MINUTES OF THE PAC2 MEETING
DURHAM PUBLIC SCHOOLS STAFF DEVELOPMENT CENTER
November 8, 2010
Facilitators: Bill Anderson – TheOcean1@aol.com
Cheryl Shiflett – scjdurham@aol.com
The meeting was called to order at 6:08 p.m.
Self-introductions followed.
Cheryl said that November is the time to think of the things we’re thankful for, and she is thankful for the PAC members, the city and county department employees, and the police department. Bill said his research indicates that Durham has the best Partners Against Crime coverage of any city in the United States and may be the largest group in the country.
COMMUNITY CONCERNS
Someone wanted to know if vendor permits are required for people selling magazines door to door. Bill said yes, and you should first ask anyone who comes to your door selling something if they have a vendor permit. You can also contact 560-4700 and press 7 to get Paul Mason who directs that department.
A visitor from PAC4 brought up concerns about Inkwell. He said he went to their off the street carwash, and the person offered to sell him some drugs. The company is very organized and has 8 vehicles with its name on them and says it specializes in tattoos and car washing. There have been a lot of complaints about them in the PAC4 area. Captain Smith said that the Special Operations Division is very familiar with Inkwell and the owner of the company. Bill said he checked out the address and the property owner is listed as Research Triangle Regional Transportation. Councilman Mike Woodard said that would be Triangle Transit, and that the site is that of the proposed light rail station. Bill noted that since it was being rented to Inkwell that it seemed to be strange usage of public space.
A resident of Charlotte Street expressed concern that, due to the Hillandale Road construction, there are dump trucks going down her street 2-3 times an hour; her concern is that it will tear up the street. Councilman Woodard asked if she knew where the street was ranked on the scale of streets to be repaired. If it is on the list to be repaired, then he could see if the city could wait to issue the contract for it until after the Hillandale project is complete, but he doesn’t think they have recourse against the state to keep them from using the street, since it would be considered normal wear and tear. This is also a problem on Dartmouth and Alabama. Councilman Woodard said he would talk to the division engineer to see if they can mitigate the damage, but that they couldn’t keep the trucks off the street. A resident on Alabama is concerned because their street is not on the list to be repaved. Frances Brown said Charlotte Street also has a problem with water lines breaking and the dump trucks could exacerbate the problem. Councilman Woodard said he would check on the age of the water lines and see if they are at least 80 years old, in which case they could be put on the list for replacement, but this would wait until after the construction is finished.
Another resident noted that Chalk Level also gets dump trucks. He said that going onto Stadium Drive people can’t see traffic coming from the right because others don’t take their trash cans in. Bill thought this was supposed to be a $25 fine if the cans are left on the street. Mike Simpson is the contact person for this issue. Cheryl thought that residents are allowed 24 hours to get their cart off the street.
Someone mentioned a problem with a renter named Eric Jones at 2617 Farthing in his back yard playing loud music. Police were called and Officer Brown had a talk with him to tell him he could not play music at a volume where it could be heard several blocks away. This person also has a pit bull in a cage in the back yard which barks a lot, especially when the neighbors are in their backyard. Captain Smith said that if the dog is barking to the point of disturbing the peace of the neighborhood police can issue a citation for a noise ordinance violation but the resident making the complaint would have to appear in court. The resident said he would be willing to do that. The neighbors also had issues with another pit bull previously which the owner had not taken care of; the person mostly does this on weekends when Animal Control is not available. The property is managed by Bobby Greshim.
Bill noted that there was another chained dog at 105 Bennett Court. Police had previously made a significant drug bust when asked to check out a dog on Bennett Court. Captain Smith said he was not sure police are enforcing the anti-tether law.
A resident of Turrentine Street said that his new neighbor seemed to be operating a mechanic’s shop out of his garage, and that there were 4 to 6 cars in the alley behind Turrentine which seemed to be clients of the garage and were blocking the alley and causing noise; they wanted to know if this is a NIS or Zoning issue. Karen Swope confirmed that it was a Zoning issue and said she would check on it tomorrow. The resident thought the address was 3707, which is a red brick house on the corner of the alley and Turrentine, but would send an email to confirm the address. Ms. Swope said that she has to witness what they are doing to cite them, but she can send a letter noting a complaint has been made and that they can’t operate a business there. It was noted that the business does not operate every day, but there is always a different car up on a rack. Ms. Swope said she would also check the status of the alley. The resident wanted to know if they could find out if the alley has a name, but Captain Smith did not think it has one. Officer Hall suggested that they try to name the alley so it would be on the GPS map for EMS to find, and she wanted to know who she should contact for this.
DEPARTMENTAL UPDATES
Durham Parks and Recreation: Audrey Gill introduced Amy Pehowic from Edison Johnson aquatics center, and noted that flyers were in the back for the Art Walk on November 20th and 21st, the Holiday Fun Fest December 4th, and the Senior Holiday Party for persons 55 and over on December 14th, which sells out early, so interested persons need to go ahead and buy tickets. Also, the First Annual Bingo Bananza is scheduled for November 24th, along with senior trips to the fruitcake factory, Tanglewood Festival of Lights, and the new Tanger Outlets. Ms. Gill also reported that there were 1500 people at Hallow Eno. Ms. Pehowic spoke about the aquatics program at Edison Johnson, and received a comment that the pool is wonderful.
Captain Smith announced that Lt. O’Neal is leaving District 2, and that he was really sorry to see him leave as he has been very helpful and efficient in handling things at the station. He is going to patrol to be a watch commander. Lt. O’Neal said that he was not really leaving, just relocating, and that he appreciated the opportunity to work with everybody and the relationships that the police and PACs have; that this is the strength of PAC2. He would like to see the communication continue, and thanked everyone for the last couple of years.
Captain Smith then introduced Lt. Sharon Barringer, who is coming to District 2 from criminal investigations and patrol watch commander. Lt. Barringer said that she welcomed the opportunity to work with District 2 and would like to have the same relationship with PAC2 that Lt. O’Neal had, and will give people her contact numbers as well. She said that she would like to be a part of the solution in improving District 2.
Captain Smith also gave several updates about District 2 concerns. He had met with ABC commission representatives about concerns expressed at the previous meeting, but compliance checks of several ABC outlets still produced sales to underage persons, so they have another violation to send to the ABC commission. This issue has received a lot of publicity, and the ball is still rolling. Coming into the holiday season, crime overall is down in District 2, but larceny is up, particularly vehicle break-ins. The CID sergeant has been tracking vehicle break-ins in the last few months, and almost 95% have been GPS units, also laptops and purses left on the seat. He asked that people not leave valuables in their vehicles and go back to the neighborhood listserves to tell people this in the hope that they can reduce the rate of break-ins by educating people. Also remember to record the serial number of the GPS; 38 GPS units were pawned last month, but hardly any of the people who had them stolen knew the serial number. He noted that Master facility study information was in the newsletter, and there would be an informational meeting on November 16th. Chief Lopez will be speaking at the next PAC meeting to tell us more about this. He also encouraged people to join the Pace Car program, or the police might give them something that will cost money.
Bill said that he would like to say to his neighbors that though he was sorry they lost their GPS, they had also told the criminals that it was a productive neighborhood in which to do business, and they would be back because of what they had found in the car.
Bill noted that ABC and ALE officers from the enforcement side of ABC will be at the meeting in December.
Larry Revelle from Human Relations asked people to fill out the fair housing survey on the city website.
Lynwood Best from Neighborhood Improvement Services announced that there would be a Landlord Workshop coming up, and the cost would be $20 per person, which includes a manual, light breakfast and lunch. Code enforcement officers will be present, along with people from legal services. The workshop is not just for landlords, but for anyone who wants to know about landlord information and tenant rights.
An intern from Clean Energy Durham said they would be holding a free energy workshop, and to see him at the end of the meeting for more information.
Cheryl asked people to think about their car when shopping, and whether there is anything in the car which anyone would want.
Someone asked if there was any truth to the email which was circulating about remotes used to lock cars being “sniffed”, and that was thought to be an urban legend.
PROGRAM
Master Officer (Retired) Eric Hester spoke about the Pace Car Program. Cheryl passed around Pace Car applications, and said that she had looked up how much insurance goes up with a speeding ticket, and with 3 to 4 tickets insurance can go up 300-400% per year. Cars also use less gas when driving the speed limit.
Officer Hester began with a story of how he was driving down Horton Road from Duke Street toward Guess in his van with a Pace Car logo on the back, driving the speed limit, which is 35 mph. There was a lady who was riding on his bumper, and when they got to Guess Road he was in the lane to go straight and she was in the lane to go left. He could tell that she wanted to see who was driving this slow vehicle, so he rolled the window down and waved, and when she saw that he was wearing a police uniform her demeanor changed quickly. He introduced himself and told her about the Pace Car Program.
According to Officer Hester, the Pace Car Program was started by a bicyclist in Australia who put devil horns on his helmet because people kept trying to run over him. People who saw the horns found it humorous, so they slowed down and tried to make sure he got safely where he was going. He posted his experience on a website, and a group in Idaho brought him over to help them get something going. He said that this goes along with the neighborhood watch concept, which says that we are the eyes and ears of the community and we determine what is acceptable and unacceptable behavior. In 2007, it was decided that not just criminal elements but people traveling too fast down streets are a safety problem. He wrote in his article that many times communities are recognized by their characteristics. The group in Idaho decided to use pilot cars, but people would wait for the pilot car to come and escort it through their neighborhood. In January 2007 the concept was introduced in Durham in a block captain workshop, using a Disney video called “Motor Mania”. People were asked to think of 5 things they could do and make a pledge to drive the posted speed limit in the city limits, stop at stop signs and stop lights, be pedestrian-friendly at crosswalks, be courteous to bicyclists and other motorists, and carpool when practical. By doing these things their consumption of gasoline also decreased.
The Pace Car Program mindset goes hand in hand with community, and with the definition of crime prevention as a pattern of attitudes which makes it uncomfortable for criminals. Councilman Woodard was the first person to sign up. People could register on-line, and over 1000 people signed up initially. The Pace Car magnet is placed on the back left corner of the car, with a static sticker on the windshield. The cars became moving speed bumps. The success of the program can be measured by how many people get involved over a period of time. A 30-second commercial was produced about the previously noted incident which happened to Officer Hester. The city also decided that if 50% of people in a community signed up they would do a traffic engineering study there once a year. Azalea Park qualified for this program, and had a sign posted above their neighborhood watch sign saying that they were a Pace Car community. It was a community effort of working together to affect quality of life issues.
Someone said they had noticed the pace car magnets for several months and didn’t know what they were about, and asked if information could be distributed in the water bills or a video run at city hall to get the word out.
Councilman Woodard noted that the city manager had taken 400 magnets which Bill gave to the city to be dispensed to nonemergency city vehicles. It was asked if notice of the program could be put in the city manager’s report, and he said that he would mention it to Beverly Thompson, the public affairs director, who has a press release coming out.
Bill asked people who were willing to take the pledge to stand up and had Officer Hester read it, then Bill and Cheryl passed out stickers and magnets. One resident noted that the magnets will not stick to plastic.
Cheryl then told a story about a vehicle which blew by her on 15-501, which she then noticed in the parking lot at work, so she told him about the Pace Car program and told him that she generally saw 3-4 unmarked police cars on that road every day, so he might want to think about slowing down.
The meeting was adjourned at 7:22 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Sherry Coulter
Secretary