GNA Board Meeting Notes — August 27, 2026 (Ice Cream Social Planning)

Source: Zoom recording/transcript of the dedicated Ice Cream Social planning meeting called for at the July 15 board meeting. Two people were in the room on one mic (labeled "Glenview Neighbors" in the transcript) and Tandra joined by Zoom.

Present: Board president and Rajen (in person), Tandra (Zoom).

Next meeting: Wednesday, September 9, 2026 — regroup on all outstanding items by email before then.

Part 1 — Follow-ups from last month

Lions Pool — kids' and family swim hours

  • Contact made with Leon Sykes, Aquatics Program Coordinator, Oakland Parks & Rec, who reached out July 22. His response focused on the city's push for more swim lessons citywide; the board's ask was for more free/practice swim time for kids. Ideas were sent back in reply; no response since, and school starting has pushed it to the back burner.

  • New angle from a conversation with a lap swimmer: the binding constraint is the lifeguard shortage. There is no upper age limit on lifeguards — the board may suggest the city recruit older adult lifeguards rather than only high schoolers. This would be a citywide fix. Not yet raised with Parks & Rec.

  • Fallback ask if staffing can't grow: cut one hour of Friday lap swim to create family swim time. Adult lap swim is heavily used (~14 people per lane), so reducing it broadly isn't realistic.

  • Disability access: Tandra reported there were no summer programs for children with special needs last yearand only partial programming with a waiting list the year before — Parks & Rec cites staffing. Specially trained adaptive swim instructors do exist. Inclusion for children with special needs should be part of the ask.

Bellanico parklet / parking area

  • The councilmember's office (Rebecca) reached out to OakDOT, which confirmed Bellanico is still not in compliance and said it would issue a non-compliance letter.

  • Compliance is not GNA's main concern. The board is responding to restate the neighborhood issues: loss of valuable parking, blocked visibility and signage for neighboring businesses, no customer parking, and blocked sidewalk access — all in an already difficult stretch with DoorDash pickups and school drop-offs.

Park Blvd RV

  • Resolved — the RV was gone within about a week of the July meeting. Unclear whether it was the councilmember's office, Rebecca, the volume of 311 calls, or all three.

Part 2 — Ice Cream Social (Sunday, September 20, 1–4 PM, Hollywood Triangle)

Confirmed participants

  • Friends of Diamond Library

  • Oakland Fire Department

  • Oakland Animal Services (bunnies)

  • Sunshine Camp — the Edna Brewer student club that does face painting

  • The band (musicians all set)

  • Friends of Diamond Park

Still chasing: Feather River Camp — had a display last year and donated a week-long vacation that was a major raffle draw. Sausal Creek (verify) — no response yet.

New guests discussed

  • Registrar of Voters (Alameda County) — agreed. Tandra has worked with their outreach department before (they registered young adults at her program) and will contact them. They can do voter registration and education about how and where to vote. The board agreed anything in this space must be strictly non-partisan — a county elections office qualifies; an advocacy organization would not.

  • Indivisible — pending. The president will ask her contact Ron what they could contribute, on the same neutrality condition. Swing Left was raised and ruled out as too political.

  • Alameda Alliance and Kaiser — deferred to the 2027 Health & Safety Fair. Tandra sits on both boards and can invite them. Better fit for the safety fair than the ice cream social, though the timing question was noted (people lose coverage next year, so outreach a year out is late for some).

Ice cream

  • Loard's Ice Cream (transcript renders it "Dear Lord's") is donating again — now family-owned; contact is Brian Woo.

  • 12 tubs total: 6 donated, 6 purchased (~$250–262). Flavors: chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, mint chip. Mint chip was the popular extra flavor last year.

  • Gap: vegan / dairy-free. Mr. Dewie's (verify spelling) couldn't donate last year; Rajen will ask again. Last year's notes said the event could have used more non-dairy, so ask for at least two tubs.

  • Storage — no dry ice this year. Last year's dry ice froze the bottom quarter of each tub too hard to scoop. Instead: keep backup tubs in the church's walk-in-sized freezer and refrigerator on site, use regular ice from Costco in the chests, and have a runner ferry tubs from the parking lot as needed.

Setup and equipment

  • Tables and chairs are loaned by the Diamond Oktoberfest organizers, stored in the Montclair parking structure. Pickup is the Friday before the event — the transcript says "the 15th," but the Friday before Sept 20 is Sept 18; confirm the date. Tandra is available 9 AM–1 PM and will help; a friend's truck is available. Load-out goes to a neighbor's garage by the park, then a short carry on Sunday morning — avoiding a second trip to the garage on event day. Two trips were needed last year doing it solo.

  • Canopies are at Ben's house.

  • Need to borrow: ~8 ice cream scoops (one per flavor per line) and at least 3 large ice chests (a big chest holds 2 tubs).

  • Need to buy: more bowls, water cups, whipped cream (ran out last year), toppings/syrup/sprinkles from Smart & Final.

  • On hand and inventoried: gloves, raffle supplies (3 large rolls of double tickets), gift bags for raffle entries, the easel and donor poster, sprinkles, t-shirts, the microphone, and an orange water dispenser filled from a neighbor's tap. Storage closet at the church.

  • Extension cords for the band and microphone are believed covered; neighbors across the street let the event plug in. Tandra has commercial-length cords as backup. Garbage cans borrowed from neighbors.

  • Two scooping lines this year instead of one. Last year's single line meant a long wait in the heat — no direct complaints, but the board treated it as a real problem. Depends on volunteer turnout; layout map from last year to be updated.

Volunteer roles (one-hour shifts, 1–4 PM)

StationPeople per shift"Start here" / welcome + sign-in table2Raffle ticket sales2 (Ben plus an assistant)T-shirts and membership forms1–2 (Eddie, if willing, plus one)Scooping + toppings3–4 per line × 2 lines

  • ~25 volunteer slots total across the afternoon.

  • Tandra will take a welcome-table shift and suggested volunteers rotate stations between shifts — fewer volunteers needed overall, better experience, more exposure to the org. The board liked this.

  • One hour is the right shift length for scooping; arms tire quickly.

  • Volunteers get t-shirts this year (Tandra and her daughter included).

  • Eddie ran t-shirt and membership sales last year and has agreed to train others. He's not on the board this year. The role involves handling money and answering questions, so it needs a briefing.

  • The president will mingle this year rather than staff a table.

  • Age floor stands at 16+ for scooping.

Outreach

  • Flyers: ~50 printed, Ben prints at his office at no cost. Volunteers staple them to poles about two weeks out. Tandra will email the flyer to her neighborhood group and her contacts, and send it to the Registrar of Voters so the invitation looks official.

  • A-frame / sandwich boards: out two weeks before. Existing signs get a new date strip each year; add the QR codeand an Instagram strip.

  • Email blast to the full list, including the volunteer ask, plus neighborhood listservs and word of mouth.

  • Volunteer sign-up is live on the website home page, above the fold, next to the existing button, with a QR code. Homepage is due for a revamp.

  • Instagram — agreed to create one. Rajen will set up an account tied to GlenviewNA, link it from the website, and add it to the flyer. Tandra supported it as a way to stay present and suggested a young volunteer post photos day-of.

  • Photos: Eddie's wife took and uploaded last year's photos with a good camera; she'll be asked again. Having someone designated was valuable.

  • Business donations: Rajen is collecting from local businesses — no update yet, which matches last year's pace (later asks got results). Leimert businesses should be added to the list; Rajen is within walking distance.

  • Personal invitation to Ramon, the City of Oakland grounds worker who mows the triangle park — the president will bring him a flyer with his name on it the Tuesday before. (He drives the mower between parks because there's no trailer for it.)

Invitations to officials

Agreed to invite, having invited few or none last year: the district councilmember, Rebecca (councilmember's office, regular meeting attendee), the Mayor, Barbara Lee, and the Alameda County Supervisor. Tandra noted supervisors sometimes have discretionary funds for good causes.

Money

  • Ben donated $500 to the event through his property management business, and is bringing tents and selling raffle tickets.

  • Last year the event cleared well over $1,000 through the raffle and membership donations.

  • Memberships: $25 including a t-shirt. Raising it to $35 was floated, not decided. GNA is not formally a membership organization under its bylaws — these are donations. Worth asking people to make it recurring, and telling them what the money does.

  • Payment methods: cash and check only was limiting. PayPal exists; Venmo is expected to be the most used — Ben may have already set it up, to be confirmed. Square declined because of transaction fees. Zelle and Cash App discussed but not pursued.

  • No city funding. GNA pays its own bills, including Squarespace hosting; Zoom was reimbursed.

Part 3 — Other business

Donations out (October meeting)

GNA has historically donated to local organizations — schools, the animal shelter — and published a list of local organizations neighbors could donate to in its newsletter. Neither has happened in the last two years. To be taken up at the October meeting; City Team, which runs a Wednesday food giveaway at the church, was proposed for the list.

Board membership

  • Tandra agreed to join the board formally.

  • Longer-term idea: a student board representative. Tandra noted UC Berkeley students in relevant majors (social work, marketing, social media) can earn course credit for volunteer hours. Parked until the board is fuller.

Action items

  • [ ] Tandra — contact the Alameda County Registrar of Voters outreach department; report back to the president

  • [ ] President — ask Ron what Indivisible could contribute, on the non-partisan condition

  • [ ] President — follow up with Leon Sykes (Parks & Rec) on kids' swim hours; raise older-adult lifeguard recruiting and adaptive/inclusion classes

  • [ ] President — reply to Rebecca restating the neighborhood concerns about the Bellanico parklet

  • [ ] President — chase Feather River Camp and Sausal Creek

  • [ ] President + Tandra — pick up tables and chairs from the Montclair parking structure, Friday before the event, 9 AM–1 PM (confirm the date)

  • [ ] President — email Tandra the flyer once the Instagram handle is on it

  • [ ] President — invite the councilmember, Rebecca, the Mayor, Barbara Lee, and the County Supervisor; bring Raman a flyer the Tuesday before

  • [ ] President — buy ice at Costco, toppings at Smart & Final, and enough whipped cream this year

  • [ ] Rajen — ask Mr. Dewie's for a vegan/dairy-free donation (aim for 2+ tubs)

  • [ ] Rajen — continue business donation outreach; add Leimert businesses

  • [ ] Rajen — create the GlenviewNA Instagram account, link it from the website, add it to the flyer

  • [ ] Ben — print ~50 flyers; confirm whether Venmo is set up

  • [ ] Board — recruit ~25 volunteer shifts via email blast, listservs, and flyers

  • [ ] Board — ask Eddie to run t-shirt/membership sales and train a second person; ask his wife to photograph again

  • [ ] Board — borrow ~8 scoops and 3+ large ice chests; count tables and chairs needed

  • [ ] October meeting — decide on donations to local organizations and the published donation list (incl. City Team)