Board Meeting Jan 2006

Vista Neighborhood Association

Minutes of the Board of Directors Meeting 1/3/2006

Present at meeting: Thom Morgan, Bob Wolf, Liz Hoffman, and Holly Giles.

Absent: Rich Martinez, Curtis Lafferty, and Jim Thornton.

1. A quorum of 4 officers being present, Treas. Bob Wolf called the meeting to order at 6:50 pm.

2. The minutes of the 12/6/2005 Board meeting were reviewed and unanimously approved as written.

3. Bob Wolf gave the Treasurer’s Report. The checking account for the Vista Neighborhood Association at Washington Mutual contains $1401.07, which includes the $73.50 from raffle funds collected at the last general membership meeting. Liz Hoffman just handed him $230.00 in current donation from the Post Office Box, yet to be deposited.

4. Rates for ads in the Newsletter were discussed, as the issue had been raised at the last General Membership Meeting. It was calculated that the Newsletter costs about $1.00 per copy to produce and mail ($342 for Kinko’s, $203 for USPS—prior to the rate increase, times 580 members less 80 members who have opted for email delivery). The debate resulted in the consensus that a lowered ad rate made bring in more ads. Liz Hoffman made a motion to reduce the rate for a 1/8 page ad from $50 to $35. Thom Morgan seconded. Motion unanimously approved.

5. Holly Giles announced that the winners of the Holiday House decorating Contest were Jim & Becky Thornton.

6. Liz Hoffman gave the Secretary’s report. She read an email from Julie Lyons, Chair of the Events Committee, asking for specifics on the cost of putting up a Vista website. Per Liz’s last visit to “Network Solutions” the cost for a 10 year lease of a website domain name was $199, and web hosting packages ran as high as $24.95 per month. In order to get moving in the direction of a website, and because the Events Committee has committed to raising funds for its formation, Bob Wolf made a motion to authorize Liz to buy the domain name VistaNeighbor.com for a period of 10 years. Liz seconded, motion carried unanimously. Liz also announced that she had been contacted by Sharon Venn, Chair of the Traffic Committee, who needs to resign because she is expecting.

7. As Rich Martinez was not at this meeting, a replacement for Tom Pehl as Crime Committee Chair, and for Sharon Venn on the Traffic Committee was held over until the next meeting.

8. The matter of a sink-hole on El Camino and Valle Vista was brought up. Liz was instructed to call the City regarding the approximately 20 square feet of missing asphalt on behalf of the VNA.

9. The next Board meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, February 7, 2006 at 6:30 pm.

----------------Meeting adjourned 7:25 pm--------------

Board Meeting Feb 2006

Vista Neighborhood Association

Minutes of the Board of Directors Meeting 2/7/06

Present at Meeting: Thom Morgan, Bob Wolf, Liz Hoffman, Holly Giles, Rich Martinez, Curtis Lafferty, and Jim Thornton.

Guests: Julie Lyons – Events Committee Chair, Mark Hutchins – Webmaster.

1. A quorum of 4 Officers being present, President Rich Martinez called the meeting to order at 6:50 pm.

2. The minutes of the 1/3/2006 Board meeting were read and unanimously approved as written.

3. Liz introduced Mark Hutchins, a VNA member, who had graciously offered to be our Web master if needed.

4. Bob Wolf gave the Treasurer’s Report. The checking account balance for the Vista Neighborhood Association at Washington Mutual has a balance of $1407.17. This is after a reimbursement to Liz Hoffman of $158.90 for the purchase of a 10 year lease on the domain name Vista Neighbor.com. There are enough funds to cover 2 Newsletter mailings. As we have reached the one year mark in April, we need to file a tax return and produce a financial statement for the membership. Bob will research our filing status, and see how other local Associations handle this.

5. Liz Hoffman gave the Secretary’s Report.

1. Regarding the matter of the sink-hole on El Camino and Valle Vista, she called 648-4556, The City of Vallejo Maintenance Division repair request number and left the info on their answering machine. According to members, it has been patched more than once.

2. She presented a list of 8 homes on Glenn Street, near the Church, who are not members of the VNA, but would like to be included in the Newsletter mailings. Curtis Lafferty made a motion, which was seconded by Rich Martinez to include them in the mailing list. Motion carried unanimously.

3. Liz produced info on web hosting packages from Network Solutions, the industry leader in this field. After some discussion, it was decided that we would be best served by the advanced hosting package for the cost of $13.30 per month with an annual agreement. As we already had $73.50 in proceeds from the 50/50 raffle earmarked for the website, Rich Martinez made a motion, which Holly Giles seconded, to authorize Liz to purchase a 1 year advanced hosting package for an up front cost of approximately $160.00. She will pass the info along to Mark Hutchins, who will create a website similar to that of an admired neighborhood association webpage. Julie Lyons will provide Liz with a copy of the Events Committee’s ‘Welcome to the Vista’ binder for transcription and scanning of materiel for website use.

6. Newsletter Editor Holly Giles set the dates for the next Newsletter’s activities. The next general membership meeting is scheduled for Tuesday 4/4/2006. This means that the Newsletter can be mailed no later than 3/21/2006 to comply with the Bylaws. Therefore, the cut-off date for newsletter articles was set as 2/28/2006.

7. Thom Morgan, School Relations Committee Chair reported that Hogan High is already a closed campus, and that Vallejo High is set to become a closed campus next school year.

8. Julie Lyons, Events Committee Chair, reported that the next projects they have planned are to be part of a National Neighborhood Night Out, and for a Neighborhood garage sale. She also raised the possibility of a project to rebuild a monument that once stood by 131 El Camino. She remarked upon how effectively the City of San Leandro is handling speeding and pedestrian safety issues, and would like to share this with the new Traffic Committee Chair.

9. President Rich Martinez announced that Traffic Committee Chair, Sharon Venn, is to be replaced by Michael Koff. The Crime Committee still needs a new Chair, due to the resignation of Tom Pehl.

10. The next Board Meeting is scheduled for Tuesday 3/7/2006.

--Meeting adjourned 7:56 pm.--

The Spring 2006 Newsletter is Here!

Vista Neighborhood Association Newsletter March 21, 2006 Volume 1, Issue

Well it’s been a year this April since we started the Vista Neighborhood Association, and it’s time for your second annual contribution. I do believe that some things have changed in the neighborhood, and the change has been for the good. It seems to be a lot quieter and I have heard of no serious vandalism or crimes. There does seem to be a greater police presence even though the Chief made no promises to increase patrols. I have noticed that there seems to be a little more litter in the streets since school is back in session. If you notice students littering, make sure you contact the schools and request a clean up. If you need it, the principal at Vallejo High is Phil Saroyan and his number is 556-1700.

We do have good news! We have bought the rights to a Web Site, VistaNeighbor.com (under construction). We have also enlisted a Web Master who lives in the neighborhood and he has offered to run it for free. His name is Mark Hutchins, and his email address is MRHutchins@gmail.com.This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it If you think you might be of some assistance to him, please let him know. The Traffic Committee has been taken over by a new Chairman, Michael Koff, and he is looking for members. His email is mkoffsdc@yahoo.com.This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it I would like to thank Sharon Venn for starting out, but had to resign for personal reasons. We are also having a problem with the Crime Committee, for health reasons. Tom Pehl has had to resign. I would also like to thank him. If anyone out there would like to take over that committee, please contact me. Please remember the meeting this April is our annual meeting, and we will have to elect officers so it is vital that we have as large a turnout as possible (read board openings on page 3). The date for that meeting is April 4Th at 6:30PM, and as usual we will meet at the Church. I look forward to seeing you there.

For the newsletter go here

Rich Martinez

Welcome to the Neighborhood!

The purpose of the Vista Neighborhood Association is to preserve, enhance, and protect the quaility of life in our neighborhood, and positively impact the larger Vallejo community, of which we are a part. The VNA seeks to serve as a resource, to represent and advocate for our neighborhood, as well as to provide a forum for communication through which our residents can exchange ideas on community issues and resolve problems and disputes. The Vista Neighborhood may be loosely described as that area bounded on the north by Redwood Street, on the east by Tuolumne Street, on the the south by Nebraska Street and on the west by Amador street and North Camino Alta Streets.

Why did we form?

The Vista Neighborhood Association was formed in response to a rash of vandalism and theft. In February, approximately 200 angry Vista residents met with two police officers at the First Presbyterian Church to demand better police response to the ongoing crime in the Vista. In particular, many large plate glass windows in homes had been shot out with a "wrist rocket". Recently due to the cooperative efforts of Vista neighbors, Vallejo police caught someone who confessed to the crimes.

Press Release - Creation of VNA

The newly formed Vista Neighborhood Association formally announces the election of its first Board of Directors. The Officers are: Rich Martinez -President, Curtis Lafferty - Vice President, Liz Hoffman - Secretary, Bob Wolf - Treasurer, Hampton Deck - Newsletter Editor, Thom Morgan and Jim Thornton will serve as Members-at-Large.

The purpose of the Vista Neighborhood Association is to preserve, enhance, and protect the quality of life in our neighborhood, and positively impact the larger Vallejo community, of which we are a part. The VNA seeks to serve as a resource, to represent and advocate for our neighborhood, as well as to provide a forum for communication through which neighborhood residents can exchange ideas on community issues and resolve neighborhood problems and disputes. The Vista Neighborhood may be loosely described as that area bounded on the north by Redwood Street, on the east by Tuolumne Street, on the south by Nebraska Street, and on the West by Amador Street and North Camino Alto Streets.

The Vista Neighborhood Association was formed in response to a rash of vandalism and theft in the neighborhood. In February, approximately 200 angry Vista residents met with two police officers at the First Presbyterian Church in Vallejo, to demand better police response to the ongoing crime in the Vista. In particular, many large plate glass windows in homes in the neighborhood had been shot out with a "wrist rocket".Recently due to the cooperative efforts of Vista neighbors, Vallejo police caught someone who confessed to the crimes.

The VNA Board is in process of forming four committees, the School Relations Committee, which will work with the leadership of Vallejo High School and Vallejo Middle School on cooperative efforts, the Crime Committee, which will coordinate efforts to reduce and respond to crime in the Vista, the Traffic Committee, which will focus on issues relating to speeding cars, and the necessity of installing speed-bumps or stop signs, and the Events Committee, which will assist in VNA meetings and social functions.

Please direct any inquiries to either:

Vista Neighborhood Association
P.O. Box 6115
Vallejo, CA 94591-6115

or Rich Martinez, President (707) 554-4036 suzricky@pacbell.netThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
or Elizabeth Hoffman, Secretary (707) 558-9558 lizhoffman@cal.berkeley.edu