Meeting 1-25-10

On January 25th of 2010, 6 neighbors met and discussed neighborhood news, tools and cars, and disaster preparedness. Here is the report:

Neighborhood News and News of Neighbors:
• Peter and Lucy are selling their house; they’ve moved to San Jose, across from their daughter; grandson Jeffrey and his girlfriend have moved out
• Neil bought Joe’s house, and is rebuilding it
• Dots on Glen Park sidewalks signal the need for repair. What do the different colors mean? If the owner does not fix the sidewalk, the city will fix it, and charge the homeowner.

Tools to Share: It’s been suggested we should have a list of tools neighbors have that might be shared, i.e., chain saw, table saw, power washer, tree trimmer. Would you like to participate? Do you have anything to share?

Car Sharing: The insurance aspect of sharing was brought home, as one neighbor reported an accident with another neighbor’s car. The question remains - how can we insure and protect ourselves & possessions, yet enable sharing among trusted neighbors?

Disaster Preparedness: The recent earthquake in Haiti reminds us that we must be prepared for our own earthquake. Are you ready? What precautions have you taken? What still needs to be done? Many ideas were discussed, and it was decided there is a need to prepare as a neighborhood. This topic will be continued at future meetings, as we work up the Chilton Ave Plan for emergency responses. Among the issues raised were:
• Generator – should we pool our money and purchase one for the block? What’s the best type? Where to store it? What’s it used for?
• Gas – Do we know how to turn ours off? Do we have fuel for cars/stoves/etc?
• Water – Will we have enough for an extended period? Purchase a rain barrel?
• Medicines – What should we have available? Where?
• Money – What happens when ATMs stop working? Are we ready?
• Tents – Where will we pitch them? In the backyards? How do we get to the street? Do we know our backyard neighbors? Will fences need to come down?
• Supplies – radios, batteries, shovels, picks, ax, food and water…
• How safe are we on Chilton Ave? Is everyone’s house bolted to the foundation?
• Earthquake insurance – Does it pay? How would you know?
• Skills – Who knows what? NERT – Shauna; Mary J; CPR – Doug and Mai; structural engineering – Henry; construction – Neil

• Helpful websites for emergency preparedness - Mary:
o http://72hours.org/
o http://www.sf-fire.org/index.aspx?page=859
o http://www.qrcenter.com/
o http://beprepared.com/
o http://www.rureadysupply.com/cart/
o http://www.alertsf.org

• The NERT manual contains detailed information on what to do in an emergency. Email Mary if you would like the NERT manual in PDF form.

Next regular meeting: Meetings are quarterly and the next is scheduled for Monday, April 26th. Who would like to host it? Contact Kevin!