RULES & ELECTIONS COMMITTEE

MINUTES      FUTURE MEETINGS

In attendance: Mosqueda, Carroll, Johnson, Thompson and later Hunnewell

1. We were called to order around the scheduling opening time.

2. We dispensed with approval of the minutes as no minutes were taken of the previous meeting. Johnson agreed to take notes of this meeting.

3. There was no Public and no public comments.

4. SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER ELECTIONS
The results of the election are posted on the ggpnc website.  There was no challenge to the results.

5. MAYOR’S BUDGET MEETING
Only four of the NCs were able to meet the Mayor’s requirements for the surveys.  Nora turned in our survey which had 110 returns.  Soter turned in 10 and the balance were turned in by Johnson, Mosqueda, DeMont, Spicer and Kerr.

Mosqueda was elected the regional representative from Area C at the Mayor’s Budget Meeting (you go girl!). As such she emphasized our neighborhood priority was parking.  We suggested to Nora that the Mayor’s Office be informed that we wish to have input into the survey, which was not an acceptable or meaningful way for us to collect information we needed, that we be allowed to have local-specific questions, that the questionnaires be distributed earlier, and that the Mayor commit to doing something in response to the surveys.

Bruce attended the Neighborhood Congress sponsored by USC.  They debated whether the Neighborhood Congress, which meets twice a year, should be a decision-making body, though it has only an advisory role to start with.  Many of us felt lucky we did not have to spend our time debating this issue.  USC is studying the procedural problems of such a proposal.

Nora suggested that the GGPNC consider taking on the role of providing a backup for neighborhood emergencies.

6. OUTREACH-APPOINTED MEMBERS
    We discussed the following persons for appointed members:
George Grace: qualified and eager, and member of the PROS committee
Mark Stang-long-time community activist
    Ketti Kupper-ran in District E
    Nora Mosqueda
    Rosemary DeMonte  
    Rose Marin from Immaculate Heart
    Nyla Arslanian
    Amy Schulenburg
    Dennis Chew
    Bill Beach
    Richard Spicer   
    Merlin Hernandez
    Harley Haas,
    Kurt Raedemakers
    Jonathan Kaplan

 We agreed that an ad hoc committee should be appointed at the next meeting to contact the candidates and determine their level of interest and commitment and to vet other possible interest.  Last year’s candidates were also reviewed.

 Carroll said he would contact Grace, Kupper, Marin and Chew.  Hunnewell will contact Bill Beach and any others willing to take on the treasurer position.

   We elect appointed directors at a meeting on November 8, 2004.   Bruce will send out an email asking for others interested.

7. ADJOURNMENT
     We adjourned at 8:30.

MEMBERS: Andrew Westall (Chair), Charley Mims, James Balesh, Charlotte DeArmond, Bernadette Soter, Kerry Hunnewell, Mary Rodriguez, Yvette Bryant, Jacqueline Kerr, Stanley Thompson
IN ATTENDANCE: Andrew Westall, James Balesh, Bernadette Soter, Charlotte DeArmond, Jacqueline Kerr

ACTION ITEMS: Approval Of Timeline And Application To Fill District "C" Vacancy
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REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF VACANT BOARD MEMBER APPLICATION FOR CANDIDACY
    The Committee approved the application for the District “C” vacancy, and forwarded it to the Board.  The Committee chose to leave the timeline open and have the entire Board select the best timeline for selection of a new Board Member.
 
POLICIES AND PROCEDURES MANUAL DRAFT
    The Committee reviewed its changes of the draft manual. Other portions need to be included prior to final approval and sending to the Board. These portions include Budget process, some Standing Committee processes, defining the role of Subcommittees and Ad Hoc Committees, Filling vacancies, and listing the scope of responsibilities of each committee.

ADHOC COMMITTEE ON BOARD MEMBER COMPOSITION
     The Committee received a report from DONE which analyzed governing structures and elections for each of the certified Councils. Bernadette Soter will  summarize the governing structure portion of the report to be presented at the Committee in September.

AGENDA POSTING SITES AND POSSIBLE CHANGES
    The Committee reviewed a map of possible locations for posting agendas. Over the next month, the Chair will initiate conversations with 15 possible locations to discuss interest and obtain possible commitments. The goal is to select 5-10 sites in which to post an identifiable corkboard or other such material with GGPNC monikers Agendas and other GGPNC materials would be posted on these boards,  at least one in each district. It would be the responsibility of the Outreach committee to design and obtain these boards.

SETTING AND CHANGING OF COMMITTEE TIMES AND DATES
    The Committee discussed a number of instances in which committee meetings were changed, cancelled, or otherwise moved. The Committee decided to draft a policy regarding notification of meeting changes, requiring committees to schedule regular meetings 6-12 months in advance, and other related procedures. James Balesh will draft a policy for the Committee to consider in September.

MEMBERS: Andrew Westall (Chair), Charley Mims, James Balesh, Charlotte DeArmond, Bernadette Soter, Kerry Hunnewell, Mary Rodriguez, Yvette Bryant, Jacqueline Kerr, Stanley Thompson

IN ATTENDANCE: Andrew Westall, Bruce Carroll, Bernadette Soter, Charlotte DeArmond

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POLICES AND PROCEDURES MANUAL DRAFT
     The Committee reviewed the first draft of the manual. Many changes were suggested to be incorporated into the manual, and will be brought back to the Committee next month for a revised draft.

STANDING COMMITTEE JURISDICTIONAL ISSUES
     The Committee discussed a number of instances surrounding issues crossing committee jurisdictional boundaries, the powers of the Executive Committee and its members, as well as the purposes of Subcommittees and Ad Hoc Committees.  The Committee decided to develop policies surrounding the roles of Subcommittees and Ad Hoc Committees. The Committee also decided to notify all Committee chairs and remind them to contact other Chairs when cross jurisdictional issues come up, invite other committees to their meetings, and hold joint hearings.

ADHOC COMMITTEE ON BOARD MEMBER COMPOSITION
     The Committee has received approximately 1/3rd of the bylaws of the certified neighborhood councils. Once the Committee has obtained at least ½ of the bylaws, the Ad Hoc Committee will review such bylaws to study governing structures.

AGENDA POSTING SITES AND POSSIBLE CHANGES
    The Committee felt that the 5 sites currently utilized for posting GGPNC agendas and materials were not in the best of locations. In particular, the Gene Autry Museum and Park Ranger Station site do not receive local traffic, like other sites such as grocery stores, coffee shops, bookstores, and schools. The Chair will explore general interest by some private businesses in posting agendas, including the use of a cork board or other mounting device with GGPNC logos to distinguish our materials and make them visible.

DISTRICT “C” VACANCY
    The Committee discussed the open Board Member seat and how best to fill the position. The Committee decided to draft a candidacy application, to be approved next month and forwarded to the Board. The outreach process would be the jurisdiction of the Outreach Committee.

MEMBERS: Andrew Westall (Chair), Charley Mims, James Balesh, Charlotte DeArmond, Bernadette Soter, Kerry Hunnewell, Mary Rodriguez, Yvette Bryant, Jacqueline Kerr

IN ATTENDANCE: Andrew Westall, Charley Mims, James Balesh, Charlotte DeArmond, Bernadette Soter, Kerry Hunnewell

MINUTES: Minutes of the meeting will be forthcoming.

POSSIBLE CHANGES IN MAKEUP OF BOARD
The Committee will complete a comparative analysis between neighborhood councils to look at how their Boards are selected, size, and other issues regarding Board makeup. This will include an analysis of how what the ratio of Board Members to population is. GGPNC’s ratio is 19 : 36,340, or a ratio of 1 board member for every 1,912 residents.

PROCESS TO SELECT APPOINTED BOARD MEMBERS
An Adhoc Committee was selected to develop process and procedures for the appointed board member selections. Board Members involved in the previous process, as well as stakeholders, felt the process was too short, arbitrary, and not well planned. The Adhoc Committee will develop the process to be forwarded to both the Rules and Elections Committee, as well as the full Board.

ALLOW FOR SIXTY DAYS TO SELECT APPOINTED BOARD MEMBERS
The Rules and Elections Committee will prepare new bylaw language for its next meeting allowing for sixty days (from the current thirty) to select appointed board members.

BOARD MEMBER ELECTIONS
Board Member elections will take place in June, 2004. The Committee will develop a process for the elections.

OFFICER ELECTIONS
GGPNC Officer Elections to be held annually in September (including Sept., 2003). Nominations will take place at the August monthly meeting. Candidates have two weeks to turn in a one-page statement to the Secretary. The Secretary must distribute candidate statements to Board Members one week before September meeting. Presentations by candidates will be followed by a Q and A session. After all presentations and Q and A sessions for a particular office have been completed, Elections for that office will be held. Then the Board will continue to the next office, and so on until completed.

HOW STAKEHOLDER BECOMES MEMBER OF A COMMITTEE
The Rules and Elections Committee felt it was most important to be inclusive, rather than exclusive on this matter. Stakeholders who wish to become a member of a committee, can attend a committee meeting and notify the chair that they want to be a member. Any notification to the chair meets the requirement to become a member of a committee. The Chair, in the Committee’s report to the full Board, will name all committee members, as well as all stakeholders in attendance. If the chair feels a committee member, or members, are causing unnecessary conflict in a committee, they may take up the issue with the Executive Committee or full Board.

The Rules and Elections Committee will prepare new bylaw language for its next meeting clarifying how a stakeholder becomes a member of a committee, in accordance with the above described procedure.