THE LONG BEACH RECREATION DOG PARK ASSN.
Summary of WINTER QUARTERLY MEETING: Jan. 28, 2001

Remarks

President Jim Knutson President briefly discussed the resignations of Gary Hovanian, Barbara McPherson, Joan Shamitz and Miriam Yarden from the Board of Directors and thanked Fred Nicas and Carolyn Reed for filling in as interim members to assist the board.
Mr. Knutson also announced that the organization has obtained a post office box (P.O. Box 8337) in Long Beach as a mailing address to provide improved access and flexibility as the board's membership changes over time, and that keys will be available to the secretary within the next week to reduce problems with locked gates.

Old Business

1. Bylaws and Articles of Incorporation: Gerry Facon gave a brief overview of the vote results and the filing status. The amended Bylaws will be submitted to the State Franchise Tax Board and the amended Articles of Incorporation to the Secretary of State's office as soon as the treasurer can write checks. As soon as both documents are recorded and certified by the state, certified copies will be sent to the Internal Revenue Service to complete the filing process. While there were no comments or questions by the attendees, members seemed pleased that the process was moving according to plan and on schedule.

2. Proposed city ordinance changes: Jim Knutson reported that the Department of Parks, Recreation and Marine has expressed holding one more public meeting pertaining to pending City Code changes concerning to the Dog Park before the issue is placed on the City Council agenda. The Parks Department will advertise the as-yet-undated meeting by posting notices at the Dog Park, on the association website and in the Paw Prints newsletter.

New Business

1. Standing committees: Jim Knutson announced the formation of five new standing committees to open up the organization, promote greater involvement and to solicit ideas and better ways of doing things. Gerry Facon noted that per the organization's revised Bylaws, the president is an ex-officio member every committee. Mr. Facon suggested - and many members agreed - that a board member should be an active member of each committee to ensure backup and support, to help eliminate political bottlenecks and to ensure cross-committee coordination and communication.

The committees:

--Projects & Fundraising: This group will coordinate fund-raising events with the association's quarterly meetings and the quarterly newsletter. Member Lori Edwards volunteered to head this committee. Mr. Facon said he would update Ms. Edwards on current efforts and assist with this panel. Volunteers are sought to devise ways to help broaden our membership base, land business and corporate members and boost the retention of current members. The secretary will assist with letters, flyers and brochures and maintain the confidential membership list.
In addition to the events suggested in a recent questionnaire sent to members, member Buzz Minnich suggested that the organization might want to look into: dog first-aid, picture-taking, dog training, potluck dinner, grooming, vaccination clinics
Mr. Minnich also suggested that the association might want to invite guest speakers from the Parks Department and the Police K-9 unit for demonstrations. His suggestions were well received by the attendees and the board.

--Maintenance & Planning: This group will coordinate maintenance efforts with the city, organize park cleanups and help develop a list of long-range improvements for the Dog Park. Mr. Facon stressed that all park projects had to be coordinated with the Department of Parks, Recreation and Marine and discussed how the association should identify, prioritize and price projects members would like to see done. This in turn needs to be coordinated with the Parks Department for its approval and to determine if it might have resources or funds to help support the proposed projects. After briefing new association members on the perimeters of the organization's agreement with the city, it was felt among those members present that Mr. Knutson and Fred Nicas were best suited to head up this committee due to their existing relationships and dealings with Parks Department personnel. Member Marcia Nicas suggested - and many in the audience concurred - that regular monthly raking/cleanup parties should be scheduled for the first Saturday of each month and that start times should alternate (at 8 and 10 a.m.) to provide greater association visibility and the opportunity to get more people involved.

--Membership: This committee generated the most interest among attendees. Members discussed ways to bring better visibility to the association at the park and how to encourage people who frequent the park to join the organization or otherwise get involved. The secretary noted that a study of old membership records revealed:

--1998: 73 memberships in 1998, including 6 shared memberships
--1999: 97 memberships in 1999, includinng 2 shared memberships
--2000: 111 memberships in 2000, includiing 3 shared memberships

Although the number of memberships has grown over the years, the secretary noted, the association faces a huge "churn" factor: Only 28 members (38%) from '98 renewed in '99 - and all 28 were gone by '00. Only 42 members (43%) from '99 renewed in '00.
Members suggested that it also might be to the association's benefit to set up a table to recruit new members at cleanup/raking parties. This would allow the dissemination of information currently buried on the Bark Board and otherwise overlooked by casual park-goers.

--Communications & Advertising: Secretary Jim Walters will chair this committee which will publish the Paw Prints newsletter, maintain the Bark Board and website, publicize association events and oversee brochures and other publications. Volunteers will be need to submit items for the newsletter, to proofread, to assist with flyers and brochures and help with distribution. Mr. Walters is seeking three or four volunteers. Due to time restraints, this committee was not discussed at length.

--Nominations & Elections: Mr. Knutson stressed that this panel needs to be formed as soon as possible to address this year's upcoming elections. The panel is needed to support the election process and timeline outlined in the attached handout. While the association's vice president is to chair this panel, the secretary has volunteered to step in until a vice president is named, and to make the ballots. Volunteers will be needed to help mail and count the ballots.

2. Meetings: Members expressed their desire that the board's four regular board meetings in those months that coincide with quarterly member meetings be held as single meetings to encourage continued openness, reduce the number of meetings that board members must attend and would lend to bring in guest speakers, demonstrations, etc. This discussion in turn led to a request for all regular board meetings to be at Parks Department facilities as committee activities grow. Jim Knutson agreed to contact the Parks Department to arrange a site for future regular board meetings. The next regular board meeting will be at Jim Walters' house, due to time constraints and his physical limitations.

--GERRY FACON, for
JIM WALTERS, Secretary, Feb. 1, 2001