Steering minutes: 2008-01-06

Minutes:

Steering Minutes

1/6/08

Present: Nancy, Gail, Elph, Judith, AmyH, Mac, Katie, Ellie

1. Steering budget line

a) Clarification of name and purpose

Tracy strongly requested that we do not use the terms “fund” or
“contingency” to refer to this line item. She recommends using the
term “fund” only to refer to money that is raised outside of the
operating budget, such as donated funds.

Amy recalled that early in GO’s history we had line items for both
emergencies and community improvements. These were reduced to just
one line item of $2000 to be managed by Steering.

We agreed to call this the “Critical Needs” line item from now on,
and to use the money for urgent or emergent items that can’t be
funded otherwise. Steering will continue to make decisions about how
this money will be used each year. Unused funds will be rebated.

b) Wrap up of 2007 Critical Needs budget

$1700 of the 2007 Critical Needs budget will be rebated. We’ll know
about the remainder by the end of January. CRC reported that $75 of
this has been spent on a meeting of CRC with Annie Zirkel. Two
families may take advantage of the opportunity to meet with Annie
Zirkel in January, using 2007 funds before the 2007 books are
closed. This would be a maximum of $300. CRC will give us an update
at the end of January.

2. Steering meeting roles for Winter season

We will continue to meet on first Sundays at 5 PM in the CH Sitting
Room.

MEETING ROLES

Facilitator

Minutes

Feb. 3

Katie

Gail

Mar. 2

Mac

Judith

Apr. 6

Mel

Amy

3. Steering agenda items / community overview

Pending items:

a) Tri-community steering summit – Jack Pyle from TS reports that
Sunward has not responded to his invitation to participate in a tri-
community summit. GO will send a delegation when the date is set.

b) Lakestone Apartments: phone call to management – Amy will call the
management when she has time, to open lines of communication.

Items we want to keep an eye on in the coming season:

c) Increasing number of units that may be for rent/sale. There was
discussion about renters and work. Nancy commented that in her
previous condo community, there was a maximum number of units that
could be put up for rent.

d) Sunward has asked about hiring someone at GO to plow Sunward’s
parking lot. Is it lot too late for this season? Grounds will
discuss this and Steering will hear an update at the next meeting.

4. Committee go-round

a) Membership: Recent marketing meeting (attended by Robert and
Mel); talked about contacting U-M, EMU etc. housing locaters.

b) F&L: Next meeting on 1/14. Emily is exploring scrip programs at
food stores that could raise money for GO. Arbor Farms turned her
down. No change in rate of people late in paying their association
fees. Staying at about 6 major issues, plus a fairly steady number
that are of short duration. F&L is trying to make sure they are in
communication with the households in arrears, and that each household
has a plan in place. 5 of 6 have plans in place.

c) Buildings: Ted keeps a list of all the things that have been
reported and need fixing. If you need something fixed, ask Ted to
put it on his list, then talk to Eric to get it done.

Fire Suppression: We believe that there was never a final inspection
on the fire suppression system before we moved in. Adi talked to
Jack Germain a few months back; as the Acting Fire Marshall for Scio,
he was going to talk to JD about when the final inspection was going
to be. Adi has not heard back from Jack and will call him soon to
see how his conversation with JD went.

We’ve had problems all along – maybe because the system was
"installed wrong" (seemingly the excuse for everything that goes
wrong). Last time we had an inspection, the company did not send a
report to the Scio Fire Dept. Jack Germain from Scio Fire Dept came
over to talk about this. He now has a copy of the last report.
Subsequently, Scio Fire Captain Tim Andrews came over saying he wants
us to install key boxes (“Knox Boxes”) under the red lights on each
building. Only the Fire Dept has access to these boxes. This would
give them quick access to buildings in the event of fire. These
cost $150-190 each. Could have a box for every 2-3 buildings.

After discussion, the group agreed it would be best to have a box on
each building, as recommended by the Fire Dept. Even if people have
code-operated locks on their doors, the ideal would be to provide a
key for the Fire Dept., in case the battery is dead on the code-
operated locks.

Separately, the community has discussed having a centrally located
set of keys and codes to provide access in case of emergency. We
still think this is a good idea.

Before we have another fire inspection, we need to find out what
happened with the conversation with JD, and we need to make sure
there is a proper wrench by all the fire suppression risers. The
wrench is missing from the CH kitchen pantry. A new one will be
purchased and Tom will find a way to attach it so it doesn’t wander

Households should make sure they don’t put a lot of landscaping in
front of hydrant outlets (these are low to the ground).

The Clarks had a leak from one of their sprinkler heads. It has
been repaired, but everyone should keep an eye out for drips and wet
marks on their ceilings. The pipes can leak as well as the sprinkler
heads.

d) Grounds. Snowplowers have been trained now. There will be
discussion about Sunward’s request for plowing help. Need to find a
place to keep the tractor; its regular spot is filled with snow.
Mary K and Laura are working on a design for a new/improved sandbox
area. Grounds is discussing possible projects/budgets for 2008.
These will be brought to the comty for prioritization. There will
be some new trees this spring. Lighting project for garages
continues – need an electrician but it’s been difficult to get a
qualified electrician for such a small job. Fixing unit sidewalks:
Katie is getting quotes, so the work can be done in the spring. The
snow has slowed things down. It’s possible that the sidewalk repairs
will impact landscaping.

e) Meals: New meals work assignments completed. Have had trouble
finding enough people to do weekday head cook. Canceled one meal per
month plus two in April.

f) Process- scheduling comty meeting roles – minute takers and
alternate meeting organizers are in place. On Tuesday 1/8 at InfoCo,
the regular meting facilitator schedule will be set. Please attend
if this applies to you. Process also needs to think about how it
will manage its drastically cut budget.

g) CH – New vacuum, only for carpet! Direction book is in CH
Sitting room. Nancy cleaned the Exercise Room, probably the first
time in 4 years! Is there a policy on people using the CH vacuum in
their homes? Nancy will bring this to the comtee for discussion. CH
floor: Rod says once marmoleum is sealed, can use any cleaner on it,
except cleaners that are abrasive. Plans for a half-curtain in
Sitting Room. Work underway to deaden sound in Game Room with
fabric. Guest Room is cold! Space heater? Thermostat? Expensive.
Mel willing to donate an oil-filled electric radiator. Talk on e-
mail about getting an elliptical for the Exercise Room. No one has
taken the lead on this yet; suggestion to form a sub-committee. Mary
King’s free weights are a donation. Ted has a bench he will also
donate on a trial basis.

h) Work- New work season has begun. Renters and work item coming
up at next comty meeting. Debbie and Lisa organized a “work
allocation game” for the January 2 alternative community meeting
followed by discussion. Work Com wants to have a more formal comty
discussion about the work system at a future comty meeting.

5. Next Meeting: Sunday, Feb 3 @ 5 pm in the Sitting Room
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