L A K E M E R R I T T / U P T O W N C O M M U N I T Y B E N E F I T D I S T R I C T

388 19th Street Oakland, California 94612

Phone 510.452.4529 Fax 510.452.4530 info@lakemerritt-uptown.org www.lakemerritt-uptown.org
Lake Merritt/Uptown District Association Board of Directors Meeting
Minutes of December 5, 2013 - 8:30 a.m.
Kaiser Center 2nd floor Conference Room, 300 Lakeside Drive
Present: Deborah Boyer, Chris Curtis, Robert Wilkins, Andrea Kirkpatrick, Mike Brown,
Lorie Alemania, Laurie Cooperman-Rosen (by phone), Steven Douglas,
Michelle Lane, Lucinda Alipio, Don Rogers, CJ Hirschfield
Absent: Indrajit Obeysekere, Nola Montgomery, Aliza Gallo, Mike Huaco, Courtney
Belanger, Ben Weinstein
Staff: Steve Snider/District Manager, Andrew Jones/District Services Coordinator,
Tori Decker/Office and Operations Manger, Fiona Simms/Administrative
Assistant
PR Consultants: Nancy Amaral/Gallen.Neilly
Guests: Ke Norman/Nailphoria Day Spa
Discussions held and decisions made by the Board of Directors
SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION?
Call to Order The meeting was called to order at 8:37 a.m. No action required.
Public comment and
announcements
CJ announced the Fairy Winterland celebration.
Chris mentioned the Great Wall holiday show
on December First Friday. Michelle announced
the Block Gallery video art walk in Old Oakland
which will run through January. Steve
mentioned the upcoming 2.Oakland event and
Ke announced that Nailphoria Day Spa has
moved to a new location in the Uptown on 17
th
Street.
No action required.
Approval of the minutes of
October 3, 2013
The minutes of October 3, 2013 meeting were
presented for review.
Chris moved and
Michelle seconded the
motion to approve the
minutes of October 3,
2013 as presented.
The motion was
approved
unanimously.
Financial Report Tori presented the year-to-date cash available
summary and the detailed expense report for
CJ moved and
Deborah seconded the
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review. She noted that the districts have
received a total of $1,355,867.22, which less the
reserve and hardship reimbursements of
$85,882.04 leaves $1,269,985.18 cash available.
Tori stated that the DISI expenses to date total
$60,757.98, ORG expenses total $192,080.73,
and SOBO expenses total $676,888.47. The
cash remaining equals $340,258.00 and
includes assessment income over the budgeted
amount.
motion to approve the
financial reports.The
motion was approved
unanimously.
2014 meeting schedule The proposed 2014 meeting schedule was
presented to the board for review.
Michelle moved and
Andrea seconded the
motion to approve the
2014 meeting
schedule. The motion
was approved
unanimously.
Approval of office network
upgrade to cloud file
storage
Fiona noted that currently all digital files are
stored on the office managers computer, which
presents a security risk. Since it would be cost
prohibitive and would require a large amount of
staff time to purchase, install, and maintain a file
server for the office staff recommends that the
districts take advantage of Microsoft 365
software, subscriptions for which are offered
free to non-profit corporations. This software
would store all files in the cloud and would
allow staff to remotely access not only office
files but also Microsoft web applications.
Though the product is free, there would be an
upfront cost of $4,000 for initial set-up and
staff training. The cost would be split evenly
between the two districts.
Chris moved and
Andrea seconded the
motion to approve the
allocation of $2,000
for the office upgrade.
The motion was
approved
unanimously.
SOBO Updates Andrew explained that we currently have 3 Big
Belly solar trash compactors installed in the
Uptown and staff would like to request $35,560
from the unanticipated assessment collection
over the annual budget. There was discussion of
where the compactors should be placed, the
technology that the compactors provide and
how we use it. The board recommended that
we increase the number of the purchase to 10
with the locations to be determined by the
district staff.
Andrew reported that the Ambassador program
is running well. He noted that the Block by
Block executive team held a meeting with staff
to discuss priorities and goals for the coming
year including the development of a homeless
outreach program, the implementation of the
SMART System, and using the SMART system
Deborah moved and
Robert seconded the
motion to approve the
purchase of 10
additional Big Belly
trash compactors. The
motion was approved
unanimously.
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to create a district watch program.
The hanging plants have been removed and
shipped to Oregon to be replanted. They will
return and be installed next April.
Andrew explained that staff is waiting to hear
the decision on the Franklin Square minor
encroachment permit before we begin working
on the Harrison Street median in an effort to
consolidate those items into one master
encroachment permit amendment.
Andrew lastly noted that in the coming year the
focus of the S.O.B.O. committee will be to
maintain the projects currently in place.
DISI Updates
a. Gallen.Neilly &
Associates Report
Steve reviewed the DISI budget planning
meeting.
Steve updated the board on the success of
Plaid Friday and noted that there were 45+
Oakland business and more than 30 pop-up
vendors involved in the event. Latham Square
was activated with vendors, music and live art
and 10 bars hosted pop-up retail vendors during
the night. He noted that many businesses have
reported increased sales.
Nancy reviewed the highlights of the
Gallen.Neilly & Associates report and listed the
recent press releases and clips about the
districts.
Other Chris announced that Pet Food Express is
sponsoring CatVidFest2 on the Great Wall of
Oakland.
Adjournment to executive
session
The meeting was adjourned to executive
session at 9:31 a.m.
***CLOSED SESSION***
Discussion of additional
personnel compensation
Deborah advised the board that the ORG
committee had reviewed the established goals
for OVM, Peralta, and Block by Block and noted
that overall goals were achieved and sometimes
exceeded, justifying bonus compensation for
exceptional performance. After brief discussion,
Michelle moved and Andrea seconded the
motion to allocate additional compensation
from LMUDA as follows:
OVM: $7,000
Block by Block: $3,000
Peralta: $1,250
Each ambassador: $75 gift card
Michelle moved and
Andrea seconded the
motion to allocate
additional
compensation to
Oakland Venue
Management in the
amount of $7,000, to
Peralta Service
Corporation in the
amount of $1,250, to
Block by Block in the
amount of $3,000,
and $75 in the form of
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a gift card to each
Ambassador.
Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 9:42 a.m.
Minutes taken by: Fiona Simms, Administrative Assistant