D O W N T O W N O A K L A N D A S S O C I A T I O N

388 19th Street Oakland, California 94612

Phone 510.238.1122 Fax 510.452.4530 info@downtownoakland.org www.downtownoakland.org
Downtown Oakland Association Board of Directors Meeting
Minutes of Wednesday, December 4, 2013 1:00 p.m.
City Center 5 Star Conference Center - 500 12th Street, Suite 105
Present: Michelle Lane, Sara May, Jesse Nelson, Martin Ward, Karissa Obeso-Govan,
Drew McGowan, Anagha Dandekar-Clifford, Kirsten Melton, Jabari Gray, David Weltin
Absent: Nora Vigil, Bill Doak, Keira Williams, Joseph Gallardo, Damian Fink
Staff: Steve Snider/District Manager, Andrew Jones/District Services Coordinator,
Victoria Decker/Office Manager, Fiona Simms/Administrative Assistant
PR Consultants: Nancy Amaral/Gallen.Neilly & Associates, Tim Gallen/Gallen.Neilly & Associates
Guests: Smith Kitporka/CBRE, Monika Picardo/CBRE, Carrie Morris/Ellis Partners,
Nicole Hankton/Oakland Marriott
Discussions held and decisions made by the Board of Directors
SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION?
Call to order The meeting was called to order at 1:03 p.m. No action taken.
Public comment and
announcements
Steve announced that there is a 2.Oak event
tomorrow. Karissa noted that the City Center Tree
lighting is scheduled for this Friday.
No action taken.
Approval of the minutes of
October 2, 2013
The minutes of October 2, 2013 meeting were
presented for review.
Sara moved and
Martin seconded
the motion to
approve the
minutes of October
2, 2013 as
presented. The
motion was
approved
unanimously.
Anagha and David
abstained from the
vote.
Financial report Tori presented the year-to-date cash available
summary and the detailed expense report for review.
She noted that the districts have received a total of
$1,033,182.20, which less the reserve and hardship
reimbursements of $48,000 leaves $985,182.20 cash
available. Tori stated that the DISI expenses to date
total $64,547.06, ORG expenses total $190,946.19,
Jesse moved and
Drew seconded the
motion to approve
the financial report
as presented. The
motion was
approved
and SOBO expenses total $557,494.76. The cash
remaining equals $172,194.19 and includes
assessment income over the budgeted amount.
unanimously.
2014 meeting schedule The proposed 2014 meeting schedule was presented
to the board for review.
Martin moved and
Anagha seconded
the motion to
approve the 2014
meeting schedule.
The motion was
approved
unanimously.
Approval of office network
upgrade to cloud file
storage
Fiona noted that currently all digital files are stored
on the office managers computer, which presents a
security risk. Since it would be cost prohibitive and
would require a large amount of staff time to
purchase, install, and maintain a file server for the
office, staff recommends that the districts take
advantage of Microsoft 365 software, subscriptions
for which are offered free to non-profit corporations.
This software would store all files in the cloud and
would allow staff to remotely access not only office
files but also Microsoft web applications. Though the
product is free, there would be an upfront cost of
$4,000 for initial set-up and staff training. The cost
would be split evenly between the two districts.
Martin moved and
Michelle seconded
the motion to
approve the
allocation of
$2,000 for the
office upgrade. The
motion was
approved
unanimously.
Youth Radio hardship
reimbursement
Martin explained that Youth Radio has requested
hardship twice in the past, but did not submit a
request for the past two years. The documentation
submitted was incomplete and did not demonstrate
financial hardship. He also noted that the 2012/2013
tax year in question ended 5 months ago. For these
reason, the ORG committee has recommended that
the board deny the 2012/2013 Youth Radio hardship
reimbursement request.
David moved and
Sara seconded the
motion to deny the
hardship
reimbursement
request from Youth
Radio for the
2012/2013 tax year.
The motion was
approved
unanimously.
SOBO Updates Andrew explained the Latham Square pilot project
and the districts involvement. Sara asked if there
have been any issues with the space so far. Andrew
responded that there have been few occurrences of
illegal activity and all have been at night. The space
has been kept active through music performances,
vendors and other programming.
Andrew reported that the Ambassador program is
running well. He noted that the Block by Block
executive team held a meeting with staff to discuss
priorities and goals for the coming year including the
development of a homeless outreach program, the
implementation of the SMART System, and using the
SMART system to create a district watch program.
The hanging plants have been removed and shipped
to Oregon to be replanted. They will return and be
installed next April.
Andrew also updated the board on the CCTV
system, which has already aided the police
No action taken.
department in 6 cases. There are currently 3
buildings in the districts have camera systems
installed.
Andrew lastly noted that in the coming year the
focus of the S.O.B.O. committee will be to maintain
the projects currently in place.
DISI Updates
a. Gallen.Neilly public
relations report
Steve reviewed the DISI budget planning meeting.
Steve updated the board on the success of Plaid
Friday and noted that there were 45+ Oakland
business and more than 30 pop-up vendors involved
in the event. Latham Square was activated with
vendors, music and live art and 10 bars hosted pop-
up retail vendors during the night. He noted that
many businesses have reported increased sales.
Nancy reviewed the highlights of the Gallen.Neilly &
Associates report and listed the recent press
releases and clips about the districts.
No action taken.
Other No others items were discussed. No action taken.
Adjournment into executive
session
The public meeting was adjourned at 2:01 p.m.
***CLOSED SESSION***
Discussion of additional
personnel compensation
Michelle explained that this year the teams were
asked to reach specific goals. There was a motion to
approve the 2013 staff bonuses from DOA, as
follows:
Oakland Venue Management: $7,000
Rick Williams of Peralta Services: $1,250
Ted Tarver of Block by Block: $3,000
Ambassadors: not to exceed $2,250
Jessie moved and
Sara seconded the
motion to allocate
additional
compensation to
Oakland Venue
Management in the
amount of $7,000,
to Peralta Service
Corporation in the
amount of $1,250,
to Block by Block
in the amount of
$3,000, and an
amount not to
exceed $2,250 to
be distributed to
the Ambassadors.
Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 2:23 p.m.
Minutes taken by: Fiona Simms, Administrative Assistant