MEETING NOTES Subject: Date: Location: Crenshaw/LAX Transit Corridor Community Leadership Council (CLC) Business Sustainability (During Construction) POD Meeting Tuesday, February 19, 2013; 10 a.m. - 12 p.m. Faithful Central Bible Church The Living Room 333 W. Florence Avenue Inglewood, CA 90301 Meeting Participants Approximately 18 people were in attendance including: Name Organization Name Organization Oscar Edwards Higher Growth Strategies Erick Holly CLC Member Dr. Sharon E. LACC Goldman Sachs 10K Linda Ricks CLC Member Peterson Small Businesses Cartellia M. Park Mesa Heights Perla Berry Metro Bryant Community Council Foti Defterios Delta Florist Kinya Claiborne Metro Pastor S. Scoffie Love Lifted Me Baptist Olga Lopez Metro Shiggs Church Jerome Tarver Maranatha Community Yvette Rapose Metro Church Ana Annan Stakeholder Miriam Scott-Long Metro Stan Kemp Stakeholder Donald R. Taylor The Divine Enterprise Rev. Jackie Russell CLC Inglewood Co- Moderator Rod Goldman The Divine Enterprise Introduction/Opening: The Crenshaw/LAX Community Leadership Council (CLC) Business Sustainability (During Construction) POD meeting was held on Tuesday, February 19, 2013 at 10:00 a.m. at the Faithful Central Bible Church in Inglewood, CA. The scheduled agenda for the meeting is outlined below.
Page 2 I. Call to Order Rev. Jackie Russell, Inglewood BSDC Co- Chair II. Roll Call of CLC BSDC POD Members Rev. Jackie Russell Presentations III. Metro Construction Relations Program Yvette Rapose, Director, Metro Construction Relations Olga Lopez, Manager, Metro Construction Relations IV. Sempra Energy Supplier Diversity Institute Mastering Business Growth Program Oscar Edwards, President, Higher Growth Strategies V. LACC-Goldman Sachs 10K Small Businesses Program Dr. Sharon E. Peterson, Director, LACC- Goldman Sachs Business Support Services VI. 2013 BSDC POD Meeting Calendar Rod Goldman, The Divine Enterprise Discussion Items VII. VIII. General Discussion Next Steps All Jackie Russell Adjournment I Welcome & Call to Order The meeting was called to order at 10:17 a.m. by Rev. Jackie Russell, Inglewood BSDC Co-Chair. II Metro Construction Relations Program- Yvette Rapose Yvette Rapose, Director, Metro Construction Relations gave a PowerPoint presentation on Metro s Construction Relations Program. Construction Relations is a specialized unit matrixed to Metro Construction. The goals of the unit include creation and implementation of a Public Outreach
Page 3 Stakeholder Communication and Direct Construction impact mitigation program. Olga Lopez and her team will have a senior construction relations officer for both the Crenshaw and Inglewood segments of the corridor. There will also be a new media officer dedicated to the effort of social media. The unit provides support in different areas during construction. In addition to working with our external constituents, they also provide direct support to the project management team and the contractor. Construction Relations functions as a member of the project management team. They work closely with the director, contractor, and any third party agencies coordinating all of the communication and access issues on a project. The team attends all construction progress meetings, site meetings, readiness review meetings, etc. Duties of the unit include the following activities: Direct Project and Contractor Support Interdepartmental Management Coordination Pre-construction Coordination Business Prep and Coordination Resident Prep and Coordination For public outreach, construction notices must be given at least 72 hours in advance so the community can properly prepare. Information is available on the web and social media, as well as: Door-to-Door distribution E-blasts Project Website Project Hotline 3 rd Party Websites/Blogs/Other media Social Media Outreach (Facebook, Twitter, You Tube) Briefings are held for: CLC Elected Official Staff Chambers of Commerce/BIDs/Business Associations HOAs Neighborhood Committees Direct Construction Impact Mitigation includes: Implement mitigation measures from the environmental document Contractor coordination Mitigate resolution of all direct impacts of construction Facilitate damage complaints between property owners and the contractor Attendee Jerome Tarver asked on a project with so many subcontractors, how will the public know the complaint process. Ms. Rapose indicated that all complaints will go through Construction Relations. Mr. Tarver asked if the complaint process was covered under the state or federal Tort Claim Act. Ms. Rapose indicated she did not have the answer to
Page 4 that question. The contractor will carry the insurance, and it is an agreement through Metro s Risk Management Department. Jackie Russell asked on door to door distribution, will that be on the streets on either sides of the construction as well as the actual streets 2 or 3 blocks on all sides of the corridor. Ms. Rapose indicated that depends on what the immediate impact will be. Door to door is just one notification strategy. Jackie Russell asked if it was known when the utility relocation will be done for Inglewood. Ms. Rapose indicated most activity will be taking place within the LAX right of way. She will check on this. Jackie Russell asked if there will be a calendar of events for the project schedule. Ms. Rapose indicated that will be when the design contractor is on board. Erick Holley asked if utility relocation work has affected any businesses. Olga Lopez indicated that Metro has not received calls from business owners of any complaints. A question was asked if local schools will be notified of construction activity. Ms. Rapose indicated that there will be processes in place such as take home flyers for students and parent sign-up to the notification e-mail database. Ms. Rapose also explained that night-time work is covered under various City of Los Angeles ordinances that the contractor would have to obtain. Metro will need to know what the community will support, and will work with the contractors and submit your recommendations to them and come back to the community. Ms. Lopez presented information regarding local business profiles. Metro has completed this task. Metro asked questions about parking issues, delivery access, etc. Once it is known what the contractor will require, Metro will be at the table with them so they can plan, taking into consideration the information from the business owners. The preconstruction business project area discount (PAD) program is an opportunity for businesses directly along the alignment and within a 1.5 mile radius to advertise without cost on the Crenshaw/LAX transit corridor project page and the Metro website in exchange for providing customers an incentive or discount. III LACC-Goldman Sachs 10K Small Businesses Program- Dr. Sharon E. Peterson Dr. Sharon E. Peterson, Director, LACC-Goldman Sachs Business Support Services made a presentation regarding $500 million initiative founded by Goldman Sachs to help small businesses grow over the next 5 years. Features of the program include: The owners get 80-100 business hours in the program.
Page 5 They get an advisor assigned to them. They develop a growth plan. A total of $20 million dollars has been made available to qualified owners. The end result is revenue growth and job creation. We evaluate their beginning status, track their progress, and manage the results. Fifty percent of businesses who have graduated have increased revenue and jobs. Babson College (Boston) created the curriculum. Valley Economic Development Center, Inc. has been picked by Goldman Sachs to assist. The criteria to participate include businesses with at least 2 years in business; have annual revenues between $150,000 and $4 million; and a minimum of 4 employees. There is a session beginning in April 2013 and runs through July 2013 with 6-8 hours per week of out of class activity. IV Sempra Energy Supplier Diversity Institute Mastering Business Growth Program- Oscar Edwards Oscar Edwards, President of Higher Growth Strategies made a presentation regarding the Mastering Business Growth Program implemented by Southern California Gas. They are looking for small businesses interested in green and energy saving opportunities. Sempra Energy is looking to give them access to contracts and capital. They want to increase their outreach to small businesses. They are looking for businesses that have been established for no more than 3 years and have no more than $1 million in annual revenues. The program starts March 19 for 10 weeks. Coverage is as far as San Diego County and all of L.A. and Orange Counties. There are 3 sessions, the first one will be held in the Downey facility. The second session will be in Cypress, and the third session will be in San Diego at the Gas & Electric facility. Sustainability, green and solar energy are high priority. Miriam Scott-Long asked what kind of time commitment is required. Mr. Edwards indicated half-day sessions for 10 weeks. V 2013 BSDC POD Meeting Calendar A draft calendar of Pod meetings has been developed for the entire year of 2013 to provide the dates, general topics and location of meetings.
Page 6 VI General Discussion No general discussion was held. VII Next Steps / Action Items Metro will check when utility relocation will be completed in Inglewood Dr. Sharon E. Peterson will send program information to Metro Oscar Edwards will send program information to Metro VIII Upcoming Meetings The next BSDC Pod meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, May 21, 2013 at 10:00 am at the Baldwin Hills/Crenshaw Plaza.