Minutes, March 21, 2023
Minutes from the March 21, 2023 Clarksville CDC Monthly Meeting
The meeting took place at the Haskell House.
Board Members Present: BJ Friedman, Malcom Greenstein (via Zoom,) Paula Hern, Kim O’Brien, Mary Reed, Thomas Schiefer
1. On a motion by Paula, seconded by BJ, the minutes from the January 17, 2023 monthly board meeting were approved with the correction that the roofing price quoted included gutters and downspouts. (Note: the Board did not meet in February.)
2. Brad Prak, Prak Property Management, was on a well-deserved vacation. In his absence, BJ presented the monthly financial reports. The big news was the receipt of an anonymous $50,000 donation. Driveway and sidewalk repairs were done at 1729 W. 11th, using the remaining OWANA funds. Other repairs included siding repair at 1807 W. 11th and stair replacement at 1729B W. 11th.
The minutes from the March 16, 2023 Finance and Operations Committee meeting appear at the end of these minutes. Since the Board did not meet in February, the minutes from the February 16, 2023 Finance and Operations Committee meeting are also at the end of these minutes.
3. Monthly property reports.
a. CCDC properties managed by Prak Property Management. Brad submitted the following report: A new family has moved in into 1720B W. 11th. We expect 1011B Charlotte to be vacant in the coming months (current tenant is moving to a Habitat for Humanity home.) A tenant is lined up to occupy 1611 W. 10th when it is complete. The City is doing their RHDA review on 1817B W. 10th. A new 6-month lease renewal, with an accompanying increase in rent, has been issued for the Neighborhood Center.
b. New construction at 1611 W. 10th Street. Kim submitted the following report: The following work occurred in February 2023: Showers grouted, retaining wall construction begun; flooring installation begun; door knobs installed. This past week was AYW Spring Break so they were off. AYW is on schedule to finish the majority of the interior work this month. Exterior work is another story. After myriad problems and multiple delays with our previous concrete subcontractor, we’ve cut ties and are now securing bids for another. Until this work is done (driveway, front steps, and porch) remaining interior and exterior work (primarily landscaping) cannot be completed. Once we have a sub in place, we will be able to predict the completion date. Brad already has a tenant lined up. Regarding the previous concrete subcontractor, he was paid in advance for permits and some materials. We are pursuing avenues to recoup this money.
c. Renovation projects funded by OWANA funds. With the repairs to the driveway and sidewalks at 1729 W. 11th Street, the funds have been expended on major property repairs.
4. On a motion by Paula, seconded by Thomas, the 2022 Audited Financial Statement was approved. The audit contained only 1 minor finding: the security deposits cash account is $588 less than the balance of money owed.
5. Kim reported that a newsletter, containing the Notice of the Annual Meeting, along with information on upcoming board elections and membership information has been delivered to every house in the CCDC boundaries and to Sweet Home. Rather than the previous multiple flyers, information was consolidated into a 2-sided newsletter which also included articles about the new house at 1611 W. 10th and the Haskell House reopening as a museum, along with photographs.
Kim reminded the board that 4 board positions are up for election in April—the positions currently held by Aubrey Carter, BJ Friedman, Thomas Schiefer, and Gregory Tran. The deadline for getting on the ballot is March 28. Absentee balloting will begin April 7 (approximate.) All voting will be online.
The Annual Meeting will take place April 18, 2023, at 6:30 p.m. at the Haskell House. The April Monthly Meeting will begin up on adjournment.
6. Kim gave the following report on CCDC’s successful Amplify Austin campaign, held March 1-2, 2023: We raised $9,122, reaching 91% of our goal. We had 54 unique donors, with donations ranging from $25 to $1000. All but 10 donors chose to cover the associated donation fees. Those fees, $132, have been subtracted from our total, leaving us with $8,990. In past years, Amplify has used “Amplify Fund” donations to reimburse organizations for these. No word if that will happen this year.
Matches will be divvied up by the end of next month. Two of our matches—$10,000 from the Shields-Ayers Foundation and $20,000 from Lee & Roger Kintzel—will be split with the 32 Housing, Shelter, & Homelessness organizations, based on how much money each raised. Kim does not anticipate these amounts to be significant. The remaining match, $25,000 from the Reissa Foundation, will be split evenly between a smaller group of housing organizations. We’ve been told we’ll receive “around $1,500.” When this happens, this will put us over our goal.
Here is where we stood on the various Amplify Austin leaderboards:
· We ranked #14 of the 32 Housing, Shelter, Homelessness organizations. The first 13 organizations were “large-sized” nonprofits (budgets more than $500,000.)
· We ranked #45 of 189 of “medium-sized “nonprofits (budgets $100,000-$500,000.)
· We ranked #196 of 701 participating organizations.
7. The inaugural “Clarksville Conversations: Sundays at the Haskell House” event--Jessica Gilzow, Austin Parks & Recreation, “Planting a Pollinator Garden”—will take place on Sunday, March 26, 2-3 p.m.
“Clarksville Conversations: Sundays at the Haskell House” is a new speaker series sponsored by the CCDC, in conjunction with the Parks & Recreation Department and the City of Austin. It will take place quarterly, coinciding with when the Haskell House Museum is open to visitors. (2nd & 4th Sundays of each month, January-November.) Conversations will run the gamut, but our focus will be on topics which link to the history and legacy of the original Clarksville community and its descendants, the Haskell House Community Garden, and current issues of interest to our neighborhood and neighbors.
The next Clarksville Conversation is scheduled for Sunday, June 25, with State Representative Gina Hinojosa giving a wrap-up of the current Legislative Session.
8. The Ice Cream Social will be held on Sunday, April 30, 1-3 p.m. at the Haskell House. As in years past, there will be an ice cream-making competition. Store-bought ice cream will also be served.
9. Mary reported that work on the new and improved CCDC website is progressing. We hope to have it up by end of April
10. Mary shared plans for a renovation and additional new construction at 1812 West 11th (incorrect address was on the agenda.) The owners intend to move the contributing home toward the street and construct a new home at the back of the property, and would like the CCDC’s support when they go before the Historic Landmark Commission. Board members had questions as to how the contributing structure will be used, expressing concerns about having another short-term rental in the neighborhood. Mary will contact the owners for additional information. When that information is available, the board will take an electronic vote on whether to support or not.
11. Under Other Business, Kim shared a Texas Historical Commission tourism brochure on African-American heritage sites, which includes a write-up on Clarksville and a picture of Sweet Home. The brochure will be available at the Haskell House.
12. The Board did not meet in Executive Session.
Minutes From F & O Committee Meeting on February 16th, 2023
1. BJ Friedman reviewed January’s financials, but said she had not had time to study them in detail. Mary had not either.
2. BJ reported that the audit was moving along and so far, the process has been much easier than when we worked with our previous auditor.
3. Mary said that given delays associated with pouring concrete for the driveway and steps at 1611, completion has been pushed back another month. Kim now anticipates that all interior work will be done by March but the exterior work won’t be finished until April.
She also reported that a short driveway and stairs were concreted at 1729B West 11th using some of the remaining OWANA funds. We were going to use the money to address the staircase issue at 1708 West 10th, but the tenant at 1729B broke her leg and will be using crutches for some time so concreting the driveway and stairs became a priority from a safety perspective. Mary is waiting to find out how much OWANA money remains.
4. Mary shared with the committee members a document she had prepared, and that Brad reviewed for accuracy. It details the repairs that need to be done at each of our properties and the estimated cost for each repair, when known. There are a number of significant repairs for which we don’t have prices thus far. Also, she noted that Brad pointed out that some of the repairs for which we have estimates may turn out to be more expensive because you never know when working on old structures what new problems may be discovered once work begins. Brad continues to believe that the CCDC needs at least $300,000 for repairs and would like for the organization to have an additional $200,000 in its bank account for future needs and to stabilize the CCDC financially.
5. Mary reported that Kim has done a lot of work to get the CCDC ready for its participation in Amplify Austin’s “I live Here, I Give Here” campaign. For example, we now have wonderful testimonials from current and past tenants and Kim and her son Jake created a video that features some of our tenants. An email will be going out to people Kim has dubbed “Big Friends” asking them to donate early to the CCDC in order to help us secure some of the matches we are eligible for. Also, Kim will be putting “I live Here, I Give Here” yard signs with a donation QR code in front of the Center, the Haskell House, on West Lynn and at another location. Board members will be asked to spread the word via email and social media. Kim will provide them with the information they need to do so.
6. Finally, Mary indicated that progress is being made on the design on a new website for the CCDC. It will be much less history-focused and will focus instead on what the CCDC does and will provide numerous opportunities for people to support us financially. The website colors will be vibrant and the design will be engaging and dynamic.
Minutes From F & O Committee Meeting on March 16th, 2023
1. BJ Friedman reported that there was nothing of note in the February financials other than the fact that the CCDC had received a $50,000 donation.
2. BJ reported that the audit was complete, but she had not had an opportunity to review all of the audit documents yet.
3. Mary said that the concrete company that was supposed to pour the driveway and front steps at 1611 West 10th was MIA and so we were getting bids from other concrete companies. Meanwhile, work on the inside of the house is moving forward and should be completed by the end of the month. The countertops are in town, but can't be installed until there are steps &/or a driveway. Also, before Ashley Rodriguez left for Spring break, she told Kim that she'd received an email from someone regarding the owner of the non-performing concrete company—probably the licensing or bonding people--but Ashley didn't forward it to her before she left town. Kim should know more by Tuesday.
Mary also reported that all of the OWANA money has been used up.
4. Mary told the committee members that because it had been so difficult to find a Sunday when all of the board could meet to discuss where the repair money the CCDC needs will come from, she’s recommending that they keep the May board meeting agenda as short as possible and spend most of their meeting time in Executive Session discussing options.
5. Mary reported that Kim told her that the CCDC had received $9,122 in donations as a result of the Amplify campaign. Most donation-related fees were covered by donors, but not all so we netted $8,990.52 (and this money has been transferred to us). Kim also said that we won’t know what match funds we will receive until late April, but we've been told we'll be getting about" $1200 from the Reissa Foundation. We will receive money from two other matches as well, but the amounts probably won’t be much because they're divided proportionately among all the Housing, Shelter, Homelessness non-profits and most of the money will go to the big boys.
6. Progress on the new website continues Mary stated. Her goal is to send all of the new and revised copy plus links and photos to the web designer the following week. Right now, Kim is reviewing everything Mary has prepared.