Finance & Legal minutes: 2021-06-30

Minutes:

Minutes of 6-30-21 F&L Meeting

Present: Sharon, Becky G., Becky H., Amy

New Monkeys
* Amy will ask Debbi to make a note that the MD should say that owners who
are building out are expected to comply with Township rules (e.g. Zoning).
It’s up to owners to comply, not F&L’s/GOCA’s responsibility to inform and
enforce.
* Amy will add a link to the north slope gravel path agreement to the
agenda for the next F&L meeting so we can review it
* BG will reach out to our attorney about edits he may recommend to the
unit rental lease. She’ll also review the last minutes to see if there are
any other questions to ask him about.
* Amy will ask Debbi to note in the MD the requirement to provide and
retain copies of building permits and certificates of occupancy. Both
Buildings and F&L will keep copies.
* Amy will write to Buildings Com to let them know we should be keeping
copies of building permits and C of Os. Best to have both committees have
copies.
* Sharon will edit Unit Modification Agreement to include the requirement
to provide copies of building permits and C of Os to both F&L and Buildings
Com, and other changes discussed at the 6-30-21 F&L meeting
* Amy will send a message to CH Com in 2 weeks to follow up on the CH
Office lease, also letting them know that F&L recommends changing the lease
to enable GOCA to stop renting the offices altogether if this is something
the community decides to do in the future
* Amy will invite Mary King to a future meeting to discuss how to proceed
with an RIP
* BG will ask the Credit Union for advice on trying a “CD ladder” for new
Reserve funds.
* Amy will respond to Judith regarding her recommendation that we insure
the piano in the CH
* Amy will ask Debbi to review the revised Buildings Modification Agreement
before we call it done, bringing her knowledge of the MD and Bylaws to bear
* Amy will ask Debbi if GOCA is a particular kind/number of non-profit
corporation (we know we are not a 501(c)(3))
* Ask Buildings Com to review Building Modifications Agreement after we’ve
made the changes we discussed


1. Ongoing items check-in
* Follow-up on attorney's responses to our questions.
* Zoning
* Discuss how to bring what we’ve learned back to the community
* It would be good to fill in the community on what we’ve learned
from the attorney, and the implications. But it’s not F&L’s job to make
sure everyone knows this information.
* Part of our message should be that it’s not F&L’s responsibility
to enforce Township rules.
* MONKEY: Amy will ask Debbi to make a note that the MD should
say that owners who are building out are expected to comply with Township
rules (e.g. Zoning). It’s up to owners to comply, not F&L’s/GOCA’s
responsibility to inform and enforce.
* Inform the community that owners may run into difficulty if they
try to pull a permit for a basement buildout that is not for their family.
To comply with Single Family Zoning, basement build outs should not create
completely separate units (i.e., there should also be an interior means of
egress. This is especially needed for North slope walkouts when gravel
path is too icy.)
* Re: Icy north slope path: MONKEY: We should go back to review
the agreement about this. The reality is that we can’t guarantee its
safety. The plan all along was for renters to proceed to the closest set
of stairs. If someone is choosing to walk the entire length of the path,
it’s their choice
* Are we still going to collect leases from house shares?
* Yes. We want to make sure new tenants understand what’s
expected of them.
* It would show that we know that people are not going according
to the zoning regulations. This may be a wording issue. We talked about
“primary egress,” while the Zoning rules talk about “separate unit” and
“single family.” The only time the Township becomes aware of what is
happening is when a permit is pulled. They’re more likely to go after a
landlord than a renter.
* Rick is looking into whether we should change the rental lease
template we provide to landlords regarding access to interior means of
egress. He has not gotten back to Becky G. MONKEY: BG will reach out to
him.
* BG was going to send some follow-up Qs to Rick but Amy did not note
what questions were still open
* MONKEY: BG will go back to read the minutes to see the status
of this.
* F&L should be making copies of building permits and certificates of
occupancy. Since Buildings Com is involved, they should get copies also.
Better that both committees keep copies.
* MONKEY: Amy will ask Debbi to note in the MD the requirement to
make copies of building permits and certificates of occupancy
* MONKEY: Amy will write to Buildings Com to let them know they
and F&L should be keeping copies of building permits and C of Os. Best to
have both committees have copies.
* MONKEY: Sharon to edit Unit Modification Agreement to include
the owner requirement to provide copies of building permits and C of Os to
both F&L and Buildings Com
* Could this be added to Kathy’s F&L administrative role?
Could she check in w Bldgs regularly to find out if there are build-outs
underway?


* CH Offices
* Have we communicated what we learned to CH Com? Yes, BG sent
information right after the last F&L meeting. Have they decided how to
proceed? No word yet from CH Com about their decisions.
* CH Com needs to decide, or ask the community for input/decision,
about whether to stop giving non-member CH office tenants the right of
first refusal to renew their lease
* There may not be enough time to get community approval to
change the lease for 2022.
* MONKEY: Amy will send a message to CH Com in 2 weeks about
following up on the CH Office lease. Reminder, if you want to have any
changes to the CH lease before January that would be brought before the
community, the process needs to start immediately. If you don’t have the
bandwidth, consider soliciting help from interested neighbors. If CH as
an empowered committee wants to decide, any changes need to go to the
lawyer by Nov. 1 so he can revise the lease for 2022. The GO budget
process will get started in September, slowing other community work.
* MONKEY: Also let CH Com know that F&L recommends changing
the lease to include the option for GO to stop renting at some point in the
future if desired
* What does F&L need to do to get the BOA and office leases in
agreement?
* CH Com manages the leases. They need to tell F&L how they want
the lease changed. We gave them Rick’s opinion and recommendation.
* Has CH Com talked to Melisa? - We don’t know.
* Copies of current leases? Yes, on file.
* Unit Modifications
* Not much discussion about this one
* Reserve Fund Investment Policy
* Becky G sent the information from Rick to Mary King and they talked
about it. Mary had some concerns. Why would we pursue anything more than
we’re doing if Rick won’t support it? We’d have to be really clear about
what we were doing and get community buy in. Instead of spelling out a RIP
document, Mary was going to start by crafting and getting community buy-in
on some principles. E.g. is the community ok with certain parameters, such
as not investing above a certain percentage, and how risky it can be. She
will draft that and bring it to F&L.
* MONKEY: Amy will invite Mary King to a future meeting to discuss
how to proceed with an RIP
* Ideas:
* Create a RIP
* Make sure we regularly disclose how our investments are doing
and how invested. As long as we keep communication open and transparent,
would that be enough? Quarterly reports. Gives people the opportunity to
say wait, this is not responsible and keep up to date
* We could do a pilot - gain some experience
* We’re trying to beat inflation
* We’d need a group to work on this
* Master Deed/Bylaws update check-in (Debbi - absent)
* F&L Cooler Doc - finish reading through doc together, next step is to
prioritize - TABLED


2. Bookkeeping updates
* 2019 tax return was submitted
* Phone meeting w Maureen from audit firm. They had given Becky things to
do for the audit, now done. They will meet about another thing Becky
should do, about checks that didn’t clear in 2014. Need to get them off
our books
* Becky needs to take the 1st and 2nd quarter reserve payments to the
Credit Union, about $37K. Normally she would just put the money in the
Money Market account. Should she put it in staggered CDs instead? No risk
to community. Does F&L have authority to do this? Paul Conahan’s report
talks about doing this. None of us has had the bandwidth to explore
percentage returns. BH pointed out that the longer the term, the higher
the interest. A “CD ladder” with constant turnover would be the best,
safest way to earn more interest than the money market account. BG said
she could set up an appointment with the Credit Union to ask for advice.
She would only buy CDs with new deposits, leave the MM fund as it is.
* MONKEY: BG will ask the Credit Union for advice on trying a “CD ladder”
for new Reserve funds.
* Arrears
* Payment has been received from the household in arrears, another
payment planned for next month, then the balance the third month. We’re
fine with waiving late fees with this payment plan in place.
* Several households are a month behind, most of these people tend to
catch up.


3. New items
* Judith recommends that we insure the piano in the CH. She says it’s
worth $5,000. The contents we insure totals about $80,000. We don’t need
a separate rider.
* MONKEY: Amy will respond to Judith regarding her recommendation that
we insure the piano in the CH
* Discuss Unit Modification Agreements draft (Sharon)
* Will there be different versions? E.g. a simplified version for
basement buildouts? Or make issues around basements more detailed. Have
to maintain access to all water pipes, sprinkler systems, and radon
abatement.
* Existing basement-buildout agreement might have some of this. Skills
& Thrills weekend notes may also have info.
* If you’re going to touch the sprinkler system, you need to let your
building neighbors know, and you must leave it accessible.
* Is this document the place that we remind people and strongly
recommend that they’re working with their own homeowners and condo
insurance because GO will not be insuring them?
* It’s in Section 2, #2C
* Catastrophic damage section: what if the addition is still under the
builders’ warranty? Would that affect this? Builder’s insurance would be
first.
* GO will only update the insurance if the envelope of the building
is modified. If only the basement is built out, GO will not change the
insurance. If they add new skylights, windows, or an addition, GO will
insure.
* MONKEY: Ask Debbi to review the revised Buildings Modification
Agreement before we call it done, bringing her knowledge of the MD and
Bylaws to bear
* Add number of what kind of corporation we are at the beginning. We
are a non-profit, just not a 501(c)(3). Sharon thinks we’re either
501(c)(7) or 501(c)(4). Our MD says we are a “non-profit corporation.”
There does not appear to a number.
* MONKEY: Amy will ask Debbi if GOCA is a particular kind/number of
non-profit corporation.
* MONKEY: Sharon will make changes to reflect suggestions to the UMA.
* MONKEY: Also ask Buildings to review this after we’ve made the above
changes.
4. Monkey Review
* BG will post the reserve study on the important documents page - DONE
* BG will check in with Mary about Reserve fund increases for the next four
years. We *might* have to make an adjustment sometime during this 5 year
period. Dependent on Investment Strategy
* Amy will invite Kathy B. to a future meeting to resume the unit rental
lease documentation project
* Sharon will read Debbi’s Master Deed/Bylaws draft
* BG will let everyone know once she has an answer to the question of
whether our Volunteer Worker policy with Philadelphia has any exclusions
around wood chippers. DONE - Becky checked into this and it appears that
we are covered.
* BG will pull out relevant information from discussion with attorney Rick
Delonis about office rentals and send to CH Com - DONE
* BG will send info from lawyer about Reserve Investment Policies to Mary,
invite her to a future meeting - DONE


5. Next meeting: July 21 @ 7 pm
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