Minutes of the Mueller Neighborhood Association (MNA) Steering Committee
February 1, 2023
The Zoom meeting was called to order at 7:08 pm by Committee Chair Greg Keller. The meeting was recorded and archived.
Steering Committee (SC) Members present: Joy Butler, Ann Hart, Greg Keller, Jennifer Jardin, Chris Ruzin, Sarah Seraj, Karen Swenson, Preston Tyree. Quorum was confirmed.
Sarah moved to discuss the latest proposal from Neighborhood News regarding the Front Porch Flyer. This proposal lays out the cost of publishing the newsletter if we choose First Class Postage which, in turn, allows us to customize the recipient list (e.g. delete households who would rather not receive a newsletter). With First Class postage, our cost would be $1971.14 per issue (entire proposal is in the Google Drive). General consensus was that the MNA could neither afford nor justify spending that much.
Officer Reports
Chair—Greg reported that strengthening committees and recruiting new leaders would be his focus this year.
Treasurer—Chris presented the January Balance Sheet noting that the expenses were high due to a couple of annual bills that had to be paid. With regards to lowering the cost of meeting refreshments, Ann suggested using HEB gift cards rather than reimbursing people for purchases from other vendors. Chris will determine how many gift cards we have on hand and report back.
Vice Chair—Preston opened discussion on MNA’s Committee Structure. He and Joy have spent some time reviewing and updating the list already. SC members studied their draft, discussed possible leaders for each committee, renamed/recategorized some committees and ended up with this working list:
b. Eid Festival (April 29): L= Joy; C = Saba Waheed & Saamiya Seraj
c. July 4th Parade: L= Greg,
j.Neighborhood Engagement and Inclusion, (Poll for meeting times) L= Sarah
1.Environment
The SC will continue to update this list as we recruit volunteers. Note that “L” indicates “Liaison” and “C” indicates “Chairperson.”
Greg made sure members had read an e-mail from neighbor Joan Quenan, listing her recommendations for what the SC should do in the very near future. She covered an array of topics including Bylaws, Audit, Budget, Website, Committees and Agendas. Everyone had seen it.
Greg moved that we accept, in concept, Joan’s suggestion that we vote on a redline document correcting grammatical mistakes in the current Bylaws at the next General Meeting. Seconded. Greg will ask her to e-mail the document in question to the Steering Committee for review. Assuming we approve what she sends, Greg will share it with the General Membership for potential adoption.
Chris shared his first draft of the 2023 MNA Budget for SC review along with 2022 Budget and Actuals for comparison. SC members adjusted a few figures and discussed options. As of now, the proposed budget results in a deficit at the end of the year which would have to be covered by reserves. Chris expressed his concern that running a deficit budget was not sustainable long-term but agreed that we’d be OK this year.
SC members voted to present the draft budget at the next General Meeting for approval. Motion seconded and passed.
Greg moved to table most of the remaining new agenda items until the next meeting. Seconded and passed.
Greg moved to dissolve the committees that don’t have an SC Liaison. Seconded and passed.
Next General Meeting Saturday, February 18, 10am
Next Steering Committee Meeting Wednesday, March 1, 7pm
(Both meetings subject to change)
The meeting adjourned at 9:16 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Ann Hart, MNA Secretary
Note that all documents mentioned in these minutes are considered part of the meeting record.