BROOKLYN COMMUNITY BOARD 6
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
MARCH 9, 2015
PRESENT:
J. ARMER P. BLAKE R. LUFTGLASS
E. MCCLURE T. MISKEL G. REILLY
M. SHAMES M. SILVERMAN S. TURET
EXCUSED:
R. BASHNER P. BELLENBAUM G. KELLY
A. KRASNOW S. LONIAL B. SOLOTAIRE
ABSENT:
P. FLEMING R. LEVINE M. RACIOPPO
*** M I N U T E S ***
Board Member Attendance Review
Harriet Hughes missed 5 meetings. She was notified by mail. As Sayar Lonial was not present, there is no conclusive word regarding her response. The District Manager said that if there were news we likely would have heard from Sayar.
Elsie Felder received a warning letter for 4 absences.
Harriet and Elsie are the 2 members without e-mail but they are regularly mailed to and called.
Community Board terms expire on March 31st. The District Manager reported that new appointments usually come out sometime April-June.
Gary Reilly: We could table a decision for a month. There was general consensus to table any action.
Report on City Council Intro 0585-2014, Community Board member term limits
Intro 585 – by Council Members Daniel Dromm and Ben Kallos – Community Board member term limits.
Jerry Armer reported that the Finance, Personnel and Law committee is recommending against term limits. Borough President can choose to not reappoint CB members. There are not a long list of applicants. Some community boards have a shortage of members. System exists – Councilman can chose not to recommend and BP can choose not to reappoint.
Pauline Blake: Some board members don’t take the role seriously. Education of members helps long term.
Suznne Turet: History on the Board is important. Institutional knowledge can be helpful.
Jerry Armer: Goes to Gary Reilly’s point of having Chair Emeriti position.
Suzanne: Turnover has been huge in the past few years. The District Manager noted that we consistently have a 10-20% turnover rate each year as we typically get 5-10 new board members.
Mark Shames: The way the Intro is written, it doesn’t stagger the limits on the terms. Half of the Board could theoretically be termed out at once.
The District Manager noted that the spirit of the Intro is to bring new people into Community Boards, but also noted that the appointing officials already have the authority to do that within the current system.
The Finance/Personnel & Law committee reviewed the Intro at their last meeting and has a
motion to oppose.
Eric McClure: Impetus may be coming from a couple of Manhattan Boards with long-serving Transportation Chairs not reflective of other members.
Jerry: Community Board actions are not binding too, so Community Boards do not hold power over city agencies.
Report on By-laws Review Process
Very productive 2 ½ hour meeting last week. No “major” changes but organizational and formatting changes in the document. More defined role for Second Vice Chair and Treasurer. Streamline removal process. Clean-up by-laws amendment process to add periodic review by committee. Document should flow better and more clearly define roles, including those for Board Members and non-Board committee members. Get any additional comments or changes to Craig by March 30. Craig said that he and Daniel Kummer are working on specific draft language.
Rick Luftglass: There’s a Budget Committee? Craig: The Executive Committee is the Budget Committee. Role of Budget chair is to take the lead on budget discussions. Mark: Budget Committee is constituted of Executive Board members but it is a separate committee.
There being a quorum present, Jerry Armer made a motion to accept the minutes of the previous meeting held on February 9, 2015. Tom Miskel seconded.
MOTION APPROVED: UNANIMOUSLY
Discussion of responsibility of Board Members related to general meetings, specifically arriving late and leaving early:
Pauline: Many members do not participate actively. Craig: Officers from the dais do their best to note when members leave the meeting, but tracking isn’t infallible. Suzanne: If people were forced to sign out, they might curtail that practice. Craig: There’s no way to enforce it. If someone walks out, they walk out. Mark: Having elected at the end of the meeting should ensure moving forward that we have a quorum for the voting portion of the general meeting, which is really the major concern.
Other Business
Gary Reilly: Rick Luftglass is taking over from Richard Bashner as our delegate to the Brooklyn Bridge Park CAC.
David Mazzucca is leaving the Board at the end of this term – moving to Princeton.
Rick: Any further fallout from the withdrawal of CB2 from BBPCAC? Protest of tenor of relationship between CAC and BBP Board.
Jerry: Is this being done to forge more civil discourse? Question of absence of CB2 affecting functioning of CAC? Jerry: There hasn’t been a single issue on which Board and CAC have agreed in 18 months. Gary: Business as usual on CAC as far as CB6 is concerned.
There being no further business to come before the committee, a motion to adjourn was made by Tom Miskel.