Dear Community Members,

We would like to introduce eNews, our new vehicle for communicating association updates, community happenings, and other relevant news. News happens all of the time and often the quarterly News & Views eNewsletter missed what happened in between editions. Therefore, the idea behind eNews is that it will be published on an as-needed basis. Don’t worry we won’t clog up your email box! If you would like to receive it directly via email, please sign up here (if you received News & Views via email, you are already signed up). It is also available on this website at www.RHAOakland.org/news.

This eNews update provides a summary of RHA’s Annual Meeting and an update on what’s in store for 2017.

Annual Meeting Summary

Last month, the new Redwood Heights Association (RHA) held its first annual meeting and it was a big success. In the tradition of the former association, we will continue to host this annual community meeting every October. For the 2016 meeting, the overarching theme was What’s New in Oakland and the meeting provided a great opportunity to get together with community members, learn about some exciting changes and projects with the City of Oakland, and hear about how Uber is approaching their upcoming move to Downtown Oakland.

Redwood Heights Association

We formally introduced RHA, our new community organization dedicated to improving the quality of life for those living in and around the lower Oakland Hills. In 2016, not only were we successful in establishing a new nonprofit corporation, were also able to obtain a 501(c)3 designation, meaning that donations are now tax-deductible. This designation was a major accomplishment and will enable the organization to do so much more for the community, as we are now eligible to receive grant money. The reboot of the association is now complete; let’s call it Phase I. Now it’s time to move on to Phase II - deciding what to do in 2017. Similar to the old association, RHA will continue to concentrate on community building activities; however, it now includes a project-oriented component, utilizing a community-public partnership model. This means RHA will work closely with the City of Oakland, foundations, and other nonprofits on projects designed to make a difference in our community.

To view the RHA presentation, click here.

Annie Campbell Washington, Vice Mayor and District 4 City Councilmember

Annie gave us an update on success the of the Oakland Promise program, the city’s focus on addressing homelessness in Oakland, and urged community members to vote on several ballot measures in the election. RHA values the relationship we have with the Vice Mayor and her amazing staff, and looks forward to working on future projects with them.

If you want to receive regular updates from the Vice Mayor, sign up here.

Sarah Fine, Sr. Transportation Planner, City of Oakland

Sarah introduced the newly formed City of Oakland Department of Transportation (OakDOT). This new department is the first-ever city department dedicated to studying, managing and improving the safe movement of goods and people on Oakland’s city streets, sidewalks, highways and bridges. OakDOT is responsible for transportation related issues that were previously managed by Public Works or the Oakland Police Department.

To view Sarah’s presentation, click here.

For the OakDOT Strategic Plan, click here.

Kelley Kahn, Oakland Special Projects Manager, City of Oakland

Kelley’s presentation regarding the work she is doing with Oakland’s Department of Economic Development gave us great insight into the many projects city planners are working on. She discussed many opportunities for positive change and growth in Oakland, and the related challenges that go with those changes. It’s an exciting time for Oakland!

To view the Kelly’s presentation, click on the following links – Part 1, Part 2 or Part 3.

Jordan Medina, Community Outreach & Engagement & Public Affairs, Uber

Uber is one of the most important tech companies moving into Downtown Oakland, so we were interested in its plans for the move and plans to interact with the Oakland community. It plans to bring roughly 3,000 new jobs to Oakland. Jordan is the new community outreach representative for Oakland, and he brought us up to speed regarding the development plans for the former Sears building (Uber’s new Oakland Headquarters) and Uber’s commitment to the local community and its developing engagement strategy.

To view Jordan’s presentation, click here.

RHA in 2017

Phase II of RHA’s development will focus on a few key initiatives – volunteers, community feedback, and our first project.

RHA is a volunteer organization, so your support is vital to our success. If you are interested in volunteering, please join us at a monthly board meeting to learn more or complete the volunteer form on our website at www.rhaoakland.org/get-involved/ and we will contact you.

In order to best serve our community, your feedback is needed. RHA will utilize online surveys to capture that information. We really want to understand what is most important to our community, so we will occasionally send surveys via the Yahoo Group, Nextdoor, and email. The first survey was sent to Annual Meeting attendees and the insights we gained were extremely helpful. Your participation in future surveys is important and will help us in establishing priorities and selecting RHA projects.

Supporting RHA

As you have likely seen, we are in the midst of our annual fundraising campaign and your support will help us achieve our goals. A big "thank you" to those who have already generously contributed.

Please consider making a tax-deductible contribution to help fund association projects and programs. Your contribution to RHA is an investment in your community.

There are four suggested contribution levels:

• Platinum $100+
• Gold $75
• Silver $50
• Bronze $25

Making a contribution is easy! Just go to RHAOakland.org/contribute to donate online or download the donation brochure here.

Together, we can do so much more. Thank you for your support!

Best,
Carla

Carla Gerardu-Low
President
Redwood Heights Association