MNA Steering Committee Minutes, May 8, 2019

MNA Secretary Meeting/Meeting Minutes

Location: Aldrich 51 @ 2604 Aldrich Street

Time: 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Attending:  Preston Tyree, Co-Chair; Richard Carr, Vice Chair; Penny Brandt, Treasurer; Alison Raffalovich, Secretary; Joan Quenan; Bart Jacob; Dan Updegrove; Maria Salas; Bart Glaser

Not attending: John Wooding, Co-Chair; Bill Kirwin; Suzanne O’Malley; April Geruso

Items:

  1. Greetings and pleasantries [Preston] (5 mins) 7:00 – 7:05
  2. Approval of previous meeting minutes (5 mins) 7:05 – 7:10 – approved by email and posted 5/8
  3. April Treasurer’s Report [Penny Brandt] (10 mins) 7:10 – 7:20 – see below. The Steering Committee reviewed the report.
  4. Discussion of Insurance for Events and D&O. [Dan Updegrove] (15 mins) 7:20 – 7:35 – Dan has researched insurance options and recommendations from resources including the Nonprofit Risk Management Center (NRMC).  Dan got a quote for approximately $1700 for insurance the three signature events, general liability and Directors and Officers (D&O) insurance.  For comparison, the MNA spent $586.67 for insurance for the July 4th Festival in 2018 and $410 for the 2018 Fall Festival. Texas statute limits liability for organizations that “provide for the social welfare and common good of the people in a community”. A small sampling of other neighborhood associations has indicated that they don’t generally carry general liability and D&O insurance. After a discussion of the pros and cons of insurance, the decision was made to hold a vote at the June Steering Committee when additional Steering Committee members are present, and in order to give members in attendance the opportunity to further consider the options.
  5. Recommendation to purchase more t-Shirts [Joan Quenan & Penny Brandt] (10 mins) 7:35 – 7:45 – Existing t-shirt inventory is low (only 8 shirts, including 7 youth shirts). Joan got a bid for printing from Graphics Store (owned by neighbor Marta White’s daughter) for additional MNA t-shirts in tanks, men’s and women’s cuts.  For 100 shirts of various styles and sizes, the average is about $8.00/shirt, and we sell them for $15 each. Joan and Penny propose that at the May and June general meetings, we invite people to sign up if they’re interested in shirts and specify the size and style they prefer. We can then decide on the order quantity and styles and hopefully have them at the MNA tent at the 4th of July Festival.  Joan will try to get a photo of the shirt colors and cuts to show on a presentation slide at the General Meetings along with pre-order forms at the registration table.  
  6. Egg Scramble Wrap-up [Joan Quenan and Penny Brandt] (15 mins) 7:45 – 8:00 – Anecdotally people seemed to enjoy the events and have fun.  Next year we’ll plan to wrap at 11 rather than 12.  Joan will put the organizing details into the Google drive, and next year plan less transition time between the egg scrambles. Some people also requested coffee next year.
  7. July 4th Update and assignments [Bill Kirwin] (15 mins) 8:00 – 8:15 We could use the in-kind sponsorship from UPS store to print event-specific neighborhood signs for the signature events, starting with the July 4th event.  Ty will discuss it with Bill Kirwin. Ty will organize the bicycle decorating judging, Kat Malcom and Alison will carry the banner in front of the marching band. Alison will suggest Bill ask the band whether one of their musicians can play the Star-Spangled banner at the beginning of the parade.
  8. Committee Updates:
    1. Google Drive and its uses [Bart Jacob] (10 mins) 8:15 – 8:25 – Bart has set up the Google drive to serve as a repository for MNA files, processes and information. Bart requested that Steering Committee members bookmark the index of directories and upload their current files to the appropriate directories.  The objectives of the Google Drive repository are:
  • Fundraising [Bart Glaser] (15 mins) 8:25 – 8:40 – Bart G, with Bart J’s help, have aggregated existing trackers of potential MNA sponsor company names, contact person, contact info. It is now stored in Google Drive. Bart G has classified sponsors by in-kind v. cash sponsorships and whether pledged donations have been received. We had targeted $11,000 in cash sponsorships in the 2019 budget, and have collected $5,000 to date and an additional $6,750 committed but not yet received. Bart submitted for HEB sponsorship in mid-February and has been in contact since and our status continues to be “in process.” Bart contacted Audrey Garcia at the HEB district level and it is still in process. We’ve asked for $1250 in cash and $1250 in gift cards.  The local store can also support events, as they did with the Egg Scramble. Ty asked Bart to make a recommendation on whether we make a distinction between in-kind v. cash supporters for sponsor recognition purposes and determine whether we want to update the sponsor letter for 2020. It was agreed to recognize in-kind support at the cash equivalent of that support.  We’ll have an updated sponsor sign by 4th of July Festival.
  • May General Meeting agenda [Preston] (10 mins) 8:40 – 8:50 – Ty is checking into potentially buying coffee cups for purchase at general meetings.
    • Treasurer’s report by Dan on Penny’s behalf
    • Boys & Girls Club overview by Kevin Brown
    • Report by Michael Jones on the PIA Commission
    • Report by Bill Berman or Joe Freeman on the POA meeting
    • Fourth of July Parade & Festival update and volunteer call by Richard on Bill Kirwin’s behalf based on Bill’s recent email with details
    • Local Business: Sam Patel, UPS  

New business: 

Bart Jacob – should MNA consider having a table at local events like Rock the Park and events on the Paseo? Ty will approach Catellus to discuss.

Dan attended a presentation about the new middle school, and the Committee agreed we should offer to provide a member from the MNA to its CAP.

Adjourn [Preston] 8:50 p.m.

General Meeting 5/18 10 a.m. @ Seton Administration

Steering Committee Meeting 6/5 7 p.m. @ Aldrich 51