PPCC Library Integration Test

**Voting Members in Attendance:** George Wolfberg, Peter F. Culhane, Richard G. Cohen, Chris Spitz, David Kaplan, Rick Mills, Joanna Spak, Sue Kohl, Steve Cron, Haldis Toppel, Richard Blumenberg, Brenda Theveny, Reza Akef, Duke Ostendorf, Bill Bruns, Dick Wulliger, Alan Goldsmith **Voting Alternates:** Cathi Ruddy, Marissa Hermer **Non-voting Advisors and Alternates:** Kelly Comras, David Card, Sharon Kilbride, Mary Mueller, Jan Ostendorf 1.**Certification of Quorum.** The Chair George Wolfberg called the meeting to order at 7:00pm and certified that a quorum was present. 2.**Reading of Community Council’s Mission.** Kelly Comras read the Council’s Mission. 3.**Introduction of the Board and Audience**. The board and audience were introduced. 4.**Approval of Minutes & Upcoming Meetings. ** _1) Approval of Minutes –_ __ the minutes of 3/14/19 were deemed approved as corrected. _2) Upcoming Meetings –_ April 11, 2019: Topic: appointment of Nominating Committee for candidates for officer seats; additional topics to be announced. Note: the 4/11 meeting must end at 8pm. April 25, 2019: Topic: Discussion about development of a workable street tree policy for Pacific Palisades. 5.**Consideration of Agenda.** The Chair announced that the agenda is as distributed. The Mayor’s representative Ami Fields-Meyer may be late and taken out of order. 6.**Treasurer’s Report**. Treasurer Richard Cohen reported that the Council’s bank balance is $41,731. The most significant transaction was payment of our general liability policy premium as announced at the last meeting. The Treasurer gave a final accounting of the Awards Gala.He also explained our yearly expenses and the reasons why PPCC needs to retain a reserve fund. _See attached “December 2018 Awards Gala Results.”_ 7.**General Public Comment****.** 7.1.****_Karen Ridgely_ (resident) expressed concern and opposition to the proposal to move dumpsters & maintenance from the Recreation Center to Temescal Canyon Park in the area next to the continuation school. Local residents were not notified of this proposal. She has met with the Park Director to let him know their feelings. She encouraged attendance at the next Park Advisory Board meeting on April 17. 7.2. _Sue Pascoe_ (resident) stated that a reader of her blog wants to know what happened to the funds Caruso was supposed to have contributed to Village harmonization. Secretary Chris Spitz [a member of the PRIDE-led harmonization/committee representing PPCC] stated that this has been explained at several previous PPCC meetings and is in PPCC minutes: Caruso is paying for the design work on the harmonization project which is being led by PRIDE. More specific questions about this contribution should be directed to PRIDE President John Padden. The Secretary also stated that she is happy to address this issue further after the meeting. 7.3. _Mary Schulz Shanahan_ (Pacific Palisades Garden Club President) announced that the next Garden Club meeting will take place on April 1 at the Woman’s Club with a speaker about the City’s wildlife and its challenges. In addition, she invited everyone to attend the annual spring PPGC Garden Tour will take place on April 14. More details are on the new Garden Club website [[PPGC](https://pacpalgardenclub.org/)]. 8\. **Reports, Announcements and Concerns**. 8.1.****_From the Chair_. 8.1.2. _Zoning Code Workshop update._ The Chair reported that this educational event co-sponsored by PPCC and BCC will take place on Saturday at 10:30am at Gilbert Hall, Palisades Charter High School. Everyone is encouraged to attend. Our expert speakers will be: Sharon Commins, co-chair of the Zoning Advisory Committee & WRAC-LUPC co-chair; and Tom Rothmann, Principal City Planner & manager of the re:codeLA project. 8.1.1. _Board Member opening of agenda._ The Chair again honored the first board members to open the agenda of the last meeting with a special hand-crafted gift from the Wolfberg kitchen: a virtual tie – Haldis Toppel and Joanna Spak. Board members are reminded that the agenda may be accessed by clicking on the link and/or button that is always provided within the message distributing the agenda. 8.1.3. _WRAC leadership meeting update._ The Chair explained that at the meeting last week a motion percolated regarding serious Los Angeles River flood dangers. Even a 50-year flood would be a disaster for the region. Leadership members also learned from Matrix Consulting that a study is being done of LAPD basic car area boundaries. Opinions are being sought on basic car organization. The Chair will attempt to obtain a link to a survey of opinions. 8.1.4. _Letter_ _opposing video advertising on for-hire vehicles.___ The Chair announced that the City Council Transportation Committee has approved Councilmember Blumenfield’s motion which PPCC supports; the motion will now go to the full City Council for a vote (date unknown). 8.2.****_From Officers_. 8.2.1. Chris Spitz (Secretary) announced that Lisa Cahill cannot be here tonight but has written a memo with details about the City’s new dockless mobility (electric scooters & bikes) pilot program which is now posted on the PPCC website [[Dockless Mobility Pilot Program](https://pacpalicc.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Dockless-Scooters-per-Lisa-Cahill.pdf)]. 8.3. ****_From At-Large and Area Representatives_. 8.3.1. Rick Mills (Area Four) echoed Karen Ridgely’s comments regarding the proposal to move trash bins to Temescal Canyon near the continuation school. He has heard from a number of residents with concerns regarding the proposal. 8.3.2. Steve Cron (Area Two) reported that last Tuesday there was a successful fire protection meeting at Calvary Christian School. LAFD chiefs Hogan and Saunders spoke and 162 people attended. A video of the meeting is on Nextdoor. He thanked Peter Culhane (PPCC Vice-Chair) and Dave Dwyer (Chair of the Highlands Presidents Council) for their assistance with the meeting. An outstanding concern is the “escape route” at the top of the Highlands. Chief Hogan will return to take a walking tour of the route and see what can be done to improve the situation. In addition, last Sunday a group of about a dozen people spent 3-4 hours collecting trash on Palisades Dr. He thanked Bruce Schwartz (Area Two 2nd alternate) for providing his pick-up truck for trash collection. 8.3.3. Reza Akef (Area Eight) advised that there are a number of slides along Sunset Blvd. between Chautauqua and Allenford which he would like PPCC to address. Debris and slide material have recently blocked a traffic lane; storm drains are also being blocked. He has reported this before to the City but BSS hasn’t responded. 8.3.4. Dave Card (At-large 1st Alternate) explained that fire safety is a Palisades-wide issue. We have had a number of fires affecting the entire community, such as the St. Matthews fire in 1978. 8.3.5. Haldis Toppel (Area Three) stated that her Area also connects to the fire road (”escape route”) at the top of the Highlands and she would like to join in the meeting with the Fire Chief about this issue. She also announced that MKPOA is holding its annual meeting on April 25; the meeting will be a history review. After learning that this date conflicts with the regularly-scheduled PPCC meeting, she replied that MKPOA may change the meeting date to accommodate the PPCC meeting that same night. 8.4. _From Organizational Representatives_. 8.4.1. Marissa Hermer (Chamber of Commerce Alternate) reported that there will be a Chamber networking event and open house on Wednesday, April 17, at the new St. John’s medical group at 881 Alma Real from 4-7pm. The ribbon cutting will be at 5:30pm. The Chamber recently held a successful networking event at her restaurant, The Draycott. The next breakfast networking event is at Porta Via restaurant on April 30 at 8am, with the next evening event at Pharmaca Integrative Pharmacy on May 14 at 5:30pm. In addition, the Chamber will sponsor a new Business & Wellness Fair in the Village on May 19. She also announced that there will be free cocktails at The Draycott for everyone who attends the Garden Club tour. The Draycott is now serving weekend brunch from 11am-3pm on Saturdays and Sundays, and will be having a special brunch for Easter. 8.5. _From Government Offices / Representatives_. 8.5.1. Janet Turner (District Representative, U.S. Congressman Ted Lieu). The Congressman has introduced a bipartisan bill with Sen. Feinstein and Republican counterparts to increase resources to combat homelessness: the “Fighting Homelessness through Services and Housing Act.” He was also co-sponsor of a bill to make healthcare more affordable and to protect people with pre-existing conditions. He has passed along to the FAA an idea mentioned at a recent past PPCC meeting for an FAA study to include local planes and drones, which was favorably received. 8.5.6. Zac Gaidzik (West-Metro LA Field Deputy, Supervisor Sheila Kuehl). The Board of Supervisors has updated the County restrictions against public smoking on beaches to include electronic cigarettes and cannabis. Other notable motions passed by the Supervisors: a ban on the use of Glyphosate (Round Up); creation of a County-wide micro-loan program for existing and new entrepreneurs and small businesses. They will be updating changes to HUD funding structure and other housing measures. On Tuesday, the Board issued a notice to purchase a previous Canoga park mental health facility for a bridge housing project. There will be a workshop about building fire-resistant homes and communities, with best practices & lessons learned in Australia, on April 9, 6-8:30pm, at Malibu City Hall Council Chambers. 8.5.3. Ami Fields-Meyer (WLA Representative, Mayor Eric Garcetti). Reporting on a slate of environmental issues: 1) By 2035 the City will recycle 100% of its wastewater. More specifics about the program and required infrastructure are expected in the next several months. 2) The City is phasing out the use of natural gas systems at three power plants across the City. As yet there is no full plan as to what energy sources will replace natural gas, but he will return when more specifics are available. 3) The Mayor has a new initiative, “Free Tax Prep LA,” for anyone who can benefit from free tax services. A brief Q&A then ensued. Regarding solid waste recycling: Are recycled items still being separated? Response: to his knowledge it is still being recycled but he will take a look at that and report back. Regarding the possibility of having “gravity locks” on the blue recycling barrels, he will again look into this. As to whether the City has any diesel vehicles, the Controller Ron Galperin came out with full report on the City’s automobile and vehicle fleet which may answer this question. Regarding recycling of wastewater: Is there someone in charge of this project? Response: the City’s Chief Sustainability Officer has been developing a policy; currently there are 7-8 people on a team dedicated to directing sustainability policy. 8.6. _From PPCC Advisors_ – None. 9.**Reports from Committees**. 9.1. _Bylaws Committee_ (Richard G. Cohen, Chair). Second Distribution of proposed amendments to the PPCC Bylaws (pertaining primarily to changes & improvements in the elected Representatives’ election process) recommended by the Committee. See 1) Committee Report and 2) “Redline” plus “Clean"draft of proposed amendments, distributed concurrently with the meeting agenda via PPCC email and posted on the PPCC website (“Amendments”). Motion by the Bylaws Committee for Board adoption of Amendments (parts A, B and C below):