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NORTHWEST SAN PEDRO NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCILUNAPPROVED/DRAFT MEETING MINUTES - September 12, 20051. The meeting was called to order at 6:47 PM by President Diana Nave. 2. Roll Call of Board Members: The following board members were present: Diana Nave, John Greenwood, Andrea Adleman, John Mavar, Philip Nicolay, Hoshang Pavri, Esther Espinoza-Ek, Jody James, Allie Tollivar, Ray Patricio, Patricia Polcuch, Chris Wickers, John Vladovich and Sanni Wehbe. Dan Dixon, Capt. George Thompson and Bonnie Easley were excused. 3. Introduction by New President. After the flag salute, President Diana Nave gave opening comments and presented a Calendar of Events to which she added two items. 4. Approval of Minutes: The August minutes were approved as presented. 5. LAPD report. No report. Representative on vacation. 6. Report from Councilwoman’s office. Caroline Brady from Councilwoman Janice Hahn’s office talked about the recent power outage. She explained what caused the power failure and explained the smoke from the refineries. When the electricity is shut down, the refineries are required to burn off remaining product. Caroline also talked about the trees that Mary Star has marked for removal in the construction of the high school. This has caused some members of the community concern. There will be a meeting with building and safety next Wednesday to find out what they can do to compromise on the trees. 7. Plan for Public Art at Animal Shelter. Pauline Kamiyama gave a presentation along with a representative from the Bureau of Engineering showing the actual plan of the proposed new animal shelter which will be on North Gaffey at the old Big C site. Pauline introduced Nancy Weber who is the artist creating four 4’x6’ art panels for the buildings. She wants to incorporate pets belonging to community members who got their pets from the old shelter into the pictures. Send pictures to Nancy Webber, 1536 E. 25th Street, PMB#223, San Pedro, CA 90732. Some may be used for the final art work. 8. Pier Pass Program. Tony Torres is a consultant involved with the Pier Pass Program and gave an overview of how truckers, industry, community and labor are impacted by Pier Pass. The port of Long Beach and Los Angeles have created this non-profit organization and its first program is the off-peak hours program which allows for extended gate hours to efficiently move cargo out of the ports. Fees are $40 per 20’ or $80 per 40’ container if they use the regular gate hours. Their goal was to have 10-15% of the traffic shifted to off peak hours, however, they are averaging 30%. The money collected is used to offset labor costs and costs of running the system. If anyone has any concerns or questions, Tony Torres can be reached on cell phone number 323-574-1119. Information can also be found on the Pier Pass Program Website www.Pierpass.org. After his presentation there were several comments. 9. Bridge to Breakwater Development Plan. Representative Jan Green Rebstock from the Port of Los Angeles, introduced herself. She is from the Port’s Environmental Review Division. She talked about the process that their office goes through for environmental review. Regarding the Bridge to Breakwater Development Plan, this is estimated to be an 18 month process which involves an NOP/NOI (Notice of Intent/Notice of Preparation). Their office and the Army Corps of Engineers are in the Scoping phase which ends on October 28, 2005. They want to receive comments from the community regarding alternatives such as 1) No project, no action alternative, 2) no federal action baseline, 3) yes to cruise ship, no to water cuts, 4) maximum development alternative, etc. More details will be revealed at the scoping meetings. Public Scoping Meetings for the Environmental Impact Statement/Report (EIS/EIR) will be held on Thurs, Sept. 15 and Thurs, Sept. 29, at Ports O’ Call Restaurant and Tue, Oct 11 at the LA Harbor Hotel (Sheraton) The schedule for all meetings is:, 6:00-6:30 Open House, 6:30-7:00pm Presentation, 7:00-8:30pm Public Comments. Board member John Greenwood made a comment at the end of Jan’s presentation. Followed by Phil Nicolay. It was also commented that the Port’s home page has electronic file on their website. 10. Public comments: A. Christine Saaty, Parent at Taper Avenue Elementary School talked about their Volunteer for Wonder of Reading Program. They need Volunteers to work with assigned students. Christine can be reached at 310-832-6164. The volunteer commitment is a 3 Hour training program, then one hour per week or every other week with a student. B. Chuck Hart, Chair of the Fireworks Control in Neighborhood Committee. Due to other commitments, Chuck Hart relinquished his position as Committee Chair. It was decided that the council will put a request in the next neighborhood council newsletter and on the web site in hopes of getting someone to chair the committee. 11. Committee Reports. A. Port Committee. i. Bridge to Breakwater: Phil Nicolay commented on the Bridge to Breakwater Master Development Plan and the upcoming Scoping meetings. He recommends that we use our existing resolutions and get them into the alternatives. He addressed community members recommending that any of their comments be very specific when dealing with the scoping process not just generalizations. ii. China Shipping: Phil stated that they are still in the EIR process. He will have a future meeting with Marissa Trutanich of the Transportation Department and Pat Nave to see how to link together Mitigation and Beautification of North Gaffey etc. iii. Air quality: Data being collected from 3 locations within the Port. Data should be available for next month’s council meeting. There are 2 motions in front of PCAC. They relate to congestion relief and implementation of measures in the No Net Increase Plan. iv. Port Master Plan Subcommittee: Phil introduced the new board members and stakeholders present to Shannon, the NC’s representative on PCAC (Port Community Advisory Committee). There are five motions before PCAC this month. It was suggested that Shannon vote “yes” regarding the underground utility lines on N Gaffey between Channel & Westmont; vote “yes” on the motion that the Port purchase land owned by Chevron and Port of Long Beach between Channel & Westmont; vote “yes” on recommending to the Port that the lease for Y & S Auto be terminated; “Abstain” on the motion recommending to the Port that the Ornamental iron and EZ Smog businesses along N. Gaffey be purchased in support of the NWSP Beautification project. Also, Phil commented on two discussion items for PCAC: (1) Recommend that the Port purchase property at 981 N. Pacific Ave in support of the ongoing beautification project being done by the Port; and (2) Recommend that the Port evaluate the creating of surface parking at the southeast corner of North Gaffey & Westmont Drive. v. Motion regarding the Bolsa Chica Environmental Mitigation Funds. The following motion was passed unanimously by the NWSP Neighborhood Council: -------------------------------------- MOTION RELATING TO BOLSA CHICA ENVIRONMENTAL MITIGATION FUNDS The Northwest San Pedro Neighborhood Council understands that the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles have contributed over $100 million dollars for restoration of the Bolsa Chica Wetlands. The participation of each Port at Bolsa Chica Wetlands project is part of an environmental restoration project in exchange for environmental credits to be used for current and future Port projects. The restoration of the Bolsa Chica Wetlands is important and should be continued. However, we as a Neighborhood council are concerned that environmental mitigation monies from the Port of Los Angeles are being used at a location 25 miles south. We believe that the negative impact of port growth is experienced most directly by communities surrounding the ports. Thus, we believe that environmental mitigation monies should be used for restoration and mitigation projects within the existing boundary of the Port of Los Angeles and in adjacent communities directly impacted by Port operations. Many areas adjacent to the Port could benefit from the expenditure of mitigation funds. Therefore, the Northwest San Pedro Neighborhood Council recommends that the Port of Los Angeles Harbor Commission: 1. Not approve additional expenditures of funds for the Bolsa Chica Wetlands Project; 2. Identify suitable sites within the existing area of the Port of Los Angeles which are appropriate for environmental restoration projects. Passed unanimously on Sept. 12, 2005 by the NWSPNC. --------------------------------------- vi. Phil also commented on an upcoming welcome event in the planning stages that will provide an opportunity for the communities to ask questions of the Harbor Commissioners. B. N. Gaffey Subcommittee is waiting for a presentation by the consultant to the city councilwoman of the proposed plan. Full report is scheduled for next meeting. C. Budget and Finance committee: i. 2005-2006 Budge: Sanni Wehbe gave his report for the 2005-2006 budget. A motion was made and seconded to approve the budget as presented. The Motion was passed unanimously. ii. $500 for National Guard Facility: Sgt. Jim Marchese of the National Guard gave an update on the upgrading project at the National Guard armory on 13th & Meyler in San Pedro. A motion was made and seconded that the NWSPNC commit $500 for the National Guard facility upgrading by donating the $500 to a third party that would benefit from the projects at the armory and we would send letters to the Governor, Betty Karnette and Alan Lowenthall asking that they do their best to encourage state funds for this project. The motion was passed unanimously. D. Issues Committee. Report from John Mavar. i. Free Trees. Meeting last Wednesday, presenter talked about the Tree Planting Project of the Los Angeles Conservation Corp. They have plans to plant 60 trees. These trees are free to homeowner and business owners who are required to maintain the tree that they plant for you. ii. Beacon House/Cleanup. $5000 was designated for cleaning up areas in NW San Pedro that we have chosen. There are currently three chosen locations: Western Avenue, Capitol Street and along Park Western Drive. Beacon house provides the labor force. The Councilwoman’s office has donated trash bags and they coordinate the pick up of the full trash bags. Anyone can let John Mavar know of any areas that need attention. iii. Kinder Morgan. Phil asked about Kinder Morgan, Diana said there will be an update on it next month. E. Transportation Committee. John Mavar also reported on the Transportation Committee and their past meeting on August 24th when the following issues were discussed: (1) The re-striping of 13th street. John reported that the community is not happy. A study will be conducted to see if the accident level goes down as a result of the re-striping. The general feeling from the community is that more enforcement is needed. Caroline Brady also made a comment related to the re-striping. (2) Bus issue. There were complaints on 7th street which resulted in the buses being moved to 13th street. Now there are 74 buses traveling on 13th Street. The Councilwoman’s office is working with county to come up with a solution. 14. Proposal to allow Neighborhood Council’s to create official city council files. This item was withdrawn from the agenda because it was previously approved and no additional action is necessary at this time. This proposal would allow neighborhood councils to proactively submit recommendations for action to the City Council that are then assigned a council file number and referred to the appropriate Council Committee. 15. Motion to Participate in USC Neighborhood Participation Project Collaborative Learning Project Initiative. Vice President John Greenwood talked about his meeting with other neighborhood councils and the NC’s participation in this USC generated project which would require that 3-5 people would be assigned from our council (not necessarily board members). They would go to four sessions regarding their dealings with the Transportation Dept. The following Motion was made and seconded. Passed unanimously. Jody James abstained. ----------------------------------- Motion to Approve Northwest San Pedro Neighborhood Council’s Participation in the Collaborative Learning Project with the University of Southern California WHEREAS neighborhood councils are continually searching for innovative ways and trying different strategies to achieve service and policy objectives with departments of the City of Los Angeles, and WHEREAS the Northwest San Pedro Neighborhood council has an interest in issues related to the City of Los Angeles Department of Transportation as well as to some other departments, and WHEREAS the neighborhood council has been invited by the Collaborative Learning Project, a project of the Civic Engagement Initiative at the University of Southern California, to participate in research designed to bring representatives from neighborhood councils together with representatives of a city department of neighborhood council choosing for the purposes of deliberation and agreement, IT IS MOVED that the Northwest San Pedro Neighborhood Council accept the invitation to participate in the Collaborative Learning Project. IT IS FURTHER MOVED that the Northwest San Pedro Neighborhood council designate three to five board members or stakeholders to represent this neighborhood council in the Collaborative Learning Project, who each will commit to participate in three deliberative sessions convened by the Collaborative Learning Project, plus any additional meetings deemed necessary to complete the deliberation and agreement. Approved unanimously on September 12, 2005 by the Northwest San Pedro Neighborhood Council ------------------------------------- President’s Report: President Diana Nave gave her report. a. Retreat. The date for the retreat is Saturday, Oct. 1, 2005. Diana hopes everyone will attend. b. Newsletter. Regarding the NWSPNC Newsletter, it will be a little late this quarter. Diana has asked Dan Dixon to put the information together. We need articles and board members should bring them to the retreat. Regarding graphics, Esther Espinoza-Ek volunteered to take pictures with her digital camera and Kristina Smith can also be a back up for digital pictures. c. City Community Beautification Grants. Application due Oct. 27th. So far one thing for consideration was for the barriers for the park. Any other possibilities should be brought to the issues committee. d. Operation Pot Hole: We have received an announcement from Mayor Villaraigosa, the Board of Public Works and the Bureau of Street Services of a 14 week effort to fill 35,000 potholes throughout Los Angeles. They will be in our neighborhood (Harbor/San Pedro) December 3-4. If community members want to report pothole locations they are to call 311 and mention “Operation Pothole.” e. Mayor’s Day of Service to Youth is scheduled for October 8th, 8:00am-1:00pm. 6 High schools have been chosen, in our area it is Banning. f. City Alliance of Neighborhood Councils meets quarterly. Their next meeting is this Saturday, Sept. 17 9:30am-1:00pm at Los Angeles City College. (www.allncs.org for more details).Mayor Villaraigosa is speaking. g. Amerigas: City CLA CAO meeting this Thursday night 6:30pm on the options for relocation of the storage tanks. Need as many people as possible there. h. PCAC meeting. Sept. 20, 5:30 Sheraton. Will discuss items related to N Gaffey Beautification. 16. Next Meeting of the Northwest San Pedro Neighborhood Council is scheduled for October 10, 6:30 p.m. at Peck Park. Meeting was adjourned at 8:55pm. Respectfully submitted, |
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