The Barron Park Association

BPA Board Meeting Minutes – provisional until voted on at next Board Meeting : Mar 19, 2013

Attendees: Markus Fromherz, Nancy Hamilton, John King, Art Liberman, Gwen Luce, John King, Linda Elder, Doug Moran

Absent: Lynnie Melena, Lydia Kou, Christian Kalar

Guest: Lisa Landers, Romie Georgia (Green Team)

1. Volunteer (or Assignment) of Secretary to take minutes for this meeting

The January board minutes were reviewed and approved with one abstention.
Markus agreed to serve as secretary for this meeting.

2. Announcements and brief items

Nancy reminded the board about the March 1 deadline for the BPA ‘push’ newsletter. Since several businesses wanted to advertise, but haven’t sent money for an ad yet, Gwen volunteered to remind them.

Lydia (not present) wants to organize another cultural event, this time the Indian Holi Celebration at Bol Park, from 1 to 3 PM on March 24. She is looking for volunteers to help.

Lydia is also proposing a pet parade at the May Fete. There may not be enough time according to John. There could be a Agility Dogs or Search and Rescue demo if there’s a volunteer. No decision is made.

John reports that everybody has confirmed for their elements of the May Fete on May 19.

3a. Presidential Job Description

Lynnie has announced that she will resign as board president following the June meeting. The board is still looking for a candidate.

The board reviews and discusses the job description of the President. The following duties are seen as being the core of the job:

Make all of the preparations and preside over the monthly board meetings. (This is the main duty stated in the bylaws.)
Ensure that board members and committees do their work and have what they need. (The entire board can be vigilant and support this task.)
Disseminate news which has been sent by outside sources to the President. (As a practical matter, such news are often sent to the President. There is an email alias for the President.)
Ensure representation of the BPA board at City Council and City Staff meetings. (This duty is as needed only.)

The following duties are sometimes done by the President, but can be delegated.

Write an article for the quarterly issues of the newsletter. (This could be done round-robin by the board members. It is pointed out that the President’s message could also be simply a summary of board and association activities of the last three months, instead of the discussion of a particular topic.)
Organize the annual meeting. (This is actually the Vice President’s duty and can be delegated.)
Manage special requests and projects. Represent the board on longer-term studies or projects. Work with other officers and event managers on problems that may come up. (These are not usually required. Sometimes the President has to be present at official meetings to put weight behind a board opinion, but most of these tasks can also be delegated or should be done by committee chairs.)
Work to maintain positive working relationships among all board members. (The entire board can contribute to this.)

Those present feel that no changes to the bylaws are needed, but that the job description should be captured as thus described.

The 17th Annual Juana Run through Barron Park is this Saturday. This popular event, initiated and organized by Barron Park resident Karen Saxena, benefits the Terman PTA and Gunn Sports Booster’s. It also benefits any participating school or team that signs up. It is intended as a fund-raiser and a community-building event.

The signature event of the Juana Run is an 8K (about 5 miles) race that begins at 8:30 AM and winds its way through and around the streets of Barron Park, ending at Juana Briones school. You can still sign up and participate. Go to the event web page, www.juanarun.org
Or just come out and line the race route and cheer on your neighbors and friends!

Here’s the map of the race route …

Juana Run – 8K run map

Streets along the course will be closed to cars while the runners are in that area.

A few streets are scheduled for complete closure:
Maybell at Pena 8:15 – 8:35; Los Robles at La Donna, 8:45-9:30 and 11-11:15; Los Robles at Amaranta to Laguna 9:50 – 11:15; Amaranta 10:00 -11:15; Orme 8:15-11:30.

The Juana Run is an event for the whole family. After the 8K race, there are special ‘Kids races’. The children’s races, of distances from 200 yards to 1/2 mile for kids in Pre-K through 5th grade, start at 10 AM. And a one mile race starts at 11:10 AM.

BPA Board Meeting Agenda

Date– Tuesday February 19th
Time – 7:15 PM
Place – Barron Park School, Room 2 (former kindergarten room)

Barron Park residents are welcome to attend, but are requested to notify me (art_liberman@yahoo.com) or the BPA president (president@bpapaloalto.org) so that arrangements can be made to accommodate you (seating and possible reordering of the agenda).
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Anticipated absences: Lynnie Melena, Lydia Kou

1. Volunteer (or Assignment) of Secretary to take minutes for this meeting :

Review minutes of January BPA Board meeting
Additions or Changes to Agenda

2. Announcements and brief items : 5 minutes

March 1 deadline for BPA ‘push’ newsletter (Nancy)
March 24 Indian Holi Celebration at Bol Park, from 1 to 3 PM (from Lydia)
May Fete: Scheduled for May 19th (John)

3. Presidential Job Description and Change to Presidential Succession (Markus) – 30 minutes

We will discuss these two issues in sequence. Lynnie has announced that she will resign following the June meeting and no one has come forward to volunteer as successor. Markus has proposed a change to the by-laws.

4. Board policy for BPA funding of non-BPA events and activities. (Art) – 10 minutes

The purpose is to establish a policy for providing funding to non-BPA groups. This includes extending our insurance coverage to groups holding meetings in PAUSD buildings. A request was received from Annette Puskarich to extend our insurance coverage for a movie evening event sponsored by the BP Green Team

5. Board Member Discussion of some issues that arose during the preparation of BPA Board statement to BSA – 30 minutes

6. Proposal for Community Outreach regarding the “BPA-news” policy adopted in November (Doug, Lydia, Nancy) – 20 minutes

A proposal was made to provide background information to the BP community about this policy and solicit their feedback in advance of the March meeting discussion that will review the policy

7. Only if time permits – Business Liaison Job Description. (Markus) – 10 minutes

Future Board Meeting Agenda items

Revision of the BPA-Board policy for BPA-news email (Doug, Lydia, Nancy) – March
Reevaluation of BPA relationship as charter organization of Boy Scout Troop – tbd: sometime following the national BSA May meeting
Review of the Lunar Day Celebration and BPA Board policy for supporting future Diversity Celebration events (Lydia) – March

The Board of the Barron Park Association had already planned a review in the Spring 2013 of its role as a chartering organization of a Boy Scouts of America (BSA) troop when, unexpectedly, we received word on February 1 that the BSA National Executive Board was considering a major change to its policies at a meeting a few days hence. This came through an email from Ken Poulton, Troop 52 Scoutmaster, to BPA Board Member Doug Moran, the chartered organization representative.

For most of its history the BSA allowed individual troops to define their own moral rules on participants and leaders, but this had changed in recent decades. Today, the BSA restricts membership to certain class of individuals depending on their sexual orientation and also places requirements on their religious beliefs. Ken said that the BSA might decide to drop its blanket discriminatory regulations at this upcoming meeting and return to its earlier policy of allowing each troop to define its own rules, and that those with opinions on the subject who want to influence the decision should act quickly and send in an email to the BSA National Executive Board.

To clarify the terminology, a group that sponsors of a Boy Scout troop is a “chartered organization.” The Annual Charter Agreement with the BSA states that we, the BPA, must “Conduct the Scouting program according to its own policies and guidelines as well as those of the Boy Scouts of America.” In effect, this says that in conducting or supervising the scout program, we are bound to the policies of the BSA, including the discriminatory policies, whether we personally approve them or not.

The Board of the BPA worked very quickly and issued the following statement, along with a letter sent to the national BSA leadership group, urging a change in their policies:

“BSA Membership Standards: End Discrimination Based on Sexual Preference

At a meeting on Wednesday, February 6, the Boy Scouts of America will be considering whether to end their national policy of excluding members based on sexual orientation. The Barron Park Association is the chartered organization for a local Boy Scout troop and in that role the Board of the BPA has sent the following email to the national Boy Scout leadership. We believe it accurately reflects neighborhood views as expressed in the many messages that were posted on the Barron Park email lists last fall, almost all of which opposed the national Boy Scout policy.”

The Barron Park Association has been the chartering organization for Boy Scout Troop 52 in Palo Alto, California, for 30 years.

We strongly support removing the national membership restriction regarding sexual orientation. This would mean there would no longer be any national policy regarding sexual orientation. The chartered organizations that oversee and deliver Scouting would accept membership and select leaders consistent with each organization’s mission, principles, or religious beliefs.

We believe that discrimination in Boy Scouts of America hurts communities, both in excluding boys and in proclaiming that such exclusion is justified. We reject both, as do a great many parents in our community. In fact, the continued sponsorship of the local troop has been called into question by an increasing number of community members. We urge you to change the BSA’s discriminatory policies.

Lynnie Melena, President of the Barron Park Association, the Chartered Organization for Troop 52

Douglas B. Moran, Chartered Organization Representative and an Eagle Scout (1960s)

However, it turned out that the BSA decided not to change its rules at the February meeting after all, instead postponing a decision on this issue until May. As a result, the BPA Board will postpone its review and wait until the BSA clarifies its position before deciding on whether to continue in its role as a chartered organization.

This issue of BSA discriminatory policies created quite a storm of discussion on the email lists in October. Many of those emails questioned whether the BPA should be sponsoring a BSA troop. There were a number emails on the other side as well, describing the merits and benefits to participants of the BSA program.

So we know this is an issue of great interest to many in our community. We want to use the next few months to hear from those in Barron Park community with opinions on all sides. The question is not about the Boy Scouts but about whether the Barron Park Association should charter a Boy Scout troop. You can send in your thoughts in an email using the Contact Us form on this website, or contact any one of the Board members by clicking on the email link next to their pictures on the BPA Board page.

…….From Bob Frost

Here is the scoop on the February BP Senior lunch.

The date is Tuesday, Feb 12, time is 1 pm, and the place is Da Sichuan, a new Chinese style restaurant located at 3781 El Camino Real. To reach the parking behind the restaurant, turn onto Curtner and look for the parking lot immediately to the left.

Da Sichuan has agreed to a special flat price of $12 complete, tax, and tip. To get this price we need to provide an exact count of the number of people coming.

The menu has been pre-selected and includes:

Sweet Corn Chicken Soup,
Chinese Chicken Salad
Sweet and Sour Pork,
Beef with Broccoli,
Prawns with Vegetables,
Cashew Chicken,
Dry Sauteed String Beans (for the vegetarians),
Steamed Rice

Rosemary & Julie will be collecting your money and handing out name tags as you come in.

Please contact Bob Frost at bobfrost34@yahoo.com or 493-8272 if you wish to join with us for this lunch.

Bob needs to know who is attending by Friday, February 8^th . People can cancel as late as 10 a.m. Tuesday morning February 12th, if necessary, by phoning Rosemary Jacobsen at 493-9152.

Since we are pre-ordering, it is important that all people who make reservations show up. So if you change your mind or can’t make it, please let Rosemary know, even up to the last minute. We will have to collect from anyone who makes a reservation but does not attend or cancel.

We hope to see you there to celebrate a Happy Valentines Day….. even though we will be a little early!

Rosemary Jacobsen, Julie Spengler, & Bob Frost

The Barron Park Association

BPA Board Meeting Minutes: February 19, 2013

February BPA Board Meeting Agenda

BPA Board Meeting Agenda

Background to the BPA Board Statement to the Boy Scouts of America