MINUTES FROM AUGUST 13, 2026
Voting Members in Attendance: Allison Holdorff Polhill, Reza Akef, Daphne Gronich, Caroline Nick, Sue Kohl, Chris Spitz, Cindi Young, Kambiz Kamdar,* Julia Nilsen Lombari, Karen Ridgley, Kimberly Bloom, Lorie Cudzil, Sharon Kilbride, James Alexakis,* Kaye Steinsapir, Kevin Niles, Jim Kirtley,* Darragh Danton,* Fay Vahdani,* Donna Vaccarino, David Card (*voting alternate)
Non-voting Members and Advisors: Joanna Spak, Bonnie Burgess, Beth Holden-Garland, Ella Nozar
1. Call to Order and Reading of Community Council’s Mission. The meeting was called to order at 6:02 p.m. Lorie Cudzil read the Mission Statement.
2. Introductions / Roll Call. The President introduced the members and called the roll.
3. Certification of Quorum. The President certified quorum.
4. Approval of Minutes. The minutes of July 23, 2026, and July 29, 2026, were approved.
5. Consideration of Agenda & Upcoming Meetings. Sept. 10, 2026 (announcement of PPCC Area & At-large election results; prior Fire Safe Palisades grant recommendation and presentation; proposed PPCC Strategic Plan; Palisades concrete “batch plant” proposal); Sept. 24, 2026 (last meeting of term for organizational members; tentative CA Dept. of Insurance presentation/Q&A).
6. Treasurer’s Report. The Treasurer reported that the account balances are as follows:
$ 78, 501.99 – US Bank; $ 317, 083.17 – Schwab. She is continuing to review the files and records and will have a more detailed report at the next meeting.
7. General Public Comment [called out of order following item 11.1]
7.1. Bart Young (resident) commented on a motion in City Council to be heard on Friday 8/14 regarding declaring certain parcels in the Palisades as surplus land. The President stated that PPCC has just earned of this motion, that a postponement is being requested and the PPCC LUC will be discussing the matter at a meeting this coming week.
8. Reports, Announcements and Concerns.
8.1. From the Chair/Presiding Officer.
8.1.1. Executive Committee Retreat Update: proposed PPCC Priorities and Goals (Strategic Plan). See draft proposed Plan: https://pacpalicc.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/PPCC-EC-Strategic-Plan-DRAFT.pdf. The President briefly summarized the draft Strategic Plan which the Executive Committee proposes for Board approval. The draft Plan is posted on the PPCC website and will continue to be made available for comments by the Board and community. The President wishes to agendize the Plan for discussion and approval by the Board at the next PPCC meeting in September.
8.1.2. CRCC/ATFs and Funding Advocacy Update. The President gave an update on these topics.
8.1.3. Measure ULA temporary tax exemption for fire victims (on November ballot, per recent City Council passage of motion by CW Park): E.C. action for PPCC to co-sponsor ballot language with CD 11 (deadline for ballot language 8/10/26). The President explained that CD 11 requested that PPCC to support the ballot language; the Executive Committee agreed that this was an important matter for Palisadians and agreed to support the measure. Emergency action by the Executive Committee was necessary because the deadline to submit the ballot language was on August 8, before the Board could meet.
8.1.4. NORC Survey Update. Follow-up survey launching this week; letter to residents re the survey:
https://pacpalicc.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/NORC-Survey-Letter.pdf. The President encouraged residents to review their inboxes for an email from NORC and to take the follow-up survey.
8.1.5. Resignation of JoAnna Rodriguez as Area One primary rep; Cindi Young (prior 1st Alternate) and Joanna Spak (prior 2nd Alternate) have advanced, respectively, to the Area One primary and 1st Alternate rep positions for the remainder of the term (2nd Alternate position vacant; Bylaws, Standing Rule 7). The President briefly related that changes in the Area One reps, as described.
8.2. From Officers/Chair Emeritus – deferred to next meeting.
8.3. From At-Large and Area Representatives – deferred to next meeting.
8.4. From Organizational Representatives – deferred to next meeting.
8.5. From Government Offices / Representatives (as available) – deferred to next meeting. Any written reports from government representatives will be distributed.
8.6. From PPCC Advisors and Liaisons – deferred to next meeting.
9. Reports from PPCC Committees.
9.1. Election Committee (Caroline Nick, Chair). Report on upcoming community-wide Election of Area and At-large Representatives. Voting and Election Information (“Notice of Ballot Availability”):
https://pacpalicc.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Notice-of-Ballot-Availabilty-2026.pdf
Election FAQ: https://pacpalicc.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/PPCC-2026-Election-FAQ.pdf
Chair Nick provided information on the upcoming election process.
10. Old Business – None.
11. New Business.
11.1. Candidates Forum, Area and At-large Representatives Election. Moderator: Reza Akef, PPCC
Vice-President. The Moderator announced that candidates in all races would be introduced and may give brief statements of up to one minute each. Candidates in contested races (Areas 1 – 5 and At-large) will then have up to one minute to answer questions posed by the Moderator on behalf of the Election Committee. The same questions will be posed of such candidates in random order. The Moderator first announced that Kate Santoro had withdrawn from the race. The candidates were then announced as:
Area One: Bart Young, Martin Hak
Area Two: Diane Bleak, Kambiz Kamdar
Area Three: Julia Nilsen Lombari, Elissa Ashwood
Area Four: Karen Ridgley, Rebecca Lobl, Eliana Bernstein
Area Five: Kimberly Bloom, May Sung
Area Six: Lorie Cudzil
Area Seven: Sharon Kilbride
Area Eight: Andrew Wolfberg (not present)
At-large: Chris Spitz, Richard Fink II
Candidates Martin Hak (Area One) and Kimberly Bloom (Area Five) explained during their statements that they were also withdrawing from the race. They each spoke highly of their respective former opponents and wished them well. All other candidates in contested races gave brief opening statements and answered a series of questions from the Moderator/Election Committee, focused on their opinions about the most pressing issues in their areas or the Palisades, their experience and their volunteer service to the community. [Forum recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1B5inbBdjc]
The President thanked the Moderator, the Election Committee and all the candidates.
12. Adjournment. The meeting was adjourned at approximately 8:00 pm.