Parkwood Garden Club
Board of Directors’ Minutes
June 11, 2012
The June 11, 2012 meeting of the Parkwood Garden Club (PGC) Board of Directors was held at 3 Wimberly Court in Decatur, GA. The meeting was called to order at 7:10 pm. The following officers/committee chairs attended: Tom Bell, Karna Candler, Bryan Bell, Steve Elmore, Scott McVeigh and Joanna Quillen.
Introduction of Board Members present
101 PGC Board of Directors
- Joanna noted that the purpose of using basic Robert’s Rules of Order at meetings is to make sure everyone (including the Secretary) knows exactly what decision is being made, to make sure that all decision makers have an equal voice, to be sure that one person doesn’t dominate a discussion or decision and to shorten meeting time. Action Item: Joanna will lead a Robert’s Rules of Order skit at the August Board meeting.
- PGC Board Minutes will reflect motions, action items and information for future reference. If a Board member wants something specific in the minutes, please let the Secretary know.
- Karna noted that concerns about an issue should be addressed before meetings or when a motion is being discussed. If a member of the Board or a Committee objects to a motion, the member should vote against the motion and have their reasons reflected in the minutes. If a member feels that further research is needed before a motion can be voted on, the member should ask to table an issue. Once an issue has been decided, dissenting opinions and concerns should be taken up with the committee chair or the Board chair. It’s never appropriate for an unauthorized board/committee member to directly act on behalf of the PGC/Committee or complain about a decision outside the meeting.
Consent Agenda
The April 10, 2012 Board Meeting Minutes were approved as written.
The May 07, 2012 Board Meeting Minutes were approved as written.
The May 14 Membership Meeting Minutes were approved as written.
The May Email Minutes were approved as written.
Treasurer’s Report – Tom Bell
- The June Financial Report was approved with the following change: Action Item: Tom will change the following: Under Checking, a $38.54 “withdrawal” on 2/7/12 be changed to a deposit. The June Balance Sheet was approved, with note made that the Park Fund be added, so that the Balance Sheet and Financial Report balance.
- The PGC was overcharged $$20 per year for its 2011 and 2012 Annual Registration fees with the Secretary of State’s office. $40 will be refunded by the State.
- Tom and Steve detailed the water meter charges, for watering in Parkwood Park: The $600 “withdrawal” on the Financial Report is a deposit with the DeKalb County Water Department. Usage fees are deducted from the deposit each month, amounting to several dollars a month. When the meter is returned, the unused amount of the deposit will be returned to the PGC. $28 is a separate monthly water fee for rental of the water meter.
President’s Report – Karna Candler
- The Crime Watch Captain system was suspended a couple of years ago in hopes that the website would be interactive enough for crime reporting. Because neighbor visits to the website are rare, the PGC needs to enact a similar crime reporting system like the one we had before. Jeremy Turner is responsible for East Lake’s crime reporting and would be an excellent resource. In the meantime, Karna will send out an e-mail encouraging all Parkwood Neighbors to report crimes directly to her so that she can forward them to the neighborhood. Included in this email will be a list of important information that should be addressed with the reporting of each crime such as the date of incident, time of day, location and type of incident.
Action Item: List a page in next directory detailing crime reporting procedures.
Action Item: The Civic Committee will make a comprehensive recommendation at the August Board Meeting detailing how crime should be reported in the Parkwood Neighborhood.
- Action Item: Karna will send out an e-mail, warning neighbors to be careful of poisonous snakes. This year seems to be particularly bad.
- Action Item: Board members should submit nominations to Karna Candler for filling the Vice President vacancy left by Francis Galifianakis by Monday, June 18, 2012.
Parkwood Park Committee
- Steve Elmore moved that the Board confirm its earlier email vote by formally accepting the South Fork Conservancy’s Fiscal Sponsorship Contract for Parkwood Park and by authorizing the President to execute the Contract at her earliest convenience once she is satisfied that adequate procedures are in place covering the control and delivery of contributions, payment of Parkwood Park expenses, and delivery of periodic financial reports. All approved the motion.
- Conservancy funds for PGC need to be used to further the mission of the Conservancy of restoring the Peachtree Creek watershed and tributaries. Therefore, contributions to the SFC for PGC should be for the Parkwood Park. Using such contributions for fundraisers for the Park would need to be approved in advance.
- For the PGC to terminate the contract, the PGC would simply finish spending the money the Conservancy is holding for PP and direct no further funds to the Conservancy. If the Conservancy terminates the relationship, the Conservancy will keep the funds. In the PGC’s interest, funds at the Conservancy should be used as quickly as possible.
- In an effort to clarify an earlier vote of the Board and to avoid future confusion, Steve Elmore moved that the Board authorize the spraying of invasive and undesirable plants in the Parkwood Park consistent with the 3-Year Plan (attached) presented by Terry Sutton of Cascade Springs Forestry on April 18, provided that no spraying occur within the banks of the stream until the Park Committee has done further research into stream bank stability associated with the removal of invasive and undesirable plants from the stream and further provided that the funds are pledged or available prior to application. All approved the motion. Based on an e-mail from Terry Sutton, in which he forwarded an e-mail from an official of the State Department of Natural Resources, Steve noted that no permit is required for this work.
- The Board reviewed the content of the Thank You letter drafted for contributors to the South Fork Conservancy. No one voiced any suggested changes.
- Tom moved that the PGC Board of Directors authorize up to $500 from the Reserve/Contingency fund to supplement the available funds from the Park Committee for the limbing of both a large dead tree in Parkwood Park and the Champion tree (trees 5 and 18) to be reimbursed by the Parkwood Park Committee as undesignated donations are received. Joanna seconded the motion. All approved. Discussion: Board members agreed that it’s important to keep visitors to Parkwood Park as safe as possible. It’s also important to restore the contingency fund so that it will be available for future emergencies.
- The DeKalb County Historic Preservation Commission will meet on June 18th to vote on the appropriateness of the sign for Parkwood Park.
Civic Committee
- The Civic Committee continues to work on getting a crosswalk installed at the traffic circle by East Lake Road, curbs repaired, streets paved and trains quieted.
- Action Item: The large holly bush at the intersection of E. Lake and the Parkwoods causes visibility problems to motorists. Tom, Bryan and Steve will address this problem.
- Action Item: Bryan will give Steve access to the PGC website so that he can post Parkwood Park donations and committee minutes.
- Action Item: Bryan is working with Paul Thompson to create guidelines about what should be posted on the website.
- Action Item: Bryan will put bunting on the Ponce De Leon fence for the 4th of July.
- Action Item: Bryan is working with Paul Thompson to determine how the PGC can best use Facebook.
- Action Item: Bryan will work with Paul to update the website and web addresses with the new committee chairs.
The meeting adjourned at 8:58 PM. The next meeting will be held on Aug. 13, 2012 at Karna’s house, 7 PM at 220 Upland Road.
Parkwood Garden Club 