Minutes for OMVNA Annual General Meeting: Monday, December 15, 2025 – Final
Location: Edith Landels Elementary School
The meeting was called to order at 7:31 PM.
No additions to the agenda from the floor.
OMVNA Steering Committee Members Present: Robert Cox, David Lewis, Carola Thompson, Susan Bickford, Jamil Shaikh, Sherril Brennan, Jerry Steach, Kristin Bailey, Shivika Nayyar, Maureen Blando. Leadership Present: Lorrie Wormald, Melanie, Kaye, Carol Lewis. Others Including: Jim Whitfield, Max Hauser; several additional.
Election of Officers for 2026
-There were no nominees from the floor.
-The slate as below was generated by Jerry Steach, chair of nominating committee.
-Sherrill moved to accept the slate. Jerry seconded.
-The slate was unanimously elected by verbal vote. Fifteen+ people voted.
-The following were elected to serve as members of the OMVNA Leadership Team for 2026:
Steering Committee
Robert Cox, Chair
David Lewis, Vice Chair
Maureen Blando, Secretary
Carola Thompson, Treasurer
Jamil Shaikh, Community Liaison/Downtown Committee
Susan Bickford, Newsletter Editor
Shivika Nayyar and Melanie Kaye, At Large
Subcommittee Chairs
Sherril Brennan, CERT
Jerry Steach, Historic Preservation
Jamil Shaikh and Carol Lewis, Parking
Kristin Bailey, Social/Eventors
Lorraine Wormald, Newsletter Distribution
Approval of Minutes of October 27, 2025, Steering Committee Meeting
-Motion to approve minutes: Max; seconded; Sherrill.
-The minutes were approved unanimously via verbal vote.
-There were a few pending changes submitted by Robert Cox. Changes were made by Maureen Blando and emailed to Robert Cox and Kristin Bailey on 12/16/2025.
-Minutes are now posted on the OMVNA website. https://www.omvna.org/
Upcoming January Meeting: Monday, January 26, 2026, 7:30 PM via Zoom
The next newsletter will be published on February 4, 2026.
Establishment of ad-hoc subcommittee to make viable recommendations for use of OMVNA surplus funds with specifics for 2026, Kristin Bailey
Kristin would like to form a committee which would come up with and implement event ideas. If you would like to join, contact Kristin. All of the events are led by someone who took the initiative to organize it. OMVNA provides funding per our guidelines.
Financial Report for 2025, Carola Thompson
Carola presented a detailed financial update which is intentionally not included in these minutes as the minutes are posted on the internet. If you have a need to know, contact Carola.
-By design, in 2025 we spent more on:
Events – more events with more activities
Extending the reach of our newsletter via direct mail delivery
We continue to manage some of our funds in a CD to get a better return
The Neighborhood Initiative Grant Program is new for 2026 to encourage individuals outside of the OMVNA Eventors to organize events for the neighborhood. Neighbors are encouraged to submit a plan to receive a grant.
Social Report, Kristin Bailey
-Kristin would like to form a committee which would come up with and implement event ideas. If you would like to join, contact Kristin. All of the events are led by someone who took the initiative to organize it. OMVNA provides funding per our guidelines.
-Join events-only email list at: https://groups.io/g/OldMTVevents1 to get email about events only.
Summary of 2025 Events
Egg Crawl, Mixers, Get a Clue, Wheels, Ice Cream Social, Caroling Crawl
Newsletter Report, Susan Bickford
-In 2025 we changed the printer and started printing in color, which has gone well. Looks very good; price is almost the same as B&W.
-For the November newsletter we used EDDM (USPS bulk mail) for the first time. EDDM goes to many more doors along the route (approx. 5,000 vs. 2,500), although some small routes must be hand-delivered as the postal routes do not 100% align with the OMVNA borders.
-On the pilot EDDM run in November, some locations were not delivered to.
-We increased the quantity of printed newsletters to 5,000 for EDDM, up from 2,500 for our traditional volunteer hand-delivered routes. EDDM cost was approximately $1,000.
-Typical year income from advertising is ~$5,600. Every other year there is the City Council & local elections. In those years the newsletter is expanded to 12 pages and there is an increase in advertising revenue.
-Each year the number of homes that we can hand deliver to shrinks due to gated communities, etc.
-Per year, 5,000 8-page copies printed and EDDM delivered would be approximately $6,000.
On election years, where one issue is 12 pages, cost is ~$7,600.
-Therefore, the two-year cost (color & EDDM) is approximately $14,000. Two-year income is approximately $12,000. We would be in the red ~$2,000.
-We could: reduce our costs by not using EDDM; raise our ad rates; use some of the city grant toward publishing costs.
-Susan recommends not raising realtor ad prices. She recommends raising prices slightly for political ads. This would reduce the deficit to about $1,000. She recommends revisiting whether we should use EDDM again in 2026.
-We are looking for new team members for the newsletter team! Contact Susan.
-A straw poll of attendees indicated that most people prefer to receive the physical/paper copy of the newsletter over digital-only.
-Topic to be continued in the January meeting and possibly voted on.
-We discussed that OMVNA has almost zero social media presence. One person indicated that she might be able to help with social media. I did not get her name.
Annual Update on Development in OMVNA, Robert Cox
-Please see Robert’s slide deck at: https://www.omvna.org/development-presentation-at-omvna-general-meeting-december-15-2025/
-The biggest change in 2025 was the passing of Senate Bill 79 (SB 79). It rezones areas near major transit centers such that within ¼ mile of the transit center, 7 story buildings are permitted, and within ½ mile, 6 story buildings are permitted.
-These buildings could even be built in the 100, 200, & 300 blocks of Castro Street.
-Again, please see the slides for further details.
David Lewis
-No report.
-Happy 60th Wedding Anniversary to David and Carol!!
Secretary’s Report, Maureen Blando
-No report.
Downtown Committee Report, Jamil Shaikh
-Big events coming up in 2026 include the Super Bowl and qualifying games for the FIFA World Cup, both in Levi’s Stadium. The Mountain View CalTrain and VTA Light rail will be heavily used. A major cleaning of the pedestrian mall and parking structures is underway.
-They are testing a Throne Lab, public affordable restroom. The Sunnyvale and Palo Alto train stations each have one. Jamil recommends going to see one.
CERT Report, Sherrill Brennan
-CERT is approximately 50 people now, with about 20 who are active.
-CERT Academy is held in April and October. It is about 19 hours long.
-CERT meets once per month.
-New volunteers are welcome.
-More information: https://www.mountainview.gov/our-city/departments/fire/emergency-preparedness/cert?locale=en
Historic Preservation, Jerry Steach
No report.
Parking Report, Jamil Shaikh and Sherrill Brennan
No report. With new state legislature there is limited impact which we can have on parking now.
At-large Report, Max Hauser
-For this annual meeting we served pizza. This was the first time that we bought it from Papa John’s. The pizza met with approval.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:14 PM.
Submitted by: Maureen Blando, OMVNA Secretary
