Minutes - June, 2008

ARROYO SECO
NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCIL

POST OFFICE BOX 42254
LOS ANGELES, CA 90042

TELEPHONE: (866) LA-HELPS
http://www.ASNC.us

OFFICERS
Ernest E. Sanchez
PRESIDENT
Joseph Riser
VICE-PRESIDENT
Tina Zabala
SECRETARY
Jeremy Dillard
TREASURER
Zara Scoville
REGISTRAR

CITY OF LOS ANGELES
CALIFORNIA

C/O Department of Neighborhood Empowerment
305 E. First Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Telephone: (213) 485-1360
Fax: (213) 485-4608

GEOGRAPHICAL REPRESENTATIVES
Pablo Lopez (’07-’08), Hermon
Joseph Riser (’08-’09), Hermon
Jack Fenn (’07-’08), Montecito Heights
Tina Zabala (’08-’09), Montecito Heights
Jeremy Dillard (’07-’08), Monterey Hills
Darlene Roker (’08-’09), Monterey Hills
Zara Scoville (’07-’08), Mount Washington
Paula Sirola (’07-’08), Mount Washington
Hank Shaeffer (’08-’09), Mount Washington
Ann Walnum (’08-’09), Mount Washington
Jason Renfro (’07-’08), Sycamore Grove
Sylvia Robledo (’08-’09), Sycarmore Grove

AT LARGE REPRESENTATIVES
Ernest Sanchez, Community Non-Profits
Clifford Moseley, Education & Youth
Marybelle C. Ang, Environment
AJ Mora, Faith-Based Organization
Amado Machorro, Healthcare & Seniors
J. Michael Walter, Recreation, Cultural & Arts
Efrén Chepi, Retail, Wholesale & Service

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ARROYO SECO NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCIL
MEETING MINUTES

Monday, 23-JUNE-2008
· 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM ·

Montecito Heights Senior Center
4545 Homer Street
Los Angeles, California 90042

Supporting documentation for this meeting can be found at:
http://www.asnc.us/2008-archives/06-June/_0608archives.htm

ASNC MINUTES

Download MINUTES (PFD version)

I.	CALL TO ORDER. Roll call. Meeting called to order at 07:15 PM. Joseph Riser, presiding. Present: Joseph Riser, Jack Fenn, Tina Zabala, Jeremy Dillard, Zara Scoville, Hank Shaeffer, Ann Walnum, Sylvia Robledo, Clifford Moseley, Marybelle C. Ang, Amado Machorro, J. Michael Walker, Efren Chepi Excused: Darlene Roker, Paula Sirola, Ernest Sanchez, AJ Mora.
II.	PUBLIC COMMENTS.
1.	Joseph Riser reminds everyone to turn in their self assessment forms.
2.	LA City Council's Rules Committee will hold a hearing on Instant Runoff Voting (IRV), on June 25, 2008, 03:00 PM, at City Hall, Room 1070. (Gautam Dutta, Esq., Deputy Director, Political Reform Program, NEW AMERICA FOUNDATION.
3.	J. Michael Walker announces burglary at Avenue 50 Studio and asks for help and support from the community.
4.	Bill Murray announces MHIA presentation on earthquake preparedness “The Great Southern California Shake Out.” Check www.lacp.org\earthquake for details.
5.	Jack Fenn announces Northeast Hillsides work program meeting June 24, 2008, 07:00 PM to 08:30 P.M., Lincoln Park Recreation Center.
III.	COMMENTS BY THE PRESIDENT (Ernest Sanchez). No comments.
IV.	DISCUSSION & POTENTIAL ACTION ITEMS:

Approval of minutes of May 2008 meeting held on June 2. (Tina Zabala)

Motion (J.Dillard/S.Robledo) to approve as corrected.

Motion passes.

Treasurer’s report (Jeremy Dillard)

Handouts distributed.

Discussion: We have money for Fiscal Year 2009. Here is a page to show what additional disbursements have been made. Joseph Riser added that $7700 is what’s left over from 2007-08. Commitments are still outstanding. Also, this does not show commitment to Zara Scoville’s project. Mr. Dillard suggested going through the historical minutes and find out the date that things were approved. If your area made a request for money, please put an effort to help out.

On the next page are the line items. The blank items mean that the money hasn’t been spent yet. Question from Lezle Stein: If she didn’t use all the money, does it go back into budget? Response by Mr. Dillard: He thinks it can carry over to next year. Next page of handout are the quarterly statements. Question from Sylvia Robledo: If a project did not spend all its money, does the project keep the remainder? Response by Joseph Riser: There is a single page document--a cheat sheet--of the standing rules that you can refer to. Unless otherwise noted, spending must start within six months. There is no statute of limitation when spending finishes. The Sunset Clause (which became effective in October 2006) was designed to get people to start spending the money.

Pursuant to ASNC Bylaws provisions requiring compliance with all Federal, State, and City laws (Article X:

Procedural Authority), revise bylaws wording in the following articles to comply with the Los Angeles City Council's February 20, 2008, approved resolutions amending the "Plan for a Citywide System of Neighborhood Councils"
http://www.asnc.us/2008-archives/Special-2008/022608-info-DONE-NCRC-PlanAsAmended.htm
(Rules & Elections Committee Chair)

(a) Add the following phrase to paragraphs 1 and 2 under Article III (Membership) of the ASNC bylaws as part of the stakeholder definition and explanation: "and any individual who declares a stake in the neighborhood and affirms the factual basis for it."

(b) Under bylaws Article IV (Board of Representatives & Officers), Section 5b, change terms of offices for At Large Representatives from "one year" to "two years" and the term limits provisions for same from"four consecutive terms" to "two consecutive two-year terms."

(c) Remove the sentence "Elections thereafter shall be staggered, electing 13 representatives each year"
from bylaws Article VII (Elections), Section 6.

Motion (J.Fenn/J.Dillard) to approve all 3 of the motions included in Agenda Item 3.

Motion passed, 1 abstention.

Motion to approve proposed wording for the previously adopted addition to the ASNC Board standing rules that would identify current official posting locations under the Brown Act and applicable city regulations - see attachment. (Rules & Elections Committee)

Motion (H.Shaeffer/J.Fenn) to approve.

Motion passes.

Motion to approve the revised and updated Elections Procedures draft and timeline for the ASNC Board of Representatives 2008 election on November 24. Note: first draft procedures must be received by DONE no later than July 7. (Rules & Elections Committee)

Motion (J.Dillard/S.Robledo) to approve.

Motion passes.

Motion calling for the ASNC to allocate an additional $500 from budgeted administrative funds to cover the cost of applying return postage to envelopes sent out with 2008 vote-by-mail ballots. (Rules & Elections Committee)

Motion (S.Robledo/J.Dillard) to approve.

Motion passes.

Motion calling for the ASNC to redirect the unspent $3,000 budgeted in the current fiscal year (2007-08) for"Board Member Training" to the 2008-09 election line item to cover anticipated new expenses for its 2008 election. (Rules & Elections Committee Chair)

Motion (J.Fenn/S.Robledo) to approve.

Motion passes.

Discussion and possible action re: reducing the portion of the ASNC budget now spent on administrative services and fees (now more than 50%) in order to leave more funds for community projects:

(a) Identify any board members willing and able to take on any of the duties of the paid positions, as volunteers.

(b) Research the amounts that nearby neighborhood councils are spending for their Website maintenance and report back at the next board meeting. (Ernest Sanchez/Darlene Roker)

Agenda Item 8 tabled to next meeting.

Discussion and possible action regarding candidates for professional service provider positions:

(a) Retaining the services of William “Bill” Mengle as Minute Taker

(b) Consideration of retaining the services of Edeltraut Schrober as Administrative Assistant

(c) Consideration of retaining the services of Edeltraut Schrober as Bookkeeping Assistant

(d) Consideration of retaining the services of Robert Hawkes as Bookkeeping Assistant

Agenda item 9 tabled to next meeting.

10.

Motion to authorize $250 from ASNC community projects funds for the installation of two dog waste bag dispensers in Bud Weiner Park (Monterey Hills). Funds would be drawn from the 2007-08 fiscal budget.
(Jeremy Dillard)

Agenda Item 10 tabled to next meeting.

11.

Request that the ASNC provide funding not to exceed $850 to assist with expenses for the "Dog Days of Summer" on July 19, a regional pet adoption event sponsored by the Friends of Hermon Dog Park and Councilmember José Huizar. Funds will be used to cover the costs of advertising and publicity, including 2,000 color flyers ($300), an inflatable dog for the entrance ($325), PR Newswire ($180), and a mailing ($35), and would need to come from 2008- 09 ASNC community project-budgeted funds. (Lezle Stein, ASNC Director of Animal Welfare)

Discussion: $850 was revised to $550; Delete "2,000 color flyers ($300);" and revise mailing amount from $35 to $45.

Motion (J.Fenn/A.Walnum) to approve.

Motion passes, 1 abstention.

12.

Motion that the ASNC should send a letter in the form attached, endorsing the Self-Realization Fellowship Historic Rehabilitation Project. (Mount Washington Local Issues)

Motion (Committee/S.Robledo/H.Shaeffer/J.Dillard) to approve.

Motion passes.

13.

Motion that the ASNC should call on the City Councilmembers representing Districts 1 and 14 to establish formal, written tracking methods for use by their staff members in logging, moving forward, and reporting back on the ASNC’s forwarded, approved motions. Within 30 days of receipt of formal requests, council staff would log, and then acknowledge the request (by mail or e-mail), advising the identified ASNC contact for that request with which staff person they should follow up -- see attached example from CD1, related to Mount Washington Local Issues. (Joseph Riser)

Agenda Item 13 tabled to next meeting.

14.	COMMITTEE REPORTS.
	a.	Local Issues:
		i.	Hermon (J.Riser) - No meeting to report; however, there will be a joint Hermon/Monterey Hills meeting on Thursday, July 10, 2008. The new owners of the former Pacific Christian High School property have requested a change of use permit from the City of L.A. They are planning on building a parking lot and the Hermon community has asked to review plans.
		ii.	Montecito Heights - No meeting to report.
		iii.	Monterey Hills (J.Dillard) - No meeting to report and echoes Mr. Riser’s announcement of the joint Hermon/Monterey Hills meeting.
		iv.	Mount Washington (Jerry Schneider) - There is an item of interest to other hillside communities: the extension of the sewer lines. We are looking into this. We recognized the thorough organizational help of Suzanne Jimenez and others. Question: if we make a request from a city agency, is this being tracked? What is going on? Is there a systematic way of doing this? Ann Walnum said that Ms. Jimenez is providing help to the Cypress Park NC, something we could request. The importance of showing up to neighborhood council meetings was discussed, putting concerns in front of the representatives of the City Councils. Each council district represents approximately 250,000 to half a million people. Anything we can do to get the City Council’s attention is good. Ms. Walnum said this was the purpose of neighborhood councils.
		v.	Sycamore Grove - No meeting to report.
	b.	Rules and Elections (J.Riser) - There has been a request from the webmaster to gather all the standing rules the Board has approved (Joseph Riser refers to the handout distributed with the agenda). The idea behind this is to categorize all this so that they’re easy to find. Just informational. People will know it will be on the website and in a notebook.
	c.	Communications and Outreach (Z.Scoville) - Just a reminder about the upcoming screening. She encouraged the Board to come, to show some solidarity. Few came last year. Trader Joe’s is interested in some kind of sponsorship. Any reason we shouldn’t take it? They’re interested in events in general to whatever extent. Joseph Riser suggested having the board's standing Communications and Outreach committee meet to deal with these details
	d.	Budget and Finance (J.Dillard) - No meeting to report.
	e.	Recreation, Arts & Culture (J.M.Walker) - Mr. Walker has left the meeting. Ann Walnum did want to add that Avenue 50 has an outstanding history of contributions to the community and is facing a problem of the doubling of their rent.
	f.	Environment (M.Ang) - Ms. Ang has left the meeting.
15.	REPORTS FROM LIAISONS.
	a.	LADWP/MOU Oversight Committee (Peter Parrish) - Not present for a report.
	b.	Planning Dept./MOU Oversight Committee (Zara Scoville) - Ms. Scoville was unable to attend. She sent a notice to the Board, hoping someone could attend.
	c.	Friends of Southwest Coalition (Ann Walnum) - Ms. Walnum reports things are in the same state as before. The approval of the environmental impact report (EIR) is slowing down considerably. She wanted to answer the question of what happens in Griffith Park have to do with Mount Washington. The Autry wants to have its collections all in one place--in Griffith Park. The Mount Washington location is empty. Things are warehoused. There is no written assurance about the future use of the Southwest Museum building.
	d.	Los Angeles Neighborhood Councils Coalition (Bill Murray) - Mr. Murray stated that he represents the community in two ways. First, though the coalition group, which meets once a month. They handle a lot of topics, including this change in planning ordinance, one aspect of which is the city ordinance regarding the flatlands and inappropriate buildings. This clause will be moot unless hillside communities get a similar measure. That is why we have been having all these meetings. The issues will then be presented to the City Council. Then there are the alliance meetings, once every other month, with the liaisons sent to neighborhood council meetings, where they can get a sense of what is happening in the neighborhood councils. The mayor had a lovefest when he came to this meeting. He was concerned and said he would continue to meet with us. These are the places where you can meet and ask questions of the councilmen and the mayor. Jack Fenn mentioned the ICO/Hillside plan and the fact that it runs out at the end of the year and cannot be extended. Mr. Murray said they are trying to review it and redo the planning documents. It is 600 odd pages and will take several years. Including in this process is the mansionization ordinance. Mr. Murray says the planning commissioner can be trusted and is on our side. The commissioner is urging us to have our input. Zara Scoville asked if this will result in a Mount Washington type plan. Mr. Murray replied it would be similar, but nevertheless encourages community people to get to these meetings; they will have an impact. Mr. Fenn said that the Planning Committee wants to deal with the city as a whole, not 150 pockets.
	e.	Controller Chick’s NC’s (Maggie Barto) - Not present for a report.
	f.	Animal Welfare (Lezle Stein) - Not present for a report.
	g.	MW Elementary School Multipurpose Room (David Brunk) - Not present for a report.

V.	NEW BUSINESS (Committee referrals and/or future Board agenda items).
1.	Comments from the Board on subject matters within the Board’s jurisdiction, and suggestions for future agenda items. • Joseph Riser wanted to point out that based on the Board’s standing rules, we don’t have liaisons anymore, as of June 30. He would like to suggest a future agenda item to extend liaison terms. • Ann Walnum suggested a future agenda item, discussing priorities on funding events--either a motion or a point of general discussion
2.	Future meetings dates and location (Ernest Sanchez). Next meeting date: 28-JULY-2008 at 7:00p.m. Next meeting location: Montecito Heights Senior Center, 4545 Homer Street, Los Angeles, CA 90031 Future meeting dates and locations: August 25, 2008 at 7:00pm, Montecito Heights Senior Center, 4545 Homer Street, Los Angeles, CA 90031 September 22 and October 27 at 7:00 p.m., Los Angeles International Charter High School, 625 Coleman Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90042.
VI.	ADJOURNMENT Meeting was adjourned at 09:01 PM

Process for Reconsideration - The Board may reconsider and amend its actions on items listed on the agenda in accordance with Robert's Rules of Order.

The public is requested to fill out a “ Speaker Card ” to address the Board on any item of the agenda prior to the Board taking action on an item. Comments from the public on Agenda items will be heard only when the respective item is being considered. Comments from the public on other matters not appearing on the Agenda that is within the Board's subject matter jurisdiction will be heard during the Public Comment period. Public comment is limited to 2 minutes per speaker, unless waived by the presiding officer of the Board.

Agenda is posted for public review at Mount Washington Elementary School Bulletin Board, Carlin G. Smith Recreation Center, Albertson's at Avenue 43 and Figueroa, Rock Rose Café, Montecito Heights Senior Center , Montecito Heights Recreation Center , Monterey Business Center , ASNC's Official Web site and distributed on ASNC's Email list. As a covered entity under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the City of Los Angeles does not discriminate on the basis of disability and upon request, will provide reasonable accommodation to ensure equal access to its programs, services, and activities. Sign language interpreters, assistive listening devices, or other auxiliary aids and/or services may be provided upon request. To ensure availability of services, please make your request at least 3 business days prior to the meeting you wish to attend by contacting Naheed Qureshi, Project Coordinator naheed.qureshi@ lacity.org 213 / 485-1360.

Calendar Items:

Next Meeting: Monday, July 28, 2008