CLFCA

Council of Fort Lauderdale Civic Associations

General Meeting

November 13, 2012

City Hall – 8^th Floor Conference Room

1. Call to Order:   The meeting was called to order by President Marilyn Mammano at 7:30 pm followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. 
2. Attendance: First Vice President Ron Centamore took the roll and declared a quorum. We welcomed several representatives who had not been in attendance for a while. We welcomed City Manager Lee Feldman and Diana Alarcon and Stephanie Denham of his staff. 
3. Minutes: Review and approval of the minutes for the September general meeting was deferred to the next meeting. Candidates night at October General Meeting – no minutes.
4. Treasurer’s Report:  Treasurer Madeline Treasurer circulated her monthly Report showing a balance as of October 31, 2012 of $7,677.80.   
5. Law Enforcement Report: FLPD Captain Detrick provided this month’s report. He stated that there were not a substantial number of complaints that came in to FLPD about its handling of traffic and other matters during Hurricane Sandy; that initially FLPD called FHP for some assistance with traffic control; and that the traffic from the Boat Show was manageable this year attributing the lighter flow to outlying parking lots with buses to venues. Capt. Detrick praised residents for their patience about road closures as a result of the storm.  
6. Pantry of Broward Food Drive: Terrence Smalley gave a presentation about the work of the Pantry and passed out a flyer with contact information. He stated that the percentage of grandparents raising grandchildren who rely on the Pantry has increased over the past 5 years from 14% to 52%. Seniors range in age from 62 to 104.  He encouraged the neighborhoods to sponsor food drives and stated that school aged children could obtain service hours for volunteering. www.ThePantryofBroward.org  This year CFLCA will have a food drive in conjunction with the holiday party on December 11. 
7. Old Business:

• President Mammano reported that first Reapportionment Committee meeting was held and was principally organizational.
• President Mammano reported that the Citizen’s Committee of Recognition was accepting nominations and she encouraged neighborhoods to do so on their own or with the Council’s assistance. The Council has a permanent seat on this Committee.
• Nominating Committee for slate of Council officers has been convened under Past President Doug Sterner. Each district needs to be represented on the committee. Lester Williams volunteered to be on the committee for District 3 and Jackson Boren volunteered to for District 2. 

8. New City Speed Hump Policy. Ms. Alarcon, Director of Mobility for the City stated that before the City presented the new to the Commission, staff wanted to get input from the Council. She presented an outline of the policy changes. Requests for speed humps to calm traffic would still be reviewed on a street by street basis. HOA’s would have to submit a letter of support for a request to make sure that the impact on other streets within a neighborhood was considered. Affected homeowners would be surveyed. An engineering study would be conducted to see if traffic was within parameters for speed humps.  City Manager Feldman stated that funding for speed humps would be borne entirely by the City; if they were approved, the City would pay – otherwise they would not be permitted. Some comments were made about the policy but given the time limitations, the City was asked if the policy could be posted on the Council website with an opportunity for future comments. The City agreed. City Manager Feldman stated that it was intention however to bring the new policy before the Commission in January. 
9. Review of Consensus Committee Report. Donna Mergenhagen reviewed the last draft of the report asking those present to only voice those points about which they disagreed. For the most part, those in attendance agreed with the points to be included in the final report. A final version will be prepared and submitted for a vote of the membership. 
10. New Business

• Holiday Party on December 11. Council will supply main course and beverages. Guests are asked to bring a dish to share.
• Volunteer needed to handle refreshments for January 2013 meeting (as well as subsequent months.) 

11. For the Good of the Community:  Charles Jordon of the Sailboat Bend Civic Association and the Trust for Historic Sailboat Bend and Dave Braiburn of the Broward Trust for Historic Preservation talked about their submission to the FEMA 2012 Challenge seeking funds to develop a pilot program to assess the ability of historic structures to withstand disasters and for homeowners to self-assess structural damage, etc. 

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 9:10 pm. 

Respectfully submitted,

Rochelle Golub

Recording Secretary

MINUTES

August 14, 2012
General Membership Meeting
8th Floor Conference Room, City Hall

CALL TO ORDER 7:30 PM

ROLL CALL – After a call of the roll by the Treasurer, it was determined that a quorum was present

REVIEW AND ACCEPTANCE: Meeting Minutes – June 12, 2012. Amended to reflect discussion and vote on proposed changes to City-wide parking regulations. Approved as amended.

TREASURER’S REPORT – On a motion and second Treasurer’s Report was approved without objection.

POLICE REPORT – Capt. London had nothing to report and no issues were brought up from the floor. Doug Sterner presented a request from the Officer Bryant Peney Scholarship Foundation that the Council again sponsor a table at their upcoming fundraiser. Motion made and passed to sponsor a table at a cost of $250.00.

GUESTS –City Manager Lee Feldman – spoke about an initiative designed to expedite the permitting process. One feature of the proposal would be to require developers of level 3 or 4 projects to meet with neighborhoods first to present their project for comments from the effected neighborhood. The developer would be responsible for reporting on the outcome of the meeting including comments by the participants. Their report would then become part of their application to DRC. The proposed ordinance change will be discussed at the City Commission conference meeting on August 21^st.

Mr. Feldman also reported on the telephone Town Hall meetings held so far noting that they are very pleased with the results. Although the current round is focused on the visioning process, the City is committed to future telephone town hall meetings on other topics. Results of the poll questions within the town hall calls are available on the City’s website.

Mr. Feldman also promised to provide the Council with an update on the NDCR (Neighborhood Development Criteria Review).

Rick Keiser – Outlined the services available to HOAs from the City’s Print Center. A full range of printing, copying and graphic services (including newsletters, flyers and posters) as well as mailings are offered at discount prices.

Ian Wint gave a presentation on the City’s Geographic Information System and the Maps that are produced. There is a wealth of information on the City’s web page.

Stephanie Denham – Gave an update on the City’s Visioning Process. She handed out kits entitled “Meeting in a Box” and explained how to use them effectively to focus discussions among neighbors.

She also explained a new program called Nextdoor Fort Lauderdale which is a way to create a private social network for your neighborhood.

NEW BUSINESS:
Election of 1^st Vice President – Nominations from the floor were accepted and Olivier Turina nominated Ron Centamore which was seconded by Steve Gillespie. No other nominations were offered and Mr. Centamore was declared the winner by consensus.

OLD BUSINESS
1) Marilyn reported that our website revamp is nearing completion and explained to members how to update their information.

2) Marilyn also reported on the Council’s efforts to weigh in on the new City parking proposals. She and other Council member have met with Diane Alarcon in order to raise a number of concerns some neighborhoods have with the proposed changes. The chief concern is that the proposal takes a one-size-fits-all approach. Ms Alarcon will recommend that the City go forward with the proposal for the Beach and not for the entire City until a list of issues was addressed by the City’s consultant and discussed with the Council.

There being no further business the meeting adjourned at approximately 9:00pm

Council of Fort Lauderdale Civic Associations
General Meeting
June 12, 2012
City Hall- 8th Floor Conference Room

1. Call to Order: The meeting was called to order by Acting President Marilyn Mammano at 7:30 pm followed by the Pledge of Allegiance.

2. Attendance: Corresponding Secretary Donna Mergenhagen took the roll and declared a quorum.

3. Minutes: The minutes of the May 2, 2012 general meeting were unanimously approved upon a motion and second.

4. Treasurer’s Report: Treasurer Madeline Treasurer’s Report by showing a balance as of June 1, 2012 of $8,398.79 was unanimously approved upon a motion and second.

5. Law Enforcement Report: FLPD Lt Patrick Hart provided this month’s report urging the neighborhoods to prepare for hurricane season. He also announced that a new ordinance dealing with the retail sale of synthetic marihuana and bath salts is being drafted but that it could be as much as 6 months before we see the products off the shelves of convenience stores.

6. Guest Speakers: Mr. Greg Stuart, Executive Director of the Broward Metropolitan Planning Organization talked about the role of the BMPO presented an overview of work in progress and the work planned. BMPO will spend over $8.6 billion in funds channeled back to the state by the federal government on transportation in the County over the next 20 years. Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach Counties each have their own MPO’s based on historical geographical separation, even though the tri=county area functions as one metropolitan area. Specifically with respect to Fort Lauderdale, Mr. Stuart talked about the street cars in the downtown area explaining that since rails do not move, growth can be planned reliably around that type of transportation. He stated that there were no plans to widen any more streets and that some streets that were widened may be narrowed again. He mentioned that with the deepening of the Panama canal, commercial rail business would increase. He stated that within 2 years Tri-Rail passenger lines and commercial lines on along Dixie would merge. He also stated that within the next 4 years, $35 to $40 million would be spent on sidewalks. Mr. Stuart spoke very positively about the “Complete Streets” plan and urges elected officials to incorporate “Complete Streets” in their planning. The work of BMPO can be tracked on its website at www.browardmpo.org.

Susan Torriente (who recently spoke to the Council about climate change and sea level rising) addressed the membership about Visioning 2035 in Fort Lauderdale. She stated that the staff and committee were studying other cities’ approach to visioning and believed it most effective when tied to strategic planning. Input from the entire community is key to success. To that end, staff will speak when invited to neighborhood meetings; there is an interactive website [http://ourvisionftl.com]; a tool called “meeting in a bix” has been created; telephonic town hall meetings are scheduled. Mayor Seilor will host a telephone town hall meeting on June 25; Commissioner Rogers on July 17; Commissioner DuBoise on a tbd date in July; Commissioner Roberts on August 30 and Commissioner Rodstrom on September 14. The goal of the committee is to complete the visioning by the end of the year.

President Mammano asked for a volunteer to serve as the Councils liaison to the visioning process. Susan Howell volunteered and was so appointed.

7. Election of CFLCA President: Acting President Mammano turned the gavel over to First Vice President Betty Shelley who asked for nominations from the floor. Marilyn Mammano was nominated and seconded. No other nominations were forthcoming. VP Shelley closed the nominations. A voice vote was taken and Ms. Mammano was elected unanimously.

8. Membership Report: Paid active membership of the Council is 33 member neighborhoods.

9. For the Good of the Community: There were many promotional handouts available to the members present including planting at Stranahan Park on 6/16; mixitcurbit Recycling Program rollout; the Salvation Army; and the Code Awareness and Safety Expo on 6/23. Mr. Moyer of the Salvation Army enlisted support for the protection of its collection boxes.

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 9:05 pm.

Respectfully submitted,
Rochelle Golub
Recording Secretary