Special Meeting Agenda (VNNC), Tomorrow @ 6:30 pm

Greetings My Fellow Citizens,

This coming Wednesday night the Van Nuys Neighborhood Council is having a “Special Meeting” to address certain concerns that have arisen in regards to the training of our Councilmembers. As you may be aware, those that sit on the Van Nuys Neighborhood Council are local elected officials, and in being such, are subject to state laws for Ethics & Funding Training. (This requirement is from Sacramento, and the State’s Fair Political Practices Commission.)

As the Council President, it is my elected duty to make sure our government runs properly and we can conduct business in a normal and timely fashion. This is why I have called this “Special Meeting” and will be overseeing and making sure that each and every Councilmember is properly trained so we can continue doing the work of the people.

Please feel free to stop by this coming Wednesday, and maybe you can offer up a couple of ideas or suggestions our council can work on or address.

It is a special privilege to serve as the Honorary Mayor of Van Nuys & the Council President, and thank you for this great opportunity to be a part of our community.

-George Christopher Thomas, Council President & Honorary Mayor of Van Nuys
Van Nuys Neighborhood Council
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1. Call to Order & Pledge of Allegiance to the United States of America
2. Roll Call (Quorum Call)
3. Comments from the Chair (President) of the Van Nuys Neighborhood Council
4. Public Comment (On matters within the VNNC Board’s Jurisdiction.) *Speaker Cards: 2 minutes, 1 Public Comment Time. (This includes speaker cards on any and all agenda items — a limit of 10 minutes for the entire meeting per Stakeholders and Councilmembers alike)
5. Secretary’s Report — Approve July Minutes, Approve Special Public Safety Summit Minutes
6. Treasurer’s Report — Jeanette Hopp and/or Howard Benjamin (Second Signatory) — Approve Treasurer’s Report
7. Committee Chairperson’s Reports, Budget Advocate’s Report, Elected Officials’ Reports, Election Chair’s Report & Any Special Reports from Councilmembers
8. New Business
   • a. The VNNC to undergo a full training in Ethics to get all Councilmembers compliant with local and state laws. The VNNC to fully document the Ethics training, and send results to Sacramento and Los Angeles City Hall as to be compliant with local and state laws. (Jay Handel & The LA City Attorney’s Office)
   • b. The VNNC to undergo a full training in Funding to get all Councilmembers compliant with local and state laws. The VNNC to fully document the Funding training, and send results to Sacramento and Los Angeles City Hall as to be compliant with local and state laws. (Jay Handel & The LA City Attorney’s Office)
   • c. The VNNC to undergo a full training in Code of Civility to get all Councilmembers compliant with local and state laws. The VNNC to fully document the Code of Civility training, and send results to Sacramento and Los Angeles City Hall as to be compliant with local and state laws. (Jay Handel & The LA City Attorney’s Office)
   • d. The VNNC to undergo a full training in Code of Conduct to get all Councilmembers compliant with local and state laws. The VNNC to fully document the Code of Conduct training, and send results to Sacramento and Los Angeles City Hall as to be compliant with local and state laws. (Jay Handel)
   • e. The VNNC to undergo a full training in the Ralph M. Brown Act to get all Councilmembers compliant with local and state laws. The VNNC to fully document the Ralph M. Brown Act training, and send results to Sacramento and Los Angeles City Hall as to be compliant with local and state laws. (Jay Handel)
   • f. The VNNC to re-adopt all actions taken at the August General Meeting on 8-12-2015. The VNNC needed to be in full compliance of Ethics & Funding before being able to pass funding requests, or to have certain Councilmember’s votes count in the official record.
   • g. Connect the Dots –The winning Great Streets Challenge Grant is seeking for funds. The Arid Lands Institute (ALI), Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition (LACBC) and Pacoima Beautiful is seeking funding from the VNNC in regards to the Great Streets Challenge Grant on Van Nuys Blvd in Van Nuys. Presentation and discussion on the amount to fund. (Aja Bulla-Richards/ Arid Lands Institute) The VNNC is going to formally enter into the parliamentary procedure called “Committee Of The Whole.” A committee of the whole is a device in which a legislative body or other deliberative assembly is considered one large committee. All members of the legislative body are members of such a committee. This is usually done for the purposes of discussion and debate of the details of bills and other main motions. Robert’s Rules of Order states that the committee of the whole is suitable to large assemblies. The procedure is invoked by a motion to commit to the committee of the whole, or simply to go into a committee of the whole. The only motions in order in a committee of the whole are those to adopt a proposal for inclusion in the committee’s report; to amend; to “rise and report”; as well as certain incidental motions and requests. Variants of the committee of the whole are the quasi committee of the whole and to consider informally. The difference between a committee of the whole and a quasi committee of the whole is that in the latter, the presiding officer of the assembly remains in the chair and presides. Informal consideration simply removes the normal limitations on the number of times members can speak in debate. After the VNNC finishes debating the agenda item, the VNNC will formally go back into the general meeting procedure and vote on funding $2500 for the Great Streets Challenge Grant. (NTE $2500) ACTION ITEM
   • h. 6075 Van Nuys Blvd. Conditional use to expand the existing conditional use of selling alcohol. A request for a Conditional Use to allow for an expansion of an existing deemed to be approved general off-sale alcohol license for an existing 24-hour convenience market. Motion and action. Case no: ZA 2014-4636 (Michael Pauls/Michael Pauls Associate)
   • i. The VNNC to address the concerns of Albert Hernandez. (Hello, I’d like to know if attending the neighborhood council meeting would give me a chance to see if something can be done about the parking in my neighborhood?)
   • j. The VNNC to implement and fulfill the vision of the “Education Reform Summit” we are hosting this August. The VNNC to invite every principal from the Van Nuys schools, and conduct a symposium addressing the current issues facing our schools. The VNNC to come up with a plan to fund after-school programs and anti-gang initiatives. The VNNC to also host a session for Councilmembers to address Ethics and Funding training required by the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) and the City of LA. The VNNC to have Commissioner Jay Handel host the training session from 5:30pm – 6:30pm.
   • k. The VNNC to hear a speech and presentation from Jessica Borek about illegal street vending. The VNNC to continue to support it’s position on illegal street vending, and to work with local community leaders to address this issue.
   • l. The Village Family Services is requesting sponsorship and funding for the October 31st Fun Walk and 5K run. The 5K will begin at the Sepulveda Park and Ride and continue along the Orange Line all the way to Valley College. The VNNC will have the logo on the t-shirts, as well as other opportunities to promote the council as the event nears. (NTE $5,000) ACTION ITEM
   • m. The VNNC to ask the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment (DONE) to do a community Saturday calendar of events for all Neighborhood Councilmembers to learn more about the City of Los Angeles. VNNC Secretary to reach out and establish a list of places to visit.
   • n. The VNNC to entertain or address any concerns from stakeholders or other Councilmembers, including but not limited to procedure of committees, actions of the full council or anything else thereof.
   • o. The VNNC to hear testimony in regards to a lot line adjustment. The VNNC to possibly enter into a “Committee On The Whole” to address this issue and see what kind of recommendations we can offer. (Hello George, I understand that the VNNC Planning and Land Use chair is currently on leave so I am emailing you directly on behalf of our client, John Webster, regarding the filing on 8/7/15 of a lot line adjustment on his property located at 14700 W. Oxnard Street. This lot line adjustment is not related to any project or construction, but is being done so the owner will end up having two more or less equally sized lots rather than one big lot and one small lot, and also to clean up having a building that is on top of the lot line’s current position (see attached map). As the lot line adjustment is a parcel map exemption and not technically a discretionary action, it would not be an action item for a neighborhood council, but we wanted to let you know that we are happy to answer any questions regarding the lot line adjustment. Please feel free to contact me by email or my direct line 818-716-2797. Thank you, Joe) Joseph Bernstein
   • p. Additional Funding Requests
   • q. Additional Comments Or Questions
9. Announcements
10. Adjournment