May 2021

CNA Board Meeting Minutes

Date:  May 12, 2021

Start time:  7:00 PM

Where:  Zoom meeting

Attendees: Art Maurice, Kirk Vartan, Kathy Moe, Linda Brennan, Willard Simms, Faye Mowery, Lana Chou, Felicia Hipps, Steve Bowman, Kevin Roderick

Items to discuss:

  1. Approval of April minutes
    1. Approved
  • New board member
    • Steve Bowman
    • Approved
  • Finance report – Kathy Moe
    • Chase $3,854.49
    • Meriwest $10,085.44
    • UNSCC Dues are due
      • Before end of July
      • $200
  • Art will be out of town end of August to mid-September
    • Kirk might run board meeting
  • Review of the General Meeting
    • Comments
      • Art: Went long, but information was valuable
      • Willard: Format was excellent, questions were good, people were enthusiastic
      • Lana: Muting speakers went very well
      • Faye: San Jose is having an open forum on Opportunity Housing, best one we had content-wise
      • Kirk: Good questions, good moderation
    • Speakers
      • Evan Low asked if he could speak again in the future
      • Could give overview of the role of State Senators/Assemblymembers
        • Would promote better, more targeted questions
        • Art or Kirk can give a 60 second introduction
  • Next General Meeting – July 26
    • Councilwoman Dev Davis
    • SJPD Captain Brian Shab – Our new captain
    • Our City Forest – Violet Awwad, Climate Action Corps Fellow
    • Linden Skjeie – San Jose Environmental Services Dept (Recycling)
      • Will show us how to recycle properly
  • Open Forum:
    • When will the school let us have our meetings in person again?
      • Unknown
      • Mask mandates will be lifted in California on June 15
      • State needs to lift restrictions on large meetings
      • July meeting: Flyer can ask people about comfort level for indoor meetings, or Zoom poll, to better plan our October meeting
      • Promote website 
    • Water rate hike – Letter from the board?
      • Water rate hike was approved
      • SJ City Council voted against, but they have no authority
      • What is causing the increase of utility rates? Should do research.
      • Invite Barbara Keegan (Water Board Rep) to board meeting
      • Kirk to reach out to Barbara Keegan of the Water District on attending meeting. Maybe having her there instead of Our City Forest.
    • SJ future of housing webinar
      • Mayor Liccardo said there was not enough public money, they can do 15% of housing needing
      • “ADUs can account for 1/3 of housing needed, rent control is scaring developers from building homes”
      • Need a way to build more market-controlled housing
      • Employees demanding to work remotely, pandemic changed mindset of workforce, above 55 aren’t able to retire and need more stability, need to get women back in the workforce (childcare)
      • Construction costs, low or high? At inflection point, interest rate low and construction cost low.  Some discussion about construction cost being called low.
      • Abodu – company, in thirty days, will fully build and install and ADU at your house
    • Chalk art, mini-libraries, rock painting
      • Announce early via Nextdoor, Facebook, Website
      • Get people excited about doing art in Cory