MINUTES OF THE SPECIAL SVCA BOARD WORK ... - Sudden Valley

MINUTES OF THE SPECIAL SVCA BOARD WORK SESSIONTUESDAY, MAY 11, 2010, IN THE DANCE BARNCOMMUNITY CENTER 7:00 P.M.IN ATTENDANCE:EXCUSED ABSENCES:STAFF IN ATTENDANCE:Curt Casey, PresidentBarbara Audley, Vice PresidentGeorgia Allen, SecretaryChuck McGroddyBen BrighamLaura WeideBob AlmondJohn Gordon, AC ChairJo Jean Kos, TreasurerClark ChampionNaomi Bunis, N&E ChairDave Wareing, General ManagerBruce Bishop, Maintenance ManagerEd Cobb, SecurityJeff McMahon, Golf ManagerBrian Newman, CourseSuperintendentBarbara Parker, Office ManagerAndy Schwartz, ControllerAnthony Cavender, ACD ManagerAndrea D’Alessandro, RecreationManagerCOMMUNITY MEMBERS IN ATTENDANCE: 5-7I. CALL TO ORDER:President Casey called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.II. ROLL CALL:President Casey noted the excused absences of Jo Jean Kos, Naomi Bunis and ClarkChampion.III. AGENDA:This regular work session was a continuation of the initial review of the JHJ OperationsAssessment, held May 4 th , 2010 to further understand SVCA’s operational needs and tocategorize the recommendations between “High Priority” and “In Progress” items in thetemplate, and to identify primary accountabilities and timelines.IV. DISCUSSION ITEMS:

WORK SESSION MINUTESMay 11, 2010 21. ByLaws Change to Article III, C., Section 19 – Annual Dues. The DocumentReview Commission should be tasked to draft recommended language changesfor placement on the ballot for the AGM in November. Director McGroddynoted that in the five years he has been involved with the Association, it is clearthat the heart of all our problems is the lack of money, and that it is naïve to thinkthat it is anything else. Success in getting this change implemented wouldalleviate the disconnect between voting to approve the budget , but voting thatdefeat the dues increase necessary to support that budget. This should be our toppriority for the AGM. According to state law, we can determine the percentagerequired for passage of the vote. We do not currently conform to state law in thisinstance. What we have now clearly does not work. Document Review,therefore, will need to draft the change to reflect that the budget has to be turneddown by 50% of the members voting.2. Personnel Policies. That the current Employee Handbook be reviewed fornecessary changes to bring it up to date and into compliance by a qualifiedHuman Resources professional. The Board should then adopt a new handbookencompassing the recommended changes. The current handbook is about 10years old, and clearly points to the need to update. General Manager, DaveWareing said he has been working with an HR specialist and Director Championhas provided template from former HOAs with which he has been associated thatmay help to expedite the process. The General Manager is to ensure itscompletion, utilizing the HR specialist and the templates to get the job done.3. Administration. To create a position of Assistant General Manager to undertakemost of the current work being done by the Office Manager. Hire a qualifiedOffice Manager to undertake all HR duties; create a new IT position and controlof information systems; to be responsible for all IT matters, webpage support,oversight of information and security camera and control systems and AXXESScard services. With budget restraints and a lean staff, President Casey askedhow we could go about utilizing the spirit of the recommendation to enableAdministration to run more efficiently and effectively with the resources we have.The General Manager, noting that we have gone from 53 employees in the pasttwo years down to 42, would love to have an Assistant Manager, but there simplyis no budget to support that position. As to HR, he would like for OfficeManager, Barbara Parker, who already has a very full plate, to become trained inthe area of Human Resources. As to the IT professional, there isn’t any money tosupport such a position either, but we already have, and have had, very successfuloutside IT support (3D) for some time. The question was, given the support wealready have for safety and enforcement, how can we make these services moreefficient and effective? Should we be reallocating our resources to other areasbetter equipped to handle them? For instance, shouldn’t Security be dealingwith all security issues, and not passing that duty on somewhere else? DirectorWeide feels strongly that the HR function should be separate from that of theOffice Manager function, even if that function has to be outsourced. In answer toa query from Director Allen about security cameras, where located and who is

WORK SESSION MINUTESMay 11, 2010 3monitoring, it appears that the installation and full utilization of all their featuresis not yet complete. Further, from Director Allen, it makes no sense to herpersonally that the functions of this equipment would be under anyone else’scontrol or responsibility than that of the Security Department. There currently isonly one monitor, hooked up to the Server in the basement – presumably withsome kind of accessibility from outside. It is not in the Security Departmentoffices where it can currently be viewed by the Security officers. Reflecting onall the Administrative discussions, Director McGroddy noted that it is clear thatthere is much more work that needs to be done by that office than there arepersonnel available to do it – not to overlook the very small size of the work area.He would like to see a plan whereby as many of these duties as possible areparceled out to the people we currently have, and a minimal list of what we need,either by way of full-time staff, part-time staff or outside contractor, to performthe ones we cannot impose upon the present staff. To continue to imposeadditional burdens upon the present staff would be short sighted. People will burnout, get tired and learn that they can go elsewhere, work in a better environmentthan they have here. Director Brigham agreed, stating that JHJ had noted thatBarbara Parker is overworked and also offered a couple of compelling reasonswhy the HR function might not work in house. Maybe it would be wiser tooutsource that function, which is constantly changing. We certainly don’t havethe budget to support an HR person on staff, and maybe the website could behandled by Communications. Barbara Parker responded that the time she nowspends on the website is minimal. Much of her time initially was substantiallydedicated to the development and creation of the page, but now that it is complete,her time has been freed for other duties. She also indicated a willingness to takeon HR duties, with proper training of course, if she were asked to do so. Barbaraalso reported that our receptionist, Marlene Costle, who is also her assistant, hastaken on much more responsibilities, relieving Barbara of some of the busy workthat can be handled very competently by Marlene.4. Security. To provide for a ten minute overlap in shifts; provide for coverage ofabsent personnel by other security officers so that the Chief does not have toundertake this function. Again, due to budget constraints we do not have thenecessary people in this area. There is an absence of policy with respect to Security,but we should have one as we go forward. People want Security, as evidenced bythe surveys, and feel it is important, but it is not held in high regard for differentreasons. In conversation with Lenny Angello, the General Manager said that Lennyconfirmed that there is an overlap in shifts. They discussed what has been happeningin Security and what needs to be done moving forward. Lenny will be developing aprocess by which Security will be defined. They both agreed that alarm systemsshould be controlled exclusively by Security. Security officer, Ed Cobb,commented that there already is a system in place for handing off to the next shift, asthe incoming officer makes it a practice to come in early enough ahead of his ownshift for a briefing for that purpose. President Casey asked if there was a policy inplace for handing down/tracking information from one officer to another – a manual,for instance. Ed stated he has never seen one. The General Manager is developing a

WORK SESSION MINUTESMay 11, 2010 4Security Plan with Security. Director McGroddy suggested that there was nothingelse we could do on this and further that we consider moving it to the “In Progress”page.5. Recreation. To have billings for marina and health club done by the accountingdepartment. Per Controller Andy Schwartz, this is already being done byAccounting.6. Reserve Study. To hire an outside firm specializing in reserve studies to conduct afull reserve study for the Association. Clark Champion is currently getting his thirdproposal for a reserve study. He asked CAI for some recommendations, and most ofthe qualified expertise comes from the Seattle area. Much of the work that they coulddo could leverage the work that has already been done by Andy and his staff, andBruce and his staff to date. Clark will be reporting on that at the next Board session.Clark also provided a template for a strategic planning process on how one sets up aplanning process, some of the requirements, goals and processes for the near term andthe far term. Vice President and Long-Range Planning Chair, Barbara Audley,reported that in 2003 there was a huge planning exercise that resulted in aCommunity Plan. The Plan did not get to the final, refined, polished status that Clarkshowed us as a template. A lot of the pre-work was done, but since that plan is now7 years old, it would be appropriate to start from that point and move forward toupdate it and try to come up with a more refined document. What Mrs. Audleyinherited from that effort was about a 3-inch binder full of work notes from all thevarious and sundry committees. The most interesting thing about that, when she wentback and read all of material in preparation for the 2008 survey, was to observe howmuch we had moved forward and what they said needed to be done that has beendone. It is appropriate to update it; it would be a good starting place. We also havethe results of the 2008 survey that provide a lot of valuable information; we have thefacility evaluation that Bruce and his crew did and we have a good idea of what wehave and what condition it is in. We have enough material to set up a StrategicPlanning Committee and set up a plan for 2011-2016, as such plans should beupdated every 5 years. President Casey suggested utilizing the Bodega Harbour Planprovided by Clark as a possible template, and that perhaps Clark and she could worktogether on the project. Mrs. Audley pointed out that she had noticed two things inthe Bodega Plan we did not have in ours – the segment on core values and criticalgoals. Establishing a tight timeline on completing this plan should be a goal.Director McGroddy agreed and noted that what is needed is a relatively simple plan,not a tome to be put on a shelf and never read. In addition to a time frame for thisplan, he would like a page limit – with no more than 5 pages – clear, with bulletpoints, paragraphs, white space on the pages, and fits into and means something forthe life we live here in Sudden Valley. We need to answer questions relevant to ourexistence in the Valley, not offer lot of extraneous data. Director Weide agreedwholeheartedly that the plan needs to be results oriented – with short term, obtainablegoals. The Consent Agenda will reflect the collaboration between Barbara Audleyand Clark Champion to develop an updated plan.7. Deferred/Preventive Maintenance. President Casey commented that psychologicallypeople tend to view this Valley by the buildings we are occupying now. They see itat the guard shack at Gate 1; they see it in the fences along the golf course; forget the

WORK SESSION MINUTESMay 11, 2010 5trees, grass, common areas, - they look at these buildings and see disrepair, which isnot pleasing. Aesthetically it is not pleasing. It is a general consensus. When peoplesee a nice community that has the nice curb appeal that it should have, the grass ismowed, things are painted, the chrome is polished and everything sparkles, one has asense where the money is going, a sense of pride in the community and a sense ofbeing glad to live there. Right now, when we look at these buildings, this is not thecase. The Board is interested in seeing how far we could go in looking at fixing someof these areas - Security at Gate 1, the fence along the Barn, the Ice Barn. Thechildren’s play area outside this building is shameful and is used by a lot of children.There are a lot of mothers that come down who are either in clubs or using SunshineRoom or the Kids Room or are outside playing. It is unsafe. Some of the equipmenthas rough edges on it, children can get hurt, and the sandbox out there is full of dirt.These are the things that create the image of what Sudden Valley aspires to be. If wedon’t do something about all this, it is going to be difficult to sell that, and whenpeople come here to visit the Valley, they see all these things, and can’t see thepotential that exists. If a lot of these things can be taken care of, we not only enhancethe value of our homes, but we also enhance the value of Sudden Valley, creating anaura of pride in Sudden Valley, and people can see where the money is going – it istangible. Maintenance Manager, Bruce Bishop agreed that some of the areas need tobe painted, but the Board needs to look at the structures themselves. For example,the use of the Bath House. We expected to be able to fix the roof for about $2,500this year, and are now looking at about $5,000. One of our men got up onto the rooffor closer inspection and nearly fell through it. Presented with the choice of repairingthe roof vs. painting the side of the Barn to make it look pretty, the Board must setthe priorities on what they want done first. Director McGroddy pointed out that theupside of the way things look around here points to a painfully obvious reminder toresidents that we have been trying for years to get them to understand – that we needmore money, in the way of dues, to prevent this place from coming down around ourears, that slapping a band-aid on something, like a coat of paint, is giving the falseimpression that things are going well. It is counterproductive, and while he favorsthings looking better, he isn’t in favor of slapping a coat of paint on something that isrotting from within. There are places where the evidence of improvement is obviousand worthwhile – those are the kinds of places to focus our efforts. Director Audleyagreed that before we try beautifying something, it should be repaired first, but shealso doesn’t feel the message is getting across. Things have been deteriorating foryears, yet the dues increases still don’t pass – people have become blind to it. Theyhave been looking at the decay for so long, they just don’t see it. She feels, however,that there are some things we absolutely should repair that would contribute to theterm “curb appeal.” Some of them probably wouldn’t cost a lot of money andwould make the Valley more appealing. If we can’t get them done soon, we’re goingto have more of the same kinds of problems as we have now experienced with thecollapse of the roof Bruce mentioned. The longer we wait, the more it will cost.Director Brigham disagreed with Director McGroddy’s views, stating that if we areletting things go to prove a point about dues, we are failing in out duties by not takingcare of them if there is money to do it now. Secretary Allen disagreed and believesthat letting things go has never been deliberate, but rather the unavoidable outcome of

WORK SESSION MINUTESMay 11, 2010 6the consistent resistance by the membership to any kind of dues increase. Ofparticular note was the article written for the Views by Naomi Bunis regarding thehistorical outcome of due increase efforts, citing in particular the year that an increaseof just $10 for that year failed. For 28 years, there has been constant resistance toany effort by many Boards to raise dues. It isn’t the failure of the Boards over theyears wanting to get things done, but a constant battle between boards and members,coupled with an ongoing determination to resist any increases through the years.The old minutes substantiate these facts. Director Weide stated she would like thefocus to be on fixing the issues of staff safety first, community safety second andbeautification third. Preventive maintenance is key in all of this. Director Almondopined that Bruce clearly will fix what we want him to fix if we have the money touse for that purpose, but we also may have to decide what we want “saved” first.President Casey said this is the reason the General Manager has been asked todevelop plans – for Security, Maintenance, etc. so we can take a hard look at thingsand decide what the priorities should be and prioritize everything across the board –by cost, resources, needs, and time required. These plans are developed in detail toprovide the Board with realistic and clear detail to enable it to make the correctdecisions. General Manager, Dave Wareing, reflected on the recent training he’dhad at the Community Association Managers Training in Bellevue. One of the firstthings they said was that communities are responsible for funding the level of serviceand lifestyle that they want to enjoy. We have a problem here, in that the values thatsuccessive boards have had are not consistent with the voting majority – at least whenit came to getting something passed. A good example of that is Density Reduction.He feels that Density Reduction continues to bleed this Association, when it doesn’thave any blood to lose. Density Reduction was a necessity, but it has cost us theloss of $800,000-$1,000,000/year, yet we have nearly $2,000,000 in the fund. Mr.Wareing assured all that not only do we not have the money we need to get all thethings done that need to get done, but we do not have the enough money to take careof those things that must be done now. As an example, we need between $100,000- $150,000 just to get some things done that are sorely needed to the golf course. Weare expected to do some work on the Lake Louise Dam, and he believes thatnecessary work could cost as much a $50,000-$60,000. We have all this money thatwe can’t touch, and pitiful amounts of money available to deal with our buildings.The work that we did downstairs in the Barn - the gym and all the thing we addeddownstairs - according to the Building Association of Whatcom County, added some$700,000-$800,000 worth of value. This building is used all of the time. Morepeople use this facility than any other – it is used all the time. It provides good value.In contrast, the GM and Mike Banacek have looked at the damages to the BathHouse. Mike has photos that show all the things that are rotten. The building wasbadly designed. The Rotunda and Clubhouse are poorly designed. The work wasdone cheaply, and fast. Sudden Valley has never had the quality of people workingfor it that it has now. We have the ability to fix things right, do a good job. Thingsthat are being done now are being done properly to last a long time. PresidentCasey asked what can we do now; what will it take; how long will it take; and whatwill it cost, so that the Board can make informed decisions on what to do first. Wehaven’t seen this – haven’t seen anything about Lake Louise Dam, for instance.

WORK SESSION MINUTESMay 11, 2010 7There may be a lot of things that the Board is not privy to, but we are asking what canwe afford to do now to fix the appearance with the resources we have? There are acouple of safety issues, such as the park at the community playground that will justtake little attention - pressure washing or a coat of paint. There are bigger items, too,but until we get those items presented to us as a Board, then we are helpless toaccomplish it. Things need to be brought to the Board, like what do we need to donow, what is the problem, the solution; what is the alternative? We need a plan.President Casey requested the GM to bring forth some of the things that werediscussed with respect to deferred maintenance and come up with solutions on what itwould take to get some of these tasks done – i.e., in the near term, a little farther out,or in the long term. The GM committed to getting this information to the Board inthe next 30 days. Golf Manager, Jeff McMahon reported, re golf maintenance, thathe had been in touch with 9 of the 11 18-hole golf courses in our area with regard tostaffing levels. The high end was around 19 and the low is 9 – Sudden Valley beingthe lowest. Average number, during a season, is around 13. Jeff reiterated his thatwe need to separate ourselves from our competitors by the quality of our product. Ittakes, among other things, a drier surface to play on, more staff/crew to maintain thatproduct, and more efficient equipment. A lot of things are tied into each other.Brian Newman, Course Manager, added that this is the lowest level of maintenancethat we’ve had since he’s been the course manager. Seasonally, we’ve been at 11,12 or 14, but this year we are only 9, according to the Spending Plan. They simplycannot take care of everything, and people pay a lot of money to play here. We needsomething like 15-18, instead of 9. Per Jeff, there isn’t another golf course in the areathat provides what Sudden Valley provides to its annual members and dailycustomers. There is nothing else offering the services that we provide and he feelswe do an exceptional job keeping that service level and expectation as high as it is.President Casey and Vice President Audley concurred and expressed theirappreciation for all the hard work under the circumstances, thanking them for theeffort they have made. President Casey thanked everyone for their cooperation andparticipation in attending this meeting.Upon motion duly made, seconded and unanimously approved, the meeting moved to ClosedSession at 8:40 p.m. to discuss a personnel matter. No action was taken. The meetingreturned to Open Session at 9:02 p.m.There being no further business the meeting was adjourned at 9:06 p.m.Board Approved___________________________Date_________________________