4th Quarter WGNA Meeting Summary 10/25/19 K.Agee
Our
4th quarter WGNA meeting was held on 10/24/19 at the Hollabaugh Recreational
Center, 3925 W. Walnut St. The meeting was
called to order at 7:03 p.m. and was chaired by District 6 City Councilman
Robert Vera who was acting in the absence of WGNA President Ricardo Rocha.
After
leading a short prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance, Councilman Vera introduced
GPD’s Neighborhood Patrol Officer Wade.
Officer Wade mentioned that he had been working since 6 a.m., thanks to
tornado damage in the Shiloh @ Miller Road area (Shiloh Rd had been shut down,
several homes were damaged, as well as two new business structures northwest of
that intersection).
Officer
Wade said that general crime statistics for our area were within their normal
range, and history shows that as the weather cools off, so do the crime
rates. He fielded questions from the
audience, with one issue being the area around Lottie Watson Park (SE corner of
Yale & Lawler). Apparently there
were issues of drag-racing in the area, and possible drug deals. Officer Wade said the best defense is to
report such issues (even though the events are brief), and said that if it gets
worse, GPD could arrange to have one of the City’s two portable SkyWatch Towers placed there for a while. There were also lots of discussions about
parking issues, including parked cars in alleys (illegal) and strange people
parking in front of resident’s houses (legal, unless they block homeowner’s
driveway). Councilman Vera announced an
effort he and City officials were working on, moving some parking violations
from Criminal Offenses to Civil Offenses, so they could be prosecuted more
easily.
Once
Officer Wade finished, Councilman Vera chaired WGNA’s officer elections. Only the position of Vice-president had more than
one candidate, so votes were quickly tallied with a show-of-hands. The new WGNA President is now David Morehead,
Vice-President is Bao-Vinh Pham, and Secretary is
Irene Ryan. Renewing terms is Treasurer
Robert Vera and Sergeant at Arms Ken Agee.
We still need a volunteer for the position of Parliamentarian. Thanks go to all volunteers, since this
organization has no dues and therefore officers receive no pay.
In
closing discussions, Councilman Vera fielded questions about future use of the
old Baylor-Garland hospital campus. He
says a deal has been reached between the various parties for the Veterans
Administration (VA is part of the Federal Government) to operate an outpatient
facility there. Plans are in the works
now, and Councilman Vera thinks they may be finalized sometime during
2020. There are also active talks
between the City of Garland and Parkland Hospital (controlled by Dallas
County), for some additional facility in that area.
Councilman
Vera mentioned that State law requires him to cease using his personal
cell-phone for official buisness, so he has a new
cell-phone number: 469-782-4482.
There
was a request for street-level maps from the City. Following is that link:
https://www.garlandtx.gov/2014/City-Maps
A motion to adjourn the meeting was approved
at 8:34 P.M. The next quarterly meeting
is scheduled for January 23rd at this same location (Hollabaugh Rec
Center). The meeting will start at the
usual time of 7 P.M.