FRASER HEIGHTS COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION MINUTES
February 2, 2012
President’s report
• Web site – www.fhca.ca
Treasurer’s report
• Financial statement – total account balance is $4482.23
Police and Security – Constable Dibblee
• Constable Chris Dibblee will be transferred to Cloverdale for 3 to 6 months starting next week then will hopefully be transferred back here. A constable will be assigned to Fraser Heights in the next week.
• Break-ins – there was a decrease in # for awhile but within the last 2 weeks, there was a spike – (5 were reported). There are 1 to 2 full time property teams working on this now. Please phone the RCMP if you see anything. Last week, people phoned in and 3 thieves were arrested in the Guildford area.
• The thieves are looking for jewelry or small electronics – things of value that are easy to carry and do not usually have ID attached to or engraved on them. Most people keep valuables in the bedroom so that is the first place the thieves go.
• 155 and 112A – there was a mugging. This is happening a lot in Guildford and Newton. The thieves are youth who hang around in groups and target other youth for their phones etc. The police suggested that children/young adults use a buddy system, don’t hang out and don’t be out late – this puts them at risk. If you/your kids know any of these thieves, please let the police know. Once a thief is identified, very rarely is there intimidation of the person who told police. If for no other reason, make the reports so that friends or family members aren’t also attacked.
• Homes robbed – alarms don’t stop homes from being broken into but thief will usually leave quickly when alarm goes off.
• 3 break-ins in Arbutus Wynd – the house that was burned recently was broken into twice as well as another one across the green space. Often the break-in is through the rear sliding door – put a wood block or metal pole in the track so the sliding door can’t be slid open or lifted out. When not home, leave light on and/or leave a vehicle in the driveway.
• Grow ops – Fraser Heights is a more popular area for these as there are bigger houses that are more spread out (less grow-ops in Guildford as more dense population). If a house has high hydro consumption, the fire dept goes with police escort to check for fire hazards. The number of grow-ops has decreased but they still exist.
• Dean Scott, who is the Div 2 commander for the RCMP, said he was honoured to be assigned to this area – he’s been in the RCMP for 32 years. He also shared about the street robberies targeting youth. These robberies are being taken seriously so there is a Task Force working with the city/police. These young thieves can be rehabilitated. Witnesses have been reluctant to make reports but unless reports are made, these thieves will not be caught.
• Dean is at the RCMP office at 5 every morning so contact him with any concerns you might have.
Block Watch
• Marlene Drozda did a short presentation on Blow Watch. There are 4 new Block Watch neighbourhoods in FH. If you are interested in starting one in your neighbourhood, you can contact Marlene at 604-502-6509 or via email at marlene.drozda@rcmp-grc.gc.ca.
• Newsletters are put out every 4 months. Info is communicated to those in the neighbourhood whenever any criminal activity has occurred. There is a history file has been kept on every block watch neighbourhood about reported incidents.
• As a member of a Block Watch community, the insurance companies usually give 10% discount when you renew your house insurance.
• The Block Watch pamphlets and materials have been translated into other languages such as Korean and Chinese.
• Communication can be done by phone or email whenever issues arise in your neighbourhood.
• Most Block Watch groups are cul-de-sacs or one or more blocks of houses. If there is also a co-captain, the Block Watch group may include more houses. The captain has to undergo a suitabililty check and then attend one training session.
• On Feb 18th, there will be a senior’s advisory committee meeting about elder abuse – a lot of it is going on and is often not reported. There will be education on that topic. A lawyer will spend approximately an hour talking about living wills, power of attorney etc. Register at the Rec Centre or City of Surrey website. It will be held from 9 till 3 and is free with lunch included. It is very informative but you must register to come. It is being held at Fleetwood Rec Centre on 84 and 160th (in same complex as the Fleetwood library).
• The recent Block Watch newsletter omitted Fraser Hts but it is definitely a part of BW
Traffic Issues
• 170A St and 104 Ave – The pedestrian light is functioning. An Overhead light has been put on hold. The City wants to see if the side lights will be enough to make safe passage for pedestrians.
• 162 St and 108 Ave – There have been challenges with BC Hydro but it is hoped that this light will be operating within a month.
• Signage was requested on or before the 160th overpass for cars heading north on 160 to indicate where the turn is to head east on 104th Ave. Too many people have made the mistake of turning onto the freeway onramp and then have tried to back up, go over the gravel etc to get onto 104th.
• Left turn lane on 104th Ave heading east to turn north into FH – this lane needs to be lengthened (a suggestion was made to shorten the L turn lane onto 155 Street from 104 Ave heading west).
• People have been seen cutting through the parking lot of the businesses at 160/108 by the high school due to high numbers of students going to /from school and walking across the road during most of the time the light is green so cars can’t make left or right turns off 108 Ave to head south on 160th. This has caused the traffic to back up if those heading east on 108 Ave to turn south on 160th St don’t cut through.
• The Barnston Overpass is scheduled to open in the next two weeks. This will greatly increase the traffic using 100th Ave so there was a concern for pedestrians who were crossing the pedestrian overpass to and from FH (by Pacific Academy) then trying to cross over the road where 100th becomes 168th at the bend. Lighting is poor along 100th Ave on the west side of 176th St. At the present time, lighting is not being put in on 100th Ave. There is no shoulder on that road so it is narrow and difficult for cyclists or pedestrians to safely walk/cycle. The City has looked into putting in lighting and said there were currently no funds for it. There is a possibility that there could be extra funding available that would tag onto the cycling route – but this funding has to be applied for. If you are interested in this issue, write, send emails or phone the traffic dept, councillors etc to create a paper trail and bring this issue to the forefront.
• In order to prioritize all the traffic issues, a group should get together so they can meet with the City. Currently, they want to wait to see what traffic will be like once the Barnston overpass opens. The more complaints or issues brought forward will cause the City to look into doing something about the problem. Another suggestion was to contact Dave Hayer’s office about these issues.
• 156th St will be an entrance/exit onto/off the freeway for HOV and buses. There will be a light at the bottom of 156th St (under the freeway) to regulate the cars coming off the freeway.
• It was reported that by the Fire hall on 176th Street at 101A – so many cars going by there. Once overpass is finished, City of Surrey will take care of this.
• Feb 4 – the new overpass at 176th St over freeway will open and there will be changes made so be aware and watch for these changes.
• CN yard on 104th Ave – trucks are overflowing onto 104th Ave and just this last week, they were up parked up 176th St. This problem will be dealt with after changes are made in March to the yard so they will be able to deal with the extra trucks.
Parks and Recreation
• The new wing of the Rec Centre is scheduled to be opened the first of March. The grounds and landscaping will be left until the weather has warmed up and the soil is drier.
Development in Fraser Heights:
• There have been 3 developments and 1 application for rezoning
• 17333 Abbey Drive – there will be one ½ acre lot fronting on Abbey Dr and 2 lots fronting on 103 A Ave. Preliminary draft has been approved. Any concerns 0 contact JKoch-Schulte@surrey.ca quoting application 7911-0119-00.
• There is a proposed development of 7 new properties at 9884 and 9912 179th Street – 3rd reading granted Jan 23rd. Any concerns, contact clerkswebmail@surrey.ca quoting application 7910-0298-00.
• 10145 – 173rd Ave – 10 new properties proposed – no public hearing date set yet (maybe in the next month). Any concerns, contact Slong@surrey.ca quoting application 7911-0190-00
• 1 rezoning application – 10555 – 160 St – RA to RF12 – to subdivide into 4 residential lots.
Member’s concerns
• Dog off-leash parks in Surrey have been identified and Fraser View Park at the corner of 112 Ave and 160 Street made the list to be developed between 2012 and 2015. The first park that will be developed will be in South Surrey. There has been no timetable set as to the order of the development of these parks. Doug Merry said the 2nd park will be determined by the community that shows the most interest in having their dog park developed. If you are interested in getting the completely fenced, off-leash dog park put in at Fraser View Park, please contact Doug. He said the more people that contact him and the City, the more weight it will have on which is the next park to be developed. Doug can be reached at: djmerry@surrey.ca or phone him at 604-598-5778.
• Property assessments – you can download all the sales in your area to see the average price the houses sold for. One resident stated that some assessments went up by 15% but the difference between sales and assessment prices was only 1.46% increase over 100 sales. Residents can contact the City if they have a dispute. 37 of the 100 houses were sold for less than their assessment level – the rest were over the assessment level.
• Another resident stated that the Tax Appraisal dept staff often appealed their assessments. If you don’t apply, you can’t complain.
Next Meeting will be Thurs May 2, 2012 in the theatre at Fraser Heights Secondary School. We will hopefully have someone from PMH1 to come speak about the Highway project and issues surrounding it.