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Belmont Shore Residents Association MINUTES EXECUTIVE BOARD MEETING July 14, 2011 The meeting was called to order by Vice President Terence Endersen at 6:03 pm. The other members of the Executive Board present were: John Forstrom, Marvin Jones, Heidi Van Horn and Julie Dean. President Aileen Colon, Secretary Jeff Miller, Treasurer Robert O'Connor and Executive Board members Elizabeth Borsting, Adam Hattan and Jim Lazarus were absent. Thirty-eight additional BSRA members and visitors were present. Librarian Debi Gurley announced the Summer Reading program is up and running and applies to folks of all ages. Debi also reminded everyone about the eBook program, which allows residents to borrow books by downloading them to electronic devices. Downloads to Kindles will be available in the fall. The agenda for this meeting and the minutes of the June 9 meeting were approved. Dede Rossi from BSBA reported the plans for the next Stroll and Savor event, July 20-21, with live bands playing in the old Blockbuster parking lot. She announced the July 22-24 Summer Sidewalk Sale. Dede also stated the 10th Anniversary Belmont Car Show on September 11 and the Holiday Parade on December 3 need sponsors, as these functions are not funded by the city (dede@belmontshore.org). Dede explained that beginning August 1 a taxi line will exist in front of Chase Bank Thursday through Saturday evenings from 7pm to 3am. She believes the taxi line will also help the Shore in being green and with parking issues. The BSBA is working with merchants to create a bike program offering discounts to bike-riding customers. LBPD East Division Commander Lisa Lopez advised she will be attending an Executive Training Program for several months in the fall and introduced Lt. Liz Griffin, who will be running the East Division in her absence. Commander Lopez discussed several current Belmont Shore law enforcement-related topics: senior volunteer program and Bay Shore Street closure. She also discussed enforcement activities and arrests related to residential burglaries, auto burglaries and prowlers. Concerns mentioned from the audience included bicycles on Second Street sidewalks, bicycle signage along 2nd Street being too high and not at the corners as well as noise from Ripples’ customers at closing Thursday through Sunday evenings. Commander Lopez also addressed a concern regarding July 4, explaining it is the second biggest deployment day of the year (after New Years). No police officers are allowed to take off and in fact, detectives (usually dressed in suits) are in uniform working that day. She also made clear that issues must be prioritized and that firecrackers near homes are more dangerous than firecrackers on the beach. Finally, Commander Lopez informed the group that there are fewer burglaries in houses with dogs and security alarm yard/window signs. Allan Crawford, the City of Long Beach Bicycle Coordinator (562-570-6618, email allan.crawford@longbeach.gov), discussed the Long Beach Bike initiative and the Safety Campaign which will focus on courtesy and civility. The city wants to encourage an active, outdoor lifestyle in Long Beach but also wants people to be respectful, using the tagline: “Share Our Streets”. Concerns mentioned from the audience included bicycles on the sidewalks. Allan advised it is illegal to ride a bike on the sidewalk in commercial areas and that if someone is afraid of the sharrow lane, they must then walk their bike. Gary DeLong, Third District Councilman, spoke about these items: City Council will have study sessions to create a more open environment and conduct more transparent bargaining with Unions; Termino Ave drain storm project (Councilman DeLong will advise of the timeline); continued work with Cal Trans on the 605 bridge to find additional alternatives; The Olympic Pool modifications due to earthquake requirements; Alamitos Bay Marina project; the Slough Pike development and Tideland funds/plans. Tom Modica, Director of Government Affairs and Strategic Initiatives, spoke regarding citywide funding, advising that the city is good at looking at all types of revenue sources. He said that we were able to get 10 million dollars in funds from 16 LA river upstream cities to outfit their storm drains. There are a total of 55 upriver cities, but he believes it’s a big step forward. Director Modica discussed the GoLongBeach Smart Phone app which allows citizens to quickly submit service requests with a photo and track status for issues such as graffiti, potholes and sign damage 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Julie Maleki from Third District Councilman Gary Delong's office reported the status of these items: bid consideration to combine two Beach parking lots; analysis now being conducted on new Pomona traffic signal; sidewalk repairs beginning mid-August. Eric Forsberg, the resident representative member of the Parking Commission, reported the Parking Commission has stated they would like to reduce employee parking in Belmont Shore. They initially looked at a shuttle program option but that has been tabled. Commission is now focusing on a bus transit program, similar to what Long Beach State students enjoy (free Long Beach public transportation), potentially affecting 200 employees (out of approximately 1400 employees in Belmont Shore today). Commission is working with the city to complete a narrow modification to an existing ordinance to extend funds to back this program. Additionally, the Mayor had approved a parking commission member. The Commission voted and sent their recommendation for new member which has now gone to the City council. Vice President Endersen advised there were no President or Secretary reports. Vice President Endersen reported the bank account balance of $3,552.23. A motion was approved for payment of the annual board liability insurance due in mid-August, recommending up to $1,600. BSRA Website Committee member, Max Alavi, advised that the committee (made up of Vice President Terry Endersen, President Aileen Colon, Secretary Jeff Miller and Board Member Julie Dean) has been working to expand our online presence by updating our website and introducing us to Facebook. Max stated that there are a few communities with similar Facebook pages that we looked at: WeLoveLongBeach and Naples Community Association. Their comments were positive and they stated they had very few instances of bad online behavior. We have therefore decided we will start the Facebook page allowing people to join it on their own. We will not send invitations to join. Community Facebook pages like this are a more protected type of Facebook page, compared to personal pages. We have set the privacy and security settings at the highest level against profanity with multiple layers of security. A motion was approved to make minor adjustments to the 2004 website rules and regulations created by the BSRA board, to allow for the Facebook page. A motion was approved for the expenditure of funds up to $200 for Belmont Shore Residents Association 2011 Elections. The BSRA Board has to recommend a slate of candidates. We are taking nominations for anyone who would like to serve on the board. President, Vice President, Treasurer and Secretary must be residential property owners and all board members must be a BSRA member for at least 30 days prior to the election, on September 8, 2011. Rob Webb who runs the Beach Water Polo Tournament, wanted to introduce the Tournament, which is scheduled for August 27-28 at Bay Shore. He explained this is the largest Seawater Water Polo event in the world with 60 teams from kids to Olympians and 6 courses in water. This family event, hosted by Shore Aquatics Club, will take place all day Saturday and Sunday, with the Long Beach Police Department competing against the Long Beach Fire Department on Saturday evening. Residents can go to Beachwaterpolocup.com for more info. The board advised we would add this information to the monthly BSRA newsletter. Dan Corbett requested the support of the BSRA for the Sea Festival kite surfing event July 22, 23, and 24 at the Claremont launch ramp. A motion of support was approved unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at 8:03 pm. Submitted by: Julie Dean
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