King William Association

President Brad Shaw called the meeting to order at 7:15 p.m. at La Focaccia Italian Grill. Board members present were: Noemi Cué, Janis De Lara, Nancy Diehl, Neil Leatherbury, Bonnie Pfannstiel, Gretchen Garceau-Kragh, Olin Straus, Harry Shafer, Susan Erickson, Johnny Heidelberg, Hope Garza-Cortés, Laurence Doxsey.
Absent were: Rosleyn Cogburn and past president Kit Walker.
Guest was past-secretary Tina Garza.

Shaw added an item to the agenda, tree trimming under new business, then moved that the agenda be approved with this addition. Laurence seconded, motion passed unanimously.

Then Shaw called on Syeira Budd, who reviewed the contents of the binder provided to all board members.

Approval of minutes: Shaw mentioned that there are to be changes to way minutes are handled: they will be available within a few days of the meetings so that members may go over motions carried and what actions are to be taken.

Changes had been made in the August minutes after board member input. Additional change: Doxsey said had made the motion to contribute $12,500 to SaySi. Motion to accept minutes as amended made by Garceau-Kragh and seconded by Shafer. Motion passed unanimously.

Shafer gave the treasurer’s report, and several items needed action by the board:

A motion by Shafer and seconded by Heidelberg to establish a new CD at Southside Credit Union with the new officers as signatory as a repository for approximately $75,000 that will eventually be used to pay the advance expenses incurred by the Fair. Passed unanimously.

Resolution to name new president Brad Shaw, vice president Johnny Heidelberg and secretary Roselyn Cogburn as the signatories on all existing accounts of the association. Shafer moved, Leatherbury seconded. Passed unanimously.

Next Shafer presented the report of the Finance Committee:

1.    Rose Kanusky is working on some minor amendments to the bylaws that will be presented to the board at a later date. One of the issues is to adjust the action that needs to be taken if the board wants to move large sums of the association’s money. Currently it can be done with a small number of board members agreeing. It was been suggested that such actions should require a vote of the membership.

2.    Finance Committee recommends that the board schedule a presentation at the October meet by Jefferson State Bank to discuss investments that might provide a greater return while remaining low-risk. The members of the Finance Committee would also attend.

3.    Discussion of the collection of Caroline Shelton’s watercolors in the possession of the Association, currently in the safe deposit box. Bill Cogburn is working with Sandra Smith to determine how best to conserve them and if they are adequately insured. There is also research into whether the association owns the copyright, so that they could possibly be reprinted.

4.    Utilities Conversion Committee reported to the Finance Committee on the estimated cost of burying utilities. Our share of the cost would be $425,000 to be raised from donors and grants. Finance Committee recommends $5,000 from unallocated funds in the historic/preservation fund to hire Gayle Spencer to prepare a package in preparation for seeking support for our share of this project. Shafer moved, Strauss seconded. Discussion followed as to composition of committee and its duration, whether entire neighborhood is included, and many other aspects of the project. Current proposal would include historic district and take place in four phases. Laurence called the question; Nancy seconded. Passed. Motion for $5K funding passed unanimously.

5.    Shafer reported on the Finance Committee’s discussion of the funds that the KWA donates to fund ACCD scholarships each year. The committee wants to consider forming our own, independent corpus for this scholarship that will enable us to make our own rules as to who is eligible. Also, it is possible that ACCD might be taken over by another institution, in which case we could not recoup our existing fund. Shaw requested that Shafer write a report on this issue and that we consider it in more detail at a future meeting.

Shaw moved another item up on the agenda: First Friday. He stated that is hoping to reinvigorate the committee, which he will head. In the last 3 or 4 months, he believes that the bad behavior has escalated, with acts of vandalism, including broken windows, in September. Members who volunteered for the committee were Strauss and Erickson, and Carlos Cortés was volunteered by Garza-Cortés. The problem is that there is no “ownership” of the event, though some businesses abide by the existing regulations and others do not. The police shift change at 10 p.m. results in a lack of policing from that time onward. Shaw plans to make copies of existing rules and regulations, in order to have them easily available to merchants, residents, and police.

Cué reported that the remaining scholarship recipient had finally been contacted. Cué told her that she could still receive the scholarship if she would complete the application; she has not done so. Therefore, we need to decide what to do with her scholarship money: $2,000 for this year. Should we put the money back into the general fund or put it into the scholarship fund. Members are asked to consider this for a vote next month on what to recommend to the Finance Committee.

Since Walker was absent due to dental surgery, there was no report on the Southtown meeting that he attended.

Erickson reported on the parking permit questionnaire responses. Total is approximately 60. Erickson will analyze and recommend action to the board at a future date.

Graffiti: Good news. Graffiti not as bad last First Friday. Great progress had been made on the mural on INSCO, thanks to Molly Shafer and Officer Doyle and others; city has contributed $8,000 and HEB $3,000; and INSCO is upgrading the side of their building. Meeting on Sept. 29 with mural artists and others to discuss.

Architectural Review Committee. Continuing resolution proposed by Shaw. Current members are appointed for 1 year. Shaw moved that the existing committee members have their tenure extended for two months to allow extensive discussion as to the status of the committee. Doxsey seconded. Leatherbury asked if all are willing to serve for additional months; Shaw said yes. Garza-Cortes asked who are the current members, and they were noted. Shafer requested that the members of that committee be present when we discuss the committee. There will also be meetings between the city and the ARC itself as to how it can work best. Passed unanimously.

Shaw then asked each member to discuss their major areas of concern and those things on which they want to work during the upcoming year.

Board member Laracey has resigned, due to family commitments. Garceau-Kragh, a member of the nominating committee, was asked if there were other candidates to fill the vacancy. She had spoken to Carolene Zehner about remaining candidates. Board members also mentioned several other neighbors who are interested. Garceau-Kragh will discuss with the other members of the committee and make a recommendation. Bylaws state that the board appoints replacements for members who resign.

There was also discussion of the mysterious tree limbs that appeared in front of the association office. CPS denied having cut them down, but did agree to remove them.

One a motion by Shaw with a second by De Lara, which passed unanimously, the meeting was adjourned at 9:08 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Roselyn Cogburn
Secretary