Civic Association of West Springfield Village General Membership Meeting Minutes, 8 October 2020
Call to Order & Introductions – 7:30 PM by President John Cooley
Minutes from Last Meeting (May 2020) – Secretary Kim Brown – minutes were vetted and approved by those attending the meeting and can be found on our website. Similar procedures will be used for tonight’s meeting.
Vice President Comments – VP Bernie Koehle – I’d like to remind folks to slow down while driving knowing that our children are enjoying the cooler, fall temperatures. We had a near miss just yesterday when a child chased a soccer ball across the street. Leaves are falling and may also create a distraction which adds to the need to slow down. Speed limit on all village streets is 25 MPH that may still be too fast in certain areas. Rolling Road speed limit is 30 MPH’; expected to become 35 MPH when the road is widened.
Also trying to convince Republic Trash Service to extend yard debris collection to middle of January to give residents a chance to dispose of all their leaves including those that fall after Republic stops collection (Wednesday before Christmas Eve).
Financial Report – Treasurer Liz Greene – see attached financial statement. Notice that we would have been in the red for FY20if it weren’t for event cancellations. That was due to lower than normal membership numbers, but not due to lack of effort.
Committee Reports:
Membership – Julia Hale – 269 members as of today which is 65 ahead of last year this time. 60 FY20 members have yet to renew for FY21. In August we sent 110 newsletters to those without email addresses and will send another 100 to those with email addresses, but who aren’t responding.
Directory – Kirby Myers – You have time, but please check to make sure we have your listing instructions recorded correctly. John Cooley has the database and happy to confirm your directives. Also looking for a new cover. Do you have a picture that represents life in our village?
Village FaceBook Group – Wendi Dorey – Rules of the Group – 1) Be Kind and Courteous - We're all in this together to create a welcoming environment. Let's treat everyone with respect. Healthy debates are natural, but kindness is required. 2) No Hate Speech or Bullying - Make sure everyone feels safe Bullying of any kind isn't allowed, and degrading comments about things like race, religion, culture, sexual orientation, gender or identity will not be tolerated. 3) No Promotions or Spam - Give more than you take to this group. Selfpromotion, spam and irrelevant links aren't allowed. 4) Respect Everyone's Privacy - Being part of this group requires mutual trust. Authentic, expressive discussions make groups great, but may also be sensitive and private. What's shared in the group should stay in the group.
Website – Bob Havey - I’m still purging recommended contractors and neighborhood chores (lawn mowing, babysitting, etc). I will try to contact the person making the recommendation or listed as doing neighborhood chores before deleting the entry. I try to pick up recommended contractors from the enews, but I’m not very good at picking them up from Facebook. I also try to enter Village resident owned businesses, but if someone doesn’t tell me about resident-owned businesses I can’t know. Please let me know if you want to be listed as a resident owned business or have a contractor recommendation.
Neighborhood Watch – Jeff Carter – As mentioned repeatedly in the weekly emails, there has been an uptick in the frequency of individuals looking for anything of value in unlocked vehicles. Per the Nextdoor site, numerous neighborhoods have reported and at times recorded people rummaging through cars and walking off with whatever they deem to be valuable. These crimes should be reported to the police through the non-emergency number at 703/691-2131. To avoid becoming a victim of these crimes, keep your car doors locked, remove or place in your car trunk anything you’d rather not lose, use motion sensor lighting, and watch for and report suspicious activity, particularly during late night and early morning hours if you’re up and about.
Village West Pool – Jen Guernsey - Village West did not open this year. This determination was made in late March, and was primarily financial. In a normal year, our income covers our expenses, though just barely. Because of the pandemic and related restrictions, we anticipated a dramatic dropoff in membership numbers, as well as decreased or nonexistent concessions revenue. The expenses of opening and operating the pool, however, are mostly fixed. Thus, we anticipated being unable to pay our bills if we were to open. We were not the only area pool to remain closed, but many area pools were able to open in some capacity. Pools that have the financial backing of an HOA and those that are self-managed, rather than under contract to a management company, are usually in a better financial position and thus are able to be more flexible.
Even when closed through the season, we have expenses. The pool has to be drained and cleaned and started up for the season, as it is not good for the equipment to sit unused until next year. We have to maintain chemical levels so the pool is not a hazard. And we have to winterize the pool at the end of the (non-)season. These entail labor, materials, and utilities costs. We also have ongoing expenses like mortgage and insurance. Finally, there was a substantial one-time fee that we had to pay to our pool management company in order to be released from our contract with them.
We contracted with an independent pool services company to do the drain and clean and to do some minor repairs that helped us lower our water bill considerably. The pool board has been supervising the pool itself and took care of tending the pumps, water levels, and chemicals through the summer so we didn't have to pay anyone else to do it.
Fortunately, we have a continuous income stream from the cell tower. Those funds enabled us to come close to breaking even this season even with minimal membership income. In addition, we were able to secure a $60,000 Economic Injury Disaster Loan. This long-term, low-interest government loan gives us the cushion we need to be able to open next summer while still weathering any lingering drop in membership. If we do not use the funds, we have the option of returning some or all of them.
That said, the pool still has considerable ongoing debt (mortgage + remaining bonds) as well as sizable upcoming repair and maintenance needs. One of the options the board is considering is to sell off a portion of the cell tower lease to pay down debts and invest in things that will save the pool money in the long run.
The pool's bylaws require a general membership meeting on the last day of the pool season. We still plan to hold a membership meeting (format and time TBD), but have opted to hold it later in the fall so we could first assess our post-season financial position and provide a clearer picture of our status and future plans to the membership.
Old Business: none
New Business:
- Halloween Party, Great Chili Cook-off – cancelled.
- Ratify FY20 Audit Report (attached), Kathy D’Amato & Jeannette Swain. The audit was accepted and ratified by unanimous consent.
- FY21 Budget (see attached). The budget, as proposed was approved by unanimous consent, without markups.
- Election of new Board of Directors (President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer). Nominations accepted from the floor; vote required for each position if/when we have more than one candidate. Executive Council members are appointed by the Board of Directors; no vote required. There were no nominations from the membership, but the current BOD agreed to continue. By unanimous consent, they were re-elected for another tern.
- Rolling Road Widening Project Update VDOT’s schedule follows.
Phase I - Right of Way Acquisition – ongoing
Phase I - Begin Utility Relocation - delayed, no update
Phase I - Construction – Winter 2020/2021
Phase II - Right of Way Acquisition – Ongoing
Phase II - Begin Utility Relocation - Winter 2020/2021
Phase II - Construction – delayed to Spring 2024; 2 year project.
- Volunteers for Leaf Raking and Snow Shoveling – A neighbor lady wants to help make life easier for older village neighbors by raking leaves for them and shoveling snow as they may need. Would like more to join this effort and volunteer their willingness to the CAWSV President. And, as we have discovered at the beginning of the pandemic – those needing help need to make it known also to the President.
Adjourn – 8:30 PM - CAWSV President
Program – None
Minutes , audit report, and financial report showing end of year balances.