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Belmont Shore Residents Association MINUTES EXECUTIVE BOARD MEETING May 10, 2012 The meeting was called to order by President Kurt Borsting at 6:04 pm. The other members of the Executive Board present were: Chrisjeon Clemmer, Max Alavi, Marvin Jones, Robert Stropky, Julie Dean, Treasurer Robert O'Connor and Vice President Terence Endersen. Secretary Jeff Miller and Executive Board members Aileen Colon and John Forstrom were absent. Twenty-six additional BSRA members and visitors were present. Librarian Debi Gurley-Vilander announced the Summer Reading program will begin June 16 for adults, teens and children. Sign-up is available online or in-person. Debi and the Library personnel thanked the Belmont Shore Residents Association for their donation; the funds are being used to purchase a banner for the side of the building. The agenda for this meeting and the minutes of the April 12, 2012 meeting were approved. East Division Commander Michael Beckman gave the LBPD report, advising of the statistics below and that, overall, there were fewer issues with unlocked doors: 5 Assaults (vs 8 in March) 1 Robberies (vs 3 in March) 4 Burglaries (vs 10 in March) Dede Rossi from the BSBA reported there will be a Stroll and Savor event Wed/Thu, May 16-17, 2012. She warned that CSULB will be out of school on Thursday, so the event will be more crowded. Dede advised that over 400 Belmont Shore employees have signed up for free bus passes through the new employee bus program. Julie Maleki from Third District Councilman Gary Delong's office reported on the following items: · Working hard to have some irrigation on Broadway · Ed White is the Superintendent overseeing beaches · Mark Bixby Memorial proposal: Mr. Bixby loved the beaches so a memorial has been recommended. It is a stainless steel sculpture of a wave. The proposed plan is to install it in front of La Palapa restaurant at the entrance to the pier parking. There will be lights shining on it to look like a moving wave. No trees will be removed and it will include landscaping. There is zero cost to the city and it is designed to last 15 years without any maintenance There was no Parking Commission report at this time. There will be a complete report at the next meeting. Kurt Borsting explained during his President’s report that a Banner was purchased and due to a printing mix-up, the BSRA was not charged, so the funds will stay in the treasury. There was no Secretary report. Treasurer Robert O'Connor reported the bank account balance of $2732. He also advised that we have received communication from the tax board; there are a number of questions which we’ll be replying to. Terry Endersen provided the Beach Sub-Committee report. He advised that a Beach Sub-Committee meeting occurred on May 9 which focused on Kite Surfing Vendors. The City has put forth a proposal to build a permanent concrete pad for a Kite Surfing Vendor. The application to the coastal commission has been rescinded. The outcome was that there much discussion regarding the Permit process for vendors on the beach, contribution to the city, the footprint, issues with privatizing and more. The Beach Sub-Committee will gather feedback from residents, kite boarders and vendors and help work on a master plan. Jim Corbett from Santa Ana took away from the meeting that everyone wants to try to develop our area and help people enjoy our beach. He suggested that, similar to the Veteran’s Pier sign at the entrance to the Veteran’s pier parking lot, we have a sign at the Claremont ramp. Additionally, he remarked that Seal Beach has spent a lot of money on their parking lot including a grass rigging area and that our parking lot is underutilized. Jim suggested that the majority of the residents and vendors do not want a tent and definitely don’t want vehicles to park on the beach. The suggestion was made that a planning exercise would be valuable; Julie Malecki agree that this would be an appropriate usage of the Tidelands funds. A question regarding commercialization was posed, asking for feedback on commercial services and questioning how the vendor was chosen, especially since they are not a Long Beach company. The perception by some is that there’s not an open competitive process to become the proprietor. Julie Malecki advised there is a bid request process. Bobby Bluehouse brought up the concern that Mark Sandoval, Marine Bureau Manager (who oversees Marinas, vendors and beach activities), was antagonistic towards the public and advised he doesn’t want that many people at future meetings. Per Julie Malecki, Mark Sandoval does not run the meeting. The BSRA has been working with Mark Sandoval for more visibility on activities prior to implementation. Feedback was given from several sources that Mark Sandoval is often not open to suggestions and does not appear interested in residential or beachgoer opinions. Robert Stropky reported there were many volunteers, including additional helpers through Julie Malecki, assisting in the Tree Planting. 19 trees were planted; many at First St and Bayshore. Robert gave a big thanks to Julie for all of her help and to Eric at Legends for lunch that was provided afterwards. Robert has sent out notes to property owners with details on how to maintain the trees. There was no old or new business was reported. Public Comment: It was brought up that homeless people are still parking on Ocean Blvd. There are approximately 10-15 homeless people living on the beach and in their vehicles. The Commander explained that patrol has increased but they are strapped for help and this type of issue jumps to the bottom of the list. The Commander is asking for calls or emails to lbpdeast@longbeach.gov so that this issue can be better tracked. He asked for specific requests with location, rather than general comments. Terry Endersen presented a Tidelands funds list to Julie Malecki which she has forwarded to Eric Lopez, so that he can remove the items that the BSRA advised should not be completed. Eric Lopez would also like to return to another BSRA meeting soon. The question was asked as to why Alfredo’s never seems to be open unless they are having a special event and that it seems we’re missing out on opportunities. There was a complaint that there are minimal restrooms for beachgoers. Apparently the residents along Ocean have been asked for use of their home restrooms. Second Street electrical boxes which had often been graffitied are now being painted by two different artists. There was a complaint that the stripes in the beach parking lots are difficult to see. Julie Malecki advised this falls under Public Works and explained that they have funding for it; this work should be completed by the end of summer and will include multi-meters that take cash or credit, re-asphalting and re-striping. The meeting was adjourned at 7:12 pm. Submitted by: Julie Dean
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