New Neighborhood Council Board Elected; Budgets and Committee Reports Discussed

A new Studio City Neighborhood Council board was nominated and elected on Monday evening—mostly with the same faces.

The only member not running for re-election was; replaced him as Vice President. The lineup for the rest of the board remains: John T. Walker, President; Rita C. Villa, Secretary; Remy Kessler, Treasurer; and Lana Shackelford, Corresponding Secretary. All were present Monday evening, as well as board members Ben Di Benedetto, Victor Helo, , Ronald Taylor, Josh Gelfat, Gail Steinberg, Jeffrey Carter and Richard Niederberg.

The financial statements of June 2011 and the May 2011 bank statements were reviewed and accepted by the board. Remy Kessler presented the Treasurer's Report and Budget Committee Report to the board and assembled members of the public.

He explained that the current balance of the SCNC's bank accounts was $15,222 (down from $15,722 when the budget was printed.) Kessler explained that SCNC would not be able to roll over its funds to the following year, a fact it was not aware of until recently. 

The fiscal year ends at the end of June, but, Kessler said, the City of Los Angeles has cut off the ability to submit demand warrants and, as of noon Wednesday 15, it will not be able to use the organization's credit card.

As a result, the Council spent Monday evening assigning money that would not be rolled over to the next fiscal year to various worthy causes in the community.

Of particular concern was money that had been assigned in the current fiscal year the Studio City Beautification Association. The projects of the association had only spent $1,920 of the $7,000 assigned to it.  Two motions were passed that essentially moved funds from this fiscal year to the next. The association will now have $5,080 for the next fiscal year.

Kessler presented the Budget Report to the board and public. Next year's budget will be $40,500; the budget was approved by the board.

 A funding request from the 4th of July Celebration on the CBS/Radford lot in the amount of $5,000 was passed unanimously. The money will be applied to public safety for the event.

A funding request of $3,000 to sponsor a meeting of the Boards and Committees of local Neighborhood Councils on the CBS/Radford lot on or about July 10 for the purpose of guided discussion and information sharing, was passed unanimously.

A funding request for the amount of up to $12,000 (amended from $11,000 in the original motion) to the SCNC Outreach Committee for street banners for Ventura Blvd and other major thoroughfares to promote the SCNC, as well as other promotional materials such as posters, to stakeholders was approved.

The reports of the SCNC's committees were then presented. The VANC Report was not submitted as Arlene Samek was absent. Lisa Cahan-David presented the Outreach Committee Report, telling the board that her committee are in the midst of the creative part of poster and postcard production to promote the work of the SCNC to stakeholders.

The Transportation Committee Report was presented by Ben Di Benedetto; he spoke on two issues. Firstly, he mentioned the parking tickets that were issued at the art fair. Benedetto said that they are with the Councilman's office in the process of being forgiven.

Secondly, Benedetto said that the committee has also been working with the Councilman's office to try and improve the dangerous intersection at Whitsett and Woodbridge. Due to the high number of accidents there, the committee are working to have the LAPD's speed trailer and traffic enforcement both put more regularly in place. The committee also hope to have the Department of Transporation look at the red curb areas on all four parts of the intersection to ensure that they are large enough and that traffic is not being obscured.

The Government Affairs Committee Report was given by Rita Villa. She then introduced a motion that stated that the board of the SCNC "opposes any reduction in the 911 operator work force as their response time can be a matter of life and death." Kessler said that the motion lacked "this kind of motion needs to have more meat to it" and that it's not disputed that its a "life and death issue." The motion was amended to reflect the fact that mentioned needed to be made about improving response times. The motion was passed.

Lisa Sarkin presented the Land Use Committee Report. She said that concerns about music and opening hours of the proposed Little Doms on Moorpark Street were being addressed; that three of Studio City's nine marijuana dispensaries were currently being investigated by City Attorneys office; and that Aqua Vista doesn't just have a watermain break but an 83-year-old sewer pipe break. It will take three to four months for the pipe to be replaced.

Sarkin presented a motion: "The Board of the SCNC opposes all advertising for commerical purposes, including for-profit and non-profit, in all parks and recreations areas in the City, County, State and Federal properties within Los Angeles. Further, fines must be levied commensurate with the costs to the City of Los Angeles for inspection and removal thereof."

Various comments from the public and board said that the motion should focus on City properties (Sarkin rejected this proposed amendment and the motion passed as it stood.)

Richard Niederberg presented the Cultural Affairs Committee Report. Niederberg presented a motion for funding of up to $500 to purchase a commemorative bronze plaque to be displayed near the Trigger statue in the CBS parking lot. The plaque would commemorate the 75th Anniversary of Republic Pictures, which was celebrated in September and funded by the SCNC. Kessler said that it was not a good use of public funds for a project on private property. Shackelford said that thousands of Studio City residents would see the plaque every day, and so the fact that it was on private property should not matter. The motion was passed.

Ron Taylor presented the Bylaws Committee Report, along with two motions: one about the reformatting of the Bylaws to conform to the 2011 DONE Bylaws Template. Villa raised a point-of-order on the Motion, and said that the Bylaws Committee did not suggest the changes, but one individual did (refering to Taylor.) Villa requested that the changes come from the Committee and that the motion be sent back. 

Taylor also proposed a motion to change the Bylaws, Article iii, Section J. Taylor said that the Bylaws committee thought that the term "official action" should only refer to a positive action, the passing of a motion. It was revised to read "An Official Action occurs only when a Motion before the Board passes with the requisite number of votes." It refers to the process by which a boardmember resigns. The motion was revised unanimously.

At the end of the meeting, Walker said that no committee chair has to post minutes; the only minutes required to be posted are board minutes with the actions taken.