Board Minutes 06-04-2022

Cinosam Club Minutes June 4, 2022

  1. Meeting called to order at 9:04AM by Vice-President Mark McDonald.

Attended by Board Members:  Heather Thompson, Tricia Kane, Blair McKibbon, John Klauck, Kathy Becker, Ed Koehler, Mary Jo Ohlin 

Board Members not in Attendance:

Tim Vescio, Liz Becher, Kelly Spratt, Marc Kmecik, Tom Froyum

A quorum was confirmed

  1. Minutes:  

Minutes from the May 7, 2022 Board Meeting were read by Heather Thompson. Motion to approve was made by Ed Koehler and seconded by Tricia Kane. Motion carried.

  1. Treasurer’s Report: Mark McDonald reviewed the 2022 Operating Budget 

YTD Actual to Budget Financial report through June 2022. Revenue is favorable to budget; YTD actual $28,860. – budget is $29,400. Expenses are favorable to budget; YTD actual $20,524.79 – budget is $34,084. Checking balance is $41,954.79

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Motion to approve 2022 Operating Budget YTD Actual to Budget Financial report   

made by Heather Thompson and seconded by Tricia Kane. Motion carried.

Tom Schreier presented a receipt for reimbursement of dock materials for his slip. Heather will give the receipt to Liz for processing. 

  1. New Business 
  • Association software vendor: Liz Becher had a virtual meeting with the association software vendor, Growth Zone. A list of the pros and cons of what services they can support (from her perspective), including  costs, was presented: 

Pro’s: 

– This software would manage our “Cinosam Spreadsheet” online. Each member can create their own login to update their account as needed or pay invoices. 

– Dues can be invoiced automatically via email and paid online. 

– Dues can be itemized (regular, boat slip, canoe rack, boat slip startup, wait list sign up, etc) and all paid at once. 

– Integration with our website which can also help manage our events like 4th of July, Oktoberfest, and meetings (this is free). 

– Create email lists such as for a volunteer group or beach clean up group. 

– Do mass emails…I’m thinking for ballots or other info that needs to go out.

– The monthly fee seems reasonable at $249/mo ($2988/yr)

Con’s: 

– There are start-up fees. $1,000 to manage our data migration and import using our spreadsheet data to create accounts. Another $1,500 for “training main users” how to use the system. 

– There is a fee to pay online. It’s 2.99% of the total payment plus $0.45. So $3.50 for $100 dues. A little over $18 for boat slip members. 

– There will still be people who don’t want to pay online and mail a check. Or who don’t have email. 

They could fully manage our website and make a new one. That would be $149/mo. They said they would work with us if pricing was an issue since they are based out of Brainerd and we are so close. 

The Board discussed the information. There were questions related to training fees and how this would apply when users transition. The current pain points include the many hours of work required by the Treasurer and Secretary positions, primarily. The current Cinosam Club website is not secure. The cost of the CinosamClub.org platform and software is $15o./annually; currently being paid by Julie Carroll – who also manages all the postings on the site.  Also, the need to ensure that whatever is put in place is not tied to an individual’s knowledge or expertise, i.e., is enduring for future users/ administrators. The consensus was to explore other options.

Blair shared that this is something he could assist with; it is right in line with his vocation.  He will start exploring coordination with software vendors and will bring information back to the Board.

  • Election planning: 

The Board discussed election planning  and the need to start early 

  • Upcoming Board Member seat vacancies:
    • Three Board positions: Marc, Tom, and Ed’s  terms expire this year 
    • Four Officer Positions 
  • The Bylaws reflect that public solicitation of candidates should be posted by the first Sunday of June. (June 5th, 2022)
    • Notification to Board of intent to run should occur no later than July 5th Heather will post on Facebook. Julie posted this on CinosamClub.org
  • Marc, Tom and Ed confirmed their desire to run again 
  • Ken Kunze and Sylvie Letts have submitted their intent to run for a vacant Board position
  • Tim will run for President, Mark will run for Vice-President, Liz will run for Treasurer, and Heather will run for Secretary
  • Annual Nonprofit filing: Mark McDonald will confirm whether the Annual Nonprofit filing with State/Crow Wing County was processed. 
  • Paine Avenue Road maintenance: Tricia shared that maintenance on Paine will occur in mid-June. It was noted that other streets are also in process. Main Cinosam Road is scheduled to be resurfaced in 2026.
    • The issue of road degradation/rutting and potential mitigation efforts was discussed, including:
      • H20 from sprinkling systems should be directed away from the road. 
      • Multiple trash haulers contribute to road issues.
        • An idea of reducing the number of trash haulers traversing the community was raised, ie, selecting two options for the Cinosam community to choose from. It was noted that this would need to be brought to the general membership for voting. Verna Thompson obtained pricing from Waste Partners.  
  • Grill in Gull Lake Park: Thanks to the Klaucks for championing the purchase of a grill for the park and to those that put it together. Blair will secure it to a tree near the picnic tables. It is available to be used by any Club members; they will need to bring their own propane tank.
  • Fence staining: There is extra stain available for the Gull Lake Park fence. Blair and his family will work on re-staining it.
  • July 4th Festivities
    • First Annual Cinosam FunRun  – July 4th 
      • Joey presented information on this new event, for Misty Nielson. 
      • This is a walk, run, or bike event
      • 5K – July 4th from 9-10
      • Signs will be posted
    • Parade at 11 followed by potluck
      • Signs are in the shed; Heather will post them
  1. Committee Reports 
  • Boat Committee/Boat Slips  
    • The Boat Committee has not met this year, yet. 
    • Boat Slip List: a request was made for all Board members to have a listing of contact information for each boat owner and their assigned slips. This would be helpful in the event of an emergency. Heather drafted a template last year.  She will complete the template and pass it on to the Board so it can be populated with this information. 
    • Boat Slip Waiting List
      • There are currently 37 names on the List. 6 of those individuals have boat slips on Round lake. 1 was added since the May meeting. 
    • An additional canoe/kayak rack for Round Lake. The purchase price was $1200.  
    • It was noted that after this season, Trevor will no longer manage the docks and boat lifts for Round Lake. He will assist in finding a replacement. A breakout of the current cost for this service for Round Lake will be needed as we look to choose a new vendor. Verna Thompson has a potential candidate that she will contact. 
    • Blair inquired about the regulations regarding the number of boat slips/distance docks can extend into the water; whether more slips could be added.
      • It was shared that this has been researched before. The regulatory language found at that time, was that a dock may not be a “navigational hazard”. It was noted that this is vague and not well-defined.
      • Discussion included needing room for storage of lifts during the off-season; room for land and water access at Outlots 2-4; layout of dock/slip logistics; and concern for the aesthetics of adding more docks/slips – distracting from the view of the lake. 
      • Blair volunteered to do research on this and bring his findings back to the Board for discussion. 
  • Parks/Maintenance
  • Boots
    • Plans to place wood steps over the currently degrading concrete steps; he reported that he will plan to have the new boardwalk from the end of the steps to the swimming dock in by the 4th
    • Noted that the oak tree on the south side of the park may need to be removed. He will watch it for now.
  • Mary Jo shared that Tom Ohlin is willing to build a partial surround for the portable latrine. Boots noted that he could help. Motion made to approve this made by Ed Koehler and seconded by Heather Thompson. Motion carried. 
  • Gull Lake Park light is out; Mark will lower it for easier access, and repair it
  • Gull Lake Park pump: Mark will prime it
  • Verna Thompson asked for help hanging the “No Dogs Off Leash” signs; Ed volunteered to help her. 
  • Volunteer List
  • Blair and Shae worked to get an updated list of volunteers and their contact information and created a new List on Google Sheets
    • It was noted that we may need a better way to manage this
  1. Old Business
  • Research need for, and prices of an umbrella policy for liability insurance – it was not known if this is still pending; will keep as old business for now. 
  1. Next Meeting July 2nd, 2022 
  • 2022 Meeting Dates
  • August 6 Annual Meeting, September 3
  1. Adjournment 

Motion for adjournment made Kathy Becker and seconded by Tricia Kane. Meeting adjourned at 10:00AM.

Respectfully Submitted by Heather Caulley