BOARD of directors meeting august 7, 2021

Oct 13, 2021

DRAFT

San Francisco Suites

Board of Directors’ Open Meeting

August 7, 2021

  1. I. Call to Order

President Bellah called the meeting to order at 11:03 AM. The meeting was held online via Zoom.

II. Roll Call

Board Directors present:

Geoffrey Bellah, President

Jo Ann Trembath, Vice-President

Jeff Reichel, Treasurer

Linda Banner, Secretary

Chuck Meibeyer, Member-at-Large

Others present:

Cynthia Reid, General Manager

Fred Munroe, owner

Sue Jocelyn, owner

III. Owners Forum

Fred Munroe suggested reviving the Owners Bulletin Board at the Suites’ Website to allow for and improve opportunities for members of the Association to share information about the Suites. Sue Jocelyn mentioned that she enjoys the Zoom meetings.

IV. President’s Report

President Bellah reported that the city seems more lively and “normal” than a few months earlier, with more businesses open, pedestrians strolling, and cable cars running. Even so, the city and county of San Francisco have imposed a new mandate requiring indoor masking and social distancing in response to the increase in Covid cases from the Delta variant. That means the cancelation, once again, of the afternoon wine and cheese service and the reimposition of safety protocols at the Suites.

V. Approval of Minutes

The minutes from the June 19, 2021, meeting was approved unanimously, following Trembath’s motion and Jeff’s second. President Bellah thanked Secretary Banner for her excellent work.

VI. Treasurer’s Report

  1. A. The Association’s future finances remain in flux because of the consequences of this year’s shutdown due to Covid, with a higher number of non-productive Association-owned shares in the inventory, mostly due to deed backs. These shares will need to be sold, or at the very least adopted, in order for the Association to meet its annual budgeting needs.

  2. B. Borrowing from the Reserve fund to pay for unanticipated maintenance and repairs is acceptable if the money is returned from the following year’s assessment. 2021’s high legal expenses because of the Bylaws election will probably not be repeated in 2022.

  3. C. All in all, the Association remains is good financial condition, and the deferred Reserve payment from 2020 will be deposited by the end of this year.

VII. General Manager’s Report

  1. A. The Association currently owns 29 parlor shares. Of these, 13 were adopted in July, with 4 adopters promising to purchase them; 3 were sold in the recent Board of Directors’ Auction; and the remaining 13 will be available for adoption or sale in the fall.

  2. B. Seven owners have not paid their 2021 assessment and their shares will move toward foreclosure. The VOTA Auction of these shares (3 Masters and 4 Parlors) will be held in December.

  3. C. There have been 7 deed backs so far in 2021.

  4. D. The Reserve Study for 2021 has been completed and delivered.

  5. E. The parquet floors in several suites’ kitchens have buckled and are needing replacement, at $5,000 per floor. The buckling is due to age, with the adhesive drying out.

  6. F. Paint touch-ups are being scheduled for all suites.

  7. G. The annual fire sprinkler inspection has been completed.

  8. H. The boiler has been inspected and a small repair was done.

  9. I. The chandelier in suite 31 was balanced and rehung.

J. The Employee of the Quarter is Tony Verastegui.

Old Business

  1. A. Indoor masking and social distancing are again required at the Suites due to the surge in Covid infection rates. Moreover, the Board Room is not available for rentals. The afternoon wine and cheese in the lobby is cancelled. Instead, guests are encouraged to bring their wine and cheese selections to enjoy in their own suites.

  2. B. The Board unanimously passed a motion to change the Rules and Regulations prohibiting the storage of bicycles and other personal vehicles at the Suites. Trembath offered the motion and Meibeyer seconded it. President Bellah will revise the new rule to eliminate the vague term “recreational vehicle.”

  3. C. The Adopt-a-Share will be held in September.

  4. D. Mark Leahy, the Suites’ gardener, and florist will replace the plants on the roof for $2400. He has also proposed quarterly visits to the roof to maintain the garden at $60 per visit.

New Business

  1. A. A draft of the 2022 budget has been presented to the Board, for approval at the November meeting. It includes a 6% increase in Operations and a 5% increase in Reserves. (In 2021 the increased were 5% respectively for both.) The proposed annual assessment for 2022 would be $1453, an $80 increase over 2021.

  2. B. Bonus Time rate increases were approved unanimously by the Board, with Trembath making the motion and Reichel seconding it. The new nightly rate for Parlors will be $140, and for Masters $160.

  3. C. Bill Patterson, our webmaster is updating the website and needs to move the site to a new host. In order to do this, the sfsuitescsa.com domain needs to be attached to the General Manager’s email at creidgm@sfsuitescsa.com.

  4. D. The Board unanimously approved Manager Reid’s request to post sales of Association-owned shares at various online sites, i.e., Redweek, Craigslist, tug2.net, and eBay, with Meibeyer introducing the motion, and Trembath seconding it. In approving it, the Board emphasized the importance of selling shares over adopting them; and authorized Reid to hold a special sale of Association-owned parlor shares for $1 a share, not including closing costs. To further the appeal of these shares, the Board proposed seeking to reduce the high cost of escrow and eliminating the requirement to purchase title insurance. (Of course, escrow will still include a preliminary title search, which may or may not uncover any liens or other problems with the title.) Member Meibeyer agreed to create a form which would allow new owners to opt out of title insurance.

  5. Forward Planning

The long-anticipated Board Room remodel, window blinds replacement, and new lobby wallpaper projects are deferred until 2022.

Adjournment

President Bellah adjourned the meeting at 12:45 PM, following a motion by Trembath, seconded by Reichel, which passed unanimously.

 

General Manager Letter – september

Oct 13, 2021

San Francisco Suites

 September 30,2021

 Dear San Francisco Suites Owners,

 The autumn is the most beautiful time of the year to visit San Francisco, as the light turns softer and more golden. San Franciscans insist that the weather in September and October is a reprieve from the fog drenched days of July and August and is our summertime.

 On this last day of September, while looking out at the Golden Gate Bridge and the Bay, I am reminded of the poem written by Lawrence Ferlinghetti, the Poet Laureate of San Francisco,

 The Changing Light

The changing light at San Francisco

 Is none of your East Coast light

 None of your

 pearly light of Paris

The light of San Francisco

                          is a sea light

                                     An island light

And the light of fog

Blanketing the hills

Drifting in at night

Through the Golden Gate

To lie on the city at dawn

And then the halcyon late mornings

After the fog burns off

And the sun paints white houses

With the sea light of Greece

With sharp clean shadows

 Making the town look like

 It had just been painted

But the winds come up at four o’clock

Sweeping the hills

And then the veil of light of early evening

And then another scrim

When the new night fog

Floats in

And in that vale of light

The city drifts

Anchorless upon the ocean

 I attended the SF Hotel Council seminar and listened to hospitality leaders from SF Travel sector discuss the current and future situation in San Francisco and further discussions as to how the hotel and tourism industry can stay resilient in order to keep current in this ever-changing business environment created by the pandemic.

 San Francisco has been dependent on Asian and European travelers and this market has declined. For the next two years most tourism in SF will come from interstate.

 It was suggested that hotels concentrate on the guest comfort, cleanliness, upgraded internet access, as most meetings will continue to be held on Zoom and activities which are unique to SF.

 Initially during the early part of the pandemic crisis, hotels were instituting touchless service so that the guest would not be interacting will personnel. This turned out to be unsuccessful as most of us in the hospitality sector understand the importance of close guest contact and how essential it is for guests to be welcomed by familiar staff rather than a robot delivering your room service.

 In all the areas discussed, I felt that the Suites excelled. From our enhanced cleaning protocols and Covid precautions, upgraded and complimentary internet access and to our proficient and welcoming staff, we have met the challenge of protecting our guests and staff while offering a sparkling clean environment where our owners can take refuge and enjoy life in San Francisco.

 The Board and I offer our heartful appreciation to all the owners of the San Francisco Suites who reached out and helped me sell 20 parlors from the Fall Parlor Sale. Owners have expressed to me the important the Suites have played in their lives. One new owner explained how his family taught him as a child to behave like a “little gentleman at a hotel” and that now he wants to pass this experience on to his son. The owner who described how she got ready for her wedding day at the Suites and walked done the Pine street steps in her wedding dress. There have been quite a lot of quiet birthday and anniversaries celebrated at the Suites. One couple celebrated their first time out since the lockdown to come to the Suites and then celebrate their 53-year anniversary by having a glass of champagne and then off for dinner at Spruce.

 If I have learned anything this year, I have learned the importance of being resilient and staying open to change and the importance of looking forward to the future and making plans. So now is the time to plan for the holidays at the Suites. We have been heavily booked since June, especially on the weekends. The beginning of October is Fleet Week and then Veterans Day in and Thanksgiving in November. December is open so book your time before you reserve your tickets to the Nutcracker Ballet at the War Memorial. The autumn wreathes are up in the lobby. If you arrive on Pine Street, you will see the elegant gate with the brass SFS logo, just push the door chime and the staff will buzz you in and hot cider with cinnamon will be served in the lobby in the afternoon. After you check in you might want to take a mug of cider up to the newly refreshed rooftop garden and relax and look at the city view from the gazebo.

 Many restaurants are showing resilience by re opening with new décor and a more casual menu such as Nancy Oakes, iconic restaurant Boulevard on the Embarcadero or Tyler Florence, the owner of Wayward Tavern has just opened his new glamorous, waterfront, steak house with an outside patio at the Chase Center called Miller and Lux

 The Van Gogh Immersive Art Exhibit has now been extended to Novenber7. After the show you could enjoy the famous roast chicken for lunch outside at the Zuni Café on Gough.

 For an afternoon side trip, I suggest driving over the Golden Gate up to Petaluma and crossing thru the vineyards and eucalyptus forest to Tomales Bay and enjoy the fresh oysters on the half shell at Nick’s Cove outside on the patio. Continuing to the charming town of Point Reyes and turning back up to SF on the famous Pacific Coast Highway #1. Don’t forget to stop at Stinson Beach for a stroll or a swim in the ocean.

 ‘Revenge Travel’ is the new term to describe the urgency that people feel to get out and travel. California is the safest state to visit due to the high vaccination, low hospitalizations and Covid cases especially in San Francisco.

 So please get vaccinated, bring your masks and start making plans so your memories continue at the San Francisco Suites.

The staff and I look forward to welcoming you back home.

Warmest wishes,

Cynthia Reid
General Manager
San Francisco Suites