Bayou Park Ratepayers Association
Executive Board Meeting Minutes
DATE: Thursday, October 15, 2020
TIME: 8:00 -9:23PM
LOCATION: Google video call from 3686 Shadow Creek Road
ATTENDEES: Claire Lysnes, President | Neil Fenton, VP | Rick Talbot, Treasurer | Hillary Kimsal, Communications |Natasha Borutski, Director at Large| Bruce Topping, Director at Large
REGRETS: Kait Hunter, Secretary| Lance Brown, Past President
MINUTES
1. Meeting called to order by Claire Lysnes
2. Approval of Agenda
Motion to Approve: Bruce Topping 2nd:Neil Fenton
VOTE: All in Favour
3. Approval of Minutes from previous meeting
Motion to Approve: Bruce Topping 2nd: Natasha Borutski
VOTE: All in Favour
4. Open Issues
a) Sign Refresh- Bruce and Neil have completed relocation and shortening of posts. Second coat of paint may have to wait until spring. Hillary discusses the sign wording. Kait to create vinyl lettering. Currently out of stock in stores, but will be followed up for possibly ordering online.
b) Lawnmower- Neil mentions he no longer sees mower at Lance’s residence. Bruce says he believes there is a mower at the park. Neil will look to see if there are keys and to check what is needed to ensure it is running. Once parts are confirmed, a list of costs will be submitted to the executive board for approval. The mower may be tarped throughout winter if it can't fit in the shed.
c) Printer purchase- Hillary discusses the costs of purchasing a printer versus the costs associated with our current solution of using Staples to print flyers and mail drops ($35 per printing). Purchasing a printer would be approximately $360, which within the first year is close in cost to current Staples expenditure ($35 x 10-12 printouts = $350-$420); however, each year going forward we would realize savings. Hillary proposes a vote. Bruce asks if any other printing options and businesses have been looked into. Claire states that she and Hillary have reached out to local print shops with no success and asks for any more suggestions. No suggestions are made. Discussion that a purchased printer would be a tagged asset under the responsibility of the BPRA Communications Director (current or future). Claire asks Rick if it fits into our annual budget. Rick states we will discuss during the financial portion of the agenda.
d) Halloween- Due to COVID-19 guidelines we will have to change the usual pumping carving event. Looking to have a pumpkin parade down at the beach: Families will be given a pumpkin to carve, they will be displayed at the beach on the day after Halloween all lit up, goody bags given to children, and a vote for the best carved pumpkin will take place. Neil knows a farmer who grows pumpkins and so Claire is coordinating a purchase. They will cost approximately $3 a pumpkin. Hewitts’ quoted $5/pumpkin, which was too costly. The number of people allowed at outdoor gatherings is now limited to 25 people so we will ensure those attending are not congregating but passing through. Claire asks if loot bags will be at the BPRA’s cost or donated. Hillary is reaching out to the Candy Store for potential donations, and suggests asking local businesses for candy and their business card.
Hillary motions to proceed with the Pumpkin Walk as discussed.
Motion to Approve: Claire Lysnes 2nd: Hillary Kimsal
VOTE: All in Favour
e) Memories Project- Not many updates. A few aerial photos have been gathered from members. Will defer to the next meeting.
f) Brick Fundraiser- Due to the amount of research and resources to be looked at, Hillary would like to defer this to a separate meeting to be discussed. Members all in favour
5. Executive Report
a) High School Volunteers- Neil states he has a lot of interest, 6-7 students have come forward. He will reach out to potential volunteers with information on any upcoming events to gauge interest.
6. Financial Report - Rick Talbot
a) Currently $8565.90 in the bank account, plus $68.00 in petty cash. There is also the possible unpaid bill for canal spraying from 2019 brought forward by Lance. This invoice has been left with Lynn Thompson, who organizes the annual spraying of the canal with the contractor, for review as to whether it has been paid.
b) Our annual budget requires a minimum of 152 homes to pay their dues in order to cover known & expected expenditures. Our 2020 property taxes were $1612.53, insurance will cost $1251.72 if we buy it, $468 for GSuite, and a portapotty for public use costing $467.42. Therefore, total minimum annual costs would be $3799.67
c) Insurance quote- Spoke with Co-operators. There are two portions of insurance to be obtained. Director Insurance to protect the Association $572.40, and Property/Liability Insurance for $679.32, for an annual total of $1251.72. Our previous insurance, although we do not have details on what the coverage was, was over $2000 annually. Rick will be requesting all information on the policy for the Association to review. Claire agrees we should wait to review the policy before a vote to proceed with purchasing insurance is made.
d) Hillary inquires about printer budget. Rick states we are going to be exhausting funds regardless by paying Staples for printing, but to save time and effort, and money in the future he believes the printer to be a good investment. Neil asks about potential repairs to equipment costs. Rick suggests getting an extended warranty to cover any issues.
Estimated printer initial cost for year 1, for printer, 3000 pages of paper, extended warranty, and one toner, is $366 plus tax. Year 2 and onward if we printed 3000 pages per year, and bought 2 toners each year, we’d spend about $280 per year plus tax. Currently we pay $35 each time we print at Staples ($350-$420 annually), so having the printer saves time and effort on the part of the person who has to do the printing, and will likely save the BPRA approximately $70-140 annually.
Rick motions to purchase a printer, as discussed.
Motion to Approve: Claire Lysnes 2nd: Hillary Kimsal
VOTE: All in Favour
7. Communications Report - Hillary Kimsal
a) October member email- Hillary mentions the content of the October email: Thanking members for their contributions, upcoming meeting information, agenda information, volunteer information, and a teaser about the pumpkin walk. We have a great open rate of 77% for the September Update email and a current open rate of 65% for the most recent email sent (October Update). Claire notes that in the world of email communications/email marketing, these are very high open rates. Hopefully as people come to discover and trust the emails being sent, we will be able to gain even more members engaging.
b) Volunteers- Hillary asks Neil to reach out to volunteers to hand out flyers. Neil agrees.
8. New Business
a) Boards for shed repairs- Bruce discusses the hardy boards were delivered and will be installed October 16th on the east side of the shed. Claire asks if the boards were purchased or donated. Bruce is unsure, but at the most the boards may cost approximately $80 per sheet, and three sheets were purchased. They will remain unpainted until the spring when the shed will be repainted. Claire suggests going forward, that although these repairs were necessary, any costs should be discussed and agreed upon by the executive before securing materials. Bruce will follow up and confirm if material was donated or if it will need to be paid for. In addition, the BPRA is looking for a donation of approximately 10 feet of downspout extender as the south side downspout currently empties water onto the south-east bottom corner of the building, which caused the entire east side of the shed to rot. If we do not find a donation, we will purchase an extender.
b) Email from member - Hillary mentions an email that was sent by a member who resides on Timberline Ave, Carla, and her support of the August Board meeting discussion regarding traffic calming measures as noted in the minutes, and her inquiry to what the next steps were. Bruce states he is currently working on a petition proposal/action plan to improve traffic safety for Bayou Park residence and surrounding area, as inspired by the worldwide Vision Zero initiative. Bruce asks if we are hoping for an online petition or door-to-door signatures. Claire mentions other local neighbourhood associations within our community have attempted to address this with Severn Township Council to varying degrees of success. We should proceed but to be successful, we would need to have council support, and possibly join in with the other local Associations showing that it is a concern for the entire community.
9. Member Inquiries
None at this time.
10. Next meeting: November 19, 2020; Google Meeting
11. Adjournment @ 21:23
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