Monthly Meeting Minutes, April 18, 2023

Minutes from the April 18, 2023 Clarksville CDC Monthly Meeting

The meeting was held outside the Haskell House.

Board members present: BJ Friedman, Paula Hern, Kim O’Brien, Mary Reed, Thomas Schiefer, Chris Thomas, and Gregory Tran.

Others present: Brad Prak, Prak Property Management (PPM)

1.     On a motion by BJ, seconded by Paula, the minutes from the March 21, 2023 monthly board meeting were approved with 2 corrections. Corrections have been made.

2.     Brad Prak, Prak Property Management, presented the monthly financial report. Roofing repairs were completed at 1720 W. 11th.  This is the last of the 4 roofs for which we made an insurance claim. (Repairs/replacements were made with the insurance payment supplemented by CCDC operating funds.) Brad reported that the annual 990 has been completed. The Board appreciated the Year-to-Date Profit & Loss statement that is now being shared.

Minutes from the April 13 Finance & Operations Committee meeting appear at the end of these minutes.

3.     Monthly property reports:

a.     Brad Prak, PPM, reported on CCDC properties. Tenants are all current. 1011 B Charlotte is currently vacant—tenant moved into a Habitat for Humanity home. In response to a question, Brad stated that we are open to taking tenants with housing authority vouchers, but no one has come in with one.

b.     Kim reported that interior work at 1611 W. 10th Street is 97% complete. The only remaining interior items are counter top installations, and final work on installing the water heater. These items will be completed as soon as the front steps are complete. The driveway work is being held up due to a permit issue. A new permit can’t be issued until the previous one has been withdrawn. This is in process, but no indication on how long this will take. We hope to have the driveway complete by the end of May. We are pursuing reimbursement from the previous concrete contractor through his insurance. American YouthWorks is dealing with his insurance company.

4.     Mary reported that the first “Clarksville Conversations: Sundays at the Haskell House” event went over well. Jessica Gilzow, from Austin Parks & Recreation, shared information on planting pollinator gardens. Two dozen people were in attendance. The next Clarksville Conversation will take place on June 25, with Representative Gina Hinojosa giving a wrap-up of the current legislative session.

5.     Mary reminded the board that the Ice Cream Social will take place on April 30, 1-3 p.m. at the Haskell House. There will be a competition, with a new (unannounced) twist.

6.     Mary reported that work on the new and improved CCDC website continues. She and Kim are meeting this week to discuss final tweaks. Afterward, they will meet with web designer Abigail to review the final project. Hope is that it will be up and running by the end of the month. Brad asked for a link to PPM’s website for CCDC housing information. He will send the link to Mary.

7.     No Other Business was discussed.

8.     The board did not meet in Executive Session.

Action taken via Electronic Vote:

On March 24, 2023, the board voted to support the proposed plans for 1812 11th Street. Mary will send a letter to the Historic Landmark Commission at the appropriate time. The matter was time-sensitive and could not wait until the April meeting.

Minutes From Finance & Operations Committee Meeting on April 13, 2023

1. BJ Friedman reported that there was nothing of note in the March financials other than the fact that the CCDC ended the month in the black because of the Amplify Austin donations and the fact that there were not a lot of repair expenses that month.

2. Mary reported that the concrete driveway and front steps 1611 West 10th was still not poured and that to date, American Youth Works has gotten one bid for the concrete work. They have decided to handle the steps themselves but the driveway is too big a job for them to tackle. Now we are looking at a May move in date. Sigh.

3. Mary broached the idea of engaging a facilitator to help the board decide how it will raise the money the CCDC needs should the board be unable to reach a decision at its May meeting. Mark Rogers might be a good option if we decide we need one.

4. Work continues on the CCDC’s new website. Hopefully it will be finished by the end of the month.