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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2002-01-15 VAC MINUTESVETERANS ADVISORY COMMISSION CITY OF CHULA VISTA MINUTES JANUARY 15, 2002 TUESDAY, 6:00 P.M. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Human Resources Conference Room City Hall Building A moment of silence was observed to honor the seven Marines killed in Afghanistan. 2. MEETING CALLED TO ORDER — 6:00 p.m. 3. ROLL CALL — Stephen Arends P Carmen Fedje P , Agustive Hermes, Jr. P , William Poindexter P , Robert White P , A.Y. Casillas P , Stephen Millikin A Guests: � Capt. Gene Pellerin, USN -Retired. 4. APPROVAL OF MINUTES - The minutes of November 20, 2001 were corrected and resubmitted to the Commissioners prior to today's meeting. It was moved and seconded to accept corrected minutes. . • 5. ACTION ITEMS a. Election of a New Chair This item will be tabled until further notice. Mr. Raskin has declined membership in the Veterans Advisory Commission and Mr. Arends is requesting that the commissioners look for new applicants for the commissioner position. The Mayor has requested Mr. Arends remain as a commissioner until a replacement can be found. Unfinished Business a. Street Names Mr. Arends advised regarding the creating of Ayers Court on the north end of Davies Drive. He was informed that the street name was approved some months ago, but there has been no action. A discussion on information surrounding the community park and street names followed. b. Veterans Memorial Mr. Arends informed the commissioners of his requests regarding the Veterans Memorial. Mr. Casillas suggested we ask for commitments in writing. Captain Dyke will follow up and report back to the commissioners on the status of the unfinished business. c. Chula Vista Veterans Home Support Foundation Update • There was a fire on December 7, 2001 at the Veterans Home in Building D (Independent Living). The residents were moved into the many unoccupied rooms of the Skilled Nursing Facility. Their sprinkler system poured out thousands of gallons of water per minute and flooded the building. There was a great deal of smoke damage and water damage. The rooms are being renovated at this time, and the expectation is that work will be completed by the spring. IN An update of the Veterans bay golf tournament netted $8,000. The money was used to gifts for the Veterans Home residents in the form of gift certificates to Wal-Mart, Target, and McDonalds. There was also a very nice Christmas Party on December 17 for the residents. Mr. Arends is working hard to complete the Community Development Block grant applications on time for most of the cities in San Diego County, to donate federal funds to the Foundation. Mr. Arends also spoke to City Attorney Glen Googins who will assist the Commission with tax returns since the amount in , donations received exceeded $25,000. This is the first year the Commission has had to file income tax. The next Foundation board meeting will be at noon, February 21St Mr. White informed the Commission that an additional $20,000 was donated from the Benbow Foundation. These monies went to different funds at the Veterans Home. d. Veterans Home Update Department of Health Services will be at the Veterans Home on Tuesday, January 22nd to begin the certification process of the Skilled Nursing Facility. Barstow has been inspected several times and after their most recent re -inspection, they were given an interim certification to re -open their Skilled Nursing Facility. There are over 120 qualified people on the waiting list to get into the Skilled Nursing Facility at the Chula Vista Veterans Home. Once the inspection is completed at the Chula Vista Home, a small percentage of eligible applicants can move in immediately, however Governor Davis has imposed a hiring freeze which means residents cannot be admitted without qualified, trained staff. It is not certain at this time which organizations, which will be exempt from this hiring, freeze. e. Veteran of the Year Award Mr. Arends expressed his appreciation for being selected as Chula Vista's Veteran of the Year. It was moved and •seconded that the Veteran of the Year Committee write a thank -you note to the person who made the nomination and encourage them to resubmit an application next year. f. Goals and Objectives Continue to advise and make recommendations to the City Council regarding veterans concerns, and on matters which the Board has special knowledge and expertise. Find a new commissioner to replace Mr. Arends. Be alert to the end of your term for re-election so that new candidates can be solicited Legislative Reports Commissioners still have access to legislative reports, either by mail or on line. Mr. Mends attended the County Board of Supervisors meeting in mid-November and spoke on behalf of veterans and active duty military people and their families. who were not eligible in-state college tuition status at all California State Universities, University of California campuses and community colleges throughout the state. The governor signed a bill back in Optpber, which gave undocumented immigrants better benefits than military, and veterans get. When Mr. Arends and other County officials made this fact know in Sacramento, Assembly Bill 1346 was addressed and now benefits all veterans and military families throughout the state. Mr. Arends also updated the commissioners on the status of local veterans' cemeteries. h. Oral History Mr. Poindexter has not been able to schedule a meeting with Jerry Rindone. Other channels were suggested by the commissioners. • 6. COMMUNICATIONS toStreet naming project not completed. Commissioners discussed their understanding of the commitment previously discussed with Jim Sandoval. Captain Dyke will follow up with Jim Sandoval. CHAIR'S COMMENTS Mr. Arends sent a letter on behalf of the commission to Eileen Schwartz who is the lady who came up with the idea and created the Flags Across San Diego County exhibit. The exhibit was unveiled on December 7, 2001 at the Chula Vista Library. The exhibit was also displayed at the Veterans Memorial in Balboa Park. Mr. Arends advised that Mission Viejo has a Veterans Way (street). Mr. Arends is working on article for the American Legion magazine about the what the City of Chula Vista is doing for its veterans. Chula Vista will host the March monthly meeting of the Cal Vets. There will be a public meeting at the Veterans Home on Saturday, March 9th at 9.a.m.and Mayor Horton is scheduled to attend. National and State Committee of the VFW will be visiting Chula Vista on Friday, February 151h. The two events scheduled for that day are lunch at the Veterans Home, and dinner for VFW members on Friday night at the Post. COMMISSIONERS COMMENTS Mr. White informed the commissioners on how they could obtain a Cold War Recognition Certificate. A copy of a sample letter • is enclosed for your perusal. STAFF COMMENTS None PUBLIC COMMENTS None 7. ADJOURNMENT — 7:27 p.m. Next regularly scheduled meeting at 6:00 p.m., on Tuesday, February 19, 2002 in the Human Resources Conference Room at City Hall, 276 Fourth Avenue, Chula Vista, CA 91910 Trudi W. Mayes Clerical Support 3