Minutes: September 24, 2007

1. Call to order: Meeting was called to order by Theresa Acerro at 6:50 p.m.

2. Communications:

1. An appeal for help was made to those whom attend other meetings to please hand out fliers for SWCVCA meetings, speak about our organization, or ask if one of our board members could attend a meeting to talk about SWCVCA.

2. Volunteers are needed to donate a few hours to the Membership Committee. Help is needed going around to various businesses to inform them about being in an Enterprise Zone. Contact Norberto Salazar if you are willing to join.

3. Derrick and Theresa have started www.chulavistaissues.org. They need help writing issues, taking/editing video, doing research/etc. in order to produce unfiltered news based on source documents. A report on the CVRC and Redevelopment is now up. Reports on Bayfront, Koa project and Chargers will be up shortly.

4. Theresa introduced Councilman Rudy Ramirez. He gave a brief report on his first nine months in office. Councilman Ramirez reported that the most important job was seeking a city manager. After several meetings and interviews with candidates, David Garcia was selected unanimously by the City Council. Councilman Ramirez also attended several workshops and meetings concerning the city budget. He voted, with Councilman Castaneda, not to support the budget because it didn’t address issues that needed to be dealt with. He also opposed the Urban Core Specific Plan because he felt that the document still needed a significant amount of work. One of the unsolved issues is park space needed on the west side. Councilman Ramirez also briefly discussed the Chargers presentation, Gaylord and the CVRC. He also addressed comments and questions from those present and welcomed the public to show up, during his public office hours, to share concerns and questions.

5. Action: Tony Macias motioned to approve the minutes for August 22, 2007. Seconded by David Davis. Motion passed.

6. Theresa made announcements about filling out the redevelopment survey, Clean Chula Vista on Saturday, October 6^th from 8:00 to 12:00, and the Fiesta del Rio in Imperial Beach on October 7^th. She also requested for those present, whom haven’t done so yet, to sign petitions.

7. Indianapolis Presentation: Councilman Rudy Ramirez and Nancy Lytle gave a presentation on the National League of Cities Roundtable in Indianapolis. This was a forum to learn from other cities’ success in creating socially, politically, and economically diverse and healthy communities. There were four cities selected/invited to NLC Roundtable, Arlington, Texas; Corpus Christi, Texas; Moorhead, MN and Chula Vista, CA. Chula Vista was selected due to innovative plans to enhance partnerships and engage the Southwest community. Steve Palma and Norberto Salazar also shared their experience and view points about the forum.

8. Their was brief discussion about the Palomar Gateway/ Bayvista Walk. It was pointed out that the planners who came to our meetings for three months claimed that the city hasn’t done a plan, however, they are asking for a change of zoning now to conform to a printed plan.

9. Meeting adjourned at 8:55 p.m.

10. Next meeting: October 22, at 6:45 p.m. MAAC Charter School at 1385 3^rd Ave.