Board of Directors

Annual Board and Membership Meeting -- March 21, 2021

The Board of Directors held its annual Board and Membership meeting at 2007 Bert Avenue, Austin, TX 78704, starting at 2:30 pm. The following directors (constituting a quorum of the full board) were present at the meeting by Zoom: Secretary John McGarey, Kim Pillsbury, Lia Nelson. The following directors were absent: President Kathy Lee and Treasurer Penny Chambers. Robert McGarey (Executive Director) was also present at the meeting.

Membership Meeting

Of the 13 current voting members, 4 were present, constituting more than a 10% quorum. The members unanimously elected Penny Chambers to Place 3 of the Board of Directors and Lia Nelson to Place 4 of the board of Directors. Since there was no further business, the annual membership meeting was adjourned and the Annual Board Meeting commenced.

Election of Officers

The Board unanimously elected Kathy as President, Kim as Vice President, John as Secretary and Penny as Treasurer. Robert McGarey was also appointed as Bingo Chair.

Conflict of Interest Policy

The Conflict of Interest Policy was read aloud. All board members were given an opportunity to disclose any conflicts and none were mentioned.

Reading of Mission Statement and Approval of Minutes

The Mission Statement was read aloud and minutes from the previous meeting were read aloud and approved as read.

Executive Director's Report

Insurance. Our agent informed us that we don't have coverage for employees who get hurt at the Center, so Bob purchased a workers comp policy.

Finances. We negotiated our mortgage rate down half a percent, so more is going to principal every month. We have been receiving about $1,200 each quarter from the Employee Retention Credit. The Assertiveness class is filled and has brought in over $1,700. Gary Guilbeaux stepped in to volunteer as GoodwheelChairs manager when David Blackwell left, so that's one less expense. Additionally, we hired Amanda as an Executive Assistant, but she is working so much online that she got terrible migraines, and had to quit, so that is another expense that has been removed.

Facilities. We have about $12.9K in the bank after paying for the mortgage and the insurance monthly payment. Katie moved out of the garage apartment. Nina St James moved in and she is really excited and happy. Chris Grigassy is painting on the back porch ceiling. It's looking almost entirely white with primer, just a little bit more left to do and then the whole back porch will be painted.

It's Bill Kemp and Chris Grigassy's opinion that we don't need another coat on top of the primer. John proposed to paint but only when we have over $10K in the bank and after the pipe is fixed and after the insurance is paid. Kim and Bob agreed.

There were rats and possibly mice and that seems to have been resolved with poison and a trap. Bees are in a beam in the garage apartment. The woodpile is gone and they were looking for a nest and found that beam.

During the Snowpocalypse the hot water pipe burst, so there is no hot water. Four pips burst, and the most expensive pipe was underneath the tile bathroom and needs to be repaired by removing the tile (a big job). The repair to the bathroom pipes may cost more than the $12,000 received from insurance and if so then it was appreciated that the center already had the $10,000 buffer in the bank in case it does cost more. They will also submit to the insurance for more (with receipts) if it does cost more. We are going to get all new pipes in that area. Not sure whether pvc or copper will be more reliable.

Volunteers. August our bookkeeper got mugged and injured and will only be able to help us one more time. Bob is going to ask him to train other people and Kim has volunteered to learn those skills and help. We are thrilled!

Art Barn. The Art Barn has been officially renamed as The Lia Nelson Creativity Cove as a acknowledgement of all her work here and of how important she is.We gave her a certificate at the last Birthday Bash in honor of her work.

COVID. It has officially been a year since the pandemic hit. Lia and Bob have both had their first Moderna vaccination. Bob said he plans to follow the CDC recommendations for re-opening, and he thinks it will be quite a while.

Since there was no further business, the meeting adjourned at 4:13 pm.

Minutes submitted by John McGarey, March 21, 2021.