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Officers Attending:
Chair - Jean McCloskey
Secretary - Tim Johnson
Community Liaison - Julie Lovins
At-Large, Philippe Habib
Officers Absent:
Vice-Chair, Alison Hicks
Treasurer - Aaron Grossman
Newsletter Editor - Bruce Karney
At-Large, Garth Williams
Guests:
Joan Crownover, Houghton Street
Mark Gerrior, Mercy Street
Sally Lieber, Council member and resident of Sierra Street
Julie Wrobel, Calderon Avenue
Minutes:
1) Minutes. July minutes were reviewed and approved (with
corrections).
2) Introductions and Announcements.
a. Noise problem. Joan Crownover described a recurring noise problem associated
with activities at the SFV Lodge, particularly on Saturday nights. She reviewed
the steps she has taken to address the problem with the City and asked OMVNA
for advice and assistance. OMVNA agreed to determine an appropriate contact
at the SFV Lodge and to look into relevant City policies and procedures
for dealing with noise and for providing dance permits.
3) Old Business.
a. Status of Susan Moore concerns about downtown construction. Jean
reported that she contacted the city to express support for resolving Susan's
complaints.
b. Two-year terms of office. Jean proposed changing the By-laws, increasing steering committee terms of office from one year to two years. The procedures for making changes to the By-laws were reviewed. It was decided that any such proposed changes to the By-laws will need to be brought before the OVMVA membership at the October General Meeting, with a call for a vote at the next General Meeting. Tim will write an article for the next newsletter that outlines the proposed changes.
c. CERT Report. Tim (and Aaron via email) provided a brief update on the organizing activities of the OMVNA-CERT subcommittee. His report included the following items:
i. The trailer has been ordered from Orlandi Trailer of San Jose. It will be located behind Landels School, and will be delivered in early September. It is a Pace American, model CS614SA Custom Series, white, 6' wide, 14' long, and 7' high, single axle, with side and tail doors and extra vents. It weighs 1,400 lbs. with a 3,000 maximum capacity and a 2" hitch ball. Total cost of the trailer is $3,935, all of which will be covered by grant money. Security locks, shelves and containers will cost extra. DMV registration is included, but had to be written in someone's name. Aaron took responsibility for this, and has notified the Steering Committee (via email) that he will maintain the trailer registration in his name on behalf of OMVNA as long as OMVNA wishes. He will transfer title to OMVNA itself if the organization gains the ability to take the title, or to whomever, whenever the organization so designates. Since the ball hitch and wheel locks will probably be key locks, access will probably be provided with keys put in a combination key safe mountain somewhere on the trailer itself, similar to the key safes that realtors use to gain entry to houses they show.
ii. Mountain View School District has officially approved locating the trailer at Landels school.
iii.
The Blackberry React team has been consulted about an OMVNA-CERT communications
devices and strategies. It was reported that Chuck Piercey, an OMVNA neighbor,
has expressed an interest in being involved in organizing OMVNA-CERT communications.
Chuck also expressed an interest in going through the City CERT training
class which begins in October.
d. By-laws. Tim reported that he has created a digital version of the OMVNA
By-laws. It was decided by the Steering Committee to make a copy available
on the OMVNA web site.
4) New Business
a. Re-zoning of City-owned property on Shoreline. Sally Lieber, who
is the Council member who brought this initiative to the Council, outlined
her reasons for asking the Council and Planning Commission to study the
potential rezoning of City-owned property on Shoreline. She reported that
she has discussed the proposal with members of SWAN and that they support
the proposal. She said that success of the initiative would result in much
needed low-cost housing to City employees.
b. Mercury News article featuring Old Mountain View. Jean reported that she was interviewed by a San Jose Mercury News writer for an article profiling Old Mountain View. Tim was also interviewed. (The story ran on the first page of the Real Estate Section on Saturday, August 25, 2001)
c. Report on United Neighborhoods of Santa Clara County workshop. Jean
reported on a recent UNSCC workshop that she attended which focused on legal
issues related to neighborhood associations. Based on what she learned at
the workshop, Jean said it doesn't appear necessary or worthwhile that OMVNA
become a chapter 503 legal entity.
5) Officer Reports
a. Treasurer report. Aaron filed a Treasurer's report via email prior
to the meeting. He reported that he made a deposit of $1,000 to Orlandi
Trailer of San Jose for the CERT equipment trailer which is to be located
behind Landels School.
6) Action Items:
a. Tim to follow up on SFV Lodge noise issue.
b. Tim to distribute digital version of OMVNA By-laws and to ask the Webmaster to add them to the OMVNA web site.
c. Tim to draft a copy of proposed By-laws changes for news newsletter.
d. Tim to confirm access to Landels School for OMVNA General Meeting on October 14.
e. Next OMVNA Steering Committee meeting is scheduled for September 10 and will be held at Jean's home - 575 Oak Street.
f. The next newsletter will be distributed on September 13. The copy deadline is September 5.
Officers Attending:
Chair - Jean McCloskey
Vice-Chair, Alison Hicks
Treasurer - Aaron Grossman
Newsletter Editor - Bruce Karney
Community Liaison - Julie Lovins
Officers Absent:
Secretary - Tim Johnson
At-Large, Garth Williams
At-Large, Philippe Habib
Guests:
Julie Wrobel
Greg Fowler
Rebecca Wright
Russell Beste
Valerie Harris
Patrick Ralph
Laura Blotter
Mike Groethe
1) Approval of minutes. August minutes were reviewed and approved.
2) Old Business.
a. Shoreline open space rezoning proposal- Most of the meeting guests wished to speak on this topic. Jean opened the floor to comments and requested each speaker keep time to 3 minutes each. A summary of comments by the guests follows:
General comments on the proposal:
i. Ask the firefighters what they think.
ii. The city could help Fire/Police with 2nd mortgages, perhaps on condos.
iii. What about fixing run-down buildings in Mountain View?
iv. 10 units is the max number that will fit.
v. Only a strong alternative proposal will change the cottage proposal.
vi. The need for affordable housing is the driving factor.
Comments in apparent support of the proposal:
i. City council seems set on doing this.
Comments in opposition to the proposal:
i. A representative from the SWAN neighborhood association said that he
opposes the move to re-examine use of the open space and that council member
Sally Lieber's claim for his support is not true. A web site for SWAN (Shoreline
West Association of Neighbors) may be up.
ii. HDH (High Density Housing) came up 6 years ago for that space and was
voted down. Now 600-900 square foot cottages are being proposed for city
support staff such as police or firefighters. There are better ways to find
them housing.
iii. The city will retain ownership of the land, which will prevent appreciation
of the structures. Potential owners need a fair share of equity.
iv. It may not appeal to families.
v. Shoreline currently looks good - this project may worsen it.
vi. Put HDH somewhere else closer to downtown.
vii. If cottages are approved now, it may be changed to high rises before
it's done.
viii. Cottages are not profitable and will not end up being built.
ix. Saving them for Fire/Police is a Red Herring.
x. An alternative use for the land needs to be found to prevent it from
being developed.
xi. Cuesta Park area also has concern over land donated & designated
for open space being developed instead.
After hearing the comments the OMVNA Steering Committee decided not to take a position without better knowledge of the OMV neighborhood's feelings on the issue. It was decided to send a letter to the City Council telling them of the concerns expressed at this meeting and to request that the process be slowed down to make it more open. Jean agreed to write the letter.
b. Slate of new OMVNA Officers. Bruce announced that Maarten Korringa has agreed to serve as OMVNA webmaster in the coming year. Also, Bruce reported that neighbor Shareen has expressed interest in being newsletter editor but that she doesn't have the necessary computer hardware and software to do the job.
c. OMVNA By-laws. There was further discussion on the need to clean up the By-laws. It was suggested that it may be unwise to make them overly easy to change. The current change process is to make a proposal at a general meeting, publish proposal in the newsletter, and then vote on the proposal at the next general meeting. The By-laws require a 2/3 favorable vote for adoption. Bruce will coordinate the requests for changes to the By-laws.
3) New Business
a. Requested input on use of vacated space at 220 View Street. Comments were made by Rebecca Wright, MV/Whisman School District CFO: She reported that nine elementary schools are now combined into one district with one office located near Montecito Ave. They have vacated the old office at 220 View Street at Villa that has been used since 1965. Much of the current 20-year lease remains and subletting is allowed. Zoning is for multi-unit residence, but small offices may be possible with a conditional use permit. Possible options include giving a required one-year notice to terminate lease or letting Silicon Valley Essential High School use it. Concerns are traffic, parking, and noise. Area is about 13,000 square feet, and they are thinking the sub-lease would be at around $2.85 per square foot. A local committee is needed to help decide this, and an OMVNA member is desired. When asked if a good rate would be given to a deserving group, the reply was that the school district needs to make a profit or it will get out of the lease, which is at a special low rate. Maybe the district should ask the property owner to buy them out. Valerie is interested in being the OMVNA rep.
b. Posting Steering Committee agendas to OMVNA-Talk - There was a request reported for the Steering Committee to put the agenda out on OMVNA-Talk ahead of time.
c. Outreach suggestion- There was a suggestion made to invite the author of book "Bungalow Kitchens" to speak at general meeting.
4) Officer and Committee Reports
a. CERT report. Trailer due end of September, documents are being created, Radio and Medical volunteers have joined team.
b. Treasurer's report. Account balance is about $3,000 for OMVNA, $5,000 for CERT. City reimbursement check finally came for the awning purchased in July. October 14 General Meeting schedule: food at noon, OMVNA business 1 to 115, local candidates then get 45 minutes. Steering Committee members need to bring local guests to make sure there are at least 15 voting attendees to make a quorum.
c. Newsletter editor's report. Bruce passed draft around and got feedback.
d. Community Liaison's report. Julie reported on issues including R&D offices on Evelyn Ave. and City support for community gardens.
Officers attending:
Chair - Jean McCloskey
Secretary - Tim Johnson
Newsletter Editor - Bruce Karney
Treasurer - Aaron Grossman
Community Liaison - Julie Lovins
Officers absent:
Vice-Chair - Alison Hicks
At-Large - Philippe Habib
At-Large - Garth Williams
Visitors/Members:
Julie Wrobel - Calderon Avenue
I Old Business:
1) September minutes. The minutes for September 10 were reviewed. The
secretary was directed to resubmit the minutes with a reorganization of
the guests' comments on the Shoreline open space proposal. Other corrections
were discussed.
2) CERT update. Aaron handed out a breakdown of how recent grant funds have been used, including costs of such items as the trailer, trailer contents and communications equipment. He reported that it is expected that the trailer will be up and running within a months and outlined some of the items that are still needed.
3) General meeting planning. The sequence of events will be as follows:
a) Food will be served at noon
b) Jean will call the meeting to order at 1 p.m.
c) Shoreline Community Church event announcement (2 minutes)
d) CERT report (Aaron--5 minutes)
e) Election of officers (Ronit)
f) Proposed changes to by-laws (Bruce)
g) Comments from candidates for State Assembly (Sally Leiber and
Rosemary Stasek)
h) A tour of the CERT trailer will be available (Aaron)
4) Proposed changes to By-Laws. Bruce's and Tim's documented proposals for changes to the By-laws were compared and discussed. The two proposals were combined into one document. Bruce will provide a clean copy of the changes for the general meeting and publish the proposed changes in the next newsletter.
5) Slate of Officers. Two positions remain unfilled: newsletter editor and vice chair. A candidate for newsletter editor will require a computer, software and printer. Other possible candidates for both positions were discussed and different procedural scenarios were considered. Graduates from the most recent class of Leadership Mountain View were discussed as possible candidates. Jean will contact Susan Migliore and Helen Landsman. Bruce will send out another OMVNA-TALK email soliciting additional interest and reminding people of the general meeting. Jean asked the Steering Committee members for their assistance.
II New Business:
1) Newsletter distribution. Julie Lovins requested help on the newsletter distribution. Julie volunteered to continue sending out emails to the distributors for each issue, and to confirm the newsletter carriers' availability. She also agreed to continue to recuit new route carriers. She requested assistance picking up the newsletter from the printer, bundling and delivering the newsletter to the forty route carriers (eight times per year). She reported that the newsletters are usually ready for pick up from the printer on Friday at noon and needs to be delivered to the carriers by the end of the day on Friday in order to help ensure a timely distribution.
2) Holiday tree lights at Mercy Bush Park. Bruce proposed lighting the trees at Mercy Bush Park during the holiday season. December 2 was set as a date for the hanging of the lights (45 minutes prior to the downtown City Tree Lighting Ceremony).
3) Proposed calendar. The dates for Steering Committee meetings and newsletter distribution were approved.
4) Officer reports.
a) Treasurer: Aaron reported that there is a balance of approximately
$5,000 in the OMVNA treasury. He also reported that all of the CERT grant
funds have been spent.
b) Newsletter: Bruce provided an update on newsletter advertisers.
c) Community activities: Julie reported on upcoming City Council
meeting agenda items. She reported that the Police Chief is retiring. Finally
she reported that at the last EPC meeting it was decided to eliminate the
Shoreline open space parcels from the recent rezoning considerations.
d) Chair: Jean encouraged Steering Committee members to attend the
upcoming United Neighborhoods Annual Conference. She reported on some of
the UN's activities and goals, such as student awards and grants for use
of alternative energy. Finally, she recommended that the future steering
committee members try harder to be more responsibility for and responsive
to the needs and interests of members of the neighborhood and the community.
III Summary of action items
1) Tim to modify and resubmit the September minutes per Steering Committee
discussion.
2) Jean will contact Susan Miglore and Helen Landsman about the open steering committee positions. Bruce will send out another OMVNA-TALK email soliciting additional interest and reminding people of the general meeting. All Steering Committee members are asked to assist in filling the open positions. The current candidate for newsletter editor is to be interviewed by members of the Steering Committee.
3) Bruce will prepare a document with consolidation of proposed By-law changes for the general meeting and upcoming newsletter.
4) The responsibilities for the physical distribution of the newsletter to route carriers need to be assigned.
5) A number of responsibilities were detailed related to the general
meeting.
a) Jean will bring a flip chart and use it to provide the meeting
agenda.
b) Jean will contact Ronit regarding running the election.
c) Aaron, Bruce and Tim will take responsibility for setting up the
meeting room (arriving at Landels by 11:30 a.m.)
d) Aaron will take responsibility for obtaining plates, flatware,
cups and other items not supplied by the caterer.
e) Tim will bring name tags, a sign in sheet and take responsibility
for minutes.
f) Bruce will bring copies of the proposed changes to the By-laws.
g) Tim will take responsibility for making sure the room is open
by 11:30 a.m.
h) Tim will take responsibility for refrigerating any leftovers and
taking them to CSA.
6) Details on the Mercy Bush tree-lighting activities need to be further developed and responsibilities assigned.
October 14, 2001
1. Fall 2001 OMVNA General Meeting was convened.
Jean McCloskey, outgoing OMVNA Chair, opened the meeting at 1:15 p.m.
2. Community Emergency Response Team Report.
Aaron Grossman provided a brief overview of OMVNA-CERT activities and recent
accomplishments. He reported on the acquisition of a trailer and supplies.
He asked for volunteers and donations in support of OMVNA-CERT. He referred
residents to the OMVNA-CERT web page as a source of additional information.
A tour of the OMVNA-CERT trailer was provided following the conclusion of
the General Meeting. A handout that included a description of the organization
of OMVNA-CERT and specific needs for supplies and equipment was provided.
3. Election of OMVNA Officers.
The annual election of OMVNA Steering Committee officers was conducted by
Ronit Bryant, Chair of the OMVNA Nominating Committee. The slate of officers
put forward by the Nominating Committee was as follows:
* Bruce Karney, Chair
* Anita Grossman, Vice Chair
* Aaron Grossman, Treasurer
* Valerie Harris, Community Liaison
* Tim Johnson, Secretary
* George Harris, Newsletter Editor
* Alison Hicks, At-large #1
* Julie Wrobel, At-large #2
A call for the vote resulted in unanimous support by all voting members
for the nominated slate of officers. The annual term of the new officers
begins on November 1, 2001.
4. Proposed changes to the By-laws.
Eight changes to the OMVNA By-laws were presented. In accordance with the
established procedures for such changes, a vote for or against each of the
proposed changes will be conducted at the winter 2002 General Meeting. A
copy of the proposed changes was provided to all those in attendance and
will be published in an upcoming newsletter.
5. Mountain View Candidates for State Assembly. State Assembly candidates Sally Lieber and Rosemary Stasek introduced themselves. Both Ms. Lieber and Ms. Stasek are residents of Old Mountain View. They briefly described their political backgrounds and spoke of their positions, interests and goals related to their running for the State Assembly. Questions and comments from the audience covered such topics such as public education, public transportation, environmental protection legislation, and access of the candidates by constituents.
6. Other items:
a. A pedestrian crossing safety problem was reported at the intersection
of West Dana and Calderon. Recently there has been an injury to a person
and a death of someone's pet at that intersection. Residents were asked
to be aware of the problem and to report to OMVNA any similar pedestrian
safety problems at that location.
b. Representatives from the Shoreline Community Church invited everyone
to a Neighborhood Bake-Off, scheduled for Oct 21 at Mercy-Bush Park. They
left a handout with details of the event.
c. A representative from the Trinity Methodist Church invited everyone
to an upcoming celebration of the church's anniversary.
Submitted by Tim Johnson, OMVNA Secretary
Officers Attending:
Chair - Bruce Karney
Secretary - Tim Johnson
Treasurer - Aaron Grossman
Newsletter Editor - George Harris
Community Liaison - Valerie Harris
At-Large - Alison Hicks
At-Large - Julie Wrobel
Officers Absent:
Vice Chair - Anita Grossman
Visiting Members:
David Andrzejek, Villa Street
Old Business:
1) Approval of minutes. The minutes for September 10 and October 8 Steering Committee meetings and the October 14 Fall 2001 General Meeting were approved.
2) OMVNA-CERT update.
a) Aaron handed out an update on the three CERT-related grants.
b) Tim distributed a proposed charter for CERT and outlined CERT goals for
the year, which were:
i) Continue obtaining CERT supplies and equipment for the CERT trailer and
field team members.
ii) Continue recruitment and training of new Block Captains and other CERT
positions.
iii) Complete development of the activation plan.
iv) Hold a CERT Block Captain training seminar on Nov. 29.
v) Hold a CERT drill sometime during the summer 2002.
c) Tim Johnson was reappointed as chair of OMVNA-CERT for another year.
d) Tim asked the Steering Committee to:
i) Read the CERT charter and make comments and suggestions.
ii) Consider becoming a Block Captain.
iii) Come to the November 29 training seminar.
e) Immediate feedback on the CERT report from the Steering Committee included
the following:
i) It was suggested that the OMVNA-CERT Steering Committee be called something
other than a steering committee because it could be confused with the OMVNA
Steering Committee. "OMVNA-CERT Leadership" was suggested as an
alternative name.
ii) It was suggested that each of the defined CERT positions be staffed
by the first available person on the scene, with a succession plan for replacement
as more qualified people show up.
iii) It was recommended that CERT use the newsletter distribution structure
as a starting place for establishing the CERT block structure, and to invite
newsletter distributors to serve as Block Captains for their newsletter
delivery routes.
New Business:
1) Officer report:
a) Treasurer: Aaron reported that OMVNA has a checkbook balance of $6,350,
plus a balance of $290 in CERT funds. Aaron also reported that OMVNA has
a free checking account with includes a debit card should be in the possession
of the Chair.
b) Secretary: Tim provided an explanation of the information he has been
forwarding from Chamber of Commerce and suggested a procedure for OMVNA
Steering Committee members for taking advantage of periodic C of C offers.
c) Chair:
i) Bruce distributed an expanded description of roles for three of the Steering
Committee members that had been developed by the previous OMVNA Chair. Bruce
took notes on suggested changes to these descriptions and volunteered to
look at the roles of the other Steering Committee positions.
ii) A letter to the editor of the Voice that Bruce drafted in response to
a recent Voice editorial was approved by the Steering Committee.
iii) Bruce invited everyone to come to Mercy Bush Park on Dec 2 at 4:30
to participate in an informal lighting ceremony at the park. This event
would proceed the official the City Light Ceremony by about 45 minutes.
2) Winter 2002 general meeting planning.
a) Bruce asked for suggestions for a speaker for the event. Alison suggested
inviting an expert on neighborhood preservation and agreed to invite a noted
author on the topic.
b) The venue was discussed but not selected.
c) The date was generally established as sometime between 1/5 and 1/27.
3) Newsletter distribution of extra newsletters: Aaron agreed to take responsibility for distributing extra newsletters (as available) to the local coffeehouses on Castro Street. Valerie offered to provide Aaron with suggestions for the distribution of the newsletters.
Summary of outstanding action items:
1) Alison will contact Jean Powell, author of Bungalow Bathrooms, about
being a speaker at the winter 2002 OMVNA General meeting.
2) Bruce will contact Julie Lovins about providing contact information for
all the newsletter distributors. Bruce will provide this information to
Tim for sending out invitations to the Nov 29 CERT Block Captain training
seminar.
3) Valerie will do a survey of Castro Street coffee shops and give Aaron
recommendations on where to distribute the extra newsletters.
4) Tim will update and distribute contact information for the OMVNA Steering
Committee.
5) George will send out a suggestion to OMVNATalk (sorry George, I didn't
record what the suggestion was to be).
6) Bruce will look for the OMVNA debit card among the information he received
from the previous chair.
7) Bruce will give contact information on Lisa Windes to Tim.
8) Bruce will update and distribute an expanded description of roles for
three of the Steering Committee members and begin looking at the roles of
the other Steering Committee positions. (Bruce, I hope I remembered the
correctly.)
OMVNA Monthly Meeting Minutes
Officers Attending:
Chair - Bruce Karney
Vice Chair - Anita Grossman
Treasurer - Aaron Grossman
Newsletter Editor - George Harris
Community Liaison - Valerie Harris
At-Large - Alison Hicks
Officers Absent:
Secretary - Tim Johnson
At-Large - Julie Wrobel
Visiting Members:
Larry Rosenberg, Bryant Street
Irv Davis, Mercy St.
Minutes:
The meeting began at approximately 7:35.
Valerie led a discussion of the City Council agenda for Dec. 12. Three items relevant to OMVNA were identified.
The Committee voted to send an e-mail to Council in support of items 8.3 and 8.4 (Preservation of old buildings). Bruce was assigned the task of writing the e-mail.
A motion to send an e-mail endorsing the preservation of the 4 Shoreline parcels as open space in perpetuity was moved and seconded. The vote was 2 for, 3 against and 1 abstaining, so the motion failed.
The minutes of the Nov. 12 meeting were approved with two minor corrections.
The Committee brainstormed suggested Expense and Income categories for our future Treasurer's report. It authorized the expenditure of up to $150 for Quicken software for the Treasurer to make it easier for him to keep the books and produce reports.
The Committee accepted the resignation of Tim Johnson as our Secretary. Tim has a new job in San Diego and can no longer participate in OMVNA activities. The Committee would like to hold a potluck farewell party for Tim and his wife Carol on Jan. 1 at the Grossman's house. Aaron will check with Tim to make sure the date works for him and choose the time. Anita will write an article for the next newsletter thanking Tim for his many years of service to OMVNA.
Our current by-laws only allow Tim to be replaced by one of our At-large members (Alison or Julie). Neither is interested, so we will not able to replace Tim until after the new by-laws pass at the Jan. 26 General Meeting. Everyone was requested to think of good candidates and let Bruce know of the names of prospects.
Newsletter Distribution Manger Julie Lovins expressed some concerns about the plan approved at the November meeting about distributing leftover copies of the Newsletter at local coffee houses. Aaron will follow up with her on this.
Aaron reported that OMVNA's Treasury has $6321, of which $270 is designated for CERT.
The Committee voted to have Donnie (DK) Foster replace Tim Johnson has Chair of the CERT Subcommittee.
Aaron reported that the CERT generator and ham radio are ready to test and that Chuck Piercy will perform the test soon. He also said that 30-40 people are interested in being CERT Block Captains and that 20-30 are "ready to go." The CERT Team will hold a 3-hour training session for Block Captains on Jan. 12 from 9am - noon.
Alison Hicks left the meeting at 8:10. Anita Grossman left the meeting at approximately 9:00.
Bruce reported on a new service from Calling Post that allows voice-messages to be broadcast to a pre-designated group. The service costs from $0.05 to $0.20 per call recipient. The Committee agreed that this could be interesting for CERT if privacy concerns could be addressed. No action is planned at this time.
A discussion about future General Meetings took place, with no definitive action.
Valerie agreed to take on the acting Secretary role at the next meeting, for just that one meeting.
The meeting adjourned at approximately 9:20.
Respectfully Submitted,
Bruce Karney
Chair & Acting Secretary