MINUTES
JULY 10, 2006 MEETING OF THE
CITY OF SANTA MONICA
SANTA
MONICA
SUSTAINABLE CITY TASK FORCE
Task Force members in attendance: Laura
Berland-Shane, Al Rosen, Jim Ries, Mark Olson, Jennifer Wolch, Dennis Woods,
Leonard Mitchell, Christina Erickson, and Sandy Grant
Staff in attendance: Dean Kubani and
Shannon Parry
Members of the public in attendance:
Louisa Fish and Stephanie Parent
The meeting was convened at 7:35pm.
Public Input on Agenda Items
There was no public input on agenda items.
Approval of Minutes from the June 12, 2006 meeting
Jim Ries requested the spelling of his last name be
corrected in the minutes.
The June 12, 2006 minutes were approved unanimously
with this correction.
Discussion and Recommendations Regarding Sustainable City Plan
Implementation Plan
Jim Ries introduced the item and discussed the next
steps for the Task Force now that funds have been awarded for a Community
Sustainability Liaison, expert forums and the development of a sustainable
economic development strategy.
Staff recommended that Steve Bornstein, Steve
Bornstein Consulting, be brought in to facilitate a Planning and Organizational
Meeting during the regularly scheduled August meeting of the Sustainable City
Task Force in order to develop strategies, actions, and timelines to achieve
the measures in the Sustainable City Plan Implementation Plan.
After discussion, Mark Olson made the following
motion:
Motion 1: The Sustainable City Task Force approves
the staff suggestion to have Steve Bornstein, Steve Bornstein Consulting,
facilitate the august Sustainable City Task Force meeting.
The motion was seconded.
Al Rosen asked whether this would be more
appropriate after the Community Sustainability Liaison was hired, the economic
development strategy was under way and the expert forums were in process. The
Task Force responded that this was an initial step towards implementing those
three items. Mark Olson followed that the Sustainable City Task Force could
benefit from a more facilitated process that is well focused and directed.
Staff commented that the Sustainable City Plan will
be coming before Council during a study session on September 26, 2006 and
encouraged the Sustainable City Task Force to be prepared to update Council on
their progress.
After discussion, Jennifer Wolch made the following
motion:
Motion 2: The Sustainable City Task Force approves
the staff suggestion to have Steve Bornstein facilitate the August 2006 Sustainable
City Task Force meeting. This meeting is
to be followed by a facilitated meeting in September 2006 to generate a
document to be presented to Council at the September 26th study
session.
The motion was seconded and approved by vote of 8
to 0.
Sandy Grant abstained from the vote.
After additional discussion about the Sustainable
City Plan Implementation Plan, Jennifer Wolch made the following motion:
Motion 3: The Sustainable City Task Force moves for
final approval of the Sustainable City Plan Implementation Plan.
The motion was seconded by Mark Olson.
Dennis Woods proposed that staff amend the document
to improve the Executive Summary. The
Task Force agreed to amend to motion to allow staff to make necessary changes
to the Executive Summary without bringing the document back to the Task Force.
Jennifer Wolch and Mark Olson accepted the amendment.
The motion passed unanimously.
Discussion and Recommendations Regarding the Community Sustainability
Liaison
The Task Force discussed a number of
administrative, operational and oversight requirements for the position.
Dennis Woods requested staff to develop a draft RFP
for the position. The Task force asked
that the RFP reflect the roles and responsibilities outlined in the Sustainable
City Plan Implementation Plan. Staff agreed to work on an RFP for the position.
The Task Force addressed the possible complications
that could arise if current Sustainable City Task Force members choose to apply
for the position. Although Task Force members have complied with the
suggestions made by the City Attorney, Marcia Moutrie,
some Task Force members felt that a conflict might be present.
Christina Erickson recommended that any Task Force
member who applies for the Community Sustainability Liaison position resign
their position on the Task Force prior to applying. Other Task Force members discussed Task Force
members who apply for the Community Sustainability Liaison position taking a
leave of absence from the Task Force during the hiring period.
After discussion, the following motion was made:
Motion 1: This Sustainable City Task Force
recommends that any Task Force member interested in applying for the Community
Sustainability Liaison position take a leave of absence until the selection has
been completed.
The motion was not seconded.
Task Force agreed that input was needed from the
City Attorney and Environmental Programs Division staff prior to moving forward
with this discussion in an informed manner.
After discussion, the following motion was made:
Motion 2: The
Task Force directed staff to contact the City Attorney for advice on how to
proceed with the development of the Community Sustainability Liaison position
knowing that there are potentially two or more SCTF members who are interested
in the position.
Dennis Woods seconded the motion. Sandy Grant left
the room prior to the vote.
Dennis Woods requested the record reflect that one
person who is interested in the position stayed for the discussion although
they left prior to the vote.
Motion 2 passed unanimously.
The Task Force agreed to discuss the issue further
at the Planning and Organization
Meeting in August 2006.
Discussion and Recommendations Regarding Collaboration with the Sustainability
Advisory Team
Dean Kubani introduced the item. He gave a brief update on the Sustainability
Advisory Team and discussed their draft recommendations.
Jennifer Wolch made the following motion:
The Sustainable City Task Force moves to create a
liaison to the Sustainability Advisory Team to improve communication between
the two groups and to promote future collaboration.
Dennis Woods seconded the motion which passed
unanimously.
Dennis Woods made the following motion:
The Sustainable City Task Force designates Jennifer
Wolch as the liaison to the Sustainability Advisory Team and Jim Ries as the
alternate.
Leonard Mitchell seconded the motion which passed
unanimously.
Discussion and Recommendations Regarding Attendance Protocol
Shannon Parry introduced the item. She read the September 12, 2005 Task Force
motion which states:
All members of the Sustainable City Task Force are
required to attend at least nine Task Force meetings per year. Except for
special circumstances, as defined by a majority of Task Force members, failure
to attend requisite number of meetings will result in forfeiture of Task Force
membership.
After discussion, the Task Force decided to review
attendance records in September 2006.
Discussion and Possible Action to Restructure Subcommittees
The Task Force tabled this discussion until after
the Planning and Organizational meeting in August 2006.
Subcommittee Reports
Community Engagement Subcommittee: Sandy Grant reported that the CVB
Beach Summit committee meeting is July 11, 2006 and asked if any of the Task
Force members could attend. No Task force members volunteered.
Policy Subcommittee: Leonard Mitchell recommended assessing the city’s economic profile in
relation to sustainable city goals and reminded the Task Force about the work
his USC students had done. Staff agreed
to bring a hard copy of Leonard’s USC student project to the next meeting.
Discussion and Recommendations Regarding Schedule for Task Force on the
Environment Liaison
The Task Force discussed the benefits of having a
regularly scheduled liaison to the Task Force on the Environment.
After discussion, Sandy Grant made the following
motion:
The Sustainable City Task Force designates Sandy Grant
and Genevieve Bertone as rotating liaisons to the Task Force on the
Environment.
The motion was seconded by Al Rosen and then
withdrawn until after the Planning and Organizational Meeting in August 2006.
Discussion and Possible Action to Change Meeting Time
The Task Force discussed changing the meeting time
from 7:00pm to 7:15pm to meet the needs of various Task Force members. Dennis Woods made the following motion:
The official starting time for Sustainable City
Task Force meetings shall change to 7:15pm.
The motion was seconded by Jennifer Wolch and
approved by a vote of 7 to 1.
Setting of Agenda for August 14, 2006 meeting
I.
Meeting with the City Manager
II.
Public Input on Agenda Items
III.
Approval of Minutes from the
July 10, 2006 meeting
IV.
SCTF
Planning and Organization Session (150 min)
V.
Discussion
and Recommendations Regarding Lowest Police Priority for Marijuana Ordinance (5
min)
VI.
Setting of Agenda for
September 11, 2006 meeting
VII.
Public Input on Non-Agendized
Items
VIII.
Comments and Announcements
IX.
Adjourn
Task Force members suggested staff look for an
alternate room for the meeting in September in order to accommodate the needs
of the Planning and Organizational meeting. Staff agreed to look into the
Community Room at the Santa Monica Public Library Main Branch.
Public Input on Non-Agendized Items
Louisa Fish commented that public input should be
allowed on agenda items as they are discussed in order to allow the public a
timely opportunity to participate in the dialogue. She also commented on the unsustainable goods
the Big Blue Bus is providing to community members and recommended the
Sustainability Advisory Team address this issue.
Stephanie Parent introduced herself to the
Sustainable City Task Force Members. She is an intern at the Santa Monica Bay Restoration
Commission/Foundation and student at Clark
University.
Comments and Announcements
Al Rosen commented on the Lowest Police Priority for Marijuana Ordinance and the need to discuss it from a sustainable city perspective. He
asked the Task Force to agendize a discussion for the August 2006 meeting.
After discussion, the Task Force made the following
motion:
The Sustainable City Task Force will hear a 5 minute
discussion on the Lowest Police
Priority for Marijuana Ordinance in specific relation to the goals and targets
set forth in the
Sustainable City Plan at the August 2006 meeting.
The motion was seconded and passed by a vote of 6
to 2.
Adjourn
The meeting was adjourned at 10:00pm.
