Directors present: Chris Heintz, Dave Pearson, Rebecca Woodard, Christina Gilman, Rob Geiszler, Eric Solsaa. Others present: Paul Brown, Elizabeth Frost, Andy Salamon, Deborah Morse
Chris called the meeting to order at 9 AM. Chris indicated he invited the Habitat CSC Community Outreach contact person to our meeting but she was not available. He is expecting Deborah Morse, the Publisher of the Rutland Business Journals to join us mid-morning and we have Andy Salamon as a guest too. Introductions were made and Chris provided a brief history. Rob moved to accept the Minutes of 7/3, 8/5 and 9/20. Dave seconded. Approved. Christina distributed the Treasurer’s Report showing total funds of $12,457.59. She asked about the $3,000 HFHI is holding for us. Chris will contact Bruce again. HFHI did originally say it would take 3 to 4 months to process and return the funds to us. Dave moved to accept the Treasurer’s Report, Rob seconded. Approved. Chris reviewed the terms of the Berkshire Bank Foundation grant in conjunction with Boston Bruins hockey games. Christina moved to authorize Chris to sign the agreement. Dave seconded. All voted in favor. We will need to get their logo to use whenever we publicize this event. Rebecca indicated another financial institution, Vermont State Employees Credit Union, also has grant funds they will be distributing. Two charities will receive $10,000 each after a competitive event where public input on the VSECU website helps the grantor decide how to award the funds. All Directors were asked to make comments and have their friends and associates do the same via www.VSECU.com/WeCare2. Chris indicated it is time to talk about purchasing database software and a DSL hookup. He thanked Rob for tuning up the computer Paul donated. It has QuickBooks and Microsoft Office on it already. The proposed database software is Keystone which is developed by and for Habitat Affiliates. Because we are a new Affiliate, the purchase price is only $100. Each year thereafter, the renewal fee is $200. Rob moved to authorize the purchase. Dave seconded. Approved. Chris instructed Christina to move forward on obtaining DSL. The Faith Relation committee has finalized a letter using the church database and will be distributing it shortly. Chris is making a presentation at the Shrewsbury Church tomorrow night and invited everyone to attend. Dave and Andy will make presentations at their churches and suggested everyone plan to do the same. The Construction Committee is basically on hold, waiting for a project. Dave Pearson made new contacts after a presentation he made to the Killington Rotary. For Site Selection he reports the SG lot donations appear to have fallen though. The Directors discussed this briefly and asked Dave to convey to the HOA that we would still be interested if issues could be resolved. Dave has stayed in contact with the City and indicates we are high on their list to receive an appropriate lot when available. Paul is aware of a lot in Proctor that could be in transition and might be available for purchase. Right now, the Directors feel a Rutland location would be more appropriate with the ongoing revitalization efforts. Christina reported the Resource Development committee met Thursday night with most Directors present. No large donor meetings have occurred and we need to make progress in establishing a Founders Club. Elizabeth has been working on a brochure, letterhead and other print items. Samples were distributed and discussed. Elizabeth will check with Staples and other printers about possible donations of printing costs. Chris said all Directors need to consider themselves fundraisers and indicated our goal for the year is $100,000. Rebecca indicated she has started prospecting to her contacts and received a few replies. Heritage Family Credit Union will take a request for a donation to the proper committee and let us know a decision. They also have a loan officer who would like to be involved with our Board. Chris Leister from Hogg Hill Design has donated design plans for State approval of a water-waste water application. Deborah Morse arrived at this time and was introduced. She and Andy were asked to provide information about themselves and their interest in our organization. Deborah indicated she lives in Poultney, comes from a long line of builders and building is her interest. She is Publisher of the Business Journals with marketing skills, rental property management, construction and rehab experience. Andy lives in Killington and moved here full time in January from Connecticut. He started as a Draftsman before becoming a Design Engineer in Aerospace. He has degrees in Physics and Business Administration. He was an English major and considers Processes to be a strong suit. He is involved in his local church and previously had church management experience. Discussion then moved to an overview of a project from start to finish. Rob began with the Family Selection Process Flow Sheet. He believes Family Selection is ready to react to applications. He asked members to avoid using the word Applicant until we have an actual Applicant with a fully completed application which triggers timelines for responses under several laws. Chris suggested we use ‘potential partner family’. The process was reviewed using the Flow sheet. Dave listed items Site Selection considers: clear title, flood zones, non-conforming zoning issues, variances, location, proximity to work and schools. The Construction Committee is ready with safety procedures, list of needed tools and a potential design is available. They could use a volunteer coordinator or committee, a more detailed materials list and a mechanism for knowing and accessing donations from Home Depot, Lowes, etc. At 11:45, Rob moved to enter Executive Session. Dave seconded. Approved. At12:05 Christina moved to exit Executive Session. Dave seconded. Approved. As a result of Executive Session, Dave moved to accept Paul Brown, Andrew Salamon and Deborah Morse as Directors with terms expiring June 30, 2017. Christina seconded. All voted in favor. Our next meeting will be Saturday, December 13, 2014 from 9 AM to Noon. Christina moved to adjourn. Rob seconded. Approved. Respectfully submitted: Rebecca Woodard, Secretary
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Via email 10/27/14 to 10/29/14
All Directors were emailed by Chairman Heintz on October 27, 2014 indicating the Affiliate Quality Assurance Checklist is due to HFHI by October 31, 2014 and asking the Directors to review the draft he completed, suggest amendments and grant approval for him to submit the form. Dave Pearson replied the same day via email: Section 4 question 34 regarding insurance. Can we say yes? I thought we were covered under HFHI insurance. Section 5 question 37, who are individual loan originators? Section 5 questions 42 and 46 regarding suspicious activity and compliance with laws have no selection made. We should probably say "no but..." for question 42 and "yes" for question 46. Section 6 question 49 about service area should probably be yes. No selection was made. Section 8 question 58 about office and mailing address should be yes. No selection was made. I don't think we need to take further action before submission, but it's a good idea to periodically review all our "no but..." answers at a board meeting. On October 31, 2014 – Chris notified all Directors as follows: Having heard from everyone but Eric and updated the checklist based on Dave's input, I have submitted the checklist to HFHI. The document can be found attached to Chris’s email on October 31, 2014. Respectfully submitted: Rebecca Woodard, Secretary Directors present: Chris Heintz, Dave Pearson, Rebecca Woodard, Christina Gilman, Rob Geiszler. Others present: Elizabeth Frost
Chris called the meeting to order at 9 AM. Chris began with an overview of today’s agenda and indicating he scheduled a conference call with Jeffrey Guevin at 9:15 regarding the SG lots. With Jeff on speaker, Dave provided an overview of his recent communications with the HOA. Jeff indicated, in addition to resolving liens on the lots, new information regarding possible hazardous waste is of enough concern for him to recommend a Phase I environmental assessment to us. The HOA is also requiring the developer to provide work on the road and retaining wall before they will release liens. The floodplain issue may easily be solved by obtaining $20 flood certificates. The Directors asked Jeff to quiz the other attorney about hazardous waste to try to determine if it involves other lots. Right now, the rumor doesn’t seem very substantial and seems more likely to affect lots to the North of the development. Jeff would also like to see a signed P&S with the developer stating our desire to accept the lots and the contingencies to that acceptance. Christina moved to instruct Dave to communicate to the developer that we will accept the lots contingent upon good title: both lots to be free and clear of liens to include past dues or unfinished construction projects, that there are no environmental issues to be remediated and that flood zone issues do not impact building upon the lots. Dave seconded. All voted in favor. Discussion then moved to an update from Dave regarding our involvement with the City and RRA. The city still wants to give us 37 Pine St. We need to make sure there are not any title issues prior to acceptance. If that property isn’t available, the city and RRA would give us one of the other 12 properties they intend to acquire with grant funds. Dave asked Jeff if he would be able to help us as these discussions move forward and Jeff said, yes, to keep him in the loop. Jeff was thanked for today’s service and the conference call was ended. Chris introduced Elizabeth Frost, a friend that Paul has referred to us. She is a member of the Pittsford Congregational Church and would like to be involved with our group. Resource Development: Christina indicated she sent 171 emails through Crowdrise and started prospecting her Facebook contacts. She has received 2 donations. She asked What do we need to do to get more impact? All Directors needs to work their own contacts. Chris asked at the Vermont Affiliate meeting if our fundraising must be limited to Rutland County and was told we can solicit our own contacts anywhere. Elizabeth will help Christina formatting fundraising letters and perhaps a tri-fold brochure. Christina said Diane still wants to be involved in helping us with the Who Do You Know campaign. All Directors needs to identify large donor prospects. We received our first large donation. Shirley Miller sent a check for $10,000. Chris will call her to set learn about her and perhaps, set up a meeting. Rob reported that Family Selection and Support continues to work on intake documents. They could use more members. He would like to see policies regarding illegal aliens, immigration, residency, an asset test, the type of projects we will consider, etc. He asked if we are ready for a project and wondered if a simulated mock-up would be helpful. Chris attended the Vermont Affilate meeting. He indicated HFHI is working with lobbyists on mortgage guidelines and intends to provide more education to Affiliates. Many Affiliates report they make decisions case-by-case, do not have policies for all possible instances and need to use a lot of improvisation due to the varied requests they receive. Habitat is hoping for an announcement from the Governor by mid October, hopefully a declaration for a Habitat Month. Chris and Dave will coordinate a meeting with Brennan Duffy and Mayor Louras in the next month to discuss upcoming partnerships with the City and RRA. The next Director meeting will be Saturday, November 8 from 9 AM to Noon at the 6 Court St office. Christina moved to adjourn. Dave seconded. Motion approved. Respectfully submitted: Rebecca Woodard, Secretary |
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