Saginaw Collaborative, Inc. - Starts

Saginaw Collaborative

January 17, 2019

Call to order: 6:34pm

Present: Cathy Macomber, Dawn Goodrow, Wardene Talley, Debbie Davis, Roger Scovill, Evelyn McGovern, Stacy Dalton, Jim Williams, Charles Coleman, Vanessa Brooks-Herd

NOTE: The Saginaw Collaborative, Inc is referred to here as “Collaborative”

Minutes

I need to resend the link to the minutes to everyone. I need to include all of the board members.  This fulfills our obligation as a 501c3 to have open access to minutes and information. We need to read them before we approve minutes. 

This will be tabled until the next meeting.  Not all attendees had access to the minutes.

Budget

Pastor Jim and Roger have been working on a draft budget. One was passed out. Please see the hard copy for notes on the proposed budget.  There was a question regarding the showing of a surplus.

Some of this income is dependent on our becoming a 501c3. Because of the government shut down, it is likely that we will not receive this designation for possibly up to a year. PJ is meeting with the Saginaw Foundation about becoming a fiscal partner until we get our non-profit status. This is something that has been done by other organizations. It is possible for us to wait until April or May of 2019 for the CAN and/or Saginaw Community Foundation funding. We have enough funds to last for four or five months as we are waiting for non-profit status.

Community Initiative Grant is due April 1, 2019 with funds distributed by June 2019.

Motion to approve the tentative budget: RS made with the correction of a balanced budget. EM support. All in favor.

Open Bank Account

Joyce has been talking to Huntington Bank. The Bank is now interested in the Saginaw Collaborative. A representative from the Bank walked through the building and is talking about putting on a new roof and about flooring.

Based on this interaction PJ recommends that we open an account with Huntington Bank.  Huntington took over Second National Bank and is interested in being more involved in working with the community.

Motion to approve this recommendation: VBH moved. DG seconded. All in favor.

PJ recommends that officers agree to sign checks to ensure that all checks include two signatures. The resolution (available in paper form) will be amended to say that two signatures are required for any checks written on behalf of the Collaborative.  It is requested that all four board officers be authorized to sign.  For formal documents the signature of the Secretary is the required.

Motion DG moved, EM seconded, All in favor.

Pastor Jim will send us an email when he takes the documents required in to the bank.  Officers will then need to go in and provide their name, address, date of birth, driver’s license number, and social security number.

Consideration of Staff Hiring

Hiring Stacy , Melissa, and Pastor Jim at the rates noted in the agreed budget. Job descriptions will be available at the next meeting. Melissa is agreeable and asks that the Collaborative purchase QuickBooks.  This has been built into the agreed budget. She was the administrative and finance assistant for Warren Ave. Presbyterian Church for approximately two years.  She is known by the current tenants of the building.

The job descriptions will be revised to fit the requirements of the Collaborative.

It is requested that the Collaborative hire Jim Williams as executive director, Stacy Dalton as the custodian and building manager, and Melissa Felton as administrative assistant. CW seconded.

Discussion – a request for last names of all hires. There is some reluctance to approve the motion without formal job descriptions.

The motion is amended to include that we are hiring the three named individual’s contingent upon the approval of formal job descriptions. CW approved (as original second). No additional discussion. All in favor.

Lease Agreement

We need to have a lease agreement between the Session and the Collaborative. Two board members (Roger and Debbie) are authorized to enter into this agreement with the Collaborative on behalf of the Session. The document is being worked on. PJ will be sending a document to Roger for revision and this will be used to create the lease agreement (licensing agreement). Dawn can also share a sample document that could be amended for use as the lease agreement. Women of Colors has a lease agreement with the church as well.

It is necessary to sit down with the organizations using the building to discuss revised lease agreements with each organization.

Evelyn – Women of Colors

Joyce and Leona – Super Summer

Joyce Seals– Good Neighbors Mission

Eugene Seals – Pride Academy

Brian Pruitt – Power of Dad

There have been inquiries from a day care, from the school district, and from an additional organization.  The school district is interested in working with the Collaborative for mentors for reading, etc.

The downstairs kitchen, at the cost and initiative of Stacy, has been inspected and licensed

We are tabling the lease agreement discussion until the next meeting.

Architect’s Proposed Contract

The contract was emailed to all of the board members. The architect would like the board to say the draft looks ok and we will negotiate from there. There is no timetable and no payment schedule. We would like to include a 10% holdback that would be paid 30 days after all work is completed and agreed upon.

PJ recommends that he be given permission to go through and approve and negotiate a final contract with WTA with input from any other expertise he requires.

Moved by RS, support by VBH. All in favor.

Committee Reports

Programming Committee – Vanessa, Dawn, and Debbie – The strategic plan from CAN was reviewed (this document is available). The plan and fees were reviewed along with the expertise of the expert proposed. The committee notes that the expert requires half down to start. They wonder if those funds can be released to start the process with reimbursement of these funds by the CAN grant when it is brought in (rather than waiting another 90 days to get the strategic plan process started). This would allow us to move forward more quickly.

We are going to ask CAN make an exception based on the government shut down, to let us get started and either recognize a partnership with the Foundation or retroactively

It is recommended that we hire the recommended consultant and that we encumber the entire amount of the strategic plan with the expectation that funds will be sought to reimburse the general account.

Move CW, seconded RS. All in favor.

The strategic plan time line was reviewed. It was asked how this individual consultant was chosen.  PJ and CAM described the meeting with the director of CAN and the various consultants who were presented and

The Programming Committee will work with the strategic planning consultant.

One of the responsibilities of the committee is to negotiate agreements with organizations that will use the building.

Fundraising Committee - While the committee has not met, it is not an option to try to do fundraising outside of relationships with grant funders such as the Saginaw Foundation, until our non-profit status is approved. PJ is meeting with the Saginaw Foundation on January 25, 2019.

Joyce has spoken with both Huntington Bank and Isabella Bank. JS and PJ will meet with both banks to discuss opportunities for the Collaborative to receive their support.

For purposes of clarification, the building will continue to be called “Warren Ave. Presbyterian Church Building.”

Executive Director Report – The director reported on much of the information noted above.

Strategic and Fundraising Plan

Tabled until our next meeting

Next Meeting

Committees – Program Meeting: 2/6/19 at 6:30 at Barnes and Noble;

Board Meeting – 2/7/2019 6:30pm; 2/28/2019 at 6:30pm; 3/21/2019 at 6:30pm

Move by CAM for adjourn at 8:25pm, seconded DD, All in favor.