FICRA BOARD MEETING MINUTES (DRAFT)
Thursday, August 16, 2018
Board Attendees: Jim Braden, Hal Goodell, Chad Gottschalk, Miguel Martinez, Rob Moore and Howard Stapleton were in attendance. Naomi Grant was absent and excused.
The meeting was called to order at 7:10 pm by Howard Stapleton.
Minutes from the July 12, 2018 FICRA Board Meeting were approved with no changes.
Public Comment: Dave McHugh commented on how wonderful the NCC is as a facility. He would like to see more meals, games, talks and advice for “aging adults” presented.
President’s Report: Howard reported that he attended an Audit Committee Meeting and reviewed the recommendations from their 2016 Report with them. There was a recommendation to have an expense reimbursement form available online. Based on past and continuing EMail scams and spoofs directed at the Treasurer, Howard suggested that, if available online, access to reimbursement forms is restricted through a password or log-in to limit fraudulent use. Howard also wanted to clarify the actual requirements related to revenues from non-member sources. The Committee recommendation uses the language “Membership dues and donations”, but the IRS language related to the safe harbor guideline for organization revenues actually uses the language “up to 35% of its gross receipts from nonmember sources”. The guidelines further clarify this by stating that if a member pays for a guests expenses, it is not considered nonmember income. Essentially, what this means is that if we charge members for tickets to an event or they pay for a guest’s ticket, this is not considered nonmember revenues subject to the 35% limitation. Lastly, the Committee recommendation states “Minutes are to be posted monthly to the website. This did happen in one month.” This appears to be missing the word “not”, since the minutes were posted on the website for all but one month.
Treasurer’s Report: Hal Goodell reported the following figures for the month of June, 2018:
- FICRA Checking Beginning balance $17,463.54 Ending balance $22,608.11
- FICRA Money Market Beginning balance 18,679.58 Ending balance 18,683.43
- FICRA PayPal Beginning balance 44 Ending balance 740.97
- Membership 202 for 2018-2019, with expired 2017-2018 memberships of 277.
Renewals from the Fair have not yet been added.
Hal indicated that the budget is $1,394.00 ahead of projected for this point in the year. Miguel Martinez stated that he hopes the membership number will increase after the “Membership Reception” event to be held this fall. There was discussion regarding the $3,500 NCC usage fee, which is actually a charge for last year. Any budget anomalies should be noted on the Treasurer’s Report and included in the Minutes. Howard also noted that non-profits may not have “retained earnings”, but only a net surplus. Hal does not believe this can be changed in the reports provided by QuickBooks. Howard also noted that the $2,500 budget increase for “Other Recreational Events” approved at the 6/14/2018 Board Meeting is not in the correct budget expense line and this should be corrected.
Unfinished Business: None
Committee Reports:
- Social Activities
- Miguel Martinez and Chad Gottschalk reported that someone requested ballroom dance lessons. They are happy to support this; however they would like to see the person who wants this present their item to the Board and chair the event themselves. Howard reminded the Board that there are funds in the budget for social activities that members want to see happen if they are willing to take the initiative. The Committee will be putting together a written process description to give folks who want to plan an event for islanders at the NCC.
- The Committee is looking forward to Trunk-Or-Treat and have started planning the event. Tony suggests Museum volunteers might be interested in helping. Miguel reminded folks to check the All Island Event Calendar, as Rob Moore noted there is an FIYC Halloween event for kids on Sat 10/27.
- Howard mentioned the Lisa Stapleton had made some calls on the Ballroom Dancing, which can be expensive. Howard suggested line dancing lessons taught by volunteers as an alternative and Jim Braden said he thinks this would be intergenerational.
- Lisa has confirmed that The Dark Horses, a country rock band, is available for a concert on Saturday November 10th. The event will include dancing, and potentially catered BBQ and a Chili Cook off (would most likely have to be limited to members).
- Lisa also suggested trying to consolidate all of the food/beverage permits for island nonprofits at the FICRA Fair to save money. It is $120 for a food permit per booth, so it would be ideal to have FIYC, FICRA, others in the food court permitted together. There is also a certification for multiple events. Rob stated that the FIYC has been using more food trucks than ever before.
- Members also noted that the Fair had no designated first aid location and there was a question on whether an AED was available. Ray Kittelberger would like to see an example of a first aid station handled by Citizens’ Patrol or the Emergency Preparedness Team, where there could be a first aid responder too.
- Gina Olson suggested that membership folks need to have a training on the Square payment processing prior to opening the Fair. We should plan on start this booth at 10am.
- Membership – Miguel reported plans to do a wine/cheese/water/desserts/snacks Membership Reception event on August 30th to explain to new and existing members what FICRA and the Trust do. Howard suggested sending out invitations via email and flash, and flyers could also be mailed.
New Business:
- Membership Database Resource – Rob Moore reported that they have a neighbor that may be able to assist in organizing our membership databases and has confirmed she is willing to help. He will keep us posted on her as a resource. Hal asked if it would be possible to obtain all of the names/addresses from the annual directory to load into QuickBooks. Howard can provide this to him when he is ready for it.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:10 pm. The next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, September 13, 2018.
Respectfully submitted by Gina Olson for Chad Gottschalk.
FICRA_Minutes_2018-08-16_Draft