Issues 4

Did you know that one in three fire deaths in San Antonio are senior citizens? Many of these deaths may have been prevented if these residents had working smoke detectors in their homes. Free, installed smoke detectors are available to local senior homeowners and disabled residents. Eligible residents can call 2-1-1, Monday through Friday from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm, to request a smoke detector. Members of the San Antonio Fire Department will install the detectors at no charge.

Have You Called 311 Lately?

Did you know that the phone 311 service can be one of your best friends? It is probably the fastest access you have to getting the city to take care of your non-emergency problems. What kind of problems? If you drive or walk through Alta Vista on a daily basis you no doubt have from time to time encountered a pile of brush and household items sitting on the curb when there is no “big brush” pickup. You may notice a car parked on someone’s lawn. Perhaps you have noticed a pet not being taken care of properly or you may have a question about a code compliance issue or see a problem on a rental property that is not being attended to. If you notice something like this for several consecutive days then it is time to notify 311.

When you call 311 you will always encounter a very nice city employee on the other end who is willing to take the information from you and you do not have to leave your name. When you finish getting the information ask the person with whom you are speaking to give you a confirmation number. Then, if you see the problem is not being attended to within a reasonable amount of time you can call again and insist again the problem be looked into. Also, you could give that confirmation number to someone on the Landlord Committee or anyone on the Board so that they can follow-up. Those of us on the Landlord Committee have found calling 311 to be very reliable and almost always the problem is taken care of quickly.

Another choice you have when you see a problem is to call the Alta Vista Helpline: 736-HELP, or email code compliance issues to codecompliance@avna-sa.org.

Which ever way you choose to take responsibility for our neighborhood every little bit counts to making Alta Vista safer, cleaner and more beautiful.

Smoke Detectors for Seniors

Bexar County’s Flood Control Program is a $500 million 10-year capital improvements project that will, for the first time, address flooding issues from a regional perspective. The first phase of projects has been approved by the Commissioners Court and one of those projects is the San Pedro-Huisache project, which will impact the residents in the Alta Vista Neighborhood.

This will involve considerable construction and street obstruction, but the speakers at the AVNA October General meeting indicated such work would not begin in Alta Vista for another couple of years. Uncomfortable for a while, but badly needed for a long time.

Won’t happen here...