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Below are samples of topics that have been raised by residents. Click on the topics of interest to you that are in boldface to learn how we have replied (F = Feedback; R = Response). Use this list as an aid in forming your own questions, concerns, or suggestions.

Barking Dogs: how to control or report

F. The second issue is regarding barking dogs. We have a dog ourselves but would never impose the dog, its noise, or its "output" on anyone else. Can anything be done about barking dogs (whether day time or night time)?

Box of Checks: not put in locking mailbox

F. Perhaps the neighborhood might like to know the following: I'd ordered new checks & found today that the mailman had just put them in my newspaper tube rather than troubling to drive up the driveway & leave them at my door (i.e., off the street). Anywhere in Oakland, mailpersons should know better! Best when ordering them, I suppose, to specify picking up @ the bank.

R. The sad truth is that USPS policy is that carriers are not to carry packages to the door. Some still do, but the official policy is for the carrier to leave a notice of oversized mail in your box and and allow you to check instructions for delivery at your box or pick-up at the post office. So this was the policy violation in your case...you got no notice. Many mail carriers believe they're doing you a favor by avoiding your trip
to the post office and leaving it at your box. Again, this is contrary to policy. Our Mail Theft Project team has been promoting discounts for locking mailboxes and both have slots large enough for a pretty fat phone
book....still not ideal for hefty packages. We will report your situation to the stationmaster, but you might like the outcome less than your recent experience.
Robbie Neely, MSIC Mail Theft Chair

Community Watch Group: how to form

F. I would love to organize a community watch group in our neighborhood. How do I do it?

R. There are two types of neighborhood response groups that you can form. One is called Home Alert, sponsored by the Oakland Police Department, that helps neighborhood prepare against crimes, such as robbery, car theft, and assaults. The other is called CORE (Citizens of Oakland Respond to Emergencies), sponsored by the Oakland Fire Department, which helps neighborhoods prepare for and respond to emergencies such as fires and earthquakes. In the Hills, we probably need a little bit of each program. Forming groups like these are very important because we need them. Let me know what your needs are and I can also help, and I will also have City employees get in contact with you to help you.
Nick Vigilante, MSIC Chair

Eucalyptus Trees: remove as a fire hazard

F. We would be happy to see the removal of eucalyptus trees in our area. They have grown at a huge rate since the fire. We remember watching them burn one after the other like Roman candles as we drove away from our home.

R. The Montclair Safety and Improvement Council, members of the Piedmont Pines Club, including our former City Council member Dick Spees, worked extremely hard to ensure the passage of the Wildfire Assessment District to work on those problems, including the Eucalyptus tree/debris problem. If there is a particularly problematic area near you, please let the Fire Department know. Contact Camille Rodgers, Supervisory Vegetation Inspector, at crodgers@oaklandnet.com. Please cc me because I am keeping a list of areas where problems are reported, and I can follow-up with the City.
Nick Vigilante, MSIC Chair

Illegal Dumping: what to do
F. Earlier last week I reported to Illegal Dumping that two large chairs, and other debris, (had been) dumped on Chelton just above the painted rocks earlier in the week.

It seems some unwanted types are on the streets in the Piedmont Pines area. Perhaps they are coming from Highway 580 and, past the schools, into this area.

I would appreciate it if you would alert our Beat Desk officer of my concerns. In addition, how about asking the USPS to ask their delivery person to be alert for unusual cars, etc., and to report to the beat officer? Also, how about alerting Joaquin Miller and Montera Junior High officials and the crossing guard for these schools?

Neighborhood Covenants: need to create and enforce

F. Perhaps "neighborhood covenants" need to be created and enforced to solve problems. We've lived in such neighborhoods and it really is effective and appreciated. Some people don't like that because it would force them to clean up their act. But for the rest of us - if it cleans up the neighborhood and makes it safer -- then we all win through enjoyment and making our neighborhood attractive for new business and potential buyers for that unfortunate time when you may need to move and be looking to sell your home.

R. The Montclair Safety and Improvement Council formed a Team that is just starting to work on Blight/Dumping/Litter problems in Montclair, and the Hills above Montclair The Council is a grass roots effort to engage members of the community in solving some of the problems. The Council would like to invite you to participate. Let me know if you would like to participate in this effort and I'll have the Task Team Leader get in contact with you. Regarding barking dogs there are laws in place currently to address this situation. Call the Oakland Police Department at 510 777-3333 to report this type of public nuisance.
Nick Vigilante, MSIC Chair

Noise: how to control

F. Would definitely like to see a focus on nuisance noise in the valley. The current noise regulations are really not very resident friendly with almost constant morning construction noise. Piedmont (has) addressed this extremely well with their very reasonable restrictions and would be a great model to follow.

Outgoing Mail: how to put in unlocked mailbox

F. Are you saying there are NO mailboxes that allow one to securely send outgoing mail?

R. You raise a good question and our answer remains what you expected. There is no safe way to put outgoing mail in your personal mailbox. Although the USPS requires all residential boxes to have a "red flag" and provision for handling outgoing mail, this is not a safe way to send anything that has personal information about you contained in it. You can put non-sensitive mail in your box if that is your only choice, but then we recommend you don't raise the red flag. Postal employees will pick up the mail regardless of the flag's position, but raising it just alerts would-be thieves that there is something to steal. Sorry state of affairs but that's the world we live in today.

Some have asked if the USPS carries keys to unlock residential boxes. No. The USPS does not permit postal workers to carry keys for locking mailboxes except in apartment houses where a wall of boxes can be opened with one key.
Roger Vickery, MSIC Mail Theft Team

Parked Cars: get off streets and into garages

I would like to see the Montclair Village streets more orderly with fewer parked cars. I think many folks let their stuff accumulate in their garages (so they're not available for their cars) and then put their cars on the street making it unsafe and inconvenient for the rest of us. Is there anything that can be done about that. We pay a fortune for our homes here yet the neighborhood often looks quite unkept and "junky" in part due to this problem.

Stolen Mail: what to do if found
F. I found an opened, unlabeled UPS envelope on the hillside below our mail box. It had opened mail documents, a paycheck stub and family photographs in it. When I could not find the telephone number for the two people (whose mail was inside the UPS envelope), I sent a postcard to them on Saturday telling them I had found these documents and to call me.

They contacted me yesterday...(and) advised that (their) car trunk had been broken into. (They) called me today to give me the police report number and to confirm plans to return her documents. Before I mail these documents back... would the OPD like to examine them or test them for finger prints?

Stop Signs: how to get one installed at a dangerous intersection

F. What is the process for having a stop sign put in? I believe that one is needed at the upper intersection of Colton and Heartwood (they intersect twice).

R. The Traffic & Pedestrian Safety Team is currently assembling a list of safety issues in the hills. Contact Jim Dexter, TPST Chair, to make sure any sign you feel should be included is on their list. The list will be prioritized and meetings with city officials will follow to address those that are feasible to resolve.
Roger Vickery, MSIC Information