JTF,
Inc. Board Meeting
1765
Sutter Street, Conference Room
August
26th, 2002 at 6 –8:30 p.m.
Attendees: Sheila Chung, Doug Dawkins, Seiko Fujimoto,
Judy Hamaguchi, David Ishida, Caryl Ito, Mark Moriguchi, Jeff Mori, Benh
Nakajo, Jon Osaki, Bob Otsuka, Mariko Watanabe, Chris Durazo (staff), Linda
Jofuku (staff), Yoko Tsukuda (staff), Ernie Yoshikawa (staff)
Guests: Shirley Wysinger (SFRA), Flo Yamada, Kahn
Yamada, Yo Hironaka (advisory), Karen Kai (advisory), Kathy Reyes (advisory),
Kenji Taguma (advisory), Sachiko Takita-Ishii.
Excused: Pat Shiono, Tak Matsuba.
Absent: Colin Gomez
A.
Recognition of Quorum
B.
Approval of minutes:
Minutes of July 22nd, 2002 approved with correction that Mariko Watanabe and
Jon Osaki were not absent at that meeting.
Sup. Gonzalez
has been convening meetings with the JTF, JCCCNC, and community members to
facilitate the disbursement of SB307 funds.
The Board of Supervisors will have jurisdiction over one of two optional
recommendations. One option is to set
up an advisory board under the city and county of San Francisco, under the
jurisdiction of the planning department, and under the jurisdiction of the
Landmarks Planning Advisory Board. The
second option is to select a non-profit organization, which the Task Force has
declared it’s interest in, to facilitate SB307 funds. Currently, there is a consensus that there should be a community
controlled planning body involved, but how that will occur has not been
decided. Because it is difficult to
report back on all actions and discussions that need to take place, the group
would like to be able to represent the Task Force and be able to make
recommendations on behalf of the Task Force.
Sup. Gonzalez requested a written statement from JCCCNC regarding what
they want from the process/Task Force and what the Task Force is willing to
provide. However, at these meetings,
the JCCCNC did not state what it wanted either verbally or written. The Task Force was willing to extend JCCCNC
two seats on the board, and the discussions will continue from that point.
8.1
Action Item: Motion passed that the chair
and Linda are named to represent the Task Force and that at the discretion of
the chair one or two others will represent the Task Force at discussions with
Sup. Gonzalez. (Benh Nakajo did not participate in this vote.)
Jan
Masaoka, executive director of Compasspoint has agreed to volunteer as
facilitator once again for the Task Force retreat. The purpose of the retreat will be to go back and finish plans
for the development of the organization and to determine how to develop the
community specific plan. A half-day
retreat on Saturday, October 19th at the Miyako is currently
proposed. Board members should report
back to Linda on whether or not they will be able to attend.
An amendment
to the bylaws has been suggested in part due to concern by a board member
following discussion at the SFRA hearing regarding 1600 Webster St. The concern surrounded the contradictory
viewpoints that were expressed by Task Force board members at the hearing. In order to deal with representational
issues, the board must be clear on several points. First, what may constitute a conflict of interest. Secondly, that the board is familiar with
it’s responsibilities in regards to conflict of interests to each other and to
the body. Third, that the board is
responsible for indicating when they do have a conflict of interest on any
particular issue.
Another matter is the need to clarify the rule of authority and
representation on behalf of the Task Force.
Once the board decides on a matter and has extended that to a chair, the
chair has the authorization to move on the Task Force’s behalf. Chairs of committees given authorization by
the board to act on their behalf, in addition to the executive director, shall
be the point people for that issue whose duties may be representational or
following through on a particular task.
Linda has presented a sample amendment from the National Economic
Development and Law Center that can be adapted to the Task Force’s bylaws. This matter will be sent to executive
committee.
The fundraising committee, which hasn’t been able
to meet very often needs to be reconfigured with new members who are interested
in helping achieve JTF’s fundraising goals.
Committee members will also include individuals not on the board.
D.
Staff Report
Assistant Chief Fagan has been invited to give a
presentation at a Task Force meeting to inform the public about how to report a
crime, where and when crimes have been occurring, etc. Both Japanese and English notifications
should be posted to inform the public.
In addition, Police Community Relations (PCR) meetings are held every
month at the district station, and the JTF’s public safety committee can attend
to discuss specific crimes. Karen also
adds that many business owners, especially restauranteurs, cannot make evening
meetings, and so the meeting should be scheduled accordingly.
Board
and staff members did a great job volunteering at the Japantown Task Force
booth on the weekend of August 10th and 11th.
JTF staff and board members have been helping with
the weekly Japantown Merchant’s Sweep for the past few weeks. The community is
encouraged to help sweep every Wednesday at 10am.
Steam
Cleaner Demonstration on August 29th at 9:30 am in Peace Plaza
A representative will come to Japantown with a
demonstration street cleaner to show the capabilities of a cleaner that is
being purchased with Neighborhood Beautification Funds. Tak Matsuba and Rich Hashimoto have
coordinated to have a JCGC employee to operate the machine. However, the specifics of use and renting of
the machine have yet to be worked out.
Participation
in RDA Discussion re: 1600 Webster Street
Moved
to Committee Reports
Linda
reports that the staff is currently working on a quarterly newsletter, and
invites committee chairs to contribute.
Currently, Linda will be editor, and would like board members to write
about themselves and why they joined the Task Force. Seiko has also offered to translate the newsletter into
Japanese.
Linda Emceed at the resurrection of the
I-Hotel ceremony.
The
dedication of Stuart Hall School will be taking place on Saturday, September 8th. The Task Force was very supportive of this
project, and Judi Nihei, in addition to other board members testified at the
Planning Commission to ensure that the project went through. There also were oral and written promises
made to share the space at the school with the Japantown community, and create
scholarship opportunities.
E.
Committee Reports
Communications
Committee – Seiko
JTF website is now up, with mission, reports,
meetings, minutes, history, etc.
Contributors logos will also be added to the website. New website is at www.jtowntaskforce.org
Still haven’t been able to get into contact with
Richard Shintaku, who was supposed to develop, with his students, an outreach
and marketing plan for Japantown.
Finance Committee – Bob
Fiscal Year 2002-03 Budget. The finance committee is putting together a
proposed budget. The Task Force appears
fine through January 2003 and is expecting money from JCGC. The total 2002-2003 budget comes out to
$273,805. One of the key issues brought
up to the committee is the funding cycles, since many grant application
deadlines have already passed. The JTF
will come up short, or end up thin in the last three months of the year. As such, an active funding development
committee must be created.
Business & Economic
Development Committee – Caryl
Caryl reports
that the SFRA Commission voted 5-2 to approve the project. Also, some concerns of community and
committee members were included in the Owner Participation Agreement by SFRA
staff, such as additional landscaping, cooperation during festival times, and
oversight in terms of maintenance.
Doug
apologizes to the community, board, and staff for the way in which he made his
comments at the SFRA hearing. Jon
expressed concern about how the Task Force was going to proceed, where people
did have an opportunity to express their concerns regarding what direction the
committee was taking. He also adds that
with few exceptions, board members did not come forward to support the staff,
community, and organization’s request that the Task Force had decided
upon.
Doug also adds
that there needs to be a process to accommodate dissension, so that individuals
who cannot go along with the board have a way to deal with such a dilemma.
Bob responds
that the board represents the community, and that in representing such a
diverse body, dissension is natural.
However, all points of view have to be brought to the table for discussion,
and once a decision is made, the board must commit to it and support
staff.
Flo remarks
that, in her view, it was Japantown Task Force that supported McInerney. If the Task Force is to represent the
community, they should do so in a way that reflects the feelings of the
community. She also adds that the Task
Force should have more Town Hall meetings such as the ones held in the past, to
see what the community wants. In
addition, holding such meetings could create an atmosphere in which community
members would feel more comfortable expressing their views, and could also
realize how important their perspectives are.
Jeff replies that the Task Force does intend to have more Town Hall
meetings.
Kathy states
that she agrees with Bob’s sentiments with regards to representing a group at
such a hearing. Because of the varied
groups that represent the Task Force, plenty of time should be given for
thorough discussion, and once a decision is made, then that becomes the Task
Force’s position.
Karen asks
what the board’s next step will be, in terms of this discussion. Is the Task Force going to take up it’s
policies in terms of getting broader community input, how things are presented,
and who is charged with it? Jeff
replies that this process does need to be worked out more, and the board will
be pursuing that.
Chris states
after the hearing, staff felt very demoralized in many different ways, and the
board should be aware of this. So if
there are questions about how a board member should speak, she hopes that they
think of how staff will represent the board and reinforce that at all given
times. JTF staff’s efforts to put out
information to let the community know about meetings and access information are
part of the outreach structure of the Task Force. This process needs to be reinforced in the entire community so
that the work does not become sabotaged.
Chris adds that the next step is for the committee
to reconvene, and the Task Force will have to look at the design aspects and
later on, the leasing aspect of the process, and the possibility of getting
certificate holders to consider moving there.
Karen states that there is a
concern regarding the dichotomy that develops between Kimochi and the rest of
the community. There is a strong feeling
that people don’t want to see the organization hurt because of
manipulation. One of the things the
Task Force can do is assure that the community acts together, and create a
process that builds trust.
Shirley adds
that it is important to look at the design, and that the Task Force can view
the drawings once they are submitted to the SFRA.
Mark remarks
that, in dealing with other organizations, it is important to come up with
ground rules to decide how the meeting is to proceed. If the JTF could come up with such statements, it could help keep
them from being blindsided.
F.
Other Business and
Announcements
1. The Mayor’s Office has invited the Japantown
community to sign a book to be given to NY on September 11, 2002.
2. Tall Ships Festival to be held during Labor Day
weekend. The Japanese Consulate will host an origami-making children’s booth.
3.
Pine United Methodist
Church 9-11 Remembrance: Soko Bukai is holding a service of remembrance and
hope from 7:30-8:00pm, which is open to the community, at Pine United Methodist
Church.
4. Fillmore Bridge Project: Shirley reports that the
SFRA is 8-9 months away from getting the artwork into place on the Fillmore
Bridge.
5.
Next meeting is September 23rd, 2002 at
6pm.