MINUTES

Meeting called to order by President Ernie Sanchez.

Public Comments

Pat Griffith says we will be getting a new treasurer, and that we definitely want to hire a bookkeeper. It's a tremendous amount of work, and should be on January's agenda. Jerry Schneider wants to recognize the tremendous job Pat has done in this position.

Presentation by Miguel Zermeno, Project Manager from BOS and Kristine Grillo regarding Alternative Technologies for Processing Municipal Solid Waste. (5-10 minute presentation) (absent)

Presentation by Gautam Dutta, Esq. (a Hermon resident), a representative of New America Foundation. He says the city has a problem with expensive runoff elections. He says LA City Council is looking into Instant Runoff Voting (IRV) -- a critical reform that would save millions in taxpayer dollars and raise voter turnout for local elections. This allows voters to rank the candidates in order of preference -1, 2, 3. The city of San Francisco has used this system since 2004 and voter participation has gone up. Oakland just adopted the system, too. Four LA City Councilmembers support IRV including Jose Huizar. The goal is to have eight councilmembers approve it because their support is needed to change the city charter. He is asking for neighborhood council's support; Silver Lake Neighborhood Council and Toluca Lake Neighborhood Council has supported it, as well as a long list of other supporters. Ann Walnum asks who wins if the votes for the majority are equal? Mr. Dutta says it will go to whomever is ranked highest on the IRV. Zara Scoville supports this idea. Pat Griffith likes the idea. Sylvia Robledo makes the motion to make the IRV an action item for the next meeting. Ann Walnum seconds the motion.

Board Discussion/Action Items:

1. Approval of minutes from October 2007 meeting – minutes are on the website. They will be available for the next meeting.

2. Treasurer's report – has been handed out by Pat Griffith. Jerry Schneider asks if there should be a deadline for spending the allocated money or it would be lost. Pat Griffith says the motion is in the standing rules. Zara Scoville suggests if no action has begun on a project money has been allocated for, perhaps in those situations a review should be done. J. Michael Walker asks if Day of the Dead was held this year, but Pat Griffith says it is payment for Day of the Dead from 2006. Funding is setup for a bookkeeping position. She can ask her daughter to photocopy and fill in the spreadsheets. Paula Sirola asks if Arroyo Seco Magnet School 's music program funding is listed. Pat says it is listed under Schools.

3. Discussion and possible board vote: (Postponed from Oct meeting): In an effort to help reduce paper waste, should the ASNC purchase a projector for use during meetings? Cost not to exceed $800. Pat says there would need to be a laptop and a projector brought to each meeting. Scott Rubel suggests we use a printer instead of a projector to give printouts to attendees as needed. Ernie Sanchez asks for a vote regarding the possible purchase of the projector. One votes in favor, seven vote against the motion.

4. Suggestions for location of the January Board meeting. (Postponed from Oct meeting): ASNC should accept the invitation of Los Angeles International High School in the Hermon Community (625 Coleman Ave, L.A. 90042), to hold its first regular meeting of 2008 on their campus. Paula Sirola moves that we accept the invitation. J. Michael Walker seconds the motion. Motion passes.

5. Discussion regarding the challenge to the 2007 election. DONE representative may be available to make an official report including any steps that the ASNC Board members need to take. Pat Griffith reads an email regarding an election challenge. If the challenge is not resolved, there is a possibility the new board will not be taking their seats in January. Eliot Sekuler offers to write the letter about the challenge to the board members. Ann Walnum is concerned that the wording was not such that people knew that they should choose two candidates in one of the districts. She takes the position that if she had a choice she would make a suggestion that a new election be held. Paula Sirola finds it awkward to suggest a celebration in January to welcome new board members and thanking old board members.

6. Motion: Request that ASNC allocate funds not to exceed $300 to cover cost of food and supplies for a "thank you" reception (to be organized and prepared by Hermon stakeholders) for outgoing board members, and a "welcome" for new board members and guests, the evening of the first 2008 meeting on January 28. Reception at 6 p.m., meeting starts at 7 p.m. Anticipated attendance, 70-80. Eliot moves to move forward contingent upon resolution of the election challenge. Jerry Schneider mentions that board members that are termed out are usually given a certificate of appreciation. J. Michael Walker moves to have the celebration, but to adjust it according to what the resolution is on the election challenge. Scott Rubel seconds the motion. All vote in favor of the motion. Motion passes.

7. Motion: That ASNC liaisons present an update to the ASNC Board once each quarter. Pat Griffith says the update could be in writing. Scott Rubel makes the motion. Motion passes.

8. Motion submitted by Scott Rubel: Motion for funding aid, in conjunction with other Neighborhood Councils and Friends of the Southwest Museum Coalition, to share costs for professional, independent traffic analysis of the New Autry National Center Campus Improvement project. The scope of work will be conducted by an independent traffic planner and engineer to verify the information or bring to light possible deficiencies in the information supplied in the Draft EIR by consultants of the Autry National Center. This factual data can be utilized by all citizens concerned about public policy, planning and traffic related to the proposed project. Amount requested: $2,500. Total cost of study: $8,500. Other Funding Partners: Greater Cypress Park Neighborhood Council approved $1,500 in Nov., Friends of the Southwest Museum Coalition. Other requests for funding consideration are in process with Greater Griffith Park Neighborhood Council, Hollywood United NC, and Atwater Village NC. Ann Walnum seconds the motion. Zara Scoville asks what good the traffic study does for this neighborhood? Jerry Schneider says that if we look at the problem environmentally, the fact that Griffith Park is one of the largest municipal parks and stakeholders of ASNC use Griffith Park. Eliot Sekuler thinks this is a shameful waste of stakeholder funding because it would take one third of remaining money not yet allocated to support this group. He has passed out a list of names who committed to the Southwest Museum staying in NE Los Angeles.

Zara Scoville says all support the SW Museum staying. She opposes the motion. Pat Griffith thinks we should take a position on the whole Griffith Park expansion as it does affect the stakeholders of ASNC. Nicole Possert says there is a direct relationship between the expansion of Griffith Park and the movement of some or all of the Southwest Museum collection to that area. Ernie Sanchez comments that Los Angeles as one of the biggest cities in the country is one of the most park-poor cities in the country. Scott Rubel asks where the guarantees are that the Southwest Museum will stay. Sylvia Robledo asks why another EIR is necessary? Olga Hall says we need the right experts. Tom Williams says the traffic analysis is not a publicly accessible document. He points out there is no access to Atwater, Highland Park, or NE Los Angeles, and there is no talk about the LA River plan. Five vote to accept motion, eight vote to defeat the motion.

9. Motion submitted by Pat Griffith and Jerry Schneider: Discussion / possible board action regarding impact of the new City NC election proposals, and formulate comments. Pat thinks that the new proposals would restrict recruitment of new board members. Eliot Sekuler asks if there will be bylaws anymore? Pat says the City will amend the Plan and Ordinance to remove the elections from our bylaws, without our process. Jerry Schneider thinks the City Council is acting hastily without any due process. He feels we should make a statement through a CIS. The proposals are not fully thought out and would have tremendous impacts on neighborhood councils, and ASNC does not support it. There should be an option to opt out, and the result would be a board-appointed board. All vote in favor of the motion. Scott Folsom wishes the CIS to be completed in a timely manner and that the CIS should be circulated to other neighborhood councils as well.

Reports

11. Committee Reports

12. Report from Liaisons:

13. Comments from the Board on subject matters within the Board's jurisdiction, and suggestions for future agenda items

14. Future meetings dates and location - President

15. Adjournment