MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES
August 1, 2012
CALL TO ORDER
Vice President Juan Albarran called the meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Los Angeles Firemen’s Relief Association to order at 10:20 a.m.
ROLL CALL
MEMBERS PRESENT:
- Juan Albarran, Vice President
- Andrew Kuljis, Secretary
- Trustee Jeff Cawdrey
- Trustee Gene Bednarchik
- Trustee Michael Overholser
- Trustee James Coburn
- Trustee Gary Matsubara
- Trustee Chris Stine
- Trustee Doak Smith
- Trustee Francisco Hernandez
- Trustee Craig White
- Trustee Mark Akahoshi
- Trustee Robert Steinbacher
- Trustee David Peters
- Trustee David Ortiz
- Trustee Kurt Stabel
- Trustee David Lowe – Pension
- Trustee Barry Hedberg – Pension
- Trustee Tim Larson – Pension
- David Ned Smith – Executive Director
- Controller – Todd Layfer
MEMBERS ABSENT:
- John Jacobsen, President (Excused)
- Trustee Rick Godinez (Excused)
- Trustee Chris Hart (Excused)
- Trustee Steven Domanski (Excused)
- Trustee Steve Tufts (Excused)
GUESTS:
- Dennis Mendenhall, Retired
- Bob Olsen, L.A. Retired Fire & Police
- Lee Kebler, L.A. Retired Fire & Police
- Jim Dolan, Asst. Secretary
- Garth Flint, Beacon Pointe
- Mike Breller, Beacon Pointe
INVOCATION & Flag Salute
Tim Larson led the invocation. Dennis Mendenhall led the flag salute.
RATIFICATION OF MINUTES
Juan Albarran entertained a motion to ratify and dispense with the reading of the minutes of the Special Board of Trustees meeting held July 10, 2012 and the Board of Trustees meeting held July 11, 2012. David Peters so moved. Gary Matsubara seconded the motion. There was no further discussion or objections.
Motion carried to ratify and dispense with the reading of the minutes of the Special Board Meeting and the Board of Trustees meeting held July 10, 2012 and July 11, 2012.
VICE PRESIDENT REPORT
1) Juan Albarran referred to the upcoming memorials and stated that there will be four names going on the memorial wall in Colorado. He asked the Trustees to think about the schedule and consider attending if they have not already attended the Colorado event. He also mentioned the memorials in Emmetsburg, MD and Sacramento and their dates. He indicated that the costs for family member attendance at these memorials are to be split with the UFLAC.
2) Juan Albarran referred to the nominations for President and Vice President for the year 2013 and stated that he is declaring a Special Circumstance as defined in the by-laws. He stated that he is asking for an extension in Jacobsen’s eligibility as President for one more year because there is not a qualified candidate willing to be President.
Juan Albarran motioned to declare a Special Circumstance and to nominate Jacobsen for President for another year. David Peters seconded. Juan Albarran indicated that he had spoken with Jacobsen regarding the extension of his position as President. He stated that he felt that it would be wise and an asset to the Association to keep Jacobsen as President for one more year. Steinbacher also stated that there were no other qualified volunteers to be a candidate for the position.
There was a vote of the Board to extend Jacobsen’s Presidency for one more year. All 16 members of the Board present, not including Albarran who was acting president, voted unanimously to extend Jacobsen’s position as President for the year 2013.
Motion carried to declare a Special Circumstance and nominate John Jacobsen for President for 2013.
David Lowe nominated Juan Albarran for Vice President for the year 2013. Barry Hedberg seconded. There was no discussion or objections.
Steinbacher stated that since there was a special circumstance similar to the position of President, they have nominated Juan Albarran as Vice president for one more year. There were no objections.
Motion carried to nominate Juan Albarran for Vice President for the year 2013.
Nominations for President and Vice-President will remain open until the September Board Meeting at which time the final election will take place.
3) Juan Albarran informed the Board that Group 1 Trustees were up for election. Andy Kuljis provided nomination forms to run for Trustee to those in Group 1. He asked that they complete the forms and return to him by the end of the day. It was stated that members interested in running for these Trustee positions would have until October 15th to submit their nomination form.
BYLAW COMMITTEE REPORT
Juan Albarran stated and asked By-law Chairman David Lowe to address any By-law changes or revisions. Albarran noted that there was a potential for a Trustee white ballot election.
David Lowe stated that the committee reviewed the submitted changes for the By-laws and indicated that if there was a white ballot election, it would not be prudent to send these changes to a vote by the membership and incur unnecessary costs. He indicated that the changes submitted were basically terminology. He presented the following motion.
The committee recommends and I so move that the proposed by-law changes be submitted to the membership for their approval unless there is a white ballot for the Trustee election. If a white ballot is declared, the proposed by-law changes will be put forward on a future ballot. There was no discussion or objections.
Motion carried to place the submitted By-law changes on the ballot for a vote by the membership unless there is a white ballot Trustee election. If a white ballot is declared, the proposed by-law changes will be put forward on a future ballot.
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT
1) David Smith stated that Beacon Pointe’s investment report ending June 30th will not show the $4 million of cash recently moved to investments.
2) David Smith mentioned that there was some confusion with the Death Notices being sent and indicated that they have gone back to the old system and are working to resolve any issues.
3) David Smith referred to the Golf Tournament status and reported that to-date, they have $86K in sponsorships and $2,500 sold in the Golf Ball Drop tickets. He stated that they are still soliciting auction items and Trustee volunteers for the day of the event.
4) Todd Layfer provided a brief update on the recently approved additional Member Services position. He stated that they have distributed the notice internally to the LAFRA office and then placed an ad on careerbuilder.com. He indicated that they have received a number of resumes and are currently going through the filtering process to determine the best candidates to bring in for a formal interview.
ADMINISTRATIVE COMMITTEE REPORT
Robert Steinbacher presented the following motions.
The committee recommends and I so move to pay the usual and customary bills in the amount of $857,290.44. There was no discussion or objections.
Motion carried to pay the usual and customary bills in the amount of $857,290.44.
The committee recommends and I so move to pay the professional fees in the amount of $93,921.78. There was no discussion or objections.
Motion carried to pay the professional fees in the amount of $93,921.78.
He informed that the committee approved up to $20K in travel expenses for the Colorado Springs Memorial. Expenses will be shared with UFLAC.
MEDICAL COMMITTEE REPORT
David Peters presented the following motion.
The committee recommends and I so move to accept the applications to the Medical Plan. There was no discussion and no objections.
Motion carried to accept all applications to the Medical Plan.
David Peters informed the Board that the City of Hope Hospital and Anthem Blue Cross have agreed on contract terms and there will continue to be no interruption in availability for members. He indicated that although they had not yet made a public announcement, they have reached an agreement.
Davis Peters reported that they we reached an agreement with Express Scripts for a two-year extension of the existing contract. We are awaiting the finalized amendments for signature.
RELIEF COMMITTEE REPORT
James Coburn presented the following motion.
The committee recommends and I so move to pay:
The Sick & Injury benefits in the amount of $14,682.17
The Estate Planning benefit in the amount of $4,200,
The Life & Accident Withdrawals in the amount of $2,355
The Relief Death Benefits in the amount of $31,500
The Life & Accident Death Benefits in the amount of $12,000
There was no discussion or objections.
Motion carried to pay the above Relief benefits.
James Coburn read the names of members who recently passed and asked for a moment of silence from the Board.
MEMORIALS
Gwynne W. Bristol
Henry E. Niska
Reno A. Zuliani
Tony Grimes
Gerald G. Simon
James V. Patten
Lyndall A. Bowers
ASSISTANCE COMMITTEE
James Coburn presented the following motions.
The committee recommends and I so move to accept the donations in the amount of $6,032.90 to the Widows, Orphans & Disabled Firemen’s Fund. There was no discussion or objections.
Motion carried to accept the donations in the amount of $6,032.90 to the Widows, Orphans & Disabled Firemen’s Fund.
The committee recommends and I so move to approve the financial assistance applications for surviving spouses, active and retired members. James Coburn reported that there was a denial in the list and also asked that the Board approve the denial. There was no discussion or objections.
Motion carried to approve the financial assistance applications for surviving spouses, active and retired members.
EMERGENCY ADVANCEMENTS
James Coburn presented the following motion.
The committee recommends and I so move to approve the emergency advancement applications for active and retired members. There was no discussion or objections.
Motion carried to approve the emergency advancement applications for active and retired members.
SECRETARY’S REPORT
Andy Kuljis reported that the Venita Picinich home project has almost been completed. He mentioned that the committee had approved the amount necessary to complete the job.
Andy mentioned that he has the election declarations signed by the Trustee candidates and stated that he is aware that they will place the By-law changes in abeyance if there is a white ballot Trustee election.
AUDIT COMMITTEE REPORT
Doak Smith indicated that he and Kurt Stabel were still working on the charter for the Audit Committee. He stated that they will have something drawn up in the next month or so.
SETTING OF DATES
1) Over the Line Tournament – September 12th
2) LAFD Invitational Golf Tournament – September 24th
3) IFEBP Annual Employee Benefits Conf. – November 11th – 14th
4) LAFRA Open House – December 1st
RETIREMENT DINNERS
1) Alan Bush – August 11th Scarlett Belle, Oxnard (Doak/Lowe)
2) Dave Soto – August 24th Ports O’Call Restaurant (Bednarchik)
3) Tom Lambert – September 8th Ports O’Call Restaurant (Hart)
4) Michael Whitehouse – October 2nd Odyssey Restaurant (Peters)
NEW BUSINESS
1) David Lowe commented on a recent memorial printed in the Grapevine.
INVESTMENT COMMITTEE REPORT
Garth Flint presented the investment performance for the period ending June 30, 2012. He provided some insight on the market outlook and how it performed last quarter. He referred to the massive debt super cycle and indicated that we will see low returns and austerity for some period of time and low to no growth for a number of years. He mentioned that the housing market was getting a little better and indicated that home builders were buying land which is a positive. He also reported that some U.S. and foreign manufactures were moving out of China and coming back to America. Mike Breller reviewed Executive Summary Allocation and Performance by each fund manager relative to the benchmarks. Our investments YTD are slightly ahead of the benchmark.
ADJOURNMENT
Juan Albarran entertained a motion to adjourn. Gary Matsubara so moved. Craig White seconded. There was no discussion and no objections.
Motion carried to adjourn.
The Board of Trustees meeting adjourned at 11:30am.
Juan Albarran, Vice President