Meeting Minutes for July 28, 2020
The regularly scheduled meeting was convened at 6:30 pm by Barbara Quattro. Board members present were Ms. Quattro, Chairperson, Noreen Smith, Vice Chair, and Cynthia Young, Secretary.
Guests: Officer Tim Whitaker, Officer James Swank and Commander David Angelo with the Westside Command Center. Councilwomen Tiffany Thomas, Alan Steinberg, HD Chambers Superintendent – Alief ISD, Abraham Zorrilla, Veronica Hernandez and Connie Camarillo.
Police Department Report: Westside Command Center crime statistics for the Alief area were presented by Officer Tim Whitaker. Sexual assaults were up 15% in the last 30 days; there were five this month with four being family related and one involving an alleged Uber driver who was not actually an Uber driver. Aggravated assaults, which included family violence, have increased. Twenty-five of the 30 assaults reported were family related. There was an aggravated robbery in the 7200 block of Diary Ashford. Four people posed a police officers and were let into a home. They then robbed the homeowners. Burglary of vehicles is also up to 120 from 111 last month. There was a decrease of burglary of a habitat by 11%.
Officer James Swank feels that there is a good connection with the Alief community. He is responsible for the cadets that come onto the force as rookies for the first six months of being an officer.
Commander David Angelo came from the Special Witness Division prior to being at Westside. Sexual assault of children has increased. According to Cmdr. Angelo, some of the increase is due to no school as teachers are the primary look out/watch dog for abuse. He spoke of different types or crimes and deterrents.
Treasury Report: We have $6,610.41 in our bank account.
Program Speakers:
CM Tiffany Thomas: – The community currently has food distribution sites and COVID testing with a walk up at Crump School which will continue until August. The highest zip code in the city for COVID-19 is 77036, with 77099 and 77072 closely following. CM Thomas has partnered with the Houston Human Society to help feed community animals; 7000 lbs. of pet food was
given away last week within 85 minutes. CM Thomas announced that she will be continuing with that partnership. She also announced that on July 29, 2020, City Council will propose that $15 million be provided for COVID relief for micro businesses (e.g., mom & pop establishments). Applications will be required. Alief has the highest number of evictions and CM Thomas is working to counter this trend. CM Thomas announced that she is working with Public Works to take down the Vietnamese street signs in Alief.
Alan Steinberg- Reading is a fundamental aspect of education. Mr. Steinberg is in the process of building Little Free Library containers and is looking for locations to place them.
HD Chambers- Superintendent of Alief ISD- The school board voted to begin classes virtually on August 6, 2020. Alief ISD has purchased 30,000 additional electronic devices and created 16,000 T Mobil Hot Spots to help in the learning process. His objective is to provide a safe and healthy atmosphere for the teachers, students and entire facility.
Abraham Zorrilla – Houston Planning Department: As part of the Complete Communities initiative, the City is seeking residents and business to complete the surveys as to what we want in our new community. He has requested assistance. Several people indicate they would be happy to post something in their newsletter.
Veronica Hernandez announced there will be a drive through backpack event this year. Families are requested to register.
Connie Camarillo – HOPE Clinic CCHH announced that HOPE Clinic treats children and adults. They have a gynecology clinic, eye and dental program. There is a rapid COVID testing program at their location with a normal fee of $120. A sliding fee scale is available.
Meeting was adjourned by Ms. Quattro at 8:00 pm
Minutes written and submitted by:
Cynthia Young
Secretary
