Minutes of Officer Meeting of 4/6/11

Parkwood Garden Club Officer Meeting
April 6, 2011

Present:
Bryan Bell
Christie Bell
Katie Black
Frances Finegan
Bev Greene
Mary K. Jarboe
Sheri Kennedy
Bolot Kerimbaev
Rebecca Kerimbaev

1. Treasury Report
   1. Bev Greene reported that we have the following balances:
      Checking – $775
      Park Fund – 680.25
      Savings – 7,252.60
   2. Bolot indicated that an additional $100 has been contributed to the park fund through Pay Pal. He also outlined the procedure for moving funds from Pay Pal to the checking account.
   3. Action Item: Bev and Bolot will discuss Pay Pal procedures.
2. Parkwood Park
   1. Sheri Kennedy has met with a garden designer about West Ponce and the traffic circle. A stump grinder came today to clean up several spots. The tree in the traffic circle was cut down through a donation. Seven service requests have been made through the DeKalb County roads inspector. Sheri will stay on top of progress of these requests.
   2. Sheri is inquiring about a grant for invasive plant removal. This should cost about $1200 per acre. After the last park work day, it was determined that it would be too difficult to pull out invasives. We could maintain the work after treatment by professionals. Various chemical treatments were discussed.
   3. Action Items:
      1. Sheri will contact Jeff Rader about expediting service requests made to DeKalb County.
      2. A neighborhood meeting will be held in May or June to discuss plans for invasives and designs for West Ponce and the traffic circle
3. Bylaws
   1. Sheri reported that Scotty Candler is helping with the review of the existing bylaws and drafts of new bylaws. Sheri has read the material on 501(c)3 status, and Scotty is reviewing her questions. The pros and cons of becoming a 501(c)3 corporation were discussed. There will be a $600-$700 filing fee and considerable paperwork. Also, a tax return will be required each year. The advantage would be that individuals could take tax deductions for contributions to the park fund. Also, many grants require 501(c)3 status.
      Sheri suggested presenting the pros and cons to the neighborhood group.
   2. Action Items:
      1. Sheri will research 501(c)3 status over the summer and will talk to others who have recently filed for that status.
      2. Sheri will ask for help from others on the bylaws after Scotty completes his review.
4. Liability Insurance
   1. Frances Finegan reported that our liability insurance covers $1,000,000 per incident and up to $2,000,000 per year. She has also learned that the Georgia Recreational Property Act (51-3-20 et seq.) states that any land owner can have some degree of protection if the land is opened up for hiking, bird watching, etc. Also, our insurance agent would need to be informed if any structures were ever put up in the park.
   2. Action Item: Frances will continue to do research on the Georgia Recreational Property Act. Also, she will check on whether our liability insurance covers bridge or fence replacement after damage from falling trees.
5. 498 West Parkwood
   1. Katie Black pointed out that we need to stay on top of conditions at 498 West Parkwood, since it is now in foreclosure. She is especially concerned about lawn care.
   2. Action Item: Katie will contact the bank to ask that the lawn be cut at 498 West Parkwood. (Note: After the meeting, Mary K. learned that Jim J. had already contacted the management company about the lawn. The lawn was cut the next day.)
6. Civic Committee
   1. Bryan Bell reported that DeKalb County rates the roads and gives them a score each year. The worst get paved first until the money runs out. East and West Parkwood are both on the list. The county has said that they will fix the potholes and try to get West Parkwood moved up on the list.
   2. Action Item: Bryan will follow up with DeKalb County next month and try to get the ticket numbers for the requests so that he can monitor the progress.
   3. New street signs for East and West Parkwood have been placed at the traffic circle. Bryan has requested signs on East Lake as well. He has also been investigating train quiet zones. These are approved stops with proper crossings where train horns cannot be blown. Fraser Road has had a quiet zone approved but not built. Jeff Rader’s Office is working on this. There is no funding yet, so it might be 3 to 5 years before this happens.
   4. Bryan asked about retackling the sidewalk clean-up project. Particular spots needing attention were discussed.
   5. Action Items:
      1. Bryan will walk through the list from the fall to determine what work still needs to be done.
      2. Sheri and Katie will work on contact information for owners of some of the properties discussed.
      3. Frances will check on county ordinances about sidewalks.
7. Spring Party
   1. Bryan and Christie agreed to host the spring party. There was general agreement that children should be included. A budget of $300 was discussed.
   2. Action Items:
      1. Bryan and Christie will decide on a date (probably May 21 or 22) and get on everyone’s calendar.
      2. Bev will help with the shopping. Sheri has some paper plates, cups, and utensils.
8. PayPal
   1. Bolot Kerimbaev needs to put Bev’s (or another person’s) name on the Pay Pal account.
      This can wait until the slate of officers for next year has been finalized. He suggested using officers’ titles (president, treasurer, etc.) in e-mail addresses associated with the domain name and then forwarding the appropriate information to individuals’ e-mail addresses. This will be simpler than changing names every time there are new officers. Katie encouraged everyone to write something for the web site.
9. Parkwood Lane House with Tree Damage
   1. Action Item: Frances Finegan will contact the Henrichs as part of neighbor care. This could be an e-mail to express concern and ask if they need help with anything.
10. Officers for Next Year
    1. The following agreed to serve in their positions again:
       1. Civic Co-Chairs – Bryan and Christie Bell
       2. Communications Co-Chairs – Bolot and Rebecca Kerimbaev
       3. Parkwood Park – Sheri Kennedy
11. Action Item: Katie will send an e-mail to everyone asking if anyone is interested in serving as president. The new president can then work on filling the other positions needed. Christie indicated that she might be able to recruit a social chair or chair for each party from new members.

Mary K. Jarboe
Secretary