Murdock Neighborhood Association Board Meeting -- Minutes
December 12, 2006

The meeting was called to order at 7:55p by President Larry Murchan at the home of Larry Murchan.

Board members present: George Zhu, Jenny Hsieh, Charles Jones, Larry Murchan, Doris Livezey, Gabe Trejo
Excused: Cathy Draper

Welcome

• Review & Approve Minutes from 10/11/06 board meeting, Gabe will email soft copy
• Policy and Procedure for an effective meeting
  • Doris will contact David for copy of the book we will use, Trixie is also a good source
  • Larry: use the same format suited for small groups we've used in the past
• Agenda Review & Approval
  • Charles: the committee could address the fire on Ora St.

Treasurer's Report

• Balance as of 11/30/06 is: $1,602.54
• 2007 Membership: 19 Members -- 7 new and 12 renewed
• Jenny mentioned membership cards are outdated with preprinted 2006 year
  • Doris: we could use a white out strip
  • Jenny: Future cards will read "20__"
• Member check with wrong date--Doris: Jenny could contact member and ask them to write a new check or initial a date correction
• M/S/P treasurers report

Old Business

• October General Meeting Review
  • Some takeaways were: good attendance, tulip tree presentation, vandalism in neighborhood, great ideas and involvement from the open forum, overall the participation was up and the attitude was right
  • Three part meeting-- elections, open forum, tulip trees presentation
• Tulip Tree Update
  • Doris contacted Ralph regarding updates and injection programs, he responded with the following email

    Subject: RE: Murdock Tulip Trees
    Date: Wed, 6 Dec 2006 11:57:58 -0800

    Hi Doris,

    We will do the injections in late January/early February.  We already have a number of addresses that were not able to participate in the first round of the experiment that will have first priority for the second round.  Then we also have those that had applied for a removal permit for their Tulip Tree that should get priority, then the remainder of the address that were involved in the first round.  The funding level is limited and cannot be expanded.

    Thanks for checking,
    Ralph

    Ralph L. Mize City Arborist
    Department of Transportation
    City of San Jose, California
    Phone: (408) 277-2756
    FAX: (408) 277-3621

  • As mentioned during the October 2006 General Meeting, the sickest tulip trees will be treated first
  • Only when the trees are dead or become serious safety hazards will the city consider subsidizing tree removal
  • Our mission is to provide the information not enforce policy, Larry: next newsletter and website should have rights and responsibilities for dealing with tulip trees
  • Doris will continue to be our main point of contact with Ralph
  • Doris brought up tree planting effort for next year?
• Flyer Distribution Network
  • Bring it up at the next general meeting to recruit a team of volunteers to coordinate and execute an efficient distribution network

New Business

• Meeting Schedules (Board/General)
  • Target board meetings to be 730p-9p on 2nd Wed of at least 9 months in the year and general meetings on the last Wednesday of one month per quarter
  • Possibly allow for a vacant month or two near summer time
  • Next general meeting tentatively scheduled for Wednesday Feb. 28 to allow time for newsletter creation, distribution, and planning
• Objectives for '06-'07
  • Larry: subcommittee split open to all MNA members, the board drafted the following
    • Service Committee
      • Assist with yard maintenance for those that are in need
      • Dumpster day
      • Leverage purchases for landscaping services
      • Street trash
      • Youth involvement in neighborly services (Youth Advisory Council)
    • Safety Committee
      • Traffic -- speed and obstruction
      • Vandalism
      • Neighborhood Watch efforts
      • Exotic or undomesticated pets raised in the neighborhood
      • Stagnant water for upcoming mosquito season
    • Social Committee
      • Summer Picnics
      • Movies in the park
      • Murdock-Portal Elementary project (Play or skits?
    • Spaces Committee
      • Trail maintenance efforts
      • Murdock Park lawns conservation
        • Possibly post pictures of effects for publication efforts
      • Tulip tree program and information
  • Charles: we could maybe incorporate the San Jose West Resident articles into the MNA website this upcoming year
  • Larry: effort to increase emergency preparedness and awareness for next year
• Near-term Plans
  • Next Board Meeting
    • Address ideas and tackle concerns brought up in general meeting
    • Tree Planting effort
    • Newsletter topics
      • Rights and responsibilities for tulip tree ownership
      • Attach member application
  • Membership campaign: Larry, Charles, George, Doris, Jenny, Gabe go and talk to your neighbors
• Topics for General Meeting (February)
  • Gabe will produce sign up sheets with our new subcommittees to recruit volunteers
  • Neighborhood watch
    • Multi benefits -- safety, organization, community, getting people involved, spread information
  • Emergency prep for upcoming earthquake
    • Doris: are there enough supplies at the high school?
    • This is an ongoing effort for the committee
  • Address issues from previous general meeting
• Board Appointment for Recording Secretary Position
  • M/S/P to appoint Gabe Trejo as recording secretary

President Larry Murchan concluded the meeting at 9:15p

Next meeting
Date: Jan 10th at 7:30p
Gabe Trejo's house

Respectfully submitted,
Gabe Trejo, Recording Secretary