Two of the expected four District 6 Council candidates, Ray Lopez and Anna Caballero attended a debate put on by the Great Northwest Community Improvement Association this evening at our Lodge.
I'll write more on the topic tomorrow, but considering my wife and I did breakfast in Brandon, lunch in Houston and watched the debate for dinner, it has been a long day. But I did want to post two important pictures:
First, the candidates...
And second, our moderator, Eric Cooper who did a fantastic job this evening.
Tomorrow night, the association will host another debate with candidates from District 7. Our HOA actually covers two city council districts (6 and 7), so even if you are voting in District 6, it will be interesting to learn more about the district 7 candidates. I hope to see many of you there at 7PM tomorrow evening.
If you live around here, you probably got the door hanger announcing that a local resident, Anna Caballero, is running for District 6 Council to replace Delicious Herrera. If you'd like to get a gander at the candidate and listen to her announce, she will do so this Saturday at Oscar Perez Memorial Park located just outside of the Great Northwest on Timber Path.
I don't know the woman or details of her candidacy, and unfortunately, my wife and I are committed to another event at the same exact date and time as this announcement. Apparently, Ms. Caballero did not coordinate her announcement with Alan Jackson.
Anyway, why not attend and learn who she is and what she has to say. My guess is, the local taggers will have covered the skateboard park quite nicely just in time for the hopeful representative to answer questions about the graffiti issues in the area.
I must tell you, I checked out her web site (and you can see it here), and among her issues, tagging hasn't surfaced as of yet. I trust that will change when she gets a gander at how the church next to OPMP has the word "fuk" painted all over it and she sees what the little vandals have done to the park dedicated to another local resident who served as a San Antonio Police Officer.
Anyway, I wish the candidate luck in her run and hope to get an opportunity to hear her speak at another event as the race gets underway.
UPDATE: From the comments section, Anon E. Mouse tells us that there will be another chance to meet the candidate:
The GNW Board approved hosting Candidate Debates for City County District 6,7, and Mayoral races in April. Dates set for April 6, 7, and 8th.
District 6 on April 6th
District 7 on April 7th
Mayoral on April 8th.
Location Silver Creek Lodge. Start time to be announced later. Director Besing in charge of organizing this event.
Thanks for the info.
My wife and I made the short trip down to the Lodge of the Great Northwest to attend the monthly open Board meeting of the Great Northwest Community Improvement Association (GNWCIA). I'll keep the notes brief, or at least I'll try to! What a doozy!
Residents to Speak:
- One resident made a brief presentation regarding some procedural errors in the budget. His comments were accompanied by several pages of information explaining in greater detail the errors and how to correct them. There was nothing to suggest that anyone was doing anything illegal or anything like that, but based on the specific procedures, these were errors that could (and have been noted in the past) in an audit. If you'd like more details on this issue, I'd be happy to put you in touch with the resident.
- Another resident is concerned about graffiti and vandalism and suggests the board make efforts to have the city tear down the skate park at Oscar Perez Memorial Park. He is concerned that the District 6 Council member (Delicia Herrera) is of no use (to which I must confess, I concur), and he also has issues with the GNW Security Staff (to which I disagree with many of his concerns). This gentleman has witnessed a lot of stuff and has confronted people. He has been threatened with violence to which the SAPD has been unable to take action on. The guy is fed up and rightfully so.
- Another gentleman had a few negative words about security which were completely without basis. His complaint was that security was not taking action against deed restriction violations. Simply put; not a security task, and in fact, they are not authorized to take DRACO actions like the resident was asking for.
- A final resident spoke to praise the security staff and to advise the board of e-mails that had been making the rounds regarding false allegations about our security staff. While I was not a recipient of said e-mails, of course I have seen at least one of them and can verify that yes, as the gentleman claimed, racial epithets were used to describe some residents, and further, I am aware first hand (being part of the GNWatch) that some of the accusations in the e-mails against the security staff are completely without merit.
Community Manager Report:
- If you have seen the "improvements" taking place over on Timber Spring in Silver Creek, remain calm. The nice gentleman doing the work was not aware of our deed restrictions and is cooperating fully with the staff and the city to see what is allowable and what isn't. Having driven by the house in question, you'd think the guy was on that Ty Pennington show where they come and do a complete super sized make-over. Columns. Very grand.
Security: - You can call the GNW Security for stray and vicious dogs, but you still need to call 3-1-1 (or try 207 SAPD). When you call our staff, just remember, they don't have guns and they don't have a kennel.
Recreation:
- Our rec director has resigned to pursue educational opportunities in the nursing field. Eva and I wish Stephanie the best of luck!
DRACO:- Jose will be filling in as Rec Director and continuing to monitor the house on Timber Stream!
Maintenance: - The lodge is going to get a new coat of paint on the inside starting next week. We can only hope that Fred and the staff will use a good oil-based paint on the baseboards and trim. And let's hope it isn't yellow.
Unfinished Business:- The 2009 Budget was unanimously approved by the board (and corrections as described by the concerned resident were apparently made prior to the meeting).
New Business:- A motion was made to set the new assessment at $222.00 for 2009 and it was approved without discussion. This is the same as the current assessment.
And that was the official meeting. As the 17 residents who showed up to watch the board meeting vacated the building so the board could convene the closed session, I spoke with several of the concerned citizens regarding complaints about security, the increases in graffiti (tagging), the skate board park, and the support we get from the city and the district office. Parents need to understand that this is Texas and the Castle Doctrine is alive and well. Some residents living on main thoroughfares have observed 11 and 12 year old's out at 1 and 2 in the morning hanging out (the curfew is 12am). When one of these kids is caught tagging a guy's fence or vandalising a car and gets a bullet in the head, I'm sure the parents will be upset. But apparently, they don't seem too concerned about it now.I really hope we don't read about the kids of a resident being killed, but I fear that is what is coming. Seriously, people are getting tired of it.Sorry to leave you on a sour note. If you didn't make it, you missed a good meeting and lots of good cake, pie and other snacks.
My wife and I along with several our our neighbors made the short trip down to the Lodge of the Great Northwest to attend the monthly Great Northwest Watch meeting. And tonight, it was more of a free for all, dig in and eat some vittles type of meeting. We had brisket, burgers, dogs and a multitude of side dishes including my wife's famous chili and numerous desserts.
Are you seeing a pattern here? I can't even do volunteer work unless it has some sort of connection to food! I'm sorry I don't have a picture of the "before" on this brisket. My wife talks about meat that can stand on its own without a sauce, and Richard's Brisket passed the test with flying colors - Tasty Treats all around!
We had about 40 folks including several of our newest Block Captains show up for the event. In addition to good food, we had Mr. Sean Fitzgibbons from District 6 Councilwoman Delicia Herrera's office and Officer Danny Robles, our SAFFE Officer field questions from the audience.
Of specific note was a series of questions one resident had regarding reduction in Section 8 payments the city is paying to landlords. The same resident had some other issues regarding water bills and CPS issues. I appreciated the way Mr. Fitzgibbons was able to immediately accept the complaints, offer his card and put her in touch with the appropriate person in his office to deals with those issues. People, this is why we have representatives, so we can get answers. Kudos to our District 6 staff.
Officer Robles fielded several questions from tagging to drug concerns and all matter in between. He talked to us about the Cellular on Patrol program and how we can put together a group of residents to have a class (you need to be certified to get the secret handshakes and such). I'm going to begin putting together an interest list of people that would be willing to take the course. If we can get 15 people, we can do it. In fact, I'm going to contact some folks from neighboring associations and see if they would like to form a joint class. Wanna be in the next COP class? E-mail me and tell me if you would rather do it in an evening (say 6pm to 9pm) or on a Saturday (maybe 9am to noon). You do not need to be a resident of The GNW or a member of the GNWatch to do this. We just want to make the class worth the officer's time.
We talked briefly about the National Night Out and what a great deal that is. If you were eagerly anticipating the heat of August for the next NNO, hang tight. It will now be in October (we think October 7th - more on that soon). If you want a good way to meet your neighbors, do like we do: Set up a table out front with a pot of chili, some hot dogs, a cooler full of refreshments and a yard full of lawn chairs. You'd be surprised at how easy it is to have fun! Our coordinator, Ms. Betty Hood is already working on obtaining door prizes. More to follow on this.
I was very pleased to have most of our members of the GNWCIA Board of Directors present. These people put in a lot of hours of their own time and it was super awesome to have them come as members of the GNWatch and meet and mingle with our Block Captains. We appreciate the hard work you do for the association.
Finally, I'm going to approach the Board concerning maybe changing the meeting times to begin earlier - even 6:30PM or 7PM (we normally start at 7:30PM). Tell me what you think about it. Would you come to the meetings if you thought we could get in by 6:30 and be out the door by 7:45 or 8PM? If this was your first meeting, I should tell you that we usually are a bit more structured. I walked in the door tonight with no agenda at all and literally shot from the hip the entire evening, fitting in the speakers as they arrived and such. My guess is that many people do not want to attend a meeting that drags on and on (like my blog posts). So please, tell me what you think.
I'll be honest with you - I didn't even take notes so this may be a bit sketchy. Several of my neighbors joined my wife and I along with Block Captains, concerned residents, board directors and folks from other neighborhood associations to listen to a great presentation from the City of San Antonio Parks Police Department.
Several people told me they had head counts of 40 or more people not including the assembled police and representative from District 6.
Kudos to Chief Steven Baum and his officers for answering the tough questions from several irate residents who are simply fed up with the ongoing taggers in our area. He didn't have any miracle answers but he gave us what we needed; the truth. The truth is, he has one officer (for our area) that patrols a huge area that includes OP Schnabel and Friedrick Wilderness Parks. When they catch the little taggers (and they do catch them), the court system is not set up to hang the taggers or their parents. I know it is a tough pill to swallow, but if I understand it correctly, we will not be blindfolding taggers and executing them with a cigarette in their mouth and a bullet to their head, as much as many residents would like.
So, what can we do? First, we have to take ownership of this problem. I need every resident of San Antonio to purchase a disposable camera and keep it in your car. Put down your cell phone and start watching for taggers. As Chief Baum said, "These taggers are not Houdini". The tagging is taking place, often in broad daylight but we simply aren't tuned into our surroundings as we drive down the street talking on the phone, listening to talk radio and trying to remember if we were on our way to the HEB or to the liquor store!We have to focus on our surroundings, and if we see some little bastard tagging, take pictures and call the police. 207-SAPD is the non-emergency number. Get a description of the kid, the location you are at and call them.
But you know all that. We had some great questions and comments and complaints from the crowd. Unfortunately, many of them in my opinion were based on the frustration of the situation. Ask the questions you want - that is why we are all there, but it doesn't help to complain to the police about the lack of action in the courts, right? I talked to Chief Baum and he told me that he gets the frustration and often, he is happy to simply provide a forum to let people vent.
So now what? I was happy to see that Mr. Sean Fitzgibbons from District 6 Council member Delicia Herrera made it to the meeting to listen to our concerns and answer questions. I think it would be an awesome idea to call or send e-mail to Ms. Herrera's office and let her know of the appreciation, and of our continued concerns. Squeaky wheel and oil theory.
I'll send some more notes and comments to the Block Captains and the people at the meeting who left me their e-mail addresses but the bottom line is - we had a pretty good meeting to get people thinking about the problem. Now, let's see if we can parlay the excitement into some action.
Wanna learn more about the A-Team? E-mail me. Wanna join the watch? E-mail me!
We stayed up until almost 2 in the morning visiting with friends and singing (if that's what you call it) a few Karaoke tunes, so getting up well after 9:30 is something totally out of the norm for me, but very necessary this morning. I put on a pot of coffee and checked a few e-mails and before long, our big dog, Gracie was ready to go out and visit the backyard for a little while.
After such a crappy weather day yesterday - you know, when it refuses to just come right out and rain, but keeps misting as if we had suddenly moved to England or someplace wet all the time - it was a stunningly beautiful morning today, with just the slightest of breezes to ease the warm sun. So, my dog and I threw the ball around for a little while. Well, technically, I threw the ball, and in return for a few kibbles from her treat bag, I'd get the slobbered over dirty tennis ball back so the entire process could start again.
I thought to myself how much I loved the mornings like this and how much I appreciated living in Silver Creek and in San Antonio. If the weather would stay like this forever, life would be perfect, at least in my backyard.
But sadly, people all over my neighborhood, and people in neighborhoods throughout our city will eventually leave their homes and be greeted with what I saw as I drove by the local library just down the street. One person; one incredibly inconsiderate, selfish and malicious punk who for whatever reason finds himself to be so self-important, that he must leave his mark in five-foot tall letters on the brand new addition to a place shared by everyone.
You might suspect that this kind of thing really gets on my nerve. It does. I do a lot of research on the Internet and participate in discussion boards where Tagging is a topic of interest. I'm so sick of reading that these people with their cans of spray paint are simply future artists trying to express themselves. One guy wrote that we should allow these taggers to use the world as their canvas, and eventually, they will become good enough to have their "art" displayed in galleries. Why is it that people with this forgiving attitude never give directions to their personal privacy fence, mail box and home?
If they want to be seen in a gallery somewhere, let's start with their face up on a wanted poster in the Post Office. But that won't happen because, even though everyone agrees that this vandalism is against the law, it is not nearly the infraction that going 5 miles per hour over the speed limit is. That is not a jab at our police either. But it is a jab at our city council and the people responsible for directing the Police Chief in where they want emphasis placed on enforcing laws.
Speeding tickets generate revenue; trying to find some 16 year-old with a can of spray paint tucked in his pants costs money. I get it. But what I don't get is why with all the money spent to build new public facilities, we don't have the sense to add in the extra minimal amount of money needed to outfit each new building (and hopefully retrofit existing buildings) with surveillance cameras that could first, alert someone to the fact that someone is doing something, or if not, at least provide evidence of who the culprit was after the fact?
Industry is already on to this. Construction companies have figured out that it costs them less money to spend cash up front to provide surveillance to construction sites to deter and/or catch the vandals and thieves, than it does to constantly react to the problems that occur when building anew home. So you can imagine that people in the security industry have come up with ways to help.
I drive by Wolfe Stadium every morning on my way to work. On one side of Callahan Road is a neighborhood of older, modest, homes. There was one house, obviously abandoned, that was so tagged up that to tag it any more would require the "artist" to use a roller just to clear off an area before he could then deface the property with his latest work.
On the opposite side of the road, behind the stadium, they have turned an empty field into what looks like some sort of concrete baseball diamond. I really have no idea what it is, but apparently, someone realized that given the proximity to the vandalized homes across the street, they should figure out how to protect this new thing.
So as I drive by one morning, I see this little trailer like thing with tall spot lights, flashing sirens, speakers and cameras. The logo on the side of this thing says "Pro Vigil" and of course, I looked it up. You can too, here. The bottom line is, this equipment can detect movement in the area being protected, then it lights up the place, gives an audible warning that the police are being called, takes pictures of everything that happens and if the intruders do not leave the site, police or whoever (private security) are called to the scene.
I don't expect the city to go out and purchase something like this for every public space - can you imagine the outcry from the "This is Big Brother" crowd? But how hard is it to use a little common sense in planning to consider physical security of buildings as a factor when funding projects? Blame it all on 9-1-1 and say you are trying to catch terrorists, maybe that will get us some federal funding to assist. But for how much longer are we going to sit back and just live with the continuous, daily barrage of new tagging everywhere around the city?
I do know that the city has tried to take action on a small scale. They have already used surveillance cameras to identify and arrest several taggers. Great. Now that you know what works, let's step it up.
If you live in my part of town, or if your part of San Antonio is watching the value of your home drop because of the increased tagging, I urge you to send a message to your district councilperson. We need a little less of worrying about what entrepreneurs do in their restaurants, and a little more concern with the blatant vandalism.
Or you can confine yourself to beautiful days throwing a ball to your dog in the comfort of your backyard. If we don't get a handle on this situation, that's about as good as it is going to be.
Tell me what you think about it.
First, the candidates...
And second, our moderator, Eric Cooper who did a fantastic job this evening.
