Meeting Minutes for 6/1/2010:

Present – : Sue Johnson, Bill Johnson, Jerry Murphy, Jay Keyes, David Ramos, Pat Power, Patrick Gallager, Rosemarie Bonnington, Kim Porte, Ann Marie Krzesinski, Allan Avery, Gary Athanason

Board Members Absent: Mara Basic, Ross Concklin, Bobby Rowe and Sara Stauffer

Guests – Sandy Britton, Councilman Bill Jonson, Ron Delp

Quorum was determined and the meeting was called to order at 6:00 p.m.

Minutes as posted on the Website were accepted.

The Treasurer’s Report was presented by Bill Johnson and accepted.

Membership - Jerry Murphy reported that no door to door campaign had taken place as of that date, but we did currently have 98 members. Jerry noted that Alan Avery had brought in several new memberships. Sue asked, how many laminated door tags we had left and Jerry responded that we had some left but that we could always print off more paper copies.

Fundraiser – Sue asked, how we felt about doing an Oktoberfest fundraiser at the Rec Center. Jay Keyes made a motion to form a committee to look into this project. Jerry seconded the motion and a vote was taken in favor of forming a committee to look into this project. Jerry said he had the music covered!

At this point Sgt. Fisherkeller arrived and addressed the group. He stated that the past month had been pretty quiet. The golf ball vandals have been arrested and connected to additional vandalism in Bellaire. David Ramos questioned if Segways were considered motor vehicles, and are they allowed on the streets? We were told that they are not considered motor vehicles and are therefore treated similar to pedestrians or bicycles. The rider can receive a ticket for operating one inappropriately in the same way a pedestrian can be issued a ticket for Jaywalking. They are allowed on the streets.

City Government – Ron Delp reported that he had two items to discuss. The first being that the Marina Bill had passed, our efforts to stop this were not successful and so the Revertor Clause that protected the Marina from development has been lost. Secondly he wanted to announce that Sheriff Jim Coates would be presenting his plan to citizens at the Sand Key Sailing Center from 6:30 to 7:30 prior to the Sand Key homeowner’s monthly meeting.

CBA By Laws – Jerry Murphy reported that the committee first met over a month ago, reviewed the By Laws and noted several corrections that would need to be made. At their second meeting they were armed with triple spaced copies and proceeded to read through and write down comments. At their third meeting a single spaced copy with black and blue type was reviewed with the blue type representing the proposed changes. Jerry pointed out that changes were not all single words or spelling corrections, but that in some instances full sentence and paragraph changes are being proposed. He would like Sue Johnson to review the changes and comment on them. Sue asked Jerry to email it to all board members. Jerry made note that we have a November 1 deadline to present the finished version to allow it to be voted on at the December general membership meeting. He also noted that they do not intend to change the general “thrust” , but have expanded some items. Jay Keyes noted that the original had no mention of the Foundation, so they added a paragraph referring to the Foundation and its charitable work.

Environment – Pat Power reported that there is a website, KeepPinellasBeautiful.org where people could sign up to volunteer to help clear trash from estuaries and the beach approximately 4 days prior to the oil arriving here. She also spoke to the City/Parks Department and Coordinator of City Volunteers. There is some concern that the City would only take responsibility for the Public Beaches and they are assuming FEMA would take control of the situation. At this point, she reported it is unclear who would assist us if oil hits our beach, but she has been told the beach would be CLOSED. Bill Jonson said he would have someone contact Pat Power to give her more information.

Friends of the Library – Pat reported that she has been told that a proposal is being presented to recommend closing North Greenwood and Clearwater Beach Libraries as well as the Clearwater Beach Swimming Pool. She pointed out the neither of these neighborhoods have direct lines of public transportation to the main Library on Ft. Harrison St. It was decided that we need to go to the City with a coalition of business owners and residents of the island to let them know that we want our facilities to remain open. It was noted that just 5 waterfront homes could pay for the library with their tax obligations. Pat said that she needs CBA support, she already has Chamber support and plans were made to contact Carlouel, Sand Key and Island Estates homeowner associations. Jay Keyes made a motion to support the effort to keep the library and pool open. The motion was seconded and passed. Jerry noted that we need to put in writing our arguments as to why we need to keep these facilities open and the letter needs to be signed by Sue Johnson as President of CBA. It was decided that we need to attend in large numbers the 2nd Council Meeting on June 17, 2010

Sand Key Update – Ann Marie Krzesinski reported that she attended their last meeting and mention was made of Sheriff Coats speaking at 6:30pm prior to their next meeting.

Island Estates Update – Alan Avery noted that they “feed” the membership very well, they also have several social outings per year and this seems to help them gain and retain membership. They also are very concerned with the appearance of the neighborhood and this also attracts supporters. Alan noted that they are far more social than we are.

Clearwater Beach Chamber Update – Rosemarie Bonnington attended the meeting and reported that indeed the Chamber supports us in our efforts to keep the Library and Pool open. Rosemarie also noted that the new Executive of the Chamber, Darlene Cole is a good choice and she remarked that many of us would remember her name as she has been on the Beach for many, many years. They are also pushing for membership this year.

New Business - A motion was made by Jay Keyes that with so much at stake this year we remain active through the summer by holding a meeting in both July and August. The motion was seconded and a vote was taken. We will be meeting in both July and August 2010. Sue also presented a handout of thoughts compiled by Jerry Murphy of things we should consider concentrating on in the future. They fall into 3 categories, CBA Concerns, CBA Interests, and CBA Objectives. On another note, Sandy Britton asked if we could consider, before closing the meeting, if the issue of a city sticker could be revisited, for purposes of identifying property owners after an evacuation. Jerry Murphy noted that this has been addressed in the past and that the City will not agree to this.

The meeting was adjourned.

Submitted by Kim Porte