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A crowd of over 40 citizens joined at Carolina Pines Community Center to participate in the July 13, 2009 meeting of the South West Citizens Advisory Council (SWCAC). The agenda included newly appointed Captain Perry from the South West District of the Raleigh Police Department (RPD) and overviews of City of Raleigh ordinances that recently went into effect.
Captain Perry started the meeting with a brief introduction. He’s been in RPD for 18 years and has been in the South West District for three years. He didn’t talk for long, but was clear on a few topics. First, he wholly embraces community-oriented policing. Second, he wants to be available for all communities in the district to help solve problems and provide the resources that we need to accomplish our crime-related and crime prevention problems / goals. Perry talked about leading one of the largest districts in the city that has 11 beats. He took questions from the crowd, gave out his email address, and then headed home after a long day.
Officer Barbie Upchurch then took us through some of the police statistics from June 6 through July 13. There were a total of 969 calls (which Upchurch said was a little high for summertime). Highlights included:
- 1 armed robbery
- 68 animal calls
- 15 vehicle break-ins
- 6 residential break-ins
- 1 identity theft
- 32 loud music calls
- 8 loud noise calls
- 24 loud party calls
- 9 parking violations
- 1 shooting (Orchard Pointe, suspects knew each other)
- 38 suspicious persons
- 21 suspicious vehicles
There were questions about the police task force that conducted a checkpoint at Lake Wheeler Road and Tryon Road. Citizens were wondering if the number of violations (over 75 reported by WRAL) were included in the reported numbers. Officer Upchurch said that the reported numbers are 9-1-1 calls and the only violations that may be included would be traffic stops. But none of the other major violations, like DUI’s, would be included in the reported numbers.
One last piece of advice that Officer Upchurch gave was about breaking glass. She mentioned that if you hear breaking glass at night, it’s an immediate 9-1-1 call. It could be a car window breaking, a house window breaking, or a glass bottle in the street. It should be reported immediately.
SWCAC Chairperson, Mary Belle Pate, reviewed some ordinances that recently went into effect on July 1, 2009 as well as some other topics. I’ve added links to provide additional information:
- Dog Tethering – Prepare For Dog Tethering Ordinance
- Water Restrictions – City Of Raleigh Water Restrictions
- Nuisance Parties – Probationary Rental Occupancy Permit Ordinance
- Neighborhood Grants – Neighborhood Improvement Grant Program
- Front Yard Parking – Public Hearing Set For July 21 On Front-Yard Parking Proposal
- Hazardous Waste – Wake Accepting Household Hazardous Materials Six Days A Week
Public utilities wants to install a pumping station at Eliza Poole Park (in the Caraliegh community) for the re-use water line installments. The portion in question, called contract four, goes from State Street to the Lonnie Poole Golf Course (on NC State’s Centennial Campus). Representatives from Public Works explained the project and fielded questions. The proposed plan is one of the most direct routes, using existing right of ways, and uses land already owned by the City of Raleigh. There are currently two proposed sites for the pumping stations. A vote showed that at least 20 citizens still in attendance wanted to remove option one from the table. Chairperson Pate introduced a third option. Citizens stated that they preferred newly introduced option 3 and option 2 (no objections) for the proposed pumping station. Citizens concerns included, flooding on the proposed pumping site, aesthetics to the water plant (considering the Bain Project is supposed to be something nice), greenway disruption, and the costs / funding of the project.
There were numerous concerns about the current state of Eliza Park. The multi-purpose recreational park is highly used, but some citizens were vocal about the master planning and the uncertainty about a natural area that isn’t solely owned by the park (only the city).
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About: Jason: I'm a neighborhood advocate. I started off by getting involved in the Pleasant Ridge & Ramsgate Community Watch program and helped grow that organization. I saw an opportunity to unite other neighborhoods in our area with the Lineberry Alliance. I became chair of Raleigh's South West Citizen Advisory Council (SWCAC) in April 2010 along with vice chair Anthony McLeod and second vice chair Mary Belle Pate. I work with other neighborhood leaders in District D alongside City Councilor Thomas Crowder, on the District D Neighborhood Alliance (DDNA). I've completed Raleigh Neighborhood College (Spring 2005) and Leadership North Carolina (May 2007). In 2009, I lead a group of neighborhood volunteers to review Raleigh's 2030 Comprehensive Plan. I have a genuine interest in strong communities, fostering diversity, understanding the issues, and being transparent in my work. You can follow me on Twitter: @jhibbets |
Tags: front yard parking, PROP, re-use water, RPD