Triangle Neighborhood Association Meeting
Monday, November 7, 2005

A meeting of the Triangle Neighborhood Association was held on Monday, November 7, 2005 at Warner Elementary School in the cafeteria. A summary of the presentations made and the discussion held at the meeting follows:
  1. Meg Hudson, President of the Association, called the meeting to order at 7:02 PM.
  2. Twenty- seven persons were present at the start of the meeting. Four persons joined the group after the meeting began.
  3. Meg announced that the membership drawing would take place at 8:00 PM. All were encouraged to submit the membership forms during the meeting.
  4. Captain Maggitti of the Wilmington Police Department addressed the group.
    1. He acknowledged that there have been questions about the need for a know sex offender to register with the local law enforcement agencies.
    2. A gentleman who lives in the 2600 block of Baynard Blvd was cited for an offense in 1980. He has been a resident for the last five years.
    3. The “Megan’s Law” notifications were required after 1995,
    4. The gentleman’s parole has been in place.
    5. Some fliers were distributed to his neighbors.
    6. The information can been obtained from the State of Delaware website.
    7. The Wilmington Police have full time with the responsibility to register offenders.
    8. Reverse 911 is a way for the law enforcement agencies to send voice notices to households in a specific area; however, if a resident’s phone has a telemarketer block, the Reverse 911 message will be blocked, also.
    9. Although imperfect, it can be used for a storm alert.
    10. New Castle County police sent a message at the request of Wilmington Police.
    11. Unlisted numbers are not in the database
    12. Sgt. William Wells of the Wilmington Police force can be contacted at 576-3162. He can modify the database.
    13. Copies of the crime statistics for the last six months are available.  Tom Baker has been provided with the information in spreadsheet format.
    14. Burglary is the entering of a building without permission.
    15. Theft is the taking of property with intent to deny it to the owner.
    16. In the 900 block of W 22nd street, there was a burglary, and another occurred nearby.
    17. There is a problem with the lack of reporting incidents.
    18. Often minor thefts and vandalism go unreported.
    19. Report incidents, so the police will have a better sense of crimes in a given location.
    20. In the 2400 block of Broom an attempted burglary at 2:00 AM was reported.
    21. There was an incident of tire slashing in the 700 block of W 21 St., but the police learned that there were others on 20th Street and 23rd Street.
    22. In the 2400 block of Franklin Street, a van was stolen.
    23. Shrubs from resident’s yards have been stolen.
    24. Police can take a report over the phone.
    25. Police are deployed based on available crime stats, so report incidents.
    26. Basement windows are an easy entrance for a burglar. Glass block is a good placement for traditional windows.
    27. Burglar alarms can be used, but can be not dependable, because at times, they are not used properly.
    28. Dead bolts at top of basement steps are a good precaution.
    29. A new resident to the area asked about the nature of crimes. The captain responded that the usual occurances deal with stolen cars and residential burglaries.
    30. Air Conditioners can be pushed in easily to gain access.
    31. There were reports of speeders on the 2400 block of Franklin Streets. Speed strips were installed, and only three speeders were detected.
    32. One participant indicated that loud car radios are a problem.
    33. Announcements from Baynard Stadium can be heard during athletic competitions. It was thought that the stadium officials apply for the appropriate waiver.
    34. State has done a great job with Brandywine Park.
    35. There will be a new graduating class of Wilmington Police officers. This gives some hope for the deployment of additional officers to the Triangle Neighborhood. Office Heather is not back to work, yet.
    36. Jim Carey asked about some police activity on the 2300 block of Franklin Street involving two young men of high school age. The captain indicated that there was a successful cooperative effort between the police and Salesianum School to address an issue. The names of the students cannot be mentioned due to their ages.
  5. John Rago addressed the group:
    1. He acknowledged that is always an honor to be share the podium with Captain Maggitti
    2. Once more, he is happy to represent the Mayor at the Triangle Neighborhood Association meeting.
    3. There is an effort to strengthen neighborhoods by changing rentals into purchases.
    4. The city is getting closer to instant ticketing for offenses like inappropriate storage of trash containers. Currently, a person is warned before required to appear in court. The new system is modeled on parking violation ticketing.
    5. The Mayor’s Office always support new local businesses.
    6. Individuals can contact John by phone at 576-2109, his direct number or by email at jrago@ci.wilmington,de.us
  6. Norm Griffiths addressed the group:
    1. On November 8, there will be a meeting of neighborhood groups at Del Tech, Third and Shipley streets. There will be good and prizes. All are invited.
    2. A new city ordinance concerning the saving of parking spaces using cones and chairs passed by a vote of 8 to 5 vote.  The Mayor did sign it into law.
    3. Police will be charged with enforcement, however, the Police Chief can give a waver, for example during the St. Anthony’s festival.
    4. There would be $50 fine for the first offense, and a $100 fine for the second offense.
    5. Night games at Baynard Stadium would be present a problem for saving of parking spaces.
    6. Another new city ordinance places a $250 fine for doing automotive repairs and maintenance on city streets.
    7. Another action of city council provided $30,000 for Beth Higley for the Brandywine Park playground.  Councilman Feel also promoted the action of Council along with Norm Griffiths.
    8. There may be a relocation of the public works facilities.  The developer is not known.
    9. A question was raised about the circular brickwork across Baynard and Washington Street.  This was a neighborhood project which called for persistence.
    10. Another question was about the possibility of a local job corps for youth.  The tasks could include raking of leaves and shoveling of snow for elderly residents.  It was acknowledged that adult supervision would be needed.
    11. Cherry Island will stop taking leaves in another year, in an effort to provide more landfill space.
    12. The city uses a vacuum vehicle to collect leaves.
    13. A question was raised about the purchase of new smaller city snowploughs.  The answer given indicated that the city has not purchased new equipment.  Rather smaller city trucks will be retrofitted to plough snow.
    14. A suggestion was offered to place a no parking zone on the school side of 19th Street. This change would facilitate bus pick-up and drop-off.  The neighbors would have to sign a petition. David Blankenship should be invited to a future meeting.
    15. Pat Joyce inquired about the Verizon phones, which lose signal.  Two years ago, a similar issue was experienced in the  900 block of Franklin Street. A junction box was the cause of the problem.  Someone needs to get to a Verizon supervisor.  Bill Allen may be the one to call. is the one to call.  It was commented that Verizon has a history of poor customer service.
  7. Tom Baker addressed the group:
    1. Tom serves as the community liaison  with Captain Maggitti.
    2. Encourage more people to be involved with the community.
    3. Only two Town Watch groups signed book out of four last weekend.
    4. A reminder that crime stats are available.
    5. Jim Carey took it over Neighborhood watch from Beth.
    6. Schedule will come out in six months increments
    7. Replacements can be found with a little foresight.
  8. Lee gave a quick treasure’s report. Currently $3,279 is in the TNA treasury, due to membership drive.
  9. Loren mentioned that diagrams have been displayed on the front table concerning traffic calming near the sight of Accenture, the old Wanamaker’s building.
  10. Meg make a few announcements:
    1. A thank you goes out to Loren for Halloween Parade.
    2. The TNA Garden fix-up was handled well.
    3. Susan M. Chase’s book on the history of the Brandywine Park will be available on December 1.  It was suggested that copies be purchased for the two schools in the Triangle Neighborhood.
    4. A volunteer is needed to organize Christmas caroling. We need someone within the next two weeks to step forward.
    5. There is a community forum tomorrow night.  Would someone wish to represent TNA?
  11. Several members of the group made announcements:
    1. Rita suggested that we address the litter on the streets.  Perhaps, Dave Blankenship can be of some assistance.
    2. John Rago mentioned the "Clean Wilmington" campaign, which is aimed at changing behavior.  There is an issue about the emptying of public trash containers by city public works employees.
    3. Frank mentioned the Salesianum students who participated in a litter pickup near the TNA Garden by the Augustine Cutoff.
    4. Rita raised a concern about keeping porch lights lit during Halloween.  Many of the visitors were not from our neighborhood.  Some did not have costumes.
  12. The drawing for the membership bonus prizes took place:
    1. Available were two $30 gift certificates to the Domain Hudson Wine Bar, and five $20 gift certificates to Mikimotos.
    2. $30 gift to Domain Hudson and $20 Mikimotos won by Jim Martin
    3. Two $20 gift certificates for Mikimotos were won by Michael and Annette Neal, 713 W. 19th Street
    4. One $30 gift card to wine bar won by Phil and Liz Socorso
    5. One $20 gift certificate to Mikimotos won by Vivian Flagg
    6. One $20 gift certificate to Mikimotos won by Zaida Rodriguez.
  13. The meeting ended at 8:37 PM.