The RPNA held its Board meeting on 1/20. Key takeaways are as follows:
- The Board appointed two new members to fill remaining slots and elected its officers. Officers are: Karla Mendoza (President), Fatima Thompson (VP), Brian Haines (Treasurer), Tony Mader (Secretary). Members-at-Large are: Devin Blankenship, Lisa Cirill, Rex Hescock, Allyssa Mader, Marisa Monahan, Chip Studley, and Justin Wisely.
- City Councilmember Valenzuela and her staff joined to introduce themselves as the new Councilmember for River Park. She is excited to get to know the neighborhood and expressed a strong desire to work actively with us. A full introductory letter will be in the February RP Review. She shared her e-mail: kvalenzuela@cityofsacramento.org. Her Chief of Staff is Michelle Pariset: mpariset@cityofsacramento.org
- The fact that Erlewine Gate is not functioning properly came up at a couple points during the meeting. The gate is owned by the City Department of Utilities; it has required ongoing maintenance, and the employee who was maintaining it retired. CM Valenzuela stated she is aware of the issue and is looking into it. When RPNA receives an update we will share it with the neighborhood. Residents who want to share their perspective on the future of the gate can contact Councilmember Valenzuela’s office.
- The City Solid Waste Division joined to provide an overview of new requirement pursuant to state law—effective July 1—that food waste be placed in your green waste bin instead of the garbage. This change is coming with higher rates. See the overview of new law and rates here: https://riverparksacramento.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/SolidWaste.pdf
Our next board meeting is 2/17 at 7:30pm via Zoom. The Army Corps of Engineers will likely be joining that meeting to provide and update and answer questions about the river bank erosion mitigation project. All residents are welcome to join, and we will distribute an agenda in advance with instructions for how to join.