North Park Estates Neighborhood Association board
minutes tuesday, OCTOBER 24, 2006 The Board
of Directors meeting of the North Park Estates Neighborhood Association
included: Those present
The Board Meeting was held at Dale & Greta Sellers' home Tuesday, October 24, 2006. Attendance indicated above.
Call to Order. The President, Dale Sellers, called the
meeting to order and passed out the agenda. OLD
BUSINESS 1. The Minutes
of the last meeting were read and approved with the addition of the name of
Jessica Curie to the Members at Large who were present. 2. Sammy Amsler then gave the Treasurer's Report as of 10-24-06 and
it was approved.
Expenses since
the last Board Meeting were $106.00 for post office box rental, and $521.62
for the down payment (half of the expense) for the materials and cutting out
of the letters that will spell out North Park Estates and the tree emblems
that will be on our new neighborhood entrance signs. Paying sales tax
on entrance sign expenses was discussed, with regard to the neighborhood
association's status as a corporation or a non-profit corporation. Also there is the problem of Larie
Amsler's social security number being on the neighborhood's bank
account. The result of that is that
income into that account is attributed to her and Sammy for income tax
purposes. In 2005, the income was
minimal, but Mark Farver said he will look into the mechanics of
incorporating, to avoid future potential problems, and perhaps to avoid
having to pay sales taxes in the future. NEW BUSINESS 1. Entrance Sign Committee report -
Mary Allen reported that costs for some materials for the entrance sign,
namely the letters and tree emblems, are much higher than the estimate the
committee came up with over a year ago. It is hoped that costs for the remainder of the materials and labor
needed will be less than previously anticipated, since the size of the signs
has diminished since the cost estimates given to the neighborhood were
determined. Mary reminded the group
that the Board had previously decided that if the costs ran over the amount
in the Entrance Sign account, that some of that or all of it, if feasible,
would be covered by some money in the Dues account. It was decided at this meeting that if the cost overruns became
more than the Dues account would handle, that the neighborhood would be
notified of the situation and that further fund raising activities would be
necessary. A. J. Walker
reported that the rebar and forms are in place and ready for concrete to be
poured for the foundations. He tried
diligently to call the City of Austin to talk with someone about getting an
inspector to come out and approve the forms before concrete is poured. However, he was unable to talk with a
person, and then noticed that our permits are "Final", which he interprets to
mean that no inspections will be necessary. He said that he would take photos through each step of the
construction process, so that if any City of Austin personnel later determine
that inspections were necessary, they will have the photos to look at to see
how the work was accomplished. He
requested the help of 5 or 6 men on this upcoming Saturday, October 28th,
to help spread the concrete that would be delivered - and various ones agreed
to help or help recruit help. 2. Brentwood School Zoning Request -
Dales Sellers showed the building plans to the Board and discussed the fact
that the church/school has done and will do everything it can to meet the
concerns expressed by various Eubank and nearby neighbors. Those concerns and their responses are
detailed in a letter from the school to him as the President of the
neighborhood association. Mary Allen
moved, Larie Amsler seconded and we voted to approve their plans, and we
appreciate their having come to us for input. 3. City zoning code violations were
then discussed. Larie Amsler noted
and others agreed that the house with plastic on its roof, still has that, on
the back side of its roof. Inoperable
autos still haven't been moved, and the city says they won't make them
move. Also there is a recliner and a
desk in a yard, which is unsightly, but the city will not take action
regarding those either. Larie said we
could call 311 to inform the City of appropriate zoning code violations. (Note: Mary Allen had to leave the meeting at
this point and Sammy Amsler agreed to take notes for the rest of the
meeting.) Dale recommended that as anyone sees violations they should report them to the Board and the Board will look into them. 4. A.J. suggested a neighborhood cleanup twice a year and the suggestion was made to combine it with the City's cleanup. A comment in a future newsletter was recommended to kick off the neighborhood cleanup. 5. Discussion followed on the upcoming Holiday Newsletter (with notes on cleanup before decorating.) The Board agreed to distribution of newsletters on 12/4 and to Tuesday 12/19 for a neighborhood social when awards of winners in the decoration contest will be announced. Prizes in cash were determined to be First place $25, second place $20, and third place $15. 6. Larie Amsler brought up that police reports from city web site were out of date. A.J. mentioned the recent robbery of jewels on Eubank. Dale suggested that someone be appointed to attend the Police Dept forum.Mark Farver will serve as our neighborhood representative at those forums so we can be aware of the latest incidents in our neighborhood.
7. There was a question as to whether or not the by-laws on the neighborhood's web site are the latest approved by-laws. A.J. is passing on a copy to Sammy Amsler to post the latest version. 8. The Austin Community college invitation for an advisory committee from the neighborhood will be attended by Mark Farver. 9. Dale mentioned that only two families signed the petition for their street to be incorporated into NPENA on Gemini beyond Austin Park Lane. The Board will leave it up to the two families to gather more signatures. The Board meeting was adjourned. Footnotes: Board meeting dates are
located at: http://www.main.org/northpark/#bodmtgdates Archived Board minutes
can be reviewed at: http://www.main.org/northpark/northparklinks.html#minutes |