Regular Meeting -- August 9, 2008
The Board of Directors held its regular monthly meeting at 2007 Bert Avenue, Austin, TX 78704, starting at 1:41 pm. The following directors (constituting a quorum of the full board) were present at the meeting: President Kathy Lee, Vice President and Secretary Leslie Harvey, Treasurer Pam Chambers, Past President Pam Latham (Oceanna) and Robert Gardner. Robert McGarey (Executive Director) and Chris Grigassy were also present at the meeting.
The Mission Statement was read aloud at the beginning of the meeting. Minutes from the previous meeting were not ready for the meeting. We will review them at the next meeting.
Updates to Center. It's been great to see all the changes happening here at the Center from the office to the wood floors! It's also great to see all the people who've become so active lately.
The Office. The July 4th work weekend was VERY productive. Thanks to Robert we had a lot of volunteers that weekend, and we were able to provide meals for everyone thanks to Pam. We painted the office and furniture, and that took a lot of time and work. The door was installed, but that wall still needed to be re-sheetrocked so we had to wait on finishing that. The electrical outlets still needed to be installed and other tasks need to be completed. Robert reported that the sheetrock was installed, but the wall still needs to be insulated and finished. The electrical work has been done (wall outlets) and the fan is partially installed. Sterling caulked a lot of the outside, and we want to try and paint soon.
Pam did not have a report as she was away for most of the month.
Minutes. Leslie reported that she found the written minutes from June's meeting, and they are partially typed up. She will complete them (hopefully today), and we will have them to approve at the next meeting.
Oceanna is happy to be back at the Center. She has been focusing on her work in Bastrop, and that is going well.
Bob is happy to report that he doesn't have much to report. This is an indication that there is true momentum built up on its own (via others involved with the Center), and he's not having to be the initiator or responsible for all activities. This is a huge change for him and he's happy to see this change after many years of driving things on his own.
Taxes. Non-Profit 990s are due next Friday (after getting one extension), and Bob is working on this.
Conferences. Bob has determined that he should be going to more conferences so that he can meet with folks who can be beneficial to the Center.
Austin American Statesman. There is a monthly feature in the AAS that profiles interesting Central Texans. If anyone is interested in perhaps nominating Bob for this it could be good press for the Center. Kathy took the clipping and may do this.
Love Language Quiz. Bob asked everyone to complete a quiz.
Chris reported that he received a lot of help from Kathy and Robert Gardner over the past month.
Lunch with Larry Spector. Bob hosted a lunch meeting with Larry Spector, Chris and Pam. This was a beneficial meeting in that Larry had an opportunity to get to know them better. Larry is looking for more to get accomplished on the project; however there are challenges to overcome to be able to get things going. There will be another meeting later this month to follow-up on the issues discussed.
Signage. A 4x3' sign was installed at the street which identifies the program and that it is a non-profit organization. Larry approved installing the banner on the building.
Space in Warehouse. The area that we have for stock in the warehouse is very small, mainly because there is a pool table and other large items taking up a lot of the space (to the point where you have to climb over boxes and have trouble putting in additional inventory. Further, there is also no air conditioning in the space, so it will be difficult for people to eventually go there and shop. The bottom line is that we need to find a new space. Bob and Chris are working on putting GW in the garage under the apartment. Yesterday they cleared out 1#4 of the space, and will work on emptying the rest of it. Robert added that there are additional improvements/repairs that need to happen to make it a 'retail' space, but they are do-able. If we are able to do this (move into the garage), we hope Larry will allow us to leave the signage up at Home Respiratory so people will be more likely to see it.
OD Neeley. Chris is meeting with OD Neeley who has a lot of experience in related health fields (including knowledge of wheelchair/scooter repair). He has his own wheelchair business that is for-profit, and he may be looking to be a sponsor who can provide maintenance, pickup/delivery, help us get discounts on parts. He is also acquainted with people in the field. As to space, OD thinks we should use the garage for GW (right now there is a corner of the garage that was allotted for inventory), but there are issues with that.
Administrative Needs. We need to obtain sales tickets/receipts, and to price the inventory we have already.
Robert reported that he's a bit frustrated because he has a number of projects that have been started but are not close to completion.
Floors. When the old carpet was removed we found that there are wood floors underneath. We will keep the wood floors bare, but they need to be refinished. This will be a lot of work. There are still areas that we will carpet (part of the activity room and the office), and the cost for that should be about $400. We need to get the carpet down first before we can refinish the wood floors so we can move stuff onto that area to make the wood floors accessible. Additionally there may be asbestos in the linoleum where the carpets will go, so that will need to be removed before we can lay the carpet.
Garden & Permaculture. Things are growing and producing vegetables, and he is getting ready to do some planting before he leaves in October for a month. Robert emailed Patricia Michaels (Laos House) to touch base with her regarding permaculture.
Donations. Robert is working on getting donations (like money and things) via shopping on Craig's List. He may be able to get a 16'x16' greenhouse from Habitat for Humanity (if they aren't able to sell it). Bob posted a 'Wants/Needs' List on the Center's website, and Robert will post it on Craig's list.
Volunteer Coordination. Robert has been able to get brand new volunteers for the Center. He's found some to help with the permaculture project and for updating the Imaginary room bathroom.
Volunteer Dinner. Robert sent out an email with proposed dates: either 8/23 or 8/30. This will be a good opportunity for volunteers to have some fun, see the ongoing improvements to the Center, and to get to know each other better. The cost for this event will be minimal, even though it will be a 4-course meal.
Robert has a lot of additional ideas on how to improve the Center from improving the signage outside, specialized movie nights, chalking the cul-de-sac pavement, to raising chickens, to facilitating a 'think-tank' to generate even more ideas.
Since there was no further business, the meeting adjourned at 4:05 pm.
Minutes submitted by Leslie Harvey, Secretary, August 9, 2008.