BRECA Steering Committee Meeting Minutes 9-27-16

BUTTERFIELD-RIVIERA EAST COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION
STEERING COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES

DATE: September 27, 2016
PLACE:  Rancho Cordova Library, 9845 Folsom Blvd., Sacramento, California
MEETING TYPE:  BRECA Steering Committee Meeting

STEERING COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT
Lori Christensen
Kelly Cohen
Rene Hamlin
Lynda Hammitt
Jim Morgan
Andrea White

 STEERING COMMITTEE MEMBERS ABSENT
Bonnie Domeny
Jay Domeny
Gay Jones

1. Call to Order by Chair Rene Hamlin
2. Minutes of August 23, 2016
   There was discussion of whether people who attend a Steering Committee meeting but are not on the Steering Committee should be listed on the minutes.  After some discussion it was decided not to do so.  Lynda Hammitt made a motion to adopt the draft minutes for August 23, 2016.  Lori Christensen seconded the motion.  The motion was approved unanimously.

4. Reports
   1. Treasurer’s Report
      Andrea White, treasurer, reported that the balance in the BRECA checking account is $4,749.54.
   2. CORPAC
      Carmen Mitchell reported that there was no Cordova Community Planning and Advisory Council (CORPAC) meeting this month.
5. Old Business
   1. By-Laws Review Committee
      Ken Crawford distributed a hard copy, dated 9/16/16, of his interpretation of the revisions approved by the last Steering Committee meeting.Ken Crawford stated that he had removed the last sentence of Article 8.02 (“at either an annual or regular monthly meeting, as provided in 8.01”) to make it consistent with the revised language in Article 8.01.  Lynda Hammitt commented that this leaves Article 8.02 unclear as to when the 4 months requirement for presentation to the membership begins.  After some discussion a consensus was reached to add “to the Chair, Co-chair, or Secretary” to the end of the revised Article 8.02.Jim Morgan distributed a document that compared the costs and other aspects of having members vote on the By-Laws by mail compared to at a BRECA meeting.  He stated that, overall, costs were similar, and not significantly different in terms of BRECA’s yearly budget.  He also stated that participation is likely to be greater with a mail ballot than voting at a meeting, and pointed out that voting at a meeting disenfranchises those who cannot attend the meeting.Regarding Article 9, Lori Christensen commented that we need to be consistent with the requirements of the Secretary of State for distribution of assets in the event of dissolution of BRECA.  Possibly we should explicitly reference regulations of the Secretary of State in this regard.  Rene Hamlin stated that the existing text, which has remaining funds donated to a non-profit, is consistent with the regulations.  Ken Crawford recommended against adding a reference to the Secretary of State or other government organizations.  The consensus was to leave Article 9 unchanged.Ken Crawford raised a question, in regard to Article 4 (elections), of how we get a write-in candidate on the ballot.  Jim Morgan pointed out that there was an explicit space for write-in candidates on the most recent ballot.Jim Morgan pointed out that, in regard to Article 4.01(a), we want candidates to be members of BRECA in good standing, but it is not clear where to put that language.  Also, the sentence “Provided that the nominee concurs.” is a fragment of a sentence and a fragment of a thought.  After some discussion, a consensus was reached to add, after “Provided that the nominee concurs,” the statement “and is a member in good standing, they become a candidate and their name shall be placed on the ballot.”

      In regard to Article 4.01(b), it was pointed out that written ballots and candidate statements are mailed to all memberships in early May.  Hence, the reference to distributing ballots at the Steering Committee meeting in May makes no sense, and would be an invitation to fraudulent voting.  A consensus was reached to delete the phrase “or at the Steering Committee in May.”

      It was further raised in regard to Article 4.01(b) that the last sentence “Write in candidates will be accepted on return ballots or at the April Steering Committee meeting” makes no sense because all ballots are to be returned by mail between the April and May meetings.  A consensus was reached to delete the phrase “or at the April Steering Committee meeting.”

      Jim Morgan pointed out that we should have the requirement that all Steering Committee members be members in good standing of BRECA.  The consensus was reached to add this statement to Article 4.01(c).

      Jim Morgan raised the question why, in Article 4.01(c), there is a requirement to destroy the ballots after the election.  Lynda Hammitt stated that we should agree to keep the ballots for at least one year.  After some discussion a consensus was reached to change the wording to “Ballots shall be kept until after the next election.”  Also, the reference to “President” is changed to “Chair,” and “disposal” is changed to “disposition.”

      Jim Morgan questioned why there is an Article 4.01(d) relating to uncontested elections with only 9 candidates, since it is obvious that, if there are 9 or fewer candidates, they have the highest number of votes, as provided in 4.01(c).  Rene Hamlin stated that there is a member of the Steering Committee who is not present who supports this provision, and requested that the discussion be tabled until the next meeting.  It was agreed to table the discussion of this item until the next meeting.

      Lori Christensen stated that the various sub-articles of 4.01 follow a stepwise progression, and suggested separating 4.01(c) into two sub-articles by inserting a new sub-article 4.01(d) before the phrase “Newley (sic) elected steering Committee members….”  A consensus was reached to adopt this change.

      At this point the discussion was tabled until the next Steering Committee meeting.

   2. Picnic Update
      Lori Christensen stated that there were at least 42 people at the recent BRECA picnic.  It was generally agreed that it was a good picnic.
   3. Invasive Plant Removal
      Kelly Cohen stated that she had nothing to report.
   4. Newsletter
      Jim Morgan requested Newsletter articles by Friday.  Kelly Cohen stated that she would like to do an article on Measure B, the proposed 0.5% sales tax for transportation.
   5. Old Business From the Floor
      Kelly Cohen stated that she keeps seeing things that could go on the BRECA website, but that because she has to send them off to Bonnie Domeny, she (Kelly) ends up not doing anything.  She would like to be able to put items directly onto the BRECA web site.  Rene Hamlin suggested that Kelly could do her own blog, and link to the blog from the website.Andrea White stated that the Cordova Recreation and Park District had received a Notice of Preparation (NOP) for a Draft Environmental Impact Report on the Butterfield Station Master Plan.  She will forward this to the Steering Committee.  The County wants comments within 30 days of September 20.  She also stated that the County had informally contacted the Park District regarding taking in lieu fees instead of land.  The Park District representative had said no, based on the deficiency of park land in the area.Jim Morgan stated that BRECA needs to form a committee to respond to the NOP and send a letter.  It was agreed to do so.  Jim Morgan, Gay Jones, Andrea White, and Kelly Cohen are the members of the committee.

5. New Business
   1. New Business From the Floor
      Lynda Hammitt stated that she wants to get feedback from BRECA.org regarding how BRECA is doing and what else we could do or do better.  It was stated that a process would need to be established, as this has not been done previously.

6. Meeting adjourned.

The next meeting will be a Steering Committee Meeting on Tuesday, October 25, 2016, at the Rancho Cordova Library.