Sacramento City Councilman Robbie Waters wants to advance public safety in his district by bolstering neighborhood associations and watch groups. Waters, a former Sacramento County sheriff, said that public safety is his top priority for the year.

The Sacramento Press is publishing a series on the 2010 goals of members of the City Council. Links to stories on other councilmembers’ goals can be found at the end of this story.

Waters represents District 7, which includes the Greenhaven, Pocket and Valley Hi neighborhoods. He is running for re-election in June. His opponents in the race are Darrell Fong, who had a longtime career as a Sacramento police officer, and Ryan Chin, the strategic communications director at California State University, Sacramento.

Patricia Clark, Waters’ district director, spoke on behalf of the councilman in a phone interview Wednesday. Clark said Waters has been working hard to build up neighborhood associations and watch groups. He wants to help make the groups stronger and expand their numbers, she said.

While the district already has many neighborhood groups, there are still parts of the district that are not covered by an association and do not have a neighborhood watch, she said.

Building up neighborhood associations and watch groups “can contribute to making our district a strong community so that criminals will know they will not succeed in our neighborhoods,” according to Clark, who said she was quoting Waters.

Waters’ second highest priority will be the Robbie Waters Pocket-Greenhaven Library, Clark said. The councilman’s office plans to open the library’s doors in September, according to Clark. The 15,000-square-foot library will be part of the Sacramento Public Library system.

Pocket-Greenhaven Library will be located at Sacramento City Unified School District’s School of Engineering and Sciences. It will serve the school as well as the community, Clark said.

She added that efforts are underway to pursue “silver certification” for the library under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program.

Waters’ third focus of the year will be communicating with residents about programs, resources and events, according to Clark. The councilman’s office frequently updates Waters’ website and communicates with residents through an e-mail list, Clark said. Waters wants to continue those efforts and increase the level of communication with residents, she added.

“We really want all residents to be well-informed of all the resources that are available to them,” Clark said.

Read Councilman Kevin McCarty’s priorities here. Learn about Councilwoman Lauren Hammond’s plans for the year here. Councilman Steve Cohn’s plans for 2010 can be read here.

Photo of Waters by Anthony Bento.
Drawing of the Robbie Waters Pocket-Greenhaven Library courtesy of the city of Sacramento.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.