The Meeting was called to order at 6:05pm by President and Chair Herb Cohn with a quorum present.

Directors present: Herb Cohn, Kimberley Daniels, Steve Desdier, Brian Greene, Pat Sahagun, Pauline Scholten, Gustavo Serina, Ken Stram, Kenneth Wingard;

Directors absent and excused: Dominic Campodonico, Tim Patriarca

Staff, Contractors, Guests: Andrea Aiello (Executive Director), Janet Sahagun, Brian McCue (MJM Management), Winston Dong (Urban Ecology), Richard Magary (taking Minutes).

Approval of Minutes

Minutes of the Board’s February 7, 2008 meeting were approved (M-GS, 2nd-KW; all “aye,” except KD abstained, since she did not attend the February 7 meeting).

CastroCBD Delegate to UMA

Janet Sahagun was introduced. She provided a brief summary of her relevant background. She reported on her informal attendance at the Upper Market Alliance (UMA) meeting on February 26. It was unanimously approved (M-GS, 2nd-HC) to appoint Janet Sahagun as the CastroCBD’s primary delegate to UMA. Dominic Campodonico will continue as the CBD’s alternate delegate to UMA.

Walgreens Specialty Pharmacy Proposal

Walgreen’s current proposal to expand its Specialty Pharmacy branch at 4129-18^th Street into the adjacent vacant space (formerly a Laundromat) at 4127-18^th Street was discussed. No vote was taken on the Castro CBD’s position regarding the proposal.

Finance Committee

SD presented Financial Statements as of February 29, 2008.

The City-required CPA Review of financial statements for January 1-June 30, 2007 is nearly done, with one outstanding item being resolved.

Contractor Reports

SF Patrol Special Police

No report, as Jane Warner was unable to attend. AA will follow with JW to cover any significant issues.

MJM Management

Brian McCue distributed MJM’s February 2008 Report. He noted that it is missing some data, because MJM went thru a computer system upgrade during the month. However the month was routinely busy, with extra work caused by location production for the MILK Film, and PG&E’s ongoing Gasline Replacement Project.

Urban Ecology

Winston Dong reported that outreach Workshops for the CastroCBD’s Streescape Project are being held on March 18 (focus on property owners and the business community) and April 9 (focus on residential neighborhood groups).

SF Municipal Transportation Agency’s (SFMTA) Duboce/Church/Market Street Rail Replacement project seeks the CastroCBD’s input by late March. A walk through the Project area for Board members will be scheduled, to get their input.

Business Attraction Program

Ken Stram distributed his “Highlights” memo dated March 11, 2008. He reported that the Commercial Brokers’ Tour was very well received by agents and participating property owners/leasing agents alike.

Website

AA reported that a Committee comprised of the contractor (website designer Michael Willingham), PS and AA are near completion of drafts for the site. It will emphasize promotion of the CastroCBD and its service area, along with providing basic information about the CBD. A beta version for Board review may be available by the next Board Meeting.

Board of Directors Business

HC reported that Dennis Richards resigned from the CastroCBD Board, in order to avoid any conflicts with positions taken by DTNA, of which he is president. It was unanimously approved (M-GS, 2-KS) to accept the resignation.

All Board Members were again encouraged to assist the Board Development Committee in its search to identify candidates for the four (4) currently-vacant seats. They are detailed on Page 5 of the Board of Directors Contact List dated March 13, 2008 that has been distributed to all Board Members.

AA will prepare a list of current CastroCBD Committees and their Members.

Pedestrian Safety Grant

AA reported that the CastroCBD was one of four proposers that were awarded $20,000.00 grants from the City for projects that further Pedestrian Safety, as described in a Proposal and Budget that we submitted (copy attached). She summarized the Project. The work will be added to and coordinated with that being performed by Urban Ecology in the Streetscape Project. The City’s RFP and response deadline were after the February 7 Board meeting and prior to this March 13 meeting. The Executive Committee authorized the Proposal in the absence of time to present at a full Board meeting. It was approved unanimously (M-GS, 2-KW) to ratify the decision to submit the proposal, and to authorize any of the Officers and the Executive Director to accept the award, and to sign documents related to the contract awarded.

Halloween 2008

RM summarized presentations which he has attended, by S.F. Entertainment Commission President, Audrey Joseph. A “Home for Halloween” theme and outreach efforts are designed to encourage neighborhoods and merchant districts throughout the City (and elsewhere in the Bay Area) to organize their own, local Halloween events on October 31. Many neighborhoods reportedly have expressed interest. The City will provide resources to support the grassroots efforts. Still, the Castro is expected to attract visitors from outside the neighborhood, and appropriate plans must be made. Additional meetings with the local business community are being planned.

Market-Octavia Plan

The Plan is scheduled to be heard again soon by the Board of Supervisors. There appears to not be majority support for the CBD’s position regarding increased parking ratios and related topics, but contacts and our information campaign will continue.

NOTE: Chair Herb Cohn and Richard Magary (taking Minutes) left the meeting at this point,

at approximately 7:15pm.

GS (as chair) and AA (taking Minutes) assumed HC’s and RM’s respective duties

for the balance of the meeting.

Structure of Board Meetings

The Executive Committee will work further on recommendations from the Board’s recent Retreat – that Board Meetings focus more on larger issues, strategy, and planning; and less on short-term activity, which should be monitored by review of regular reports, Committee review, etc.

AA and RM were asked to follow for future availability of the current meeting room at EVRC, and to research alternatives, if and as appropriate.

Mission Statement

GS and PS will draft the Mission Statement framed at the March 2 Board Retreat, for review and approval by the full Board.

Board Retreat #2

It was agreed to plan another six-hour Board Retreat after April 15, with the same facilitator (Mary Anne O’Shea) as on March 2. The new retreat will focus on further development of the District’s Vision Statement and Strategic Plan. It was approved unanimously (M-SD, 2^nd-KD) to budget $2,000 for costs of the Retreat.

Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned at 7:22pm

Minutes taken and prepared by Richard Magary
with supplemental notes from Andrea Aiello
RM: CastroCBDMinutesBoard031308Web