Minutes of Samish Neighborhood Association Board Meeting 10 Nov 2009
Draft by Steve Hood
Call to Order: Greg McCracken called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM. Present were: Greg McCracken, Steve Hood, Tim Wynn, Garey Vodopich, Tom Roehl, Dick Conoboy, April Markiewicz, Eric Weight, and K. Trinn Murray. Excused were: Joe Carpenter, David Gilbertson and Shirley Forslof. Neighborhood members attending were: Steve Abell, Patrick Lord, Cheryl Lord and Carmen Gilmore.
Public Comment: Visitors introduced themselves and expressed an interest in the being more involved with the neighborhood association. The Lords mentioned having been through the variance process with the city and were concerned that much of development in the neighborhood in the near future may be done through the variance process.
Old Business
Presidents Announcements:
MNAC Rep: The association’s representation on the MNAC board will expire soon. The board reappointe Greg. Speeding: A neighbor complained about speeding on 40th. Chris Comeau at the city referred the complaint to the neighborhood association. The tools the neighborhood has are education, individuals checking out a radar gun to identify chronic violators or times of violations and the use of the “turtle” the trailer with the sign that displays the speed of the violators. The board recommended the use of the “turtle”. December Meeting: Greg announced he will be absent. Tom agreed to preside.
Approval of October 2009 Minutes: The minutes were approved with the following corrections: spelling of Dick Conoboy’s name under Call to Order. Replace IMNAC with MNAC. David will look into requirements for a 501 C-3. Dick gave the report on the Oct. 10 forum. Final minutes can be found at http://www.samishneighborhood.org.
Treasurer’s Report
April presented the current Treasurer’s report. (see report on SNA website at http://www.samishneighborhood.org) The report shows a total balance of $1,191.52. She also presented an annual treasurers report in which detail on major projects were noted. Our current balance is healthy and a carryover amount is expected again. The report was accepted by the board.
MNAC Report
Mayor Pike – The city’s budget projections have continued to fall. They are now less than 2006 level. He expects that they are at the lowest level
Whatcom Pandemic Flu report – Announcement of H1N1 clinic had been noted. The information was posted on the SNA website at http://www.samishneighborhood.org. That clinic is now full but further information will be posted at the SNA website and at http://www.whatcomcounty.us/health/h1n1/index.jsp
501 c(3) – Edgemoor converted from 501c(4) to 501c(3) as an Educational/Informational organization. GuideMeredian/Cordata filed as a 501 c(3).
South Bay Trail – The Fairhaven neighborhood reported that the trail link between the Village Green and Reid Boiler Works may be closed in the next couple of months by Ken Imus. The trail is on an easement over Mr. Imus’s property and due to a dispute with the city about relocation of a sewer main he plans to revoke the trail easement.
SNA tax status
April reported that an association can be both an 501 c(3) and a 501 c(4). She also learned that the conversion from 501 c(4) to 501 c(3) is a fairly simple two-step process. Step one is to amend the articles of incorporation to be consistent with the requirement of a 501 c(3) and then notifying the IRS. This approach was recommended by the Board. April did note that if the IRS requires a new application, the filing fee would be $400 but may drop to $200 after January 10 when electronic filing becomes available.
Housing Letter
The letter as amended was approved by the board for Greg’s signature. The final letter can be seen at http://www.samishneighborhood.org
Good Neighbor/Business Award
No action taken. Trinn said she will email a survey in which members can rank what is important in evaluating what makes a business a good neighbor.
New Business
Plan for the General Meeting in March
Greg will arrange with the Elk’s the meeting with a target of the second Wednesday of March (March 10) and invite the Public Works Director, Steve Swan from WWU, Parks Director, Mayor, Police Chief, and Council representatives. The reservation will be for a 6 PM setup going till 9 PM. Greg will contact Ginny Davidson regarding refreshments and April will forward Ginny’s contact to Trinn for her to assist.
For the Good of the neighborhood.
Tom suggested a joint meeting with one or both of Sehome and Puget neighborhoods. We border both neighborhoods. And along those borders are potential changes that affect more than one neighborhoods. He also suggested that there are areas we know we can learn from each other and through a joint meeting we may learn of other areas we can learn from one another. Greg will contact to enquire of the other’s interest.
Adjourn
Meeting was adjourned at 8:15.