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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1992/09/23 - Minutes - Adjourned Joint (Rancho Cucamonga Community Foundation) September 23, 1992 CITY OF RANCHO CUCAMONGA CITY COUNCIL MINUTES Adjourned Joint Meeting of the city Council and the Rancho Cucamonga Community Foundation A. CALL TO ORDER An adjourned joint meeting of the Rancho Cucamonga City Council and the Rancho Cucamonga Community Foundation was held on Wednesday, September 23, 1992, in the Rains Conference Room of the Civic Center, located at 10500 Civic Center Ddve, Rancho Cucamonga, Califomia. The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. by Mayor Dennis L. Stout. Present were Councilmembers: William J. Alexander, Chades J. Buquet II, Diane Williams, Pamela J. Wdght, and Mayor Dennis L. Stout. Present were Boardmembers: Robert Dutton, Frances Howdyshell, Jeanne Lochart, John Mannedno, Paula Zadick, and Chairman Guy Beyersdorf. Absent was Boardmember: Betty McNay. Also present were: Jack Lam, City Manager; Linda D. Daniels, Deputy City Manager; Jerry B. Fulwood, Deputy City Manager; Diane O'Neal, Management Analyst II; and Jan Sutton, Deputy City Clerk. B. ITEMS OF DISCUSSION B1. DISCUSSION OF THE FOUNDATION REDEFINING ITS MISSION AND GOALS IN LIGHT OF THE PRESENT ECONOMY (0701-01 FOUNDATION) (0205-01 GOALS) B2. DISCUSSION OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE FOUNDATION AND THE CITY (0701-01 FOUNDATION) B3. DISCUSSION OF MARKETING AND FUND-RAISING OPPORTUNITIES WHICH MIGHT BE MADE AVAILABLE TO THE FOUNDATION THROUGH ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH THE CITY (0701-01 FOUNDATION) Councilmember Wright stated the Subcommittee had met with officers of the Foundation and had discussions on the intent of the Foundation when it was first formed, which brought up questions as to its purpose and whether it should be a fundraiser or a conduit, and the effect the present economy is having on them. She stated they were looking for reaffirmation from the Council as to how they would like the Foundation to proceed. (3) City Council/Community Foundation Minutes September 23, 1992 Page 2 Boardmember Lochart stated part of the concern was that when the Foundation was formed, the economy and business climate were completely different and they were getting a large portion of their contributions from developers. She stated that given today's financial climate and the deterioration of available funds, she felt they needed to redefine the Foundation and come up with other ways that would make it possible to provide the community with the best service without looking at the Board as strictly a fundraising mechanism. She outlined what they have done for the current fundraiser, and explained that even though they have lowered the pdce of this fundraiser, they still have a low response, and felt the Boardmembers could not continue to spend so much time with so little return. Chair Beyersdorf stated he had concerns about the City seeking contributions directly for community programs instead of utilizing the Foundation as a source of donations. Councilmember Wright stated there is a fine line they have to be careful of, but there may be some areas where it might be beneficial to go through the Foundation, such as the Masi project where they were asking them for an historical contribution. She stated if it was legally possible to have those contributions go through the Foundation, it would benefit both parties. Councilmember Buquet sated he did not want there to be the perception that there was any type of competition between the City and the Foundation, that both groups were working for the benefit of the City. Boardmember Howdyshell stated that when there were situations like Lewis Homes sponsoring the Movies in the Park, possibly they did it directly to increase their own visibility within the community. Councilmember Wright felt that it would not be a detriment to work through the Foundation for people like that, that the Foundation could help to promote their contribution. Boardmember Lochart stated she would like to know from the Council if the Foundation's current Mission Statement still met the expectations set forth when the Foundation was formed. Boardmember Mannerino felt the Mission Statement was not an issue. He felt the problem was that the Foundation, since its inception, has essentially been funded by the Mayor's Ball, which was primarily funded by the development community. He stated that development no longer exists as they have known it, and that the Foundation could not supplant that income by putting on numerous small fundraising events. He felt what they needed was to create a vehicle by transitioning the Foundation to a membership non-profit organization and creating a product to sell that would replace the money raised in previous years. Mayor Stout stated when the Foundation was originally established, the City Council purposefully kept their direction slight because they hoped the Foundation would take on its own life and set its own goals and priorities based on what the community wanted, not on what the City Council was directing it to do. He stated the idea behind the Mayor's Ball was to start a fundraising vehicle that would allow the Foundation some victories and have something to present to the community. He stated every successful foundation he has seen has a cause of some sort that people are interested in, something tangible to show people at the end of the fund drive. He agreed that it has been easy in the past to raise money from the development community, but his thought was that now the business community needed to mature and start showing some interest in the community. He felt the Foundation needed to focus on a couple of items and promote them so that people know what the Foundation does. He felt if they identified something they wanted to work on, then it would fall into place on how to fund it. City Council/Community Foundation Minutes September 23, 1992 Page 3 Councilmember Buquet stated what was needed was an overall marketing plan, that the Foundation needed to determine what it was they would like to do, and then they could work together with the City to accomplish it. Boardmember Mannerino felt the difference between other successful foundations in the area and the Community Foundation was that the others had staff available to do the fundraising, or they had a certain level of people they could approach that had a large sum of money to contribute. He stated the Foundation did not have the staff available to be successful at fundraising. Councilmember Buquet stated it was fine to have the Foundation as a conduit for money that happens to find its way to the City, but felt they should have some type of concrete goal, like the building of the Central Park Library or the Performing Arts Center. He stated they did not have to achieve their goal in one year but they would have something they were shooting for, and then they could do the other things they have always done as an off-shoot of that goal, like the Concerts in the Park series, etc. He stated that way if companies were to contribute and wanted to make their mark, it could be acknowledged when the building was completed. Councilmember Wright asked Boardmember Dutton how the YMCA went about raising funds for their building project. Boardmember Dutton explained the various ways to fund a building project. He felt the first thing the Foundation needed to establish was a track record, which they have now done. He also felt they needed to stop dwelling on the past and how things used to be done, and focus on the business community and how to refocus their direction and to get prepared for when things improve. Boardmember Howdyshell agreed that they needed to refocus and review their standing in light of the present economy and needs of the community. Boardmember Dutton stated there were two things the Foundation could work on right now, and that would be the Library and Performing Arts Center. That way they would have something tangible people could donate whatever amount they felt comfortable with and the Foundation did not have to set a price. They also could continue to work with the other groups in the City as they have in the past, because programs were just as important as buildings. Councilmember Williams stated she has worked with several non-profit groups that were set up as receiverships, which is what she saw the Foundation as being when it was first established, to act as a receiver for funds for groups that did not have their own non-profit status. She felt they should still be functioning in that manner, and did not like the idea of the group being reduced to constant fundraising. Councilmember Buquet agreed the Foundation should not rest on their past laurels. He stated the City has used this economic downturn to streamline some of their processes and to re-evaluate some of their goals. This has given them time to regroup and prepare for when things improve, and felt the Foundation could do something similar. He stated they could still work towards their goals but they should not be disappointed if they do not reach it in only one year's time. Boardmember Zadick asked if the Foundation was limited to raising money strictly from within the City's boundaries. Councilmember Buquet stated they were not, and that they did need to expand their donation base. City Council/Community Foundation Minutes September 23, 1992 Page 4 Boardmember Dutton stated he thought the Foundation should be supported by the other Commissions of the City, and felt they have received very little participation from the other Commissions in the past. He thought possibly the Council could talk to the other Commissioners to see if they could increase their support of the Foundation, Councilmember Buquet stated maybe the Boardmembers should try to find out why the Commissioners did not participate. He stated what the Foundation does benefits a lot of people and people should want to get involved, so they should try to find out why they have not shown an interest in the past. He stated many of them might not fully understand what it is the Foundation does. Boardmember Howdyshell agreed that they needed to have an educational component they could present that would increase awareness of what the Foundation is and does for people. Councilmember Alexander stated possibly they could work out something with the new baseball team to sponsor a couple of fundraising nights for the Foundation. Chair Beyersdorf asked if the Council were aware of anyone in town that they might want the Foundation to approach for contributions, to please let them know and they would follow-up on that, Mayor Stout stated maybe the Foundation would want to consider setting themselves up as a membership organization that all the citizens could join, this way they would feel more involved. Councilmember Wdght felt the membership should be offered on a more selective basis. She felt they should only approach businesses, large corporations, etc. Boardmember Mannerino stated he disagreed, that it should be available to every citizen in Rancho Cucamonga to buy into the community through the Foundation. He thought it was a good idea to become a membership organization. Councilmember Buquet felt ideas like that were good, and wanted to encourage the Board to keep coming up with and acting on new ways of raising support for the Foundation. He encouraged them to work with their Subcommittee on new ideas and how they might interface with the City. Councilmember Alexander asked if they wanted to discuss what the attorney has advised regarding the City providing financial support to the Foundation through staff time. Councilmember Wright felt that had already been discussed and was a cut and dry legal issue. She felt it had to do more with would the Foundation eventually become autonomous or was it their intention that it would have a continuous relationship with the City. Councilmember Williams asked how the Foundation felt about continuing a relationship with the City, or would they benefit more by being separate. Boardmember Dutton felt being connected to the City lent credibility to the organization. Boardmember Mannedno stated the situation with the Brea foundation is what has precipitated this concern, but he felt there was greater involvement in that situation than they had here in Rancho Cucamonga. He felt if the Foundation were to survive, they would have to continue receiving some sort of assistance from the City, but they could change some procedures to lessen their legal liability. He also felt they needed some assistance in the marketing aspect as they did not have enough manpower to accomplish it by themselves. City Council/Community Foundation Minutes September 23, 1992 Page 5 Councilmember Buquet stated after the Foundation has worked out some of the ideas they would like to accomplish, they should have another meeting with their Subcommittee, and then the Subcommittee could report to the full Council. B4. DISCUSSION OF ITEMS OF MUTUAL CONCERN (0701-01 FOUNDATION) No items were discussed. C. COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE PUBLIC No communications were made from the public. D. ADJOURNMENT Mayor Stout adjourned the meeting at 8:27 p.m. (4) Respectfully submitted, Deputy City Clerk Approved by the Community Foundation: October 20, 1992 Approved by the City Council: September 1, 1993