Ven-Mar Neighborhood Association

Ven-Mar Meeting held on Tuesday, December 4, 2001

Dec 09, 2001

WANA's new name is: Ven-Mar Neighborhood Association
Evelyn Dravecky, convener of our Bylaws and Outreach Committee, announced the result of the vote taken at the last meeting for the name for our organization. Of the six possibilities, the popular choice was "Ven-Mar". The meeting confirmed this result without dissent.

A good proportion of the 32 people attending this meeting were newcomers. In the absence of an invited speaker from outside, it was clearly the agenda items about the Walgrove Elementary School, that proved the attraction. A good number of the school's neighbors showed up. (A few years ago this group had successfully battled an attempt to lease out for 44 years a proportion of the Walgrove Elementary school grounds for constructing a private high school.) Rick Brown, convener of the Community Development Committee, presented a detailed report of the improvements proposed by the committee for this school. When concerns about public access to the school grounds were removed, the meeting eventually settled down to some very productive discussion of the strategies available for funding the improvements.

Rose Marie de la Pe?±a reported on progress with the proposed "Forum on Playa Vista" planned for January. She is working on this project with Sheila Bernard, convener of the Streets and Traffic Committee.

Evelyn Dravecky, in presenting the draft bylaws for Ven-Mar on behalf of her Committee, explained that they are based on standard text provided by attorneys working in this field. They are intended to facilitate registration as a California Non-Profit Public Benefit Corporation and with the IRS, to allow Ven-Mar to apply for and receive grants. The draft bylaws were previously sent out by e-mail with the notice for this meeting. They are posted on our website. Please send your comments by going to the home page and clicking on "Email Your Neighborhood Leader" under "Questions and Comments" on the left of the page, or by calling me at 310-401-1101.

Alex Utas reviewed the progress made by the Mar Vista Community Council and by Grass Roots Venice Neighborhood Council in their journey toward certification. The Mar Vista Community Council has adopted its bylaws and is set to apply for certification in the New Year. The Venice Grass Roots Council expects to complete work on its bylaws at its meeting on December 13. It has actively sought nominations for election to its governing body since September, although it has recently decided to delay the election until after it is certified. (This reporter has recently learned that Grass Roots formally applied for certification on November 20, apparently under a dispensation with respect to the bylaws requirement. Perhaps the perceived need for rushing the process is dictated by concerns about rival Venice/ Coastal Neighborhood Council, which is said to be running behind in the race to organize. It is further reported that Venice/Coastal intends to file a "letter of intent", with unknown consequences on the certification process.)

There will be no Ven-Mar meeting on the first Tuesday of January, because it falls on New Years Day. Instead, we have reserved the usual room at Penmar Recreation Center for Tuesday, January 15. Please make a note of this date on your new 2002 calendar. This may be the venue for the Forum on Playa Vista, unless other premises are found for it.

Finally, we are still looking for someone to donate a refrigerator to Penmar Recreation Center, because the side-by-side refrigerator offered by Andrew Carrillo is unfortunately not wide enough for the trays used by the Senior Lunch Program. It has to be an "up and down" unit.

Enjoy the holidays!

Alex Utras