Finance & Legal minutes: 2020-07-08

Minutes:

Minutes of 7-8-20 F&L meeting


Present: Debbi, Sharon, Becky G., Becky H., Amy
Guests: Susan, Syndallas, co-facilitators for 7-11-20 Steering meeting


MONKEYS
* Becky G. will make reserve transfers and reactivate the Asphalt Crack
savings account
* Becky G. will turn the current garage ownership spreadsheet into a Google
sheet and post it on the WIKI when she has time
* Becky H. will let Willie know that the garage ownership spreadsheet is
coming
* Amy will share F&L’s thoughts about Willie & Katie’s proposed unit
expansion letter with Buildings
* Debbi will send an email to attorney Rick asking if it’s typical to
require a completion bond in a condo environment.
* Becky G. will talk with Mary about the idea of keeping the budget the
same as 2019, but with a 4% increase to Reserve payments, as planned.
[Subsequent to the meeting, Becky G. talked with Budget process
coordinators Mary and Dale, and determined that there are good reasons to
go forward with the usual process, though we may be able t slim it down.]
* Debbi will write a letter to Polly & Drew’s insurance to say that it’s
not GO’s responsibility to pay for the mold in their cabinets. If they
won’t accept this, our insurance agent will take this on.
* Becky G. will let Grounds know that she can check with our insurance
agent about the incremental cost of coverage for a zip line.


1. Bookkeeping updates
1. Arrears
1. Prepare for Steering committee meeting - 7/11/20 - notes edited after
the meeting to reflect new information
Back in April, the Steering Committee agreed to take on responsibility for
overseeing next steps with a household that is seriously in arrears,
relieving the F&L Committee of this work because of burnout. Including
July, the household owes $4,338.26 to GO. According to our agreement, the
next step upon exceeding $2,000 in arrears is to go to collections, which
could result in foreclosure in this situation because there is no income or
tax returns to garnish. Under the circumstances of the pandemic, the
Steering Committee recommended to the community that the household be given
more time to find a solution. The community directed F&L and Steering to
revisit the situation in 3 months, and to recommend whether to extend
longer or to begin legal proceedings.


The committee and the co-facilitators for the 7-11-20 Steering meeting had
a long discussion which included public information about unpaid property
taxes, which are leading the household on a path toward a tax foreclosure,
which would leave GO without payment on its lien on the property and the
household with $0 in equity.

Serious consideration was given to an idea to pay off the taxes, foreclose
on the unit, sell it, pay off the debt to GO, and give the balance to the
homeowner. There was much discussion about whether the community would
support this; however, the alternative was worse, where neither GO nor the
household would get anything. Another alternative, in which GO forecloses
now, was ruled out.


The group decided to present the scenario at the Steering meeting and then
Steering would bring it to the community meeting on the 20th. But first,
someone would talk with the household.


Fortunately, the household appreciated the concern of the group and
realized the seriousness of the situation. They decided to sell their
garage immediately, enabling them to pay off their taxes and debt to GO.

The group agreed to pause any further discussion of legal action and to
revisit the situation in late August, to make sure that the debt to GO is
paid off to at least below $2,000.


2. Tax and Audit update - Becky is in the process of providing info to the
auditors and also provided all the tax info. She’s asking for a quote for
help with cleaning up Quickbooks. $250/hr. Also looking for alternatives.
3. Sent out statements today.
4. Reserve transfers - probably this weekend. Requires going to a physical
bank.
5. Grounds did asphalt cracks sealing. If you don’t use a savings account
for 2 years, they suspend it. Becky has to go to the bank in person to
fill out a form. She needs to take all the money out to pay the bill, but
we still want to keep the savings account open. Needs to leave $500 in to
keep it open. She will leave $500 in the account and Grounds will pay for
that another way.
6. A couple people had very tiny arrears. They rounded up their checks or
paid the old amount. Emailed those people and will not charge late fees.
7. One unit had a payment agreement, getting close to $1000, and has agreed
to keep it under that.


2. Ongoing items
1. 6 months since Skills & Thrills - check-in on MD and Bylaws - Debbi
anticipates wrapping it by the end of next week. She is off Tuesday
through Monday because of non-Art Fair.
* Defining what “clean and maintain sidewalks” means - Grounds will
bring this to the community on July 20.
2. Location of updated garage info
* Willie found garage ownership info but it was old. Becky H. updated
it late last year, either Becky or Debbi was going to put it in the right
place. It needs to be converted to a Google sheet so anyone can update
it. Becky G. will get to it when she can. Becky H. will respond to Willie
to say it’s coming.


3. Matters arising
1. Willie & Katie’s unit expansion project - request for a letter signed by
GOCA acknowledging their plans, to be given to their builder.
* We generally thought the letter looked good, but the devil’s in the
details. What is the process on checking in to make sure all the things
get done? Some thoughts:
* Workmen have to be bonded and have insurance
* What is Buildings’ responsibility? Buildings should sign off on
the letter also. They should be the group that makes sure things happen.
Amy will reach out to Buildings, about this.
* Do we need the lawyer to look at this? Builder wants this letter.
We’re not promising anything, we’re just saying he got the appropriate
permissions.
* If the builder disappears, it’s on Willie and Katie. Should they
get a completion bond from the builder? - W&K would take it out. MONKEY:
Debbi will send an email to Rick asking if it’s typical to require a
completion bond in this environment. It seems like it should be standard
practice going forward, for people who are changing the envelope of their
house.
* Any damages to a common element is the resp of W&K or the builder.
* Any damages to another unit, they’re responsible
2. Work survey coming for Sept-Dec: F&L jobs need to be entered into
system - soft deadline: July 23, hard deadline: July 31
* Need to add budget process jobs. What if we keep the same budget for
next year? Becky will talk to Mary about this. We don’t need to increase
our budget. Could steering agree to this? Becky willing to write up a
quick proposal for this with caveat that Reserve goes up 4%. [Subsequent
to the meeting, Becky G. talked with Budget process coordinators Mary and
Dale, and determined that there are good reasons to go forward with the
usual process, though we may be able t slim it down.]
* Agreed to continue to meet 1x month with reduced hours.
3. Drew’s insurance co is pushing back on paying for their mold problem in
their cabinets. They say it should be association responsibility. We
should send a letter saying it’s not. Debbi will write the letter this
weekend. If that doesn’t satisfy them, connect them with Susan Rosales.
CC her or BCC her. Becky talked to her about this before. She says it’s
typical that insurance goes by what’s in the Bylaws. But if our MD says
something different, go by that. Let the insurance companies fight it out
if we need to.
4. Talk of a zip line on Grounds email. It is doubtful that our insurance
would accept a zip line. How high would it be? Becky G. can check with
our insurance about cost.


4. Next meeting - August 12
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