San Francisco Suites (SFS)—Board of Directors (BOD) Meeting

Open Meeting–August 15, 2020

DRAFT

President Bellah called the meeting to order at 11AM and asked for Roll Call/Introductions. All BOD were present on the Zoom call, including President Geoffrey Bellah, Vice-President Tom Weber, Secretary Linda Banner, Treasurer Jeff Reichel, Member-at-Large JoAnn Trembath, and Manager Cynthia Reid, and there were no owners present. Owner Sue Josselyn joined later. Since there was a quorum, it was determined to hold the meeting.
Since there were no owners present for the Owners Forum,
President Bellah began his report.
Bellah reminded all that the SFS is currently on “pause” as the City is not yet allowing hotels, short-term rentals, or timeshares to reopen.
He described the upcoming election to approve the revised By-Laws. The membership will vote for their approval on November 7, 2020. One purpose of the revision is to remove all direct references to the Davis-Stirling Act. This was based on the recommendation of our attorney, Wayne Louvier, who believes that by doing so SFS can function more efficiently, especially with respect to elections.
He asked the Board to determine whether term limits should be reinstated in the new Bylaws. Term limits had been voided by SB 323 in 2020, but our revised Bylaws could bring them back. After some discussion, the Board decided to reinstate term limits. They proposed increasing each term of office to three years from two, and to set the limit at three consecutive terms. VP Tom Weber moved to reinstate these new terms and limits, Member Trembath seconded, and the motion passed unanimously. President Bellah indicated that he and Manager Reid would work out a plan to implement the new term limits process.
Bellah reminded all that once we are dissociated from the Davis-Stirling Act, we can return to our former, simpler, and less expensive elections procedures. However, the Davis-Stirling Act and SB 323 still apply to us until we have ratified the new Bylaws on November 7, 2020, and so the approval election will be conducted under their rules. An independent contractor,The Ballot Box, will be responsible for sending the ballots, inspecting the election, collecting and counting the ballots once they are returned. Manager Reid suggested that President Bellah vote on behalf of the Association on the SFS-owned shares. Vice-President Weber said that it would be best to have a cover letter from either The Ballot Box or the attorney instead of President Bellah for the election of the restated Bylaws. Even so, President Bellah will be writing a President’s Letter to the membership soon before the election to update them on the situation at the Suites.
Member-at-large Trembath made a motion to have the minutes from the June 13, 2020, meeting approved. Treasurer Reichel seconded the motion, and it passed unanimously.
Treasurer Reichel gave the Treasurer’s report. He stated that we are doing well, in spite of all the expenses on the maintenance and repairs of the building from the Reserve Fund, including the new electrical, plumbing, WiFi, and the digital fire alarm system. And he proposed that we try to earn more interest on our reserve account, especially if/when we are unbound from the Davis-Stirling Act. When President Bellah asked the Treasurer about revenue losses due to the six-month closure, he reported that the decreases are mostly due to lost parking revenue and bonus-time income, which would be about $40,000 over 6 months. We have received a PPP loan to partially cover the payroll expenses. Manager Reid mentioned that if at least 60% of the $128,284.00 loan is used for payroll and health benefits, and 40% for utilities, then it can be “forgiven.” She will apply for the loan forgiveness forms from Wells Fargo in September 2020.
Manager Reid gave her report on the status of the SFS. She began by reporting that SFS owns 16 Parlors. 8 Parlors were adopted in April, 4 Parlors could be adopted in August, and 4 Parlors will be offered for sale at the Board Auction in September for a minimum bid of $1321.00 each. Additionally, 3 owners have installment plans and owe roughly $1872 and 7 owners are in foreclosure with a balance due of roughly $16,140. There was a hazardous electrical situation, which required immediate attention at a cost of $24,007. The money was taken from the Reserve account, as these were repairs. She mentioned that the assessments for 2020-2021 would include a $51 increase from 2019-2020 to $1371.80, which would allow 4% increase for Operations and 3% increase for Reserves. She reported on the Pine Street gate and the Powell Street grill work projects: they are currently in the SF City approval process, which should be completed in a couple of weeks, and they will be installed shortly thereafter. She also reported on the updated WiFi/Filemaker project, which is moving along appropriately. She stated that she has joined the SF Hotel Council to gain information about how other hotels and timeshares are dealing with the closures and pandemic. She mentioned that ventilation throughout the building and especially in the back office is a most critical issue, especially when she and Tony have to work together in that area. Regarding the office, she suggested cutting open the plexi-glass window to allow for airflow from the outside into the back office. Also, the CDC has recommended having windows and doors throughout the Suites open as much as possible to allow for fresh air. It appears that the staff are comfortable wearing masks and maintaining social distancing. Additionally, she mentioned that the Front Desk is calling owners to remind them of their share time loss and to offer compensation in 2021 as approved by the Board in June.
Old Business:
Board Room Wallpaper Replacement – Manager Reid mentioned that Member-at-large Trembath and interior designer Pam Murphy came to SFS a couple of weeks ago and joined by Secretary Banner (via FaceTime) reviewed wallpaper for the Board Room. It ended up that they selected the same paper already recommended by Designer Murphy for the Board Room. And they decided to wait until the 2021 budget is done before deciding on the wallpaper for the lobby.
Rules and Regulations—Member-at-large Trembath asked about the confirmation messages for Bonus Time. She asked that they not include the price of Bonus Time since it is often offered to friends and family as gifts. Manager Reid said that she had created two different confirmation messages, with and without prices, and that owners can request either. Regarding moving guests to other suites during their stays, President Bellah suggested allowing Manager Reid and the staff to handle that delicate situation if it ever comes up.
New Business:
Digital Fire Alarms were discussed. Manager Reid said that the City will require these to be installed in every suite and working by July, 2021, and our electrician has said that it could be a very expensive project. Vice-President Weber offered to help Manager Reid with the process, working with both the City and with the contractor. There are also some old wiring concerns with the chandeliers, and our electrician will try to correct the situation without removing them.
President Bellah made an emergency motion to install an additional railing from the roof to the 4th floor landing, using a white painted railing (which will match the other railing) instead of brass. Member-at-large Trembath seconded the motion, and it passed unanimously. During the discussion, Sue Josselyn mentioned that her daughter fell coming down from the roof, and Secretary Banner mentioned that her former partner also fell coming down from the roof, which contributed to his demise.
8. Adjournment: President Bellah made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 1PM. Treasurer Reichel seconded the motion, and it passed unanimously.