As one board member put it, it’ll take a while to get to know one another on the Peninsula Community Planning Board. The latest board lineup, whose all-volunteer members serve two-year terms and make land-use recommendations to the San Diego City Council, met last week for the first time since elections were held last month. About half of the board’s membership consists of new faces. Five new members were elected in March and two new members were appointed to replace Doug Cohen and Robert MacCulloch, both of whom appear to have run afoul of recent bylaws changes that no longer allow a distinction between excused and unexcused absences. The new board elected Suhail Khalil as chairman. Members then elected other officers and subcommittee chairs, who will serve until April 2012. With the transition, the group encountered its share of hiccups and procedural disputes as it plowed through business for the first time together. Thick skins came in handy as these hurdles alternately provoked laughter and expressions of annoyance among audience members — and often the board members themselves. Incumbent members joined the five new elected members — Norm Allenby, Paul Webb, Mike Ryan, Pete Nystrom and Allen Jones — in listening to the three candidates in attendance who sought appointment for the other two positions. The board first appointed Jarvis Ross and then, with Ross seated, appointed Rebecca Michael (see box). A fourth candidate, Harvey Hilton, was reportedly stuck in traffic and unable state his case in person. He managed to contact the board by cell phone and the board at first delayed voting, filling the time with impromptu reports. The delay eventually ran out, and Hilton was denied a chance to address the board by holding a cell phone to the microphone at the podium. After voting to prefer plurality votes instead of majority, the board then elected officers: Khalil, chairman; Helen Kinnaird, first vice chair; Rebecca Michael, second vice chair; John Gott, secretary; and Nancy Graham, treasurer. In other Peninsula Community Planning Board news: • An $11.6 million project to replace 4.4 miles of water pipes should begin in the summer of 2012, said John Stohr of the city’s Engineering and Capital Projects Division. Among the affected streets: North Harbor Drive; Nimitz and Catalina boulevards; Hugo, Locust, Evergreen and Cañon streets; and Point Loma Avenue. More information is available at www.sandiego.gov/engineering-cip. • Never underestimate the power of cookies. A bake sale held during the recent election generated $128 for board expenses, Graham said. However, without donations, the current balance is not enough to pay bills on the horizon such as that for the group’s website, she said. • In his first act as the new chairman, Khalil called an April 27 meeting for subcommittee chairs to formulate goals and objectives for the next year. • District 2 San Diego City Councilmember Kevin Faulconer will swear in new board members at the May 19 meeting at 6:30 p.m. in the downstairs conference room (rear entrance) of the Point Loma/Hervey Library, located at 701 Voltaire St.