Barbary Coast Neighborhood Association

Minutes of the Annual Membership Meeting

June 3, 2010

Ferry Boat Santa Rosa, Pier 3, San Francisco, CA 94111

2nd DRAFT

 

The meeting began at 6:15 pm and was called to order by President Bill Sauro.

 

Board members in attendance in addition to President Sauro:  Morton Beebe, Bill Benkavitch, Mary Lou Licwinko, Bob Harrer, Jonathan Middlebrook, Carol Parlette, Felix Rodriguez, Diana Taylor.

 

Board members who were absent:  Linda Schwartz, Joe Wyman.

 

New Board nominees also in attendance:  Steve Chen, Al Dockus.

 

1.  Welcome from President.  When the meeting was called to order, there were nine Board members in attendance.

 

President Sauro welcomed the attendees.  He told the attendees that the election of the new Board would be much different from last year as there are 11 candidates for the 11 positions, rather than 15 candidates.  The 2010 election therefore would be by acclamation.

 

President Sauro then presented this year’s Annual Meeting special guest, District 3 Supervisor and Board President David Chiu.

 

2.  Special Guest:  President of the Board of Supervisors, David Chiu.  President Chiu addressed the membership.  He stated that the neighborhood groups make it much easier for him to figure out what to do.

 

He talked about the things that he’s working on, a summary of which is provided:

 

Public Safety:  The violence in the nightclubs – the Entertainment Commission is not doing its job.  He’s proposed new legislation, to revoke club permits.

 

Motorcycle Noise:  Central Station Police Captain Anna Brown has deployed more patrol officers to crack down on the noise, and he suggested new noise monitoring technology which could be used to issue noise citations.  He also suggested that Captain Brown speak at a BCNA meeting.

 

Public Transit:  He discussed the doubling of the bike lanes and allowing more city car sharing which could park on city streets.  He said that every car shared takes 10 – 12 off the street.

 

Budget Deficit:  Last year had a half-billion dollar deficit and so does this year.  The next two months will see some tough decisions concerning libraries, fire stations, etc.

 

Planning Issues:

 

           555 Washington:  The Board voted unanimously to turn it down, there was not much give and take with the developer, and he did not expect a development proposal to return to that site.

 

           Northeast Embarcadero Study:  The SF Planning Department was to have another meeting earlier this week but it was cancelled.  No documentation was issued prior to the date.  The interim ‘final’ final report could be issued in a couple weeks.  The ‘Simon Snellgrove’ project is not where we want it to be.  And, Supervisor Chiu wants to engage the neighborhood organizations (FOGG, THD, BCNA) on what we want.

 

           Peter Pan Performance:  It has created real issues in the neighborhood as the area looks like the back yard of a production studio.  He did not have a ‘heads up’ about it and is discussing with Phil Ginsburg of the Recreation and Parks Department about what the accommodations should be for something like this in the future.

 

           Proposition B on the June 8 Ballot:  He discussed the history of protecting San Francisco from fires and how important the ballot measure is.  (He also mentioned that his running for the head of the DNCC – (a plug with a smile!)).

 

Supervisor Chiu then took questions from the BCNA membership.

 

The questions and answers included - the fire hydrants having incompatible connections with other fire departments in the bay area, - a proposed November ballot measure to reform the SF Muni, - the DNCC, - difficulty of using parking meters at night, - demand variable pricing for parking meters.

 

In closing, President Chiu thanked all the BCNA Board Members.  He said that without volunteers we wouldn’t have the great city we have.

 

3.  Approval of Minutes.  The minutes of the 2009 Annual Meeting – available on the BCNA website, were approved unanimously.

 

4.  Treasurer’s Report.  Carol Parlette presented the Treasurer’s Report.  BCNA currently has $4,296.34 on its Balance Sheet.  Since January 1st, BCNA has spent $2,781 – over $2,000 of that was for the Newsletter.  She said that BCNA is in good financial health.  The Treasurers Report was approved unanimously.

 

5.  Committee Reports.

           a. Presidents Report.  President Sauro presented a recap of the last 12 months.  A brief summary follows.

 

8 Washington Street proposed project.  BCNA is not in favor of the currently proposed project, and is disappointed in the Planning Department process – no surprise as they paid for the Study and had to justify the proposed project.

 

Supervisor David Chiu relationship.  BCNA is very pleased with the communications.

 

555 Washington Street proposed project.  BCNA took no official position, stayed neutral.  It will be interesting to see if the developer gives up.

 

Peter Pan.  It does not do much for the neighborhood.  BCNA would like to see city parks not used for this, try not to let happen again.

 

BCNA Meeting time table.  Business meetings one month, social meetings one month seems to be a good mix.

 

BNCA Newsletter.  Publishing the Newsletter four times a year is a big undertaking – and well worth it.  Special thanks to June Osterberg for her excellent articles.

 

Proposed developments in the BCNA area.  Two projects coming which have merit; the Cruise Ship Terminal & the Exploratorium.

 

Broadway crime is a problem.  BCNA will spend more time working on this in the coming year.

 

President Sauro then thanked outgoing Board members Linda Schwartz and Joe Wyman for their fine efforts during their time on the Board.

 

President Sauro then welcomed new Board members Al Dockus and Steve Chen.

 

6.  Board Election – By Acclamation.

 

President Sauro addressed the membership about the election of the new Board.  There are 11 candidates for the 11 Board positions.  He introduced each candidate.

 

The Candidates are:  Morton Beebe, Bill Benkavitch, Steve Chen, Al Dockus, Bob Harrer, Mary Lou Lickwinko, Jonathan Middlebrook, Carol Parlette, Felix Rodriguez, Bill Sauro, Diana Taylor.

 

A motion was raised and seconded to accept by Acclamation all eleven candidates.  The motion passed unanimously.

 

7.  Approve New Bylaws.  President Sauro stated that the current By-Laws had been revised by Jonathan Middlebrook and Mary Lou Licwinko.  An updated version has been distributed via the Association website.  A motion was raised and seconded to accept the new Bylaws.  The motion passed unanimously.

 

8.  New Business/Members Forum.  President Sauro opened the floor for questions.  Discussions followed about several major points including the violence on Broadway, the 8 Washington Street proposed development, and parking.  Concerning BCNA membership, President Sauro stated that it is important to include businesses in BCNA, and they are needed in the neighborhood to attract more people.  Board member Morton Beebe suggested signs in different languages should be erected to show people where to find the stairs going up Telegraph Hill.

 

9.  Next Annual Meeting.  The next BCNA Annual Meeting is tentatively scheduled for Thursday, June 2, 2011.  Meeting location and starting time is to be determined.

 

10.  Adjournment.  The meeting adjourned at 7:00 p.m.

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

Bill Benkavitch

Secretary