FRASER HEIGHTS COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION MINUTES
February 21, 2013
President’s report
- Web site – www.fhca.ca
- Lindsay Ryerson, president
- Reaching members – email, signs on mailboxes and in the Fraser Heights shopping area, word of mouth and websites (fhca and myfraserheights)
- 4 meetings per year
Treasurer’s report
- Financial statement – total account balance is $4018.30
Police and Security – Staff Sargent Dean Scott
- Dean Scott, Div 2 commander for the RCMP, is assigned to this area – he’s been in the RCMP for 32 years. Dean is at the RCMP office at 5 every morning so contact him with any concerns you might have – he is excellent at answering emails or forwarding them to the appropriate departments. His email address is dean.scott@rcmp-grc.gc.ca.
- RCMP have analysts who figure out where crime will be occurring so it can be targeted. The Crime reduction manual through environmental design is good for predicting crime
- Break and enters have been decreasing, in general
- Breaking into cars – 2 people who were responsible for this in FH have now been arrested – they’d do 5 to 7 a night. Car thefts are probably underreported – 74 in FH, Guildford and Tynehead/Fleetwood areas were reported. Residents must report these crimes as Police can’t do anything unless they know. To help prevent car break-ins, leave the glove box open so thieves can see there is nothing in the car. Do not leave garage openers as they’ll steal them then come back later and break in when residents are gone.
- Break and enters – 7 of the thieves have been caught. They have been hitting Lower Mainland hard
- Street robberies – about 20 – 100% solved
- Child predator of young girls just was arrested and he’s been incarcerated
- Don’t leave valuables and jewelry in the bedroom, especially between the mattresses. This is usually the first place targeted.
- Speed Watch volunteers coming out with reader boards to FH. Team will look at data and police will go after violators.
Block Watch
- Marlene Drodza
- Vehicle theft – laptop, cash, sunglasses, iPods, cell phones, GPS (remove it and suction cup – as will break in thinking GPS is in vehicle if they see the suction cup), If successful at getting items from cars, they’ll keep coming back. Park car in a well-lit area. Keep things open and visible. If they see club on wheel, they usually leave car alone.
- Jewelry – don’t leave in bedroom – put it somewhere else. Thieves usually flip the mattress 1st thing, grab a pillowcase then go through the drawers. If they don’t find cash/jewelry in the bedroom, they’ll usually go for cellphones, electronics etc. Personal electronics have your personal info in them. There is a program that charges $25 – they give you stickers to put on your items which leave indelible ink on them so they can’t be resold. Help stop crimes – make sure you record all serial numbers of your electronics.
- Break and enters – make sure you make provisions for lights to be on when you leave the house.
- Look at your house as if you’re a burglar. Can your address be read, are lights on, leave a radio on. If someone knocks on your door and no one answers, thieves go to the back and break in so acknowledge you’re there and they’ll move on.
- Volunteer to be a Block Watch Captain – free of charge Criminal Records check will be done on you. Doesn’t take a lot of time to be a captain – you have to circulate a newsletter about once every 4 months. Info is relayed to captains to pass onto your Block Watch neighbours.
- There will be a Seniors’ forum this Saturday put on by City of Surrey. Another forum will be on 31st May for people 55 and over – info will be in local newspapers.
Traffic Issues
- 104 Ave and SFPR intersection – currently, traffic heading east on 104th Ave must go through the intersection of SFPR (176 St), then turn around in the Barnston Island ferry parking lot and come back through the intersection to turn north to Hwy17.
- TI Corp – we’re pressing for egress and ingress from Fraser Height onto SFPR.
- Concern had been that those from outside FH would be rat runners but it would be easier for them to go onto the #1 freeway to 176 then head north down the 176 hill.
- Currently, the easiest way to get onto SFPR is to go to Scott Road Station and get on there.
- The FHCA supports access in and off Hwy 17 at 104 Ave.
- When going south on SFPR, there is no right turn onto 104 – every day, people are doing this illegally. TI Corp is looking at building a curve adjacent to the jug handle so it will be easier for us to get in and out of FH. Illegal left turns in the morning are about 1 in every 3 cars.
- Currently, options are being reviewed for us to get access on and off SFPR. It is high on their priority list as they are very aware of the problem. SFPR is in the domain of Gateway, not the City of Surrey.
- Email your concerns to T1 Corp of not being able to turn onto the Perimeter road. They do listen and respond to all concerns – if a common concern, they’ll deal with it.
Dog Off-Leash Park in Fraser Heights:
- Doug Merry was at the Surrey Bend Open House and stated that the next off-leash dog park to be developed will be either Bear Creek or Fraser View Park (at the north-east corner of 160th St and 112th Ave)
- The more people who email him or the City and show interest in this, the better the chance that FH will be the next ones to get an off-leash park.
- Doug Merry can be emailed at djmerry@surrey.ca. He is the Parks Planning Analyst for Planning, Research and Design. More information about the off-leash parks can be found on the City of Surrey website – www.surrey.ca.
Surrey Bend Habitat Enhancement Project:
- An Open House was held at Pacific Academy on Tuesday, Feb 19, 2013.
- All concept maps and information are on the website www.pmh1project.com. There is a feedback form on that site that can be filled out so residents can have input into this project. You can email them at info@pmh1project.com if you have any questions or suggestions.
- 104th Ave will be closed off on the east side of SFPR so there will be no direct access to Surrey Bend or the Barnston parking lot for the ferry. Access will be rerouted via Daly Road then turn off at Trigg Road to get direct access to Surrey Bend. This is slated to be completed in 2014.
Member’s corner
- Surrey Transit rally at Surrey Centre – come make your voice heard (bus stop onto 156 not gotten Feb 26 at 3:30 (Tuesday).
- Parking regulations – 8 to 6 in other cities (Burnaby, Richmond, Vancouver – 3 hour restricted parking btwn those hours). A resident proposed that Surrey do something similar. If the general community is in agreement with this, our community association will take it on. Resident said there was a formal proposal at City Hall but the status of it was unknown. Don’t know how it would be enforced. Multiple suited areas may be areas that would be checked. We’ll look into the proposal and see where it’s at.
- 156th St and 111 Ave – North View kiddies’ park – 156 is becoming a raceway – a resident said she asked police if it warranted a speed bump and they didn’t think it did. People are taking little kids to park to play and it can be dangerous at times with cars racing by. City sends those types of complaints directly to the RCMP. Resident talked to RCMP before Christmas. It was suggested she check with Dean Scott. Currently there is no sign to let motorists know that it’s a park and there are no lines on road to indicate a pedestrian crossing.
- The intersection of 156th St and 108 Ave can be very problematic, especially for pedestrians. The majority of cars do not stop at the sign and do not figure pedestrians in their four way turns. Many pedestrians have had very close calls with cars that blow the stop sign. A round-about was suggested but since the majority of cars are heading west on 108 to go south on 156, vehicles on 156 heading south and those on 108 heading east but turning south on 156 could have difficulty getting into the round-about as the cars from 108 will load the round-about making it difficult for others to enter.
- A resident had asked about a noise reduction wall between her property and the #1 Hwy – she was told it would be installed during the summer 2013
- 104 Ave – btwn 160th St and 168th is the City’s domain – they’re waiting till all development is completed before they do the arterial road improvements. So far, they have only done some patchwork maintenance.
Liquor Store Application
- A letter was written to Mayor Diane Watts after the last meeting as the predominance of people at Nov meeting were opposed to the liquor store application
- The application is for a full liquor store, not a beer and wine store.
- City Hall has received in excess of 1100 petitions both for and against – a public info meeting is being organized so all residents can come and give their opinions. This will be held prior to spring break (Mar 18). We should know the date shortly. City Hall will advertise in all local papers and it will be put up on our (fhca.ca) website.
- If want to lend your voice/opinion, please attend the hearing – look at the casino application in S. Surrey – the community was heard and the casino was voted down.
Next Meeting will be May 1, 2013 in the theatre at Fraser Heights Secondary School at 7 p.m.