FICRA Building Trust Board Meeting Minutes 05-13-2021

FICRA BUILDING TRUST
BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING MINUTES (DRAFT)
Thursday, May 13th, 2021 (via Teleconference)

Trust Board Attendees:  Howard Stapleton, Arlyn Lawrence, Craig McLaughlin, Hal Goodell, and Gina Olson all in attendance.

Other Attendees:  Jim Braden (Project Manager), Joan Broughton (Audit Committee), Naomi Grant, Wes King (FICRA Board), Ray Kittelberger, Jean Wallace (Audit Committee), Candy Wawro (FICRA Board & Rental Coordinator)

The meeting was called to order at 6:32PM via Zoom videoconference. The next meeting will be in person at the NCC.

Meeting Minutes:  There were no changes to the 4/8/2021 Board Meeting Minutes as posted on the website. Hal made a motion to approve, Arlyn seconded and the minutes were unanimously approved.

Treasurer’s Report:  Hal Goodell shared the financial reports as of April 30, 2021 online with attendees.  The following information was presented:

Building Trust Balances

Trust Checking account: Apr 1 Balance: $ 27,712.42   Apr 30 Balance: $ 23,818.71

Trust Savings: Apr 1 Balance: $ 413.88   Apr 30 Balance $ 413.90

Trust PayPal: Apr 1 Balance: $ 1,383.39   Apr 30 Balance $ 2,911.82

Trust Capital Checking: Apr 1 Balance: $ 3,683.22   Apr 30 Balance: $ 3,683.22

Trust Reserve Checking: Apr 1 Balance: $ 319.98   Apr 30 Balance: $ 319.98

Trust Money Market:  Apr 1 Balance: $ 378,242.90   Apr 30 Balance: $ 378,320.62

The Trust Money Market balance includes the $100,000 Sorenson donation to be discussed later.  Sound Credit Union has recurrently charged our account a $7/month fee, which Hal continues to call them on and they reimburse when asked. He reports this so Board knows he is staying aware and watching for this.  There has been an increase in rental reservations and payments now that rental opportunities are less restrictive under current COVID‑19 guidelines.

Standing Committees:

Jim Braden provides a detailed report for Board members regarding Trust Committees activities in advance of the monthly meeting and a verbal summary is presented at the meeting.  He would like to know if the Board would like to incorporate this information into the minutes posted to the website to provide transparency. There was some discussion on how to best share this information, which the Board would like to review before approving for posting.

Citizens’ Patrol – Jim reports that CP volunteers met today. The crime report for the island included 1 flag stolen and construction tools stolen from 9th Ave that were left overnight. Ray Kittelberger noticed that there were no fuel reimbursements reported on the financials, and Hal indicated that, despite this being made available to CP volunteers, there have been none requesting it.

Emergency Preparedness – Jim reports that emergency preparation operations are moving along as expected. There is a lot of radio work yet to complete; Hal is working on Radio side of communication. There were 2 exercises using communication via the Signal App.  They are lining up some construction projects in the EOC/Control Room at the NCC – shelving and things of that nature.

Trust Building and Grounds – Jim asked if there were any questions on the project information he has provided, including the item regarding the property boundary line adjustment on the agenda for tonight.

Unfinished Business:

Trust Board Resolution 2021-001 Concerning Restricting Use of the $100,000 Sorenson Donation – There was discussion concerning how to best define the conditions for how the funds could be used, the unanimous vote requirement, and potential changes to the Trust Bylaws, followed by consensus that the current language was sufficient to convey our intent. Craig made a motion to approve the resolution, Hal seconded it, and it was unanimously approved.

Trust Board Resolution 2021-002 Concerning the Fox Island Nature Center Property Boundary Line Adjustment – Craig moved to approve the resolution, which was seconded by Arlyn and unanimously approved.  The Board thanks Jim Braden for overseeing this complicated process and serving as the liaison for the Trust.

Trust Board Resolution 2021-003 Concerning Community use Rates – Thisresolution is a follow-up to the Policy Statement adopted by the Board on March 11^th and is intended to provide specificity for the interim rates intended to encourage community groups that have traditionally used the facility to return. 

Joan Broughton expressed concerns that the Finance Committee was not provided the language in advance and she felt that they needed to weigh in on the rates. 

After considerable discussion by the group, Craig suggested we table the resolution for now.  He believes we can propose some options that will be better financially and minimize some of the potential schedule conflicts. Howard agreed that we need to address the broader range of issues, including use of the facility is prioritized and what rates are applicable to which uses, but noted that we have new users right now that have not yet been charged because we don’t have approved terms and rates.  Craig stated that he would be willing to approve the proposed rates for now, and that was not an issue for him. 

Arlyn asked if we had looked into rates that are comparable for churches using schools and volunteered to do some research on this. Candy Wawro, our Rental Coordinator, discussed how schedule conflicts are an issue for weekend rentals, not only for summer, but potentially through November and during other holiday periods.

Howard would like to see interim rates approved for limited use while the Board develops a more comprehensive approach.  Jim believes this is a complex issue that would benefit from having more data and suggested we could put together an interim rate just for Foursquare.  Howard asked if we could use this as an interim rate structure, to be reevaluated no later than July 8^th, so we have something for our rental coordinators to use in dealing with requests for community use.  Candy urged us to not allow events at the Community Use rate on weekends. Craig reiterated that he is OK with the rates and other provisions, but that we need to have blackout periods for the premium (high demand) days requested for weddings and other large events that use the facility at the established rates. 

Arlyn is hesitant to completely table the resolution and not have anything to go by until July.  She would like to know if it is possible to adopt the better part of it to provide some guidance.  Craig suggested we do an interim resolution that approves the proposed rates and blocks out Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays during the summer going forward until we reevaluate. Candy suggested we use May through September for summer and consider the holiday season as well.  Craig believes we will be able to pull together something more comprehensive before the holiday season arrives. Arlyn asked if that would preclude Foursquare from booking the facility without having any more discussion.  Craig believes it would not apply to the existing period we have agreed to with them, but would immediately apply to everything else.  Candy indicated our agreement with them for 3 months began April 11^th and ends July 11^th.  The new guidelines would apply after that.

Arlyn asked if we could block out Sundays only until 4PM.  Candy does not believe that this is sufficient since weddings are typically all-day rentals (until 10PM).  Arlyn asked if there were realistically going to be enough Sunday weddings to generate more revenue than the weekly Community Use rate.  Howard stated that the established FICRA member rate for Sunday was $500, or $650 for non-members.   The $500 rate is equivalent to more than 2 months at the Community Rate.  Craig suggested that we consider opening up the dates for use at the Community Rate if they have not been rented a week in advance.  Howard agreed with this approach and suggested extending that to at least 2 weeks, since major events are typically booked much further in advance.

Jim would like to see us go forward with this rate structure because we have a lot of our legacy groups inquiring and we need something to approach those folks with to get their feedback on whether the rate is reasonable and if they can live with it on at least a short-term basis.  Arlyn, Gina and Howard agreed with this approach.  Howard noted that a large part of the interim rate was the cleaning costs, which should drop dramatically as the COVID‑19 situation improves.

Howard suggested we could revise the language based on the discussion and send it out for approval by Email within the next few days.  Board member agreed unanimously with this suggestion.

New Business:

Documents Related to Rental/Use of Trust Facilities – Howard distributed draft revisions of the documents currently used in the NCC rental process and asked if they required Board approval.  These documents include the Request to Use/Rent NCC Facilities, the NCC Rental Agreement, the NCC Facility Rules, and the NCC Maintenance and Cleaning Process Applicable to NCC Staff or Volunteers. 

Craig stated that he has not had the time to do a detailed review but will do so.  He asked if there is any type of waiver or release that has to be signed.  Jim responded that for the formal rentals, we ask for a rider on their insurance with FICRA and the Rust as additional named.  We have some work to do with AA and other organizations. Howard noted that our Rental Agreement requires a Certificate of Insurance in the amount of $1,000,000 and includes an indemnification & limitation of liability clause.  He does not know if this is legally sufficient.  He offered to send Word (revisable) versions of the document to any Board members interested in modifying the documents.

Candy would like to see a specific question on the Request to Use form on whether alcoholic beverages will be served, since that requires a banquet license.     

Jim believes that we have had Board approval of the documents in the past because they are legal documents.  Howard then suggested that we allow time for Board review before requesting approval.  In the interim, we will continue to use any documents that have already been approved by the Board, which may have been created prior to the COVID‑19 pandemic.

Jim asked if he could reveal what the rates are likely to be so he could get feedback from the various community groups (AA, Scouts, Quilters, Art Group, Book Club, etc.).  The Board agreed. 

Candy asked for clarification on whether we would accept Community Use bookings on the weekends right now.  Howard suggested that we follow the new recommended guidelines pending any formal adoption.

Outdoor Party (in lieu of FICRA Fair) on 8/14 – Hal believes that, given the relaxing State requirements, we may be able to have some kind of outdoor party on August 14^th (the 2^nd Saturday of August).  He would like to start putting together a plan for what we can do.  He has been in contact with Cheryl Nelson about arranging for music.  He can start making inquiries.  Naomi Grant indicated the Chapel is interested.

Meeting Next Month – Board members agreed they are willing to meeting in person next month.  The next regularly scheduled meeting of the FICRA Building Trust Board will be at the NCC on Thursday, June 10^th.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:07PM.

Respectfully submitted by Gina Olson, Jim Braden and Howard Stapleton