The meeting convened at 8:05 PM at the BRCA Marina Clubhouse. The President, Pam Jacobsen, chaired the meeting. Board Members present included: Pam Jacobsen, Bill Thomas, Kurt Karsten, Jeff Gilbert, Jay Green, Sherrie Kelley, Monica Mount, and Paul Behrends. A quorum was present to allow the board to transact business.

Reading of the Minutes – Since the meeting minutes were reviewed by the board via email, and the corrected version has been posted on the BRPA web site, the reading of the minutes was waived.

Financial Report

• Sherrie Kelley reviewed the financial statements previously provided to the board via email.  Points addressed included:
• The Pool Association finished the calendar year with a net cash loss of $2,846.83.  This compares to calendar year 2009 which had a net cash loss of $3,214.20.
• It was noted that facility rental income was down approximately $1,900 (22.6%) from the previous year.  Membership income (from dues) was also down approximately 8% (Bay Ridge) and 3% (Annapolis Cove).
• Kurt Karsten proposed investing a portion of the cash held by the BRPA in a “laddered” CD program.  This would:
  • Have funds in CDs that mature in 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 years.
  • The CDs would roll over if the funds are not needed for BRPA expenses
  • The CDs would provide interest income that is not available in the checking account in which the money is currently held.
  • Bill Thomas noted that BRCA had investigated that approach but has found that other liquid investments would provide a more substantial return. He will research the subject more fully and bring information to the next board meeting. Kurt noted that as long as any investments other than CDs continued to be federally insured, so as to minimize risk for BRPA, they should be considered.
• It was noted that Grahame Rice has prepared the BRPA tax return paperwork in previous years.

Motion:  Kurt Karsten moved that “Payment be made to Grahame Rice for preparing the appropriate tax return documents for the tax year 2010.”  The motion was seconded by Jay Green, and passed with a voice vote

Membership Drive for 2011

• Several issues related to the annual membership drive were discussed.  Items addressed included:
• Pam Jacobsen presented the proposed new annual dues by membership category:

Bay Ridge membership	Regular	$415
	Annual	$780
	Single	$290
Annapolis Cove		$830
Senior (over 85 years of age) on a need basis		$145

It was noted that the new senior rate is predicated on only pool access for the senior.  It does not include guest or rental privileges.

Motion: Pam Jacobsen moved that the proposed dues rates for 2011 be accepted by the board.  The motion was seconded by Paul Behrends and passed with a voice vote.

• Jeff Gilbert presented a proposed flyer to advertize the Spring Membership Drive.  It included:
• The flyer is based on a simulated “Condé Nast” magazine cover which claims that the BRPA is the best on the Chesapeake.
• A planned distribution of all Bay Ridge and Annapolis Cove homes  would require approximately 750 flyers, whose cost was estimated at $75.
• The consensus of the board was that the idea has merit and is worth pursuing further. Some suggestions were offered with the thought of  improving the project.
• Jeff agreed to smooth up the design and return to the board with it.

Facility Maintenance Issues

• A number of facility maintenance issues were discussed.  These included:
• Facility Fence – Jeff Gilbert presented the current status of the project to move the fence adjacent to the boardwalk to the beach.  Points addressed included:
• Copies of the Landscaping Plat have been distributed to appropriate board members.
• The plat has also been given to Alton Fence (now Millennium Fence) for their use in planning their work.
• Additional constraints on the fence movement:
• The fence needs to be at least five feet away from the boardwalk to allow access for lawn mowers. as well as to prevent people from using the boardwalk as a step to get over the fence.  Fences need to be at least 6 feet higher than the “adjoining structure” in order to satisfy County Code as well as insurance requirements
• A gate in the fence is needed to provide a secondary emergency exit path from the facility.  This gate will be required to be open during normal pool operation hours.  The current fence openings have “one way release” mechanisms that might be salvaged for use on the new fence. It was noted that this could result in unauthorized access to the pool area  for non pool members or guests.

Landscaping

• Bill Thomas discussed a proposed contract for landscaping and lawn mowing for the facility.  Issues included:
• He has received bids on the work.
• A review of previous years’ contracts, it appears that BRPA has been paying for maintenance of all the property adjacent to the pool (i.e., parking lot, areas outside the pool fence, etc).  He has discussed this with the BRCA board, and they have agreed to fund all landscaping outside of the pool fence perimeter. In the past few years, this expense has been paid 100% by BRPA.
• For the work inside of the fence perimeter, he has received a quote from Bay Ridge Lawn and Landscaping of approximately $3,700.  This is significantly less than all the other quotes he has received.

Motion: Bill Thomas moved that “the price quote from Bay Ridge Lawn and Landscaping be accepted.”  The motion was seconded by Jay Green and passed with a voice vote.

Painting the Party Room

• Pam Jacobsen noted that the party room walls need painting.  The discussion included:
• The work needs to be sequenced with the resurfacing of the room’s floor.
• It was originally proposed that the work be done by volunteer labor.  However, in the course of the discussion, it was noted that a better job would result if the work were done by professionals.  As a result, Bill Thomas will approach local contractors to see if a contribution of labor and materials could be obtained.
• The board selected  a very light beige (Home Depot’s “Parchment Paper”) for the walls.  There is currently no intent to repaint the trim.
• Jay Green noted that the room walls will need repair/preparation before actual painting.

Resurfacing the Party Room Floor

• It has been noted that the Party Room floor is in need of refinishing. Paul Behrends was asked to obtain quotes from either BRPA members or commercial firms to refinish the floor.

Snack Bar Operation

• Pam Jacobson addressed a proposed implementation of a “professional” snack bar at the pool.  In the course of discussion, the following items were addressed:
• Pam Jacobsen has had meetings with  the owner of Grump’s Café (Duncan Bradbury – a BRPA member) about running a snack bar at the pool. He expressed strong interest in the possibility of such a venture.
• Duncan Bradbury’s initial proposed level of service would include only pre-prepared foods (i.e., pre-prepared sandwiches, bottled beverages, packaged snacks, etc.).  The hours of operation have not been defined at this point.
• In the course of discussion, it was also proposed that to add packaged raw meat so that individuals could purchase the meat and then cook it on the pool grills.  Mr. Bradbury would be willing to pursue that as well.
• Preparation for such an operation would require:
• Replacing the freezer and providing refrigeration in the snack room.
• Possible other modifications.
• Financial arrangements were discussed.  The board’s feeling is that the snack bar rent should be a fixed base amount plus a percentage of the gross sales.  The exact numbers were not addressed at this time.
• Duncan Bradbury noted that he will provide a proposal for his operation of the snack bar.
• It was agreed that the Board will hold action on the project in abeyance pending the receipt of the proposal  from Mr. Duncan.
• Whether the operation would be viable remains to be determined. If anything, it appears that a one-season test with reduced rental charges would be appropriate.

Pool Access for Disabled

• As noted earlier, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) imposes specific access requirements for public swimming pools. The implementation of the requirements was discussed:
• The Bay Ridge Pool is considered a “semi-public” swimming pool.  As such it falls under the purview of the ADA.
• The law requires two handicap accessible entry/exit routes for the pool.
• The installed steps at the bay end of the pool constitute one legal access route.
• The law requires that the other access (labeled as the primary route) be a pool side lift or sloped ramp.
• It is unclear whether the BRPA Hoyer lift meets the requirements of the ADA for pool hoist/lift.  Additionally, it is unclear whether a portable lift (to be rigged as needed) is satisfactory, or if the lift must be a permanent installation.
• The baby pool will also require a sloped ramp access.
• It was noted that these requirements could require significant and expensive structural modifications to the pool facility.  The board will pursue further details on how to meet the requirements of ADA.
• The costs to bring the pool into compliance are unknown at this time, but could be sizeable.

Meeting Schedule
The official schedule for future meetings of the Pool Association and its Board of Directors includes:

• General Meeting –Monday, 11 April 2011 at the BRCA Marina clubhouse.
• Board Meeting – Tuesday 29 March 2011 at the BRPA Pool.

Adjournment – The meeting adjourned at 9:35 PM.

Respectfully submitted:
Paul Behrends,
Secretary