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Do you want to become more involved in government decisions that directly affect your neighborhood?  Do you ever wonder how tax money was spent or how city projects were started?  Now is your chance to stop wondering, and start doing.

The City of Sacramento has many boards and committees that directly affect you and your neighborhood.  As a resident of the City of Sacramento and the Pocket/Greenhaven Neighborhood you can apply to serve on these boards and committees and have a direct impact on how these local government programs are run.  These boards cover everything from spending and oversight, to historic preservation.

Here is a link to the City Boards and Committee Website

https://boards.cityofsacramento.org/

Three committees that have vacancies and a direct impact on the Pocket/Greenhaven Neighborhood are:

1. Sacramento Community Police Review Commission

https://boards.cityofsacramento.org/apply/board/2945

2. Measure U Community Advisory Committee 

https://boards.cityofsacramento.org/apply/board/2936

3. Active Transportation Commission

https://boards.cityofsacramento.org/apply/board/2924

The City has over 30 boards and committees to fill by December 31, 2022.  You can fill them as a District 7 resident, or as a resident with unique qualifications specific to that board.

You can always participate in these boards and committees without being appointed to them.  All of the meeting times and locations are listed on the website above,  You can join and comment on these meetings as a Sacramento Resident.

Now is your chance to get involved and make a difference.

COUNCIL BUDGET AND AUDIT COMMITTEE The Council’s Budget and Audit Committee will meet at 11:00 am on Tuesday, December 6.  You can find the link to the meeting here. I am a member of this committee, which oversees the City’s Budget and the activities of the City Auditor. For those of you that do not know, the City of Sacramento has a City Auditor that is tasked with overseeing our Whistle Blower Hotline and providing oversight performance audits of the various City departments and activities. For more information on what the City Auditor does and the services that they provide please visit the Auditor’s web site. One item that might be of interest is the City Auditor’s report on the City’s Cannabis Code Enforcement activities. This is an important oversight function that the city performs on all cannabis businesses that operate in the City of Sacramento. The City Auditor has some recommendations and findings that would improve the code enforcement oversight of cannabis businesses. You can read the link to the staff report on this item. CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS The City Council will hold meetings at 2:00 pm and 5:00 pm today. The agenda and link to the 2:00pm meeting can be found here, and the agenda and link to the 5:00 pm meeting can be found here. During the 2:00 pm meeting the Council will be discussing, and hopefully approving, the legally binding agreement between the City of Sacramento and the County of Sacramento regarding homelessness. Adoption of an agreement between the City and County was a condition of the recently-passed Measure O. There are multiple aspects to this agreement, and I wanted to highlight a couple of important points. The first is that the agreement is legally binding and has a five-year term with the ability to extend the agreement for an additional five years. It also requires that the City and County present a joint report on progress to the City Council and County Board of Supervisors every six months. It clearly outlines roles and responsibilities, including the provision of additional shelter beds for those experiencing mental health issues. I believe that this agreement is a substantial step forward and am committed to its implementation and continuing to increase the services we provide. The link to the staff report which contains the entire agreement and an analysis can be found here. The 5:00 pm City Council meeting will have one public hearing on the expansion of the Sacramento Services Community Facilities District in relationship to the development of the “Panhandle” area of Natomas. You can find that staff report here. The rest of the 5:00 pm meeting will be centered on saying goodbye to outgoing Councilmembers Angelique Ashby, Jeff Harris, and Jay Schenirer, who have served Sacramento with distinction for many years. As always, it is my immense privilege to be your District 7 Councilmember. If you have any concerns or need assistance from my office, please send an email to rjennings@cityofsacramento.org or leave a voicemail at (916) 808-7007. Have a wonderful weekend, and I hope to see you around the neighborhood!

2022 Pocket Canal Lights Since 2018, PGCA co-founder and parks commissioner, Devin Lavelle, has led the effort to light the Pocket canal for the holidays along with City Council member Rick Jennings.  Since then, the lights have become a holiday favorite and have grown to span more and more of the canal. Donate Each year, the goal is to further expand the lights, but your help is needed. You can donate to light even more of the canal at giftstoshareinc.ejoinme.org/donate. Volunteer Each year, the community comes together to string the lights along the canal. If you would like to volunteer to help string lights, visit bit.ly/3GgWHA9.  When: December 3, 2022, 9:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. Where:Portuguese Community Park, 7350 Durfee Way Sacramento, CA 95831 Canal Lighting Ceremony This year’s lighting ceremony will feature a visit from Santa!  When: December 4, 2022, 4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. (weather permitting) Where:Portuguese Community Park, 7350 Durfee Way Sacramento, CA 95831

5th Annual Holiday Soccer Skills Clinic & Fundraiser The Greenhaven Soccer Club, City Council member Rick Jennings, and the John F. Kennedy High School Women’s Soccer Team will be holding their annual holiday soccer skills clinic and fundraiser.  All proceeds will be split evenly to benefit the Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services and the JFK Women’s Soccer Team. The cost is $25 and all kids age 4-13 are welcome to join in a fun-filled soccer clinic. When: December 2, 2022 from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Where: John F. Kennedy Stadium, 6715 Gloria Drive

Holiday Toy Drive Returning on December 3rd The Greenhaven Soccer Club and City Council member Rick Jennings are proud to announce that they are once again hosting their annual holiday toy drive, benefitting Outside the Walls.  Where: Parking lot of the School of Engineering and Sciences, 7345 Gloria Drive When: December 3, 2022 from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Bring new and unwrapped toys to donate at the convenient drive through drop off, where volunteers will help you unload your donation.  Last year, approximately 1,100 toys were collected. Outside the Walls (OTW) is a 501(c)3, dedicated to breaking the cycle of poverty, domestic violence, food insecurity and incarceration. OTW works with at risk youth and families; providing a wide variety of counseling services, as well as parenting classes, job training and a food/household item pantry. They serve families in a large geographic region, including our area.

General membership meetings are held quarterly on the third Thursday of the month at Robbie Waters Library. Our schedule for 2023 is as follows:

Q1 – January 19, 2023
Q2 – April 20, 2023
Q3 – July 20, 2023
Q4 – October 19, 2023

Over the last year the PGCA has hosted many meetings regarding important local issues.  Here is a list of the groups who made presentations and offered our neighbors a chance to share their feedback.

• The Pocket Transportation Plan and the proposed changes to our neighborhood.
• Lt. Bui with the Sacramento Police Department regarding crime stats for our neighborhood.
• Paolo Nardi with the Sacramento Fire Department regarding their services in our neighborhood.
• Residents Against Illegal Fireworks and how neighbors can help support their efforts.
• Sacramento Utilities regarding upcoming changes to rates and green waste.
• SMUD regarding their 0 Carbon Plan and changes to rates.
• Frontstreet Animal Shelter re: their facility and how neighbors could get involved.
• Important meeting on how redistricting works and the impact it would have on our neighborhood.
• Pocket Area Churches Together and the amazing work they are doing to support our community.
• Community Meeting held with Congressmember Matsui’s Office to deal with the ongoing issue of cluster mailbox break-ins.

Over the last year the PGCA has assisted the following charities and groups:

• 2021 Pocket-Greenhaven Holiday Toy Drive that led to 1000’s of toys being donated to disadvantaged youth.
• Supported 2021 National Night Out hosted by Pocket Nextdoor.
• Pocket-Greenhaven Crop Swap
• Planted trees at Sojourner Truth Park to support Pocket Girls Softball.
• Worked with Vic Cima and the Elks Lodge to help launch our local Pocket-Greenhaven Farmers Market.
• Pocket-Greenhaven Citrus Donation Drive to support families in need.
• Established the Pocket-Greenhaven Community Association Scholarship.

The PGCA remains committed to keeping our neighbors informed and supporting important charities and groups that are working on improving our neighborhood.

After listening to neighbors concerns regarding cluster mailbox break-ins, the PGCA put together a community meeting that was held in conjunction with Gabriela Herrera from Congressmember Matsui’s Office.  As a result of the meeting the cluster mailboxes that were recently broken into with an illegal master key will have their locks replaced. Here is a list of streets that had cluster mailboxes broken into with an illegal master key and have now had their locks replaced:

• 7700 West Shore Dr
• 699 Coriander Way
• 7605 Pocket Rd
• 26 Axios Court
• 7465 Pocket rd.
• 7005 Warbler Way
• 7605 Pocket Rd.
• 7800 River Village Drive
• 20 Pebble River Circle
• 267 Brewster Avenue
• 60 Portinao Circle
• 300 Portinao Circle
• 231 Portinao Circle

The PGCA also put together a community meeting in 2018 to make sure neighbors would have their old style cluster mailboxes replaced with them more secure F-series after a break-in.

A video of the recent meeting can be found here:

https://fb.watch/et6Ph8_8Zt/


Thank you again to everyone who came out to the community meeting. Your feedback was responsible for helping to get these locks changed.

Please join the PGCA as we provide an update and elect members to our Board.