ACBL Unit 503 Minutes, Tuesday, March1, 2011
Present were Board members Susan Griswold, Mike Atherton, Bev Nuding, Valerie Baldwin, Steve Barasch, Susan Barkley, Keith Burnett, David Crisley, John Mattis, and Allen Wolman. Lu Isaac was absent. Dave Bernstein, Lori Spaeth, Alan Templeton and Eleanor Tanck also attended.
Update on the New Bridge Center
Mike Atherton reported that with only six months left, he has waited one month for the lease to be signed. On February 4 he called the agent and he was assured we would get the lease by email soon. On February 18, he and Alan Cummings walked in on the landlord’s agent unannounced and were told that communication with the Dymond estate heirs has been difficult. The agent said that all material would be sent to us by the next Wednesday. Each question seems to take about 1 month for a response. We are dealing with a business manager who has no authority to make decisions. Our contractor raised additional concerns about uniform building code 2010 compliance. For instance, the entrance walkway would have to be brought up to code. We called architect Steve Krong and he is setting up a meeting Thursday or Friday with the building department. During this delay we are getting additional information on our cost estimates.
Alan Templeton noted that there were additional cost estimates at $136,000., up from $95,000. John Mattis commented there there were a number of items included in the quote that do not reflect what we will do. The proposal was shown to a 2nd contractor last week and we expect a bid from him tomorrrow. At this point it is estimated that it would take 2 -3 months for permits and 1 month for construction. We estimate 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 months needed from signing of the lease until moving in.
Other options are: 1) move to the Lutheran church which has a very poor bathroom situation. 2) the property on Wyandotte which has inefficient parking at present and needs reconfiguration or possibly a parking lot put in next door, or 3) stay put in the current bulding on a month to month basis.
February Minutes were approved
Raising Funds We have raised $2000 per month net cash from a $2 per table increase since July 2009 for a total of $27,000. With a table increase to $9.00 the current estimate is that the Bridge Center would bring in $5000 per year and the Unit would bring in an additional $5000 per year. The majority of directors are opposed to raising table fees. Alan Templeton stated that we needed projections of income coming in this year. Sue asked if we should try to raise funds separately to defray moving costs in 3 1/2 years. Dave Bernstein noted that the dollar amount needed is not large compared to the possibility of member contributions. If you raise money as a war chest you can delay raising table costs. It should be broached in such a way that it is not an obligation to donate. In 2001-2 needed funds were raised by auction and member(s) offering a no interest loan. Member donations did not produce a large sum. The board approved a motion to get a committee together to explore different methods of funding the Bridge Center move. Sue will take this on – Dave Bernstein will participate and Betsy Steele will be approached.
Addition to the Agenda Alan Templeton discussed having a food drive at the Firecracker Tournament to help Second Harvest. Food or cash would be accepted. Pete Klebofski and Alan Cummings would do the whole thing. The board approved.
Kibitzer Report Eleanor Tanck said we will have 6 pages next month. The annual membership meeting is March 13. The secretary should be contacted by email or phone (with notice in writing) if anyone wants to put something on the agenda. If nothing is submitted, the President will announce that there is nothing on the agenda. April is ACBL Charity Month. The Ace of Clubs and Mini McKinney Awards for the year will be announced. Flyers have just been put up for the Monday 199 Swiss and for the March 13 Swiss Teams. John Mattis suggested that copies of old Kibitzers should be available at the Firecracker tournament.
Treasurer’s Report Bev Nuding reported that we had income for February of $11,665.49. Total expenses were $6,750.00 with a net income of $4,914.00. The bigget expense was the dealing machine ($4,461.00). John Mattis commented that we need a balance sheet. Board members will get PDF with balance sheet.
Bridge Center Manager John Mattis reported that we have a new computer and dealing machine. Anti viral software has not yet been loaded and links are not yet up between the new machine and the main one. Regarding the $3000 commercial dishwasher to be funded by a member: the water used is 1.7 gallons vs. 5.5 gallons and the time per use is 2 minutes vs. 2 hours.
Tournaments Allan Wolman and David Crosley reported on the District Rep meeting. Both Monterey and Santa Clara are growing tournements. There will be free parking at Santa Clara this year. Evening games will start at 7:00 not 7:30. Parking at the SF Marriott for the 2012 National will be $55 per day. There was a discussion of master points being awarded for playing with robot on line which is very popular. The reason for allowing points is to bring in lots of younger players. There will be a number of Regionals and Sectionals at sea. At the President’s Day and Monterey tournaments they have initiated gold points for a 0 – 750 pairs event.
The meeting was adjourned at 5:14 p.m.
Susan Barkley
Secretary