Board Meeting Minutes - June 11, 2020

Vista Las Palmas Neighborhood Organization Board Meeting
June 11, 2020  4:00pm
Virtual Call via MSTeams

Meeting Objective: VLPNO Board Updates 

The following board members/attendees were present: Scott Turner, Kevin Comer, Gustav Swanson, Kermit Ferrer, Rebecca May.

AGENDA

  • Review / Approve Minutes from May Board Meeting (05/14/20) -Board

  • Review Action Items from May Board Meeting - KFerrer

  • Treasury / Finance Report -KComer

    • May Report

    • Donations:

      • Checks, Check Distribution, Neighbor Collections - KComer

      • Communication - GSwanson/RMay

    • Other VLPNO funds projects: ie Blade Signs

    • Treasury Transition / Signees (Open Item ‘til restrictions are lifted)

  • Modernism Week 2021 - VLPNO Home Tour - Board

    • Identify Tour Captain

  • Neighborhood - KComer

    • COVID-19

    • Street Condition Update – Agree on Worst Streets

  • One PS / District 3 Update - SCobrin/KComer

  • Communication Updates: - GSwanson

    • Email Addresses DB - KComer/RMay

    • VLPNO website

    • Next Door

    • Facebook - RMay

    • Other

  • VLP Neighborhood 'Dogleg' - Old Las Palma

  • Other Board Member Updates

Review/Approve Minutes from May 14th meeting

  • Board reviewed and unanimously approved minutes from the May 14th 2020 Board Meeting

  • Gustav to coordinate w/ Imagine-IT to publish April Board, May Supplemental and May Board 2020 meetings minutes on-line

RECAP / NOTES from May Meeting

  • OPEN: Gustav to make the following VLPNO website updates:

    1. OPEN: Publish minutes from April Board and May Supplemental Donation meetings

    2. COMPLETE: Remove Mickey Puig as parting Board Member - Treasurer

    3. COMPLETE: Update Kevin Comer’s title to VLPNO Treasurer

  • OPEN: Kevin, Scott and Kermit to set-up co-signer’s on VLPNO bank accounts

  • OPEN: Kevin to contact MMGCCPA to research VLPNO non-profit classification – determine if VLPNO has to file tax report to California and obtain further details of our tax exempt classification and code

  • COMPLETE: Gustav to send Matching Gift Donation email to the VLPNO membership. Rebecca to assist utilizing Mailchimp to publish Donation email.

  • COMPLETE: Kevin to collect all personal donations collected by Kevin and Kermit and present to The LGBT Center – Food Bank.

  • OPEN: Kevin to issue checks and Sally, Kevin, Kermit & Rebecca to assist with deliver of the funds to the charities listed below that the VLPNO agreed to support. VLPNO request that we take photos when making these donations so that we may post to the VLPNO website

    1. COMPLETE: The LGBT Center Food Bank additional $1,000

    2. COMPLETE: AAP Food Samaritans: $2,500

    3. OPEN: PS Modcom: $2,500

    4. COMPLETE: Palm Springs Animal Shelter: $2,500

  • COMPLETE: Kermit to prepare draft email MW2021 committee to inform them of our intent to participate and preferred dates, share it with VLPNO Board for review and subsequently submit to MW2021 committee

  • OPEN: Board to begin search for MW2021 VLPNO Home Tour Captain. Sally to reach out to the two interested parties she has.

  • COMPLETE: Kevin to follow-up on Neighborhood Topics: Street Condition Update & Safety/Security

  • COMPLETE: Rebecca agreed to own Mailchimp account for the VLPNO. Kevin, Scott and Rebecca to have a video session on Mailchimp.

  • COMPLETE: Rebecca to begin updates to Facebook VLPNO account.

  • COMPLETE: Kermit to send on-file email communications from 2019 that gave a bit of background on the request to annex the dogleg.

  • COMPLETE: Kermit also to request dogleg annexation background information from Jade Nelson, Robin Abrahams and Howard Hawkes – previous VLPNO Board members.

  • COMPLETE: Kevin to follow-up with OLP Board and Denise Golsby to obtain further details on dogleg annexation.

  • COMPLETE: Kermit to send out Calendar Invite to the Board along with a MSTeams meeting invite for June 11th Board Meeting

Treasurer’s Report

  • Kevin provided May Financials via email to the Board prior to the meeting

  • May reporting included

    1. Account Reconciliation

    2. Income Statement

    3. Chase Bank Statement

  • Kevin went through the VLPNO account balances

  • Kevin reached out to MMGCCPA with regards to State of California tax filing requirements and VLPNO exemption status. He hadn’t heard back from them so he will make one more attempt to reach them. If he’s unsuccessful, he will begin consultation with another local CPA.

  • We still need another two (2) signers: The Board agreed that this will be Scott Turner, VLPNO Board Chairperson & Kermit Ferrer, VLPNO Board Secretary. This will be set-up once regulations permit for us to go to the bank to complete the signature paperwork.

Donations 

  • The LGBT Center Food Bank: $2,500

    1. Kevin delivered $1,000 VLPNO supplemental VLPNO donation check ($1,500 VLPNO donation delivered previously delivered) along with the additional $’s collected from VLPNO neighbor’s personal donations to The LGBT Center (Debra Pollock, Director of Development)

    2. Photo was taken of Kevin handing Debra of The Center the VLPNO donation check

  • AAP Food Samaritans: $2,500

    1. Sally delivered $2,500 VLPNO check to AAP Food Samaritans (Mark Anton, CEO-Executive Director)

    2. Photo of check hand-off was taken with Mark Anton. Photo to be posted on VLPNO website, FB and used for future donation emails.

  • PS Modcom: $2,500

    1. Kevin will deliver this next week

  • Palm Springs Animal Shelter: $2,500

    • Rebecca and Kermit delivered $2,500 VLPNO check to Judi Oliva, Development Director of the Friends of the Palm Springs Animal Shelter and Anthony Ercolani, Asst. Director of Development, Marketing & Outreach

    • Photo of check hand-off was taken with Judi Oliva. Photo to be posted on VLPNO website, FB and used for future donation emails.

    • Judi from the Palm Springs Animal Shelter subsequently sent the following correspondence:

      Good afternoon Rebecca and Kermit, we are so very thankful to you and the entire Vista Las Palmas Neighborhood Organization! Challenging times call for grateful hearts. So we would like to share a few highlights from our gratitude list today. Right now we are grateful for the warm sunshine, blue skies, fresh air, wiggly puppies, perfectly purring kittens and witnessing everyone making the most of a tough situation. We are proud of our communities coming together for the common good. And, for the kind generosity and love shared with the Palm Springs Animal Shelter's homeless pets. Most importantly, we are grateful for YOU. 

    • Gustav to draft up VLPNO communication #2 to inform neighbors about (1) our donations and organizations, (2) thank neighbors who personally provided matching donations and (3) a request for matching donations with notification to VLPNO Board so that we may track our matching collection and overall donation

 

MW2021 – VLPNO Home Tour                                                                                                   

  • Kermit submitted email to MW2021 committee informing them of our intent to participate with the following dates in order of preference:

    1. Saturday, February 13th

    2. Saturday, February 20th

    3. Sunday, February 14th

  • MW2021 confirmed receipt of request but has yet to advise back on the date for the VLPNO Home Tour nor next steps.

  • Kermit stressed on the need to identify a Tour Captain/Deputy

    1. Note: Tour Captain/Deputy doesn’t have to be on the Board just as Jeffrey Saadeh who lead the MW 2020 Home Tour

  • Sally said that Allison Sapunor was willing to be on the tour committee.

  • Rebecca said that her neighbors expressed interest in having their home on the tour and possibly helping with the committee. Rebecca to introduce Kermit to her neighbors so that Kermit could provide them with information about the committee duties and tour home requirements

  • Awaiting update from MW2021 committee on next steps and corresponding dates of deliverables

One-PS

One-PS meetings generally suspended until further notice

Neighborhood                          

  • Kevin followed up with Marcus L. Fuller, MPA, PE, PLS Assistant City Manager/City Engineer and Joel Montalvo, MPA, PE Assistant Director of Engineering City of Palm Springs with regards to the conditions of several of the recently paved streets in our neighborhood.

  • Mr. Montalvo informed Kevin that the City’s Engineering staff reviewed our records, visited the streets, and confirmed the streets in question were last repaved in 2015 by Granite Construction. He also provided a comprehensive presentation of how exactly staff determines what street gets repaved or gets a slurry treatment. Mr. Montalvo also advised that the City uses an objective process for street repairs, based on a third party Pavement Survey updated in 2018, that identifies a Pavement Condition Index (PCI) for each City street.

  • The City asked us to identify the worst streets we’d like fixed and they indicated that they might be able to have the city’s own crews do a temporary patch.

  • Kevin asked the Board to identify which streets we think we should ask the city to concentrate on, and we’ll see what we can get done. He said that they stated the city generally contracts out all work now, but that they do have a patch crew who might be able to do it

  • Kevin & Kermit identified top 5 streets in worse condition so that Kevin could report back to the city. Kermit noted that Dero and Via Paraiso cul-de-sac streets are immaculate and that he thought they’d be a good comparison to the condition our streets should be in.

  • Streets in priority order:

    1. N Fairview

    2. Topaz

    3. Coronet

    4. N Fair Circle

    5. Tuxedo

  • Kevin to follow-up with the city.

Communication

  • Kevin, Scott and Rebecca had a video session on Mailchimp.

  • First email went out successfully using Mailchimp. However, it is obvious that our Contact DB is outdated.

  • Kermit suggested creating a Block Captain proposal that would assist in engaging neighbors and getting neighbor updated information. Kermit to prepare proposal to share at the next Board meeting.

  • Rebecca uploaded photos of donation to FB. She will look into making updates to NextDoor. Need to understand how to use Mailchimp to feed directly into NextDoor and drive increased communication.

VLP Neighborhood ‘DogLeg’

  • Kermit shared on-file communication from 2019 that gave a bit of background on the request to annex the dogleg. Kermit also received background information from Jade Nelson, Robin Abrahams and Howard Hawkes (previous VLPNO Board members) on the annexation of the ‘dog-leg’.

  • Kevin spoke to Denise Golsby. She stated that this was done as an effort to bring PS communities together.

  • The Board agreed to leave this AS-IS and to not to further pursue this. If others ie. Old Las Palmas Neighborhood Board, Dog-Leg neighbors would like to make a change, they would need to go after this, it would be entirely up to them.

  • NOTE: VLP DogLeg defined as the homes bordered by the following streets: N Monte Vista (West boundary), N Palm Canyon (East boundary), W Vista Chino (North boundary) and W Stevens Road (South boundary)

ACTION ITEMS:

  • Gustav to make the following VLPNO website updates:

    1. Publish minutes from April and May Board as well as the May Supplemental Donation meetings

    2. Post photos of donation check deliveries

  • Kevin, Scott and Kermit to set-up co-signer’s on VLPNO bank accounts

  • Kevin to make final contact attempt to MMGCCPA to research VLPNO non-profit classification – determine if VLPNO has to file tax report to California and obtain further details of our tax exempt classification and code

  • Kevin to issue and deliver final donation check to PS Modcom for $2,500

  • Gustav & Rebecca to prepare and send 2nd Matching Gift Donation email to the VLPNO membership with information on neighbors who have donated and photos of donation check deliveries.

  • Board to continue search for MW2021 VLPNO Home Tour Captain.

  • Kermit to contact Rebecca’s neighbors who expressed interest in possibly having their home on the tour and assist with Tour coordination

  • Kevin to follow-up with City on Neighborhood Topics: Street Condition

  • Kermit to draft proposal on Block Captains

  • Kermit to send out Calendar Invite to the Board along with a MSTeams meeting invite for July 9th Board Meeting