MINUTES OF THE PAC2 MEETING
DURHAM PUBLIC SCHOOLS STAFF DEVELOPMENT CENTER
April 11, 2011
Facilitator: Bill Anderson – TheOcean1@aol.com
Cheryl Shiflett – scjdurham@aol.com
The meeting was called to order at 6:05 p.m.
Self-introductions followed.
Nominations were opened for a new facilitator to replace Bill Anderson. Mike Shiflett mentioned the early years of PAC2 when he and Grace Blackwell were facilitators; she also told of some of her experiences. Cheryl talked about what the job involved. David Harris nominated Steve Graff, who said he would serve if his wife agreed. Elections will be held in May, with the new facilitator to take office at the end of June.
COMMUNITY CONCERNS
Dan Read said that three people on the 1700 block of Shawnee Street have put their houses up for sale due to ongoing problems with crime and neglect of houses on nearby Avondale, for which a solution does not seem to be forthcoming. Captain Sykes said that police were aware of the problems in the area, and Steve Hall is working with people in the neighborhood. The police would like to have people call about any suspicious activity in the area, including cars or people who are not usually seen in the community. He said that numbers recently posted on the listserv for crimes in the area are similar to the rates previously seen over the last 2-3 years. Councilman Mike Woodard said he would like to know why 3 people in one block decided to sell. Mr. Read noted that there was no accountability for the landlords concerning adjacent houses on Avondale, which are in substandard condition, sometimes vacant and fostering crime, with a number of environmental violations, and that concerned citizens can’t get to these landlords effectively. He said that all of these problems together have made neighbors discouraged. Councilman Woodard mentioned the environmental issue of storm water problems reported over the weekend, and that city staff had responded and issued stop work orders to two different businesses, and that there were also violations of the Unified Development Ordinance.
Cheryl admonished people not to advertise their stuff (i.e. by leaving curtains open at night). She also said that four air conditioners at her church had recently been destroyed by someone stealing copper.
Chief Lopez stressed the importance of crime prevention, including the block watch program, asking neighbors what they can see in or around your house that might attract thieves, and watching out for people in the community who shouldn’t be there. He said that we need to band together to address the burglary problem through the community watch program and unity in the communities, and then police can do their part to solve the crimes. He said that it only takes one active burglar to cause a lot of problems, but police can only arrest individuals on what they can prove, even if they suspect that individual is linked to other crimes.
Someone mentioned a man going door-to-door knocking on doors and peering in windows which her daughter observed when she came home from school, but said that people in the neighborhood won’t call the police. Cheryl told her to keep reminding the community members that they need to report suspicious activity. Mike Shiflett asked if there were any trends in crimes noted from someone new in the neighborhood. Captain Sykes said that often a person is released from jail and finds an area which he targets and breaks in, especially if it is easy to get in and not be detected; once that person is caught the break-ins usually stop until he gets out of jail. Chief Lopez noted robberies are often preceded by vandalism, so we need to try to stop the problem before it escalates. Councilman Woodard advised having the police come out and talk to the neighbors about calling 911. Bill wanted to know if criminals change districts. Chief Lopez said they come back because they know the area and were able to get into houses there previously, so we need to make it more difficult for the criminals to get into the houses.
Steve Graf mentioned a problem with a prostitute in his area, around Duke Park, Five Points, and the Roxboro/Avondale interchange. They would like to know how to get her to stop or leave the area. Bill said he could send photos of this person.
It was noted that sometimes you may have to take the chance of hurting someone’s feelings by being proactive, but this is necessary to prevent crimes. Cheryl noted that the people attending the PAC meetings needed to go back into their neighborhoods and teach the other people there about the things they have learned at the meetings about preventing crime.
Someone said that burglary problems often seem to come from rental properties. It was noted that the owner and manager of the property should be notified of a crime linked to the property. She said that the house behind her has had 9 or 10 tenants with crime issues over the past 15 years, including drug problems and a murder. Captain Sykes said that an arrest generates a letter to the owner of the property to notify him of the crime and that the property could be seized if crime associated with those tenants continues.
DEPARTMENTAL UPDATES
Durham Parks and Recreation: Audrey Gill announced that the 3rd Friday concert series would be starting April 15th at Durham Centre Plaza at 300 West Morgan Street, running through October. There will also be a Durham Earth Day Festival on May 1st from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. at Durham Central Park, and the annual egg hunt on April 16th at Bethesda Park and West Point on the Eno starting at 10 a.m.; she advised people to be there early for the egg hunt because it goes quickly (over in about 10 minutes). She said that all facilities would be closed on April 22nd (Good Friday). Lucille Patterson from Edison Johnson announced that the recreation center is now open, with programs for mature adults including yoga, tai chi, aerobics, and upcoming trips (including one to the NC botanical gardens on May 27th). Also upcoming are the senior games, twice monthly teen nights for youth, and the pool is in full swing. Bethesda Park has high ropes training. A representative of Trinity Park wanted to make sure that the DPR repair occurring there would be finished in time for the April 16th Trinity Park Durham Symphony concert.
Neighborhood Improvement Services: Lynwood Best said that NIS was working on Avondale to cleanup of 1804 yesterday. He also announced that a new coordinator for district 2, Robin Dixon, would be taking over for Cynthia Mebane-Watts for 3 months.
Human Relations: Larry Revelle announced Fair Housing Month activities, including Fair Housing Education Day on April 15th, Human Relations Department Open House on April 18th, Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing workshop on April 21st, and a Southside Housing Update on April 28th.
Police Department: Lt. David Addison said the police department was applying for a safe policing grant to work on reducing outstanding warrants, and to also target areas which have a high number of break-ins. They would like a letter of support from the PACs to include with the grant application. A letter will be forwarded to the facilitator of each PAC to print. Cheryl asked for a motion to vote on the request to support the police department in obtaining this grant, and it was approved by the attendees.
PROGRAM
Kendra Meadows and Chase Lowe presented information about the Citizen Observer Patrol. The program is administered by the Durham Police Department. It began in the fall of 2003 and is intended to be a crime-reduction program. Volunteers conduct regular patrols within their district areas looking for suspicious activities and crimes in progress, helping stranded motorists and providing an increased level of comfort for the residents in the area.
Ms. Lowe started as a block captain in Hope Valley, got into the neighborhood watch program, then served on the board of her neighborhood association. She went to family day at the police department and decided to get involved with the COP program. Ms. Meadows lives in a small neighborhood. When particular tenants moved into a rental unit in spring of 2009, problems started with bullying, then vandalism, then prostitution. The residents held a neighborhood meeting in spring 2010, then talked to the property owner, then asked for help from PAC2 and from COP. These actions relieved the rental problem, so the neighborhood is now quiet again. She then decided to join COP.
Volunteers come from each of the 5 police districts. They wear uniforms and work in pairs to patrol the streets in 4 hour shifts from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. They are required to work 2 shifts per month minimum. They use specially marked patrol vehicles, and make sure that volunteers are safe while on duty. They are trained to observe and report, to be additional eyes and ears for the police department and gather intelligence to pass on, but have no law enforcement authority or power. They talk to citizens and gather information from them about things going on in their neighborhood as well. They visit local businesses, perform neighborhood patrols, do house checks, check in with elderly and infirm residents, attend community functions, do park checks for graffiti, trash, or illicit activity, patrol parking lots, distribute information on the new license plate frame law, check for expired tags, and remind citizens not to leave valuables on display in parked cars.
Programs like COP have been proven to help reduce crime by 80% in target areas. COP interfaces with other Durham partners, including Durham Parks and Recreation, animal control, neighborhood watch, PACs, One Call, and Neighborhood Improvement Services.
COP volunteers must complete an application, undergo a background check for driving and criminal history, complete training requirements for the position, and pass a physical and drug screening. For more information contact Officer E.C. Baker at 560-4438 x29400.
There are six active COP volunteers in district 2 currently, and seven in district 3. District 2 has two cars, and the goal is to keep both cars on the road. A former COP member told about her experience in the program, and told the story of an elderly lady which she would check on and became friends with, and how one day she found that the lady had fallen earlier in the day, so she got in touch with the lady’s family members, who were able to get medical attention for her and found that she had broken a hip. Chief Lopez said that he has people all over the country ask about the COP program, and has spoken to USA Today and the New York Times about it. He said that COP volunteers are extraordinary individuals who understand that the police can’t do it all and that they can make a difference in their community.
Volunteering with COP is an ongoing position; persons can volunteer for as long as they want or can. Volunteers must be at least 21 years of age. It is a good way to meet new people and get involved in the community. The COP program is about neighbors helping neighbors. Interested individuals can go on a ride with them and see what they do and decide if they want to sign up.
Bill thanked David Harris for taking on the position of National Night Out coordinator.
Dale McKeel from the Transportation Department spoke on bike/pedestrian safety. In order to be a walkable, bikeable community we need to focus on the 5 E’s – engineering, encouragement, education, enforcement, and evaluation. Both the Durham Walks! Pedestrian Plan and the Durham Comprehensive Bicycle Transportation Plan were adopted in 2006 and the Trails and Greenways Master Plan was adopted in 2001 and is currently in the process of being revised.
There are three advisory boards which deal with bicycle and pedestrian issues: the Open Space and Trails Commission primarily works with off-road facilities like greenway trails and other walking trails, the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission is involved with sidewalk and on-road bicycle facilities, and the Recreation Advisory Commission deals with recreation facilities and works primarily with the Parks and Recreation Department.
Engineering efforts for pedestrians between 1940 and 1990 were few with not many new sidewalks being constructed. More sidewalks have been added since the early 1990’s, and the Durham Walks! Pedestrian Plan identified locations for new sidewalks as well as areas where sidewalks needed repair. In the last five years there has been increased sidewalk repair, addition of curb ramps, intersection improvements (crosswalks and pedestrian signals, which were added to 13 intersections in 2010), and transit amenities (shelters and sidewalks).
There are three ways that new sidewalks are provided. They can be a standalone project, part of a new development, or part of road widening or new road projects. They also try to provide bike lanes along new and existing roads, which are being restriped with repaving to add the bike lanes, and bike parking in existing developments and at bus stops. Buses now also have racks for 2 bicycles. The R. Kelly Bryant Jr. Bridge across NC147 was opened in the past year, and Robin Dixon is working in the area to improve access to the bridge and encourage people to walk in the communities around this area, including establishment of a walking club called the Bull City Cruisers. A new bridge over I-40 on the American Tobacco Trail should be started later this year. A new greenway trail has recently been completed in southern Durham which connects Southern Boundaries Park to Garrett Road Park in the area of Woodcroft Parkway and Martin Luther King, Jr. Parkway called Third Fork Creek Trail. The Duke beltline, an abandoned railroad corridor which the city wants to acquire and use as a trail, is also in the planning stages, with $2 million set aside in 2005, and Norfolk Southern is now interested in selling this property, so talks are ongoing with the city.
The Bull City Cruisers Walking Club provides encouragement for people to walk. There is also interest in providing safe walking and biking routes to schools. An event called Bull City Open Streets will run from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. on May 1st, where streets in the Central Park area will be closed to vehicular traffic and open to pedestrians, bicycles and skateboards. There will also be a bike-to-work week in May, with several activities included. May is also bike month, and there are events planned throughout the month.
The Durham Bike Co-op on Foster Street offers opportunities to learn to repair bikes. People can also volunteer and earn a bike. There will be a bike valet at special events; also available will be the Durham Bike and Hike Map with recommended routes. There are also education programs available, and bicycle traffic skills training. The Department of Transportation handles enforcement, evaluates and reviews crash data, coordinates projects, and monitors and updates plans. In 2010 Durham was designated as a bronze level bicycle-friendly community by American Bicycle. For more information go to Bikewalkdurham.org.
Councilman Woodard recommended that everyone pick up the Bike and Hike Map. Mike Shiflett wanted to know about the possibility of raised crosswalks at schools. Peter Katz wanted to know about the timeline to set up the greenway for the rail trail; Mr. McKeel said there was no funding for the design or construction currently. Someone mentioned that on Carver Street traffic was backed up behind a bicyclist blocking traffic trying to turn from Guess Road. Mr. McKeel said that the bicycle does have the right of way, but in classes he encourages people to pull over and let traffic through if it is backing up behind them. Another person asked if the widening on Alston Avenue included plans to build a pedestrian bridge for children crossing to Eastway Elementary School. Mr. McKeel said there were no plans for a bridge, but options were being looked at for a signaled crossing.
Cheryl announced that Pace Car applications and no soliciting signs were still available.
Bill spoke about signs which are illegally posted by the road, and that he picks them up as he considers them litter, and encourages other people to pick them up and use them for painting, etc. He said that code enforcement will notify the group or individual posting them but it takes a long time for them to pick the signs up. Nonprofit signs are legal for two weeks prior to an event and for one week after. Election signs can be left up for 10 days after the election.
Councilman Woodard presented an update on the issue which Bill spoke about in February concerning illegal street vendors. He said that the code enforcement manager has now directed code enforcement officers to work on the weekend to check on car washes and illegal vendors. They have been out for four weeks now, including department head Grace Smith. They have been surprised at how many vendors are out there, and have issued lots of citations and picked up a lot of signs. Councilman Woodard thanked Bill for bringing this issue to the city’s attention.
The meeting was adjourned at 7:48 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Sherry Coulter
Secretary