August Meeting Summary

Hi everyone.

Thanks to those who attended last Wednesday's neighborhood meeting and special thanks to the Lopez family for hosting. The pool side atmosphere, as well as all the food and drink, made for an enjoyable evening with neighbors.

We had a couple guests in attendance, including Michel Huziar from Vice Mayor Ashby's office, as well as Ken Barnes, a candidate for Robla School District Board of Trustees.

Here's a brief summary of what we discussed:

Recap of Summer Activities in VVA.  Thank you to Libby Harmor for hosting and organizing the annual 4th of July parade, another great parade! Thanks to Alyssa and Bett Marie for organizing and hosting a neighborhood kid's meeting on July 13th, it was a great opportunity for the slew of parents and kids of the neighborhood to meet. The Police officer in attendance was also very generous with her time with the kids and the parents had a good time too! On August 7th, our very own Dennis Boyd hosted VVA's first annual National Night Out BBQ and Potluck. There were a lot of neighbors in attendance and we enjoyed a ton of food. We were also visited by representatives from the Police Department, as well as Vice Mayor Angelique Ashby and County Supervisor Phil Serna, who took time to visit with neighbors.

Eminent Domain.  We discussed the willingness of the City (and other surrounding jurisdictions) to examine using eminent domain for purposes of taking blighted properties owned by banks or investor groups.  While no jurisdiction in the state has yet done so, it is being examined by many as a way to minimize or turn around blighted and abandoned residential properties with absentee bank or investor group owners.

Robla Board Candidate. Ken Barnes took the opportunity to discuss his vision for Robla School District as well as the reasons for his candidacy.

Twin Rivers Sorento Road Update.  The City, County and Twin Rivers have been in the process of entering into a memorandum of understanding with regards to improvements to Sorento Road.  Unfortunately, the commitments made by TRUSD during the processing of the ENEC project in 2008-2009 are being revisited by the School District.  VVA representation has been present during those discussions advocating for the commitments of TRUSD to be kept, namely for the road repairs to be done as originally promised in the timeframes agreed upon.

Upcoming Events.  We currently have our fall neighborhood cleanup scheduled for Saturday, October 13. We'll meet as usual at the Angel Family residence at 5600 Sorento Road at 8:30 am and determine our plan of attack for cleaning up roadside trash. BBQ/Potluck to follow at 11am or so.

Our next neighborhood meeting will be held on Wednesday, September 19th at 630 at a location to be determined.

Thank you!