[00:00:01]
AND WHAT BE HEARD AT THIS POINT? GOOD MORNING.
THIS IS A CLOSED SESSION OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE EAST BAY REGIONAL PARK DISTRICT ON FEBRUARY 6TH, 2024, BEGINNING AT 1120.
AND I DO APOLOGIZE FOR THE LATE START.
[ROLL CALL]
PLEASE CALL THE ROLE? YES.GENERAL MANAGER LANDRETH HERE.
AND GENERAL COUNSEL BERGO HERE.
AND YOU DIDN'T CALL ME AND, UH, PRESIDENT ECCLES HERE.
SO, UH, DIRECTOR WASPY IS APPEARING REMOTELY TODAY.
ARE THERE ANY INDIVIDUALS 18 YEARS OR OLDER WHO ARE PRESENT WITH YOU IN YOUR ROOM TODAY? NO.
AND IT'S, WE'RE HAVING IT, YOU'RE, YOU'RE KIND OF COMING IN QUIET.
I DUNNO IF YOU WANNA ADJUST YOUR SOUND OR SOMETHING.
MADAM CLERK, CAN YOU, OH, YOU ALREADY CALLED THE ROLE.
SO, UM, SO ARE THERE ANY PUBLIC COMMENTS ON THE CLOSED SESSION? AGENDA ITEMS? NO.
[CLOSED SESSION ITEMS]
WE WILL GO TO CLOSED SESSION AND, UM, I DO WANT TO ALSO ANNOUNCE THAT WE WILL BEGINNING OUR OPEN SESSION AT ONE 30 TODAY.UM, GIVEN THAT WE HAVE A LOT TO COVER IN OUR CLOSED SESSION.
WE, THIS IS THE REGULAR BOARD MEETING OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE EAST BAY REGIONAL PARK DISTRICT ON FEBRUARY 6TH, 2024, BEGINNING AT 1 34.
AND WE DO APOLOGIZE FOR THE DELAY IN STARTING TODAY.
[ROLL CALL]
CLERK, CAN YOU PLEASE DO A ROLL CALL? YES.GENERAL MANAGER LANDRETH HERE.
AND GENERAL COUNSEL VIRGO HERE.
DIRECTOR SAN JUAN, CAN YOU PLEASE LEAD US IN THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE? ALRIGHT.
IT'S TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, WHICH STANDS? NATION.
[LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT]
CAN YOU PLEASE READ OUR LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT? SURE.WE HUMBLY ACKNOWLEDGE THAT WE ARE ON THE UNSEATED LANDS OF THE OHLONE PEOPLE AND THAT THE EAST BAY REGIONAL PARK DISTRICT HEADQUARTERS IS LOCATED WITHIN THE HUAN TERRITORY, WHICH IS THEIR TRADITIONAL ANCESTRAL AND SHARED HOME.
SINCE TIME IMMEMORIAL, THE OHLONE PEOPLE HAVE AND CONTINUE TO LIVE IN RECIPROCITY WITH NATURE, UNDERSTANDING THE SEASONS AND CYCLES OF THE NATURAL WORLD, MANAGING RESOURCES FUNDAMENTAL FOR SURVIVAL, AND IMPORTANT TO CULTURAL PRACTICES, ALL WHILE PASSING DOWN THEIR KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERTISE.
WE HONOR WITH GRATITUDE, THE LAND ITSELF, THE WILDLIFE LIVING IN THESE LANDS, AND THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE STEWARDED IT AND WHO CONTINUE TO REMAIN DEEPLY CONNECTED TO IT TODAY.
DIRECTOR WASPY IS APPEARING REMOTELY TODAY.
UH, SO I NEED TO ASK DIRECTOR, WASPY, ARE THERE ANY INDIVIDUALS 18 YEARS OF AGE OR, UH, OLDER
[APPROVAL OF AGENDA]
A MOTION TO APPROVE THE AGENDA? THANK YOU.DO WE HAVE ANY SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS TODAY? NO, WE DON'T PRESENT.
[PUBLIC COMMENT]
PUBLIC COMMENTS? NOT ON THE AGENDA? UM, YES.[00:05:01]
ECCLES, WE HAVE SOMEONE IN THE ZOOM ROOM.AND WE ALSO HAVE RENEE PATTERSON IN THE, IN THE ACTUAL BOARDROOM.
SO WHAT'S YOUR PREFERENCE? UM, I THINK WE'LL TAKE MR. DYSON.
'CAUSE I UNDERSTAND HE'S BEEN WAITING FOR US FOR A WHILE.
MR. DYSON, YOU HAVE THREE MINUTES, SIR.
MR. DYSON, CAN YOU HEAR ME? GOT PROMOTED.
WE CAN GO AHEAD AND START WITH MS. PATTERSON AND THEN HOPEFULLY HE'LL GET ONLINE.
OH, HE'S ACTUALLY IN THE ROOM.
MR. DYSON, CAN YOU HEAR ME? OKAY, WE'RE GONNA HOLD YOU AND THEN WE'RE GONNA GO WITH RENEE.
YOU HAVE THREE MINUTES, RENEE.
UM, GOOD AFTERNOON, BOARD OF DIRECTORS.
I'M AN ADMIN ANALYST IN BUSINESS SERVICES, WHICH IS PART OF OPERATIONS.
AND I WORK HERE AT PERALTA OAKS ON THE THIRD FLOOR ALMOST EVERY SINGLE DAY YOU CAN SEE ME THERE.
I MEAN, I FLEX ONCE EVERY OTHER WEEK.
SO I'M HERE TODAY TO REMIND YOU THAT WE HAVE A PERPS FILING AND IT'S IN RELATION TO TELECOMMUNICATING.
BUT MY POINT THAT I WANNA MAKE IS THAT THERE WAS A PERPS FILING DONE BY AFSCME FOR UNFAIR PRACTICE CHARGE ON AUGUST 26TH, 2022.
THE CHARGES FOR BAD FAITH, BARGAINING INTERFERENCE, DIRECT DEALING, UNILATERAL IMPLEMENTATION.
THIS IS WITH PERS, THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA PUBLIC EMPLOYEE BOARD.
SO AGAIN, THIS WAS FILED ON AUGUST 26TH, 2022.
STILL, AS FAR AS I KNOW, NOTHING HAS HAPPENED WITH THIS, UM, ON PART OF HERBS OR AFSCME OR THE BOARD.
SO I JUST COME TO REMIND YOU 'CAUSE I DON'T WANT YOU TO FORGET.
SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR TIME.
CAN YOU HEAR ME? MR. DYSON? OH, HELLO? OH, GOOD.
MR. DYSON, CAN YOU HEAR ME? THANK YOU.
UM, THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME BACK, UH, TO THE BOARD.
AND, UM, SO I JUST WANNA PICK UP FROM WHERE WE LEFT OFF LAST TIME.
I WON'T BELABOR YOU WITH, UM, THE DETAILS OF MY TENT BEING ESSENTIALLY DESTROYED BY THE CHABOT STAFF.
UM, SO THE, THE, THE DAY THAT I WENT TO THE, THIS WAS BACK IN JULY OF 23, THE DAY I WENT TO THE, UH, CHABOT HEADQUARTERS THERE AND MET WITH APRIL.
UM, SHE FOLLOWED UP WITH AN EMAIL AND, UM, I SUBMITTED THAT TO YOLANDA YESTERDAY, WHICH I ASSUME YOU'LL HAVE A COPY OF, BUT I'LL JUST GO OVER QUICKLY.
IT SAYS, I SPOKE WITH CHRISTOPHER PERCH WHO WORKS IN OUR RISK DEPARTMENT, AND HE SAID THAT YOU CAN PURCHASE A NEW TENT, ATTACH THE RECEIPT TO THE CLAIM FORM AND MAIL EVERYTHING INTO THE PARK DISTRICT AND YOU'LL BE REIMBURSED.
UM, I MET THOSE REQUIREMENTS, UH, ON, I THINK IT WAS JULY 18TH, OR, YOU KNOW, AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.
IT WAS WITHIN A WEEK OR TWO OF THE DESTRUCTION OF MY TENT.
UM, SO I'M WAITING FOR PAYMENT AND I CAN'T BE ANY CLEARER, UM, WITH REGARDS
[00:10:01]
TO WHAT I'M SEEKING AND WHAT WAS STATED BY THE PARKS AND THAT I'VE KEPT MY PART OF THE AGREEMENT.AND I WOULD APPRECIATE IT IF THE PARKS WOULD DO THE SAME.
THANK YOU, MR. IN A TIMELY MANNER.
WE'VE SINCE HAD ANOTHER SPEAKER COME INTO THE ROOM.
AND I WOULD JUST LIKE TO REQUEST, UM, FROM STAFF IF SOMEONE COULD FOLLOW UP AND GIVE HIM A STATUS REPORT OF WHAT'S GOING ON EITHER, IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE RIGHT NOW, BUT EITHER BY EMAIL OR NOW.
IF YOU HAVE ONE, I ABSOLUTELY CAN DO THAT.
I I HAVE NEVER RECEIVED ANY RESPONSES TO MY CORRESPONDENCE WITH MR. DYSON, BUT I'D BE HAPPY TO EMAIL HIM AGAIN.
UM, I, CAN I JUST ADD THAT, UM, MR. MR. DYSON, YOU, Y'ALL DYS STATED IN THE TERMS. CAN YOU HELP ME, MR. DYSON? MM-HMM.
UM, IF A COUPLE OF THINGS THAT ARE, UH, NOT ON THE, UH, AGENDA TODAY.
NUMBER ONE IS, UH, THERE SEEMS TO BE, UH, NO ITEMS OF BUSINESS THAT ARE NOT ON THE CONSENT CALENDAR.
VERY UNUSUAL FOR A PUBLIC AGENCY, ESPECIALLY FOR THE EAST BAY REGIONAL PARK DISTRICT BOARD OF DIRECTORS, TO NOT HAVE ANY, ANYTHING TO DISCUSS.
IT'S ALL GONNA BE JUST, UH, YOU KNOW, LET'S, UH, LET'S, LET'S THROW IT ON THE CONSENT CALENDAR AND LET'S ALL VOTE TO APPROVE IT.
ONE OF THE ITEMS ON THE CONSENT CALENDAR THAT YOU MIGHT, UH, LOOK AT IS, UH, THIS, UH, CHENARD, UH, UH, UH, PROPERTY.
AND IF YOU LOOK AT THE MAP, IT CONNECTS TWO GIANT PROPERTIES THAT ARE ACTUALLY LAND BANKS.
AND THIS IS, UH, SINCE WE WERE TALKING ABOUT LAND USE A FEW DAYS AGO, THIS LAND USE THING, UH, THIS PARK DISTRICT HAS A, SEEMS TO HAVE A, A VERY RIGOROUS AND VERY STRICT, UM, PROCEDURE FOR ACQUIRING LANDS.
BUT THEN ONCE YOU'VE ACQUIRED THEM, UH, WHAT ABOUT 25% OF YOUR ACREAGE GOES INTO LAND BANK? AND THE PARK DISTRICT'S, UH, MEANING OF BANK IS A VERY, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, VERY KIND OF AMATEUR MEANING OF BANK.
MOST PEOPLE THINK THAT A BANK, THEY, IT IS LIKE A PIGGY BANK AND THEY KEEP YOUR MONEY.
UM, ACTUALLY THEY TURN AROUND AND LEND IT OUT.
IT'S CALLED FRACTIONAL RESERVE BANKING IS WHAT'S BEEN DOING WHAT PEOPLE DO NOWADAYS, HOW ALL THE BANKS WORK IN A MODERN ECONOMY.
YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU LAND BANK THINGS, UM, YOU COULD, UH, YOU KNOW, DO CATTLE GRAZING OR, UH, YOU COULD PULL IT OUT OF THE LAND BANK AND YOU COULD LET PEOPLE DO RECREATION, WHICH IS WHAT YOU TOLD THEM YOU WOULD BE DOING WHEN YOU PURCHASED IT.
SO IT'D BE NICE TO HAVE LIKE A RIGOROUS SYSTEM OF ACCOUNTING FOR YOUR LAND BANKS.
LIKE WHEN DID YOU BUY THAT? WHEN DID YOU ACQUIRE THEM? LIKE, WHAT WAS THE ORIGINAL PURPOSE OF THAT LAND BANK? LIKE WHEN, WHEN YOU ACQUIRED IT, WHAT WAS YOUR SCHEDULE? YOU KNOW, WHAT DID YOU INTEND TO DO WITH IT AND WHEN DID YOU INTEND TO DO IT? UM, YOU KNOW, WE ALL KNOW WHAT, WHAT THAT IS.
YOU KNOW, WE ALL KNOW IT'S GONNA BE, UH, UH, UH, THE PARCEL'S GONNA BE TURNED INTO A PARK AND IT'S GONNA BE, UH, ACCESS IS GONNA BE, UH, FIGURED OUT AND, AND IT'S GONNA BE, UH, INTEGRATED INTO A REGIONAL PARK.
AND WE ALL EXPECT THAT TO HAPPEN WITHIN 10 OR 15 YEARS.
SO, UH, LET'S GO BACK AND, AND, AND DO THAT STEP BY STEP FOR OUR, UH, FOR ALL, ALL THE LAND BANK PROPERTIES AND, UH, YOU KNOW, BRING THEM UNDER, UNDER STRICT MANAGEMENT INSTEAD OF JUST LEAVING THEM OUT THERE TO, YOU KNOW, UNMANAGED TO FEND FOR THEMSELVES WITH THESE BLANKET EXEMP EXEMPTIONS AND BEING IGNORED.
THAT'S THE END OF THE PUBLIC COMMENT.
PRESIDENT NICHOLS, THERE'S NO MORE PUBLIC COMMENT.
SO DO WE HAVE ANY ANNOUNCEMENTS THAT GENERAL COUNSEL FORGO? NO.
[CONSENT CALENDAR]
MOVE ON TO THE CONSENT CALENDAR.I UNDERSTAND THAT WE HAVE A COUPLE DIRECTORS WHO WANTED TO PULL ITEM 11.
UM, SO WE WILL
AND, UM, DID YOU, DID EITHER OF YOU WANNA SAY ANYTHING ABOUT IT OR DID YOU JUST WANNA GO STRAIGHT TO THE PRESENTATION? UH, PRESENTATION PLEASE.
SO I UNDERSTAND WE HAVE A PRESENTATION ON THIS ITEM.
UM, PRESIDENT ECKLES, MAY I SUGGEST THAT YOU, UM, CONSIDER THE CONSENT CALENDAR? LIKE PULL THIS ITEM, OH, PULL THIS ITEM AND DO THE REST.
AND THEN, SO GO AHEAD AND YOU GOT IT OKAY.
ON THE CONSENT CALENDAR, AND THEN WE, WE CAN MOVE TO THAT SOUNDS LIKE A GREAT RECOMMENDATION.
SO, DO I HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE CONSENT CALENDAR? MINUS ITEM 11? I'LL MAKE THAT MO MOTION.
[00:15:01]
OKAY.WE HAVE A, A MOTION AND A SECOND.
ALL OPPOSED? ABSTENTIONS? NONE.
SO WE CAN PROCEED WITH OUR PRESENTATION ON ITEM NUMBER 11.
IF I MAY, I'D JUST LIKE TO READ WHAT THAT ITEM IS FOR THE GENERAL PUBLIC.
THAT'S APPROVAL OF INVESTMENT POLICY STATEMENT AND PROPOSED FUND LINEUP FOR DEFERRED COMPENSATION PLANS, WHICH IS RIGHT.
I'M DEBORAH SPALDING, ASSISTANT FINANCE OFFICER, AND AS YOLANDA JUST SAID, THIS IS APPROVAL OF THE INVESTMENT POLICY STATEMENT AND THE PROPOSED FUND LINEUP FOR OUR DEFERRED COMPENSATION PLANS.
UH, I'M GONNA PROVIDE YOU WITH SOME CONTEXT AND AN OVERVIEW, AND THEN WE HAVE, UH, BILL THORNTON, WHO'S HERE FROM EMPOWER, AND HE'S GOING TO, UH, GET INTO SOME MORE DETAIL ABOUT THE, UH, THE INVESTMENTS THAT ARE, UM, LISTED AS AS, UM, BEING OFFERED TO THE PARTICIPANTS.
SO, FIRST, IF I CAN ADVANCE MY SLIDE HERE.
FIRST I WANNA GIVE YOU SOME CONTEXT ABOUT WHY, WHY WE ARE DOING THIS AND, AND HOW WE GOT HERE.
SO, LAST YEAR, FOR SOME REASON, I'M NOT ABLE TO ADVANCE.
UH, LAST YEAR WE DID AN RFP AND THANK YOU.
I'M NOT SURE WHY I CAN DO THAT.
LAST YEAR WE DID AN RFP FOR OUR DEFERRED COMP PLAN ADMINISTRATOR AND RECORD KEEPER.
UM, AND THIS REALLY IS A BEST PRACTICE.
UH, IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE HADN'T DONE SINCE 1981, AND WE'VE BEEN WITH, UH, OUR, OUR OLD FIRM MISSION SQUARE SINCE 1981.
AND SO I THINK IT REALLY WAS, UM, SURPRISING FOR PEOPLE THAT, THAT THIS WAS HAPPENING, BUT IT'S REALLY A BEST PRACTICE.
SO WE WANTED TO LEARN ABOUT THE POSSIBLE ALTERNATIVES FOR PLANNED PARTICIPANTS.
AND BOTTOM LINE, WE REALLY SHOULD BE LOOKING FOR THE BEST POSSIBLE FEES AND, UH, SERVICES FOR THE PLAN PARTICIPANTS.
AND SO THAT BRINGS US TO WHERE WE ARE TODAY, WHERE WE NEED THIS INVESTMENT POLICY STATEMENT.
SO WHY DO WE NEED ONE NOW? AND WE HAVEN'T HAD ONE IN THE PAST.
SO WITH MISSION SQUARE, WE JUST HAD THEIR SET FUND A LINEUP.
WE DID NOT HAVE, UH, ANY CHOICES.
SO THEY PROVIDE THE SAME FUND LINEUP TO EVERYONE THROUGHOUT THEIR COUNTRY.
SO WE DON'T HAVE ANY, UH, OPTIONS.
WITH THE EMPOWER MODEL, WE NOW HAVE INVESTMENT OPTIONS.
SO WE CAN CHOOSE WHAT INVESTMENTS WE WANT TO HAVE AND TAILOR THAT FOR OUR PLANNED PARTICIPANTS, LOOKING FOR LOWER FEES AND BETTER INVESTMENT PERFORMANCE.
SO WE HAVE THIS IPS THAT GIVES DIRECTION TO EMPOWER TO HELP THEM, UH, PROVIDE THE RIGHT INVESTMENTS TO OUR PARTICIPANTS.
SO, WHAT'S INCLUDED SO THAT THE WHOLE IPS IS IN YOUR PACKET, BUT JUST KIND OF BROADLY WALKING YOU THROUGH WHAT'S, WHAT'S IN IT? SO WE HAVE INVESTMENT OBJECTIVES, WHICH TALK ABOUT LIKE WHAT WE'RE, WHAT WE WOULD LIKE EMPOWERED TO, UM, ACHIEVE FOR OUR PARTICIPANTS.
UH, THE ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES, WHO DOES WHAT FOR THE INVESTMENTS, UH, THE MANAGEMENT AND ADMINISTRATION, UM, HOW WE'RE GOING TO SELECT OUR INVESTMENTS ONCE WE'VE SELECTED THEM.
HOW ARE WE GONNA MEASURE THEM AND HOW WELL THEY'RE DOING.
UM, WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO IF AN INVESTMENT DOESN'T MEET OUR STANDARDS? UM, MAKING SURE THAT WE HAVE DIVERSE INVESTMENTS FOR PARTICIPANTS.
AND THEN LASTLY, UM, WHAT DO WE DO IF A PLAN PARTICIPANT HASN'T SELECTED INVESTMENT, THERE'LL BE A DEFAULT, UH, INVESTMENT FOR THEM.
AND SO ANOTHER QUESTION YOU MIGHT BE ASKING YOURSELF IS, HOW IS THE BOARD GOING TO HAVE THIS FIDUCIARY RESPONSIBILITY? HOW ARE THEY GONNA WATCH OVER THE PLAN INVESTMENT? SO THIS IS EXCERPTED FROM THE IPS.
UH, THE BOARD WILL CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE SUITABILITY OF THE INVESTMENT OPTIONS BY MEETING PERIODICALLY, AT LEAST ANNUALLY.
UM, IT COULD BE MORE OFTEN THAN THAT TO REVIEW THE INVESTMENTS.
AND, UM, WE'LL DO THAT WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF AN INVESTMENT ADVISOR.
UM, SO WE HAVE BILL HERE TODAY.
UM, AND THEN EMPOWER ALSO IS GOING TO SERVE AS CO-FIDUCIARY, UH, FOR OUR INVESTMENTS AND MAKING SURE THAT THEY ARE ALSO PAYING ATTENTION TO THE INVESTMENTS WE'VE SELECTED AND MAKING SURE THAT THEY'RE PERFORMING AS EXPECTED.
I'M GONNA TURN IT OVER TO BILL NOW.
AS AS, AS DEB MENTIONED, I'M BILL THORNTON WITH EMPOWER INVESTMENTS.
I WILL BE YOUR INVESTMENT DIRECTOR GOING FORWARD.
SO, UM, ON THE PREVIOUS SLIDE WHERE WE SAID, YOU KNOW, AT LEAST ANNUALLY WE WOULD, UH, SIT DOWN, GO THROUGH THE INVESTMENTS, GO THROUGH THE, THE REGULAR INVESTMENT REPORT.
I'LL BE THE ONE WALKING YOU THROUGH THAT.
UM, I, THE OFFICIAL LANGUAGE IS AT LEAST ANNUALLY, MY SUGGESTION WOULD BE PROBABLY SEMI-ANNUALLY.
UM, SO YOU CAN SEE PERFORMANCE AND, AND CHARACTERISTICS OF ALL THE FUNDS.
BUT, UH, A FORMAL REVIEW, PROBABLY SEMI-ANNUALLY,
[00:20:01]
MY SUGGEST, BUT CERTAINLY IF YOU'D LIKE THAT MORE FREQUENTLY, WE, WE CAN DO THAT.SO IN TERMS OF THE INVESTMENT LINEUP, AS, AS DEB MENTIONED, YOU KNOW, IT'S A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT WITH THAN WITH MISSION SQUARE.
UM, WITH EMPOWER, YOU'RE NOT ON A A, A GROUP ANNUITY CONTRACT FOR THE ENTIRE LINEUP.
SO, SO, UH, WITH MISSION SQUARE, THEY'VE REALLY HAD CONTROL OF EVERYTHING IN THE LINEUP.
UM, IN THIS CASE, UM, ULTIMATELY THE BOARD HAS THAT, THAT FINAL CONTROL, WHICH GIVES YOU A LOT MORE FLEXIBILITY, UM, AS AN ADVANTAGE.
THE OTHER BIG ADVANTAGE IS FROM A COST STANDPOINT, UH, GROUP ANNUITY CONTRACTS VERY COMMON FOR, FOR SMALLER PLANS, PLANS THAT ARE JUST STARTING OUT.
BUT TYPICALLY, ONCE YOU GET TO A A CERTAIN AMOUNT IN, IN ASSETS, YOU TYPICALLY COME OFF OF THAT BECAUSE THEY DO TEND TO BE A LITTLE BIT EX OF EXPENSE, UH, A LITTLE BIT EXPENSIVE.
SO JUST, UM, THIS SLIDE IS JUST A, A LITTLE BIT OF A, OF A GRAPH OF, OF HOW MUCH, JUST A SMALL CHANGE IN EXPENSE CAN, CAN ULTIMATELY COST A PARTICIPANT, UM, IN THIS CHART, JUST LOOKING AT, YOU KNOW, A DIFFERENCE OF, UH, A QUARTER OF A POINT 25 BASIS POINTS AND, AND, AND, UH, THE CHANGE THAT CAN ULTIMATELY HAVE ON A, ON A, ON A PARTICIPANT, UM, JUST IN, IN COMPARISON.
SO THE, UH, PROPOSED LINEUP THAT, THAT WE'VE PUT TOGETHER GOING FORWARD, UM, IS, UH, ABOUT 12 BASIS POINTS LESS ON, ON A WEIGHTED AVERAGE THAN THE CURRENT MISSION SQUARE, UM, UH, LINEUP.
AND IN TERMS OF ACTUAL DOLLARS, THAT EQUATES TO A LITTLE OVER $200,000 A YEAR IN PARTICIPANT SAVINGS.
UM, SO OUR GOAL WITH THAT LINEUP IS CERTAINLY COST SAVINGS, BUT WE WANT TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE PARTICIPANTS THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE ANYWHERE ALONG THE RISK RETURN SPECTRUM FOR WHERE THEY NEED TO BE FOR THEIR, THEIR INDIVIDUAL ALLOCATION.
UH, THAT NEXT SLIDE IS JUST LOOKING AT, UM, TO SEE AN EYE TEST FOR THE SMALL PRINT AT LEAST.
UM, SO THIS IS LOOKING AT, UM, THE CURRENT LINEUP ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE PAGE.
THOSE ARE EACH OF THE FUNDS IN THE LINEUP, THE DOLLAR AMOUNTS IN THERE, UH, THE EXPENSE RATIO OF THAT FUND.
AND JUST COMPARING THAT TO THE PROPOSED LINEUP WITH EMPOWER.
UM, SO WE'VE, UH, ON THE, ON THE FAR RIGHT, AND I KNOW IT'S, IT'S, IT'S VERY HARD TO SEE, BUT THERE ARE, UM, THAT'S NOT A SEPARATE FUND.
EACH ONE, THERE ARE, THERE ARE SOME REPEAT FUNDS IN THERE.
UM, BUT ULTIMATELY, IF, IF YOU CAN SEE ON THE VERY BOTTOM, CURRENTLY THE COST IS A ABOUT 600,590,000.
I THINK TO PARTICIPANTS, UM, GOING FORWARD, THAT WOULD BE CLOSER TO ABOUT 370,000.
SO AGAIN, A, A A, A GOOD NUMBER OF FUNDS, UM, BUT FROM A COST STANDPOINT, MORE ADVANTAGEOUS.
THE OTHER THING THAT WE, UH, NORMALLY TRY TO DO IS TO MAKE IT A LITTLE BIT MORE EFFICIENT.
IF THERE'S ONE THING THAT WE'VE SEEN IN THE INDUSTRY OVER THE PAST DECADE OR SO, IS A, A CERTAIN, A, A, A VERY PREVALENT EMPHASIS ON COST, BUT ALSO MAKING THINGS A LITTLE EASIER FOR PARTICIPANTS.
SO THE, UH, COLUMN ON THE LEFT IS THE CURRENT FUND LINEUP.
COLUMN ON THE RIGHT IS THE PROPOSED FUND LINEUP.
SO REALLY ALL WE'VE DONE IS JUST ELIMINATE SOME REDUNDANCIES.
CURRENTLY YOU'VE GOT, YOU KNOW, SOME CATEGORIES WHERE YOU MIGHT HAVE TWO OR THREE OPTIONS IN THAT SAME CATEGORY.
SO WE'RE JUST TRYING TO MAKE THINGS EASIER FOR PARTICIPANTS.
SO AGAIN, A REALLY ROBUST LINEUP, UM, THAT PARTICIPANTS CAN BE ANYWHERE ON THAT RISK RETURN SPECTRUM.
UH, WE DID HEAR THAT, UM, ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL AND GOVERNANCE STANDARDS ARE VERY IMPORTANT TO THE PARTICIPANTS.
SO WE DO HAVE OPTIONS ALONG THAT LINE, UH, MULTIPLE FUNDS WITHIN THAT ESG LINEUP SO THEY CAN, UM, UH, AGAIN, HAVE A A A A ANYWHERE.
THEY WANNA BE ON THAT, ON THAT ALLOCATION SPECTRUM.
UM, BUT ENTIRELY ON THE, ON THE ESG FRONT TOO.
SO THAT'S KIND OF THE PROPOSED LINEUP.
UM, AGAIN, WE THINK IT'S VERY ROBUST, UM, BUT SOMETHING THAT I THINK IS GONNA BE VERY BENEFICIAL FOR THE, FOR PARTICIPANTS.
ARE THERE QUESTIONS FROM THE BOARD? OKAY, DR.
UM, JUST THE TIMING OF THE TRANSITION 'CAUSE IT IS HAPPENING, HAPPENING RATHER QUICKLY.
SO, UH, TODAY'S THE ADOPTION OF THE INVESTMENT POLICY STATEMENT AND FUND LINEUP, I HOPE.
UM, AND THEN, THEN THERE'S, UH, THE 21ST IS A, A PLANNED BLACKOUT DATE.
SO NO MORE TRADING CAN HAPPEN.
UM, FUNDS WILL BE LIQUIDATED AND TRANSFERRED AND REINVESTED WITHIN EMPOWER.
AND THEN THE PORTAL WILL BECOME AVAILABLE TO PLAN PARTICIPANTS THE WEEK OF MARCH 11TH.
SO THEY'RE GONNA BE DOING A LOT OF SETUP ON THEIR END.
AND THEN WE'RE GONNA BE OFFERING TRAINING, UH, TO PARTICIPANTS AND RETIREES THE WEEK OF MARCH 18TH.
[00:25:01]
DIRECTOR ROSARIO.THANK YOU FOR, UM, FOR INDULGING MY REQUEST HERE.
UH, 'CAUSE I, I HAD, I HAD SOME CONCERNS ABOUT, UM, UH, CROSSING OVER FROM ONE PLANT TO ANOTHER.
AND, UM, I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT YOUR STAFF WAS GONNA BE ABLE TO, UH, HANDLE REQUESTS, UH, FROM IN INDIVIDUAL RETIREES ABOUT, ABOUT THEIR ACCOUNTS AND, AND HOW THEY, UH, AND, AND HOW THEY COMPARE WITH, WITH THEIR CURRENT, UH, INVESTMENT.
WHAT WE HAVE, UM, UH, UH, A REPRESENTATIVE OF WHAT WE CALL A RETIREMENT PLAN ADVISOR.
SO, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE KIND OF OUR, OUR BOOTS ON THE GROUND HERE.
UH, SO THEY'LL BE AVAILABLE FOR ANY AND ALL QUESTIONS ON A, UH, TO SIT DOWN FACE TO FACE OR VIRTUALLY IF THAT'S EASIER FOR, FOR PARTICIPANTS.
UM, BUT YEAH, CERTAINLY AT THAT LEVEL.
UM, QUESTIONS, IF THERE'S QUESTIONS FROM THE PLAN LEVEL, FROM THE BOARD, FROM LYNN, FROM DEB, UM, WE HAVE ME ON THE INVESTMENT SIDE.
UH, WE HAVE ANOTHER PERSON WHO WILL BE THE ACTUAL RELATIONSHIP MANAGER, BOB GLEASON, WHO, UH, LIVES A LITTLE BIT NORTH OF HERE, A LITTLE BIT OUT OUTSIDE OF SACRAMENTO.
UM, BUT I THINK ON, ON ALL LEVELS WE SHOULD HAVE, WE SHOULDN'T HAVE EVERYTHING COVERED AS FAR AS QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS.
AND THEN, UM, THEN REGARDING THE, UH, PRESENTATIONS TO THE BOARD, IS THAT GONNA COME TO FINANCE COMMITTEE OR IS IT GONNA COME TO THE FULL BOARD FOR THOSE UPDATES? I'LL DO THOSE UPDATES FOR WHOEVER WANTS THEM
SO, UM, AND I'M HAPPY TO DO AS MANY UPDATES AS YOU WANT IF THERE'S DIFFERENT COMMITTEES AND, AND, AND BOARDS, UH, INVOLVED, CERTAINLY HOWEVER YOU WOULD LIKE.
UM, AND I CAN DO THOSE, I DO THOSE FOR, FOR MULTIPLE BOARDS.
I CAN, THAT CAN BE 15 MINUTES, THAT CAN BE 40 MINUTES.
SO, SO ABSOLUTELY I'LL TAILOR THAT TO WHATEVER, WHATEVER YOU GUYS NEED.
UM, BUT JUST KNOW THAT WE ARE MONITORING FUNDS, YOU KNOW, KIND OF BEHIND THE SCENES AND, AND, AND BRINGING THAT TO, TO THE BOARD'S ATTENTION WHENEVER YOU WOULD LIKE.
GREAT DIRECTOR, ROSARIO, JUST TO SUPPLEMENT, UM, BASED ON OUR KNOWLEDGE OF THE WAY THAT THE COMMITTEE STRUCTURE VERSUS THE BOARD STRUCTURE, UM, EMPOWER WILL BE PRESENTING TO THE FULL BOARD, UM, ON THE SCHEDULE THAT, THAT YOU DETERMINE IS APPROPRIATE.
IF YOU WANT SOMETHING TO GO TO THE FINANCE COMMITTEE JUST FOR EXTRA, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT YOU CAN DO.
BUT THE FULL BOARD WILL BE GETTING THE UPDATES.
I'M, I'M JUST, UH, UH, I THINK THIS IS REALLY, THIS IS REALLY GOOD, A GOOD CHANGE FOR THE PARK DISTRICT.
'CAUSE I DON'T RECALL EVER GETTING REPORTS FROM EITHER MISSION SQUARE OR, UH, ICMA OR TRANSAMERICA FOR THAT MATTER,
SO, UH, UH, I, I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO THE TRANSITION.
YOU CAN GO AHEAD, DIRECTOR MECHI.
UM, I WANTED TO FOCUS ON THE, THE ACTUAL POLICY LANGUAGE.
UM, I WAS VERY IMPRESSED WITH, IT'S LIKE EVERY POSSIBLE QUESTION THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE IS, IS CONTAINED IN THERE.
AND SO IT LEAVES, IT SPELLS OUT EVERYTHING AND, AND DOESN'T LEAVE ANY ROOM FOR ANY MISUNDERSTANDING OR, OR VAGUENESS.
BUT I WAS CONCERNED ABOUT THE WORDING IN TERMS OF WHAT THE BOARD IS ACTUALLY DIRECTLY RESPONSIBLE FOR.
AND MAYBE I'M JUST, MY LITERAL MIND IS JUST TOO, TOO, UM, TAKEN THIS TOO IN A, IN THE WRONG WAY.
BUT THERE'S LANGUAGE IN HERE THAT SAYS THE BOARD WILL SELECT THE ASSET CLASSES AND INVESTMENT STYLES TO BE INCLUDED IN THE INVESTMENT OPTIONS TO BE OFFERED.
AND, YOU KNOW, I DON'T, I WASN'T, I DON'T, I DON'T KNOW HOW, HOW THAT COULD BE TRUE AT, AS IT STANDS NOW, BUT LATER ON IN HERE, THE SOLUTION WOULD SEEM TO BE WORDING SUCH AS THE BOARD WILL, WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF THE INVESTMENT ADVISOR OR OTHER QUALIFIED ADVISORS DO, DO, DO, DO.
SO, UM, IS, ISN'T THAT SOMETHING WE SHOULD BE CONCERNED ABOUT? THAT, THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT, THAT, THAT, UH, IT'S, IT'S SAYING THINGS THAT WE DON'T DO AND YET THERE IS AN OPTION TO CHANGE THE WORDING TO, TO MAKE IT MORE ACCURATE AS TO WHAT REALLY HAPPENS.
YEAH, I, I THINK WE COULD CHANGE THE WORDING.
I AM LOOKING OVER AT LYNN, UM, TO, UH, TO AMEND IT, TO ADD THAT WITH THE, WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF AN INVESTMENT ADVISOR.
AND THAT, I THINK WOULD CLARIFY.
AND, UH, I'LL JUST ADD THAT, UM, TODAY YOU ARE SELECTING THOSE FUNDS, YOU KNOW, WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF AN INVESTMENT ADVISOR.
SO, UM, SO THAT YOU, I GUESS I'M JUST SAYING THAT YOU ARE ACTUALLY MAKING THE SELECTION, EVEN THOUGH YOU MAYBE DON'T FEEL LIKE YOU'RE PICKING AND CHOOSING, BUT BY APPROVING TODAY'S, UM, ACTION, YOU ARE MAKING THAT SELECTION.
DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? KIND OF SORTA, YEAH.
FIND THAT LANGUAGE IN THERE TO
[00:30:01]
BE NOT AS ACCURATE AS IT COULD BE.THAT'S ALL, THAT'S ALL I'M SAYING.
DO YOU HAVE A SUGGESTION THAT YOU WOULD, THAT YOU'D LIKE TO YEAH, I, EVERY TIME IT SAYS THE BOARD WILL DO SOMETHING I THINK WE SHOULD ADD WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF THE INVESTMENT ADVISOR OR OTHER QUALIFIED ADVISOR.
AND THERE'S A FEW PLACES IN THERE WHERE IT SAYS THAT, AT LEAST ONE THAT I'M LOOKING AT, THAT I HIGHLIGHTED HERE.
AND MAYBE THIS IS SOMETHING WE DO, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, TWO MONTHS FROM NOW OR SOMETHING.
BUT I'M JUST RAISING THE QUESTION RIGHT NOW BECAUSE IT WAS IN MY PACKET AND I READ IT AND I SAW IT AND I JUST DIDN'T WANNA IGNORE IT.
SO FIRST OF ALL, I WANNA SAY THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR READING IT CAREFULLY, UM, BECAUSE THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT IS INTENDED FOR YOU TO DO.
UM, WE HAD SOME DISCUSSIONS BEFORE, UM, YOU, WE HAD THIS, THE CURRENT SELECTION HERE OF, OF WHO'S ON THE BOARD ABOUT WHO THE FIDUCIARY IS FOR THE DEFERRED COMPENSATION PLANS.
AND, UM, THE BOARD, IT IS THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS.
WE ARE COMPLETELY OPEN TO DISCUSSING WHETHER OR NOT THAT SHOULD BE, WHETHER THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS IS THE APPROPRIATE PARTY.
UM, AND SO THERE'S DIFFERENT WAYS IN WHICH WE CAN GIVE THE BOARD SUPPORT.
THERE'S TRAINING, THERE'S, UH, CONTRACTING WITH AN INVESTMENT ADVISOR, THE PREFERRED OPTION, AND WHAT WE, UH, RECOMMENDED A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO WAS THAT WE SET UP AN ACTUAL FIDUCIARY COMMITTEE, AND THAT COMMITTEE WOULD HAVE PEOPLE WHO HAVE EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE THAT, UM, LEADS THEM TO BE THE APPROPRIATE FIDUCIARY FOR THIS TYPE OF A, UM, PLAN OR OUR PLANS.
AND SO THAT WOULD BE, FOR INSTANCE, IT WOULD BE THE AG GM OF HR, THE CFO OR AG GM OF FINANCE, ME, THE GENERAL COUNSEL, SABRINA OR HER EE, BUT IT WOULD BE PEOPLE THAT HAVE THE KIND OF EXPERIENCE THAT YOU WOULD WANT TO BE OVERSEEING THIS TYPE OF PLAN.
AND WE DID RECOMMEND THAT A COUPLE YEARS AGO.
IT, IT WASN'T TAKEN UP, BUT I WOULD DEFINITELY RECOMMEND THAT WE CONSIDER DOING THAT AGAIN.
YEAH, I, I WOULD, I WOULD CERTAINLY SUPPORT TAKING A LOOK AT THAT.
AND, AND IN THE MEANTIME, THIS IS THIS, MY QUESTION FOR LYNN, IT, WOULD IT BE APPROPRIATE TO, TO PUT, UM, TO USE THE KIND OF LANGUAGE THAT HE SUGGESTED? BECAUSE IT DOES, I MEAN, I, IT'S NOT LIKE WE'RE GONNA BE DOING THIS JUST ON OUR OWN.
SO IT WILL BE WITH A, THE ASSISTANT FROM AN INVESTMENT ADVISOR OR OTHERWISE QUALIFIED PERSON, RIGHT? CORRECT.
SO RIGHT NOW, THE BOARD IS RESPONSIBLE FOR APPROVING THIS FUND LINEUP AND, UH, MISSION SQUARE, OR NOT RATHER, SORRY, EMPOWER HAS TAKEN ON CO-FIDUCIARY RESPONSIBILITIES, WHICH MEANS THAT THEY'RE THERE TAKING ON TO SOME EXTENT RESPONSIBILITY FOR MAKING SURE THEY'RE FOLLOWING THEIR FIDUCIARY OBLIGATIONS AND RECOMMENDING THE RIGHT TYPE OF, OF INVESTMENTS THAT MAP WITH THE INVESTMENT POLICY STATEMENT.
BUT IT'S TRUE THAT AS OF RIGHT NOW, AS YOU SIT HERE, IT'S THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS WHO IS THE PLAN FIDUCIARY.
AND, UM, WE DON'T HAVE AN INVESTMENT ADVISOR.
WE DON'T HAVE AN A A, A DEFERRED COMPENSATION FIDUCIARY COMMITTEE.
AND WE, WE DO RECOMMEND, I RECOMMEND THAT WE SET A COMMITTEE UP SO THAT THE RESPONSIBILITY ISN'T SITTING WITH THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS.
I THINK MY QUESTION IS MORE THAT IT, IT SAID WHEN HE READ THE LANGUAGE, UM, YOU SAID, WELL, THAT'S THE INTENT.
DO YOU MEAN IT'S NOT THE, IT'S NOT, IT'S THE INTENT, BUT IT'S NOT WHAT WE'RE CURRENTLY DOING? OR DO YOU MEAN THAT THAT IS THE INTENT REGARDLESS? BECAUSE IT SEEMS TO ME, EVEN IF WE DON'T HAVE OUR OWN INVESTMENT ADVISOR, WE'RE NOT MAKING THESE DECISIONS IN THE VACUUM AND THAT MAYBE THAT SHOULD BE ACKNOWLEDGED IN THIS, IN THE LANGUAGE.
AND, AND I'M JUST WONDERING IF THERE'S A WAY TO, I, I THINK DIRECTOR HIR MAKES A REALLY GOOD POINT, AND I WOULD LIKE TO SEE, UH, THAT REFLECTED IN THE LANGUAGE WHILE STILL UNDERSTANDING THAT AS OF TODAY, YES, WE, YOU KNOW, THE BUCK STOPS HERE.
ULTIMATELY THE, THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS IS THE ULTIMATE FIDUCIARY.
BUT I THINK IF WE WRITE IN HERE THAT, THAT, YOU KNOW,
DOES THAT MAKE SENSE OR IS THERE A REASON NOT TO DO THAT? WELL, THE WAY THAT I READ IT, IT, IT IS FINE FOR THE WHAT IS HAPPENING RIGHT NOW AS WE SPEAK ON THE GROUND.
I GUESS I'M A LITTLE CONFUSED AS TO WHAT LANGUAGE YOU WOULD WANT CHANGED.
YOU CAN READ IT OR POINT TO IT EXACTLY.
OUTLINE WHAT, WHAT I HAD IN MIND WHEN I, I THINK A MIGHT SENT DIRECTLY.
YOU, I DON'T THINK I'VE SEEN IT BEFORE THE MEETING.
I DON'T THINK THAT WE RECEIVED THAT.
SO IF, IF YOU DON'T MIND, I MEAN, I, I WOULD BE HAPPY TO
[00:35:01]
TAKE A LOOK AT THAT.THIS IS, UM, RIGHT NOW THE POLICY STATEMENT WOULD BE BEING APPROVED IN ITS CURRENT FORM.
WE DO NEED TO KIND OF STAY ON TRACK WITH DOING THIS IN ORDER TO, UM, BE ABLE TO PUSH FORWARD WITH THE TRANSITION TO EMPOWER ON THE TIMELINE THAT WE HAVE.
UM, BUT WE, WE COULD BRING IT BACK AND CHANGE IT.
I JUST WANTED TO RAISE THE QUESTION.
I I DON'T WANT TO, I DO NOT WANNA STAND IN THE WAY OF THIS GOING FORWARD.
THE KIND OF THING, I, I KNOW HOW THINGS, THESE THINGS WORK.
WE GOTTA STAY ON WHAT THE TASK IS, BUT IN THE, IN THE, IN THE BACKGROUND, WE NEED TO BE THINKING ABOUT IMPROVING THE LANGUAGE AND I CAN GET BACK TO WHOEVER WANTS ME TO GET BACK TO THEM ABOUT MY SUGGESTION.
AND LIKE I SAID, THIS IS THE DISTRICT'S INVESTMENT POLICY STATEMENT.
YOU'RE FREE TO CHANGE IT AT ANY TIME SO WE CAN DISCUSS FURTHER.
SOUNDS LIKE A GOOD, GOOD RESULT.
I DID JUST FIND THE EMAIL, IT WAS SENT LATE, SO I'LL FORWARD IT TO YOU.
DID ANYONE ELSE HAVE A COMMENT OR QUESTION? YEAH, GO AHEAD.
DIRECTOR SANON, BILL, RIGHT? YES.
UM, I GUESS I HAVE A FEW QUESTIONS IN REGARDS TO THE PLAN INVESTMENT REVIEW.
UH, IS THIS SOMETHING THAT YOU PUT TOGETHER FOR OTHER CLIENTS OR JUST SOMETHING THAT YOU DID FOR US AND PRESENTED TO US? I I WASN'T ON THE FINANCE COMMITTEE LAST YEAR, SO I DON'T KNOW IF THIS WAS SURE.
PREVIOUSLY SHARED WITH THE PARK DISTRICT.
SO, SO THAT IS, UM, I PUT THIS TOGETHER.
THAT IS OUR, I'LL, I'LL CALL OUR STANDARD PERFORMANCE REPORT QUARTERLY REPORT.
IT'S PROBABLY 60 OR 70 PAGES, UM, IN THIS CASE.
UM, SO THAT HITS I, I, I THINK ALL OF THE, ALL THE MAJOR CRITERIA.
UM, NOW SINCE THEN, ONCE, ONCE THE IPS IS, IS, UH, APPROVED, IF THERE ARE SPECIFIC CRITERIA IN THE IPS THAT WE WANNA LOOK AT, I, I, I THINK BAT BATTING AVERAGE I THINK WAS MENTIONED.
THERE WAS A COUPLE OTHER CRITERIA.
I CAN CUSTOMIZE THAT REPORT TO MEET THE CRITERIA OF THE IPS.
BUT THE VERSION YOU HAVE IS, IS KIND OF OUR, OUR NORMAL QUARTERLY REPORT.
SO THIS IS, IS SHARED WITH US AS AN EXAMPLE OF WHAT WE SEE GOING FORWARD.
I THINK THAT'S THE, IT'S USING THE FUNDS THAT THE PROPOSED FUNDS IN THE LINEUP.
SO IT'S NOT A, A STATIC LINEUP BY ANY MEANS, BUT THE REPORTS THAT ARE IN THERE ARE, ARE OUR NORMAL PACKAGE.
AND I'LL JUST SHARE SOME QUICK FEEDBACK.
I THINK IT'S ACTUALLY REALLY WELL DONE.
THE EXAMPLE I I I, I REALLY LIKE IT, ESPECIALLY, YOU KNOW, I I DO A LOT OF, YOU KNOW, MACROECONOMIC ANALYSIS MYSELF, UH, AND I THOUGHT YOU DID A NICE JOB IN TERMS OF SUMMARIZING THINGS.
SO I LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOUR, UM, FUTURE PRESENTATIONS.
I WOULD LIKE TO GO AHEAD AND MOVE THIS, UM, FOR APPROVAL.
WE HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND.
OKAY, SO NOW WE ARE ON THE NEXT ITEM.
UM, OH, SO THERE, UM, ARE THERE ANY COMMENTS FROM OUR GENERAL MANAGER TODAY? NOPE, NOTHING.
[ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM CLOSED SESSION]
ANY ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM CLOSED SESSION? YES, PRESIDENT ECKLES.UM, TODAY IN CLOSED SESSION, THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS APPROVED A SETTLEMENT OF THE, UM, CASE, UH, BROUGHT BY THE PARK DISTRICT AGAINST QUESTA ENGINEERING CORPORATION.
UH, THE BOARD APPROVED SETTLING THE MATTER, WHICH IS ALAMEDA COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT CASE NUMBER 21 CV 0 0 0 7 7 0, UM, FOR A PAYMENT FROM QUESTA TO THE PARK DISTRICT IN THE AMOUNT OF $900,000.
[BOARD COMMENTS]
I THINK WE ARE ALREADY ONTO BOARD COMMENTS, SO I'M GONNA START AT THAT END WITH DIRECTOR ROSARIO, IF YOU'RE READY.YOU READY? OR SHOULD I START WITH WE DON'T HAVE IT START, I'LL START WITH, UH, DIRECTOR COFFEE.
IF YOU LET HIM GET AWAY WITH THAT
UH, ON JANUARY 19, I ATTENDED THE ANNUAL CONTRA COSTA BAR ASSOCIATION INSTALLATION LUNCHEON.
AND I WAS THERE THAT DAY WITH, UH, YOLANDA AND
[00:40:01]
YULEE, UH, AS WE WERE REPRESENTING THE, UH, PORT CHICAGO 50 TASK FORCE MEMBERS OF THE LOCAL BAR ASSOCIATION.AND WE, UH, THE THREE OF US PARTICIPATED IN THE IN AWARDS CEREMONY FOR PORT CHICAGO 50 CHAMPIONS.
ON THE 26TH, I ATTENDED THE BOARD RETREAT WITH ALL OF YOU FOLKS.
UH, ON THE 29TH TO THE 31ST, I ATTENDED THE SACRAMENTO, UH, ADVOCACY CONFERENCE IN WHICH WE MET WITH THE, OUR LEGISLATIVE DELEGATIONS.
AND I WANTED TO SAY THAT, YOU KNOW, JUST TO COMMEND THE, UH, GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS TEAM THAT PUT THAT TOGETHER, IT WAS, UH, THE MOST OF THESE, UH, OUTINGS THAT I'VE PARTICIPATED ON IN, IN THE LAST EIGHT YEARS IS VERY, UM, UH, EFFICIENT AND EFFECTIVE.
AND WE ACTUALLY MET WITH, UH, ACTUAL LEGISLATORS AS OPPOSED TO THEIR STAFFS.
SO IT WAS, UH, VERY WELL DONE.
UM, LEMME SEE ON THE, ON FEB ONE, I WAS THE, UH, MONTHLY PRESENTER AT THE DIABLO CHAPTER OF SIRS AT THEIR LUNCHEON IN PITTSBURGH.
AND LAST FRIDAY I ATTENDED THE BOARD LAND SESSION, SO, OKAY.
SO MANY UM, THINGS HAVE HAPPENED SINCE OUR LAST MEETING, SO I'LL GO THROUGH THAT AND THEN I HAVE A FEW COMMENTS AFTER THAT.
UH, I WAS JUST WRITING SOME OF THEM DOWN.
SO, UM, SINCE OUR LAST BOARD MEETING ON JANUARY 22ND, I HAD A MEETING WITH SOME FOLKS FROM THE N THREE CATTLE RANCH, WHICH IS A LARGE PARCEL THAT'S LOCATED IN FOUR COUNTIES, INCLUDING OURS NEXT TO OUR, UM, THE DELVAL REGIONAL PARK THAT WE OPERATE ON THE 24TH.
I HAD MY FIRST FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETING.
UM, REALLY GREAT TO BE JOINING THAT GROUP.
AND, UM, IT WAS A GOOD, GOOD MEETING THE 26TH, WE HAD OUR BOARD RETREAT STUDY SESSION, UH, THE 27TH, THE DAY AFTER WE HAD OUR, UH, VERY FIRST 90TH ANNIVERSARY EVENT, THE BIO BLITZ AT SUNOL.
AND, UM, I KNOW I'VE HAD SOME OPPORTUNITIES TO SHARE SOME FEEDBACK, BUT I WANNA DO THAT DURING THE BOARD MEETING.
I THINK IT WENT REALLY, REALLY WELL.
UH, YOU KNOW, IT'S REALLY FUN TO HAVE BEEN A PART OF THE VERY FIRST 90TH ANNIVERSARY, YOU KNOW, PUBLIC EVENT.
I, I BELIEVE THE SUN OLD VISITOR CENTER AND SUN OLD TEAM, INCLUDING OUR PARK RANGERS ALL DID SUCH A FABULOUS JOB THAT DAY TO THE POINT WHERE THE SUNOL VISITOR CENTER EVEN CREATED THEIR OWN, UM, BUTTONS TO HAND OUT TO THE FOLKS WHO ATTENDED THIS EVENT.
UM, AND THEN I, I, I STAYED TO GO ON THE BIOBLITZ AFTERWARDS, WHICH IS A VERY LOVELY WALK THROUGH, UM, SUNOL, UH, PARK.
AND WITH THAT WE USE THE INATURALIST APP WHERE YOU CAN TAKE PHOTOS AND UPLOAD THEM.
THE PROJECT HAD ALREADY BEEN CREATED BY THE SUNOL VISITOR CENTER.
AND THEN, UM, YOU CAN USE THE APP TO TRY TO IDENTIFY THE SPECIES AND THEN OTHER FOLKS CAN CHIME IN AND, UH, PROVIDE THEIR THOUGHTS ON WHAT THE SPECIES IS.
I UPLOADED A PHOTO OF A BANANA SLUG AND THEN A PHOTO OF A BEAUTIFUL BUTTERFLY.
BOTH OF THE ONES THAT I SELECTED WERE, UH, DEEMED NOT COMPLETELY CORRECT.
SO I, I APPRECIATE THIS INTERACTIVITY SO THAT WE COULD GET THE CORRECT SPECIES OF BANANA SLUG AND BUTTERFLY THAT I UPLOADED TO THE SUN BIOBLITZ.
UM, SO I'M REALLY EXCITED ABOUT OUR 90TH ANNIVERSARY EVENTS AND CAN'T WAIT TO SEE WHAT ELSE WE HAVE COMING UP.
BUT I WANNA, UH, ESPECIALLY THANK, UM, SUSAN AND HER TEAM, DAVE MASON, WHO'S THERE THAT DAY.
THEY PREPARED SOME GREAT TALKING POINTS.
I THINK THAT THAT WENT REALLY WELL.
AND, UM, I GUESS IF THERE'S JUST LIKE ONE POINT OF FEEDBACK, AND THIS MIGHT BE MORE OF THE HISTORY NERD IN ME, AND I'M SURE, UH, JOHN CAN RELATE.
UM, YOU KNOW, I, I DID MENTION IN MY TALKING, OR I ADDED TO THE TALKING POINTS TO TALK ABOUT HOW AT THE BOARD RETREAT THE DAY BEFORE WE HAD TALKED ABOUT HOW IN 1934, UH, PRESIDENT FRANKLIN, UH, D ROOSEVELT WAS IN OFFICE.
AND, UM, I, I MENTIONED THAT, HOW THAT HAD BEEN A CONVERSATION THE DAY BEFORE THE SOOLE BIOBLITZ.
AND SINCE THEN I'VE DONE SOME OF MY OWN RESEARCH.
BUT IT MIGHT BE KIND OF COOL TO ADD IN SOME, OR WEAVE IN SOME COMMENTS ABOUT THE NEW DEAL BECAUSE CERTAINLY, UH, A LOT OF THAT WORK, UH, DOES TIE INTO WHAT WE HAVE HERE AT THE PARK DISTRICT.
AND I CAN SHARE SOME LINKS WITH YOU ABOUT THAT.
AND MAYBE THIS IS A GREAT, UM, WAY TO REACH OUT TO BRENDA AND THE ARCHIVES TEAM AS WELL TO INCLUDE.
I I THINK THAT, UH, SOME PEOPLE MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN HEARING THAT.
28TH, I, UH, THE DAY AFTER THE SNOW BIO BLITZ, I HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO TAKE THE MAYOR OF PLEASANTON, CARLA BROWN TO SHADOW CLIFFS.
SHE HAD NOT SEEN THE INTERACTIVE, UH, PAVILION THAT WE DID RIBBON CUTTING FOR IN DECEMBER OF 2022 YET, AND I CAN SHARE THAT SHE, SHE LOVED SEEING IT.
UM, IT WAS REALLY NICE 'CAUSE YOU KNOW, WE HAVE SOME GREAT PANELS ON THE INTERPRETIVE PAVILION THAT TALK ABOUT THE BRICKYARD AS WELL AS, UH, SOME OF THE MINING
[00:45:01]
INDUSTRIES THAT ARE IN THAT SHADOW CLIFFS CHAIN OF LAKES AREA.AND SO THAT WAS REALLY NICE TO BE ABLE TO SHOW HER WHAT SOME PLEASANTON RESIDENTS, UH, GARY AND NANCY HARRINGTON HELPED PROVIDE SOME OF THE SEED MONEY FOR TOWARDS, UM, THE CREATION AND THE, UM, THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE INTERPRETIVE PAVILION AT SHADOW CLIFFS.
AND WHAT'S REALLY FUN IS, UM, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN, THERE'S A TRAIL AND I, IT, IT STARTS OFF, I BELIEVE, AS A CITY OF PLEASANTON TRAIL, AND THEN IT TURNS INTO AN EAST BAY PARKS TRAIL.
BUT ALONG THAT TRAIL FROM THE SHOPPING CENTER NEXT TO SHADOW CLIFFS, YOU ACTUALLY WILL SEE A LOT OF THE BRICKS THAT WERE DISCARDED BY THE BRICKYARD THAT WAS LOCATED IN THAT AREA.
AND SO IT'S KIND OF FUN TO WALK ALONG AND YOU CAN SEE DIFFERENT COLORS OF BRICKS AND IT, IT'S KIND OF A NEAT THING THAT OUR INTERPRETIVE PAVILION ALSO THEN SHOWCASES THAT HISTORY.
UM, AND I'LL SHARE, YOU KNOW, I, I ACTUALLY LIKE TO COLLECT THOSE BRICKS AND DURING THE RAINSTORM, SOMETIMES THEY WILL FLOW DOWN THE ARROYO DELVAL ALONG THE TRAIL THAT'S NEAR MY HOUSE THAT I WALK ALONG.
SO IT'S KIND OF FUN TO SEE WHAT BRICKS TRAVEL NEAR ROYO AND WHICH ONES STAY AT SHADOW CLIFFS.
SO IF ANYBODY ELSE IS INTO BRICKS, PLEASE UH, FEEL FREE TO REACH OUT.
'CAUSE SOMEHOW I'VE GOTTEN INTO THIS, UH, THE 29TH WE HAD OUR OPERATIONS COMMITTEE HERE, AND THEN, UM, THE 30TH AND 31ST, WE WENT TO SACRAMENTO FOR OUR LEGISLATIVE CONFERENCE ON THE 1ST OF FEBRUARY, I HAD A MEETING WITH ALAMEDA COUNTY SUPERVISOR, DAVID HALBERT'S OFFICE, AND IT WAS MOSTLY IN REGARDS TO WHAT'S HAPPENING AROUND DELVAL.
UM, AND, AND, AND I'LL JUST SHARE ANECDOTALLY, I THINK THIS CAME UP AT THE LAND SESSION, WHICH WAS THE NEXT DAY, FEBRUARY 2ND OF LAST WEEK, OF, UM, THAT THERE IS A LEASE RENEWAL OR RENEWAL WITH CALIFORNIA STATE PARKS AND DWR COMING UP AT DELVAL.
AND I THINK THAT THAT IS STARTING TO CREATE A LOT OF CHATTER WITH ALL THE DIFFERENT STAKEHOLDERS IN THAT AREA.
SO I DO FIND A LOT OF PEOPLE REACHING OUT TO ME, AND LUCKILY I'M VERY KNOWLEDGEABLE ABOUT THIS AREA, HAVING BEEN ON THE ZONE SEVEN BOARD OF DIRECTORS, UH, PRIOR TO THIS ONE.
SO I, I DO THINK THAT WE'LL PROBABLY BE HEARING A LOT ABOUT THIS THOUGH IN THE NEXT, UM, TWO YEARS POTENTIALLY.
UM, SO THAT'S ALL SINCE, UH, THE LAST BOARD MEETING.
I, I DID WANNA MAKE ONE COMMENT.
I, I KNOW THAT WE ONLY HAVE BOARD COMMENTS STILL ON OUR AGENDA, AND I KNOW AT THE END OF LAST YEAR I HAD MADE A REQUEST THAT MAYBE WE ADD AN AGENDA ITEM FOR, UM, RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUTURE BOARD MEETINGS IN TERMS OF AGENDA ITEMS. AND I ACTUALLY WROTE THESE NOTES FROM THE LAND SESSION THAT, UM, COLIN HAD MADE ABOUT HOW HE HAD WANTED TO TALK ABOUT THE, UM, POTENTIAL SCHEDULING A CLOSED SESSION IN REGARDS TO PROPERTY ACQUISITION, BUT IT WASN'T ON THE AGENDA AT THE LA LAST, AT THE LAND SESSION.
I THINK IT WOULD BE HELPFUL IF WE HAD THIS REQUEST FOR FUTURE BOARD MEETINGS IN OUR BOARD AGENDA SO THAT WE CAN BRING UP THESE IDEAS BECAUSE I THINK THERE'S A LOT OF DIFFERENT TOPICS, EVEN WHAT WE JUST REVIEWED WITH THE DEFERRED COMPENSATION PLAN AND SOME OF, UM, DR.
QUIROS COMMENTS ABOUT HOW, UM, WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO ADJUST SOME OF THE LANGUAGE.
I THINK THAT THAT WOULD BE ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF SOMETHING THAT WE'D WANNA BRING UP IN A FUTURE BOARD MEETING OR MAYBE HAVE, YOU KNOW, FINANCE COMMITTEE WORK ON BEFORE IT COMES TO THE BOARD.
AND I'M JUST CURIOUS HOW WE TRACK BOARD REQUESTS, BECAUSE I KNOW I'VE MADE OTHER REQUESTS FOR ITEMS TO BE ON THE AGENDA, AND I JUST DON'T HAVE ANY SORT OF FOLLOW UP ON WHEN THOSE REQUESTS ARE GONNA COME BACK TO US.
UM, AND SO I, I JUST WANNA MAKE THAT COMMENT AGAIN RIGHT NOW SINCE IT FEELS LIKE THIS IS THE ONLY OPPORTUNITY WE REALLY HAVE WITHIN THE AGENDA STRUCTURE TO MENTION THESE THINGS.
UH, DIRECTOR CORBETT, ARE YOU READY TO GO? I'M NOT, I'M NOT READY.
SO ON THE JANUARY 16TH WAS OUR BOARD MEETING, UM, THE DAY AFTER THAT ON THE 17TH, I MET WITH MATT MORGAN, WHO, UH, LIVES, UH, HE BACKS UP TO THE SOUTH OF HIS PROPERTY BACKS UP TO THE SOUTH OF BAILEY PROP PROPERTY.
UM, JANUARY 19TH, UH, I MET WITH THE, UH, JOB REGO AND, AND DAVE FONG FROM TOWN OF DANVILLE.
AND, UM, TALKED ABOUT A RANGE OF, OF ISSUES THERE THAT WAS VERY INTERESTING.
UM, ON THE 20, OH, ON THE NINTH, 22ND, I MET WITH, UM, SERGIO HUERTA AND ROSS, ROSS MITCHELL, UM, IN WALNUT CREEK FROM, UH, ASK ME, UH, OUR LOCAL ASK ME, UH, ON THE 24TH.
THAT WAS OUR FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETING.
AND THEN, UM, ON THE 25TH, UH, SAVE MOUNT DIABLO HAD THEIR ANNUAL STATE OF THE MOUNTAIN, UH, CELEBRATION WHERE THE GENERAL, WHERE THEIR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR GETS UP AND RELATES ALL THE SUCCESSES THAT THEY'VE HAD, AND THEN, UM, GOES INTO SOME OF THEIR FUTURE ENDEAVORS.
AND I ALWAYS THINK THAT, THAT, I ALWAYS, I FACT, I SENT AN EMAIL TO THIS EFFECT TO TED CLEMENT THAT, UH,
[00:50:01]
THAT'S ALWAYS A VERY UPLIFTING, ENCOURAGING THING, AND IT MAKES ME VERY, UH, PLEASED TO KNOW THAT THEY'RE A PARTNER OF OURS AND, AND, UH, HOPEFULLY ALWAYS WILL BE.UM, THEN OUR, ON THE 26TH, UH, IS WAS THE BOARD RETREAT ON THE 30TH AND THE 31ST, AS COLIN MENTIONED, WE WERE UP, UP IN SACRAMENTO, AND I TOO FOUND THAT TO BE A, A VERY EFFECTIVE MEETING, UH, SERIES.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, I ALWAYS LEARN A LOT FROM THAT.
ALWAYS, YEAH, THE SECOND TIME I'VE BEEN THERE
UH, FEBRUARY 1ST, I WENT TO THE, UM, CONTRA COSTA COUNTY'S MAYOR CONFERENCE IN EL CERRITO, UM, WHICH I FOUND VERY CURIOUS THAT THAT'S WHERE THE BERKELEY COUNTRY CLUB IS IN EL CERRITO,
I WAS CONFUSED AT FIRST, BUT WOULD BE THAT AS IT MAY, I WENT THERE AND IT WAS A VERY NICE, VERY GOOD MEETING, VERY INTERESTING PROGRAM.
UM, ABOUT, ABOUT THE ELECTIONS, UM, PROCESS.
THAT'S WHAT SHE, UM, UH, THE CLERK RECORDER, UH, PRESENTED.
UM, ON SAME, SAME, SAME DAY BEFORE THAT THOUGH, UM, I MET IN ALAMO WITH THREE CONSTITUENTS WHO ARE CONCERNED ABOUT SAFETY ON THE ALA ON THE IRON HORSE TRAIL.
UM, AND THEN, UH, ON THE, UH, FEBRUARY 2ND, UM, THE BOARD LAND SESSION, WHICH IS ALSO VERY INTERESTING.
SO, UM, UH, SINCE THE LAST BOARD MEETING ON THE 20TH, I ATTENDED THE, UH, LEE CREEKSIDE, UH, PUBLIC PLANNING PRO HEARING AT, UH, IN LAFAYETTE AND FIELD A TON OF QUESTIONS ABOUT, UM, UH, THE, THE LAFAYETTE MORAGA TRAIL THAT GOES THROUGH THERE, AND ALSO THE PROPOSED BRI, I MEAN, FIELDED A WHOLE BUNCH OF QUESTIONS.
AND I, UM, UH, I MET SHORTLY AFTER WITH, UM, UH, A GM KEN MASAKI AND RUN BATES, AND THEY ANSWERED ALL MY QUESTIONS AND I GOT ALL THAT FEEDBACK BACK TO THE, UH, TO THE CREEK CREEK COMMISSION FROM, FROM LAFAYETTE.
AND THEY WERE SO HAPPY TO HEAR ALL THAT.
AND, UM, SO, UH, AND I REALLY APPRECIATE, UH, KEN AND REN MEETING ME WITH ME SO QUICKLY AND, UH, GETTING ME ANSWERS.
SO THAT WAS, THAT WAS WONDERFUL.
AND THEN, UH, ON THE 22ND, I ATTENDED THE OAKLAND DD COALITION, UH, WHICH OVERSEES DEVELOPMENT, UH, FOR THE LAKE AND THEIR, AND SO WE HAD A VERY ROBUST DISCUSSION ABOUT THE, UH, BAY TRAIL.
AND SO, UH, HAD TO, HAD TO, UH, ASSURE THEM THAT EVEN THOUGH WE COULDN'T DO SOME OF THE BAY TRAIL IN WHERE, WHERE WE WANTED NEXT TO THE WATER, THAT WE WOULD ALWAYS KEEP OUR OPTIONS OPEN IF, IF OPPORTUNITIES AROSE IN THOSE AREAS, SPECIFICALLY BETWEEN, UM, UH, UH, JE LONDON SQUARE AND, AND, UH, THE HIGH STREET BRIDGES.
SO, UH, WE WOULD KEEP OUR OPTIONS OPEN IF SOMETHING AROSE THAT WE WOULD, WE WOULD DEFINITELY BE, BE INTERESTED, BUT RIGHT NOW WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO GO INLAND.
UM, JUST, JUST TO GET TO WRAP UP THAT, THAT PROJECT FROM OAKLAND DD.
AND THEN, UM, AND THEN ON THE 24TH I ATTENDED THE FINANCE COMMITTEE.
AND THEN, UH, ALSO THAT EVENING I MET WITH ASME 2 4, 2 8, UM, AND THEN ON THE 26TH, THE, I ATTENDED THE BOARD RETREAT.
I THOUGHT THAT WAS, I THOUGHT THAT WAS PRETTY GOOD.
UM, AND, UH, HOPEFULLY, UH, WE CAN, WE CAN, UH, DO MORE OF THOSE.
AND THEN, UM, ON THE 29TH, ATTENDED THE SUBCOMMITTEE MEETING AND THEN ON, UH, ATTENDED THE SACRAMENTO LEGISLATIVE CONFERENCE IN SACRAMENTO, WHICH I AGREE WITH, WITH, UH, DIRECTOR COFFEE.
IT WAS VERY WELL ORGANIZED AND, UH, THE DISCUSSIONS I THOUGHT WERE, WERE, WERE QUITE ROBUST AND VERY IMPRESSED WITH THE C CCC PRESENTATION.
AND THEN OF COURSE NANCY SKINNER WAS, WAS GREAT AS WELL.
AND THEN, UM, AND THEN ON TWO ONE I MET WITH, UH, RACHEL LAMB, UH, AND GAVE HER ALL MY, UM, I HAD SENT HER, UM, UH, ALL MY, ALL MY CONCERNS AND, AND FUTURE ACQUISITIONS AND, AND WANTS.
AND WE HAD A GOOD DISCUSSION ABOUT THOSE.
AND THAT WAS BEFORE THE LAND SESSION, SO, UH,
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THAT WAS VERY GOOD.'CAUSE IT REALLY PROMPTED MY, UM, JUST HAD ME FOCUS ON, UH, ON THAT MEETING THAT, THAT, THAT WE HAD ON AT THE LAND SESSION, WHICH WAS THE NEXT DAY.
AND THEN, UM, ON THE FIFTH I MET WITH THE, UH, A CONSTITUENT REGARDING TRAILS.
HE WAS REALLY D UM, LARRY GOSLIN.
HE WAS, UH, HE'S REALLY, UH, HE WANTS TO PROMOTE TRAILS, UH, EXTENSIONS IN SOUTHERN ALAMEDA COUNTY.
AND THEN, UM, UM, WE'RE HERE TODAY, SO, UH, I JUST WANNA THANK YOU.
UH, DIRECTOR WASPY, DID YOU WANNA REPORT ON YOUR ACTIVITIES? SURE.
SO ON THE 17TH, I ATTENDED THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING ON THE 18TH, I MET WITH THE UNION REPRESENTATIVES TO TALK ABOUT, UM, THE UPCOMING NEGOTIATIONS.
UH, ON THE 26TH, I ATTENDED THE BOARD RETREAT, UM, AND, UM, ON THE 29TH, 30TH, AND 31ST, I ATTENDED THE STATE ADVOCACY CONFERENCE, UH, ALONG WITH MY FELLOW BOARD MEMBERS.
I AGREE, IT WAS A GREAT EVENT.
UM, I, I REALLY WOULD LIKE TO GIVE A SHOUT OUT TO LAUREN BLANCHARD, WHO DID AN EXCELLENT JOB OF ARRANGING THINGS AND HURTING US AROUND AND, AND GETTING US ACCESS TO SOME, SOME GREAT PEOPLE.
UM, AND AS WITH DIRECTOR ROSARIO, I'M VERY, VERY EXCITED ABOUT THE CCC OR THE PROSPECTS OF THE CCC COMING TO THE BAY AREA OR, UM, OUR AREA.
UH, ON JANUARY 2ND, I ATTENDED THE LAND SESSION.
UM, AND FINALLY, I AGREE WITH DIRECTOR SAN WONG.
I, I'D LOVE TO SEE, UH, FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS POSTED ON OUR, UM, ON OUR MEETING SCHEDULES SO THAT WE CAN TALK ABOUT FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS. UH, AND THAT'S IT.
DIRECTOR CORBETT, ARE YOU READY OR DO YOU WANT ME TO GO FIRST? I THINK I'M READY.
UM, OF COURSE, THE FIRST MEETING TO TALK ABOUT IS THE 16TH WAS OUR LAST REGULAR MEETING IN THIS GROUP OF MEETINGS.
UM, BUT I DO WANNA ALSO MENTION, OF COURSE, JANUARY 15TH, MARTIN LUTHER KING DAY HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE PART OF THE MARTIN LUTHER KING, UM, CELEBRATION WITH THE MARTIN LUTHER KING COMMITTEE.
AND, UM, AND SO NICE TO SEE MY COLLEAGUES FROM THE COMMISSION, FROM THIS COMMITTEE BEING THERE AT THE COMMISSION.
UH, LET'S SEE, ON THE 16TH, THERE WAS A MEETING OF THE BAR, EXCUSE ME, NO, EXCUSE ME, SKIP OVER THAT.
UH, JANUARY 17TH WAS THE EXECUTIVE C COMMITTEE MEETING, MY FIRST ONE TO BE PART OF, UH, ON THE 24TH.
IT WAS A MEMBER OF MOD, UM, THE, UH, FINANCE COMMITTEE ON THE 26TH.
UM, THE PARK DISTRICT, UH, WAS A VOLUNTEER MEETING ON THE, LET'S SEE, OF COURSE, ON THE 29TH, WE ALL HOPPED ON A TRAIN AND TOOK OFF FOR SACRAMENTO AND CAME BACK ON THE 31ST AND HAD A REALLY FABULOUS, UH, TRIP IN, UH, SACRAMENTO.
WE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO MEET SOME OF OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS AND ALSO SOME OF THEIR STAFF MEMBERS.
AND IT'S ALWAYS A REALLY GREAT OPPORTUNITY WHILE THEY'RE THERE BECAUSE THEY, UH, THEY ALWAYS SEEM TO BE, BE VERY INTERESTED IN THE WORK WE DO HERE AT THE PARK DISTRICT.
UM, I REMEMBER THE GOOD OLD DAYS WHEN ALWAYS SUCH CONVERSATIONS WERE NOT ALWAYS, UM, SOMETHING THAT PEOPLE WERE INTERESTED IN, BUT IT'S SO NICE TO SEE LEGISLATORS BE SO INTERESTED IN THIS.
GOT HOME ON THE 31ST FROM OUR TRIP BACK FROM SACRAMENTO.
UH, ON THE 2ND OF FEBRUARY, UH, ATTENDED THE LAND SESSION MEETING, AND ON THE FIFTH I HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO, UH, BE PART OF THE PRE-SESSION MEETINGS WITH THE PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD,
SO, ON THE 17TH OF JANUARY, I ATTENDED THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING ON THE 19TH, MET WITH, UH, STAFF AND OUR CONSULTANTS TO PREPARE FOR THE BOARD RETREAT.
UM, ON THE 22ND I PARTICIPATED IN THE PARK ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
AND, UM, REALLY JUST WANT TO SAY HOW MUCH I APPRECIATED ALL OF THE INSIGHTFUL COMMENTS AND DISCUSSION AROUND THE DISTRICT PLAN.
AND, UM, WHAT, UH, REALLY IT WAS VERY ROBUST DISCUSSION AND REALLY APPRECIATE ALL THE INPUT FROM THE PAC MEMBERS.
UM, ON JANUARY 26TH, AS YOU'VE HEARD, WE HAD THE BOARD RETREAT.
IT WAS A FULL AGENDA, AND, UH, IT WAS, BUT VERY, I FELT LIKE
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VERY INFORMATIVE.I, WE COVERED A LOT OF GROUND AND GOT A LOT DONE AND, UH, GOT TO KNOW EACH OTHER ALL BETTER IN THE PROCESS.
AND SO THOUGHT THAT WENT WELL.
UM, ON THE, LET'S SEE, THE 30TH, UH, AS YOU HEARD, WE'RE UP IN SACRAMENTO FOR THE STATE LEGISLATIVE CONFERENCE.
THAT WAS THE 30TH AND THE 31ST, AND HAD A NUMBER OF REALLY EXCELLENT MEETINGS WITH OUR LEGISLATORS, THEIR STAFF, AS WELL AS ADMINISTRATION OFFICIALS.
AND, YOU KNOW, OTHERS HAVE SAID IT, BUT I THINK REALLY IT, IT'S, IT'S UNUSUAL TO HAVE SUCH A WARM RECEPTION AND HAVE SO MANY LEGISLATORS AT SUCH A BUSY TIME REALLY MAKE TIME FOR YOU AND MAKE A POINT OF, OF ACTUALLY BEING THERE IN THE MEETING AND NOT JUST DELEGATE IT TO THEIR STAFF.
SO REALLY, UH, REALLY APPRECIATE, YOU KNOW, BEING ABLE TO BE THERE AND, AND, UH, BOTH LEARN AND SHARE WHAT'S ON OUR MINDS.
UM, ON THE 2ND OF FEBRUARY, WE HAD THE BOARD STUDY SESSION ON LAND, AND THEN ON THE, YESTERDAY ON THE FIFTH, THE PRE-BOARD MEETING WITH OUR, MY VICE PRESIDENT AND, UM, OUR GENERAL MANAGER AND, UH, GENERAL COUNSEL AND YEAH, SO THAT'S, UH, AND NOW I'M HERE.
UM, SO I THINK THAT BRINGS US TO A CLOSE.
UM, IF THERE'S NOT ANYTHING ELSE WE CAN EXCUSE, WE CAN ADJOURN AT 2:34 PM OKAY.