Board Minutes June 6, 2011
In attendance were board members Mike Atherton, Valerie Baldwin, Steve Barasch. Sue Barkley, Keith Burnett, David Crosley, Sue Griswold, Lu Isaacs, John Mattis and Bev Nuding. Also attending were Duane Coleman, Alan Cummings, Marian Kelly, Lori Spaeth and Alan Templeton.
New Building Mike said there is a permit hearing scheduled for June 22. The city is using the opportunity to look at other situations with IFES. Mike will probably meet with neighbors and property owners on June 15. They are concerned about the traffic between our Saturday afternoon game and the IFES events which follow. Another problem is parking. Once a month on Wednesday there is a SIRS luncheon with people arriving as early as 11:00 and departing at 1:30. We could probably move our game up 1/2 hour. The bulding permit is approved for the present use. Adding us as tenants gives neighbors the opportunity to ask for a variance.
Duane said the contractors met Tuesday. Joe Bettencourt of IFES felt the bids had come in $100k too high. Duane’s contractors left, telling Joe that dollar difference was not acceptable. There are 3 areas in question: 1) There are 3 old air conditioning units which the AC contractors said should be replaced with new units which will have lower amps. New air ducts are needed to set the building into zones. 3 air handlers in the attic were installed without safety pans and outside drains. 2) There are handicap entry problems. We will supply some help pouring concrete, etc. IFES had a $250k budget and will have to go back to the board for more. They are paying for most of the improvements. We will pay for the carpeting 3) The electrical is the biggest problem. Duane requested that we approve an extra $5k for the electrical contractor to work weekends The existing lighting may need to be doubled and could possible cost $10k more. Work should begin Monday. John moved that we approve up to $5k and the board approved.
Sue commented that after this move we will no longer be in Palo Alto, so we may need to change the name from the Palo Alto Bridge Club. Accounts, signage etc. will need to be changed. The board approved the name The Bridge Center of Mountain View.
Club Owner License Club owners need to sign new license agreements prior to moving to the new center. Alan Cummings said some provisions need serious review regarding the upcoming 20 year agreements. The directors will need to be notified to change addresses. David Crosley will undertake finding an attorney to look over these agreements. Alan Cummings will assist him
Alan Cummings reported that District 21 Awards donations to charitable orginizations are proposed by the units The amount awarded is $5k, usually in $1K lots. Requests are to be made by July 1 and awards are announced at the September Regional meeting. He put together a case for the Unit to request funds for the Second Harvest Food Bank. The board gave him the authority to draft the email and submit the rquest. Blackstone Directory contributed 60 posters to advertise the food drive at the Firecracker tournament. A thank you letter will be sent to John Kelly.
The May Board minutes were approved.
Treasurer’s Report Bev reported that the Unit 503 assets are $124,712 and the Education Fund assets are $3,216.97.
Kibitzer Marian reported that the next Kibitzer will be 6 pages. Steve requested 100 copies of the latest Kibitzer for the Firecracker tournament. David was praised for his excellent article in this month’s Kibitzer. Lori asked to have upcoming classes listed in the next Kibitzer.
Sue requested that the Unit President be allowed to approve up to $500 per incident for necessary expenditures for the Unit. The board approved.
Bridge Center Manager John will coordinate the address change on the ACBL website when we move. He will see if the Palo Alto and Mountain View listings can be linked on the ACBL website.
Wish list for new Bridge Center Lori brought a preliminary wish list of items for the new bridge center. It was suggested that we put high priority items in the Kibitzer, the Forum and the website with a request for donations Sue offered to work with Lori to formulate a sign up sheets for dollar donations.
Mentor Program Merle Orelove and Kathie Shaw are working on matching mentors and mentees They suggested that mentee’s points range between 50 and life master with occasional discretionary exceptions. The board generally agreed with this but felt that mentees with fewer than 50 master points referred by teachers or directors should be given mentors. The Diablo Valley Bridge Club has asked us and The Marin Bridge Club to join them in once a month lessons by major experts. The online lessons, using BridgeBase and Skype, could be done at the new center. The proposal will be discussed later.
The meeting was adjourned at 5:58
Respectfully submitted,
Susan Barkley, Secretary.