Finance & Legal minutes: 2019-05-28

Minutes:

> Begin forwarded message:
>
> From: Ben Tabatowski-Bush <btabatow at gmail.com>
> Subject: Fwd: [go-talk] [Finance-minutes] Minutes of 5-14-19 Finance & Legal Meeting
> Date: May 28, 2019 at 8:49:30 AM EDT
> To: Becky Grover <beckyagrover at gmail.com>
> Cc: Annmarie Tabatowski-bush <atabatow at gmail.com>
>
> Hi Becky,
>
> Our lawyer Don Samhat of Northville is mostly complete with preparing our lease for our renter for #14.
> Can you please send the language from the attorney Rick which is proposed to be inserted into any rental lease?
> We would like to have Don review the language. Thanks much,
>
> Bennie
>
> In the meantime, our attorney Rick said we should either safely allow (by
> building safe pathways) or forbid basement primary egress. We probably
> should have the conversation with Anne & Bennie, and Jennifer, that they
> must allow the tenants to use their front door for primary egress until the
> safe pathway project is done.
>
> Leases
> Educate community about our Bylaws which state that the community must review and approve rental leases
> Work with Rick to develop a template for landlord leases, and/or the key points that have to be in any landlord lease.
> Discuss leases for home shares (are these different from renting a self-contained unit or portion of a unit?)
> Make sure that Rick adds in the language about how units need to be up to code, and that the landlord and/or tenant is responsible for clearing snow IF sidewalks were to be added behind rental walkout units (undetermined).
>
>
>
>
> ---------- Forwarded message ---------
> From: Amy Harris <amyh at gocoho.org <mailto:amyh at gocoho.org>>
> Date: Mon, May 27, 2019 at 2:00 PM
> Subject: [go-talk] [Finance-minutes] Minutes of 5-14-19 Finance & Legal Meeting
> To: <finance-minutes at gocoho.org <mailto:finance-minutes at gocoho.org>>
>
>
> Minutes of 5-14-19 F&L Meeting
>
> Present: Becky G., Amy, Sharon, Becky H.
> Absent: Debbi
>
>
> 1. 2018 tax return
> The 2018 return is very similar to the 2017. We do not owe any taxes, and
> we’ll still have a credit next year. Tax preparation cost $470.
>
> 2. Bookkeeping updates
> a. Insurance renewal
> Becky G. has been working very hard on this. She shared a spreadsheet
> comparing insurance options. Goodman Venegas (GV) has recommended that we
> stay with Travelers for the truck, and Philadelphia for the volunteer
> workers.
>
> However, GV also recommended that we get a quote from State Farm again.
> They are getting a quote from Citizens/Hanover, so we can compare it to
> State Farm and Michigan Millers (MM). The MM quote was so high that GV
> didn’t send it to Becky, other than to say that it was $5K more than last
> year. Our premium would have gone from $12,000 up to $17,000. GV said
> that they can’t in good faith recommend this. The reason it went up was
> that MM decided that we had to move to a different package. Ann from GV
> had the same feeling as Becky G., that MM just doesn’t want our business
> anymore. MM announced the premium increase just two days before our policy
> was due, two months after telling us that there would not be any changes.
> This is obviously not good customer service.
>
> Ann wanted to understand why we left State Farm in the first place. The
> truck was a focus of Great Oak’s questions at the time, and we were also
> worried about coverage for volunteer workers. Ann recommended that we stay
> with Travelers for the truck, and Philadelphia for the volunteer workers,
> as these policies address those problems.
>
> Becky has been talking with Susan Rosales, a State Farm agent located on
> Michigan Avenue in Saline. Becky met with her for an hour, then Susan came
> here to GO and took photos. Susan needed the square footage of every unit
> and building, and she went ahead and pulled it from the assessor’s office
> website herself, instead of relying on our numbers. Becky also sent her a
> lot of information about how we calculated our reserve. This changed the
> replacement value of GO to $7M, whereas GV had us at $8.2M. We think that
> Susan’s basis is more accurate than GV’s. We were probably paying a lot
> more because MM and Citizens had our value too high.
>
> Susan recommends that we have a $10K deductible rather than $5K. She’s
> willing to come talk to F&L or the community about why a $10K deductible
> would be good. We currently have a $5K deductible, and we have saved $10K
> to cover two instances in a year. Susan would be happy to talk with us
> about how we could come up with a second deductible if we ever needed to.
>
> A State Farm policy covering our buildings, directors, and officers would
> cost $11,600 vs. the $10,190 we paid last year to MM. The SF umbrella
> policy is significantly less than MM’s last year for the same coverage,
> from $720 down to $215.
>
> The estimated premium from Citizens is just under $14K, more than what we
> were paying MM before, but still under the MM increase.
>
> The umbrella policy would be carried by State Farm. It would cover
> anything the truck policy wouldn’t cover, even though they don’t hold the
> truck policy.
>
> Both Ann and Susan have better information about our sprinklers and walls
> between our units than before. Susan gave us a discount for this.
>
> Becky has had extremely good experiences with State Farm. She admits she
> is biased because of two positive experiences working with them on very
> difficult situations, and she has found their online system for making
> claims to be very good. Sharon said she has also had good experiences with
> State Farm.
>
> All present agreed that the State Farm option looks good, keeping the truck
> and volunteer coverage with the companies offered by GV.
>
> Thanks to Becky for all the work!!!
>
> b. Arrears
> One household is well over the threshold for placing a lien. They told us
> that they will pay the April and May dues within the month of May, which
> will get them back below $1000. In June we’ll have a conversation about a
> payment plan for the rest. We will need to stop waiving late fees unless
> they agree to a payment plan.
>
> c. Monthly reports are late going out because of all the work Becky
> has been doing on insurance.
>
> 3. Basement Egress proposal
>
> Becky drafted a proposal. She divided it into 3 parts, which could be 3
> separate proposals or 3 sections of one proposal. Part 1 could stand
> alone: an agreement that we allow primary basement egress as long as the
> specified conditions are met. Part 2, about how we’ll accomplish the
> construction of pathways and stairs, is a one-time action, so also seems
> like it could stand alone. The third component is about how we will
> maintain the new elements.
>
> This proposal could be approached like the operating budget, where we start
> by finding all the areas of agreement, then focusing in on the sticking
> points.
>
> There are no dollar amounts in this proposal yet for two reasons. Becky G.
> is asking Reid from Hollowell to give us a rough quote for the job,
> ballpark only. He’s coming out to do some bids for Grounds anyway.
>
> The other reason is that we could consider seeking agreement in principle,
> then have the discussion about money be between different bids. Determining
> the materials, design, etc. is outside F&L’s purview. It may need to be up
> to Grounds to get the quotes etc.
>
> However, we have the feeling that some neighbors would not want to agree
> to anything unless they know the approximate cost.
>
> The community agreed at the last meeting that the costs should be split
> between the landowner/homeowners and the community. If we say that there’s
> primary access to basement walkout apartments, then the Association is
> responsible for that access. So it may be that the whole community should
> pay for the reserve costs, as they will be for GCEs. We hypothetically
> imagined that if we built a new building on the South Lawn, for instance,
> the cost of the sidewalks would go into the project budget, but GO would
> share the reserve costs just as we do for the pedways and unit sidewalks
> elsewhere.
>
> Becky doesn’t see any way to make this project happen this year unless we
> take a loan from the Reserve. We do not want to take loans from
> individuals.
>
> Becky could ask Paul Conahan, our reserve fund specialist: we’re thinking
> about doing a major project. We’re thinking about taking a loan from the
> Reserve, is that kosher?
>
> In the meantime, our attorney Rick said we should either safely allow (by
> building safe pathways) or forbid basement primary egress. We probably
> should have the conversation with Anne & Bennie, and Jennifer, that they
> must allow the tenants to use their front door for primary egress until the
> safe pathway project is done.
>
> A special assessment is another option. If we take out a reserve loan, it
> would be a special assessment to pay it back. We could treat it like the
> workshop loan, and make it a fixed expense in the operating budget, spread
> over years. Billing people for the full amount all at once would not be
> good.
>
> We will bring this forward on May 20 for an initial discussion, and let
> people know we’re trying to get financial information for section 2. We
> could try to get agreement in principle about sections 1 and 3.
>
> Adding another sidewalk and stairs will increase our work, but we noted
> that its likely to be only one job, and renters over the years have made
> substantial contributions to our work system and to our community life.
>
> Sharon will ask Bennie if he would do the legwork to find out what the code
> is for primary pathways to apartments. Can it be gravel? Permeable
> pavers?
>
> Becky and Sharon will present together. Elph and Jillian are the
> facilitators. Becky and Sharon will reach out to E&J to prepare.
>
> We will also need a visual to show people the specific areas we are talking
> about. Sharon will prepare a drawing.
>
> We think that GO will need to pay for the individual sidewalks from the
> door to the sidewalk, because GO pays for sidewalks to primary access to
> front doors. Becky G. will check in with Debbi about this.
>
> Becky G. will try to send out the proposal on Saturday morning if possible,
> and Sharon and Becky will try to meet with Elph and Jillian prior to then.
>
> Ultimately the Work Committee will be responsible for any work inequalities
> that arise. Grounds will be overseeing the building of stairs and
> pathways. Buildings Committee may also have criteria, e.g. making sure
> water is channeled away
>
> 4. Polly & Drew’s roof - Amy will verify with Mary that we understand
> exactly what Buildings wants F&L to ask our lawyer to do. We reviewed the
> documentation Buildings has sent us and discussed it.
>
> 5. Progress on Priority items
> a. Master Deed & Bylaws - Debbi not here
> b. Reserve Study – time to follow up with Mary on this
> c. Basement egress issue – #3 above.
> d. Truck Proposal – Amy to share proposal with Grounds
> e. Calendar of routine tasks – underway!
> f. Landlord leases – awaiting decision on basement egress item
> g. Unit modifications/Documenting build-outs (Master Deed, insurance,
> Buildings/ARC process) – the MD part has already been discussed in a
> plenary conversation.
>
> 6. Ongoing items
> a. CH Com re: CH Leases and proof of insurance - received proof of
> insurance for Melisa’s office. Awaiting Syndallas’s.
> b. Water sensors / Insurance discounts - pending decision about
> insurance. According to State Farm, this
> technology is so new that the underwriters haven’t caught up with it yet.
> They do not currently give a discount on account of the sensors. In a few
> years this may be possible.
>
> 7. Matters arising
> a. We’ve heard that there are 2 canoes down by the pond that are not locked
> up. This is an attractive nuisance that could endanger children. School
> will be out soon. Oars should not be stored down there. Becky H. will send
> a message to the three communities about this.
> b. We talked about people entering the wetlands from Little Lake. A large
> new path has sprung up. We speculate that people from the Health Center are
> going for walks there. Grounds could put up a sign that says “Under Repair
> - do not enter” -- until the area has grown back up again, nature doing the
> repair. Amy will write to Grounds about this path, and also about our
> concerns that the pallets leading to the wetlands below the north patio are
> very dangerous and should be removed immediately. She’ll also ask Grounds
> to follow up on the canoe issue.
>
> Cooler doc:
> https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_dmnNJmHmrwwFIfnscnRbPK-_8_kmahfFsOTn_fEvTY/edit <https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_dmnNJmHmrwwFIfnscnRbPK-_8_kmahfFsOTn_fEvTY/edit>
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