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March 2024 Newsletter

Dear Ocean Beach Town Council Foundation Supporters,

As we turned the corner into 2024, OB is buzzing with high attendance at our recent Community Forum in January and Neighborhood Roundtable in February that focused on the Ocean Beach Community Foundation (501c3) and Ocean Beach Town Council (501c4) entities. Your volunteer Board of Directors is hard at work building infrastructure, editing bylaws and standing rules, listening to community members and key stakeholders, to ensure the structure of the Town Council moves forward with integrity and accountability to the community we were elected to serve. This email kicks off a monthly meeting recap and newsletter to improve communication, increase transparency, and rebuild trust in the organization.As always, reach out to us by replying to this email (or any time by emailing [email protected]), messaging us on Facebook or Instagram, or say hi if you see us around OB.

Proudly serving OBecians,

Ocean Beach Town Council Foundation Board

February 28, 2024 Meeting Recap

Neighborhood Roundtable:

Ocean Beach Community Foundation &

Ocean Beach Town Council

At our February 28 Neighborhood Roundtable focused on the OB Community Foundation and OB Town Council, we heard from the community we serve. There were numerous public comments, our monthly Treasurer’s report, and a level-set on the two entities OBCF (501c3) and OBTC (501c4). The future direction of the organization is to operate from the 501c3, rebranding as the Ocean Beach Town Council Foundation (OBTCF), and eventually dissolving the 501c4.

In 2024, we hope to gather OB Community Voice to set priorities for the activities of the OBTCF committees that consist of:

• Advocacy - led by Aaron Null

• Engagement - led by Anna Firicano

• Events - led by Stephanie Kane

• Finance - led by Jenny Brengelman

• Improvement - led by Mandy Havlik

We would also like the community to weigh in on topics for the Neighborhood Roundtables for the upcoming year. If you missed our February meeting you can catch up with recordings or by reviewing the slide deck:

View Zoom Recording

View Facebook recording

We want to hear from OBecians! If you want to share your ideas for OBTCF’s committees or upcoming Neighborhood Roundtables, we invite you to speak up. OBTCF also shared that we would like to gather information on community members who are ready to roll up their sleeves and help. We need to know what skills and talents you would like to contribute and how much time you have to give. We’ve created two forms to capture those ideas in full.

OB Community Voice

OBTC Volunteer Support

As a reminder our format for public meetings this year will be as follows:

Community Announcements & Resources

These resources and announcements were shared at the OBTCF meeting and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the organization. We are leveraging this monthly newsletter as a platform to share relevant information with the OB community.

501c3 Nonprofit Lobbying Resources

With all future OBTCF activities occurring as a 501c3 entity, there was discussion at the February 28 meeting about the legality of 501c3 organization’s ability to participate in advocacy activities. The short answer it, yes it is 100% legal for 501c3 nonprofit organizations to participate in advocacy and lobby. We are lucky in San Diego to have one of the nation’s top leading experts on this topic - Pat Libby. Here are some of the resources she offers on the topic:

• Article - A Beginner’s Guide to Lobbying for Nonprofits

• Pat Libby’s top books on Amazon

• Webinar - Amplifying Nonprofit Voices: A Deep Dive into Nonprofit Advocacy

SeaWorld Fireworks Ban

During 2-minute non-agenda items, a flyer was shared regarding a petition to ban SeaWorld fireworks. If you would like to sign the petition, visit the petition website.

Point Loma Thespian Society Presents

We hope you were able to catch Point Loma Thespian Society’s One Acts on February 23 and March 1. Flyers were available at our meeting. Catch up on past performances an their website.

If you have announcements or resources to share with the OB community, please email PDF or JPG flyers and article content to [email protected].

Reports from our Key Stakeholders

Report from the Office of

Mayor Todd Gloria

By Randy Reyes (he/him), Community Representative Districts 2 & 5

January 22nd Storm Update: 

Last week, President Biden approved the major declaration which approved a FEMA designation for the San Diego region. Mayor Gloria is extremely thankful that the Biden-Harris administration made this declaration, and to all of our partners at the local, state and federal level who helped make the case for this designation, including Governor Newsom, Senator Atkins and our local Congressional delegation. What the FEMA declaration does is provide financial assistance to residents for damage not covered by insurance, including:  

1. Hotel expense reimbursement for uninsured or underinsured applicants who can't return to their home due to disaster-related damage  

2. Home repair/replacement assistance for disaster losses not already covered by another source  

3. Rental assistance for alternative housing  

4. Personal property assistance to repair or replace essential, uninsured personal property damaged by severe storms and flooding  

5. Transportation Assistance for primary vehicles damaged by the disaster 

6. People can start applying for FEMA assistance now. Go to DisasterAssistance.gov, call 800-621-FEMA (3362) or download the FEMA App for information and to start your application.

7. The FEMA registration deadline for San Diegans is April 19

Smart Streetlight and License Plate Recognition Technologies are Solving Crimes and Advancing Investigations: 

Just two months ago, Mayor Gloria signed the Smart Streetlight and Automated License Plate Recognition program into law to help make our communities safer. Already, these critical crime-solving tools have been used to solve and advance multiple investigations. Over 100 cameras operational so far have aided police with more than 22 homicide, robbery, burglary, assault and stolen vehicle investigations. A dozen stolen vehicles so far have been recovered using this technology, with 11 suspects in custody from these investigations It's clear that Smart Streetlight and ALPR technology is already making our city safer.

Mayor Gloria Signs First City-wide Project Labor Agreement into Law: 

This historic agreement will cover the City’s construction projects and ensure these projects get done on time and on budget while also making sure the workers for these projects are from our neighborhoods. This means creating thousands more construction jobs for San Diegans. 

Report from the Office of Councilmember Jennifer Campbell District 2

By Manny Reyes, MIA (he/him/his), Policy Advisor & Community Representative

1. The Sidewalk Vendor Ordinance Amendments were approved with unanimous support on February 13, 2024 and also passed the second reading yesterday, Tuesday, February 27, 2024. Now, the Mayor needs to sign into law so that the new amendments can be enforced by PD and Park Rangers. These amendments will address the concerns of rogue vendors and well as create a balance between protecting the First Amendment Rights and promoting public safety.

2. Last time there was a big discussion about the quality of life concerns affecting the Pier and our office worked with County Supervisor Lawson Remer's Office to remove the portable bathroom there and our office is working with PD and the Mayor's Office to further address the ongoing concerns in this area. 

3. Bermuda Ave Stairs construction is set to be done some time in March as the team is just working on some final touches. Stay tuned for upcoming updates here very soon!

4. The fence surrounding the grass at Veteran's Plaza is also set to be taken down sometime in March as the Parks & Rec Department continues to work on the maintenance of the new grass. 

5. I was informed that the Bacon Street portion of Project AC Overlay 2202 Phase 2 is environmentally cleared. The Engineering and Capital Projects Department is planning to enter construction by the end of this fiscal year, so around June 2024.

Join us on next on March 27 from 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm at the Point Loma Library Branch, on Zoom or Facebook live for

OBTCF Neighborhood Roundtable: Housing

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