Deforest Park Neighborhood Association (DPNA)
Monthly Meeting Minutes
Date: 8/17/2017
Meeting called to order at 7:07 PM by DPNA Vice President Joni Ricks-Oddie
Flag salute led by Keith Oddie
Long Beach Police Department 9th District report presented by Officer Frank Pena
- @ Deforest Park – An individual driving recklessly was caught and cited
- 300 block of Poppy – indecent exposure of a male black subject and a female black subject who were naked and were detained
- Vandalism at Deforest Park on 7/22 – red spray paint in restroom – identified via Long Beach Go app
- 400 Harding St. 8/5 accidental discharge of a firearm (isolated incident)
- Robbery @ 6500 Manning – beauty shop – male black subject in 20s with gun and took gold chain from clerk at counter
- Robbery @ Atlantic and Artesia 7/20 – carjacking; victim was not cooperative with providing description of the subject
- Burglary at 300 block of Smith – victim came home and found back gate open and back window open
- brought 2 flyers – 1 re: Monday 8/21 Commander’s Meeting between 6:00PM-7:00PM; 2 – crime victim information – can report certain crimes online (e.g., vandalism to property, your vehicle was hit while parked)
- ? – selling used cars and parking in front of a car; not illegal to sell car on public street in Long Beach but call police or Parking Enforcement w/ a complaint; can cite if not moved after 3 days or if expired
- ? – to call for individuals parking in the red at corners – 562-435-6711 (non-Emergency Police dispatch)
- ? – request for additional patrols during day at Deforest Park now that funding cut for Parks and Recreation staff and programming won’t be staffed during day
Old Business/New Business Announcements
- Deforest Park is losing Park & Recreation staffing during the year – only limited to the summer due to budgeting cuts; appreciation shared to efforts made in past and for being great community partners; discussed writing letters and considering a public demonstration
- Council Office Updates – Alissa Gutierrez – new representative/liaison for DPNA
- Monday 8/21 District 9 Budget Meeting @6:00PM @Michelle Obama Library
- Pop Up Uptown Thursday 8/24 – Long Beach Opera Edition @Michelle Obama Library
- Veteran’s Day Celebration planning Wednesday 8/23 @ Uptown Business District Office @ 6082 Atlantic Ave
- Welcome our new DPNA Secretary – Elizabeth Horin
- Teen Summit – Darlene Broom
- Not a huge turnout
- Some children did not show up who were supposed to be there
- Of those who attended, got a lot of great information about dos and don’ts and what to expect moving forward (speakers: Jarvis Sam from Snap Chat, Joni Ricks-Oddie, Joshua Calhoun – biomed teacher at Cerritos College; librarian from Michelle Obama Library)
- Dine Out 90805 Back this fall – Will be last Monday of each month
- Cajun Crab (South St. and Downey Ave) – scheduled for October 9th
- Other eateries for suggestions?
- Mayor Garcia sends regards and thanked us for attending his talk a few months back
Guest Speakers – Staff from the Michelle Obama Library
- Debbie Bylander – Director at Michelle Obama Library (previously was at Bay Shore Public Library)
- Individuals working at library:
- pages – put books on shelf
- clerks – run circulation desk
- community programming specialists at select libraries
- range of librarians
- Shiloh Moore – librarian
- Library care applications were provided
- Hours vary by day (closed Mondays)
- Adult Librarian – does all adult services, which include the following:
- Book Club – Saturdays 3:00PM-4:00PM
- Online Calendar
- Different Database Resources – Some of the highlighted ones include: A-Z database for small business owners or hiring people for household projects or subletting (can do free criminal background search); Kanopy (free streaming of documentaries); E-books; downloadable music; West Law (legal); Books 24-7 (more technical books, read on device); Ancestry.com (inside library only); Biography; Zenio (can download full issues of magazines); Brainfuse; LearingExpress; Freegal Music (free and legal music – entire Sony music catalog – can download 5 songs per week)
- Adult Programming –
- Mark Twain branch has been partnering with retired CEO professionals doing workshops such as starting a business, how to market, etc. . .
- Have Cultural Conversations program once a month – highlight one country each month on 1st Saturday each month at 3:00PM
- Community Resource Night – 3rd Tuesday of each month from 4:00PM-5:00PM – different organizations come to provide information about their services\
- Hamilton History and Hip Hop event in October
- Mayor tasked Michelle Obama Library for citizenship corner -US Customs and Immigration information materials to study for exam; have ESL materials; materials to study for naturalization test; information about process
- Elizabeth – learning lab coordinator; family learning center coordinator
- Learning Lab –
- includes family learning center – Help with job search, resume, K-12th grade homework help (not tutoring)
- includes Maker’s Space – a collaborative learning (teach technology resources for all ages and no cost to it; have 3D printing (limit to one print per month as they are grant funded – www.tinkercad.com – can create item on there and will provide a second print per month); film editing software; coding work)
- Tuesdays at 5:30PM Computer Basic Class for adults
- Word class
- Excel class
- Google drive class
- Classes for 10-18 year olds – teen resources; live homework help; SAT; GRE; citizenship; civil service; language learning (all free); story times (baby on Wed, toddler on Thursday, pre-school on Friday; bilingual English and Spanish story time on Saturdays at 3:00PM)
- Had free school lunches in summer Tuesday through Friday
- Dedicated Assistive Technology Space – tables that can accommodate wheel chairs; large print keyboard; Braille keyboard, specific software (text to speech; magnifying program to enlarge print, can modify colors); special mouse for dexterity issues with joystick
Question and Answer Session
Public Comments
Call for motion to adjourn by Joni Ricks-Oddie; 1st and 2nd noted
Meeting adjourned 8:11 PM
Reminders and Dates to Remember:
Long Beach Veteran’s Day Parade Meeting is last Tuesday of each month
Long Beach Veteran’s Day Parade Festival Meeting is 4th Wednesday of each month
(Uptown Business Improvement District Office)
Pop Up Uptown Event at Michelle Obama Library – 4th Thursday 5:30PM-8:30PM
