Board Meeting Minutes – February 19, 2014
Bayport Marina Association
Board of Directors Meeting Notes (Unofficial Informational Meeting)
Marina Clubhouse
February 19, 2014
Board Present:
Brad Baune
Sandor Csallany
Morgan Fudge
Eric Pederson
Absent:
Val Fuller
Michelle Lemanski
Jim Mondry
Steve Paquette
Amy Tolbert
Meeting could not be called to order because there were not enough board members present to have a quorum; therefore, an informational meeting only was held.
1. January Financials
Financials were reviewed. Reviewed the BMRP monthly cost and confirmed the movement of BMA labor to the project.
Morgan requested to have Kori send the Feltl Statements out to all the board members.
2. Dock Project
Cliff presented updated slip number plagues and asked everyone’s opinion on the best option, but Morgan suggested Cliff make the final decision instead of waiting for the board to vote. Everyone agreed unanimously that brass with black paint should be used. It was discussion if Bayport should be on every plague, Kori pointed out that including Bayport is actually part of the logo and it would be consistent with our branding. Morgan brought up that the plagues are guaranteed for life if they are placed vertically on a structure; however, they aren’t if they are placed horizontally because they are more exposed to the elements but there is no worry about their lifespan. Cliff mentioned these are coming from a company who can’t sell to us directly but is a connection though Marcus allowing us to use them.
Cliff brought up that the IP’E is so durable that they have to pre-drill everything. The steel on the dock is very hard and crew is having difficulties with breaking drill bits.
The project has progressed down to B-17. They are also bolting the columns and cleats; however, waiting on another order of short bolts which should be here Friday to continue this work. Cliff is using Boat Doctor to supply extra labor force. The head pier has all the electric pre run. Cliff called Hausner Plumbing and Comcast to come back and finish their work. Cliff is projecting they will start getting wood on the walk way next week and he was originally projecting that that would happen the first week of March. He plans to have two crews each starting in the center going towards the ends putting down the wood. Other crews will put on edging and rubber. Weather is slowing progress.
Cliff and Morgan had a conference call with Bayport Bank on Monday 2/17 to discuss the flood insurance needed to secure the loan. The original loan plan was to do a 15 year fixed at 4.5% real estate loan which requires flood insurance to be placed on the service building. Since the shop is in flood zone it will be an additional $7500 a year for flood insurance. To avoid this cost they looked at if something could be done with BMA owned slips. To structure the loan this way they couldn’t do the same terms. They could do the same but after 10 years they would do a balloon and amortization would start the day of the first draw. The decision was made to stay the course and pay the insurance and try other insurance companies in the future that could add it to our umbrella at possibly a cheaper rate. The rate we are being charged is determined by FEMA and size of the loan and it doesn’t cover contents, only the building. The bank is also looking to see if there is an option for replotting the property and getting the service building assessed separately. There may be issues with access and easement with replotting the property, but Andy the banker is checking into that. Cliff suggested self-insuring. Brad suggested going to Lloyds and getting a stop loss. Cliff did some checking and Sunnyside pays 10K for flood insurance and another company in Inver Grove Heights has $200,000 of coverage, but it’s only $700. Cliff checked to see if he needed to get the members approval to pay the $7500 in insurance, everyone disagreed saying it’s an operating cost of the project and BMA will get rid of it when the loan is gone.
This discussion prompted Morgan to ask to be refreshed on what the $2.50 increase on assessment was covering and if it related to the dock project; and it was discussed that it was to cover additional slips that are being sold to cover the loss of the rental income from those slips.
Brad asked about the progress of the floats. Cliff said there are 200 in stock and is expecting the shipment sometime in March. The fingers still need to be floated. Brad suggested that the members be told about the floats and how the cost of them affects the project but really it was a deferred maintenance discovery that should have happened a long time ago.
3. Minneapolis Boat Show Recap
There was approximately 96 leads from the boat show, majority of them were transit leads with 10-15 good slip leads. We added all the emails we got to Constant Contact and we with those additions we are within five of reaching our 500 contacts capacity so we paying to move up to the next package of 500+ to 2500. Cliff shared that the show was very busy Saturday, Sunday it was dead. Thursday was also light attendance due to the snow storm and Friday was neat because it was being promoted as a “date night” with the beer tasting. Chris and Rick from Marine Max didn’t sell too much but said there were a lot of tire kickers.
Morgan suggested we should use Constant Contact to promote service packages targeting specific boaters.
4. Merchandise
Lorrie Miller and Meredith Pederson have been helping Tavia choose the items and the decision has been made to work exclusively with St. Croix Promotions. They have a large variety of products and we will only have to have our logos digitized once which is a cost savings and they can provide UPCs that will interface with BiT. Morgan suggested that the apparel is debuted at the Ice Breaker again, which Kori confirmed it will be. He also suggested the gas dock staff deliver the stuff to the boat the next day do that members don’t have to worry about it.
Brad asked if the gas dock staff would have dedicated attire and to make sure they are embroidered with names. Cliff and I assured him it would be. Morgan asked that at the next meeting Kori and Cliff discuss the new presentation of the gas dock. Brad also suggested that we make sure there is a consistent way the staff answers the radio.
5. Marketing Plan Update
Tavia is working on selling advertising for the directory right now. As for additional advertising we are trying to determine how far people are willing to travel to get here to be a transient and how do we reach those people? Morgan asked that Kori bring a copy of the Quimby’s ad to the next meeting for everyone to see. Also, working on Dave at Mallards to do more advertising with us. Morgan suggested looking into doing Google Ads or using Rocket fuel or other ad service to do smart ad placement.
6. Name Change
When Sandor presented his’ name change proposal in December he was asked to do more research, put a survey together for members. He is not asking to change of the name but to add Yacht Club. The original owner did call it Bayport Marina and Yacht club, when the members bought it the Yacht Club was dropped. Suggested it should be voted on with new board members and bylaws before the annual meeting. In order for this to happen the information to the name change and additional functions would need to be communicated to the members before via an executive summary and then put it to a vote. Brad asked what the passion was driving Sandor to wanting the name change. Sandor doesn’t see an organization like this and things it would make people want to join the association. He also presented 11 good reasons to add the Yacht Club again. Many in attendance think that it was tabled because the BMRP has been the priority.
Morgan considered the club piece of it. Do you have to open it up to other Yacht clubs? What would be the functions of the yacht club? Cliff reminded everyone that part of the problem is that members suggest they don’t want other people here. Stillwater does have a Yacht Club that is reciprocal but they add new boaters only when they have fallout. Morgan said timing should be considered because there has been so much change going on already and wonders if the boaters will just consider another change thing that may or may not be received positively so we need to present a clear definition of what it is and is not. By selling memberships this may help meet the nonprofit classification. Sandor suggested writing a letter asking all the members if we should make the change the Brad said that it is for the board to vet things for the members. Morgan is going to work with Sandor to write an executive summary and Kori is to identify areas where we would need to change the name and possible costs involved.
Meeting did not need to be adjourned as it was only informational.
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