Hollywood United Neighborhood Council

HOLLYWOOD UNITED NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCIL
Monday, May 19th, 2008
Full Board Meeting at 6:30 pm

FULL BOARD MEETING 6:30PM QUORUM CHECK

AGENDA ITEMS: ALL ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION AND ACTION UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED

1. Welcome and Roll Call
Quorum reached and the meeting was called to order at 7:00pm .

Excused Absence: Hilary Royce
Unexcused Absences: Robert Abrahamian, Jordan Birnbaum, Rodney Hargrove, Will Logue,

2. Approval of Minutes
Motion: Erik
Second: Charles
Vote: Yes - 12, No - 0, Abstentions - 0.

3. LAPD and LAFD Updates
No one was present.

4. Los Angeles City and County Updates including but not limited to:
A. Mayor's Office Updates
B. City Council Office Updates
C. DONE Updates
No one was present.

5. Public Comment on items not on the Agenda (2 minutes each)
Raymond Yu announced that he went to the Congress of Neighborhoods at West Adams High School. Next week will be the 19th Annual Canoga Park Memorial Day Parade, on Monday May 26th.

6. Reports on Big Sunday, including report from Barbara Linski Executive Director Assistance League, Hollywood Senior Multipurpose Center
Barbara Linski, Executive Director of the Hollywood Senior Multipurpose Center thanked the board for supporting Big Sunday. She showed examples of the flyers advertising the event. On behalf of the Assistance League she presented a gift pack, including a stress ball. She talked about the other sponsors of the event and talked about some of the services that were made available. 36 volunteers participated. It was an intergenerational event. Jordan Preston did the entertainment and got everyone dancing with songs from the 1960s and 1970s. She also brought a paper flower as an example of the creative projects the seniors did.

7. DAW (Director of Animal Welfare) Program representative Rachel Paap, update on program and proposals
Rachel Paap gave a brief background – she is the DAW with the Central Hollywood Neighborhood Council and led an organization called SNAP. She now works for the Sam Simon Foundation, which trains dogs for the deaf. She is a resident of Hollywood, so she is personally and professionally engaged in local issues. A big issue is cleaning up after dogs – one solution was called Lawn Dogs. Pets in the Park was launched in DeLongpre Park, which was an event raising pet awareness. Senior and day care services were discussed. Rachel said she is open to ideas and suggestions. Pet awareness is important in the county. Resources for spaying and neutering are necessary.

Charles suggested that the education program could be extended to low-income residents and those who live in their vehicles. Rachel talked about kennels on site and vaccines, organizations that specifically serve the pets of homeless people. Email: Rachel@rpworx.org Scott Larson asked Rachel about microchipping animals to keep track of them.

8. Update on Hollywood/ Central Region Community Redevelopment Agency meeting regarding the 2009 Budget and 5 year implementation Plan for the Hollywood Project Area.
Charles Suhayda talked about housing initiatives and traffic improvements that were discussed at the meeting. He will provide a copy of the report here, and the CRA can also provide one.

9. HUNC Business Cards update, Stationary logo update
Ryan Hass presented a box full of the new business cards. There are only cards for those who specifically requested them. Scott Larson and some other members voiced their happiness with how the cards turned out.

10. Update on DWP MOU and rate increases
A. Motion to recommend Soledad Garcia, (current DWP MOU rep and NC liaison ) to the City Council for inclusion as a member in the three DWP Oversight Committees: Council Administrative, Low Income/Lifeline and a 15 member Council Appointed Oversight Committee.
Susan Swan made the motion as above, seconded by David. In response to Erik’s reservations, Susan amended the motion to read less specifically, that “a member of the NC Oversight Committee” be included on the 3 DWP Oversight Committees. Then at Davids urging, Soledad’s name was added to the motion. Susan moved it and David seconded. The motion passed.

Motion: to recommend Soledad Garcia, (current DWP MOU rep and NC liaison ) or another member of the NC Oversight Committee to the City Council for inclusion as a member in the three DWP Oversight Committees: Council Administrative, Low Income/Lifeline and a 15 member Council Appointed Oversight Committee. : Susan
Second: David
Votes - 9, No - 0, Abstentions - 3.

11. Renters Committee: Update on Propositions 98 and 99 Town Hall on May 31st, specifics; needs including additional funding up to $2000 for food and outreach; volunteer needs including board member participation.
Ryan doesn’t think that any more financial contributions are needed. There was discussion about which neighborhood councils are involved in the renters event. Ryan made a motion to approve money for advertisements, outreach, and food, if needed. Maurece seconded. The motion passed.
Motion: Additional funding up to $2000 for food and outreach for Propositions 98 and 99 Town Hall on May 31st: Ryan
Second: Maurece
Yes –12 , No –0 , Abstentions -0 .

12. PS&T: Support for Hollywood PAL program ($1,000)
Ryan Hass made the motion and then described it as a pre-Explorers program to reach at-risk youth and get them to participate in sports events with the LAPD. The PAL program offers much more than sports alone, but that is where their greatest need is. Ryan wants to take them to Sport Chalet as soon as this week if the motion is passed. He thinks that $1,000 is a reasonable amount, considering the HUNC budget. Scott Larson seconded the motion. The motion passed.
Motion; Support for Hollywood PAL program ($1,000) : Ryan
Second: Erik
Yes - 12, No -0 , Abstentions - 0.

13. Follow up on tabled items for Outreach from April
1. Up to $1000 for HUNC patches. These will be used for emergency kits and misc outreach items such as hats
2 Up to $1000 for HUNC Outreach cards (bi-fold card that has important info about the NC)
3. Up to $5000 for the purchase of recyclable shopping bags with HUNC logo
4. Up to $1500 for fridge magnets
5. HUNC Brochures.. approval for printing new one

Ryan Hass talked at length about the city’s requirements for outreach. These materials, and also bumper stickers, were discussed. The motion was to approve $5,000 for the creation of all of the above, items 1 through 5. Ryan made the motion and Maurece seconded it. The motion passed.
Motion: approve $5,000 for the creation of all of the above, items 1 through 5: Ryan
Second: Maurece
Vote: Yes -12 , No -0 , Abstentions -0 .

14. Executive Committee Reports including but not limited to:
A. President
1. Update on agreement with GGPNC on HUNC Eastern Boundary
Susan reported that GGPNC will review the agreement at their monthly board meeting tomorrow.

2. Bylaws:
A. Update on status of Bylaws changes submitted Dec 2007
No reply yet from DONE as to when to expect approval

B. Approval of Bylaws changes necessary for Election Procedure changes for 2008-2010 and postponement of HUNC election to 2010 as approved by Board, including amendments to Article III Meetings and Notification Section D. Election Day, and Article V HUNC Board Section D. Terms of Office, and any other Articles in HUNC Bylaws that are affected by the City Clerk-run Election in 2010

Because of the importance of the timeline for the elections, Susan Swan made a motion that she and Maurece prepare and submit the bylaws changes necessary for election 2010 purposes. The motion passed unanimously.
Motion: That Susan and Maurece make whatever changes are necessary to the HUNC bylaws to allow for the approved change in election date from 2008 to 2010, and submit to DONE: Susan
Second: Erik
Yes - 12, No - 0, Abstentions -0.

3. Board Workshop: proposed dates and topics
Held off for a later date.

4. Follow-up on submission of Stakeholder Review forms from Board, due by June 30th
Susan reminded everyone that forms are due by June 30, and are available online.

B. Vice-President
1. Update on NBC/Universal Project Working Group
Maurece said that there was no meeting because the DEIR was not in yet.

C. Treasurer
1. Treasurer’s report, encumberment of Outreach funds in Budget
Ryan had to give his report without handouts, because of the printer. The 2008-2009 budget has to be submitted by June 13th. As of May 1st, the remaining account balance was $62,820. Ryan went through the list of expenditures. The number one priority is stakeholders and outreach. He described it all in detail, then made a motion to approve the budget to be submitted to DONE. Andrew seconded. The amendment made by Charles was that any available funds up to $12,000 be swept into the costs of staff salary. The motion passed unanimously
Yes - 9, No - 0, Abstentions - 0.

15. Committee & Liaison Reports/Updates including but not limited to:
A. Business

B. Education
1. Report on the success of the April 22nd Earth Day/ Open House at Cheremoya Ave. Elementary School and the May 17th LA River Cleanup HUNC/Cheremoya community participation.
Debbi Aldahl reported on the great success of the Earth Day event. About 300 people were there. $1205.82 was spent, so some money was left over. The green bags were very popular and went quickly. Maurece took some great pictures of the art from the event, hopefully some of that will go on the website. Lucy manned the HUNC table and did a good job.

2. Re-Allocation of $2,000.00 from the $4,000.00 already allocated to the Education Ctte for Outreach. The funds will be used to buy re-usable decorations and flags to represent all the different countries for the June Multi-Cultural all day festival at Cheremoya. The funds will also be used for flyers, miscellany and outreach for the festival
Debbi made a motion to use some of those funds for the Multicultural Festival (as above.) A Spanish cultural flag will be created, and they are pricing that now. Ryan seconded. He then lauded the impact that Debbi has been making with her successful events.

Motion Re-Allocation of $2,000.00 from the $4,000.00 already allocated to the Education Ctte for Outreach. The funds will be used to buy re-usable decorations and flags to represent all the different countries for the June Multi-Cultural all day festival at Cheremoya. The funds will also be used for flyers, miscellany and outreach for the festival.: Debbi
Second: Ryan
Yes - 12, No - 0, Abstentions - 0.

C. Finance
See report under Treasurer, above.

D. PLUM
1. Letter regarding Planning Dept approval of addition to property at 3315 Durand, HUNC takes no position but has recommendations
Garry, the homeowner of the above property, was present. Garry is proposing to build an addition to his property above Mulholland. He has complied with the board of review. David Schlesinger referred the HUNC board to the draft of the letter he wrote. His recommendation to the board is to take no action, only to send copies of the letter to the councilman and the planning commission, in front of which the appeal is to take place. David doesn’t think that HUNC should be involved in this issue, which is very local. It’s between the Design Review Board and the Hollywoodland Homeowners Association. David made a motion to send copies of the letter to the Councilman and to the City Planning Commission. Ryan seconded the motion. Bree then elaborated on what David had said, and talked about the Hollywood Specific Plan which is problematic. PLUM will be reviewing the issue of Mansionization in the hillside areas in general now that the City has approved a Mansionization Ordinance that affects the flats After further discussion with Garry, and a brief addition to the letter, the motion passed unanimously.
Yes – 12, No – 0, Abstentions - 0.

2. Update on Newsrack Ordinance in L.A., request for HUNC to continue to support CLEAN Coalition proposals (HUNC has voted in the past to support the Clean Coalition proposals)
HUNC Past-President Joel Fisher gave a history of the newsrack situation. The publishers are against this proposal, so the city has to make a decision, but he hopes the board will reaffirm their previous position from 2005. The motion is to a continued commitment to a clean effort, enforcing the city ordinance on newsracks. David Schlesinger made the motion. The motion passed unanimously.
Motion: HUNC reaffirms its commitment to the Clean Coalition’s efforts to enforce the City Ordinance regarding Newsracks that was passed and move towards settlement. : Susan
Second: David
Yes - 12, No - 0, Abstentions - 0.

E. PROS
1. Recommendation to approve Community Impact Statement regarding funding cuts in City Budget removing
50% of the Park Rangers positions, including Chief Ranger position, and to write letter urging continuing funding of Park Rangers:
"NC COMMUNITY IMPACT STATEMENT for the Mayor’s 50% cut to LA City Park Rangers.
Link to file CIS: http://cityclerk.lacity.org/cis/
To Councilmember LaBonge and Mayor Villaraigosa: On May 19, 2008, the Hollywood United Neighborhood Council voted to oppose Council File 08-0600, the proposed budget for Recreation and Parks cutting 50% of the Park Rangers positions including the Chief Park Ranger. Our hillside communities are at risk in the upcoming fire season, projected to be among the worst ever. Park Rangers are on the front line of public safety in our parks, responding to more than 26,000 calls for service in 2007 alone. Services they provide at Griffith Park include public safety, firefighting (they are often the first responders to wildfires in the park), search and rescue, community policing, wildlife, and educational services. These are critical factors in assuring public safety, therefore we respectfully request that sufficient Park Ranger funding be included and funded as Core Services in the City budget. "
Susan reported that since this was written, they have been funded, but she still recommends that the impact statement still be submitted.
Motion: Susan
Second: Charles
Yes -11 , No -0 , Abstentions -1 .

F. PS&T
1. Updates from CPAB reps
No update

2. FOR DISCUSSION ONLY, NO ACTION: Report on meeting held 5/12 regarding proposed Temporary Preferential Parking District on Canyon north of Franklin.
Erik Sanjurjo said that crime issues will be discussed and addressed, and background information has been requested from DOT. Motions were made and will be discussed. Scott Larson said it was a helpful meeting. He said that working together and clearly identifying issues is important. He then asked the Business Committee to consider longer-term issues. Susan Swan said she looks forward to hearing more from Brian Gallagher on the 9th. Stakeholder Eric Cohen echoed some of Scott’s points. Public safety was a topic of discussion.

3. Update on Planning Town Hall results and follow-up Planning Town Hall
Confirmed Speakers: Assemblymember Mike Feuer; Larry Gross, Coalition for Economic Survival; and Dan Faller,
Apartment Owners Association. Saturday May 31st from 11am to 1pm at LeConte Middle School on Bronson, south of Sunset.

4. Follow up on Emergency Preparedness efforts, purchase of kits, other items
Maurece is going to meet with Chief Fry.

G. Renters

16. New Business/Announcements

17. Old Business

18. Submission of proposed Agenda items for June

ADJOURNMENT

The meeting adjourned at 9:22pm.