PAC2 meeting minutes - 10 March 2003
Regular business:
Housing task force
ABC permit application
Summer youth program
Neighborhood Watch update
Courtwatch update
Budget request
Impact team update
Latta Springs development
Coffee with Council:
Citywide PAC priorities
PAC2 top priorities
Old North Durham
Duke Park
Northgate Park
Denver Ave. area
Watts Hospital-Hillandale
Old Farm
Trinity Park
Walltown
Individual citizens
This month's PAC2 meeting was a Coffee with Council. Several items of
regular PAC2 business were addressed first, then the rest of the meeting was a forum
for neighborhoods and residents to present their concerns to the city council
members.
Housing task force: Sharon Brown, chair of the recently created PAC2 Housing
Task Force, said that the task force will be focusing on housing issues and
substandard housing. They intend to choose five houses in District 2 to focus
on initially, and are seeking suggestions from residents as to which properties
deserve their attention. Sharon also circulated a signup sheet for anyone
else interested in working with the task force.
ABC permit application: Officer Scott Baker presented the only ABC permit
application up for consideration this month, from Torrero's, a Mexican restaurant
at 3808 Guess Rd. (Guess & Horton). The application is for renewal of a
permit for on-premises sales of beer, wine, and mixed drinks. Baker stated that
the location has a clean background, their calls-for-service history is
acceptable, and he has received no objections to date. PAC2 voted to approve the
application.
Summer youth program: The mayor's summer youth program is open to teens age
14-18. The program helps kids find summer employment by networking with public
and private agencies. Applications are available at local high schools and
in the city Human Resources office; the deadline is March 31st.
Neighborhood Watch update: Officer Eric Hester announced that the mobile
substation will be on Pershing St. in the Old Farm neighborhood on March 27th. To
set up a Neighborhood Watch program for your neighborhood, call Officer
Hester at 560-4582, ext. 235. Neighborhood Watch can be instrumental in solving
crimes; frequently, however, neighborhood residents are unaware of the
disposition of these cases once an arrest is made. The Courtwatch program serves to
keep residents involved and informed. As part of the Neighborhood Watch effort
in District 2, Officer Hester is seeking about six people from each
neighborhood to participate in Courtwatch.
Courtwatch update: The next Courtwatch orientation will be held on March 30th
at 1 pm. Candy Clark of the DA's office is working with Courtwatch to
coordinate scheduling. One upcoming case that will be available for Courtwatch
participants to follow is that of Malcolm Hubbard. Hubbard is accused of five
residential B&Es (on Elgin St., Alabama Ave., Orient St., and elsewhere), as well
as multiple charges of vehicle B&E and motor vehicle larceny. Hubbard is
currently in jail on a $97,000 bond; he also has six outstanding warrants from
the Duke Police, as well as three pending charges in Person County. Javan
Johnson is a codefendant with Hubbard on one of the Durham charges. Johnson, who
is a STARS offender, is slated for eviction from his residence at 1022 Alabama
Ave.
Budget request: PAC2 cofacilitator Newman Aguiar and Crime Prevention Officer
Eric Hester have been studying the successful implementation in other
locations of a Citizens on Patrol (CoP) program; Durham once had such a program, and
we want to revive it. Hester and Aguiar have been in communication with the
chief of police in Broward County, FL, about their CoP program, and they want
to make a trip down there on April 1-3 to gather information that will help us
get a similar program started here. They are requesting travel expenses from
PAC2. PAC2 voted to approve the expenditure.
Impact team update: Mitch Archer reported on the vital activities of the
Impact Team for the last month. In February, they received and investigated 104
complaints in District 2. They made 13 trips to the transfer station, hauling
away 12.38 tons of trash and debris. Eleven illegal dumping sites were
investigated and cleaned up, resulting in 12 trips to the transfer station with 9.14
tons of trash. In addition to Oxford Commons, where miscreants persist in
dumping unrecyclable trash at the recycling center, illegal dump sites included
locations in the 100 block of Swift, the 900 block of Clarendon, the 1000
block of Washington St., and on Plantation Drive. Fifty abandoned shopping carts
were rounded up, 20 of them from Food Lion. After a year and a half of
discussions on the shopping cart problem, the agenda is still moving forward with
council. Graffiti was removed from four locations on Wiggins St.
Spring cleanup this year will be on April 5th and April 12th. On those
days, you may bring stuff to the transfer station from 8am to 3:30 pm. No
commercial vehicles, vans, double axle vehicles, trailers over 8 feet long, or
U-hauls are allowed. On the Wednesday or Thursday before, flyers will be
distributed on the roll-out carts. Loads brought to the transfer station must be
covered or you will face a penalty. Household hazardous waste is collected at
the Club Blvd. collection station on the second and fourth Saturdays of every
month.
Latta Springs development: A Raleigh developer wants to build a strip mall at
the intersection of Guess Road and Latta Road. The area is currently zoned
residential only, so this proposal would require a zoning change. Neighborhood
residents are organizing against it, and are asking for PAC2 support when
they go before the planning and zoning commission to oppose the zoning change.
Residents are not opposed to development per se, but they want to keep the area
residential. After construction of this strip mall, there would be five
major grocery stores and shopping centers within a 1.5 square mile area. This
oversaturation would result in the new strip mall cannibalizing existing
businesses in the area, leading to empty storefronts and blight. Also, no improvement
is planned for the two-lane roads leading to this intersection, so the
construction of a new strip mall would also likely create traffic problems. No
consideration has been shown for the Eno River in these plans; the Eno Association
was not even notified. A defeat over the zoning change would squelch this
development, but a victory for the developer would not be the last step; it must
also go before council, and the neighborhood will also be seeking support
there.
PAC2 voted unanimously to support the Latta Road neighborhood's
opposition to this planned development.
Coffee with Council: This is the fifth Coffee with Council; the purpose of
the series is for the council members to gather input from citizens for their
upcoming budget deliberations. Present tonight were Mayor Bill Bell and City
Council members Howard Clement, Thomas Stith, and Cora Cole-McFadden. Absent
from this session were council members John Best and Tamra Edwards, as well as
Lewis Cheek, who was out of the country. Mayor Bell introduced other city
staff who were present, including Chief Chalmers and the assistant city manager.
Citywide PAC priorities: Newman introduced these items, which were agreed
upon as top citywide priorities in meetings with the leadership of all five PACs.
(1) Zoning notifications to PACs and to neighborhoods.
(2) Funding for a "neighborhood college" that would enable residents to learn
about city government processes. Establishment of the neighborhood college
has been estimated to cost about $8,000; it could be funded by the city or the
expense could be split with the county.
(3) Fully fund the Impact Team. During the last budget hearings, this vital
department was on the chopping block and had a narrow escape. We want to see
it fully funded this year, not threatened with extinction.
(4) Support for a 311 call center. 311 would be the non-emergency
counterpart to 911. It may not be possible this year, but we are asking the council to
pursue it as funds become available.
(5) Support for the PACs. The PACs are currently funded from a dwindling
federal block grant to the police department. This money may evaporate
completely within the next 2-3 years. We are asking council to look at options for
funding the PACs to the extent of about $10,000 annually. The PACs use their
funds to target solutions to problems within neighborhoods. Newman cited as an
example the recently funded and very successful project in Old North Durham,
where tree planting and landscaping was used to deter illegal and
environmentally destructive parking. This project was also an excellent example of CPTED
(Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design) principles in action.
PAC2 top priorities: These are the top priorities defined by PAC2 leadership
for District 2.
(1) Implement traffic calming.
(2) Focus on infrastructure maintenance and improvements.
(3) Fully fund the Durham Police Department.
(4) Enforce the minimum housing code.
(5) Define and publicize the city's basic services and the performance
measures by which they are to be evaluated.
Old North Durham: Richard Mullinax, president of the Old North Durham
neighborhood association, introduced their requests and distributed a written list.
These priorities represent the conclusion of a three-year planning process in
OND. Some of them require no actual funding, just emotional and logistical
support from the city.
(1) More housing inspectors. They are indispensable in partnering with
neighborhoods to ensure Durham has safe housing. A few years ago, Housing
inspected the entire block of 300 West Trinity, resulting in the correction of
numerous code violations. Since then, the situation has once again deteriorated.
OND is asking the council to fund the full Housing staff of 12 inspectors and 2
supervisors necessary to really get the job done and educate the public.
(2) Re-allocate clean-up tipping fees. OND asks for a continued allocation
of funds for the Impact Team and their spring and fall clean-ups. Neglect on
this front leads to blight and increased crime. The value of clean streets in
building community and promoting neighborhood solidarity is priceless.
Mary Anne McDonald, OND vice president, presented their next two priorities:
(3) Develop block grant program for tree replacement. After the damage done
by last December's ice storm, Durham will be replacing trees for many years to
come. OND proposes the allocation of about $15,000 for a citywide program.
Neighborhoods could apply for grants on a competitive basis, and proposals
would be reviewed by Urban Forestry. Neighborhoods would provide labor, and
Chris Boyer would work with them on selecting what kind of trees they should plant
and where.
(4) Have the Planning Dept. provide development vision plans. OND would like
to see the city draw on Planning Dept. expertise to create at least two
vision plans each for three areas that are of concern to residents: Roxboro &
Avondale, East Trinity & Avondale, and Geer & Rigsbee. Strategies could then be
developed to encourage developers to work within the context of the city's
vision; this would provide opportunities to small developers and entrepreneurs, not
just 'big box' development.
Elizabeth Jael, OND safety chair, presented their final requests:
(5) Connect the Greenway and American Tobacco Trail. OND asks the council to
encourage the timely completion of this project.
(6) Encourage Central Park Neighborhood. OND asks that the Dept. of Housing
& Community Development provide staff support to work with Central Park and
citizens to develop a neighborhood identity and establish a neighborhood
association for the 'Green Street area' north of Central Park.
Duke Park: Barry Ragin of Duke Park presented their two top priorities.
(1) Duke Park renovations. These were part of the 1996 bond issue, but the
bond issue only provided a quarter of the funds required by the renovation
plans. Last year, when a sinkhole developed at the south end of the park, the
Parks & Recreation Dept. said they couldn't go forward with the next stage of the
plan. The storm water culvert needs $1 million in repairs.
(2) Traffic calming. Duke Park has petitioned through the appropriate
channels for traffic calming measures on various side streets, to no avail. They
are also seeking speed limit enforcement on major arteries. It is hoped that
the construction of the East End Connector will reduce the traffic burden on
Avondale, which is currently a major truck route.
Northgate Park: Cheryl Sweeney of Northgate Park presented their top three
priorities.
(1) Traffic calming on Highland Ave. Speed bumps have been approved, but
there's no funding for them. Use of the speed trailer in this area has shown
traffic speeds of 35-50 mph in a 25 mph residential area.
(2) Address problems of crime and blight in parts of the neighborhood,
including Roxboro, Club Blvd. down to the magnet school, and the first block of
Highland. There are open-air drug sales, prostitution, and public intoxication.
Rental properties in the area are not being maintained; the neighborhood
deteriorates as elderly residents die and their heirs sell out to slumlords. Also,
FEMA didn't pay for all the ice storm repairs. Contract appropriations money
is needed for emergency work; last year the city bought a new bucket truck
instead.
(3) Infill development. This is an issue affecting the city at large;
Northgate Park wants to see the city devise incentives to encourage infill
development and make it easier to patch the holes in neighborhoods.
Denver Ave. area: Alicia Johnson presented the top three priorities from the
Denver Ave. area, where residents have recently established a very successful
Neighborhood Watch.
(1) Traffic calming. Denver Ave. wants speed bumps to protect children at
play.
(2) Close off escape route through park. Denver Ave. comes to a dead end
that leads to Dearborn through the park, whose main entrance is on Dearborn near
the school. There have been incidents of suspects escaping police pursuit by
fleeing through the park on foot or on bikes. Denver Ave. wants something
done to eliminate this possibility.
(3) Upkeep of rental property.
Watts Hospital-Hillandale: Ned Kennington, chair of the Watts
Hospital-Hillandale traffic committee, addressed their top priority, which is traffic
calming. Specifically, they want funding for the project to construct a median on
Club Blvd. in Oval Park. Club Blvd., running from the School of Math & Science
to Hillandale, is the main street in the neighborhood, and it bisects Oval
Park, which is the focal point of the neighborhood. Where it runs through the
park, Club Blvd. is 40 feet wide with two lanes of traffic each way.
Consequently, residents are concerned for the safety of children crossing the street in
the park. Club Blvd. slopes downhill coming into the park, so that traffic
reaches its maximum speed there in the park at the bottom of the hill. The
speed limit is 35 mph, but an overwhelming majority (more than 75%) of the traffic
is exceeding that limit. In the spring of 2001, the city hired a consultant
to design traffic calming measures for Club Blvd. The consultant held a
series of three public hearings and designed improvements to slow traffic on Club
Blvd.; the first phase of the traffic calming improvements was to be the
construction of a median where Club passes through Oval Park. In March of 2002, the
city council unanimously adopted these plans, but due to last year's budget
crisis, they were never funded. Watts Hospital-Hillandale is asking the
council to fund the first phase now. This median construction will cost $88,000;
they estimate that just over $1 million would fund traffic calming needs for the
whole city. Traffic calming measures are vital to public safety and
community development, and citizens are willing to be taxed to fund them.
Ms. Mason, president of the Old Farm neighborhood association, addressed
their concerns. First was the park, which has been an issue for the past six
years, and the water coming down the hill from the new development. Also, streets
are in disrepair and there are potholes that haven't been repaired for
decades. The only way out of the neighborhood is via Infiniti; the traffic light
there is too long and visibility at the intersection is obscured by shrubbery.
Another concern is the problem house at 4801 Singlewood. It has been raided
before, and was in foreclosure two years ago, but the problems there continue.
Trinity Park: Kathy Friedl, Trinity Park crime chair, presented their two top
priorities.
(1) Crime. Although overall levels are down, there is still a lot of crime,
which is of great concern to residents. Trinity Park wants more patrol
officers; this is important for the quality of life in the neighborhood, and would
encourage home buying.
(2) Support on Duke student issues. Trinity Park asks the council to support
the neighborhood in working with Duke to resolve issues generated by the huge
Duke student population in Trinity Park. Neighborhood residents have been
working with Crime Prevention Officer Eric Hester and the Housing Dept. to
address noise issues; other areas of concern are garbage and inadequate maintenance
of rental properties.
Walltown: Audrey Mitchell, president of the Walltown neighborhood
association, presented their top three priorities.
(1) Expand the Walltown rec center and build a multipurpose center in the
park. The rec center was built by residents 40 years ago, and has not been
improved since. It no longer has enough space to meet the needs of the
neighborhood. An architect is drawing up plans for the proposed new construction;
Walltown asks the council to provide funding for it.
(2) Alleyways. Several alleyway closings are needed; Walltown also wants a
cleanup of some that are to be kept open.
(3) Revitalization plan. A plan was developed in 1996, in partnership with
the Planning Dept. and the Dept. of Parks & Rec, but was never completed. It
called for the planting of trees and building of sidewalks that never took
place. Self-Help has been working to improve the neighborhood by helping
residents buy homes and turning duplexes into single-family residences. Walltown
needs sidewalks replaced where they have been buckled and broken by tree roots.
They also ask for more policing to deal with the kids on their corners.
Individual citizens: First to speak was LaMonica Coleman, with the Jobs
Action Team of Durham CAN (Congregations, Associations, & Neighborhoods). She said
she has met with job development leaders and has found little overall
coordination of job training programs. She asked whether these programs were
training people for jobs that actually paid a living wage. Coleman called for a
$50,000 investment in a job training plan. The people who would be helped by such
a plan include non-college-bound teenagers, the four hundred criminals who
return to our community every year after serving their sentence or being
paroled, those whose mother tongue is not English, the unemployed, the underemployed,
and more. To put the cost in perspective, there are 70,000 households in
Durham.
Tamara of El Centro Hispano spoke both in Spanish and English. She asked
the council to please hire more bilingual staff, saying there were too few
now for the 25,000 Hispanic residents of Durham. The need is particularly great
for 911, where there is currently an average 40-second wait for an
interpreter. Spanish-speaking staff are also needed in the police department and in the
housing department. Much of our rental housing is in very poor condition,
but tenants can't report it because they don't have bilingual Housing workers to
report it to. On March 19th, the council will meet with local
Hispanic/Latino community leaders.
Mara Evans is with both the Durham People's Alliance and the Housing
Action Team of Durham CAN. She has done three neighborhood audits and identified
problems. Many, but not all, of these concerns have been handled; they
continue to monitor the situation. Evans has researched other cities of comparable
size to Durham, and offered four examples: Dayton, OH; Knoxville, TN; San
Bernardino, CA; and Winston-Salem, NC. All four have more housing inspectors than
we do. She supported Housing's desire to hire four inspectors and two
support personnel, adding that at least one of each should be bilingual. Evans
pointed out that allotting one-tenth of one percent of the city budget would
supply $275,000.
Veiola Cates, herself a Habitat homeowner in Walltown, is on the Housing
Action Team of Durham CAN. She called upon the council to raise the $100
housing inspection fee to a higher level and to support stricter housing
enforcement, arguing that the lack of enforcement sends a 'broken windows' message.
Cates wants a new message from the city-that there must be decent living
conditions even in the poorest neighborhoods.
Janet Grubber, who attends the Immaculate Conception Catholic church, is
also with the Durham CAN Housing Action Team. The Children's Environmental
Health Initiative (CEHI) at Duke provided them with maps of DPD data from 2002.
First they mapped the locations of code enforcement visits and identified
clusters. Then they did a second map showing the addresses of those arrested
(not those convicted) for violent crimes and property crimes; the clusters were
in the same places. They were looking at home addresses of suspects rather
than at crime locations in order to see if there was a correlation between broken
windows and broken lives. Tolerating housing code violations sends a message
to young people that crime is also OK.
Jim Senter, a Northgate Park resident, also supported stricter
enforcement of housing codes. Another important aspect of the matter is tenants'
rights. Senter said he has seen examples of horrendous conditions, where when the
code violations were fixed, the landlord doubled the rent and the tenants were
forced out. To deal with the larger problem of uncaring landlords, Senter
argued that renters need legally recognized and enforceable rights.
Ellen Dagenhart is on the board of directors of the Durham Symphony.
Each year the symphony holds three concerts at the Carolina Theatre, one sellout
concert at the Armory, two free pops concerts (at Oval Park and Forest Hills),
and many more performances, such as those in public schools or in public
housing for seniors. The symphony's partners include the Durham School of the
Arts chorale, the NCCU choir, and the Durham Youth Orchestra. The symphony
receives $22,000 per year from the city, which provides 17% of their budget. Their
major fundraiser, held just after the disappearance of cellist Janine
Sutphen, was ill-attended due to people's fears about coming downtown. Dagenhart
said the symphony needs $30,000 or will have to face canceling some concerts.
The orchestra is half paid employees and half volunteers. There are two
part-time employees, the office manager and the conductor; the rest of the work is
done by volunteers. Dagenhart argued that supporting the arts is good business;
a community is judged on its arts availability.
Mike Shiflett of Watts Hospital pointed out that certain recurring themes
in these addresses to the council, such as crime, traffic, etc., all deal
with how to spend money. The other side of the coin is how to raise revenue.
Shiflett suggested that one way for the city to raise money would be to stick it
to the slumlords. Even after a housing citation, it may take three to six
months for Housing to even locate the proper owners. A $100 fine isn't enough
to get their attention; we need to make them pay for the taxes we've been
paying. When police investigated the traffic problems in Watts Hospital, Shiflett
said, they found that the offenders were largely Watts Hospital residents.
Hence the bumper sticker, Good Neighbors Drive the Speed Limit. Shiflett
suggested we fine speeders to raise revenue. He also advocated raising bonds,
pointing out that last weekend a murder suspect's bond was lowered to $250,000.
Julie Holmes, a board member of the Watts-Hillandale neighborhood
association and the cochair of their Neighborhood Watch, reported meeting last Friday
with Betsy Blair, block captain at Pershing and Virginia. In the last eight
months, they've had two sexual assaults, auto thefts, and B&Es. They are
working with Officer Eric Hester on Neighborhood Watch; they submitted a lighting
request last November 13th but haven't yet received any lights; they're
calling 911 and reporting crimes to the police. Neighborhood residents are doing
their part, but they're still concerned with the persistent crime in the area.
Holmes asked what could be done about sexual assaults; there have been three
in Watts-Hillandale in the last year. She argued that a neighborhood of
walkers is a safer neighborhood, and asked the council to fund basic infrastructure,
such as street lights, sidewalks, and the median on Club.
Barbara Lau is with the Center for Documentary Studies. In the last two
years, city support for their youth program, Youth Document Durham, has
allowed them to leverage other national support. The program was one of eleven
recipients of a federal grant for youth arts & humanities programs. It's also a
leadership program that brings together diverse youth from across the Durham
area.
Peter Tompkins, who lives on Minerva Ave. in Trinity Park, echoed the
concerns with rental housing and the need for tougher penalties on slumlords. A
number of houses in Trinity Park are occupied by Duke undergraduates; stricter
on-campus policies have pushed them off-campus into the neighborhoods, with
unintended consequences. One residence near him is an unofficial frat house.
Tompkins said the problem is growing, not shrinking. Landlords evade
ordinances about the number of people who can live in a dwelling through zoning
variances, such as having the back door deemed a separate entrance. Tompkins called
for better enforcement and for the city to work with Duke president Nan
Keohane to get Duke to take more responsibility.
Mike Woodard, director of the Watts-Hillandale association, brought to
our attention the fact that today was council member Howard Clement's birthday.
He presented Clement with a cake and led the assembled company in singing
"Happy Birthday". The birthday cake, adorned with miniature racecars, bore the
message, "Please fund Club Blvd. traffic calming."
Ernestine Hooker of Walltown asked the council to make the current
entrance to their park handicap accessible all around; she said the park director
has already submitted the needed paperwork. She once fell there and had to have
seven stitches. Hooker also asked the council to please keep the Impact Team
active.
Fred Foster, a member of the Old Farm neighborhood association, is also
chair of the Durham Voter Coalition (DVC). They register new voters and try to
reenergize people. He asked the council to fund the neighborhood college, to
educate segments of the community disenfranchised by local government.
Foster, who was armed with a stack of voter registration forms, issues a challenge
to other neighborhoods: "Old Farm is registering voters; what's your
neighborhood doing?" He also said that the mobile unit would be at Fieldstone Place
and Old Farm on March 26th.
Silveria Corbin, a resident of Highland Ave., is on the PAC2 Housing Task
Force. She emphasized the importance of welcoming new residents and
introducing them to Neighborhood Watch, and she talked about problems in her
neighborhood. Visitors to her neighbors bring disruption and debris in yards; other
problems include speeding on Highland Ave., public drinking, and prostitution.
Corbin is seeking community education to help with the issues of a
multicultural neighborhood. There are cars in yards where people do auto repairs 24/7,
and trash cans left at the curb. She said we need to let renters know their
rights, and property owners too. Some houses have holes in the roof. When
there are houses for sale, she wants prospective buyers to know the neighborhood
cares. The task force is putting together an informational flyer on where to
go when someone has a housing-related problem, since new residents typically
don't know. Corbin also complained that three or four years ago, city
maintenance workers made a hole in her street, and it's still there.
Steven Matherly, a Club Blvd. resident who is with the People's Alliance,
spoke in support of the neighborhood college. He also criticized the
possibility of additional housing inspectors being paid for with grant funds, saying
that this is a basic service and should be in the city budget. Capitol
Broadcasting is moving into the American Tobacco building, and the city is slated to
pay $19 million to build a parking deck, as a share of a joint effort with
the county. Matherly denounced this project as a giveaway and a poor investment
that won't serve to revitalize downtown. He argued that the money would be
better spent on hiring housing inspectors.
Ralph McKinney, of HELP Durham, identified some of the chief problems in
Durham as fraud and waste at city hall, race relations, affordable living in
Durham, and race & gender discrimination. He called for empowerment and for
the opening of public records so that we know how our tax dollars are spent.
Vicky Matherly asked the council to support traffic calming and argued
that Marcia Conner should pay for her own management training. Mayor Bell
responded to the latter point, stating that it's part of Conner's contract, which
provides for professional development.
Nancy Scott, of the North Durham Branch Library, said that the fire lane
outside the library is no longer patrolled as it used to be, and that people
are unaware that this lane is reserved for emergency vehicles. She asked for a
return of enforcement on this. Scott also stated that the stoplight at
Roxboro and Seven Oaks is too long, and that there need to be "no blocking
intersection" signs.
A representative from the Braggtown library argued that we need to
address juvenile crime by investing more in kids in their middle years. She said
that kids can't get to the library for economic reasons, and that safety
factors, such as the absence of sidewalks, are also an obstacle. She said that more
transportation is needed and suggested using schoolbuses.
A Highland Ave. resident complained about trash, speeding, etc., and
said that small problems lead to bigger ones. He's selling his house and moving
because of the problems in the neighborhood.
Finally Newman spoke again, saying that city departments have been asked
to cut 5% across the board. Departments that are salary-intensive, such as
the police department, will be hurt the most by this. Newman said that District
2 has the most crimes committed. We have a great substation and great
officers who are committed to working with the community. But we need police
presence, and that can only happen if the police department is properly funded.
Bell responded that the council had not given such a directive.
