KIAWAH PROPERTY OWNERS GROUP, INC.
Meeting of the Board of Directors
September 12, 2007
MINUTES
A meeting of
the Kiawah Property Owners Group (KPOG) Board of Directors was
held at the Sandcastle on Kiawah Island at 9:00 AM, Wednesday,
September 12, 2007.
Present:
Vice President
Art Morgenstern called the meeting to order and took roll call.
Present were Vice President Art Morgenstern, Secretary Sandy
Williams, Treasurer, Ben Farabee, and Board Member Ron Ritchie.
President Diane Lehder attended the meeting via conference call.
Also present
were Barbara Winslow, TALK Editor, Data Base Manager, Kathy Heikes,
and guests Mr. and Mrs. Piet.
Absent:
Absent were
Board Members Katie Kotz, and Laurie Burpee.
Approval of
Minutes: The
minutes of the June 2007 Board Meeting were accepted as written.
Treasurer’s Report:
Treasurer Ben
Farabee reported that as of September 12, 2007, KPOG has $9,450.96
in its checking account, $54,991.74 in savings for a total of
$64,442.70. There is $104,469.02 in our CD.
Membership Report:
Data
Base Manager Kathy Heikes reported that we have 1,912 members.
Data Base:
Last year we discussed looking into other data bases to see if there
is one that would better serve our needs. Since the issue was not
resolved, Vice President Art Morgenstern raised the question of
hiring a consultant to look into what we have on our data base, to
see if something better might be available. It was decided that
first Data Base Manager Kathy Heikes should make a list of the
problems she is having with present data base, along with what
capabilities might be helpful to have in a data base, who should be
involved in this process, and possible costs. She will make a
proposal to the Board by the next meeting. Kelly Bragg and the
Jalberts (who have a business that works with data bases) are Island
people who might be able to help. Ben Farabee also made the
suggestion that we get several bids including those “off
Island.” If anyone who has possible suggestions of people who could
help, e-mail those names to Kathy.
OLD
BUSINESS
-
Directory:
Barbara Winslow
reported that all the Membership Directories have gone out. She
mailed those that go overseas yesterday. It cost over $13 to mail
each Directory to Europe. Barbara feels that in the future, property
owners that want their Directory shipped overseas should pay $30.00.
Another option would be for those who live overseas to pick up their
Directory when they come to Kiawah. Barbara also raised the question
as to where the extra books should be stored. There are
approximately 200 left. Both Kathy Heikes and Membership chair Katie
Kotz need some of the extras. President Diane Lehder said that she
would be willing to store the rest.
A question was
raised about the 5 directories ordered by the Conservancy. Earlier
in the year the Board had agreed that Directories would only be sold
to property owners and not to businesses. The Conservancy is a
business, but the Conservancy owns several properties on the island.
The Conservancy will receive the 5 Directories that they purchased
and will be reminded that the Directories are for personal and not
business use. KICA has also purchased 2 copies and has requested 2
more for Security. Ben Farabee will contact Shannon White at KICA to
let her know that KICA may purchase 2 additional copies. KPOG is no
longer giving out complementary copies of the Directory. Barbara
Winslow will have a debriefing on this year’s Directory and prepare
a document for the Board. She will also suggest that the next
Directory contain a paragraph at the beginning indicating that the
Directory is for personal and not business use.
The Board gave
Barbara a vote of thanks for stepping in and taking over the
completion of the Directory.
-
Directory
Sales:
Kathy Heikes still has 7
cases of 2005 Directories. The Board authorized her to contact the
recycling people to have them picked up and disposed of.
1,328
copies of the 2007 Directory have been sold bringing in about
$20,000 in sales. The Directory cost $23,000 for a net loss of
approximately $2,900.-
Insurance:
Treasurer Ben Farabee has received the policies.-
Safety & Security:
There continues
to be a drop in traffic coming through both gates, although the
counter at the V Gate was not always working.
Traffic
Counts:
|
Main Gate |
|
|
V Gate
|
|
|
>2006:
|
2007: |
|
2006:
|
2007:
|
| August |
187,529 |
182,811 |
|
115,075 |
102,846 |
However, the
number of incidents increased from 69 last August to 92 this year.
There were increases in speeding and traffic, noise complaints,
lost and found, and vehicle mechanical problems.
NEW BUSINESS
-
Web Site Renewal:
The contract for our domain name ($15.00) expires this week. The
cost of the hosting fee for the server is $175.00. Ben Farabee
made a motion to authorize payment of these two fees. Ron
Ritchie seconded the motion which was unanimously approved.
Art
Morgenstern said that we should have a list of Software/data
base services and a calendar of when they need to be paid, so we
know what is coming. Ben Farabee will compile this information.
-
Land
Acquisition
: KICA had a special meeting on Tuesday, August 21st
to answer questions on the proposal for off Island land
acquisition. KICA is holding a special membership meeting on
September 23rd to vote on this proposal.
-
Digest:
There is a concern that our KPOG meetings have not been posted
on the KICA Community Calendar. They were sent in to KICA and
Sandcastle by the Secretary Sandy Williams in June. Sandy has
resent the upcoming Board Meeting dates to both parties. She
also received a letter from Jessica Richardson, the Sandcastle
Community Events Administrator, apologizing for the oversight.
The Board also asked TALK editor Barbara Winslow to put the date
of the upcoming Board meeting in a special box in TALK.
-
Volunteer notices:
KPOG received a request from a property owner to put a special notice of
a meeting for volunteers to tutor school children from Johns
Island on the website. The Board decided that while they would
be happy to include an article about the meeting in TALK, that
due to cost, they would reserve the website for KPOG business.
-
Freedom of Information:
Vice President Art Morgenstern received an email from a member
that the Town is still not coming forth with needed information.
Is the fact that the Town posts its agenda at the Town Hall,
adequate and in compliance with FOI?
Art feels that there is still a
need in the area of communication between the Town and its
residents. He feels that we still need to get clarification on
what is required by FOI. President Diane Lehder will forward to
Art the information that she has (copy of Attorney General’s
opinion). The Board will leave the approved authorization for
Diane to contact an attorney if needed.
-
Nominating Committee:
The suggestion has been made
that KPOG set up the nominating committee sooner than last year,
so that the slate of officers can be given to members prior to
sending in their proxy cards. President Diane Lehder is willing
to chair the nominating committee since she is outgoing. Board
member Ron Ritchie will go back to the KPOG website to read
minutes of previous meetings in order to compile a list of past
KPOG Board Members who would be eligible to be on the nominating
committee. He will send the list out to all board members for
comments. They will send their comments to Diane, who can then
prioritize the names.
The by-laws committee is working
on revisions. They will have a report by the next meeting.
-
Dues:
Board member Ron Ritchie asked
if we should consider dropping the amount of KPOG dues as we
have quite a lot of money in reserves. Data Base Manager Kathy
Heikes is working on membership forms now for next year. They
would go to the printer by early November. Any change would have
to be made by the November meeting. Treasurer Ben Farabee, Vice
President Art Morgenstern, and Ron will look at our present
finances, what next year proposes, as well as what we might need
should there be any kind of a suit. They will make a
recommendation to the Board.
-
Guest comments: Data Base Manager Kathy Heikes stated that she has changed vendors for
obtaining the real estate transactions. She now uses Charleston
County.
ADJOURNMENT
Upon motion duly made and seconded,
the meeting was adjourned to
Executive Session at approximately 11:20 am.
Respectfully submitted,
Sandy Williams
Secretary
