Italicized remarks are post-meeting comments by the Recording Secretary.
Roll Call and Introduction of Guests: Janice Santos, Parliamentarian; Chris
Nevil, President; George Gross, 1st VP and Webmaster; Wendy Averill, 2d VP;
Elizabeth Pollock, Recording Secretary; Tobyann Mandel, Director; Marlene Savage,
Director; Aaron Bernardin, Director; Steve Knight, Advisor.
Guests: Lydia Athan, local resident; Mary Anderson, local resident and potential
board member.
Moment of Silence: The board observed a moment of silence in commemoration of
the fifth anniversary of the September 11, 2001, attack on the World Trade Center
in New York City, the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and the attack on the White
House that was foiled by the passengers of United Flight 93. More than 3000
people died in the attacks. A candlelight ceremony was held at the Community
Garden (corner of Mesmer & Beatrice) at 7 p.m..
Election of New Director: Mary Anderson explained that as an elected representative
to the Del Rey Neighborhood Council (“DRNC”), she will need to give
priority to her duties there, but she agreed to accept an appointment to the
remaining open directorship on DRHNA’s board.
Approval of Minutes: The minutes of the August 7, 2006 board meeting were reviewed
and approved without changes.
Approval
of Treasurer’s Report: Before the meeting, Treasurer Michelle Rudo circulated
the Transaction Detail Report for August (balance $10,615) and a Budget Summary
Report comparing the actual inflows and outflows with the budgeted amounts.
The latter indicated that our expenses to date are about $1000 lower than last
year at this time, probably because we did not publish a spring newsletter.
These reports were approved by the board.
Police/Crime
Report: There was no meeting held in August. The next meeting will be on September
13, 2006. When Captain Williams met with the Public Safety Committee of the
DRNC recently, he stated that despite recent homicides in the area, Pacific
Division is considered a “property crimes division.” Mary Anderson
reported on the September 13, 2006 meeting. Between August 13 and September
9, there were 526 crimes, including two homicides, in Pacific Division. Within
one week, there were two burglaries on Bray Street and two on Weir Street (next
street over).
Traffic
Committee: No meeting was held in August. The next meeting is scheduled for
Wednesday, October 4, 2006, at 10:30 a.m. at the Westchester Municipal Building
Community Room, 7166 W. Manchester Blvd., Westchester, CA 90045.
On September 25, Chris Nevil advised that he will not be able to attend the
Wednesday morning meetings this fall. We are looking for a delegate who can
attend in his stead. Michael H. Stafford is chairman of the Del Rey Community
Traffic Committee, tel. (310) 822-7202. The agenda at the last meeting addressed:
(1) the need for residential night time parking restrictions; (2) employee parking
overflows and vehicle storage on residential streets; (3) status of Caltrans
work in the median at Culver Blvd/405 Fwy and the need for better dust control;
(4) status of the Rte 90 overpass at Culver Blvd.
Newsletter:
Mary Anderson has agreed to edit our semiannual newsletter. Our “Spring”
Newsletter never got published, so we will publish a single issue before the
Fall 2006 general meeting. Steve Knight has given Mary Anderson a list of the
articles that are available. Goal is to take newsletter to printer by end of
September. Mary Anderson will need to schedule a meeting to handle the addressing,
stamping of the newsletters.
General
Meeting: Scheduled for October 11, 2006 at Playa del Rey Elementary School.
(Marina del Rey Middle School’s auditorium is undergoing seismic retrofitting.)
Councilman Bill Rosendahl will be the keynote speaker. The theme is “Boom
or Gloom: The Future of Affordable Housing.” Representatives will be invited
to discuss the Glencoe-Maxella Plan, the one billion dollar housing bond measure
on the November 2006 ballot, condominium conversions in Del Rey. We have not
taken a position on the housing bond measure, which would add approximately
$130 per year to the property tax on a home assessed at $500,000.
Membership:
Membership Chair Casey Anderson is printing the address labels for the newsletter
and is attempting to enter the names of the people who signed the petition in
favor of expanding DRHNA’s boundaries to include DRNC’s Area A,
but she is having difficulty reading the addresses.
George Gross has a list of property owners in Del Rey, sorted by census tracts,
but 55 per cent of Del Rey’s residents are renters and would not be on
the list.
Because we have a membership of 425 and always print about 600 newsletters,
Aaron Bernardin moved, and the board agreed, that DRHNA may spend up to $500
to print extra newsletters and send them to residents in the newly annexed area
and in other selected census tracts. (Cost estimate for printing and mailing
is $1.00 - $1.50 per newsletter.) The membership applications in the newsletters
sent to nonmembers will be marked in some way so that we will know if we get
new members from the mailing.
Website:
Has been updated by George Gross, Webmaster.
DRNC:
The board will meet on September 14, 2006, at Marina del Rey Middle School.
The election of new directors is slated for October 28, 2006. According to Steve
Knight, the Church of Religious Science (located near Centinela & Juniette)
has contracted to sell its land to Standard Pacific Homes, which is planning
to build 218 homes, provided that it can get the entitlements to do so from
the County of Los Angeles. Wendy Averill reported that she has been notified
of four condominium conversion projects near the Inglewood Blvd./Culver Blvd.
intersection.
Culver City Liaison Report: Aaron Bernardin expressed concern about his ability
to fulfill the duties of the position. One must monitor the Culver City website
with its City Council and Planning Commission agendas and develop contacts in
the city government, e.g. Scott Malsin, now a City Councilman. Marlene Savage
said that she could serve as liaison.
OLD/CONTINUING
BUSINESS
Starbucks at Jefferson and Centinela: The lease has been signed. George Gross
has requested the first check for the soundproofing contractor. The landowner
is being paid to allow the posting of bills on the property.
Board
potluck barbecue: Took place on Sunday, August 27, 2006. A good time was had
by all.
Fundraising 5K run for four local elementary schools: Mary Anderson will contact
the organizer, Ha Roda, (310) 728-6665, to get an article that can be included
in the newsletter. We need to call Sibyl Buchanan at Playa Vista, (310) 448-4633,
to find out if they will waive any fee for companies setting up booths. [Question
from EAP: Am I supposed to make that call?] Further discussion of our participation
was tabled until the October meeting.
Centinela
Ave. Widening: A meeting between the contractor and DRHNA has not been scheduled.
Policy
on Gifts & Honoraria: As a community organization, we need guidelines as
to how we will use our funds to make gifts and pay honoraria so that there will
be no suggestion of favoritism or undue influence. Presently, our bylaws give
the board discretion to decide whether to make gifts or pay honoraria. Steve
Knight will look for language that was drafted by our former treasurer, Marcia
Romano, and Tobyann Mandel will look for language that has been acceptable to
the IRS in other situations. We will discuss this again at the next meeting.
Dues
Change: The board voted to set the dues at Ten Dollars ($10) per household for
calendar year 2007. The dues solicitations will be going out in October.
Post
Meeting Issues
1. Cell Phone Installations. On September 12, 2006, Michelle Rudo circulated
a letter she had received asking all Del Rey residents to attend the DRNC meeting
to show opposition to the application by Cingular Wireless for permission to
install a cellular antenna on the Church of Religious Science site.
The letter also advised that T-Mobile has submitted an application to install
a wireless telecommunication facility atop the apartment building at 5026 Slauson
Avenue (Slauson & Ballona Creek). The facility would have 12 antennas and
two GPS antennae. The public meeting about the application was set for September
14, 2006, at 10:30 a.m. in the West Los Angeles Municipal Building, 1645 Corinth
Ave., Second Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90025,
The letter advised that the Zoning Office has placed a hold on Cingular’s
application for a cell tower at Inglewood Blvd. and Ballona Creek. The L.A.
Fire Department has advised that the easement must be kept clear.
2. Proposition
90. A coalition of organizations has asked DRHNA to register opposition to this
proposition. Although we are not a “homeowners’ association”
that has the power to regulate design and construction in a specific housing
development, we probably were targeted because of our organization’s name.
According to the opponents, the proposition is being sold as eminent domain
reform but in fact allows private landowners to sue government entities or their
private agents if actions are taken that reduce the value of the landowner’s
property. The proposition is an attack on zoning laws.
3. Opt
Out. To opt out of receiving credit card and insurance solicitations, one can
signup at optoutprescreen.com (submitted by Wendy Averill).
4. Roster.
Board Members were sent a new roster that includes Mary Anderson’s contact
information.
NEXT
MEETING: MONDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2006 (moved from October 2 because of Yom
Kippur)
ADJOURNMENT: 8:40 P.M.