In attendance:
- Will White
- Aren Cambre
- Andrea Hosterman
- Lucy White
- Richard Fleming
- Valerie Aponte
Meeting opened at 7:44 PM.
Crime Watch Report:
- Jeff Johnson is new crime watch chair.
- Ronald Carpenter is DPD point of contact.
- LPE reps attended Crime Watch meeting on Tuesday, May 24.
- Violent crime is down 13% in NE Dallas.
- Overall crime reduction is only 1% (spike in property crime).
- New 311 software goes online in July.
- Recommendations:
o Don’t leave valuables in vehicles, or at least hide them.
o Don’t leave car unlocked.
- Stealing property out of a car is only a misdemeanor. It’s not much of a deterrent, so we must be vigilant.
- Increase in residential burglaries this month.
- Recommendations:
o Stop paper and mail when going out of town.
o Keep house well lit.
o Etc.
- Gary Griffith attended. Goal is to have 3 officers per 1000 residents. Already added 50 positions for current FY, but not all positions are filled. Starting Oct. 1, will add another 50 positions. DPD is seeking volunteers. DPD will waive college requirement with 4 years military experience. Takes about 1 year between sign up and going out on street.
- Logistical problems with police cars, so new cars are going out slower than expected. 25-30 new cars still to come in. Goal is to phase out all cars with more than 100,000 miles.
- Also trying to replacing fleet of helicopters.
- In May, DPD started foot patrols. Sergeant and lieutenant volunteers walk and identify neighborhood areas. They pick 5 residential and 5 commercial areas to walk. Random monthly rotation. 8 supervisors on each foot patrol shift.
- Operation “Kitchen Sink.” Emphasis on property crime to start in June and July in areas with elevated property crime.
- During peak times (evening and raining [rain washes away fingerprints and other tracks]): “4th watch” from 9 PM – 4 AM. Overtime is authorized for police to work additional hours during these hours.
- CWEB (Crime Watch Executive Board): Looking to create 30 member emergency response task force. Made up of crime watch and VIPs to respond during emergency situations so that police can be freed up to be on the street. Please contact the NE Police Station if interested in being a committed volunteer.
- We can subscribe to weekly crime watch reports. Will will subscribe the LPENA Board to this emailing.
- Current crime info is available at www.dallaspolice.net.
Dixon Branch NA
- Dixon Branch Neighborhood Association pays off-duty police to patrol their neighborhood in a car for 30 hours per week. Charge is $30/hr. + $300/mo for police car. They apparently have stats to show that the patrol is driving out crime.
- DB has different pledge levels to help pay for additional patrols.
- Residents can directly call the cop’s cell phone.
Discussion about Volunteers In Patrol
- This is a program where volunteers patrol the neighborhood.
- Volunteers could work during the day or at night.
- Must have cell phone.
- Volunteers only monitor. They just watch and phone in problems. They do not apprehend or intervene.
- We need volunteers who would like to be trained by the DPD in a class they offer and help get our VIP program off the ground.
Discussion about hiring security guard instead of full fledged cop. Consensus is that it’s probably not much of a savings.
Discussion about SMS messaging to cell phones for crime alerts. Need to research.
Note that if you have a NO SOLICIATION sign, it’s against the law for people to knock on your door to sell you junk. We recommend that you obtain a sign and post it on your door to help drive out criminals posing as salesmen.
Discussion about Crime Watch voice mail phone.
- Hasn’t been used in a very long time. (At least 18 months.)
- Zero complaints about this.
- Far superior technologies exist.
- VOTE: Board voted to discontinue the voice mail line.
Committee Chairmen
- They are nonvoting members of the board.
- Will include them on board@lakeparkestates.org.
- Will invite them to board meetings.
Web Site
- Draft web site is ready.
- Aren will email the site to the board for approval.
Lake Park Estates Flea Market
- The excessive garage sales at 1108 N. Buckner have officially been stopped. If any garage sale occurs at this address before April 2006, call 311 and a ticket will be issued.
Block Party
- 8 membership renewals received.
- $30 of donations
- Just under $1,000 was spent for 2005 block party
o We got bounce castles for only $175 (the big one normally goes alone for $225)
Membership Drive
- We need a new membership drive.
- People who joined/renewed during the last membership drive are current through April 2006.
- New drive is for people who are not members or whose memberships have lapsed.
- $92 was spent for 227 membership drive solicitations in last membership drive. Roughly 1/3 of the solicitations turned into new memberships.
- VOTE: Up to $90 approved for current membership drive.
Incorporation
- Bylaws may mention some kind of incorporation. Is LPENA already incorporated? Need to research.
Newsletter
- Need to get advertisers in newsletter.
- Rate structure is already in newsletter.
- Need people to send in more articles.
Beautification Committee
- Suzie Himes is the new chairman
- Galway Circle project
o Will has paperwork.
o Needs to fill it out and send to Molly.
o Looking at ways to reduce costs.
o Max that we want to spend is $4000 with provision to spend $500 additional for meaningful extras
o Dallas will match our spending
No budget report. (Treasurer absent.)
Property Taxes
- New appraisals have come out.
- Expect further tax increases due to 2003 bond package.
- Dallas Morning News has advice on fighting increased tax appraisals.
TABC Protest
- Eastwood has filed a TABC protest against the new Tejano bar (La Sandia II) in the former Texas Trap location
- It is projected that we will have over 200 signatures on the LPE petition.
Fundraising
- Fundraising ideas needed.
- LPENA funds will be returned to “pre-monument-payoff” levels after Galway Circle project.
Board Meeting closed at 8:54 PM.