East CAC Meeting Minutes – May 19, 2025

East Community Action Coalition of Raleigh, NC (East CAC)

May 19, 2025

7:00-7:52 pm

Lions Park Community Center

Streaming on Facebook and YouTube

Jean Mosher, Chair

Mark Turner, Vice Chair

Bryan Ryan, Secretary (remote via Facebook)

7 in attendance + 3 on Facebook

Guests

Officer Eric Hinton, Raleigh Police Department, Northeast Division; (919) 996-1206

Sheri Smith, PE, Senior Engineer, City of Raleigh; 919-996-3975

Focus Areas

  1. Public Safety
    1. Officer Eric Hinton provided his regular report to the East CAC, addressed questions, and received concerns.
      • He gave a report of Raleigh Police Department’s efforts to reduce speeding and ticket speeders, especially near schools. Mr. Turner commented about his observations of “Fast and Furious” behavior. Officer Hinton noted that RPD works hard to keep pressure on these drivers to stop or move elsewhere. He noted that RPD monitors social media, where these groups actually advertise their events, so the police can use that information. .He also encouraged attendees to notify RPD if they see groups involved in racing, laying donuts, and similar activities. If witnesses can safely get a license number, this evidence can be used by the police to seize vehicles.
      • In response to a concern raised about cars without license plates parked on public streets, Officer Hinton urged observers to call the issue in to the RPD’s non-emergency number and provide details.
      • Officer Hinton confirmed that RPD has a volunteer program and pointed out that there is a greenway fun run in the Falls River area in July.
      • RPD has dedicated crash scene investigators to focus on these problems and to free up uniformed officers to do their work.
      • The RPD has family services that provide camps in the summer.
      • He also noted that the department is always hiring and encouraged attendees to spread the word.
      • Finally, he reminded attendees to stay safe and contact him with questions or concerns.
  1. Public Works
    1. Sheri Smith, PE, Senior Engineer with the City of Raleigh, presented on the Pigeon House Branch Watershed Study, started in 2022 and finished at the end of 2024. See also <https://raleighnc.gov/projects/pigeon-house-branch-watershed-study>. As she explained:
      • Five years ago, Raleigh’s stormwater group started a watershed planning program, with the goal to strategically improve watershed conditions for our residents.
      • It looked at the whole city, prioritized watersheds, and conducted comprehensive studies.
      • Ms. Smith noted that the studies were aimed at providing information for asset (pipe and infrastructure) renewal, water quality improvement, conveyance and drainage improvement (specifically flooding mitigation), and stream bank stabilization.
      • Pigeon House Branch (PHB) was selected as a priority. It drains much of Oakwood, much of the north part of downtown Raleigh, much of the Capital Blvd corridor inside the Beltline, and areas around the intersection of Wade Ave and St. Mary’s St; and flows into Crabtree Creek near Crabtree Blvd and Raleigh Blvd. See <https://raleighnc.gov/stormwater/services/find-your-watershed/pigeon-house-branch-watershed#paragraph—362367>.
      • Asset renewal: Ms. Smith explained that because the PHB watershed is in a long established part of the city, it has some of the older infrastructure—some stone culverts are from the late 1800s; and because it is in a highly developed area of the city, much of its stormwater system is underground. In response to a question about bringing underground components above ground, she noted that the city would take such steps if possible, but the nature of this area would make that difficult.
      • The general process for the watershed study includes data collection, analysis (with consultant input and modeling), and project definition. The process also includes public engagement (public meetings, online surveys, and one-on-one conversations) to help establish the priorities of residents, as well as their concerns (especially with respect to flooding).
      • The data collection involved visual and remote technology observations and videos of the infrastructure owned by the city and determined that about 10% of the PHB watershed system is in poor condition—much of it corrugated metal pipe—and will require rehabilitation. Because stone masonry lasts longer, some of the older sections are in better condition. The city will require that the rehabilitation use materials proven to last. Some of this work will involve installing a lining inside of the existing infrastructure to save time, money, and disruption. (She noted that infrastructure on private property was not included in this inspection.)
      • The rehabilitation process has already repaired many of the high priority (worst) issues identified; an upcoming project has scheduled another group of problem areas for repair; the remainder are in planning for future projects.
      • Stream assessment: The city hired a consultant to walk the PHB and assess it for stream bank erosion, canopy cover, channel bottom material, riparian buffer, and human-induced impacts. The inspection found that 67% of the stream had no natural buffer. The goal will be to address this issue by enhancing natural buffers.
      • Hydraulic model: The study created a hydraulic model to assess the frequency and extent of flooding in the PHB watershed and tested it against reports and input from the public. This research identified 8 areas in need of flooding mitigation, and will be used to guide projects.
      • Water quality model: The study identified pollutant loading—including nutrients. The city’s aim will be to treat the water on site. Because the city does not own all the property within the watershed, it is partnering with state government, schools, and nonprofits to achieve improvement goals. Two sizeable properties in this category are the Food Bank and the Wake County Public Schools bus parking area (formerly Bobby Murray Chevrolet).
      • Capital projects: All the elements of the study have been combined and coordinated with other city projects—including watershed projects—to prioritize capital projects for the PHB. Near-term projects include Smoky Hollow Park, rehabilitating pipes with trenchless lining, East Lane drainage improvement, flooding mitigation at Frank and Watauga Streets, cisterns for the Food Bank, and culvert replacement at Boundary Street and Brookside.
      • Smaller projects: The study also supports smaller ongoing projects, including drainage assistance and stream stabilization, Raleigh rainwater rewards, buffer builder bag, stormwater volunteering, stormwater maintenance and asset management, and floodplain management.
    2. Questions/feedback included: 1) a suggestion from Mark Turner to explore a spring (the Kizzie Bonner Spring, identified since the Revolutionary War) on Robin Hood Drive that appears to be piped into the storm sewer; 2) a question about how to report floods (answer: through See, Click, Fix); 3) a question about whether tear-downs and replacements are allowed to build within the buffer (answer: consult UDO).
  1. Representation
    1. Helen Tart informed attendees that she has fliers with information about upcoming election timelines and requirements, so people interesting in running for an office can start planning.
  2. Meetings
    1. Jean Mosher invited East CAC residents to submit topic ideas for meetings. She has received gun safety and CPR as possible topics.

Next Meeting—June 16, 2025 at 7:00 pm at the Lions Park Community Center.

Raleigh Police, 911 call center officials meet with neighbors

The delay in getting Raleigh Police Department officers to the scene of an East Raleigh break-in last month was due to a dispatcher error, Raleigh police and communications officials told neighbors. Representatives from the Raleigh Police Department and the Raleigh-Wake Emergency Communications Center (ECC) met last Thursday with about a dozen neighbors to discuss the incident and recent crime trends.

A call of a break-in, normally the highest priority, was mistakenly coded by a dispatcher as an attempted break-in rather than as in-progress. The call then entered the queue for Raleigh police to be dispatched. Officers arrived at the Plainview Avenue home fifty minutes after the first call arrived.

“We did make a mistake,” ECC Training Manager Angie Shultz told neighbors, apologizing for the error. She and ECC QA Coordinator Chris Walton walked the attendees through the process followed that evening and in general how the ECC works.
Continue reading “Raleigh Police, 911 call center officials meet with neighbors”

East CAC Meets Monday, May 21 @ 7PM

The May East CAC meeting is MONDAY – May 21st @ 7pm!

We’ll get reports from Parks and Rec and the police. This month we also have some great guests too – we’ll have CAT here to talk about bus stop issues (among other things), someone from Neighborhood Traffic Management AND Ms. Barbara Lau who is the coordinator for the Pauli Murray Project (http://paulimurrayproject.org/), the mural project in Durham! Wow! You don’t want to miss it!

See you next Monday!

*East CAC Meeting AGENDA*
May 21, 2012, at 7:00 p.m.
1. Welcome & Announcements
2. (7:05) – Approval of April 2012 Minutes
3. (7:10) – Neighborhood Reports
4. (7:15) – Parks & Recreation Report
5. (7:20) – Police Report
6. (7:30) – Capital Area Transit (David Eatman, Transit Administrator, City of Raleigh)
7. (7:45) – Neighborhood Traffic Management (Tom Fiorello, City of Raleigh)
8. (8:00) – Barbara Lau, Coordinator for the Pauli Murray project in Durham (Mural Project).
9. (8:30) – Adjournment

East CAC meets – bylaws, elections, and Animal Control!

The East CAC will hold its January 2012 meeting Monday at 7 PM at Lions Park Community Center, 516 Dennis Avenue. http://is.gd/nwDQ. The meeting will be streamed live on http://www.eastraleigh.org/stream.html.

We’ve got a big meeting ahead! First we’ll adopt our first set of bylaws since 1980, creating co-chair positions instead of chair/vice-chair. We’ll then promptly vote to elect our new CAC leadership. In addition to our usual announcement from parks and police, we’ll have a representative from Animal Control meet with us to discuss ongoing problems with dogs in our community.
Continue reading “East CAC meets – bylaws, elections, and Animal Control!”

How to help the recent fire victims

As you may have heard, a family living at Raleigh North apartments suffered a fire early Wednesday morning, sending two of the kids to the hospital for extreme smoke inhalation. The family lost all their possessions and are in need of assistance from the community.

Here are the sizes for the children and mom in case there’s anything you can donate. They will be staying with a family member for the time being but may also be looking for affordable housing in the area soon.

If you’re able to help in any way, please contact Michelle (michellegill1981 at hotmail dot com or 919-758-2000) as soon as possible.

Zadeek (18 mos, boy) 2T/3T clothing, shoe size 5W
Tizade (4 1/2, boy) 5T clothing, shoe size 7
Sonia (8, girl) 10/12 clothing, shoe size 7
Yadia (10, girl) 12/14 clothing, shoe size 9 1/2-10
Mom, L-XL 12/14 clothing, 14/16 pants, shoe size 11

East CAC meets Monday

The East CAC will hold its November 2011 meeting Monday at 7 PM at Lions Park Community Center, 516 Dennis Avenue. http://is.gd/nwDQ. The meeting will be streamed live on http://www.eastraleigh.org/stream.html.

The year has flown by! The holiday season is upon us and its time for our last meeting of the year. After the usual updates, we’ll discuss the St. Augustine’s Stadium committee, followed by a holiday party with food and drinks.

Below is the full agenda. Come out, get informed about your community, and then mingle with the many great neighbors of East Raleigh. Hope to see you there!

Mark Turner
East CAC Continue reading “East CAC meets Monday”

East CAC proposed bylaws

Below is the latest revision of the draft East CAC bylaws.

Bylaws of the East Citizens Advisory Council

Revised 18 October 2011

Article I. Organization And Purpose

1. Purpose. The East Citizens Advisory Council (East CAC) is a voluntary organization of citizens whose purpose is to advise the Raleigh City Council on the needs of the citizens of its area and to assist in developing, evaluating, and implementing solutions to the wide range of problems affecting the Raleigh metropolitan area. The East CAC may solicit information from its communities and from appropriate agencies, institutions, or individuals, and may communicate its views on relevant matters to other governmental or private agencies, institutions, or officials.

2. Boundaries. The East CAC shall include the area bounded by Poole Road, to New Bern Avenue, then from Raleigh Boulevard to Glascock Street, Brookside Drive and Atlantic Avenue to Crabtree Creek and along Crabtree Creek to Poole Road or as designated by the City of Raleigh.

3. Membership. The membership of the East CAC consists of all persons aged 18 or older and residing within the area described above.

4. Voting. Decisions of the East CAC will be by majority vote of the members present.

Continue reading “East CAC proposed bylaws”

East CAC bylaws

Below are the latest East CAC bylaws, dating from 1980. A Bylaws Committee is being formed now to bring these bylaws up to date. If you’d like to serve on this ad hoc committee, send an email to cac-chair at eastraleigh dot org and we’ll get started. Thanks!

BYLAWS

EAST RALEIGH COMMUNITY CITIZENS ADVISORY COUNCIL

ARTICLE I. – ORGANIZATION AND PURPOSE

Continue reading “East CAC bylaws”

East CAC meets Monday

The East CAC will hold its September 2011 meeting Monday, September 19th at 7 PM at Lions Park Community Center, 516 Dennis Avenue. http://is.gd/nwDQ. The meeting will be streamed live on http://www.eastraleigh.org/stream.html.

Did you know about Raleigh Parks and Recreation’s Adventure program? Learn how to rock climb, kayak, backpack, and other exciting adventures through this fantastic city program. Seth Yearout, Adventure Program Manager, will tell us more.

We were going to hear from Raleigh-Wake CERT this month but unfortunately they had to cancel at the last minute.

We’ll also hear from David Blount about Raleigh’s upcoming transportation bond and what it means for our city. We’ll also get an update on the noisy Enloe HVAC, and neighbor John Seitz will update us on traffic calming efforts along Glascock Street.

Below is the full agenda. Hope to see you there!
Continue reading “East CAC meets Monday”