Parkwood Garden Club
Board of Directors’ Minutes
March 19, 2012
The March 19, 2012 meeting of the Parkwood Garden Club (PGC) Board of Directors was held at 220 Upland Road in Decatur, GA. The meeting was called to order at 7:12 pm. The following officers/committee chairs attended: Tom Bell, Karna Candler, Sheri Kennedy, Bryan Bell, Frances Galifianakis and Joanna Quillen.
Consent Agenda
The February 13, 2012 Board Meeting Minutes were approved as written.
The March 17 Financial Report was approved, with a change in the Account Balances ledger to reflect $105 spent from the Geigerscapes line item and $600 spent from the Misc. line item for tree pruning/removal.
Treasurer’s Report – Tom Bell
- PGC Treasurer Tom Bell merged the three separate PGC banking accounts into one account at Fidelity Bank and added Karna to the signature card.
- Tom paid the annual registration fee for the PGC on March 19. Joanna has a copy in the Secretary records. Karna’s mailing address is listed with the Secretary of State and Tom’s e-mail address is listed with the Secretary of State.
President’s Report – Karna Candler
- The Nominating Committeeis still contacting people about filling certain positions. As of March 9 the 2011-2012 slate is the following:President – Karna Candler
Vice President / President Elect – Frances Galifiankis
Secretary – Joanna Quillen
Treasurer – Tom Bell
Civic Committee – Bryan Bell
Membership Committee – Jim and Patti Paulino
Parkwood Park Committee – Steve Elmore
Webmaster – Paul Thompson
Bryan will work with Paul to transition the webmaster position from Bolot to Paul. The Nominating Committee is helping the Membership Committee recruit members.
- The Board tabled the discussion of website content guidelines. While there seemed to be consensus that website content needed to come through PGC Board members, all felt the issue needed further thought.
- The Board tabled the discussion of PGC email guidelines, agreeing that all requests which do not relate to official PGC business be denied.
- Bryan will work with the new webmaster Paul Thompson to create a PGC Facebook page, so that members can post personal, “unofficial” information which may be of interest to neighbors.
- The Annual Meeting is set for Monday, May 14, 7 pm. All Board members should plan to be there and give an annual report on their committee.
- The next PGC Board meeting, and last meeting of the 2011-2012 year will be held on Tuesday, April 10 at Karna’s house. Karna will serve dessert and wine after the meeting as a celebration of our year on the Board.
- Karna and Sheri will recruit 7 PGC members to work at the Druid Hills Tour of Homes (April 20-22) as docents. If the PGC contributes a group of 7, the PGC’s name will be posted at the ticket table.
Vote to Retire Parkwood Garden Club Constitution
Frances moved to retire the Parkwood Garden Club Constitution of 1952. Sheri seconded the motion. All approved.
New By-Laws
Joanna moved that the Parkwood Garden Club Board of Directors approve the 2/23/12 draft of the Amended and Restated By-Laws of the Parkwood Garden Club, Inc. and adopt them as the governing document of the Parkwood Garden Club, pending general membership approval. Bryan seconds the motion.
Tom moved to amend the second sentence in section 8.3 of the By-Laws to read, “Meetings may be held by electronic means as long as the usual quorum rules (see Section 8.5) apply.” Joanna seconded the motion. All approved the motion to amend the by-laws.
The Board then voted to approve the original motion as amended. All approved and the Amended and Restated By-Laws of the Parkwood Garden Club, Inc. were adopted as amended.
Joanna will e-mail a clean copy of the By-Laws to Bolot and Rebecca for posting on the website.
Ordinance Enforcement Letter
Bryan drafted a letter from the Parkwood Garden Club to the residents of the Parkwood Neighborhood. The PGC Board reviewed the letter and made a few changes. The finalized letter is at the end of these minutes. Board members agreed that this letter should be posted on the website and included in the membership packets.
Standing Committees
Parkwood Park Committee
- Sheri will e-mail Rebecca the approved PPC meeting minutes for the PGC website.
- Trail marker placement will be decided at the next PPC meeting.
- Steve Elmore created a bridge proposal for the Eagle Scout Council.
- Rebecca is donating a sign for the Parkwood Park in memory of her father. Karna is getting sign estimates and facilitating development of a Parkwood Park logo. The sign will be generally as follows:
Parkwood Park
LOGO
Owned and Maintained by the Parkwood Garden Club
Established 1952
- Sheri is investigating a formal relationship between the Parkwood Park and the South Fork Conservancy, which would funnel donations to the Park through the Conservancy and allow these donations to be tax deductible.
- The Parkwood Park Committee continues to research eradicating invasive plants, using Terry Sutton of Cascade Springs Forestry, who has worked for the Olmstead Parks and the Decatur Cemetery.
Frances reported on new neighborhood residents:
Andy and Becky Vocaire
371 W. Parkwood
Andy: avocaire@gmail.com; (312) 316-6177
Becky: Becky.krupp@gmail.com; (513) 520-8115
The meeting adjourned at 8:50 PM. The next meeting will be held on Tuesday, April 10, 2012, 7 PM at 220 Upland Road. Issues for this or future meetings include the following:
- Vote on Slate of 2012-2013 Parkwood Garden Club Officers/Board Members
- Neighborhood Watch details – how crime is reported and communicated, how PGC email system and Neighborhood Watch coordinate the dissemination of information.
- PGC website content guidelines
- PGC e-mail communications guidelines
- Agenda for PGC Annual Meeting
Dear Parkwood Resident:
Over the past year several neighbors have approached the Parkwood Garden Club Board with complaints about various properties within the neighborhood and have inquired about code enforcement.
In the spirit of neighborliness, and to meet the expectations placed on the Garden Club by its residents, property owners are asked to consider not only the DeKalb County Code requirements, but also to have consideration of their neighbors. The DeKalb Code of Ordinance is the minimal standard of property maintenance and is enforceable by the County.
To clarify information concerning various complaints heard by the Board, and passed neighbor to neighbor, the following information is provided.
It is against DeKalb code to:
Pets
- Not clean up after your dog and cat (Section 5-2)
- Allow your dog to bark uncontrolled (see specifics in Code) (Section 5-2)
- Leave a dog or cat loose (Dogs must be leashed in Parkwood Park) (Section 5-4)
- Chain a pet (Section 5-3)
Dumping/Trash
- Dump trash or yard waste, including leaves, on private property (including PARKWOOD PARK) (Section 22-74)
- Allow any garbage, refuse, building debris/material to remain on your property (Section 18-9)
Automobiles
- Have inoperable and/or unregistered vehicles of any type on your property unless in a fully enclosed building, carports are specifically excluded in the code. (Section 18-8)
- Park a camper, boat, travel trailer or RV on the street, driveway, or front yard (Section 17-149)
House Maintenance
- Have dead or hazardous trees (Section 18-9)
- Have peeling paint, broken windows, loose shutters/ doors/ gutters/shingles or rotted wood (Section 18-34)
- Allow your grass to grow higher than 12 inches (Section 18-38)
- Build porches, decks, or additions without a County issued building permit (Section 7-30)
If you are unfamiliar with DeKalb County Code you can obtain a copy from the County for a fee by calling 311, or you can access and research the Code on-line at:
http://library.municode.com/index.aspx?clientId=10637
Neighbors are encouraged to speak with each other before calling code enforcement. In the event that Code Enforcement needs to be contacted, DeKalb County Code Enforcement can be reached by phone at 404-687-3700, and by email at codeenforce@co.dekalb.ga.us
The Parkwood neighborhood does not have covenants, and beyond the DeKalb County Code, only our mutual consideration of others remains to guide each of us as we go about our lives and live in this neighborhood. Please consider your neighbors and fellow residents, as we are all seeking to create and maintain a clean, safe, peaceful, and visually pleasing neighborhood.
Thank you!
Parkwood Garden Club
Parkwood Garden Club 