Report of OB Community Development Corporation Meeting of Thursday, November 12
By Lois Lane
The OB CDC Board Meeting Agenda held at the Ocean Beach Recreation Center promised “Veterans Plaza Committee Report – Closed Session” and it was right. After some usual financial reviews, the President, Tom Perrotti, announced that the Board would take a five minute break and then enter a closed session meeting.
When asked why items related to the Veterans Plaza were not public, he replied “President’s Decision,” and left the room. When he returned after five minutes, he announced,
“We are a 501(c )3 that is not subject to the Brown Act.”
Steve Grosch then offered a brief summary of the Veterans Day program on November 11 which took place at the site, with Lori Zapf a key speaker.
When asked if they had any comments regarding the Coastal Commission comments to the project, the President replied that the city was working to resolve them, that Mayor Faulconer and Councilmember Zapf fully support the project, and the permit would be issued before the end of the year.
As the room had gotten considerably chillier, I sensed that it was time to beat feet, although I did wonder how they would go about ejecting your intrepid reporter.
Lois Lane is the nom de plume of an OB / Point Loma activist whose views do not necessarily reflect those of the OB Rag.
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
Do I have this right? OBCDC is camera shy, except when they advocate surveillance cameras.
Sorry – the climate didn’t seem right for a photo op. The OB CDC did not actively refuse, as no request was made to take their picture as I left the scene.
It sounds like the creeping madness of right-wing politics is seeping into OB. This is unexpected, as is Oregon’s shift to the right.
Lori Zapf…oh, boy. Another rightwing champion of war and religion. (and high density housing not in her hood!)
I wonder about that Brown Act thing. Why the secrecy?
Then there is section (B) below [from Govt. Code section 54952(c)(1)].
A private entity will be subject to the Brown Act only if it was either:
(A) created by a governmental body in order to exercise governmental authority delegated to it, or
(B) both receives funds from and and shares a board member with a local governmental agency.
OBCDC gets funds from the city. One example:
http://docs.sandiego.gov/council_reso_ordinance/rao2014/R-309378.pdf
Former OBCDC board member Nicole Burgess is on SANDAG’s Active Transportation Working Group. She also is City of San Diego Council District 2 rep on the Bicycle Advisory Committee. Until she resigned from OBCDC last February, she was definitely being shared with two local governmental agencies.
So now OBCDC can meet behind closed doors and privately discuss the San Diego tax dollars they receive. But why?
Transparency is critical and usual when there is nothing to hide.
What does OBCDC pay Tom Perrotti to support secrecy and be such a powerful president?
I don’t know, but is OB CDC an oxymoron, a top down agency implanted by the City of San Diego, that has no respect for the historical veterans monument already in place? Instead, OB gets just what we all need these days, a hulking new monument to war. Let’s celebrate, OB. But by letting the veterans, and the rest of us, rest already! NO to Veterans Plaza. NO more wars. OR enlist yourself, and see if the truth of your war is what you imagined. End American wars? Bring Back the Draft.
If you go to this site, you can see the OBCDC tax returns. The latest one here is 2013 and it clearly shows the organization is deemed to be a public organization making them subject to the Brown Act.
https://www.citizenaudit.org/330583777/