mostly a done deal, unless someone brings a lawsuit against it.

Rebecca Sloan, with Supervisor Nottoli’s office, commented that BRECA was part of many conversations about community issues; BRECA’s interests were thought to be in common with Rancho Cordova.  Gay commented that the eastern part of Rancho Cordova is in District 3 in the new maps.  Ms. Sloan commented that the existing District 3 is entirely unincorporated area, and has a heavy demand on staff for services.  She also commented that they had received Gay’s personal comments about redistricting. 

c. BRECA Web Site

Jim Morgan brought to people’s attention that the BRECA Web Site is badly behind the times in many areas.  For example, the home page still says June 2021 agenda.  Also, the By-Laws are the original By-Laws from 1997, not the revised version from 2017.  Further, under Steering Committee, it still has the 2019/2020 Steering Committee, including Lee Leavelle as a member and Bonnie Domeny as Chair.  There are also other items that are out of date.  After some discussion, it was agreed to try to find a volunteer from the BRECA membership to help with the Web Site.  Gay Jones suggested contacting the Rosemont Community Association to find out how they do their web site.  Rene Hamlin volunteered to send an email to BRECA members, and perhaps post to Nextdoor also.

d. December Meeting

Jim Morgan raised the question of what to do about the December BRECA meeting, and suggested that it be a Zoom meeting on the 3rd week of the month.  There was discussion about having a small party at Brookside, although problems with that idea were raised.  A member of the audience commented that a little party outside at Brookside would be nice; serving food makes a big difference.  Lori Christensen commented that she would prefer to wait and have a real party.  Possibly there could be an informal meeting at the bar.  James Adams agreed.  Gay Jones commented that there might not be a need for a standard business meeting.  Lori suggested donating the budgeted amount for the December party to a local food bank instead of a party.  Rene Hamlin commented that the budget is only $100, so it won’t go far.  Gay made a motion for BRECA to donate $100 to a local food bank.  Lori suggested the River City Food Bank.  This was agreed to.  James Adams seconded the motion.  The vote was unanimous in favor.

Jim Morgan suggested that the Steering Committee members be polled about a week before December 14 to see if there is a need for a business meeting.  Gay Jones agreed.  It was agreed to do so.

A member of the audience suggested sending the donation to the Rancho Cordova Food Locker.  Rene commented that they include services to the 95827 Zip Code, so she would not be opposed to donating the money to them.  It was agreed to do so.  Rene volunteered to send an email to the membership about the donation, and there will be an informal get together at Brookside.

5. Old Business

a. From the Floor

Jim Morgan commented that he had attended a virtual meeting with several staff from the Central Valley Flood Protection Board concerning the request of the potential developers of the Kassis property for a variance from flood protection regulations.  The staff indicated that they would not support issuing a variance.  They also said that there could be other ways through the regulations, but did not indicate what those might be.  The Board would have to approve the variance, otherwise the project can not be built.

b. General Meeting Wrap Up

Jim Morgan reported that 32 people, in addition to 6 Steering Committee members, attended the (virtual) meeting.  The expense for the flyer that was sent to the whole BRECA area was $952.19, which exceeded the budgeted amount of $725, and requested approval of the overage.  Gay Jones made a motion to approve the overage.  James Adams seconded the motion.  The motion was approved unanimously.

Rene Hamlin commented that she would like to have the woman from County Health, who talked about mental health at the General Meeting, come back and talk about self care at the January BRECA meeting.  It was agreed to do so.  Rebecca Sloan, with Supervisor Nottoli’s office, agreed to do the contact.

6. Minutes of September 28, 2021

James Adams made a motion to accept the draft minutes for September 28, 2021.  Lori Christensen seconded the motion.  The motion was approved unanimously.

7. Reports

a. County Update

Rene Hamlin enquired about preparations for Afghan refugees.  Rebecca Sloan, with Supervisor Nottoi’s office, reported that there had been a workshop hosted by Supervisor Nottoli that was attended by many local resource groups.  She offered to share a link to a recording of the workshop.

Ms. Sloan also reported that some homeless people who were camping near the Mayhew Drain had moved from the west side to the east side of the drain.  There has been some progress on the 9500 block of Folsom Blvd and some of the tents are gone.  Lori Christensen commented that she had seen fires and smoke from the camp close to Folsom Blvd, and that sometimes their belongings spill into the bike lane.  She enquired whether that was legal.  Ms. Sloan commented that it may not be illegal, and they cannot do enforcement unless it completely blocks the sidewalk, which is not the case.  If there is a fire safety issue or someone is standing in the roadway, call 911, and they can do something.  But they still cannot remove encampments.

Gay Jones enquired about the establishment of sidewalks on the south side of Folsom Blvd. from Bradshaw to Butterfield.  Ms. Sloan responded that there has been a hiatus of activity during the winter, but it will resume in the spring.  It is possible that the level of activity will induce the homeless there to move.  They are trying to be creative in addressing the homeless issue.

Jim Morgan commented that he cannot get the County Public Health COVID-19 dashboard on his browser.  After some discussion, it appeared that he needed to upgrade his browser, or use a different one.

Ms. Sloan commented that the Supervisors have some funds available for District 5 from the County budget, $2.5 million in this fiscal year, and the same for the next fiscal year, for various projects.  Some ideas have been senior services, fire districts COVID-19 disposable gear, and broadband.  If people have ideas for one-time projects, they should make requests.

James Adams commented that there had been a pledge to lift County COVID-19 mandates if cases fell below 5 per 100,000.  He enquired whether that would apply to public meeting rooms?  Ms. Sloan commented that cases are still around 15 per 100,000, and are likely to increase in the winter months.  It was pointed out that the library meeting room is being used for other purposes.

b. Treasurer

There was no report from the Treasurer.

c. Membership

Jim Morgan reported that four people had not renewed their membership from March of 2021, and will be removed around the end of the month unless they renew.  Gay Jones requested the names and contact information for those members, in case someone has personal contacts.  Jim agreed to do so.

d. Floor

Gay Jones stated that she had sent out an email from the California Public Utilities Commission (PUC) Public Advocates Office.  The PUC has granted an 8.8% rate increase to California American Water from a 2019 application.

Gay reported that they have a vacancy on the Cordova Community Planning and Advisory Council (CORPAC).  If anyone is interested, please contact Supervisor Nottoi’s office.

James Adams enquired whether Gay had done any research into increased noise from planes using Mather Field.  Gay stated that she intends to comment on the County Airports web site complaints section.

8. Meeting adjourned.

The next meeting is to be determined (possibly December 14, 2021, or otherwise January 25, 2022).

February Agenda

Topic: BRECA Meeting
Time: Feb 22, 2022 06:30 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
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Feb 22, 2022 06:30 PM
Mar 22, 2022 06:30 PM
Apr 26, 2022 06:30 PM
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Final October 2021 Steering Committee Minutes

BUTTERFIELD-RIVIERA EAST COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION

GENERAL MEETING MINUTES

DATE: October 26, 2021

PLACE:  Internet, via Zoom

MEETING TYPE:  BRECA General Meeting

STEERING COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT

Lori Christensen

Ken Crawford

Bonnie Domeny

Rene Hamlin

Jim Morgan

Andrea White

STEERING COMMITTEE MEMBERS ABSENT:

James Adams

Gay Jones

NUMBER OF GUESTS/MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC: 32

1. Welcome from Chair Rene Hamlin

2. Sacramento County Supervisor Don Nottoli

Supervisor Don Nottoli thanked BRECA for our engagement with community issues.  He stated that work completing the sidewalk on the north side of Folsom Blvd. had been completed this year, and work on the south side from Bradshaw to Mayhew is scheduled for next year.  The proposed redevelopment of the drive-in theater is on hold, and the entitlements have expired.  It is likely they will be resubmitted, possibly with changes.  Redistricting is proceeding, and there will be public hearings in November.  Revised districts must be approved by the end of the year.  District 5 has about 30,000 more residents than other districts, and there will be changes.  There will be elections next year, including District 5: Supervisor Nottoli will not be running.

3. Deputy Staci Patterson, Sacramento County Sheriff’s office: Homelessness

Rene Hamlin noted that the scheduled speakers from the Sheriff’s Problem Oriented Policing and Homeless Outreach Team are not on the call, so Deputy Patterson with the Homeless Outreach Team is filling in.

Deputy Patterson stated that she is sitting in for the other Deputies.  Sheriff’s personnel can assist with homeless problems on the Regional Transit/Union Pacific property.  Supervisor Nottoli added that homelessness is a challenging issue for the whole County.  There have been any number of efforts to work with the homeless.  Their office receives one or two calls daily.  Esthetics, the human issue, and community imacts are prominent problems.  Deputy Patterson continued that they do outreach, work with County Human Assistance, and also do enforcement.  They try to offer services before enforcement, and balance the needs of the homeless and the community.

Rene Hamlin read a question from the Chat (a Zoom function): Why is there no safe camping area in the Mather Field property?  Supervisor Nottoli stated that there are discussions going on about how to get people into shelters and housing.  The Mather campus serves several hundred people, including families and single people.  Project Roomkey at the Comfort Inn serves about 100 people.  It is a long haul situation.

Deputy Mark Francis joined the discussion and added that he is the Problem Oriented Policing (POP) officer for about one year.  He commented that BRECA is a low crime area, but that property crimes are up, such as catalytic converter theft.

Rene read another question from the Chat: What can we do as citizens about the homeless?  Deputy Patterson advised giving to reputable organizations, e.g. food banks.  Don’t give food to the homeless directly, as it generates trash that gets left behind.  She also commented that people drop off lots of stuff at the homeless camps, which often becomes trash.

Rene read another question from the Chat: What about clean-up by prisoners?  Deputy Patterson responded that Sheriff’s work project teams do work on cleanup.  Supervisor Nottoli commented that the County spends about $8 million per year to clean up illegal dumping and other issues around homelessness.

Rene read another question from the Chat: An encampment along the railroad tracks on Fruitridge was cleaned up, bulldozed, and fenced.  How do we accomplish this along Folsom Blvd.?  Deputy Patterson responded that what they can do depends upon who owns it.  Private property owners can fence off an area, but if it belongs to the County it is more difficult.

Rene read another question from the Chat: Is there a place on the County web site where one can learn about the resources that are available?  Deputy Patterson responded that there are many resources, but not one consolidated place, and the resources are constantly changing.

Rene read another question from the Chat: Transit corridors are more likely to have homeless, so are there more resources available?  Deputy Patterson responded that the County does not have specific resources for transit corridors.  Supervisor Nottoli commented that the Folsom Blvd. corridor has multiple owners.  COVID-19 complicates the situation.  There is money available for humanitarian relief and enforcement.  For example, health and safety issues such as obstructing the sidewalk can be acted upon.  There are many different cases, and each needs careful consideration. 

4. Nick Mori, Sacramento County Department of Public Health: COVID-19

Mr. Mori gave a slide presentation regarding COVID-19.  He pointed out that community transmission in the U.S. is up, but that California looks relatively good compared to the rest of the nation.  In Sacramento County, there have been a number of surges of cases: in summer 2020, winter 2020/2021, and summer 2021.  Recently case numbers have turned up a bit.  In Sacramento County, about 57% of the total population is fully vaccinated.  Those who are fully vaccinated are five times less likely to be infected, and ten times less likely to be hospitalized or die.  In California, more recent numbers (September 2021) indicate that fully vaccinated people are 6.6 time less likely to get infected, 12 times less likely to be hospitalized and 17.8 times less likely to die from COVID-19.  At U.C. Davis Health, large majorities of those hospitalized, in intensive care, or on ventilator are unvaccinated.  All three available vaccines (Pfizer, Moderna, and Janssen) are considered safe and effective, and to reduce the risk of severe illness.  Some groups of people are now recommended to get booster shots.  Preferably they should be the same as the original type of shot, but one can mix them.  People can get COVID-19 and flu vaccines at the same time.  Resources are available on COVID-19.saccounty.net.

5. Anja Glisic, Sacramento County Department of Health Services: Mental Health Services

Anja Glisic, with the Mental Health Services section of the Department of Health Services, stated that there are many resources available.  These include:

Mental Health Access Call Center: 916-875-1055
Urgent Care Clinic: 916-520-2460, 2130 Stockton Blvd #300, walk in available
Community Support Team: 916-874-6015
Suicide Prevention Awareness: 800-273-8255 or suicideispreventable.org
Anja Glisic: .

Rene Hamlin read a question from the chat: What are the signs of considering self harm?  Ms. Glisic responded that they may include giving away possessions, feeling helpless or hopeless, drastic changes in behavior, and changes in appetite and sleep pattern.  Sometimes people feel helpless, that there is no way out.  One can ask directly whether suicide is being contemplated.

6. Fire Marshall Lisa Barsdale, Sacramento Metro Fire: Emergency Preparedness

Rene Hamlin commented that there had been a question about a fire at the Kinder-Morgan tank farm at Bradshaw Rd. and Folsom Blvd.  It turns out that it was a bush that caught on fire, not one of the buildings or tanks.

Fire Marshall Lisa Barsdale stated that she is assigned to the community risk reduction division.  Being prepared for emergencies helps with the outcome.  She presented a series of slides which talked about the need to identify risks, create and practice a family emergency plan, build an emergency supply kit, include special needs such as medications, oxygen, etc., and have a checklist.  More information can be found at 916-859-4155 or .

7. Captain Scott Perryman, Sacramento Metro Fire: COVID-19

Captain Perryman, with Sacramento Metro Fire, stated that they have been assisting other County units by providing mobile units to address the COVID-19 pandemic, especially in regard to un-housed individuals and at skilled nursing facilities.  In a three months time they had seen around 4,600 patients.  They have also been doing COVID-19 testing, with more than 35,000 swabs, including fire department staff and people at nursing homes.  He also commented that many hospitals had problems with their oxygen systems freezing, due to the high flow rates.  They were able to provide a solution to that problem, which has been adopted world-wide.

8. Other Issues

a. Bradshaw Apartments

Rashad Mammadov, the project owner of the proposed Bradshaw Apartments, stated that his architects and engineers are working on the project, and anticipate submitting files to the County by mid-November.  They hope to have the permits by January 2022, and start construction in March 2022.  He also stated that they intend to reach out to the neighbors concerning tree selection for that part of the property.

b. Kassis Project

Jim Morgan commented that the Kassis project is flying under the radar at this point, and nothing new has come to the public sphere.  The project needs a permit from the Central Valley Flood Protection Board to build in the floodway.  They may or may not get that permit, as the Board frowns on development in floodways.

c. Motels

Supervisor Don Nottoli commented that County Code Enforcement and Building Inspection are planning an inspection of the Blossom Village property, and permits are not final.  The owners had some interest in converting to more permanent residential.  They would need entitlements to do so, and have not followed up on that.

Sheriff’s Deputy Mark Francis commented that Vince’s Motel is an ongoing concern, with isolated incidents.  They have a high rate of turnover, which is part of the business.

d. Eclectic Center

Supervisor Don Nottoli commented that there was a homeless individual in back of the Eclectic Center who accumulated a lot of belongings.  He was arrested and then returned.

Rene Hamlin read a comment from the chat: the property owners of the Eclectic Center have not been responsive to fixing the fence and gate.  Deputy Mark Francis stated that they are working with code enforcement on the condition of the fence, and the owners can be fined.

e.  Speed Bumps

Rene Hamlin commented that speed bumps have been installed on Mira Del Rio Dr.  She enquired about speed bumps on Bradshaw Rd. near Folsom Blvd.  Supervisor Don Nottoli stated that they have received complaints about speeding on Bradshaw, and the County has done two traffic surveys. Staff determined that speed bumps at that location are not justified because it is a major artery for first responders and people who live in the neighborhood.  Sometimes they can get a special presence of law enforcement to enforce the laws.

Deputy Mark Francis gave out the Problem Oriented Policing (POP) phone number: 916-875-9657.

f. Homeless on Folsom Blvd.

There was a question from a late caller regarding the homeless people on Folsom Blvd.  Deputy Mark Francis commented that Deputy Staci Peterson had already done a presentation on homelessness.  He added that many people on Folsom Blvd. do not want to leave.  The situation of what the Sheriff’s Department and other agencies can do keeps changing.  The County cannot force people between the tracks and the road to leave.  Homeless people are offered services.  There are trash trucks dedicated to picking up the trash.  Supervisor Nottoli commented that his office gets contacted every day by people from the community about the situation.  They are concerned about both the welfare of the homeless people and the illicit activities that go along with homelessness. 

Rene Hamlin read a question from the chat: People lost items in the storm, is there a place to donate that goes to the homeless?  Depute Peterson responded that one can call 211 to find organizations that accept donations to help the homeless.

9. Concluding Remarks

Supervisor Don Nottoli thanked BRECA again for hosting the meeting.  He commented that the County expects to see about $300 to $400 million in additional funding from the State and Federal governments in the next few years for mental health, homelessness, etc.  On another topic, the redistricting maps for County Supervisorial Districts should be out tomorrow and posted on-line.  Public input is welcome.

10. Meeting adjourned.

The next meeting will be a regular Steering Committee meeting on November 23, 2021, by Internet (Zoom)

General Meeting

You should have received, by now, a nondescript white envelope addressed to Resident. It was from BRECA, your community association.

Via Zoom.

October 26th 2021

6:30 to 8:30

https://bit.ly/3B1r5JH

Topics to be covered include Homelessness COVID-19 Emergency Preparedness.

We hope you can join us!

Rene Hamlin is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: General Meeting
Time: Oct 26, 2021 06:00 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)

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Agenda – Community General Meeting 10-26-2021

October 26, 2021 6:30 pm

Due to the current county health order, this meeting will be held virtually via Zoom.

The annual community General meeting of the Butterfield-Riviera East Community Association Steering Committee is open to all members of the community. Join us to share your concerns and provide your feedback on issues related to our neighborhood.

Topic: General Meeting
Time: Oct 26, 2021 06:00 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)

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  1. Call to Order – Chair: Rene Hamlin
  2. Welcome / Introductions – Roll Call
  3. Homlessness
  4. Covid 19
  5. Emergency Prepardness
  6. Community Saftey

Adjourn to next meeting November 23, 2021 6:30 PM.

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