EMPOWERMENT CONGRESS WEST AREA NEIGHBORHOOD DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL

Meeting Minutes

December 1, 2012
Crenshaw United Methodist * 3740 Don Felipe Drive * Los Angeles, CA 90008
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Pres en t Excused Un- excus ed

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Pres en t

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David Winston, Chair X Wendell Conn (Area 2) X Denise Stansell, Co-Chair X Carl Morgan (Area 2) X Yvonne Ellett, Rec. X Lark Galloway-Gilliam (Area 3) Tardy Secretary Lanz Alexander, Treasurer X Jackie Ryan (Area 3) X Madeleine Renee-Walters, Ronda Brown (At Large) X X Corresponding Secretary Karen Caesar (At Large) X Mary Jones-Darks (Area 1) X Jason Lombard (At Large) X Wilson Washensky (Area 1) X Johnnie Raines (At Large) X Call to Ord er & R oll C all : The meeting was called to order at 9:31 am by Denise Stansell, Co-Chair. A quorum was present. Denise read the rules of the meeting. Everyone self-introduced. SLO Rep ort : No Lead Officer was present. Jason pointed out that Officer Sasajimas name does not have an h, which is how weve been spelling it. Public C o mm ent : Robert Rubio announced the Poinsettia Planting scheduled for 11:30 was cancelled because there is an issue with the ECWANDC Credit Card. David had put in a request to increase the credit limit but it had yet to go through. - 96 plants were donated by Baldwin Hills Crenshaw, which were planted at the 90008 Post Office and Leimert Park Village. - The plants will be put in with available volunteers when the funds come through. $1,500 for 278 plants from Lowes. - There will be 100 less plants this year because the ECWANDC wasnt able to help as much. Phyllis Taylor of the Rancho Cienega Tennis Club announced two upcoming events: - A childrens youth festival taking place at the Rancho Cienega Recreation Center on 12/15 - State Senator Curren Prices Holiday Party at his offices across from CAAM at Exposition Park on 12/12 Phyllis inquired about the closure of the Jim Gilliam Tennis Courts. She understands theres a crack in one of the courts, but they can play around it. Denise informed everyone there is a Job Order for the courts resurfacing. Kimani added the need to find money for the total construction, not a quickie repair. Kima ni Blac k (C D1 0) ga ve a fe w an no unce me nt s: - Councilperson Wessons Turkey Giveaway at the CD 10 offices, located at 1819 South Western Avenue on 12/13, 9am 1pm for ages 55+. All incomes are welcome to apply. Call (323) 733-8233. - Holiday lights are going up in Leimert Park Village. - The Councilpersons annual Toy Giveway will be on 12/15, 9am - 1pm at the CD 10 offices. There will be snow, food & toys. Theyll be doing outreach directly with area schools and through Community Build. Mary announced the Jim Gilliam Toy Giveaway is taking place on 12/22, 10am 1 pm. Johnnie announced the Southwest C-PAB Toy Giveaway is scheduled for 12/22 at the Transfiguration Church in Leimert Park. Lanz advised that P.A.C.E. is offering free assistance with utility bills to low income households. Call (213) 989-3250. Baldwi n Hill s Cr en sh aw eve nt s: - Jason introduced the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw new Director of Marketing, Rachel Erickson. - 12/8 is the Annual 8th Council District Toy Giveaway. There will be Toys and snow at the Staples parking lot from 10am 1pm. - 12/7-12/30, there will be ice skating in the malls Center Court. - February 2013, the Pan African Film Festival returns for 10 days. Also in February, there will be a 2-day Health Fare with seminars focusing on healthy eating. - To answer a Stakeholder inquiry, stores change locations within the mall for space renovations and square footage requirements. ECWANDC Meeting Minutes | Page 1

 Johnnie said the Southwest Community-Police Advisory Board (C-PAB) was holding its Annual Holiday party at the Southwest Police Station. Normally the group meets every 1st Monday of every month, 6:30 pm, at the Child Guidance Clinic, 3787 S. Vermont Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90007. Interested Stakeholders are welcome to attend. The Sh utt le Ta sk Force Tree Co m mit tee : - Is in the process of reviewing tree selection for MLK/Crenshaw. - Balancing of the trees trimmed during Endeavours trek is at the Science Centers cost. The Committee is looking into options to have the Science Center trim other trees without dipping into the N/Cs Tree-trimming fund. Right now there is a $100 estimate/tree for trimming which is high. The Committee is asking the Science Center to find other bids. - Replacement trees are being researched with an eye towards introducing seasonal color into the Crenshaw evergreen mix. Tree People, Northeast Trees, and the Baldwin Hills Conservancy are all being called upon for their expertise. - Magnolias and palm trees are not going to be replaced in kind since they did not thrive. Pink Trumpet, London Plane, Eucalyptus and Canary Pines are on the list as potential replacement trees. Perhaps Liquid Amber. A Stakeholder suggested Crape Myrtle. Yvonne said Crape Myrtles are drought tolerant but dont grow tall. The object is to have high enough canopies so the trees do not block merchant signage. - Carl asked about the Historic Designation of the Crenshaw trees. Lark said she is working with the Mayors Office to get seats for South L.A. on Master Plan L.A. - Yvonne suggested sidewalk repair for La Brea Avenue between the Jim Gilliam Park and Coliseum. Mary said the Baldwin Village Community is working with Wessons office to repair that sidewalk & its wall on the East side of the street. - There is still concern about replacing the Park Mesa trees vs. the MTA construction of Crenshaw/LAX. - Johnnie closed by saying that tree trimming requests need to be in writing. Its OK to email him directly at utjr3@aol.com. Review & A ppr oval of Mee ting Mi nut es Item : Discu ssio n Highligh t s: Acti on /F ollow -up Acti on /F ollow -up Yvonne did not bring the 11/19 minutes since three other meeting minutes still had to be approved. She had emailed the minutes to everyone prior to the meeting for review. Email review of the minutes prior to the meeting seemed to work for everyone. Lark replied with CC: to all with a minor edits. Jason motioned for approval of the September 17, 2012 minutes (no revisions). Mary seconded. VOTE: 10 Yays, 1 Abstention Lark motioned for approval of the October 6, 2012 minutes (with edits on the Leimert Park homeless encampment and the funding of election outreach). Jason seconded. VOTE: 10 Yays, 1 Abstention Lark motioned for approval of the October 15, 2012 minutes (with edits on the 10 Fwy homeless encampment and Faisal Robles name). Jason seconded. VOTE: 10 Yays, 1 Abstention Credi t C ard Ex pen dit ures Lanz read the itemized October credit card expenditures for October. Yvonne asked for the final total to add to the Minutes. A brief discussion concluded with Yvonne taking Lanz note. He will type a formal report. Items totaled $1,065.12 Lark moved to accept the Credit Card Expenditures Report, pending a formally typed report. Mary seconded. VOTE: Unanimous. Public La nd U se & Be auti fica tion Co m mit tee Car l Carl noted that not much is going on. The Village Green Trees and the Crenshaw Live permit are pending. A question: has The Village Green letter been sent? No. The letter needs to be corrected to 2:1 tree replacement. In March MTA will advise if the Leimert Park station will be a shell (placeholding a station) or an actual one. For Park Mesa, the Public Utilities Commission hasnt ruled on the at grade crossings between 48th & 54th Streets yet. Look for public hearings. The fight to put the light rail underground would delay it greatly because there not EIR to do so. BOTACH: David Lara of Building & Safety hasnt responded yet. Yvonne reminded the Board we have to make a list of items to go through Wessons office and this should be on that list. Johnnie pointed out ECWANDC Meeting Minutes | Page 2

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the main reason weve been so unsuccessful with the business is because we keep accusing it of selling instead of what its actually doing warehousing. Item : Discu ssio n Highligh t s: Mayor s Bu dget Ad visor s Rep ort R omer ol Mal ve aux A retreat for all Advisors and Alternates will be on 12/1, afternoon. The Budget Advisors for South L.A. will communicate for the ECWANDC, Empowerment Congress North, Empowerment Congress Central and Park Mesa. The Advisors are from EC Central, EC North with Romerol as the Alternate from ECWANDC. Last years priorities will be reviewed. This years priories will be taken from a Budget Survey which will be distributed to City Residents. Last years suggestions were for Public/Private partnerships to take on the costs of items like the LA Zoo or the LA Convention Center. Labor issues were looked into pension reform, health care contributions salary freezes or layoffs as well as raising revenue via new taxes for hotels or parking lots. She stressed it is key to get the word out. Last years participation in South LA was only at 11% compared to East LA at 14% or the San Fernando Valley at 20%. Romerol volunteered her availability for Block Club meetings. Lark noted that wording on the Budget Survey was leading in the past. Perhaps the language could raise less emotion, especially for subjects like Safety. The Mayor has already suggested moving the Dept. of Public Works into the Department of Transportation (DOT). Theres been a motion by the City Council to raise the sales tax. Baldwi n Villag e C om mu nit y in Ac tio n F undi ng Req uest - $ 1,2 0 0 (Mary recused herself from the room) Heather Green presented the funding request for the organizations Christmas event at Jim Gilliam Park on 12/19. Lark said the proposal should have come directly to the Finance Committee but she didnt receive it until shortly before the meeting. Johnnie said the Finance Committee had arrived earlier in order to have the Finance Meeting before the Town Hall. The Finance Committee has to reconcile line items from prior events to balance the Community Event Budget. The next Finance Committee Meeting will be on 12/17. There was a question of the possibility to go ahead and vote on the proposal since the party is on 12/19. There wouldnt be enough time to pass the funding and purchase everything. There is a need to be consistent. Board members need to follow procedure. The Finance Committee Agenda didnt go out because Lark didnt get the paperwork in a timely manner. A comment was made that the poinsettia funding went through without following process. Lark corrected that comment by going through each step that had been followed. A question: where are the rules for procedure? On the Empowerment LA web site. There is a need for application guidelines, including form availability at every meeting. A Stakeholder suggested that Roberts Rules of Order allow for a 5 minute break from the meeting for a discussion. Jason reiterated the demand for Agendas. Lark added the Board needs training reminders. Following process is important for the Budget. The application was not received prior to the meeting. Lanz recapped that the Board is torn between using process but the tragedy is that theres no time for the Stakeholder if we do. Johnnie and Mary knew about the Finance Committee meeting prior to the Town Hall, but Lanz and Lark did not. He chided the Board not to use process as an excuse. A Stakeholder noted the breakdown on the Board, adding, Baldwin Village needs positive activities. Romerol questioned if it was possible to fund the request without review or to call an emergency meeting after the close of the Town Hall. Lark explained we cant have a Finance Committee meeting after a meeting. Denise asked if the Finance Committee could hold a special meeting. Yvonne noted the next Board Meeting would be on 12/17, when everyone is preparing for Christmas. Yvonne moved to move the 12/17 meeting to 12/10. Jason seconded. Lark volunteered the CHC meeting room. 3731 Stocker Street, 2nd floor. The Board Meeting at 6:30 pm with the Finance Committee meeting at 6 pm. VOTE: 11 YAYS, 1 Abstention ECWANDC Meeting Minutes | Page 3

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Jason motioned to table item #7, Baldwin Village Committee in Action Funding, to the 12/10 meeting. Yvonne seconded. VOTE: 11 YAYS, 1 Abstention Past Fi nanci al Co m mit men t s Johnnie questioned if there was any forward movement on the Boards funding commitments. There was a question if other Neighborhood Councils have this same problem getting their projects funded. The Board needs to take on more responsibilities as individuals and not just leave everything for David to do. Mary verified that shes been through the Credit Card training twice. We need to invite someone from DONE to speak to both the Board and the Stakeholders so everyone can understand procedures. We also need a reconciliation of non-paid funding and the credit card. Someone needs to take on the assignment of sign posting for meetings. We need to understand Committee Responsibilities. As a Board, we need to be fair and impartial. Not Projects vs. Stakeholders.

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Elec ted Of ficial & Pu blic Ag ency An nou nce men t s: Patrice Jeff erson ( CD 8): There will be a Community Advisory Panel (CAP) meeting for the PXP Oil Fields on 12/6 to discuss air quality and noise. She described the tree lighting at the grassy triangle intersection of Leimert and Crenshaw Blvds and invited everyone to the tree lighting on 12/6 at the Constituency Center on Vermont. She announced the Toy Giveaway at the Mall on 12/8. The Kingdom Day Parade date is moving to 1/19, on a Saturday instead of the Holiday Monday, because of Inauguration Day. This years parade will be in honor of Larry E. Grant, the parades founder. The 2013 terminus will be at the intersection of Leimert and Crenshaw Blvds, site of the Gospel Festival. There is a grant with Urban Forestry. Planting areas include the Norman O. Houston park slope. A Stakeholder complained about the puddles of mud in the center of the parks track because of poorly placed sprinklers. Denise said she will put in a Job Order to have the issue rectified. There is a Greening Project in place to plant the La Brea Greenbelt from the Norman O. Houston Park to Jim Gilliam, along the east side of La Brea. Lark suggested we have the project coordinators attend a future meeting. Ja me s W estbr ook s ( St ate Sen at or C urren Pric e, Jr. ): He introduced himself to the new Board Members. He also announced the Senators Toy Drive on 12/15, and added to tell the parking entrance attendants that you are attending the Toy Drive to receive free parking. Fliers are on the back table. In closing, everyone gave Denise a hand for leading her first meeting as Co-Chair. We need to invite the City Clerk to a future meeting. Me eting Ad jo urned at 11:38 am. Minutes as Approved by Board at _ _12__/__10___/__12___ Meeting Signature: _________Yvonne Ellett______________ ECWANDC Recording Secretary

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