Barbary Coast Neighborhood Association
Minutes of the Board of Directors Meeting
April 16, 2009
Sotheby’s International Realty, 117 Greenwich Street, San
Francisco, CA 94111
The meeting began at 6:05 pm
and was called to order by President Bill Sauro.
Board members in attendance in addition to President
Sauro: Fred Allardyce, Morton Beebe, Bill
Benkavitch, Jonathan Middlebrook,
Carol Parlette, Lee Radner, Felix
Rodriguez, Linda Schwartz.
Board members who were absent: Diana Taylor,
Joe Wyman.
Also in attendance:
Joseph Blue, Clifford Waldeck.
1. Quorum Call. When the meeting was called to order, there
were nine Board members in attendance.
2. Approval of Minutes. The minutes of the February 19, 2009 meeting were approved as
amended, with one abstention.
3. Treasurer’s Report. Carol Parlette
distributed the Balance Sheet, Income Statement and Budget Summary Report as of
4/16/2009. The current balance is $4,748.92, which is
$1,625.84 less than the February. The
Newsletter costs and the fee for the Annual Meeting room are the main expenses
for this period. The Board adopted the
Treasurer’s Report unanimously.
4. Committee Reports.
a. Waterfront Action Committee.
i. GGTSC
Operator Changes. Lee Radner reported on
the new changes at the Golden Gateway Tennis & Swim Club from his meetings
and discussions with Matthew Stevens, CEO of Western Athletic Club, which
manages the Club site. WAC
will be spending $250,000 on improvements; including resurfacing of the nine tennis
courts (court color will be blue vs. the present green color, upgraded swim
locker rooms and new fitness equipment.)
A new membership fee structure has also been implemented. Mr. Stevens understands that San Francisco
Waterfront Partners (SFWP) has a proposal to develop the site and has chosen to
be ‘Switzerland’
with regard to WAC’s position on the proposed development. SFWP has two more one year options on the
site. If given an
opportunity, WAC would like to be there [at the Club] if the present developer gets
out. Lee also stated that he was
given an opportunity to speak for FOGG at the Club member meetings, and is
pleased to have the direct communication with WAC
management.
ii.
Exploratorium. The Board discussed this
project which is ‘sliding through’ the review process. There may be a concern from the Telegraph
Hill Dwellers (THD) about reflective issues
of the glass roof. Several Board members
stated there are concerns with parking and traffic, and transportation. President Sauro asked whether BCNA
wants to question this development, or support it. President Sauro agreed to contact THD
to get their viewpoint. The Board agreed
to table this question until President Sauro hears back from THD;
the Board will make a decision at the May meeting.
b. Membership Committee. The Board discussed the new experimental
‘E Member’ approach. An E Member has all
the benefits of regular membership except for no hardcopy mailings. President Sauro stated that there is no cost
to maintain them, and that maybe BCNA should
do one more hardcopy mailing, regardless.
Fred Allardyce has provided President
Sauro will the addresses for all the Gateway residents. BCNA will
send a post card mailing to these residents about joining the organization.
c. Newsletter Committee. President Sauro spoke on behalf of this
Committee. The Spring
2009 Newsletter has been mailed. The
Committee agreed that this Newsletter is ‘one of the best’ that has been
printed, and that June Osterberg is doing an excellent job on her articles. President Sauro stated that the Newsletter
will be placed in a news box in front of Safeway on Friday.
5. Old Business
a. Final Planning for Annual Meeting, June 4, 2009 at Pier 1.
President Sauro stated the meeting will be at the Pier 1
Conference Room. The SF Port has made
the room available at no cost except for the $400.00 Security Fee. The Annual Meeting will start at 6:00 pm.
President Sauro further stated that both Mayor Gavin Newsom and District
Supervisor and SF Board of Supervisors President David Chiu
have been invited as guest speakers.
Additionally, Rona Sauro and Linda Schwartz have agreed to help with
the logistics of Annual Meeting preparation.
Maria Matson and Jan
Holloway will be contacted by President Sauro for additional
help.
b. Slate of Nominees for Board Positions. President Sauro stated that existing Board
members have until May 15th to decide whether they want to run for
another term. If so, each Board member
should submit a one paragraph note as to their intent. Existing bylaws are fixed at 11 members. A motion was proposed to go to between 11 and
13 Board members, and amend the bylaws. The motion passed unanimously to draft an amended set of
Bylaws that would reflect a variable Board size, and vote on its adoption at
the Annual Meeting.
Fred Allardyce has asked several others in the neighborhood
to submit a request to be on the Board, including Thomas Blue and Tony
Gantner.
c. 555 Washington Street.
President Sauro asked the Board whether BCNA
should take a position on this proposed project. The Preliminary EIR
is out and available. The Board
discussed whether to confer with the THD or
go out on its own. A motion was offered
to write a letter to the City to endorse the project. The motion passed 7-2. Felix Rodriguez
agreed to work with President Sauro to draft a letter to include conditions and
guarantees on how the developer can proceed to obtain project approval. Chris Waldeck
attended the Board meeting in support of this development.
6. New Business.
a. Columbo Market
arch. Secretary Bill
Benkavitch presented information he received from Richard
Brandi about designating this arch in Sydney
Walton Square as a California Point of Historical
Interest. The arch marks the site of the
old Colombo Produce Market. The market
was razed to make room for the Square.
Richard believes the arch is an important artifact of San
Francisco’s past and would like to have BCNA’s
endorsement that the arch be listed as a California Point of Historical
Interest. The Board voted unanimously to
support this request. Secretary
Benkavitch agreed to ask Richard Brandi to
draft a letter for BCNA review.
b. Francisco
Reservoir Update. Fred Allardyce
presented a fact sheet from the Russian Hill Improvement Association (RHIA) and
their initiative to preserve the Francisco Reservoir site as a public
park. The Board discussed linking this
with other open space needs throughout the City such as the Golden Gateway
Tennis & Swim Club and moving forward with a ballot initiative to group
these, and other land parcels in the City, into a Ballot initiative to preserve
them as open recreational space.
c. Masonic Auditorium Upgrade. The Board briefly
discussed their recent letter to the City objecting to the Conditional Use
request for more seating at the Auditorium and that many other neighborhood
organizations are also in opposition to this proposal.
7. Next Meeting. The next BCNA
Board meeting is scheduled for Thursday,
May 28, 2009. Meeting
location and starting time is to be determined.
8. Adjournment. The meeting adjourned at 7:35 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Bill Benkavitch
Secretary