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Stakeholder Meeting Draft Minutes Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Port of Los Angeles High School, 250 W. 5th St, San Pedro, CA

Call to Order & Roll Call: All board members were in attendance which included: Linda Alexander, James Preston Allen, Art Almeida, Frank Anderson, Pat Carroll, Sue Castillo, Harvey Contreras, Scott Gray, Kara McLeod, Kali Merideth, Julia Parker, J. R. Perez, Alan Ramirez, Bill Roberson, Carrie Scoville, Andrew Silber and Phill Trigas. Approximately 40 stakeholders in attendance. Presidents Report (Linda Alexander)

• A moment of silence was held in memory of John Olguin and there was an announcement

of memorial services scheduled for Jan 22 at 1:00pm, at Cabrillo Beach.

• Brief comment about the recent tragedy in Tucson, AZ.

• Sue Castillo was called upon to read a letter in response to Central’s correspondence sent

to Port of Los Angeles Director, Geraldine Knatz. The letter related to our interests in the

improvements to Front Street.

• An update was given on the board members who have completed their ethics training.

Approval of Minutes of November 9, 2010 Board and Stakeholder meeting. Pat Carroll made

a motion to approve the minutes of the November 9, 2010 meeting as presented. The motion was

seconded by Art Almeida and passed unanimously by the Board.

Reports from Public Officials, City Departments, and their representatives:

Mayor’s Office: Ricardo Hong reported on the following:

• Last month the mayor was in the area and held a town hall meeting at Harbor College. He

plans to return to the Harbor Area for another town hall meeting at Banning Park, possibly

in February.

• The mayor will be attending a breakfast meeting hosted by the San Pedro Chamber on

Wednesday, February 9th at 8:30am and will also be attending a luncheon in Harbor

Gateway on February 23rd hosted by the Harbor City Chamber.

• Announced the new LAUSD Superintendent, John Deasy, who brings a lot of experience

to the LAUSD Board.

• The Mayor is recommending the leasing of 9 public parking garages. This is a very

controversial issue which is being recommended to help address the 53 million dollar

budget hole.

• New governor Jerry Brown has released his budget which has many cuts. Ricardo

commented on some of those proposed cuts which includes 423 redevelopment agencies

in California and an end to tax breaks for enterprise zones. Ricardo read a statement from

the Mayor expressing is opposition to the proposed cuts to the redevelopment agencies in

Los Angeles.

• There are also proposed cuts to graffiti removal in an effort to save 1.5 million dollars.

• LA has a 13.6 unemployment rate and tax incentives are being proposed for businesses to

hire individuals released from jail and residents of low income communities.

• James Allen commented on the issue of parking garage leases asking if the number has

been released on what the city would make if it were to maintain the leases.

• Sue Castillo asked if the mayor has been in dialogue with the state about the courthouse

situation. She wants to know what they would do with the building should they close down

the courthouse. Bill Roberson asked Ricardo to relay a message to the mayor that we

need the courthouse.

Assemblywoman Bonnie Lowenthal’s Office: Jennifer Zitkovich reported on the following:

• Regular session of the legislature convened last week. No bills have been introduced yet.

The assemblywoman has been reappointed as chair of the Assembly Transportation

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Committee as well as the Assembly’s Select Committee on Ports. She is focusing her

efforts on job creation.

• Fewer bills will be introduced this year in order to focus on the budget.

• The new governor is recommending a realignment proposal to shift services provided by

the state to the local and county level. He intends to ask the voters to extend the

temporary tax increases.

• Assembly budget committee has its first hearing this Thursday. Assemblywoman wants to

know what is important to her constituents and wants to be a resource to the

neighborhood council.

• The Assemblywoman’s office is co-hosting on January 19th a training session for volunteer

income tax preparation on January 19th. Those trained would become an IRS certified

volunteer tax preparer. Held at Artesia Park in Artesia. www.ebudget.ca.gov

Port Police: Officer Stacey Creech, Community Resource Officer for San Pedro reported on

the following:

• Phase One is almost completed at 22nd Street park area.

• Four cranes are scheduled to be delivered to China Shipping on Saturday which will

require bridge shutdown for 10 minutes while the cranes pass under the bridge around

1pm.

• New station is almost completed. Opens around June 2011. They look forward to setting

up some tours for the community.

Port of Los Angeles: Augie Bezmalinovich reported on the following:

• NOP Public meeting for Marine Research Center scheduled for Thursday, January 13th at

the Port’s Administration Building Board Room. Public comments will go through the end

of this month on this project.

• November there was a Sampson way kick off meeting to look at the way Sampson Way is

going to be designed in the future. Comments due by the end of January on the Sampson

Way project. Full presentation is available on the website. www.lawaterfront.org. The

second meeting is scheduled March 24 will be the next meeting.

• Board of Harbor Commissioner’s meetings announced for January 20th and February 3rd.

• Disney cruise ship will arrive Jan 21st. Cruise ship Center has been given a face lift and

new photos in the facility highlight San Pedro. There will be a Mini Taste in San Pedro

sponsored by the Chamber at the Cruise Terminal on February 23rd. The public is invited.

Information on tickets and reservations can be found on the Chamber website:

www.sanpedrochamber.com

• There is a bid going out this year for demolition of the old Westway tank farm.

• January 27 waterfront meeting at Crown Plaza has been postponed. It will be rescheduled

for some time in April.

• The BOHC recently passed a small business incentive to encourage local businesses to

do work for the Port.

• Promenade bathrooms are fully functional.

• Art piece called “Ship in a Bottle” is coming in later this month or early February by 22nd

Street Park.

• Solar panels installed on top of cruise ship center are creating a megawatt of power.

• Cabrillo Beach Enhancement Project is going out for bid and will be advertised in March,

construction expected to start after Labor Day.

• So far two buildings have been demolished at the south end of Ports O’ Call. Two more

are scheduled for demolition.

• SP Slip project will go to advertise later this month. Waiting for Army Corps to sign off on

a permit issue. Sometime in June construction should start.

• Bill Roberson commented on a nice letter he received from the Port Director addressing

his previous question about the polling location mix-up.

• Art Almeida talked about local labor being considered for Port demolition projects.

PBID Report. Steve Robbins gave an update on the following:

• The work of the PBID is to augment or provide services that the City is either unable or

unwilling to provide for its citizens. In times of economic crisis the work of the PBID

becomes even more important.

• The PBID is working with the CRA and Ace District to provide for sidewalk usage permits.

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• In response to a question about other ideas for revenue generation the Councilwoman

commented that there are two ideas on the March ballot; Prop O (related to oil extraction)

which would charge oil companies for extracting the oil from the ground in Los Angeles.

The other idea is taxing the medical marijuana clinics. There will ultimately be an

ordinance that regulates the clinics. The city should get revenue from them.

• Harvey Contreras suggested funneling some of the GAP funding for graffiti abatement into

programs that will help deter the graffiti. The Councilwoman responded that she has

always been supportive of programs at the Boys and Girls Club that deter the youth from

joining gangs and engaging in criminal activity such as tagging/graffiti.

• JR Perez posed the suggestion of valet parking for restaurants. Walter Beaumont with the

Community Redevelopment Agency was in attendance and commented that they have

money for a parking study. They also are considering using the PBID trolley buses to

shuttle people from parking areas to local businesses during the evening.

• Art Almeida thanked the Councilwoman for being adamant in her support for the Gambol

project. He asked why the BOHC opposes Gambol? She responded that the BOHC

thinks the Gambol project will interfere with the federally funded Channel deepening

project.

• The Councilwoman commented about the Early Warning System and how the

neighborhood councils should be in constant communication with the council office and

weighing in on all issues.

• Sue Castillo commented that the public should have the ability to get more up to date

information through the internet on the city’s budget and other important issues the city is

discussing.

• There was a question about upgrading Harbor Blvd and the Councilwoman responded that

the council office was working to attract new homeowners etc. but then the economic crisis

hit.

• Carrie Scoville wanted the Councilwoman to be aware that the improvement of the Front

Street area is very important to the Central SPNC.

Rancho Holdings Meeting: Bill Roberson reported that there were 4 or 5 board members at the

recent meeting and they heard primarily from the statistician who talked about the probability of

the tanks exploding. There are a number of other hazards besides one huge explosion. The

statistician did not answer all the questions people had and spent most of his time rebutted the

Cornerstone Report. Bill stated that this is an ongoing issue and some of us want to continue to

get more answers. Pat Nave commented that Rancho Holdings should be holding open

meetings. President Linda Alexander commented that the Central SPNC would support open

meetings in the future.

Gambol letter: Scott Gray read the following letter that he wrote (with editing and comment from Andrew Silber) with regard to the proposed Gambol project:

The Central San Pedro Neighborhood Council condemns in the strongest possible terms the

recent action by the Los Angeles Board of Harbor Commissioners to terminate negotiations

with Gambol Industries regarding the potential reopening of the former Southwest Marine

site as an operating ship yard.

The arguments in favor of continuing negotiations, and of supporting Gambol’s intentions

for this site, are numerous and well known to the Harbor Commissioners. Support for the

project from the San Pedro community is well documented and unified. Yet, the Harbor

Commissioners have chosen to ignore the potential for direct long-term economic benefits

to San Pedro and its residents (and ultimately to the greater City of Los Angeles) by

following the Port staff’s recommendation. That recommendation, now adopted, is severely

compromised by the evidence still to be disclosed that Port staff did not negotiate in good

faith with Gambol Industries.

We are encouraged the City Council has agreed to take over this issue. Negotiations should

be reopened with Gambol; Port staff should be removed from the process and, instead, an

independent consultant engaged to ensure that the best interests of the community and the

Port are represented in a final, accurate, and unbiased determination as to the viability of

the Gambol project.

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Time is of the essence in multiple elements of this matter: the need to find a proper disposal

site for sediment dredged from the Main Channel, the need for Gambol Industries to move

ahead with site planning, and most importantly the need to create new jobs in San Pedro as

quickly as possible. Therefore, this matter should be reopened by the Harbor Commission

at the soonest possible opportunity with direction that it be handled fairly and with

oversight to ensure that it is.

There was a motion made by Scott Gray that this letter be sent to the mayor and the Harbor Commissioners, with a copy to Councilwoman Janice Hahn to help her in her fight. The motion was seconded by Carrie Scoville and passed with 14 yes votes, 0 no votes.

Board Retreat Survey: Scott Gray distributed a survey related to the planning of a Board

Retreat which were collected before the end of the meeting.

Outreach Committee Report: Pat Carroll announced the upcoming Outreach Committee

meeting scheduled for Monday, January 17, 2011, 6 pm at Think Café. The agenda will include a

potential food drive project and discussion on the Central’s next newsletter.

Finance Committee Report: Kali Merideth provided handouts showing the most recent

expenditures. After review of the Statement for October and November, Scott Gray made a

motion to approve the expenditures for October and November. The motion was seconded by

Sue Castillo and approved by unanimous vote of the Board. Kali announced that the next

Finance Committee meeting is scheduled for Monday, January 17th immediately following

Outreach Committee meeting at Think Café.

Land Use and Planning Committee Report: Sue Castillo reported that there was no meeting of

the committee last month. She commented that city zoning code overhaul is an issue she

supports.

Downtown San Pedro Merchants Report: Scott Gray reported on a weekly “drop in” meeting at

Mishi’s every Tuesday where merchants can get caught up on meetings such as the

neighborhood council meetings etc. They have started a Hospitality Club for front line employees

of hotel and attractions. They are going to have a Hospitality Night on First Thursdays in March.

They bring in people who are dealing with guests to San Pedro so that they can suggest

merchants to the guests they serve. There is a vacancy at 305 7th Street. They hope to have a

new tenant there soon. There is a Facebook page for the 7th Street Village where more

information can be found.

PCAC Report: Carrie Scoville reported that there was no PCAC meeting last month. At the

November meeting they discussed the waterfront plans and there was a review of the Aesthetic

Mitigation Project. Next meeting is next Tuesday at the Wilmington Senior Center from 5-8pm.

They will be having a review of the 20 million dollars that went to air quality projects. Also there

will be a possible action item related to the Wilmington Soil Storage Site.

HANC (Harbor Alliance of Neighborhood Councils): Written report provided by Julia Parker.

CRA Report: Sue Castillo gave a brief report:

• New staff at the CRA. They are talking about have bi-monthly meetings.

• 7-11 on Pacific is almost completed.

• Parking study is moving forward.

• Façade program is making major progress.

ACE District Report: Linda Alexander gave a brief report:

• They are moving forward on working with CRA and PBID on sidewalk dining.

• Money is finally coming through from the bids that were awarded last July.

• Funds for the ACE come from the CRA so if the CRA is attacked it will affect the PBID.

Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 9:14pm.

Respectfully submitted by Kristina Smith

Administrative Assistant to the Central San Pedro Neighborhood Council