LAKE GASTON ASSOCIATION

Minutes (approved) Directors Meeting – February 4, 2009

Lake Gaston Baptist Church –9:30AM, First Wednesday

Mission:  To identify lake issues affecting our membership and pursue resolution with the responsible organizations.

Location:  Lake Gaston Baptist Church

                  Littleton, North Carolina

Convened By:  President John Cataldo at 9:30AM

Pledge of Allegiance:  Led by President Cataldo

Moment of Silence:  Led by President Cataldo

Visitor Introductions:  Brunswick Co; Ron George, Halifax Co; None, Mecklenburg Co; Al Potter, Bob Jennings; Northampton Co; Marcia Kerr, Warren Co; Ted Folli, Rick Goforth, J.V. Clarke, Ron Skow, Spencer Combos, Ann & Bill hofnagle, Arlene Bice, Arthur & Luaile Barlon, Tony Moran, Dave Johnson, Doc Daugherty, Pete Deschenes, Jean & David Varney

PRESS:  Judith Font Press-Observer & Della Batts Roanoke Rapids Daily Herald

Director/Executive Attendance:  John Cataldo, Doug Hughes, Bill Lindenmuth, Moira Underwood, Fred kneisel, David Duxbury, Joee Hoxter, John Boyle, Ralph Domach, Laura Kolb, Larry Jolly, Linda Hedgepeth, Patrick Dempsey, Bill Bryant, Bill La Monte

RETREAT GOALS SUMMARY:  (This area is normally the Guest Speaker portion of the meeting).  The detailed response to each goal can be found on the LGA website. Below is a capsule summary.  Goals with open items are identified with the open strategy, and a time frame for completion by the Goal responsible committee. 

GOAL I:   Increase and Effectively Involve the Member Base

Strategy A:  Explore ways to effectively engage part-timers

Strategy B:  Determine why the current membership is not higher

Strategy C:  Articulate the value of LGA membership to all potential members

Strategy D:  Identify possible membership retention techniques

This committee felt they have adequately covered all the strategies and are doing all the things necessary to recruit and involve membership at every level.  Membership is a year long obligation that requires some financial commitments which have been funded for the year and will be funded in upcoming years. 

The Board of Directors voted to accept this Goal as satisfactorily completed.

GOAL II:  Engage Leadership

Strategy A:  Develop and agree upon LGA goals, working together for positive outcomes

Strategy B:  Ensure active, productive committee meetings:  Committee chairs need to ensure the meeting actively involves committee members through effective community projects.  Committee chairs also need to control the agendas and meeting length to keep members committed.  There is also a continuing need for the various committees to compare their, mission, goals and projects to eliminate a duplication of process.

This is an ongoing item.

Strategy C:  Stay issue-focused and agenda based at all meetings:  Answered in

Strategy A.

An ongoing problem within this Goal is that there are only 19 of a required 25 Directors currently serving.  Of that 19 there are those who do not serve on the required two committees and a rarely attend or participate in committee’s.  It is the President and Vice-Presidents responsibility to engage these non-performing Director’s and try and get them to live up to the responsibilities they signed up for when they accepted a Directorship.  Those non-performing Directors will be replaced as time and circumstance permits.

The Board of Directors voted to accept this goal with the stipulation that open items be completed as identified by the committee.

GOAL III:  Provide Information and Education on Lake-Related Issues to the Community

Strategy A:  Continue current community initiatives:  The LGA plans on having a survey that will ask the citizens of the five county area what they feel is the important lake issues.  This survey will be available sometime in March.  The results of the survey will determine the direction certain committees will take in the future.

Strategy B:  Continue NC mandatory boater education efforts:  The LGA has a member on the state Boater Safety Council.  The LGA continues to push for mandatory boater safety training.  The LGA was influential in getting the Virginia mandatory boater safety program passed as law.

Strategy C:  Continue “Show-and-tell” approach to weed control:  The LGA has the best ‘hands-on’ weed display on all of Lake Gaston.  It receives a great deal of attention wherever it is displayed.

Strategy D:  Explore additional issues which resonate with the stakeholders

Boater Education, Citizen Survey and newly completed Rental Survey (asking members their opinion of rental property on the lake) are all open items.  The Rental Survey response and LGA action in regards to those responses will be completed by 31 March.  The citizen survey will be completed by 30 April.  All Directors will soon be tasked with providing inputs as to questions that will be used in the survey.

The Board of Directors voted to accept this goal with the stipulation that all open items be completed no-later-than the specified target dates.

GOAL IV:  Enhance LGA Credibility

Strategy A:  Provide visible representation at county activities:  The committee feels there is a need to hire a part-time assistant that will free-up the Executive Director to attend selected county meetings.  With the new emphasis placed on Director attendance at county meetings there is also a need to reimburse them for travel.  Neither of these items have been budgeted, nor has there been any consideration as to what the duties of the administrative assistant would be. These are both open items and need to be completed before the annual meeting in June.

Strategy B:  Complete the work begun on planning standards

Strategy C:  Explore commonalities with local governments:  There was no response to this strategy as it apparently had not been acted on.  A June completion date was directed.

Strategy D:  Educate directors on key county issues:  All current and future directors are/will be required to attend county government meetings from their home county.  They will also receive training from current directors involved in county meetings.  This is an ongoing strategy that will pay dividends to the LGA and the citizens they represent.

The Board of Directors voted to accept this Goal with the stipulation that all open items be completed no-later-than their target dates.

GOAL V:  Build the LGA’S Internal Capacity Through Technology and Organizational Development

There were no identified strategies with this goal:  The goal is to remove all barriers to LGA growth.  This involves evaluating the current and needed technology including web sites, needed office equipment, the need to hire a part-time administrative assistant, use of outside agencies to accomplish publication needs, which means updating current office infrastructure and identify future costs.

These open items will be completed by June 2009.  There may be funding issues for equipment that have not been budgeted for in 2009.

GOAL VI:  Effectively Engage With Community Partners:  This goal was not presented due to committee member absence from this meeting .

GOAL VII:   Consider LGA’S Long-Range Vision:  There are no strategies associated with this goal:  Goal VII is the culmination of the successful implementation of Goals I through VI.  A proposed vision statement was presented.   The two proposed By-Laws changes will allow for a far more effective directorship and allow more interested members the opportunity to join the Board of Directors.  The By-Laws changes will be voted on in June at the Annual Meeting. 

The Board of Directors voted to accept Goal VII as presented.

Secretary’s Report:   The board accepted the January 2009 minutes.

Treasurer’s Report:  The treasure presented the 2009 budget and provided a detailed breakdown of how the budget was created.  The board accepted the 2009 budget

COMMITTEE REPORTS:   There were no committee reports presented due to the Retreat Goals review

Executive Director:  This report was not provided due to the Retreat Goals review.  It is available on the LGA web site

President Comments;  President Cataldo thanked all attendees for their attendance and their inputs to the retreat Goals.  He emphasized the benefits of the Director By-Law change and the opportunity for more members to become a director.

OLD BUSINESS  There was no old business.

NEW BUSINESS

Warren County Tax Valuations:  President Cataldo addressed all that the LGA has done/will do in regards to Warren County’s tax valuation that raised most property owners property values.  He restated the process that property owners need to follow to protest their valuation.  He urged Warren County residents to attend all upcoming budget meetings and for them to emphasize the need for a “Revenue Neutra” budget that will allow for a lower mil rate.

By-Laws Changes:  President Cataldo led discussions on the two proposed By-Law changes.

1. To keep 25 directors, four for each county, and five at large directors.  This greatly improves the possibility to have a full directorship and allows some personnel to become a director even though there is a full contingent of directors in their county of residence.

2. To allow the directorship the opportunity to vote by electronic means when they are unable to attend a directors meeting.

Both By-Law changes were approved by the Board of Directors and these two by-law changes will be presented to the general membership for approval at the annual meeting in June.

The meeting was properly adjourned at 12:00

The next meeting will be Wednesday 4 March at 09:30

Respectfully Submitted

William La Monte

Secretary