SAC MIN 1996-01-11 - Laserfiche WebLink

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violations, and report this information to code enforcement staff, and he felt this program could work in Redwood City. Ms. Chew explained that letters are now sent out to selected neighborhoods announcing that Code Enforcement staff will be in their area performing inspections. The letter also lists the things staff looks for on their inspections. Currently, 5,000-6,000 homes are inspected each year. She mentioned they are considering dropping the neighborhood inspections because of the considerable time it takes and working with the Neighborhood Boards and Commissions instead. Mr. Schnell said volunteers would not give out a citation but would only report it to someone. Citations would only be given out by Code Enforcement staff. Commissioner Penna said he thought the volunteer program was an excellent idea and that seniors could be used to help and also asked about training for the participants. Mr. Schnell stated the concept will be discussed by the City Council on Saturday at their retreat. Volunteers would probably be interviewed, trained, and be assigned an area to monitor. Mr. Schnell said the neighborhood associations they have contacted have been very supportive of the program. He said currently when someone calls with a complaint, they try to respond the same day or within a few days depending on severity of the matter and most complaints are received by phone. Out of 465 complaints received last year, 400 were valid complaints. In 1994, 2 citations were issued and in 1995, 14 citations were issued. Mr. Schnell said some of the top 10 code enforcement complaints received are: inoperative vehicles; illegal business; illegal rental space; weeds/garbage; boats and trailers. Chairperson Lloyd suggested Mr. Schnell and Ms. Chew make a presentation to RSVP to recruit senior volunteers. Ms. Schnell mentioned all City field crews will carry cards to report possible code violations to staff. ITEM 3-PROGRESS REPORT ON COMMISSION WORKPLAN ASSIGNMENTS The Commissioners reviewed the letter drafted by Commissioner Walsh regarding Medicare cuts and made their comments and suggestions. M/S Walsh/Penna: To have the Senior Affairs Commission write a letter of recommendation to congressional leaders requesting that they oppose proposed cuts in Medicare and Medicaid. Commissioner Mooney felt it was premature to send this letter and that the Commission should wait until next month when congressional leaders will hopefully finalize the matter.