PPCC Minutes – 2014 / 06 / 12

MINUTES FOR JUNE 12th 2014

Voting Members in Attendance:  Barbara Kohn, Chris Spitz, Jennifer Malaret, Janet Turner, Kelly Comras, Gil Dembo, Harry Sondheim, Richard Wulliger, Brenda Theveny, Stuart Muller, George Wolfberg, Andrew Wolfberg, Paul Glasgall, Donna Vaccarino and Cathy Russell.

Voting Alternates:  Adam Wolman.

Non-voting Advisors and Alternates:  Flo Elfant, Carol Bruch, Richard Cohen, Sandy Eddy, Reza Akef and Robert Baker.

Start of Business Meeting

1.    Reading of Community Council’s Mission.  Paul Glasgall read the Mission Statement.

2.    Call to Order and Introduction of the Board and Audience.  Barbara Kohn called the meeting to order at 7:00 pm. Introduction of the Board and audience.

3.    Certification of Quorum.  The President certified that a quorum was present at 7:05 pm.

4.    Adoption of Minutes.  Barbara deemed the May 22, 2014 minutes adopted as corrected.  Next Meetings: June 26, 2014; July 10, 2014; August 14, 2014 (note: there is only one PPCC board meeting in the months of July and August).

5.    Consideration of Agenda.  The President considered the agenda.

6.    Treasurer’s Report.  Balances total $41,899.12, with Citizen of the Year monies comprising $25,772.94 of that total.

7.    Reports, Announcements and Concerns.

7.1.    Announcements from the President, Barbara Kohn.

7.1.1.    Area Representative Elections.  Barbara said to watch for the PPCC Newsletter in your mailbox during mid-August 2014. Candidate statements (100 words or less) must be submitted to PPCC by July 10, 2014. Additional info: http://www.pp90272.org/index.html. All incumbents have submitted statements to run and all candidates will be required to submit their residence addresses and phone numbers.

7.1.2.    June 18, 2014, Wednesday, 11:00.  Barbara reported that a memorial service will be held for PPCC board member John Glasgow at Aldersgate Retreat, 925 Haverford Ave., Pacific Palisades, CA 90272. GlasgowMemorial@gmail.com.

7.1.3.    Barbara reported that at the June 26, 2014, Thursday, PPCC Board Meeting, Pacific Palisades Public Library Community Room, 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM, the topic will be the SYLMAR GROUND RETURN REPLACEMENT PROJECT.  DEIR documents related to the Sylmar Ground Return System Replacement Project: www.ladwp.com/envnotices. Reference brief project description below.

7.1.4.    Design Review Board (“DRB”).  Barbara reported that when the DRB begins its meetings the public will be invited to meetings. The DRB will announce its schedule and information will be available online. The DRB now has a full membership and PPCC hopes to add information relative to its meetings in future agendas.

7.1.5.    PPCC Contact Info CHANGE.

Website www.pacpalicc.org
Email info@pacpalicc.org
Facebook Facebook.com/pacpalicc

7.2.    Announcements from Governmental Representatives.

7.2.1.    Los Angeles Police Department (“LAPD”), SLO Officer Moore — Not in attendance.

7.2.2.    Los Angeles City Council, District 11; Councilmember Mike Bonin’s Office. www.11thdistrict.com.   Norman Kulla gave a report on (1) Potrero Canyon Project and (2) AGF Ordinance.

7.2.3.    Office of Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, Daniel Tamm Westside Area Representative, Mayor’s Interfaith Liaison (*attending on the 4th Thursday of each month). Mayor’s Website: www.lamayor.org. City Services webpage: http://www.lacity.org/CitywideServices/index.htm. MyLA Phone App: http://www.lacity.org//MyLA311/index.htm — No representative present.

7.2.4.    California State Assembly, Office of Assemblymember Richard Bloom’s Office. http://www.asmdc.org/bloom — No representative present.

7.2.5.    California State Senator Ted Lieu, ((Janet Turner; District Representative Janet.Turner@sen.ca.gov. Office: (310) 318-6994).  Janet Turner gave a report on (1) the flagrant abuse of handicapped parking and (2) communities which are getting a large number of new liquor licenses and those where Conditional Use Permits are not being enforced.

7.3.    Announcements from Board Members and Advisors.

7.3.1.    Officers/Area Representatives.  Reports were given by (1) Kelly Comras (Area 1) (2) Stuart Muller (Area 6) and (3) George Wolfberg (At-Large).  No action taken.

7.3.2.    Organizational Representatives.  Reports were given by (1) Sandy Eddy (Friends of the Library) and (2) Dick Wulliger (Historical Society).  No action taken.

7.3.3.   Board Members, Other Reports.  Reports were given by Gil Dembo and Paul Glasgall.  No action taken.

8.    Reports from Committees.

8.1.    Outreach Committee.
Chris Spitz gave a report, including the Executive Committee June 8 2014 approval of an expenditure of $26 per month for maintaining a Survey Monkey host for a maximum of 6 months.

9.    Old Business.

9.1.    Report on Status of Revised AGF Ordinance (Above Ground Facilities).
Chris Spitz gave a report.  No action taken

10.    New Business.

10.1.    PPCC Officer Elections.
Chris Spitz (Chair), Andrew Wolfberg (Vice Chair), Jennifer Malaret (Secretary) and Richard Cohen (Treasurer).  Action: the board voted. Results: the vote was unanimous and all four officers were elected as nominated.

10.2.    Two (2) Motions regarding proposed (1) Pilot Program/In-Person Voting for 2014 PPCC Area and At-Large Representatives Elections and (2) Amendment to Bylaws, Attachment A, Section 6.B.2 (grounds for vote disqualification).

SEE MOTIONS BELOW. Both motions were made by Chris Spitz and seconded by Andrew Wolfberg.  Motion 1.  A discussion took place.  George Wolfberg offered a brief amendment to language that was accepted by the sponsor.  Action: the board voted and Motion 1 was unanimously approved.  Motion 2.  A discussion took place. Action: the board voted and Motion 2 passed 14-2 in favor.

11.    General Public Comment – None.

12.    Adjournment.  Barbara Kohn adjourned the meeting at 8:38 PM.

ATTACHMENTS

ITEM 7.1.3 – SYLMAR GROUND RETURN REPLACEMENT PROJECT

Project Description
LADWP is proposing to replace the existing underground and marine electrical cables and the existing marine electrode portions of the SGRS. The new underground and marine electrical cables would be in a different alignment than the existing, though serving the same purpose and function. The SGRS is an integral component of the Pacific Direct Current Intertie Transmission Line (PDCI), which transmits bulk power between Los Angeles and the Pacific Northwest. The PDCI is a direct current system, and it cannot operate without a ground return system. Due to system deficiencies with the existing underground and marine components of the SGRS, their replacement is proposed to maintain the reliability and stability of the power generation and delivery system for Southern California; to continue to meet current and projected demand for power; and to help increase the available share of renewable resource energy.

The proposed alignment for the underground segment would run for approximately five miles from the Kenter Canyon Terminal Tower to the proposed West Channel Vault near Will Rogers State Beach. Installation of the underground cables and vaults would occur primarily by trenching and excavation within existing streets. The marine segment of the Project would begin at the proposed West Channel Vault. The marine cables would be installed via directional drilling below Will Rogers State Beach. They then would be trenched into the ocean floor by jet plowing or a similar process to a location approximately three miles from shore in Santa Monica Bay. The marine cables would terminate at the proposed electrode array, which would consist of approximately 88 cylindrical boxes weighing about 100 tons each installed on the ocean floor. Marine barges and divers would be utilized for installation of the quarter mile diameter electrode array.

ITEM 10.2 – MOTIONS FOR (1) PILOT PROGRAM/IN-PERSON VOTING FOR 2014 AREA AND AT-LARGE REPRESENATIVES ELECTIONS AND (2) AMENDMENT TO BYLAWS, ATTACHMENT A, SECTION 6.B.2 (GROUNDS FOR VOTE DISQUALIFICATION)

Motion No. 1: Pilot Program/In-Person Voting for 2014 PPCC Area and At-Large Representatives Election –

Background Facts: This Motion is made with reference to the following facts:

PPCC board members have expressed a desire to increase public participation in and awareness of the Council, and, in particular, to increase participation in voting in the area and at-large representatives election (the Election).
Pursuant to the PPCC By Laws, the Election takes place every two years; this year, the Election will take place in early September 2014 (exact date for return of ballots tbd; results must be announced at the first board meeting in September 2014).
Attachment A to the PPCC By Laws (Attachment A) sets forth a procedure for the preparation, distribution and return of ballots for the Election and requires that ballots be returned only by U.S. mail (the Ballot Requirements).
Attachment A may be amended without the two reading requirement that applies to the By Laws.
Certified Neighborhood Councils in Los Angeles elect representatives by in-person voting at a public location; several PPCC board members have recently suggested that PPCC should consider an in-person voting location for the Election in addition to the existing voting by U.S. mail procedure, in order to increase participation in the Election and awareness of the Council.
The movants do not intend for any By Laws amendment by this Motion, nor do they propose to supplant the Ballot Requirements; the Motion calls solely for a pilot program to supplement the Ballot Requirements by allowing in-person voting on a “one time only” basis for the Election in 2014.
Allowing for in-person voting for the Election in 2014 may in turn provide a basis for ascertaining whether participation and awareness increased as a result and whether additional or permanent amendments to Attachment A or the By Laws would be warranted in the future.

Motion

It is therefore moved that the PPCC board amend Attachment A to the By Laws as follows: Attachment A, Section 5.B, is hereby amended to add a new sentence at the end thereof as follows: “For the September 2014 election only, the Election Committee also may provide for a one-day in-person voting procedure on a day and location of its choosing, which shall be announced in the same newsletter as contains the ballot for that election.” Further it is moved that this election be conducted pursuant to the following policies:

Additional notice regarding the in-person voting procedure shall be provided in the same manner and at the same time as the Notice of Election and Notice of Ballot Availability as required by Attachment A.
The in-person voting procedure shall be supervised by the Election Committee.
The same ballot shall be used for in-person voting as is distributed via U.S. mail; the candidates’ statements required by Attachment A shall be provided to all voters with the ballots at the time of in-person voting.
The Election Committee shall establish reasonable procedures for the method of voting and handling of ballots in connection with in-person voting.
At the time of in-person voting, the Election Committee shall verify via reasonable means (e.g., driver’s license or other valid government-issued ID, or personal knowledge) that: 1) in the case of voting for an area representative, the person voting is a resident of the voting area: and 2) in the case of voting for the at-large representative, the person voting is either a resident, an owner of real property or the operator of a business in Pacific Palisades.
The Election Committee shall also verify, either at the time of in-person voting or at the time when all votes are counted, that only one vote is received per household in the case of voting for area representative, as required by Attachment A; if more than one vote for area representative is received per household, all votes of that household for area representative shall be disqualified.
All ballots completed during in-person voting shall be collected and safeguarded by the Election Committee and all votes in such ballots shall be counted at the same time with the votes in the ballots that are returned via U.S. mail.
This Motion allows for an in-person voting procedure only with respect to the Election in 2014 and is for the purpose of ascertaining whether awareness of the Council and participation in the Election increased as a result; the provisions of this Motion shall expire as of the first board meeting in September 2014 and in-person voting shall not take place at subsequent elections unless and until Attachment A or the By Laws are amended to so provide.

_____________________________________________________________

Motion No. 2: Attachment A – Amendment/Additional Vote Disqualification Grounds

Motion by Barbara Kohn and Chris Spitz, 6/12/14.
Background Facts

Attachment A provides, in Sec. 5.A.1, that there shall be only one vote per household for area representatives, but does not provide for disqualification or any other penalty in the event more than one vote per household is received.
Attachment A should be amended to remove any question as to how the Election Committee should proceed in the event more than one vote per household is received.

Motion

It is therefore moved that the PPCC board amend Attachment A to the By Laws as follows:

Attachment A, Section 6.B.2, is hereby amended to add a new subsection at the end thereof as follows: “c) All votes in one household for Area Representative shall be disqualified if more than one vote for Area Representative is received by the Election Committee from that household.”