MESA – May 16, 2023 – Newsletter

Hi Neighbors,

We have a fun activity this Friday up at Sutter’s Landing. Here’s info on that and other things going on around our neighborhood.

Bike Rodeo at Sutter’s Landing Friday: May is Bike Month, and also time to celebrate National Bike and Roll to School Day. Sutter Middle School students will be meeting up after school on Friday with parent volunteers and Sacramento Area Bicycle Advocates (SABA). SABA will be doing a bike safety check and a quick tutorial of how to bike safely. Then our group will head out by the McKinley Park Rose Garden, up by Theodore Judah Elementary School on to McKinley Village and then after a final push up the hill, we’ll arrive at the covered parking area at Sutter’s Landing. There we will be doing a bike safety course and bike tune-ups. Thank you to our sponsors for our awesome raffle—we got a free bike donated by Mike’s Bikes, accessories from East Sac Bike and other items from Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op, Refill Madness, Selland’s Family Restaurants, and more! We’ll have Kona Shave Ice for our participants to cool down afterwards. Come ride with us!

City Council Meetings Today: Today the City Council has some important agenda items up for discussion.

2 pm Meeting – Parks Budget. They are looking to add two new positions to focus on all of our parks’ fields. This includes soccer and baseball fields. If you want to comment on the state of parks in our neighborhood, this is the time to speak up.

5 pm Meeting:

Item #13 – Approval of a City Council Decorum Officer: If you are not aware, attending city council meetings can be discouraging. People are interrupted and shouted at. Some Sacramentans do not feel comfortable attending City Council meetings. Last week the Mayor implored the wider community to come and speak. The Decoram Officer is an opportunity to give every citizen a voice in the chambers without being mistreated for voicing their opinion.

Item #21 – Police Budget: Please review it and make your comments.

There are several ways to make your voice heard:

Write in ‘comments’ under the agenda item online.
Email your city council representative directly.
Call in and make a public comment on the item at the meeting.
Attend the meeting and speak to city council directly.

Here’s the link to the meetings and agendas.

http://sacramento.granicus.com/ViewPublisher.php?view_id=21

Town Hall with Mayor Steinberg – Tahoe Park May 20th: Mayor Steinberg is hosting another town hall in Tahoe Park on May 20th. This is a great opportunity to hear what he is doing in our city, and in our specific neighborhoods. We encourage you to attend. To register, visit https://engagesac.org/events

McKinley Park Trash Dash Sunday May 28th: Come out for our monthly Trash Dash at McKinley Park. This is a very family friendly event, and also a great opportunity for any local students to get community service credits. We’ll have Parks donated trash grabbers and garbage bags, and a dumpster to fill up. Come out, meet some new friends and make our park shiny. Our group will be out there from 10 am until noon, meeting up by the duck pond. For more information on this event and other Sacramento Picks It Up events, please visit the Facebook page here: https://fb.me/e/7KywbsjSl

Something Not Right? Call it In: We have all seen unsafe conditions in our neighborhood. If you see a situation unfolding that could cause harm to anyone, call 911. If you need to report something to our police force, but it isn’t an emergency situation, please call the SacPD non-emergency number at 916-808-5471. See a fire burning where it shouldn’t? Call Sac Metro Fire’s number at 916-228-3035. If you are having other issues, contact 311. Report issues to 311, but if you know it is an emergency, don’t hesitate—call 911. Do you love social media? Follow SacPD on Nextdoor, Facebook and Twitter. @SacPolice @SPD_Field Ops

ADA Class Action Lawsuit Against the City and County of Sacramento: An ADA Class Action lawsuit was filed against the City of Sacramento and Sacramento County. The lawsuit claims that disabled citizens are not able to use City and County sidewalks due to encampments blocking them. They are claiming this is a violation of the Americans with Disability Act and several other federal laws preventing discrimination against the disabled.

Are you disabled and have had issues with blocked sidewalks? We are working with fellow MESA member and attorney Louis Demas to gather information about City and County residents who have had issues. We have a form on our website here to submit issues: https://midtowneastsac.org/ada-lawsuit/. Involved with an organization serving the disabled? Please email info@midtowneastsac.org and we can give you additional information that may help disabled people within the organization.

Fundraising for ADA Lawsuit Expenses: With the lawsuit in progess, Attorney Louis Demas is going to have some expenses arise. Mr. Demas is representing the plaintiffs on a pro bono basis so they will not have to pay any attorneys fees. If you are able to help with expenses please send a tax deductible donation to Friends of East Sacramento. You can find more information on this here.

Keep Spreading the Word: Our distribution list just keeps growing. We are at 285 subscribers, and we love sharing what’s going on in the neighborhood. Please encourage friends and families to join our mailing list. And remember, if you ever want to unsubscribe, we understand. Just hit the link at the bottom of this email and it will be taken care of. See you around the neighborhood!

Amy Gardner