OB Town Council: Board Election Results and Project Ideas

Jon Carr announced the election results; President Gretchen Newsom is to his left.

The “New Look” of the OBTC  for 2015

By Lois Lane, photos by Meredith Lane

The OB Town Council meeting on September 24 announced the newly-elected members of the Board of Directors. Due to take their places at the October meeting, the Board of Directors consists of new members, some re-elected members, a new appointee, and those board members still serving their unexpired term.

They are:

New:

• Jill Chorak,
• Julie Eramo,
• and Melanie Williams

Re-elected:

• Nate Bazydlo,
• Giovanni Ingolia,
• Trudy Levenson,
• and Zachariah Rowland

The board is structured so that half the positions are up for re-election each year for a two year term.

Becca Taylor was appointed for one year to serve the remainder of Jody Thompson’s term, and there will be an additional vacancy, with another board member, Melinda Therkalsen, also retiring.

This leaves many familiar names on the Board  to provide continuity :

• Gretchen Newsom,
• Stephen Grosch,
• Donna Zoll,
• Marin Green,
• Jon Carr,
• Jenn Avoledo,
• Ken Moss,
• Anthony Palmiotto,
• and Jerri Ryan.

Councilman Harris

Councilman Ed Harris with Melinda Therkalsen and Ken Moss

Council Member Ed Harris made a special appearance and explained his position in opposing the extension of the Belmont Park Lease to 55 years (covered by Frank Gormlie’s post at the Rag). Harris’s personal explanation – this was a very good deal for the tenant, but not so great for the city property owner.

It was a good time for many of those in the audience to express how much Council Member Harris has done for the community in the time he has had to represent District 2, and he will be missed by many when his term ends December 10.

…

Veterans Plaza

Dave Martin of OBCDC

The guest speakers, Tom Perrotti and Dave Martin representing the OB Community Development Corporation (OBCDC), gave a presentation on the the redesign of Veterans Plaza at the foot of Newport, including the design and status of their funding. The CDC provides large-scale community improvement projects, provides quality affordable housing, and has currently taken on this million-dollar effort.

The CDC meetings are open to the public, every second Tuesday of the month at 7:00 pm at the OB Rec Center. The design of the new memorial was presented and is also available on the OBCDC website.

Project Ideas

OB Town Council president, Gretchen Newsom, always manages to end the meeting with a bang. In this case, it was a round robin of community projects and community residents sharing.  Brainstorming posters for each category were posted on the walls around the entire room of the hall, and people got up and put their ideas on the sheets.

Tony does not think this all ‘mickey mouse’ stuff, really.

Projects for thought and involvement were:

• Ebers Park,
• Pier Shed,
• Respect OB Signs,
• OB Poop Bag dispensers,
• Homelessness,
• Report Criminal Activity,
• Broken Street Lights,
• and the one that got the most attention – Ideas, projects like repainting cross-walks, graffiti paint-out programs, liaison with Midway and Point Loma, “Respect OB = Vote” campaign, and other contributed ideas.

By the end of the evening, the large sheets of paper were filled. – OB has never been short of ideas, and this was a chance for those who aren’t board members and elected community spokespersons to have theirs heard.