City of San Diego Retired Employees Association
February 14, 2023
Board Meeting Minutes
NOTES: All votes were unanimous unless otherwise noted
Call to Order: The meeting was called to order by Vice-President for Advocacy Mike Bresnahan at 9:35am.
Board Members Present: Mike Bresnahan, Chris Brewster, Liza Crisafi, Joan Hernandez, Brad Jacobsen, Stacey LoMedico, Mary Ann Stepnowsky, John Tsiknas, and Dave Twomey
Guests Present: Joe Flynn
AGENDA: There were two additions to the agenda: Approval of the deferred December 2022 Treasurer’s Report, and Printing of REA flyers
MINUTES: Brad forgot to mail out the final minutes of the January 2023 Board meeting; they will be up for approval at the March Board meeting. The minutes of the Special January 2023 Board meeting were approved.
TREASURER’S REPORT: Liza noted some unusual expenses: Catering for the January meeting was high ($681+); there was a $500 deposit to the Bali Hai for the 2023 Holiday Party; there was an annual website maintenance fee; there was a payment to Gary Katz for his work on the swim program, and we paid an insurance premium.
M/S/C to approve the deferred December 2022 and the January 2023 Treasurer’s Reports
INVESTMENT COMMITTEE REPORT: John reported that the Russell 3000 experienced a nice uptick recovering all that was lost last month plus a little extra. Its appreciation is 35.77%. The Money Market appreciation is 4.48%. The value of the Legal fund is $334,364.
RETIREMENT BOARD REPRESENTATIVE’S REPORT: No report.
COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION ITEMS:
1) Mike reported that he and Dave met with new Park & Rec staff to discuss REA’s expectations regarding room setups and access to our lockers on meeting days. P&R staff pointed out that our current SUP does not include use of lockers; they will revise the new SUP to include that. We are also working on installing a more secure lock for the locker that contains our AV equipment.
2) Mary Ann reported that MailChimp will be increasing the charges for our eblasts to $23 per month due to increased volume but with unlimited usage. Discussion was deferred to the March Board meeting.
3) Mike is working on a meeting with new incoming District 6 Council Member Kent Lee.
4) Brad reported that we received a letter from an attorney representing the executor of the estate of a deceased REA member, inquiring about any assets the decedent may have with us. Brad will draft a response for Mike’s signature.
ACTION ITEMS:
1) Dave updated the Board on the next Read Across America event. Expenses include $3000 to Gary Katz for his videos of the event and $3500 for books. He noted that other entities also contribute to the book expenses, so we are essentially seed money. Gary’s videos are sent to the Council office for their use, and to Voice of San Diego as a promotional tool for REA.
M/S/C to approve the expenditure of $3000 to Gary Katz contingent upon his delivery of a closeout report and $3500 for books
2) Jessica Taylor of SDCERS notified Mike that she is running out of REA handouts given to employees in their pre-retirement meetings.
M/S/C to approve the expenditure of $350 for the printing of additional membership brochures.
ADVOCACY COMMITTEE REPORT
The next Advocacy Committee meeting is Thursday February 23, at 9:30am via Zoom.
OTHER COMMITTEE REPORTS
Membership: Membership is at an all-time high with 1754 members.
Newsletter: Deadline for the next issue is February 17 at 5:00pm.
OTHER RETIREE/ACTIVE EMPLOYEE ASSOCIATION REPORTS
Retiree Issues Task Force (RITF): No report.
Retirement Security Roundtable: Next meeting is March 2023.
MEA: No report.
Other Retired Public Employee Associations: No report.
PROGRAMS: Brad reported that Steve Spinella in the DA’s office has confirmed as our March speaker.
He also reported, on Joan McNamara’s behalf, that the tour of the Japanese Friendship Garden is selling out to the point that an additional tour has been arranged.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 10:30am.
Respectfully submitted,
Brad Jacobsen
Secretary