HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda Report - December 16, 1992 (67)CITY COUNCIL MEETIN-
December 16, 199.
PROPOSED PERIODIC "EETINGS TO BE HELD
ON EAST SIDE OF TOWN
CC -6 Council Member Steve Mann suggested that the City Council
hold periodic meetings on the east side of town in a
certain designated area such as a school facility.
Councilman Steve Mann
Lodi City Council
Dear Councilman Mann:
M
Phone 367-1037
December 21, 1992
After reading the News -Sentinel article on December 17, I am
enthusiastic about your idea € or eastside town forums.
Our eastside neighborhoods are in serious trouble. I think
it's going to take the combined efforts of citizen
volunteers, city council, and police department to reclaim
this large and valuable segment of our city from criminals,
slum landlords, and city neglect.
Many of our- problems were generated by previous city
councils. By zoning these large eastside lots for multiple
units, our neighborhoods have been destroyed. Unfortunately,
it now falls upon the present council to try to rectify past
mistakes.
Parking is a nightmare. My street is so clogged with
vehicles the street sweepers cannot operate, which allows
trash to accumulate, and traffic is often reduced to a one-
way flow.
Crime is rampant. Two of my elderly neighbors are virtual
prisoners in their own homes; hemmed in by window bars,
afraid to go out at night for fear of being robbed or mugged.
I'm in the process of organizing a Neighborhood Watch pr,igre.m
for my neighborhood. When officer Mary Fuhs of the Lodi
Police Department read off the crime statistics for just the
four -hundred block of East Oak Street, I was shocked.
Last week I went to the Szar Market on Cherokee Lane, and was
appalled to see sexually explicit home videos publicly
displayed in grocery store. These filthy, degrading
pictures ar in a prominenent location in a convenience store
where children shop. When I complained, the clerk told me,
"It's okay because they're on the top shelf and kids can't
see them that well." Balderdash!
As you know, these complaints could go on and on. Many
retired persons like myself cannot afford to move to a better
neighborhood, so I am delighted with your proposal to focus
on our eastside problems. Since lox -cost housing is so
scarce in Lodi, I know these fine old neighborhoods are worth
reclaiming. This section of town is rapidly becoming a
ghetto that drains community resources, depreciates property
values, and makes "Liveable, loveable Lodi" a joke for
thousands of its citizens, voters, anti taxpayers.
I do not believe city government can solve this problem
without the concerned support and enthusiastic participation
of citizens who are directly affected. The city does not
have the money or personnel to do things Cor people that they
are capable of doing for themselves. Somewhere I heard a
Dutch phrase that summed it up; "If every one sweeps in
front of his own house, then the whole city wilt be clean."
This might be a good .slogan Cor the city council to adapt and
promote.
If you have any ideas for establishing an Eastside Neighbors
Commission, I would like to be involved as a volunteer. I'm
a home and rental property owner, served three years on the
Lodi Arts Commission, and am retired from the San Joaquin
County Department of Human Services.
It seems to me Lodi already has vehicles in place to effect
positive changes for the eastside, They just need to be
promoted. Some things to consider are:
1. Neighborhood Watch Programs bring residents
together to work for their common good. A vigorous outreach
program is needed to involve more residents. Some are
hesitant to be too vocal (myself included) because they
fear retaliation from entrenched drug dealers.
2. Doesn't Lodi have an "eyesore" ordinance? What can
citizens do to require property owners to clean up their
mess? Mary Fuhs told our Neighborhood Watch group that some
citizens in the Bay Area are banding together to individually
sue slum owners in small claims court for depreciating their
property values. If four or five claimants win a judgment of
$2,000.00 each, that's pretty good motivation Cor a negligent
property owner to maintain his property in an attractive
condition.
3. Could block grants be used to lend money to tenants
or property owners to install heat -sensor lighting in dark
areas where burglars like to operate? Maybe a nominal charge
of 5-10 dollars per month could be billed on the iniividual's
electrictity bill until the cost is repayed. The money would
then be freed up to lend to others who want security
lighting.
4. If they don't dry up, how about using block grants
to buy condenmed alley houses and turn them into small 2-3
car parking lots? Electricity would already be in, so
perhaps it would be feasible to install heat -sensor lighting
for each parkinq area. Small parking lots would usually be
full, so would not attract roving gatherings of revelers. If
this worked, maybe the streets and alleys could be eventually
be clear enough to allow room Cor two-way traffic and
emergency vehicles.
5. The police bicycle patrols are ex-ellent. I would
like to see more of them. Bikes are undoubtedly much less
expensive t-) (.perate than patrol cars.
6. How about a monthly letter to Eastside Neighbors?
The News -Sentinel would probably publish it :is a no -cost
community service. Each letter could concentrate on one
area, such as "What can you do about loud stereos from
crui,�ing cars and boom boxes that can be heard a block away?"
,ometimes the noise is so loud I cannot hear my own radio in
my own house with the doors and windows closed.)
6. Couldn't the city council take walking tours of
sections of the eastside? Poke around the alley behind
Railroad Avenue and you'll hopefully come away with a sense
of urgency about the deteriorating, seamier side of life for
hundreds of Lodi residents.
Of course, some of these sug estions may not be cost-
effective or are unworkable or other reasons. I do believe, '.
tho, that some creative thinking is needed to upgrade the
eastside. The money is drying up, Maybe it's possible to
generate enough citizen involvement to make a difference.
Mary Fuhs told our group about one eighty-three year old
woman in the 300 block of Hilborn who has successfufly
involved 100 percent of her blcck in a Neighborhood Watch
Program that has significantly altered the crime pattern.
There must be many others like her out there who are willing
to get involved.
I wish you tremendous success in your efforts to address
eastside problems. They are real, but not unsolvable. If I
can help, please call me.
Sincerely,
i
Virginia Snyder
Copy to: Councilman Ray Davenport
Councilman Randy Snider