HERE ARE SOME OF THE ITEMS THAT WERE DISCUSSED AT THE MAY 12 FHA BOARD MEETING. MORE DETAILS WILL BE REPORTED LATER IN THE FLOATING TIMES.
- Treasurer Cathryn Flynn reported that April Revenue totaled $5,545 which consisted of $2,850 from advertising, $1,875 from day in the park, $620 in membership dues, and a $200 deposit for a May tour. April Expenses included $1,850 for Day in the Park, $1,534 for the first of four liability insurance installments, $300 for the FHA mailbox, and $530 for the FHA website. April closed with net revenue of $1,016 and cash on hand of $9,458.
- Events Chair BettyAnn Kramm recommended a number of improvements for the next Day in the Park including having the grass mowed the day before, starting and ending earlier (11 a.m. -4:00 p.m.), and moving the sponsors further onto the lawn for more visibility. Food vendor Davey Jones and juice vendor TVE were pleased with the sales they made during the day. The Board agreed that the next DITP will be in early October, 2027. More tear down volunteers will be recruited for DITP and tear down will begin earlier. President Peter Miller commented on how the local and homegrown flavor of the event contributed to its success. A Day in the Park profit & loss summary will be presented at the June Board meeting.
- Peter outlined a plan to focus on creating a sustainable long-term path for the FHA, beginning with financial planning. The June Board Meeting will have a Financial Planning Agenda item, and Cathryn will circulate relevant materials to the Board for review prior to the meeting. She also offered to put together a Finance Committee and several Board members volunteered to serve on it.
- The Board agreed to create a survey for dock reps to gather ideas from their neighbors about future initiatives and to identify new volunteers. Cathryn will develop the survey template for all dock reps to use.
- Discussion of the FHA Mission and Strategic Planning will follow the June Financial Planning discussion. Cathryn will present 6-month financial projections at the July Board meeting.
- South 40 dock rep Michael Konrad reported that the landmark Owl recently began sinking, but that the Fire Department had successfully pumped it out and refloated it.
- Emergency Services chair Joe Novitski reminded the Board that the Marin City Fire Station (Station 3) has pumps and is willing to do dock drills on sinking and fire prevention.
- East Pier dock rep Leslie McLean has been sending regular newsletters to her neighbors, which she will share with FHA secretary Karen Tischler for circulation to all Board members.
- Public Relations and Marketing chair Julie Durbin has reached out to the Sausalito Chamber of Commerce with a proposal to swap reciprocal banner and newsletters ads, with a $200 cost to FHA to create the ad for their site and their newsletters. Julie advised that the goal of the FHA ad would be to drive people to the FHA website and promote private tours, membership, and advertising. Julie will work on the messaging and will present a proposal at the June Board meeting. She is working with Parks and Rec for their interest as well.
- Julie and West Pier Dock Rep Koren Cohen are developing an FHA Instagram account. Koren is creating a content queue system which will enable dock residents to share posts on FHA’s Instagram page.
- Floating Times Editor Larry Clinton thanked Board members for trying to find a replacement editor before his August retirement, unfortunately with no success so far. Larry will provide a job description for Karen to circulate to all Board members. He stated that the FT process could be simplified by eliminating photos from the posts and weekly emails.
- Private Tour chair Lewis Shireman reported that Sausalito Village had scheduled a May 13 tour for three homes with 10 attendees (see related post). Another private tour is scheduled for the end of June. Lewis suggested the following policies for private tours:
- 20 attendees minimum (could be reduced to 10 if necessary).
- Cost: $45 per person.
- A deposit must be made with each reservation, and will be non-refundable if cancelled less than 30 days in advance.
- Past President Pete Hudson thanked those who joined the successful April 26 Disaster Response trailer cleanout which included removing all the equipment and demonstrating how to operate some of the items. Pete is creating a monthly maintenance schedule for starting up and running the equipment. He states that the trailer is now very organized.
- Regarding a suggestion that webmaster Stanton should attend monthly Board Meetings, Pete stated that due to Board meeting time restraints and additional expense for Stanton’s attendance, he recommends instead forming a Website Steering Committee of interested Board members to work with Stanton to update the site and then report to the full Board. Pete extended thanks to FHA president Peter Miller, Larry Clinton (Gate 6 1/2), Liberty Dock Rep Kathryn Soter, VP Alex Shoer and Marketing/PR Chair Julie Durbin for volunteering to serve on the Steering Committee.
- Pete will forward statistics showing website traffic plus banner ad performance, for inclusion with the monthly Board Packets. Pete will also provide the Website Steering Committee with a link to request website changes.
- Pete reported that MemberPlanet continues to have issues with the membership database. He is exploring potential alternatives while Cathryn and Stanton are focusing on cleaning up the existing data and helping lapsed members to renew.
- Environmental chair Joe Novitski provided an update on sea level rise initiatives, noting that Marin County is making progress with the Gate 5 Road Project while the Sausalito Shoreline Adaptation Plan remains stalled. He recommended that the FHA should take an activist role at SLR meetings, to represent the concerns of our community. Joe will ask Sasha Cole (original chair of the LAC) to take over the Environmental Committee while he is travelling.
- Alex noted that he had recommended the new Sausalito sustainability director and hopes to have a direct connection with her.