Villages Hiking Club – Board Meeting Minutes (via Zoom) 19-Nov-2020
1. Called to Order: 9:31am by President Al Girolami
2. Attending Board Members:
President – Al Girolami
VP Hiking & Trails – Faye Swanson
VP Membership & Website – Jim Beyer
Treasurer – Sandy Petrin
Secretary – Gordon Carbonetti
VP Social – Michelle Breslin was not in attendance
Also attending was Dan Kato and Sy Gelman.
3. Reports
President
• When Al raised the subject of approving the minutes from the last Board meeting (Oct 22, 2020), Dan Kato asked for one small revision to be made clarifying the additional picnic table project was already presented to the Village’s Board for approval with no response to date. Sandy then made a motion, and seconded by Jim, to approve the Board Minutes from October 22, 2020 as revised. The motion passed.
• Al mentioned he was pleased to see a one-page summary of the 17-page Hiking Club schedule of 2021 events sent out by VGCC, and thanked Gordon for his efforts. Al asked that the summary be included in Michelle’s email to the General Membership for the next meeting, and to the Board Minutes.
Treasurer
General Fund beginning balance as of September 30, 2020 $6,384.80
No Income or expenses $0.00
Ending balance as of October 31, 2020. $6,384.80
Sandy said she is awaiting the 2021 Zoom renewal invoice from Michelle, which is a pending expense.
Hiking Club Hill Lands Project Fund
Beginning Balance as of September 30, 2020 $2,301.82
No income or expenses $0.00
Ending Balance as of October 31, 2020 $2,301.82
• The preceding Financial Report was approved by a motion made by Faye, and seconded by Gordon, which passed unanimously.
2020 Donations – Sandy will draft a letter for Al to sign to process the donations by the end of 2020. Sandy will also utilize forms to permit matching funds.
2021 Donations – It was discussed to utilize the same 2020 amounts and recipients for 2021. Gordon made a motion to approve this and Sandy seconded it, and the motion passed. A list of the donations approved for 2021 is attached to the minutes.
2021 Budget – Sandy provided a copy of the 2021 Budget and said it is the same as the 2020 Budget, except it does not reflect the $500 transfer to the Hill Lands account as the club had no extra income in 2020. In the 2020 Budget Al was concerned with the higher amount in the general account, (losing the debit card tied to this account is a risk) and proposed to go ahead and make that transfer to the more secure Hill Lands account (only checks are drawn on this account) this year, but not in 2021. A summary of the 2021 budget compared to the 2020 Budget and 2020 actuals is attached to the minutes. The 2021 Budget will be approved at the Nov 30 Membership meeting.
Sunshine Committee – Sandy advised ex-Villager/Hiker Bernie Loth recently suffered a major stroke. Sandy heard from his daughter who said Bernie is slowly recovering and would appreciate messages and words of encouragement from General Members. Sandy suggested announcing at the next General Membership meeting, Bernie’s and/or his daughter’s email addresses for messages.
VP Membership & Website
• Jim advised there is no change to the current membership, and it remains at 289 people.
• Al put club applications at each of the two trailheads for any interested potential members.
• Faye gave an application to another neighbor who might become a new member.
• Jim is starting to post the minutes of the Board and General Membership meetings in the blog area of our website.
VP Hiking & Trails
• Faye praised Sy (Ramble), Bonnie (Rambler Lite) and Russ (Hill Lands Long Hikers) for keeping unsanctioned hikes going while maintaining social distancing and masking up so we’re all safe and secure. Sy has his hikes planned into December 2020.
• Faye advised the importance of getting outdoors for fresh air, socialization and exercise, and again thanked the above individuals for their involvement in these unsanctioned hikes, especially Bonnie whose Rambler Lite Hikers are usually those that could really use the hiking activity.
• Faye reported Russ Glines set up a personal site (not affiliated with the Hiking Club) on the Next Door app where neighborhood hiker enthusiasts can communicate together.
• Faye asked about having a Trail Maintenance Day in the Spring 2021. No post-activity meal would be served, and perhaps just passing out sandwiches could be substituted. Additional discussion likely to be held in future Board meetings.
• The next possible outing is to Chico in mid-April 2021, but all plans are on hold due to current events.
VP Social – No Report
Old Business
Hill Lands Committee Report
• Al provided an update on Hiking Club projects and advised the following: In an October 19, 2020 letter to the Hiking Club from Tim S, the Villages Board reports it well re-evaluate the Mailbox, Trail Signs, Trail Maintenance and Picnic Table project proposals in 2021 for potential inclusion in the fiscal 2022 budget.
• Jim Beyer said the fiscal year for the Villages starts on July 1st. So, Dan suggested we wait till the new Villages GM comes in (after Dec. 21, 2020) and re-apply for approval of all the projects in January 2021 (put this on the Board agenda for the January 2021 Board meeting). Al and Dan will work on the reapplication. Assuming approval is given in the Spring 2021, the projects could move forward after July 1, 2021.
• Regarding Cattle Grazing Dan briefly summarized a Nov.13, 2020 letter received from Mike Falarski (Villages Club Board President). Prior to 2000, there was grazing in the Hill Lands. There was an agreement with a local rancher where he paid the Villages $2000 per year, plus he did some fire and road clearing. Come 2000, the hiking club was against grazing as it was thought the land was over-grazed and trees were being killed. So, the Club Board cancelled the contract for at least four years. Now it’s been 20 years, and the Hiking Club is now in favor of Cattle Grazing. It showed its support with a member email vote of 73 for Grazing and only 3 against. However, Grazing is Bill Johnston’s project, and he needs to push this forward with the Villages Board, with the Hiking Club standing by to help if necessary.
• Al, Jim and Michelle will work on putting QR codes on each trailhead plastic map holder.
• The equipment sign-out sheet issue was tabled until a future Board meeting.
4. Next Meeting
• General Membership – November 30, 2020, via Zoom. Guest speaker will be Matthew Doddard, Exec Dir of the Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society. Al asked the Board to give him ideas for future speakers.
• Next Board Meeting – January 21, 2021, via Zoom with details to follow, or in the Forum Room.
5. Meeting Adjourned – The meeting adjourned at 10:24am
Respectfully submitted…Gordon Carbonetti, Secretary
2021 HIKING CLUB BUDGET
(AS OF NOVEMBER 2020)
2021 2020 2020 INCOME BUDGET BUDGET ACTUAL
Dues ($7.00 x 300) $2,100.00 $ 2,100.00 $ 2,100.00
Misc. Income*** $ 500.00 $ 500.00 $ 2,438.00
Donations ————- ————
Sub Total Income $ 2,600.00 $ 2,600.00 $ 4,538.00
Carried from Prior year 4,500.00 4,000.00 2,933.20
TOTAL INCOME $ 7,100.00 $ 6,600.00 $ 7,471.20
EXPENDITURE
Trail Equipt * $ 250.00 $ 250.00 $ 236.00
Trail Maint. Lunch 325.00 325.00 0.00
Coffee Supplies 75.00 75.00 0.00
Audio/Visual 500.00 500.00 149.50
Office Expenses 100.00 100.00 61.31
Social Event Supplies 500.00 500.00 0.00
Donations (Hiking nonprofits) 1,200.00 1.200.00 1,200.00
Donations Member death. 200.00 200.00 200.00
Donations Hill Lands —– 500.00 500.00
Flowers (member death/Illness 150.00 150.00 36.04
Refunds (cancellations) ——- ——– 403.55
Speakers Expenses 150.00 150.00 0.00
Unexpected Expenses 500.00 500.00 0.00
TOTAL EXPENDITURES $3,950.00 $ 4,450.00 $ 2,786.40
EST. REMAINING YEAR END $3,200.00 $ 2,150.00+ $ 4,500.00+
*Note added a hoe/rake and a McLeod Fire tool to our Physical Assets.
**Note Income and expenditures of Socials are no longer Budget items as they are run as self-supporting through fees or some costs for supplies in the no fee events. Any yearly loss would be listed under Unexpected Expenses
***Note Misc. Income of $2,438.00 was profit from the 2019 Christmas party the Xmas party expense of $1,299.38 was paid in Dec.2019 (reflected in carry over bal. from previous year)
Villages Hiking Club 2021 Donation List
Bay Area Ridge Trail Council $100.00
California State Parks Foundation $100.00
Greenbelt Alliance $200.00
Peninsula Open Space Trust $200.00
Portola and Castle Rock Foundation $100.00
Santa Clara County Open Space Authority $100.00
Santa Clara County Parks and Rec. Dept. $100.00
Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society $100.00
Sempervirens Fund $100.00
The Pine Ridge Association $100.00
TOTAL $1,200.00
