The Nipomo Incorporation Committee for Education (NICE) held its most recent community meeting on Saturday, 03/28/09 at the Woodlands Trilogy, Avila Room from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon.  Over 100, (103 was the official count) local Nipomo residents, joined several governmental leaders and community leaders at the meeting.    Katcho Achadjian, 4th District Supervison, San Luis Obispo County attended, as did officials from the Nipomo Community Services District, Chamber of Commerce, and others.  Katcho moderated the morning’s discussion, which included the following presentations.  

9:06 a.m. Frank Smith, Triology, Shea Homes.  Frank gave a brief overview of the current focus of the Woodlands community.  Despite a downturn in the economy, in 2008, Shea Homes closed and sold 83 homes out of their 87 home goal.  This year in 2009, they have sold five homes each month, from January through March.   The Woodlands community continues its growth.    NICE thanks The Monarch Club of Trilogy at The Woodlands for the generous donation of the Avila Room for the meeting location, including light refreshments.

9:12 a.m.  Mike Eisner, NICE, President gave an overview of the recent NICE Survey on Incorporation.

NICE powerpoint presentation here. (Click on slideshow icon at top right to view images)

9:19 a.m. Katcho, Moderator.  Katcho pointed out that any eventual Nipomo incorporation decision will be one made by Nipomo residents, not the county, not the surrounding communities–but Nipomo residents alone.  Katcho felt that NICE has, over the last years delivered what it has promised to the community:  education.  NICE has brought in representatives from the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Deparment, CDF , San Luis Ambulance, Local Developers, and County Government.  Katcho also pointed out that NICE is a non-profit organization completely comprised of local volunteer efforts of Nipomo residents.

9:29 a.m. Chuck Stevenson, San Luis Obispo County Planning Department.  

Chuck also presented a powerpoint presentation, which you can view here (Click on slideshow icon at top right to view images).  Some of the highlights included the following:

2008 population estimates show Nipomo at approximately 14,547 residents, reflecting a 13% increase since 2000.  Buildout projections of 2030 estimate Nipomo’s population to be approximately 21,539.  If the surrounding rural areas are included (historic Nipomo) the population increases to approximately 35,072.

Some incorporation obstacles include infrastructure, water, tax base, affordable work housing, and costs of government.   Nipomo’s infrastructure needs include longtime reliable water source, and various street and highway needs, including Willow Road interchange and Tefft Street freeway improvements.

The powerpoint presentation outlined several opportuinty areas for economic growth.  In the next five years, Nipomo will need water supply and highway interchange improvements.  Commerical growth will likely be modest and slower.  There will be continued residential growth.  And, there will likely be an general plan update for the Nipomo area within five years.

9:58 a.m. Dave Flynn, San Luis Obispo County Department of Public Works

Dave’s powerpoint presentation can be seen here.  (Click on slideshow icon at top right to view images).

Some highlights include a fascinating inventory of existing Nipomo infrastructure:

94 Lane Miles of Streets

160 Culverts

125 Street Lights

42 Drainage Basins

32 miles of Sidewalk

6 Traffic Signals

2 Bridges

2  Transit buses

In terms of Nipomo’s 94 miles of streets, we actually rank in the top tier of the county in road conditions; however, all communities are sliding downward in road conditions because of the lack of funding.  From 2006 to 2008, the following roads were paved in the Nipomo community:  Southland, Division, Orchard, Pomeroy, Las Flores, and Thompson.  

Current revenues relating to Nipomo infrastructure total approximately $1,025, 000, while expenditures slightly exceed revenues at approximately $1,310,000.  To make up this shortfall, the County must dip into the general fund.  

Proposed Tefft Street improvements in four phases over the next eight years will total almost $10,000.00, which will include additional off ramp lanes, and relocating the southbound on ramp.  

10:48 a.m. Pete Jenny, County Parks and Recreation:

Pete did not prepare a powerpoint presentation; however, he pointed out that there are approximately 154 acres of community parks.  In Nipomo, we fare far better than most other areas of the county.  Nipomo enjoys approxmimately 10.5 acres per 1000 residents.  The county average is only two acres per 1000 residents.  

The county strives to have at least one park within 1/2 mile of a residence, which is not always possible.  Pete pointed out that several community services district in the county are now assuming park powers, including here in Nipomo–even though limited at the present time.  

Pete also pointed out that much is accomplished throughout the county by unique partner relationships.  For example, the county partnerned with the Lucia Mar School District to provide soccer fields at Nipomo High School.  Such creative partnerships make many projects possible.

Pete outlined some of Nipomo’s recreational needs for the future:  A needs assessment is a big undertaking; howevever, Nipomo needs to know where to start and plan for its recreational future.  Pete suggested:

1.  Protection of Nipomo’s open space habitat;

2.  More community parks;

3.  Recreation programs.  

4.  The NCSD’s assumption of park powers can help implement these goals.

11:20 a.m.  Paul Hood LAFCO

Paul’s powerpoint presentation outlined some of the basic steps toward incorporation.  You can see Paul’s powerpoint here, directly from the SLOLAFCO website.  Paul’s presentation included a background of LAFCO, why communities choose to become cities, and process followed to become a city, including the petition process, administrative process, fiscal analysis and eventual election.  It’s a very informative presentation and gives a very good overview of how a city, specifically, how Nipomo would go through the legal requirements to become a city.  I encourage you to review the powerpoint.

Overall, the County Staff did an excellent job of presenting the information to the community.  The community benefited, and it was truly an educational meeting.    NICE plans to hold another community meeting next September.  To become more involved please leave a comment with your email address, if we do not already have that information.  Thanks to all who participated.

December 9, 2008

Present: Mike Eisner, Bonnie Eisner, Ingmar Lauringson, Lynn Mc Gill, Bob Mc Gill, Jim Harrison, Larry Verheilig, Merle Ackerman, and Dan Gaddis.

The meeting was called to order at 6:00 P.M.

Dale Ramey was not ready for his presentation, but would like to come back on January 20th to discuss Willow Road. These meetings as all steering committee meetings are open to the public. The committee was urged to invite any person(s) they thought would be interested in the subject matter to attend.

Davis Report – Mike recapped the latest recalculation of the Davis Report which has been created by Clyde Cruise and his committee. Mike went to the assessor’s office and they created a map for the city of Nipomo based on the 93444 zip code. There are 142 parcels missing, but will be incorporated into the next revision of the city map. This map reflects 2 billion in property tax and land improvements in these parcels. The county receives 1% of the state total and then generates revenue back to each city based on a calculation computed by the county. Larry suggests we have a powerful negotiator at the table when Incorporation proceedings take place with the County.

New Data- Each committee member is to pick apart the data from the Davis Report revision and send it back to Mike and Clyde. A copy of the revised budget will be uploaded to the website for all members to review and comment on.

It was suggested that we get a “sanity” check on when these developments will really begin based on the fact that King Ventures and Nipomo Commons have been on the books for at least 5 years and never broken ground. George Newman also is always stating he is 60 days from beginning, but has not moved any sand lately.

Ingmar- He is trying to come up with a fund raiser for NICE. His suggestion is to begin with a bumper sticker. All agreed that we do need to find a source for some revenue. Perhaps on the scale of Goleta with a bumper sticker that says NIPOMO NOW. Ingmar will explore ideas for a bumper sticker.

I.R.S. Reports- Mike would like our treasurer, Clyde Cruise, to investigate which year end reports need to be filed with the state or federal government to make sure we keep our non-profit status and report back.

Questionnaire- It was suggested that we send a questionnaire out to those who have signed up on our e-mail list. A list of sample questions were reviewed and discussed. Mike will develop the questionnaire and send it to the committee for review before submitting to the community.

The next Community Presentation will be on either March 21 or March 28. We agreed that it should be the county of SLO presentation on “Nipomo in the next 5 years” based on what they envision for the community. Speakers should be Katcho, Chuck Stevenson, Dale Ramey, James Lopes and Brian Pedrotti. The following questions would be included in the presentation:

1. What projects are in the planning stages?
2. What changes would occur to the plans if the community were to Incorporate?
3. What infrastructure improvements are planned?
4. What effect does water have on County plans for Nipomo?
5. How does the current economy effect the plans for Nipomo?

Meeting Adjourned at 7:25 p.m.

June 26, 2008

Present: Mike Eisner, Guy Murray, Kevin Beauchamp, Bonnie Eisner, Ingmar Lauringson, Lynn Mc Gill, Bob Mc Gill, Jim Harrison, Al Daurio, Dan Gaddis

The meeting was called to order at 6:00 P.M.

Mike recapped the last General Meeting and the Andy Caldwell radio show that Guy and Mike were on last month.

2008 Wish List – Mike asked each member to talk about what we should be doing for the rest of the year. With business and the economy on a downslide, what would assist us at this time? The following ideas were discussed and member assignments made.

Guy- Suggested signing up for Oktoberfest. Committee approved the idea

Al – Have the developers present a panel on how they think Nipomo will look in the future. The committee suggested the following developers to sit on a panel. The committee also suggested Dave Congelton as the moderator. The panel would be Newman, Nester, Moore, Rossi, Marinai (?), King Ventures, and Woodlands. The meeting general meeting would be in the fall and we will explore meeting locations at the Woodlands (Kevin), Black lake and St. Jo (Mike) or High School (Guy).

Kevin – The chamber is going to have a business bus trip. Perhaps we could add a Teresa Cruise cookie and a brochure on board. We need to get more members on the steering committee. (Kevin to contact the Woodlands for a member and Mike will contact Larry Verheilig) We need more names added to our database by placing a table near Vons or at the banks. It was suggested that we join the Nipomo Chamber and everyone agreed. We could then put flyers into their newsletters. Jim also agreed to explore the idea of a flyer in the NCSD billings.

Lynn – How about talking to the Civics teacher at the High School (Lyn) or involvement the Progressive Club (Al)? Maybe how to incorporate a town could be a senior project.

Bonnie- Katcho is really pushing for us to begin the incorporation now instead of waiting while he is still on the LACFO committee. I think we should investigate who is on this and why Katcho thinks we should start now. Perhaps there is something in the future that we do not know about. Maybe we need to add these names to our must invite to General Meetings list.

Clyde- Will sign up to become a member of the Chamber.

Mike- Will call George Zaiser and see if the Newcomers are interested in a program on Incorporation at one of their luncheons.

Bonnie and Lyn- Will discuss the need of a flyer for Incorporation.

Meeting Adjourned at 6:55 p.m.

Nipomo Incorporation Steering Committee Minutes

February 26, 2008

Present: Mike Eisner, Guy Murray, Bonnie Eisner, Merle Ackerman, Jim Harrison, Al Daurio, Dan Gaddis and Terry Buterbaugh.

Guests: Ethel Landers

The meeting was called to order at 6:00 P.M.

Mike reviewed the Cal Poly workshop last Saturday and hopes to be able to e-mail the group all of the hard work done by the students..

Previous Minutes- The minutes for January 29, 2008 were approved.

David Mathe Meeting – Mike, Clyde and Jim met with Dave to discuss grants for incorporation. He volunteered to assist us if we go after a grant. We would need to go after grants that fall under governmental services. These would probably be for matching funds. Dave is currently business manager for the Fire Safe Council and Administrative Officer for three fire departments. He currently lives in Nipomo.

Davis Report Update- Al has converted most of the report to Adobe for use by the committee. The steering committee agreed that we need to continue our efforts and wait and watch for a change in the economy. This will take a lot of time and a lot of work. Just keep working at it and be informed on the pulse of Nipomo.

Public Relations- Al Daurio, Chair- His committee will be calling a special meeting to update the slide presentation.

Public Outreach- Terry Buterbaugh and Merle Ackerman worked on a brochure called “Question and Answers”. The rough draft will be e-mailed to the rest of the steering committee for input. Terry has a new e-mail and Mike will send along with the rough draft. It was suggested that members look at the web site edhcity.org; it has a very good question and answers section. Terry thought that we needed a brochure to track our progress to date. We would list where and how each meeting has been with the realistic feed back received. Ethel suggested that we need a stepping stone of brochures and offered to assist us with graphics. It was also suggested that we develop a logo to be used on this and future brochures. In eventuality, the logo could be suggested as the city emblem at a future date. All committee members are asked to consider such a logo and present it to Mike.

Next Community Workshop – Mike is waiting for Assemblyman Sam Blakeslee’s office to confirm the date that is available for our next meeting. Mike will contact the Woodlands to see if we can go there for this meeting. The room holds up to 250 people

Next Steering committee meeting- It was agreed that we would go to bi-monthly meetings. Regular committee meetings can still go on with Mike or Guy called to attend for input.

The next steering meeting date will be announced after we know the date of our next community workshop

Meeting Adjourned at 7:00 p.m.

Nipomo Incorporation Steering Committee Minutes

January 29, 2008

Present: Mike Eisner, Guy Murray, Kevin Beauchamp, Bonnie Eisner, Ingmar Lauringson, Jim Harrison, Al Daurio, Helen Daurio, Dan Gaddis and Terry Buterbaugh.

Guest: Donna Mehlschau

The meeting was called to order at 6:00 P.M.

Mike went around the table and each of the committee chairs gave an update on what they want to achieve this year.

501C3- Bonnie Eisner, Chair – We have received the paperwork back from the State of California approving our non-profit status. They Federal approval is still a couple of months away due to the amount of applications they have received.

Davis Report Update- Clyde Cruise, Chair- MIKE YOU CAN ADD CLYDES Report

Public Relations- Al Daurio, Chair- his committee needs to tune up and update his presentation so Al will call Bonnie, Mike and Dan to review and tweak the message.

Community Development- Ingmar Lauringson, Chair. – The committee took the county, DOB, and chamber data and got 864 businesses affiliated or doing business in Nipomo. Kevin will clear up the list of duplicates and print out a new list. There are 307 businesses licenses in Nipomo. The committee will put business into categories and see which category the committee should speak to first.

NOTE_ I do not have the name of Terry’s Committee… Press packet???

Road Show- The next program on Incorporation will be on Feb 27th at the chamber luncheon. It is to be a pros and cons debate. We need to update Al’s presentation and go back to the Woodlands and other groups this year. We also need to see how many of the flyers we have left before the next program.

Community Workshop- The committee agreed that the best draw we could get to a meeting would be Assemblyman Sam Blakeslee. Mike will contact Katcho to see if he can assist us with this and have the meeting at the Trilogy banquet room which just opened. We will set that for March on a date agreeable with Assemblyman Blakeslee’s office.

Fundraising – There were several ideas: Car show, golf, BBQ, Reverse Drawing and others. Helen suggested that we begin to have a raffle at each of our community workshops so that some funds are trickling in. We will need a donation basket each time from someone in the community.

Thank You Notes – Donna volunteered to do our thank you notes for the donations to NICE. She thinks that is important to get right out. She will need Mike or Clyde to funnel the information to here so she can follow up with a note.

Web site – Ingmar wanted Guy to know how very good the site looked. It was suggested that we try to link up our site with others in the community. Guy will look into that.

The committees need to move ahead and be fluid. This is our year to move ahead and try to get the attention of Nipomo residents.

Meeting Adjourned at 6:55 p.m.

N. I. C. E.
(Nipomo Incorporation Committee for Education)

Agenda

January 29, 2008

6:00 P. M.

Nipomo Library

Congratulations and thank you to Bonnie and Donna for their efforts in completing the 501C3 forms. We have received notification that we are approved and therefore we are ready to start our fund raising efforts.

1. Welcome

2. Committee updates

3. Suggestions for future N.I.C.E. presentations (Chamber in February)

4. Discuss fund raising with suggestions for successful events

5. Discuss next community meeting

6. Other items not on the agenda

7. Adjourn

Guest: Donna Mehlschau

The meeting was called to order at 6:00 P.M.

Mike went around the table and each of the committee chairs gave a brief over-view of what they have accomplished this year.

Clyde- his committee has met with Goleta, Arroyo Grande, Pismo Beach and Grover to go over city budgets and fee schedules. He is trying to identify other revenue streams such as Business licenses, recreational fee, grants. They also need to identify the departments needed in the new city and begin the task of estimating when revenue neutrality would be met.

Al- his committee needs to tune up and update his presentation as we receive more data.

Ingmar and Kevin- their committee is working on gathering all of the business licenses for Nipomo using the county (368), yellow pages (602) and chamber information. They will merge the list into a data base.

Bonnie- her committee is waiting for the return of the 501-C3 paperwork.

Mike stated that 2007 was the year to get organized and 2008 was the year to come out and be seen in the community.

The goals for 2008 are as follows with the committee or person responsible for handling the action underlined:

1. Clearly define the government structure for the new town; council, city manager, planning dept., building dept., etc. Guy Murray

2. Develop an income/expense budget for the town. Finance Committee

3. Develop brochures for distribution to the community. Develop articles for publication in the newspapers. Public Outreach Committee

4. Update power point presentation. Public Information Committee

5. Develop a list of residents that are opposed to the idea of Incorporation and hold a public forum to give them an opportunity to be heard. Learn, as a group, from what they have to say. Steering Committee

6. Review the LAFCO timeline and determine where we are in relation to the timeline recommendations. Mike Eisner

7. Secure the names of possible new steering committee members. Steering committee

8. Continue the “road shows” Keep the word out that we will make presentations to any organization that is interested in NICE. Go back to areas like Black Lake and the Woodlands for a second presentation. Steering committee

9. Start fundraising. Fundraising committee

10. Continue strong “community workshops”. Suggestions for 2008

a. Sam Blakeslee

b. Goleta council member who worked on Incorporation

c. SLO Planning department representatives

11. Develop community business database. Community Development Committee

The meeting adjourned at 7:15 P.M.

At this meeting we will have four items on the agenda:

1. Planning for 2008

2. Date for Holiday party at the home of Mike and Bonnie

3. Other items from the members

4. Suggestion for additional members to the committee

Please plan on attending as we have a lot of work to prepare for in 2008

Present: Mike Eisner, Guy Murray, Joe Tomei, Kevin Beauchamp, Bonnie Eisner, Ingmar Lauringson, Merle Ackerman, Al Daurio, and Clyde Cruise.

Guests- Teresa Cruise

The meeting was called to order at 6:30 P.M.

A big thank you to Clyde and Teresa for the delicious dinner they served us.

The agenda and minutes of June 26, 2007 were approved by common consent.

Mike recapped the Gyros and Fund Raising meetings.
Ingmar highlighted the CCGA meeting.

Treasurer’s Report- We have $1,283.00 in the bank.

October festival, October 13th- We need volunteers. Clyde and work the afternoon and Guy volunteered to work the morning shift. Mike will send out an e-mail to those who did not attend to see if anyone else can assist.

Bullet Points on the presentation -There was a discussion on the power point presentation produced by Al Daurio and his committee. Bonnie noted that the presentation needs a few more slides so we don’t look like we are pushing incorporation. Al agreed to review her ideas.

Governing a new city – The point was brought up at one of the meetings about whether we have enough qualified residences to fill a slate of town council members. Guy brought up the point that if you look at all of the volunteers who are currently working in the community, and the new home owners entering the community. There should be no trouble finding competent volunteers. Merle also reminded the group that there will still be a city manager and other paid staff to assist the council members.

Community Workshop – The committee felt that the title of the meeting should be “Emergency Services Infrastructure. The speakers will be Bill Fisher from Cal Fire. Mike will see if Commander Basti can join us also plus with Rob Rossi in attendance, it might be nice to hear from him.

Our next workshop will be in January and the thought was to have Chuck Stevenson and Brain Pedrotti, from SLO planning, present all of the projects in the works for Nipomo plus answer questions from the attendees.

The meeting was adjourned at 7:40 p.m.

Present: Mike Eisner, Guy Murray, Joe Tomei, Bob McGill, Kevin Beauchamp, Lynn Mc Gill, Bonnie Eisner, Ingmar Lauringson, Merle Ackerman, Jim Harrison, Al Daurio, Clyde Cruise and Terry Buterbaugh.
Guests- Mike Winn

The meeting was called to order at 6:00 P.M.

The agenda and minutes of April 24 2007 were approved by common consent.

The Articles of Incorporation were approved. Motion by Lynn / Al .

The By laws were debated by the steering committee and approved. Motion by Ingmar/ Bob. A copy is attached

Al showed the power point presentation produced by the public information committee. Suggestions were made and the presentation will be edited. This presentation will be shown at Summer Fest.

Summer fest is July 14th. We need volunteers. Terry asked for Mike to resend the request for help.

Finances needed for 2007- We will need a budget of about $1,000,00 for this first year just to pay for the incorporation and non profit filings plus the brochures. It was suggested that each member of the steering committee assist in this by donating $100.00. We are also thinking of placing a request for funds on the web page. Mike will send an e mail out to the steering committee for approval.

The committee will be dark for July and August. Motion by Merle/Al.

Our next workshop will be in October, if we can get access to the NCSD building. It was suggested we work on the communities’ vision for Nipomo.

Adjourned at 8:20 p.m. You may also access the minutes here. Steering Committee Minutes