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Officers Attending:
Chair - Bruce Karney
Vice Chair - Anita Grossman
Treasurer - Aaron Grossman
Newsletter Editor - George Harris
Community Liaison - Valerie Harris
At-Large - Julie Wrobel
Officers Absent:
At-Large - Alison Hicks
Visiting Members
Twana Karney - MV Chamber of Commerce
Donnie Foster - CERT Chair
Larry Rosenberg - Bryant Street
Visiting Non-members
Cindy Ho - Community Foundation Silicon Valley
Minutes:
1. Approval of minutes. The minutes for December 11 Steering Committee meeting were approved with one minor correct - Guest name corrected to Irv "Davis."
2. Discussion of CFSV Grant Proposal with Cindy Ho (will include a recap of Saturday's CERT Training) (See attachment)
3. Treasury & budgeting conversation
a. Progress report on the new detailed form:
i. A new budget and balance sheet was presented (printed in color) depicting
Total Income and Total Expenses. This EXCEL spreadsheet will be used for
the OMVNA Budget and History.
ii. EXCEL will be used instead of Quicken
b. Treasurer & budgeting conversation:
i. A total of $325.61 will be reimbursed by the City of MV for the purchase
of Christmas lights for the decoration of Mercy-Bush Park.
ii. Aaron reports that there is a balance of $5653.25 in the OMVNA checking
account.
iii. Aaron reported that there is a $0 balance in CERT funds.
iv. Valerie sold ads for the upcoming March 5th election for a total of
$1220.
a) NO on N - (1)full-page ad to run in 2 issues = $880
b) Sally Lieber - (1)third-page ad to run in 2 issues= $300
c) Musical Trio classified (1) ad in December and January issue = $40
4. Newsletter
a. changes in the OMVNA newsletter schedule
A motion was made to set the issue date of the March 1 newsletter date to
Feb 21st to accommodate election ads. Passed unanimously. The newsletter
will be given to Alpha Graphics a day earlier than usual to get copies to
Julie Lovins for distribution on Thursdays instead of Fridays.
b. distribution of extra copies to coffee shops
Valerie reported that extra copies of the newsletter would be distributed
to Red Rock and Dana Street roasting company. Valerie will talk to Julie
Lovins about distribution of extras to Aaron.
c. website changes in prices (add cost of full page ads)
A motion was made to add a line item to the newsletter ad rates (online)
to include pricing for a full-page ad (at a cost of double a half-page ad).
Motion passed unanimously.
d. discussion on delivery of campaign materials
Discussion of campaign material delivery using Mona's newsletter distribution
network was nixed because it might appear OMVNA supports a candidate or
issue, and delivery of such items usually is targeted for registered voters
and the logistics would be too taxing on the distribution system of volunteers.
e. Preview and discussion of next newsletter (will include setting the price
for full page ads and a possible policy discussion of the ratio of ads to
news)
i. In order to keep the "look and feel" of the OMVNA newsletter
and not have the newsletter inundated with ads, motion was made to adopt
the following ratios for advertising, motion passed unanimously:
Total Pages Max # of page ads
4 1-1/2
6 2-2/3
8 4
ii. Future topics for the newsletter could include:
1. Old History
2. OMVNATalk
3. List of Officers
4. Photos
5. Preparation for Jan. 26 meeting
Valerie will show up 15 minutes before the 12:00 noon meeting to register
people. There will be no refreshments allowed. Also the speaker cannot sell
books inside the library
6. Discussion of change to OMVNAtalk policy about moderated vs. un-moderated
postings.
a. Discussion about OMVNAtalk topics continue to be moderated by Bruce (motion
passed unanimously).
b. Problems of disseminating the newsletter and minutes in multilingual
formats was discussed. A suggestion was made that for those who could not
read the newsletter, since all the newsletters are online, as well as all
meeting minutes, people were urged to go to the MV Library and access the
materials online for free. Currently LYCOS and a few other search engines
offer translators gratis. Materials will still be printed in English, but
can be read in other languages through the library's web access through
translators.
c. Meetings are posted and open to everyone, and people are welcome to attend
and bring a translator if necessary.
7. Motion was made to retain membership in United Neighborhoods of Santa Clara County and pay the $75 membership fee which passed unanimously. Member to attend will be selected at a later date.
8. A brief discussion of possible future filing as a nonprofit was
discussed.
Monday, January 14, 2002 - CERT discussion with:
Cindy H. Ho
Mayfair Project Co-Manager
Systems Management/Evaluation
Community Foundation Silicon Valley
408 278 2223 direct
408 278 0280 fax
cho@cfsv.org
Cindy Ho attended the meeting to determine viability of grant funding for OMVNA's CERT committee. The money will be used to equip block captains with equipment.
Cindy submitted the following questions to both OMVNA and CERT representatives at the meeting.
1. Demonstrate how residents and business owners have good relations.
How are business owners active in OMVNA?
a. Business take ads out in the newsletter which helps pay for the newsletter
b. OMVNA had a BINGO function and 15-20 businesses downtown donated prizes
to the event
c. The local mortuary donated ribbons and certificates for an OMVNA event
d. The OMVNA newsletter is distributed to businesses.
e. OMVNA is also a non-profit member of the MV Chamber of commerce
2. You state, "Because of the age of many of our residences, earthquake
damage and injury to occupants is a major concern" - What is the age
and demographics of many of your residents and why would earthquake damage
and injury be of concern (versus crime, etc) - Please elaborate.
a. Bruce looked up the demographics of the two sections of OMV described
in the 2000 census (Census Tracts 5096 and 5097).
b. Bruce commented that many of the houses in our neighborhood were over
60 years old, but that information was not in the Census report.
3. How did CERT come about and what was the catalyst for the investment/purchase
of the "trailer"? Since the trailer purchase, what has been or
will be accomplished in relation to getting residents oriented and engaged
in this project? Elaborate on resident response to CERT activities to date.
How will you ensure that the majority of households know about the "trailer"
and emergency response preparedness (aside from the block captain structure)?
a. Originally, Tim Johnson took the CERT City training course
b. OMVNA met to form CERT in (date?)
c. Since then, the MVFD's Lynn Brown and Donnie Foster have set up a training
course for block captains. The first block captain training was Saturday,
Jan 12, and 22 neighborhood residents attended.
d. CERT has a trailer and full HAM radio capabilities
e. Dissemination of information comes through public meetings, the OMVNA
newsletter, volunteers, the website, and OMVNATalk bulletin board lists.
4. After planning for the Area Captain/Block Captain organizational structure
- what does OMVNA plan to do in terms of engaging and training residents?
Besides preparing for a disaster, what other ways do you plan to maximize
the Area Captain/Block Captain organizational structure? Please elaborate
on how this project meets 3 goals of NGP - self-help; cooperation; and self-sufficiency?
After implementation, how will this project "change" lives of
residents and make a difference (even during the time of no disaster) as
it relates to the 3 goals?
a. First training occurred on Jan 12 - This will be ongoing as need arises
(at least 4 times/year)
b. OMVNA will encourage Neighborhoods to utilize structure for Neighborhood
Watch and to improve community relations and response
c. Donnie Provided Cindy with copies of Area/Block Coordinators Guide and
with Neighborhood Guides and pointed out specific areas and associated tasks
to make structure real, thereby:
i. Offering self-help (Neighborhood Guide is specifically designed to prepare
the family and then support the neighbors
ii. Offering cooperation (Coordinators Guide is specifically designed to
plan, organize, and help operate in the event of a disaster, so builds the
cooperative nature needed for success)
iii. Offering self-sufficiency (By pre-organizing and regular practice as
outlined in the guides and supported by the OMVNA CERT Committee, we set-up
our community to be self-sufficient during the time with the local authorities
may not be available for help)
5. Under "measures" - How will you recruit and select - based
on what criteria? How will you maintain sufficient #s of committed volunteers?
How will you train folks? How will you track success? - please elaborate
on strategies.
a. There are many roles within the organization (Coordinator's Guide page
2-12) that will be needed to be filled. We believe anyone who wants to help
can be given a productive responsibility
b. We will choose Coordinators based first on previous experience (hopefully
trained in CERT by Mountain View or other jurisdictions)
c. We have designed a step-by-step process to insure that required activities
are followed , and will reserve the right to remove/replace coordinators
who do not follow the process and complete the needed tasks.
d. We continue to provide information through our newsletters about CERT
and encourage word-of-mouth recruiting in each neighborhood. In addition,
we are contacting larger apartment complexes and home-owner associations
to recruit them into the CERT program.
e. In addition to the 3-hour overview, we are developing an 8-hour course
and encourage folks to take the Mountain View 8-week course and special
needs course (like HAM radio, 1st Aid, Sheltering, etc. depending upon interest
and need in each neighborhood)
f. Donnie provided Cindy with a copy of the evaluation from the Jan 12 Class,
with details about the participants and results as one example of how we
track our success. In addition, we showed Cindy a map of our area and indicated
that our success would be demonstrable by the coverage on the map. Our goal
of at least 30 units (blocks) by the end of the year seems reasonable given
that we had 13 people sign up at our 1st event.
g. Finally, as this is a neighborhood activity, our expectation is the neighbors
will get additional newcomers involved and the process, as defined in the
Coordinators guide is very duplicable.
6. How have the Police and Fire departments, etc been responsive to CERT? Describe your relations with these entities.
a. The city has been very responsive to OMVNA Cert.
b. The MV Fire Department Office of Emergency Services (OES) has trained
almost all of the CERT Leadership team. Lynn Brown, Director of MV OES said
"OMVNA is lucky to have such a dedicated group taking the lead on this
and I'll be glad to help out with any other training activities you schedule"
c. The OES underwrote the duplication of Guides and provided Lynn for the
training events
d. The MV Fire Chief, Marc Revere has expressed support for our effort,
and his primary Trainer, Scott Williams, offered editing for the Guides
as well as support of him and fellow firefighters if needed for council
and events that would help draw membership.
e. The MV Police Neighborhood Watch commander has provided us with lists
of neighborhood organizations that we have used in our recruitment efforts.
7. What are OMVNA's greatest accomplishments and challenges to date?
a. The creation of Mercy Bush Park.
b. CERT
c. Challenges: keeping up the leadership numbers, keeping up relationships
with downtown.
8. If CFSV does not grant you funds, how will your Association move forward
in relation to the Block Captain structure?
a. Block captains will be encouraged to purchase their own equipment
b. The equipment will be an enticement /reward to black captains
c. Grant money will help CERT buy standardized equipment
d. OES and MVFD have a good relationship, so we will work with their recommendations
A final statement was made about the latest California Department of Conservation study in which certain sections of OMV has been designated as a liquefaction zone which will sustain greater damage than normal in the event of a magnitude 6.0 or greater earthquake. The CERT funding will insure preparedness.
Saturday, January 26, noon - 2:00
Library Community Room, 585 Franklin St.
Officers attending:
Bruce Karney, Alison Hicks, George Harris, Valerie Harris
Officers absent:
Anita Grossman, Aaron Grossman, Julie Wrobel
Total attendance:
Approximately 23 voting members
OMVNA Minutes of General Meeting
1. Members were counted and a quorum of 15 or more was achieved.
2. Bruce Karney, OMVNA Chair, presented OMVNA's major accomplishments of OMVNA in 2001. The greatest accomplishment was the opening of Mercy-Bush Park.
3. OMVNA Goal setting exercise for 2002. Attendees were asked to write what they were most interested in seeing done on Post-it notes. These were clustered into six groups, and then there was a vote. Each member had a first place vote and a second place vote, which were distributed as shown in the table below.
| Neighborhood character preservation | ||
| Development of downtown | ||
| Community building | ||
| Affordable housing | ||
| Emergency preparedness | ||
| Traffic |
From the list, the #1 concern is Neighborhood character preservation and the #2 concern is Development of downtown. OMVNA's leadership will focus on these topics in 2002.
4. Julie Lovins pitched the No on N vote.
5. All by-laws changes passed except for Proposal #8 Article VIII -- Financial Affairs
6. Paula Calma brought a petition from 10 neighbors regarding OMVNA finances, CERT spending, neighborhood association spending, demanding a list of who the officers have been for the past 5 years, requesting a reason for the bylaws changes which were recently proposed.
7. Proxy voting was also brought up by Paula Calma - a motion was made but a second was withdrawn, so the motion failed for lack of a second.
8. The newsletter in alternative languages was discussed
9. Guest lecturer was Jane Powell, Author of Bungalow Kitchens, who explained how to remodel an older kitchen and still preserve your home's charm & character.
10. Meeting adjourned around 3:15 pm
Minutes taken by Valerie Harris, Community Liaison and acting Secretary
for this meeting.
Officers Attending:
Chair - Bruce Karney
Vice Chair - Anita Grossman
Treasurer - Aaron Grossman
Newsletter Editor - George Harris
Community Liaison - Valerie Harris
At-Large - Julie Wrobel (acting Secretary for this meeting)
At-Large - Alison Hicks
Visiting Members:
Larry Rosenberg - Bryant Street
Approval of January 14 Steering Committee minutes - Bruce recommended we refer to the correct name, "United Neighborhoods of Santa Clara County" in item 7 (instead of Neighborhood Alliance Organization). The minutes were approved unanimously.
Reports
1. Treasury Report
Expenses:
A total of $497.70 was spent on printing of the January newsletter. $13.18
was spent on postage and envelopes.
Income:
$325.61 was received from the City as a reimbursement for the purchase of
Christmas lights. Balance as of February 12, 2002: $6434.98
CERT: $22 was received from the Department of Motor Vehicles as a refund from the CERT trailer registration and deposited in the CERT account as income. Nothing was spent on behalf of the CERT committee
2. Newsletter
The next newsletter (8-page issue) will go out in about 10 days. Home Depot
considered taking out an ad but decided to buy one from the Voice instead.
Bruce took the action item to send Valerie some additional articles.
3. Other
· General Meeting - held on January 26, 2002. Eight out of 9 by-law
amendments passed. The finance issue did not pass and as a result OMNVA
will include 2 signatures on every check written. Two goals were identified
for the coming year: "Neighborhood Character Preservation" and
"Downtown Development" (how can OMNVA help develop the downtown
to better serve local residents and how can we help the residential part
of the neighborhood retain its charm).
· OMVNA is a member of the Chamber of Commerce (CoC), and the CoC is polling their members regarding the CoC's "Yes on N" stand. After discussing our options, the OMVNA Steering Committee voted (6 to 1, V. Harris opposed) to ask the Chamber of Commerce to rescind their "Yes on N" stance and to take a Neutral position on the Measure.
· Spring Meeting - we discussed holding the meeting at the Landels School and prefer to have it outside. Numerous suggestions were made for what type of event and we agreed on having a potluck. Other suggestions included a "Doggie Parade" or an opportunity to meet City staff members and exchange ideas about what businesses OMVNA residents want recruited for the downtown area. It was decided we should wait for the Stevens Creek trail extension to open before having the "Doggie parade" (late Summer or Early Fall). The first choice date for this Spring Meeting is April 27 or 28 because it works well with the newsletter schedule. OMVNA will provide drinks, utensils and desserts. Residents will be asked to bring dishes of food to share. Aaron will call the Landels principal to ask for permission to use their grounds and Bruce will call staffers to invite them to attend.
· City Council Agenda - Valerie will attend the 2/12 meeting and represent OMVNA on agenda item "Emergency Ordinance for preservation of historic buildings." OMNVA supports preserving the charm and character of Old Mountain View.
· Translating the Newsletter -- Having been advised that two residents were interested in ways to translate the Newsletter into Spanish, we agendized this topic, but neither member attended the meeting. Nevertheless, the Committee discussed some of the issues relating to the topic, but reached no conclusions and took no action.
· Nominating Committee - In a unanimous vote, Anita Grossman was elected Chair of the Nominating Committee.
· Meeting was adjourned at approximately 8:45.
ACTION ITEMS
· Aaron will ask Donnie for CERT info which can fill up to 1.5 page worth of space in the next newsletter. Needed by mid-week this week (2/13)
· Valerie will add info in the next newsletter about downtown recruiting efforts (businesses), Leadership Mountain View, and the goals established and by-laws passed at the January Annual Meeting.
· Aaron will call the Landels School and ask to use their grounds for our Spring Meeting
· Bruce will call staffers and invite them to attend the Spring Meeting.
Officers Attending:
Chair - Bruce Karney (acting Secretary for this meeting)
Vice Chair - Anita Grossman
Treasurer - Aaron Grossman
Newsletter Editor - George Harris
Community Liaison - Valerie Harris (will assist with supplementing minutes)
At-Large - Julie Wrobel
At-Large - Alison Hicks
Minutes:
Approval of Feb 11 Steering Committee minutes - The minutes were approved unanimously.
1. Treasury Report (Mar 2002) February 2002 OMVNA Expenses were $21.95 (to Bruce) for copying and materials for the January General meeting.
Income was $325.61 in a grant from the City of Mountain View for the Holiday Lights at Mercy-Bush Park. CERT received a $22.00 refund from CA DMV on the trailer registration, and $200 on Feb 23 as a donation to CERT. OMVNA balance on March 11 was $6,007.26, and of that $222.00 belonged to the CERT sub-account.
2. Newsletter
Valerie - Will collect stories for newsletter from other contributors.
- Can rerun history column from archives.
- Drop off checks to Aaron Grossman (income from ads)
3. Candidates for Steering Committee
1. Larry Rosenberg
2. Girl Power - girls from the neighborhood (these are trainees from school)
3. Think of anyone in your immediate area
Bruce commented that perhaps membership is not a high priority is that there
are no driving projects for momentum in interest in OMVNA, no threats to
the neighborhood character.
Maybe we could have some fun projects like a Doggie Parade to get people
socialized so we can get a feel for what the neighborhood wants.
Motion: Aaron - made motion to actively search for new member, also authorize
Bruce to pursue getting teen member from Girl Power. Motion passed.
4. Non-profit status
OMVNA is a member of United Neighborhoods of Santa Clara County.
Bruce has been attending these meetings, Jean McCloskey used to go previously.
Bruce got information about 501C7 status and 501C3 status.
If we do the non-profit filing, then everyone can see the books and we keep
of tally of who in the organization does what.
We discussed organizing OMVNA into either an organization of defined membership who pay dues or continuing our current no-dues structure.
What do we do next?
1. Further discussion will occur at the April meeting
2. Determine the benefits of a 501C3 vs a 501C7 status Action: Bruce to
send steering committee members non-profit literature
3. Determine who gets to see the books and when (perhaps at the annual meeting?)
Action Item Summary:
1. Aaron - to meet with principal of Landels for Picnic
2. Valerie - to give Aaron advertising checks
3. Valerie - to amend Jan 26th meeting minutes changes and emails to the
group.
Meeting Adjourned.
Officers Attending:
Chair - Bruce Karney
Vice Chair - N/A - Anita is resigning
Treasurer - Aaron Grossman
Newsletter Editor - George Harris
Community Liaison - Valerie Harris (acting Secretary for this meeting)
At-Large - Julie Wrobel
At-Large - Alison Hicks
Guest:
Eric Minden
Minutes:
Approval of Mar 11 Steering Committee minutes - Minutes will be written up by Valerie Harris for E-Mail approval.
1. Grant for $1500 from CFSV for CERT Block Coordinator Kits
In order to qualify and use grant OMVNA must do the following:
(a) Attend 3 UNSCC meetings per year
(b) Report what we will do with the money
(c) Report what the money was spent on.
Motion to accept terms and conditions and cash the check passed unanimously.
2. Finalize Plans for April 28 Meeting
Aaron - will get desserts, supplies, and drinks from COSTCO; also PA system
Bruce will bring name tags and sign up sheets and will make signs for directions;
Bruce will also get ice
Setup Crew - Julie and Aaron
Cleanup Crew - Bruce, Valerie, and George
3. Eric Minden spoke about the noise problem at the Portuguese Hall
Eric spoke about the problems with hall noise from loud parties with bands
almost every Saturday night during the warmer months (early summer - on).
Someone suggested that this might be a topic for OMVNATalk.
Action: Bruce will write a requesting data in the form of police reports
for the past 12 calendar months.
4. Addressing the Neighborhood Preservation Goal
At the January OMVNA General Meeting, members talked about getting together
in people's homes on how to share restoration tips. Alison will call people
from the list of attendees. Bruce suggested a permanent article - like This
Old House for the newsletter to be penned by Alison. Eric Minden offered
to help with referrals. Also, maybe there can be a Q&A area for the
MV-PA website or OMVNA website on restoration projects.
5. Newsletter
(a) Brochure for new clients - Action - Bruce will send Valerie an old ad
brochure.
(b) Rates for alternate ad sizes - 1/6, 1/12, and business card sized ads.
We need to decide rates, ad them to a brochure and to the website.
(c) Rate for classified ads - Keep at 50 cents a word
(d) Price breaks for non-profits - Action - Aaron to give Valerie cost of
the past three newsletters to gauge what ads cost per issue. After cost
analysis, an analysis will be made of ad cost. The at-cost price will be
offered to 501C3 groups.
(e) Quality control in payment process - Process improvement - Valerie will
send Aaron invoices and Aaron will notify Valerie upon receipt of payment.
(We may have to rethink this because some ads come in at the last minute).
Action - Valerie to contact Art Takahara about Yes On N bill.
6. Downtown Committee report
Valerie briefed the group about economic recruitment, the joint meeting
with the EPC, emergency ordinances and store-front improvements.
7. Recruitment of Replacement Officers
Doug McMinnis, John Brazil, Bill James, Robert Mullinger were names suggested
for recruitment.
Bruce talked to the Girl Power group - this group is currently a pilot program with a small membership. In October the program will ramp up to about 1000 members. OMVNA should contact the group at that time.
Action - Aaron stated that Anita Louis Grossman wished to resign as Vice Chair and that she will notify Bruce formally.
8. Discussion of 501 (c) status for OMVNA
Bruce got some great information from UNSCC. However, due to the late hour,
this topic will be tabled until the next meeting.
9. Treasury Report (Apr 2002)
March Expenses: $594.21 was spent on printing the March newsletter, larger
than normal because of the extra size. $11.56 was spent on postage. March
Income: $420.00 was received for special election advertising. The OMVNA
Balance was $6427.26 on April 8, 2002.
March Expenses for CERT: none. Income: $200.00 dollar donation received
on behalf of the CERT committee on Feb 23. The CERT account is $222.00,
and is included in the overall OMVNA balance.
(TBD - fill-in by Aaron).
Officers Attending:
Chair - Bruce Karney
Vice Chair - open
Treasurer - Aaron Grossman
Newsletter Editor - George Harris
Community Liaison - Valerie Harris (acting Secretary for this meeting)
At-Large - Julie Wrobel
At-Large - Alison Hicks
Community Members:
Paula Calma
Minutes:
1. CERT Report
a. CERT training follow-up from January training. CERT is having a tough
time getting the 15 volunteers to complete the training. Of the 15, two
have completed the certification. There are several problems, not only with
activism, but also with communication. Some block captains don't know which
areas are under their jurisdiction, so CERT will provide a map with addresses
and block designations.
b. CERT is planning a door-to-door campaign to increase activism and possibly
recruit newsletter delivery volunteers. Currently there are three newsletter
areas that have no coverage (over by Byrant and between Castro and Shoreline).
CERT members will canvas about 150 homes and drum up support for both the
newsletter delivery and CERT block captains.
c. A discussion ensued about how to encourage block captain participation.
One possibility is to have a CERT class reunion (made up of volunteers who
attended the January certification class). In this meeting, volunteers can
suggest on how to make participation in CERT more robust and effective (i.e.
what can CERT do to make the volunteer job better).
Action: A motion was made by Bruce, seconded by Aaron to appropriate $150
for refreshments for a CERT refresher course meeting. Passed unanimously.
d. Radio report: CERT had a practice drill to test emergency preparedness.
A flooding of Stevens Creek was simulated. All the equipment worked and
all contacts with emergency personnel were highly successful.
2. Landels School Newsletter
Dr. Alicia Henderson, Principal of Landels School has given a tentative
OK to have a quarterly 1/4-page insert in the Landels School newsletter.
The benefit of these insertions is that the newsletter is also translated
into Spanish for the Hispanic community. Lauren Zuravleff is the editor.
Aaron Grossman will make the introduction between the OMVNA editorial staff
(Harris and Harris) and the Landels editor, Zuravleff. This is an urgent
issue since school will be out soon for the summer.
3. Public Inputs: Paula spoke
a. Paula Calma spoke against the use of the Landels School newsletter
b. Paula also told OMVNA that it was disregarding the Hispanic Community
c. Paula also said the newsletter was not reaching out to the needs of the
renters
d. Paula questioned the financial reports of OMVNA and CERT
e. Paula left the meeting before the steering committee members were able
to respond.
4. Meeting Minutes for the April OMVNA Steering Committee Meeting Approval
Action: Bruce motioned to approve, Valerie Seconded - Passed unanimously.
5. Future agendas for OMVNA meetings
(a) Alison will keep posting to OMVNA Talk in hope of increasing attendance
(b) Alison will send out the agenda a week before the meetings
(c) Alison will send out a reminder the weekend before.
6. Downtown Committee Report
Valerie briefed the group about Kevin Duggans' state of the city, the parking
structure, the historic ordinance, the change of use ordinance, economic
development and the precise plan.
7. OMVNA Officers
a. Action: Bruce nominated Alison for Vice-Chair, Julie seconded, passed
unanimously.
b. Action: Bruce nominated Larry Rosenberg for the At-Large position, Valerie
seconded. Passed unanimously.
8. Financial Report
a. As of 5/13/2002 OMVNA has $6020.34 in the checking account
b. A check for $13.49 was written for CERT bills
c. There is $208.51 in the CERT sub-account
9. Newsletter
a. A suggestion was made to reduce the newsletters to six issues per year
to reduce the workload.
b. Valerie will get other newsletters to get good ideas for increasing readership
and participation.
10. Discussion of 501C status for OMVNA
Bruce presented three types of 501C organizations. Most organizations were
501C4 - social organizations. Bruce discussed the differences between 501C3
(educational or charitable with tax deduction status), 5014C (social), and
501C7 (membership-driven, like country clubs).
Benefits:
1. Will give OMVNA a more formal structure
2. We can report income
3. We will get insurance
4. We can get an organizational checking account
5. Will make us more apt to get grants?
Alison asked if getting a 501C status will affect our ability to get CERT grants.
Alison brought up the TIDES Foundation lets organizations like OMVNA
take advantage of their umbrella without the 501C paperwork
Action: Bruce will contact TIDES for more information.
11. Neighborhood Grants
The City of Mountain View is offering neighborhood grants of up to $1500.
Deadline for application is June 12th.
Action: Alison will talk to neighbors and get ideas. Julie will assist in
writing the grant. Valerie will also help with brainstorming.
12. Mercy Bush Park Meetings
Neighbors around Mercy Bush Park are having informal meetings. From these
meetings babysitting coops, etc, have emerged. Alison will find out more
about these great meetings. (What a wonderful addition Mercy Bush Park has
made to the neighborhood!)
13. Meeting Adjourned.
Meeting adjourned 9:20 PM
Minutes prepared by Valerie Harris