|
Belmont Shore Residents Association MINUTES BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING August 9, 2007 The meeting was called to order by Secretary Jeff Miller at 6:30 pm. The Officers and Directors present were Judith Blevens, Jillian Chandler, Jeanette Gavin, Michael Gavin, Roy Hanson, Jeff Miller, and Marshall Pumphrey. Director Kenneth Cinotto was absent. More than fifty additional BSRA members and visitors were present. The meeting agenda was approved. The minutes of the July meeting were approved. Sgt. Collier from the Long Beach Police Department reported an increase in auto burglaries and increased patrolling of the beach during the summer. Thomas Reeves, Long Beach City Prosecutor, responded to questions about John Belmonte and "stay-away" orders in effect for him. Several speakers expressed frustration about the inability to apprehend him for suspected criminal activity. Secretary Jeff Miller reported the mailing of membership renewal letters on August 1 and the receipt to date of twenty-four memberships and two additional donations. Treasurer Jeanette Gavin reported the checking account has a balance of $ 2,293.05, an increase of $60.00 from last month. Approximately $490.00 in membership dues has been received at this meeting. Jeanette Gavin, the BSRA representative on the Parking Commission, reported the issues discussed at last month's Parking Commission meeting. These were refinancing of bonds, the status of the alley repair project, purchase of the Park Avenue private parking lot, and water line replacements. Secretary Jeff Miller reported the status of the Cabo Cantina restaurant property: Mr. Doug Otto, attorney for Cabo Cantina, was expected to be present, but was unable to attend due to other commitments. A letter from BSRA requesting license conditions was sent to Council member DeLong, with copies to relevant city staff and the State of California Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC). BSRA received a copy of a letter from Council member DeLong to ABC, supporting the position of BSRA and containing a similar list of conditions. ABC has stated there is no longer an opportunity for the city to have conditions applied to the license. The City of Long Beach Planning Department and Building Department have issued a set of required "corrections", but there has been no response from Cabo Cantina. Requests to the Planning Department for copies of the corrections have been denied. Despite previous statements by the city, the plans submitted by Cabo Cantina do not reflect the city's list of corrections, and they do not show sufficient details of the building modifications. Jeanette Gavin expressed concern about separation of Cabo Cantina from Belmont Grill, for revenue purposes related to alcohol sales. She also requested clarification of the statement by Council member DeLong that Cabo Cantina has two separate business licenses. Additional comments and questions from the audience addressed the towing of cars from the Cabo Cantina parking lot, the city's refusal to make public the building corrections they have issued, and the number of parking spaces in the parking lot. Ms. Kate Karp reported the status of the effort to name the Livingston Drive service road "Lois Lane". The request is being processed by the city. Mr. Kurt Schneiter from the Belmont Shore Parking Commission (BSPIAA) spoke regarding the plans for informational structures and signs or banners at each end of Second Street entering Belmont Shore. He requested assistance from BSRA members in preparing designs. There were no comments or discussion. Mr. Mark Hungerford from the Long Beach Planning Department announced a meeting scheduled for 6 pm on August 15 at Lowell Elementary School to discuss neighborhood development standards. Ms. Julie Maleki from Councilman Gary DeLong's office reported the results of a survey of damaged sidewalks conducted by Kate Karp and Nancy Buchanan resulted in a list of 457 locations to be repaired. Marshall Pumphrey questioned the status of a previous request for a stop sign on Laverne Ave. at The Toledo; Ms. Maleki will investigate. Jeff Miller reported the list of nominees submitted to date for the Board of Directors election. The nominees are: Mike Ruehle, President; Ron Banner, Vice President; Jeff Miller, Recording Secretary; Jeanette Gavin, Treasurer; and Jillian Chandler, Kenneth Cinotto, John Forstrom, Michael Gavin, Merodie Gentile, Roy Hanson, Barbara Paul, Marshall Pumphrey, and Mark Robinson, Members at Large. Ms. Marjorie Campbell spoke about her concerns of increased traffic on Second Street due to new residential construction downtown. Mr. Dick Roderick expressed his concern about increasing trash and unsightly conditions on the Belmont pier. Several others in the audience had questions related to the pier. A suggestion was made to implement a police substation on the pier. Ms. Maleki offered to invite Tom Shippey to speak to these issues. Mr. Max Laubscher addressed the subject of Second Street alley repairs, and suggested that all work in the alleys be coordinated and accomplished before resurfacing, including converting electric service to underground. Ms. Brooke Kennard from the Belmont Shore Business Association announced the Semi-Annual Clearance Sale on August 17, 18, and 19; and the Stroll and Savor event on August 22 and 23. The meeting was adjourned at 7:55 pm. Submitted by: Jeff Miller, Recording Secretary
|