Penn Lake Association Board & Officers Meeting

Date: 1/16/2010

Time: 10am – 12pm

Location: Barb Fisher’s house

In Attendance :
Greg Robinson
Barb Fisher
Jill Rosenstock
Joe Schwab
Ellie Schwab
Dan Cronauer
John Burden
Paul Rogan
Mike Naab
Joe Van Name – called in

Summary:

·  First draft budget for 2010 was done

·  Reviewed votes for Income Generation / Expense Reduction ideas

·  Set February 20 as tentative date for next Board meeting. Goal for next meeting is to finalize Budget numbers and create plans to achieve those numbers

Details:
Joe Van Name via phone for part of the meeting .
* Welcome and Thanks to Barb for hosting this meeting

Greg announced that Tom Cater has joined Association Board but could not make it today. Greg will add him to email distribution list
* Today's meeting will be about budgeting .Also the recent polls on Income Generation and Expense Reduction.
* Report of Audit Committee chair passed out for review .
* Income Generation Ideas distributed and reviewed for most popular ideas. (Graphs & Raw Data below). Raise dues in small regular increments was highest voted idea. Penn Lake Apparel & Accessories and Focus on money making activities were tied for second


* Expense Reduction ideas distributed and reviewed for most popular ideas (Graphs & Raw Data below). Four ideas were tied for expense reduction: Appeal Taxes, Better Insurance Efficiencies, Budget Meeting, Sharing costs with Borough
* Discussion on appealing taxes . Paul suggested we pursue tax reduction through appeals. Jill to get more information to Paul about this process.
* Called Joe Van Name via speakerphone to discuss Audit Committee Report and the findings .
Observations from Joe:
- Budgeting purposes . Watch how we reimburse for expenses. Need to document costs so we can measure the effectiveness of each event. We see net profits on some events , but we don't know some of the details. So if someone comes up to us after the breakfast and gives us $2 for eggs, we should write it down on a tally sheet. Need better documentation for a more complete picture. We should also consider what events to drop or reduce based on profitability. Keep tally sheet with the cash box and give to Betty & Joe Van Name.
- Landscaping costs are one of the higher expenses. $2063 spent on Paragan Lawn Maintenance in the 2009 calendar year.
- Lake Restoration has a small negative balance.
- Need better documentation of tax identification number .
Other recommendations:
- Set aside monies for long term projects or emergencies . IE Roof funds / Building Fund. We should prepare for the day when we will need to do major repairs on the Community Building. Joe suggested setting aside 10 – 20% of the profits from each activity for longer term items.
- should only plan for and budget for profitable events .
An example would be the Pancake Breakfast ....if we are netting only $100 , then this is telling us that we probably need to raise the ticket price.
We need to continue to look at total cost in order to know how much to charge for breakfast etc.
THE BUDGET :
* Dues question . What would happen if nobody paid their dues?
Led to a discussion of dues , fundraising , historical spending and the need to isolate certain accounts in the budget and fund them solely from Association Dues and Rental Income .

Mike proposed that dues should only go towards grounds maintenance, the Community Building, and cost to run the building. People are not clear on what dues being used for. Ellie said mission statement needs to be clear and communicated more.


It was recommended by John Burden that weshould consider "renaming " the Association Dues . The new name should make it more clear that these monies are spent on a specific need, like common area upkeep . As an example ... " Penn Lake Maintenance Fee ".
( We should also consider making the letter an " invoice " versus a request for " dues " which do not define their use .
In that way we are not doing fundraising to take care of the basics like lawn care . The basics should be paid out of dues which should be the responsibility of all lake residents . This should be communicated in future letters and any activity that results in dues generation.
- 2008-2009 Financial recap prepared by Greg was handed out . We reviewed the income and spending by category and then built a simple budget for the upcoming year .
( Greg to pay the Borough $1 as part of our lease agreement for the Community Building. Need this recorded) .
Building and Grounds should be the first priority as regards setting the next budget . Determine the total cost of the basics , then project income .
Then set the dues based on what is needed to cover those basic expenses (e.g., lawn maintenance, insurance & taxes, Community Building).
Paul will draft a letter with the appropriate language to better explain to Penn Lake residents what the dues or fees are for. He will send to Greg for distribution for all to review.
Reviewed last year DUES . The Association took in $6150 from123 members. Thanks to Rod & Gun club, new members joined. Average membership is between 120 – 130 per year. Need to increase membership this year to cover expenses.
Need to also trim the expenses, therefore getting closer to breakeven .
*The first estimation of the gap between income ( dues / rentals ) and expenses of the basics ( utilities / maintenance / repairs / Insurance / taxes ) was $2425. Income was not enough to cover the expenses last year by $2425. Sand was a large expense, activities expense went up.
Increasing membership to 150 members and raising the dues ( or the maintenance fee ) to $60 may get it done ( close the gap ).
Budgeting for Expenses ($14300):
- Team expects Utilities will be going up, so we need to bump that up by approximately 20%.

Utilities expense for 2010 - budgeting $3100
- Maintenance and repairs expenses for 2010. Budget is the same ....stay at $3000

- Landscaping is included in the Maintenance & Repair category. This should be going down if we reduce the number of cuts. Greg suggested breaking down Maint & Repairs into sub categories.
- Insurance and taxes ..This is a concern, could go as high as 6k due to school taxes. Budgeting $6000 for 2010
- Activities expense . Need to buy better . Lower the budget slightly. Budgeting $2200 for 2010
- Capital Projects ...We don't see any major projects for the upcoming year.
- Not a budget concern for the immediate future , butwe need to estimate the cost of getting the Pagoda right . This is a separate discussion. And it is a Community issue. It is considered a borough issue as soon as you get involved with the water. Let's wait for this Comprehensive Plan for the Lake / Grant (borough).
- Lake Restoration. This is the Fish Fund . This may be continued with the Rod and Gun Club.


Budgeting for Income ($14000)

- 150 members at $60 = $9000

- Rental Income for 2010, budgeting $1700
- Activities for 2010, budgeting $3300
( Note to all : Need Small Games of Chance permit / license ...$50 so we can continue with our various activities ) .
- The Community Center porch and other parts of the building are in some need of repair ....other
" needs", like the porch , should be submitted to Jill so they could be include in any grant work. Association can become eligible for grants for example, if we made the basement of the Community Center available to store the borough records there. Jill will keep us updated.
-Many suggestions were made to drive up membership and lower costs on the basics :

IDEAS :
- reduce landscaping( # of cuts )
- increase membership( set a goal of 150 )
- increase dues ( small increments)
- multiple mailings ( one is not enough )
- door to door campaigning .
- face to face at every possible event .
- more signage for raising awareness.
- lawn signage
- Welcome weekend
- Penn Lake Pride Day
* There was a Discussion and recommendations to change the Fiscal Calendar .
* New Attorney for White Haven Borough and Association can steer us to get additional monies ( ie Grant for Community Center ).
Action Items and Next Steps
Paul writes a draft letter .Send to Greg .
Barb get small games of chance permit.
Follow up letter to Dues mailing .
Ellie will look into signage .
Jill ...storage space / grant .
Jill ...send list of repairs you may think are needed at the Community Center .

Jill to get Paul more information on Appealing taxes

Keep Tally Sheet at all events for recording additional cash exchange for items (to record any additional income/expenses)
Greg to Pay the Borough $1 as part of our lease agreement. Get it recorded.


Meeting in February is a must. Tentative Date: Feb 20

Voting Data – Income Generation / Expense Reduction

Impact
Income generating
More donations / xx
Charge non members to participate in events / xxx
Hold more breakfasts / x
Night at the Races (schedule two) / xxx
Raise the dues. Small regular increases. / xxxxxx
Make money on golf outing. / x
Committee approach to activities (each activity has a lead & committee) / xx
Penn Lake Fair Day
Penn Lake Apparrel and Accessories. / xxxx
Hold a Silent Auction / xxx
Get Donation food & supplies for breakfasts / xx
Charge for Website Advertising
Increase rental fees for Community Bldg / x
Increase rental cost to the Borough / x
Get more Community Building rentals
Better Ads for Breakfasts / x
Better advertising overall / xxx
Get more volunteers
Make Dues MANDATORY / xx
Planning around other group's calandars and Community's Calendars (Mtn Top, Bear Creek, White Haven)
Focus on profitable / money making activities / xxxx
Expense Reduction
Combine events (swim lessons and beach club ) / xxxx
Appeal taxes / xxxxx
Review landscaping expense / xxxx
Owner pays the freight ...ie Front entrance / xx
Insulation for Community Center / storm windows
Look for better insurance costs / efficiencies / xxxxx
Budget meeting and preparring for expenses . / xxxxx
Planning around other group's calandars and Community's Calendars (Mtn Top, Bear Creek, White Haven) / x
Negotiating fees down / x
Shop for better vendors / xx
Change frequency of lawn cuttings and other repetitive activities / xxxx
Sharing costs (e.g., with Borough .) / xxxxx
Plan for major future expenses / x