MEETING MINUTES
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Belmont Shore Residents Association MINUTES EXECUTIVE BOARD MEETING August 9, 2012 The
meeting was called to order by President Kurt Borsting at 6:00 pm. The other members
of the Executive Board present were: Max Alavi, Chrisjeon Clemmer, Aileen
Colon, Julie Dean, Vice President Terence Endersen, Marvin Jones, Secretary
Jeff Miller, Treasurer Robert O'Connor, and Robert Stropky. Executive Board
member John Forstrom was absent. Thirty-five additional BSRA members and
visitors were present. The
agenda for this meeting and the minutes of the July 12 meeting were approved. Judie
Ashley from the Bay Shore Library spoke briefly about how the proposed city
budget will affect the library. Bay Shore would become a
"self-service" facility, essentially a "reading room".
Staff would be limited to two people, there would be no availability of CDs
or DVDs or books on hold. Fees and fines would require payment at another
branch. The children's and adult reading programs would be terminated.
Patrons are urged to contact city council members and the city manager to
express their concerns. City
Prosecutor Doug Haubert spoke about the duties and responsibilities of the
Prosecutor's office. Their charter includes criminal prosecutions of
misdemeanors, which includes gang injunctions and "quality of life"
violations such as public drunkenness, fights, graffiti, and vandalism. A new
program beginning this week is a "Belmont Shore Ban": a stay-away
order issued to habitual offenders as a condition of their probation. This is
expected to reduce the number of problems related to intoxication caused by
repeat offenders. Haubert noted, this is a "problem we see every Friday
and Saturday night", caused by public drunkenness in the Shore. Eric
Lopez, from the City of Long Beach Department of Community Development, presented
an update of the planned 3.5 mile pedestrian path on the beach, to be built
in the fall. Lopez indicated the separation between the current path and the
new path has been reduced from the previously announced fifteen feet to ten
feet. (The current path will be re-striped for bicycles only.) A new ramp
will be constructed at the pier, to eliminate the sharp right-angle turn in
the current path. There was discussion again about the location of the new path
- the majority of the comments still indicate a strong preference for the new
path to be positioned on the Ocean Blvd. side of the existing path. Lopez noted the additional cost of that
positioning, because some re-positioning of the bicycle path would be
required on the west side of the pier. Comments noted the funding is from the
Tidelands Fund, not the General Fund, and any additional cost would be very
low when amortized over the life of the path. LBPD East
Division Commander Michael Beckman reported the details of the four assaults
listed on the Belmont Shore Crime Report for July. He addressed the problems
faced by the Police Department because of the budget cuts - staff has been
severely reduced, but despite that difficulty, Second Street is still heavily
patrolled. Questioned about increasing response times and other problems
caused by staff reductions, Beckman suggested citizen involvement is the most
important assistance that the public can provide. In addition to reporting
suspicious activity and crimes, examples include becoming a Reserve Police Officer
and organizing a Community Watch group. A suggestion from the audience was to
inform City Council members of the support for additional tax revenue to
increase Police funding. Commander
Beckman introduced Lt. Rudy Komisza, who spoke about his work with California
Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) enforcing compliance at bars. BSRA President
Borsting lamented the recent action of the City Council in approving the
entertainment license for Panama Joe's, despite the objection of the Police
Department. He noted that only one week later, Panama Joe's continues to be a
problem, by advertising a $20 "all the beer you can drink"
promotion. Matt Peterson, owner of Legends, echoed Borsting's call for
"balance" and stated his support for the new City Prosecutor's
"stay-away" program. He noted that Legend's does not have drink
special pricing. DeDe
Rossi spoke briefly about BSBA activities, noting the Stroll and Savor event
next week and the Belmont Show Car Show September 9. She stated that Nick's
restaurant will open August 29. Julie Maleki from Third
District Councilman Gary Delong's office reported the work on the reconfiguration
of Livingston Drive will begin Monday; one lane will remain open during
construction. Commissioner Eric Forsberg
spoke about the last Parking Commission meeting. He described the discussion
about a proposal to create "parklets", metered parking spaces on
Second Street to be converted to dining space for restaurants. The vote to
reject the concept was a tie; the topic may be discussed again at next week's
meeting. Vice President Endersen gave some reasons why this would be a bad
development for the Shore. President Borsting noted the amount of public
sidewalk space already given to businesses for exclusive use. Secretary
Miller reported the strong opposition expressed by retailers and other
business owners at the last BSBA meeting. Secretary
Miller polled the board members for their candidacy for next month's BSRA
election, and asked for nominees from the audience. Miller nominated Bobby
Bluehouse for President and Frank Elizondo announced his candidacy for the
board. The nominees are: President:
Bobby Bluehouse, Vice President: Terence Endersen, Secretary: Jeff Miller, Treasurer:
Robert O'Connor, Members at Large: Max Alavi, Chrisjeon Clemmer, Julie Dean, Frank
Elizondo, and Marvin Jones. Two additional Member at Large positions are
available. President
Borsting thanked all members for their support for his service as President
this year. The meeting was adjourned at 8:00
pm. Submitted
by: Jeff Miller, Secretary
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