May 2018 Board Meeting Minutes: Budget FY 18
May 2018 SRG Board Meeting Minutes: Budget
Date: May 16, 2018
Location: Soulard Station
Minutes Recorded by: Lisa Marlinghaus
The meeting was called to order at 6:00 p.m. by President Venessa Kobrin
Officers and Directors in Attendance: Beth Bennett, Luann Denten, LeRoy Fitzwater, Venessa Kobrin, Lisa Marlinghaus, Scott Plackemeier, Neil Putz, Christopher Schwarz, Stephen Shuman, Billy Tomber, Wade Weistreich,
Officers and Directors Absent: None
Guests Present During Committee Budget Presentation to the Board (listed in order of appearance): Holiday Decorating - Alison Weber and Guy Weber; Beautification - Richard Eaton; Parlour Tour - Jeanne Kirby; Camera Project - Bill Clendenin
Board and General Meeting Minutes
The meeting was called to order at 6:00 PM. A quorum was present at that time. Those in attendance at 6:00 PM were as follows: LeRoy Fitzwater, Venessa Kobrin, Lisa Marlinghaus, Scott Plackemeier, Stephen Shuman, and Chris Schwarz. All Board members were present by 6:15 PM.
Committee Reports
Holiday Decorating (Alison Weber/Guy Weber)
Last year decorated outside of Soulard station
A lot of items donated by neighbors last year
This year plan to decorate the outside of Soulard Station and Pontiac Park
If fundraiser to install electric in Pontiac Park is a success, the SRG will be able to plug in the decorations
Holiday lighting party at Soulard Station again this year
Plan to have prizes for best decorated wreaths and homes
Working with Fundraising Committee to sell wreaths and plan a decorating contest for neighbors with wreaths
Committee is looking at trends and will reuse items from last year
Anticipate cost going down in future years
This year focusing on Pontiac Park
Future requests for money from the Board may turn into a “replacement budget” for decorations with more wear-and-tear. Donated decorations will likely have to be replaced.
Question was asked as to how they came up with $2K - Stated it is based on an estimate of last year but, as the committee is in its second year, is still an unknown; hoping for more LED lights for energy efficiency and to preserve the breakers.
Committee Chair left for Board deliberation
Stephen S. asked if they should be appropriating money for storage costs?
Venessa K. stated current storage is at MGI; Billy physically moved items; no need to budget for storage; could possibly be stored in shed to be discussed in Station Committee budget discussion
Beth B. stated that there was plenty of space on shelves
Venessa K. stated Billy was there to to put the items away in order to respect the space of his storage that we are utilizing
Beth B. asked about decorating the interior of the Station; Decorating Committee will decorate exterior of Soulard Station and Residential Promotion will decorate the interior
Wade W. stated he signed off on a $1500 check for totes; Venessa K. responded and stated decorations and everything was on that check request
Any issues with the budget as prepared: NONE
Soulard Station (Neil Putz presenting as Committee Chair)
Functioned as an Ad Hoc committee last year
A goal last year was to establish a usage policy and a draft of the policy has been developed
Looked at reducing utilities and increasing plantings; in collaboration with Beautification will continue initiative
Plan to establish a Halloween fundraiser in 2018
Supplies - not knowing the intent of the committee they may expect supplies, if activated again
Utilities were $4.5K last year; Neil arrived at $3,300 by analysing the utility usage for the current year. The internet and cable have been cancelled.
Current budget shows a net loss, as in all previous years
Preservation of the Soulard Station is the primary goal and guiding factor of the budget request.
LeRoy F. asked where will fundraising money be spent?
Neil P. stated that all proceeds would go to benefit the station in an attempt to have the Station fund itself, as well as maintenance
Stephen S. asked what the event was?
Neil P. said it would be a Halloween party. Lisa M. and Venessa K. followed up and responded that George and Tony used to throw a halloween fundraiser so it was suggested as it has happened in the past.
Luann D. asked if anyone was concerned that the Halloween Party would conflict with the Golf Cart Parade.
Lisa M. stated the Golf Cart event is more family focused where the Halloween party Neil is suggesting focuses on adults only.
Stephen S. asked if insurance part of the budget?
Venessa K. stated it is included in the Board Budget, where the insurance policy is accounted for
Venessa K. can send to the Board, if requested
Chris S. asked about expanding the committee
Neil P. stated that the committee has already been expanded at the time of the budget presentation
Neil P., serving as the Committee Chair of the Station, was asked to leave for deliberation
Luann Denten interjected that the committee chair not leave for the deliberation because he is a member of the Board and Board Members serving as Committee Chairs have not been asked to leave the room for deliberations in the past.
Venessa K. stated that as the facilitator of the meeting and President of the organization, she was ensuring that all Committee Chairs were treated equally during the budget meeting. As Committee Chairs who were not also serving as Board members did not stay during deliberations of their budgets, neither would any Committee Chair.
Billy T. stated he believed it was an error of past Presidents to not ask Committee Chairs that also serve as Board members to leave during the deliberation of their presented budget.
Stephen S. stated Board members are elected to be a member of the Board and should not be asked to leave during deliberation
Venessa K. stated we only need 6 members present to have a quorum, that the Board Member also serving as a Committee Chair is only being asked to leave during deliberation, and that the Committee liaison would still be present (if the Board Member was not serving as all three positions: Board member, Committee Chair, and Committee Liaison.
Neil P. stated he feels this could be avoided by Board members not serving as Committee Chairs and Committee Chairs not serving as Board members. He stated he is happy to leave the room for deliberation.
Venessa K. stated other committee chairs that have been required to leave during deliberation have informed her they feel is it not fair to them to be asked to leave when a Board member having a dual role as a chair and as a Board member, gets to stay. She went on to state those other chairs feel the Board member serving dual roles may have extra influence with the Board for their specific committee.
Luann D. demanded a vote for the issue, stating that the President did not have the authority to create meeting guidelines.
Venessa made a motion that committee chairs who are also serving as board members recuse themselves during deliberations; Billy seconded
Wade W. stated that he would rather see the pendulum swing the other way: instead of excluding Board Members who are also Committee Chairs from the deliberation of their specific budget, that the Committee Chairs could all stay for the meeting.
Venessa K. responded to Wade W. stating that was fine and the meeting would be opened to all membership.
Wade W. was not supportive of this statement.
Wade W. asked if there a specific example in the past where a Board Member serving as a Committee Chair had undue influence on the Budget process.
Billy T. stated he has first hand memory of a Board chair questioning another chair from another committee.
Luann D. questioned who the Committee Chair in question was.
Billy T. stated that is was Luann D.
Venessa K. then redirected the conversation back to the matter at hand, discussion regarding the motion on the table.
Luann D. stated she would like the following to be placed in the minutes - Please refer to SRG bylaws which state anything not covered in our bylaws revert to Roberts Rules of Order. Robert’s Rules of Order - 11th Edition , page 407 covers this situation specifically (she did not provide the actual text at the meeting)
Scott P. stated it was helpful to have another person to make the budget presentation to the Board
Stephen S. asked can we remove the rights of elected board members?
Venessa K.stated in response that Board members serving dual roles as Board member and Committee Chair are only being asked to leave during deliberation, not voting. A quorum is needed for deliberation and a quorum is still present when that Board member serving a dual role leaves during the budget deliberation.
LeRoy F. stated that it is a bad idea to wear for a Board member to wear two hats at one time. He also added that if a Board member is acting as a committee chair they should be treated as other committee chairs.
Venessa K. stated that every committee chair that is not on this Board presents and leaves and all chairs need to have equal standing.
Venessa K. stated there is a motion on the floor and the Board should vote.
Lisa M. read the motion aloud:
Committee chairs who are also serving as board members recuse themselves during deliberations; Billy T. seconded
Yay - 6, Nay - 4
Motion passes
Neil P., serving as the Committee Chair for the Station, left for Board Deliberation
Chris S. stated the committee’s goals should be to determine a use for the building he continued that another goal for 2018 should state that they should establish a usage policy
Luann D. stated that is seems to her, given the report, that there is a committee. She also stated, why not give them a committee now as they now have two members. She continued that the Board should let them decide who is the chair and let them know they can move forward.
LeRoy F. asked as a point of order if we are discussing the the budget or the forming of the committee. It was stated that we are discussing their goal which is part of the budget.
Neil P., serving as the Committee Chair for the Station committee, returned
Two requests were made by the Board:
Goals amended to state there is a committee
A usage policy is created and presented to the board
Neil P. agreed to both
Membership (Stephen Shuman, presenting as Committee Liaison)
Membership’s goal is not just increasing membership, but maintaining as well
Lofty goal to increase by 100 members; approximately about 30% increase; these could be members we have seen that have not volunteered to participate
A major focus is new apartment complexes; reaching out to renters to break the renter stigma
Expanding current recruitment events for membership is key even for existing and bring back into the fold
Founder’s Day will continue to be a goal
Would like to see the bowling event continue; was a little last minute and would like to formalize it to bring out current membership
Planning to work on getting current members more engaged in events and committees
Committee has had a lot of turnover and they are trying to fill the void
There is a desire to recruit more committee members to reach their goal
Socials will be held at the new apartments; as soon as there is a good opportunity to engage with them the committee will move forward
Billy T. asked if it would be of value to do a directory including people’s interests or skills; maybe a single line on membership form
Stephen S. stated that he doesn't believe the committee has thought about it
Scott P. suggested National Night Out as a possibility to reach out to new members; safety and neighborhood outreach possibility
National Night Out has be moved in St. Louis to the 2nd of October
It was stated that there is a neighborhood National Night gathering planned for Pontiac Park that evening
Stephen S. said he would be happy to bring it up to the committee
LeRoy F. asked why there is no request for a budget line for a directory or roster.
It was decided that a line item of $500 would be added for printing the directory
Chris S. stated he would like the dues to cover the membership party. Stephen S. stated he could not count on that this year because of the change in venue, but it is the a membership committee expectation of themselves. He stated he does not foresee this happening on a regular basis. It was suggested that if held at iTap again, perhaps choose a Wednesday, as due to the crowd expectations on a Wednesday evening, they may give us a better deal. Stephen S. added that this time there were more new new members than in the past. The question is, if those new members become active.
The expense for membership at iTap was under $6K
Luann D. sked if the committee is planning to have a new membership social.
Stephen S. replied that he didn’t know, but will highlight with Julie.
Beautification (Richard Eaton)
The Molly’s Fundraiser at the end of this month will more than cover the 2017 budget
Labor maintenance showed $5K and Richard E. stated that he did not need that much money. Chris S. stated that if he goes 20% over he’ll need to ask for more money and Chris S. stated he would rather him have the money available to him if he needed it than come back to the Board for more
Special projects - this lump sum is to cover electrical power in Pontiac Park and what might be need to be covered before the grant
Chris S. stated that the garden tour is the 30th of May and the income they make at the event will apply to the current year budget
Neil P. asked if is there a possibility of extending more of the fence along the Station.
Richard E. replied that they can get more fence, but repairs from crashes is an issue.
There is no plan to extend the fence at this time.
Eagle Scout Pergola:
A pergola is proposed to be built by a Boy Scout for Eagle Scout project
The total cost would be $1600 and the Eagle Scout raises these funds as part of the project
Neil P. and Richard E. are undertaking the logistics required for the project: permit, CRO (the project was approved), technical drawings, etc.
Richard E. and Neil P. are looking to see if they could reduce square footage, but the arbor sits on concrete footing
There is a time deadline for the Eagle Scout to complete the project and the logistics of receiving all necessary permits from the City may push him beyond that deadline
Neil P. spoke to the Boy Scout and suggested that he have a plan B for his project
Richard E. left for Board deliberation
Parlour Tour (Jeanne Kirby)
43rd year of the Parlour Tour
Every year they try to maintain the integrity of the tour, build upon it, and enhance it Jeanne stated the committee accomplishes this goal by hosting past homeowners, current, and prospective at a happy hour. This has resulted in people who have been in the neighborhood mere months, volunteering to have their home on tour.
A new aspect added this year was a Sunday private tour for homeowners. The shuttle busses came an hour and a half early and gave the homeowners a private tour and they really enjoyed it. Previously the committee hosted a potluck dinner following the event, but homeowners declined. The committee will do the bus tour again this year
St. Louis Bread Company and Fields Foods donated food last year so Jeanne K. did not budget for volunteer and tour center food for 2018
Having Santa seemed to be enjoyed guests and plan to do it again in 2018
This year the committee did increase sponsorship significantly
The upcoming Garden Tour will have a display promoting Parlour Tour and in December Parlour Tour will have a display promoting Garden tour.
Luann D. stated she has a Santa suit if a volunteer would want to use it.
Jeanne K. believes that the current Santa has his own suit
Jeanne K. stated the committee plans to build on the things that work because tour does stand out from other neighborhoods because of homeowners, buses, and tour center
Jeanne K. stated that they added additional time for the buses last year, and it was well worth it
Neil P. and Veronica P. are taking over the Ghost Signs Walking Tour:
The walking tour will be downloaded from website
Perhaps flyers at the Station and/or market
Gathering information on signage
If a sign is spotted, send images to Neil P.
At this time, Veronica and Neil P. are going to the National History Museum to do research
Beth B. asked if Jeanne K. felt food from Fields was donated because Michael P. worked there.
Jeanne K. stated they have donated in the past before Michael P. worked at Fields. It was stated by another Board member that donations from Fields have been received for 5-6 years and they come on tour; they are engaged. The Board asked Jeanne K. if she would like to add a line item for $1000 for food and she agreed. She stated that she hopes she doesn’t need it.
LeRoy F. asked what the tips were for.
It was clarified that these were for bus drivers
Jeanne K. left for deliberation
$1,000 was added to the budget for tour center and volunteer food in the event that the donation historically received, is not.
Safety (Scott Plackemeier presenting as Co-Committee Chair)
Quarterly awards given out to 4 officers
The next Safety Walk event is scheduled to be at 1860s on May 23; Jack Coatar will be there
Plan to schedule one more Safety Walk before the end of the year
Hope to have a summit type of meeting with other safety members of the communities around us
Goal for recruitment is one new safety committee member; National Night Out is a good opportunity to reach out to potential new members
The committee is actively seeking a new Committee Chair
Wade W. is requesting $4000.00 for a Residential Camera project.
He would like to provide cameras to any households that expressed interest in the Mom Howard Camera project but were not provided a camera set before the funding was exhausted (20 names)
Stephen S. asked if the intent is to move forward with Arlo.
Scott P. stated he thinks its been good a good device, but Wade W. added there are other options out there as well.
Wade W. stated it is a great wireless system. Unlike a wired closed circuit TV system these are very localized and liability and installability are minimal
Stephen S. asked if we are getting feedback from participants that have had the cameras installed?
Wade W. stated that things have stalled a bit.
Wade W. added that he plans to send a notice to the Mom Howard Camera participants to get feedback.
Wade W. stated that he may do a recovery program as well. He added the system is expandible and easy to remove and repurpose.
Wade W. reported that for those on the current Mom Howard list that requested cameras, $4K will cover costs for all but one of them. List contains approximately 20 names. Wade W. stated he has 5 two-camera systems currently in his basement that were donated
The request of $4000.00 would cover the remaining individuals
Wade W. added that any money given for cameras in a pay-it-forward fashion would be spent for cameras.
It was asked if the money Julie P. is asking for for from Allstate is to go to camera program. Beth B. stated that when Julie P. was asked directly if it was ok for the grant to go to public cameras she said it would be ok. This direction needs to be clarified with Julie P.
One of the issues of the program is purchasing cameras for one home instead of another
Venessa K. would prefer a public call for household who want to participate in the program instead of a committee selecting participants
How we select homes, how we maintain cameras, and how we pay for the cameras are questions that have not been answered
Scott, serving as the Committee Chair for the Safety Committee, left for deliberation
Venessa K. stated the program needs to be publicly announced and not word of mouth
At this time one doesn’t have to be SRG member to participate.Wade W. would like finish off the list that currently exists before adding participant requirements
Wade W. requested the email addresses for the all for cameras currently installed in the Mom Howard program
It was agreed by the Board that after the existing list of requests from the Mom Howard program is complete, the requirement will be made that those requesting future cameras need to be SRG members to participate
Venessa K. stated the gift cards for the police officers are in the budget and were well received. She added that the Adopt-A-Cop program will be starting again and brunch will take place again as well.
Scott P., acting as the Safety Committee Chair, returned and agreed with all points above.
Camera Project (Bill Clendenin)
This is a Board expense
SRG, SBA, and SSBD are the founding partners of the public camera project
Requesting $10K
These cameras cannot go into residential areas
All cameras link directly to police department. They focus hot spots and intersections
This is a capital cost to go directly into new cameras
SSBD funds operating costs
Chris S. asked if residents can get access to footage. Bill C. stated the interim policy is strictly limited to the police department, but component groups can work toward a more comprehensive policy. A police report would be necessary to access footage.
Primary goal is to add 5-6 cameras
Second goal is crime reduction
Stephen S. asked if the signs around the neighborhood referencing cameras are present are related to the cameras are part of the program. Bill C. stated that they are.
Luann D. asked is there is a camera at Truman’s, if not, would they participate?
Bill C. stated Ken Ortmann did an analysis for the bridge and it was a 6 figure amount. He suggested if a group would work with Truman’s to point the camera across the bridge it may be possible, but there may be an issue with Benton Park not being in special taxing district. Perhaps they could make the argument if the cameras are pointed into the district.
Bill C. left for Board deliberation
Deliberation
$10K ask
Proven effective
Chris S. stated he has checks to deposit and taking away the $10K reserve, the SRG has about $76,765 cash on hand
Stephen S. stated he recommends they not specifically tie crime reduction as a goal
These cameras, and the press that has resulted from them, have proven positive for the neighborhood
Communication (Billy Tomber)
Would like expand core membership
Committee meets once per quarter
Roles segregated to different aspects of the group
Want to expand social media presences and be more inclusive in posts
Goal is to speak with one consistent voice
Goal to be a better service to other committees for the rest of the SRG
Budget numbers facebook promotions; they did some last year and saw good returns
Movie nights are moving to fundraising
Mailchimp (for blaster and tour pages) maintained database- Went over 3K subscribers; limited to one per month with our subscription.
When a request is made by a committee to send out a notification, Billy T. stated each committee organizer needs to update their own information and forward it to the committee: photos, write-up, date/time/location - Com Com committee members will not do this for Committee Chairs
Luann D. asked why the committee members couldn’t just use previous photos and write-ups for an event
Venessa K. responded that the committee members have been repeatedly “thrown under the bus” by doing this and will not any longer, it is the responsibility of the Committee Chairs to provide the information for their events
Luann D. asked for an example of a Com Com member being “thrown under the bus” and Billy T. responded that Luann D. had not sent the information for the 2017 Halloween Golf Cart parade and a member attempted to publicize the event using the previous year’s info. The members, Jeremy M., was then chastised for using incorrect info.
Fundraising (Chris Schwarz)
Handover accomplished
Wreaths were viable and will keep doing it
Oktoberfest went well
Did Tour de Fat last year will not do this year, as they are not coming to St. Louis
Plan to grow committee; currently increased to 6 people
Will start having meetings at the station in an effort to add new members
There are not as many beer sales and races as there have been in the past. Committee is looking at more potential fundraising.
Soulard Concert Series
The committee only wants to make enough to pay bands for the Soulard Concert Series in advance. Event is going well
Adopting movies in the park as a fundraiser with sponsors
Plan to work with Soulard Station committee on the Halloween party fundraiser
Races - $500 is conservative estimate; losing races
Concert series next year looking for better host band; getting nonprofits to work booth to tie into the sponsorship; extra sponsorship includes use of bandstand
Trivia night - not as big of crowd and expenses increased
Expenses - $1500 number includes cost of volunteer shirts
Trying to maintain on the share drive volunteers spreadsheet. Committee chairs can add columns to spreadsheet or give it to the fundraising chair to add. It is an organizational list. New activity columns can be added
Stephen S. asked what does the committee have for sponsors for Movie Night. Chris S. stated the SRG and a specific group sponsors an event. Would focus on selling less as donations and more as underwriting. The event will have posters as well. Venessa K. stated that there has already been interest in underwriting the event. Perk for the underwriter is the extensive advertising; Lisa M. stated the concert series and movies in the park are reaching out to two separate audiences. The concert series, although a family event, focuses more on adults while movie night reaches out to families with children so there are two different types of sponsor opportunities.
It was asked what expenses are included in volunteer support. Chris S. stated the expense includes volunteer shirts and food and beverage for volunteers for events.
Chris S., acting as the Fundraising Committee Chair, left for Board deliberation
Deliberation
For all 4 concerts people are hosting and getting the bandstands
This year on track to have addition $4-$6K on top of what is going out
SRG receives beer sales for at least at one sale a year
Anything made over expenses will go into the fundraising income
Chris S. returned
Residential Promotion/ V&V (Luann Denten)
Merchandising is adding onesies to welcome newborns into the neighborhood
Have established a brick and mortar location at Left Hand on 8th Street
Continuing to work on architectural tour of Soulard
Bastille Day
Expanding to add an after party after beheading.
After party will be a sponsored event
Cardinals have a home game on the July 14th
Carriage fee is high; may be due to Cardinal’s game that day
Halloween same cart parade as in the past
Christmas needs to find a throne
Potlucks are based on weather and other events - one this weekend for lion sculptures dedication and Luke Reynolds appreciation
V&V Budget (Residential Promotion event)
Luann D. read several income and expense amounts from the previous year that the Treasurer’s records did not agree with.
Luann D. asked Chris S. if he had received the updated spreadsheet from Nancy Lambert, that she had brought with her. Chris S. stated that he had not received the amounts that she was indicating and that at the end of the day his record reflected the deposits in and the checks written. He suggested that they meet offline to review the records, with Nancy Lambert, of the previous year’s Ball.
Luann D. did not complete the income portion of the budget.
Venessa K. assisted Luann D. with adding in this information - accurately reflecting the historical amount the event made in ticket sales, sponsorships, and silent auction
A question was raised regarding the accuracy of the food/drink budget:
The amount reflected is $7,500, which is far below the market cost for event catering. The difference has historically come in the form of a donation.
Venessa K. stated that the full amount of the food/drink should be included in the budget request to the Board, as a donation is never guaranteed and we shouldn’t count on it.
The budget item was increased to $17,500, accurately reflecting the catering cost for an event of this size.
Wade W. stated that he wasn’t comfortable releasing the budget with the V&V Ball showing a “loss” on the budget
Several Board members stated that the budget needed to reflect the accurate costs and Lisa M. stated that the exact same thing was done with the Parlour Tour budget by adding an addition $1,000 to the volunteer food budget - even though this has been donated for many years. It is about fiscal responsibility
Luann D. stated that she just wants to have the Ball
Chris S. stated that the budget should not be altered to show a gain.
Venessa K. acknowledged that the donation in question has been received for several years but responsible accounting needs to still coverage the amount as if the donation isn’t received.
Without the $10,000 donation on the budget, and the food budget not increased, the Ball reflects a gain of $1,450. With the food budget reflecting the market rate of a $17,500 food and drink expense and the sponsorship budget reflecting the same donation as in previous years, the Ball budget indicates a profit of $1,450.
Wade W. stated that the Ball should reflect making more money and that the budget should reflect the food and drink as only a $7,500 expense.
Luann D. agreed.
Venessa K. recapped the budget discussion for V&V by clarifying that Wade W. would rather see an $11,000 gain for the event reflected for the budget and not include the market food and drink amount, instead of the budget reflecting a $1,450 gain but requesting the market food and drink costs. Wade W. agreed. Leanne D. agreed.
Chris S. reminded the room that any expense that exceeded 10% of the approved budget would need to be requested from the Board.
Residential Promotion Historical Signage Update (Luann Denten)
When started went to cultural resources office to ask if it was feasible
Have support letters for the program
Have designed signs to avoid vandalism and graffiti
No other approved signage tour
10x10 inch only allowed in building code
Signage needs to be on street to avoid going into individual’s yard
16x24 sized sign approved by Board of Preservation
Signage to be placed on the house or on a pole; must be placed in the mortar and each house will be custom
Obtained 6 different quotes
Not presenting to Board until approved by Cultural Resources
Will need approval by owner of property
Will do reception for the homeowners
Concept to do walking tour to encompass the entire neighborhood; passed map around
For legal advice - historic license agreement - passed on to Chris S.
As a legal agreement, this is a concern. If there is structural damage where would liability fall? Chris S. stated a line is needed releasing liability for installation of the sign
First phase 28-30 homes
Second phase breweries
$13.7K was for the first wave; to ensure now that we have the proper material to avoid graffiti and vandalism; need to redo bids now that more information has been gathered
Chris S. stated last year merchandise was authorized to spend $2K for initial stock. How much to you plan on making next year?
Luann D. stated they are now set on Etsy with local pickup only for site.
Chris S. asked if we will have sold the $2K we bought.
Luann D. stated what is in stock is mostly being distributed as donated items for other committees and as charitable donations.
Venessa K. stated donations should be tracked.
Committee Chairs requesting items for donation should contact Left Hand directly and submit the invoice to the Treasurer.
Outside of Committee Chairs, donation requests should be forwarded to Venessa K. and Chris S. for approval, tracking, payment.
Luann D., acting as the Resident Promotion Committee Chair, left for Board deliberation
Deliberation:
A fair amount of merchandise was sold at Founders Day
Do not want to limit sales to only online
Cannot project $0 income and spend another $2500 (merchandise)
In order to ask for more money in the budget, the items would need to be sold
Need to take $2500 out and after items are sold ask for more funds when needed; cannot have expense with no income
All Board members need to think of ways to sell shirts
Luann D. returned
Informed her the budget would be adjusted to remove the $2500 requested for new items and after those items were sold she could request additional money from the Board
Board Budget (Venessa Kobrin)
Asking for additional funds for SRG event advertising; requesting money to produce signage to be used multiple times
The Treasurer has requested funds for a review, less intense than an audit but still in-line with transparency
Special projects
Public camera project ($10,000)
NLA - Program starts in September; Board will be asking 2 people to attend; there is a commitment; suggested officers go but police already have a budget for the program ($1,000 for two)
Historically camera project is a Board expense
Chris S. stated he is thinking about getting a PO box. Venessa K. stated Neil P. is replacing the mailbox so we should see if that works for now.
Venessa K. summed up the budget as follows:
Income $114K
Total expenses $146K
Loss of $32K (of which $29K is for projects all strongly supported by the SRG)
Historically committees have not utilized all the funds that they have requested
A motion to approve the budget as amended was made by LeRoy Fitzwater and seconded by Scott Plackemeier. All Board Members were in favor. None were opposed.
Adjournment
Billy T. motioned to adjourn the meeting. Chris S. seconded. The meeting adjourned at 11:10PM.