Minutes of
Monday, May 12, 2008
7:10 P.M. Call to order/Roll Call Anne Brown/Jayne Morton The meeting was called to order by Anne Brown in the absence of the President Sherri Danoff. A quorum was established. Present: Anne Brown, Lisa Newton, Rick Rowe, , Boyd Horne, Julie Scott, Ted Ivarie, Jayne Morton, Bob Pusanik, Ken Thompson, Lynn Walter, Darryl Armstrong, Bill Tickell, John Schug, Karin Argano. Excused: John Salisbury, Sherri Danoff, Jack Biesek, Jan Taylor, Sandy Keller. Public Comment - None. Approval of Minutes Anne Brown
Minutes from March 10 and April 14 were approved as presented. Treasurer’s Report Anne Brown The current balance is the same as last month $1117.13. No bills were presented. County Reports 2.1 Sheriff’s Department Lt. Ben Hall There were 75 calls and 17 reports filed for minor offenses. Memorial weekend will be very busy with events and they will have private security. The Sheriff’s Dept. does not have available officers to give added coverage for the weekend. 2.2 County Supervisor Jerry Lenthall Supervisor Lenthall said beware the CHP has been patrolling the school zone on San Luis Bay Drive. They issued 17 warnings, 7 tickets, one arrest unlicensed driver and one accident. He said that the CHP now has a special motorcycle officer for special events. The light to be put over the bike trail under the San Luis Bay Drive Bridge won't be installed for another six weeks. It is in process. From the funds from the PG&E mitigation another message board will be put in a yet to be determined location in Avila 2.3 Planning Ryan Hostetter The first Events Ordinance planning meeting is going to be Thursday the 22nd. The Schoolhouse project is still on hold - still waiting for the revised plans. The Colony project is on going. Plans for doing some remodeling for Mr. Ricks have been submitted. 2.4 Public Works Ryan Chapman In the absence of Ryan Chapman the Board asked Ms. Hostetter if she would check into when the street sign for Bay Laurel Dr. at the entrance to the Avila Village will be replaced. They were removed during the bridge construction 2.5 Special Report – American Land Conservancy Kara Blakeslee The American Land Conservancy is a non-profit conservation group since 1990. They are facilitators for finding money to purchase land for conservation. Mrs. Blakeslee is the volunteer director of the 2500-acre Avila Ranch Project a.k.a. Wild Cherry Canyon. The access to the ranch is off Avila Dr. before you reach the entrance to Diablo. It is currently leased by a group of people in a partnership and PG&E is the underlying owner. The Conservancy has an option until the end of the year to take over the long-term lease of 150+ years and the right to use the land. The land should be conserved because of its unique wildlife and scenic views and its cultural, historical, and recreational value. The land hopefully would be able to be turned over to Parks and Recreation , if not, it would be sold to conservationist individuals who would hopefully keep it open space for the future. Private individuals would be restricted in what they could do with the property. They have applied for grant money and there are state agencies that could help with funding. The State could fund it through State Parks, Wild Life Conservation, Calif. State Coastal Agency, and Calif. Transportation Agency. There is acreage surrounding the ranch that could increase the conserved land to 4500-acres. This could be developed into an extension of a coastal trail from Morro Bay to Avila. A board member asked in what way could we be of help. Mrs. Blakeslee shared that support form the local community is very helpful when writing grants and asking for donations for the project. Supervisor Lenthall said that if we want to send a letter of support he would let us know when it would be the appropriate time to send it. A motion was made and passed to support the concept of the American Land Conservancy’s Avila Ranch Project with a letter at a later date. MSP 3.0 Old Business 3.1 See Canyon Intersection Julie Scott They have not had a formal meeting with Supervisor Lenthall, however, he did contact the Highway Patrol who came out. She was sent an RFP from Safe Route for Schools grant and submitted it to their board. The signs for reducing the speed on San Luis Bay Drive to 50 mph have not been posted yet nor has there been any word as to when it might happen. They have not had any accidents. They would like a letter of support from AVAC when they are ready to send in the grant. AVAC will send a letter of support when needed. Supervisor Lenthall shared they are currently looking for seed money which should be available after July 2008 to get better signage and enhance the crosswalk. . 4.0 Community Liaisons - 4.1 Avila Business Assoc., Avila Beach Civic Assoc., Avila Beach Foundation, Port, Diablo ABA- Karin Argano The major topic of the meeting was the garbage pick up problem. There are new garbage and recycle cans that enhance the ambiance but they do not solve the trash overflow problem from events. They are looking into the best way to solve this serious problem. There are several up and coming events such as the ABA Golf Tournament fundraiser the first Sunday in June; Yacht Club fourth of July Boat Parade; Bike ride July 19th at 7 am and the Concour Oct. 23-26 with some beautiful Ferraris, Porsches, and exotic cars exhibited on the promenade. The membership is growing. There is a promoter who wants to do 6 consecutive music shows on the promenade probably on Saturdays. He will make a presentation to AVAC. The contract with Parks and Recreation has been agreed on and will be signed by the end of the week. There has been an on going confusion on who should pay the water bill for the Promenade. It is being split in half between the ABA and the County. There has been a bee problem on the promenade and there will be bee catchers put up as an experiment to see if it will help. Civic Assoc.- Lisa Newton The Association has a big concern regarding the trash problem in Avila. There used to be volunteers who would pick up the trash around the area on a regular basis but are not able to do it anymore. One option is hiring the Achievement House to do the clean up. However, the Association feels it needs to be someone who will keep it up everyday and be paid. Funding comes from a Community Foundation Grant and Parks and Rec. The Civic Association is applying for a grant from Jerry Lenthall’s discretionary money. Quite a few people attended their First Annual Health and Wellness Fair. There are several programs and new classes starting up. Information about what is happening will always be posted in the community newspaper and on the Post Office bulletin board. Supervisor Lenthall will be bringing in a work crew to help with cleanup after the July 4th weekend and Labor Day weekend. ABCF - Boyd Horne Beginning July and August they will be starting the grant process for 2009. They will have something to report at the August meeting. Port San Luis – Darryll Armstrong The Port has proposed pilot project for the parking lot which began May 1st 2008 and will go to April 30th, 2009. The fee for parking in the lot will be $5.00 from 6am to 6pm and $1.00 from 6pm to 10pm. This has been done to help increase the revenue. PGE Diablo – Patricia Wilmore She wanted us to remind us that on August 15th there will be an all access tour of the facility. They can take up to 20 people. It goes from 8am until 2pm and lunch is included. A sign up sheet was at one meeting but if you have not signed up there will be one at the next meeting.. 5.0 New Business- None 6.0 Executive Committee Communications 6.1 In the Mail Anne Brown A Special Harbor District Board meeting on May 14th notice. Received copies of a Final Report - Restoration Action within the San Luis Obispo Creek Watershed for those who are interested. 7.0 AVAC Committees Land Use Committee – Bob Pusanik We received a 20-day notice for giving input for the Events Ordinance Amendments. All the Board members received an e-mail copy of a two-page letter from Sherri pointing out the inconsistencies that the committee has been discussing for the last four years. It was sent and made the deadline. 7.2 Diablo Committee – No report Sandy Keller/Lynn Walter 7.3 Port Committee – No report Darryl Armstong 7.4 Avila Beach Committee Lisa Newton A motion was made and passed to approve Pete Kelly as a member of the Avila Beach Committee. MSP 7.5 San Luis Bay Estates Committee- Ted Ivarie The landscaping at the entrance to the Estates still has not been taken care of. Supervisor Lenthall will try and get an answer. 7.6 Avila Valley Committee – All is well Boyd Horne 7.7 See Canyon Committee – Everything is fine Bill Tickell Steve Johnson introduced himself as a potential AVAC candidate representing See Canyon. He will send his Bio to Sherri Danoff. 7.8 Squire Canyon – Karin Argano Checking on summer weed abatement and fire protection. 8.0 Meeting Adjourned at 8:15 p.m. Respectfully submitted by Jayne Morton, Secretary |