Naglee Park News

City of San Jose Recycle Plus Pilot Project

Ken Podgorsek — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 17:10:16 GMT

Message from Councilmember Sam Liccardo

Dear neighbors,

Many have expressed frustrations with the City's announcement of the Recycle Plus Pilot Program and have contacted my office. We≠ve spent the past few days communicating with staff at the Environmental Services Department to better understand what's happening and why.

First, here's what we've been working on:
We've set up a community meeting for Naglee Park residents to discuss this issue more fully with Environmental Services staff on Thursday, November 5^th, at 6:30-7:30 pm, in the Roosevelt Community Center .

We've been pushing staff to better communicate the reasons for this change, as well as to let residents know how they can obtain a second or third cart at no additional cost, by calling 408-535-3500.

More information will be conveyed at the community meeting, but in the meantime, here are some answers to frequently asked questions:

Why are we doing this? That is, what is this pilot really testing?

San Jose is the only major city in the country collecting loose in the street yard trimmings, a method which is very inefficient, expensive, and contributes to stormwater blockages and pollution. The pilot will test various methods of collecting yard trimmings and the impact on costs and our environmental goals. In Naglee Park and other areas, the City is testing how uniformly requiring cart collection compares to the current approach (loose in the street≈ collection). Data received from this pilot will help us determine comparative program costs, operational challenges, customer satisfaction, and differences in yard trimming tonnage diversion.

Will residents have to pay more in some way for these carts?

You≠ll pay less. Residents who participate in the pilot areas will receive free yard trimming pick-up service beginning in the week of November 9^th (unlike the residents in the rest of the city, who will continue to pay their standard fees).

How were residents selected?

Environmental Services staff selected a total of 5,000 homes, located in pilot areas based upon the collection day, collection route, proximity to stormwater catch basins, area yard vegetation, hauler district, and council district. They chose areas that would best provide data representative of the entire city.

What about the heavy volumes of yard waste at specific times, e.g., in autumn?

The city is considering adding supplemental service collection for times of year in which they anticipate increases in yard waste.

Many of our neighborhoods do volunteer clean-ups of medians and park strips, often collecting large amounts of trimmings. How can neighborhood groups deal with collection of this?

Pilot area residents can request extra 96 gallon yard trimming carts at no additional charge. Just call the Customer Service Center at 408-535-3500.

There is no additional charge for carts during the pilot program, what will happen afterwards? Will I be charged?

At the end of the 18 month pilot, your cart will be collected, and the loose in the street collection will resume. City staff will then evaluate the data gathered during the pilot, and decide the best method for collection in time to prepare for the expiration of the current garbage hauling contracts in 2013. If City staff decides to make permanent changes, they will become part of the new garbage contracts that will become operative in July 2013.

What other areas were chosen?

The areas chosen for the pilot include; Council Districts 3 (downtown), 7 (south San Jose ), 6 (Willow Glen), 9 (Cambrian) & 10 ( Almaden Valley ).

Why isn't Recycle Plus having a community meeting at a nearby library or community center?

After the notices were sent out, we learned that no meetings would occur near our residents, so we asked City staff to host an additional community meeting. That meeting will occur on Thursday, November 5^th, at 6:30 pm in the Roosevelt Community Center . If you can't make that meeting, please send any questions or comments you have to ragan.henninger@sanjoseca.gov and Ragan will ensure that we get those questions answered. If you'd simply like to let me know what you think, you can do so at sam.liccardo@sanjoseca.gov.

We understand that some hassles and inconveniences may result from this, so I'd like to work with you to resolve those headaches in any way we possibly can. We're all working together to find the most cost-effective and environmentally responsible system of collecting your yard waste.

Thanks for your patience through this process.

Sam
Sam Liccardo
Councilmember
City of San Jose, District 3
200 East Santa Clara Street
San Jose, California 95112
(408) 535-4903

Letter Dated October 12, 2009 to SCVWD Concerning Flood Control Options along Mid-Coyote Creek

Ken Podgorsek — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 20:46:23 GMT

October 12, 2009

Mr. Marc Klemencic
Manager, Coyote Watershed
Santa Clara Valley Water District
5750 Almaden Expressway
San Jose, CA 95118-3686

Dear Mr. Klemencic,

Thank you for the time and effort given to the District's Open House on June 1, 2009 at Olinder School. The Open House presented a number of options for flood control along the Mid-Coyote Creek. Naglee Park residents reviewed these options and have charged the CCA, Campus Community Association, with neighborhood oversight of the Coyote Creek Flood Project.

We are very supportive of a City of San Jose, Santa Clara Valley Water District, and Community task force to provide public information, public query, and public input regarding flood control projects that address Coyote Creek.   It has been four months since the open house on June 1, 2009 and we are disappointed that this task force has not convened. While we understand the need for research and analysis on various options by the staff at the water district, we believe an immediate and ongoing public discussion of the creek and flood control issues is critical to a best solution for the community. At this time the water district is working on options with some informal public input but no formal public input. We ask that you work with the City of San Jose and the Community to convene a first meeting of the task force by December 1, 2009 so that public input can be duly considered as staff is studying technical aspects of the issue.

At this time the proposed options have a severe negative impact to the Naglee Park neighborhood with negligible benefit to the neighborhood. As the options are developed and evaluated the Naglee Park neighborhood wishes to become informed on why this project is proposed, what options are being evaluated, and the impacts and benefits to the various neighborhoods affected by each proposed option.

This would include a full understanding of which areas of the city that are relatively far from the creek benefit from the proposed flood control. As currently shown, the Naglee Park neighborhood and other neighborhoods in Central San Jose are the focus of the flood control project. Meanwhile, other areas that are impacted more severely by a 1% event have not been studied for flood control solutions and would not be impacted at all by this construction project. We need to understand why this situation exists. We request that all possible solutions be studied and that the impact of the project to a particular area be proportional to the benefit which that particular area will gain with the completion of the proposed project.

There are a number of questions that came out of the Open House. Below is a list of those questions that we would like addressed at the first meeting of the public task force. Thank you for your time. We look forward to working with the District and all stakeholders toward a resolution of the Coyote Creek issues.

Technical Questions
1. How does the water district define a 1% event? Is it strictly runoff driven or does it include a potential dam failure? If it is strictly runoff driven, is it the result of Anderson Reservoir spilling over?
2. Suppose that Coyote Creek watershed experiences a 100-year storm and that Anderson Dam does not overspill. In that scenario will Coyote Creek flood, and if so in what areas will that flooding occur?
3. What are the possible options for upstream flood diversion and detention? The options we saw at the Open House did not have this included.

Near Term Homeowner Questions
4. What are the water districts plans for Coyote Creek maintenance going forward?
5. How does the Water District plan to deal with property and real estate issues that affected property owners now face as a result of the options published by the District? Many property owners feel they are required to disclose to potential buyers that the District plans to implement flood control measures along Coyote Creek and that their property may be affected.

Project Questions
6. What is the status of funding for the Mid-Coyote Creek Project? How many reaches are funded? What are the potential sources of funding?
7. What options are the Water District evaluating for the project at this time?

Sincerely,

Dennis Cunningham
President
Campus Community Association

Copy:
Rick Callender,     Santa Clara Valley Water District
Joe Coto,         23rd Assembly District
Beau Goldie,         Santa Clara Valley Water District, Chief Executive Officer
Joe Judge,         Santa Clara Valley Water District Board Member
Liang Lee,         Santa Clara Valley Water District, Coyote Watershed Manager
Sam Liccardo,     San Jose City Councilmember
Zoe Lofgren,         Congresswoman, U.S. House of Representatives

Fall 2009 Advisor is Online

Ken Podgorsek — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 17:54:04 GMT

The Fall 2009 Advisor is online!

Follow the link above or go to the menu bar and click on The Advisor

National Night Out 2009

Tom Clifton — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 18:12:54 GMT

National Night Out in Naglee Park
Tuesday August 4, 2009

Your Hosts for NNO 2009:

Peter and Kris Dessau
95 S. 12th Street
We will be hosting a dessert event. We will provide assorted beverages and smores ingredients and hope that folks will chip in with potluck deserts or wine. We hope to have some easy activities for kids, sidewalk chalk, perhaps a scavenger hunt, etc.
Time 7-9:30

Alan Hackler
725 S. 12th Street
I will do a BBQ/potluck. Please bring a potluck dish to share.
Time: 6:00pm

Dave and Jane Guinther
220 S. 13th Street
We will barbecue sausages with neighbors bringing side dishes. We will also provide drinks.
Time: 6:30pm

Erik and Sheri Suomela
401 S. 13th Street
We will have the grill going for people to cook their own meat on. Please bring a dish to share and we will have an assortment of sausages as appetizers.
Dogs are welcome.
Time: 6:00pm

The Thomson‚s
655 S. 13th Street
We will host a BBQ. Please bring a dish to share.
Time:
6:00pm

Lynda Sereno and Judy Hill
594 S. 15th Street
Join us on the front lawn for Casino Night. Drop by and enjoy a game of Blackjack and some light refreshments featuring Naglee Park produce. Everyone gets a prize!
Time: 6:00pm

Start and Times vary by location. Please read the location details above.

Many Thanks to our Hosts and Organizers for National Night Out 2009,
Sponsored by the CCA and Bark in the Park

CCA 4th of July 2009 A Big Success

Ken Podgorsek — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 17:33:32 GMT

For the 33rd time, the Naglee Park Neighborhood celebrated our Independence and the Birth of Our Country with a great 4th of July Celebration.

Our parade was led by 2009 4th of July Grand Marshall Tom Clifton. Following the parade, over 700 neighbors celebrated together in our annual 4th of July Block Party. What a blast.

Many thanks to the CCA Board led by Dennis Cunningham, CCA President for organizing such a fun day.

The CCA 4th of July Celebration was sponsored by Georgie Huff of Capital Properties, Bark in the Park, the Campus Community Association, and partially funded through a City of San Jose CAP Grant.

Neighbors wishing to donate to the CCA 4th of July fund to help fund our 2010 celebration can send a check to:

CCA
Fourth of July Fund
P.O. Box 90038
San Jose, CA 95109

Please write 4th of July Fund on the check. The CCA is a 501(c)3 Non-Profit Corporation. Donations to the CCA are tax deductible as allowed by law. Please consult with your tax advisor.

" Download 2009 4th of July Flyer Here"

Naglee Park Removed From Strong Neighborhoods Redevelopment Area

Ken Podgorsek — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 17:24:04 GMT

On March 24, 2009, the San Jose City Council removed the Naglee Park Neighborhood from the Strong Neighborhoods Redevelopment Area.

This came at the request of the Campus Community Association and the residents of Naglee Park.

The legal documents related to the removal can be downloaded at:

Naglee Park removed from SNI

Naglee Park Open Studios

Ken Podgorsek — Thu, 07 May 2009 23:28:42 GMT

What a Great 2009 Naglee Park Open Studios!
See you in 2010.

We need Volunteers for the 2010 event.
Want to Volunteer, Email our Volunteer Coordinator here!

Visit your favorite artist all year long at
the Naglee Park Open Studios

Bark in the Park 2009

Tom Clifton — Fri, 01 May 2009 17:54:12 GMT

          Join Us At Bark in The Park 2009
            Saturday September 19, 2009
          10AM-5PM

            William Street Park
            William and South 16th Streets, San Jose
             Historic Naglee Park Neighborhood
             Downtown San Jose

            The Valley's Premier Event for
            Dog Lovers and their Pets.

            Dog Costume Contest (11:00AM)
            Silly Dog Tricks Contest (12:00PM)
            Pet/Owner Look Alike Contest (1:00PM)
            Dog Water Park, Free Dog Agility Course
            Kids Activities, Specialty Vendors
            Rescue Organizations, Food and Beverages
            Flyball Canine Relay, Microchipping
            Vaccinations, Performing Dogs, Training
            Fun for the Whole Family

            More Information:
            www.BarkSanJose.com
            YELP Line: 408.793.5125

            Portion of the proceeds benefit
            Humane Society Silicon Valley
            and the San Jose Animal Care Center

            Sponsored by:
            Campus Community Association (Naglee Park)
            City of San Jose,
            San Jose Mercury News
            Humane Society Silicon Valley,
            San Jose Water Company
            KLIV/KRTY
            Star 101.3
            Sam's Downtown Feed & Pet Supply,
            San Jose Animal Care Center
            Bow Wowzer, SPOTS, Gussied Up Dog Boutique
            Canine Corral Dog Daycare, A Dog's Life
            Roxio, GreenWaste Recovery
            San Jose Conservation Corps, Graphic T's

             Bark in the Park is a Registered Service Mark of
                 the Campus Community Association