Meeting Start: 5:31 pm.
Attendees: David, Gerald, Shari, Kevin, Theresa, Jim., Alan, Phil, and Patty
We have a quorum.
Minutes:
Kevin motioned for approval of the minutes, Theresa seconded, all say aye.
Treasurer’s Report:
Theresa shared the club had received a check for $120 from the neighbor for
Using the hall’s trash can for the next year. Also, all of Santa’s breakfast reimbursements now cashed and completed.
Charitable giving includes sight and hearing and crab feed.
Rent increased to $825. Report shows February’s rent of $825 in January statement depending on when the bank posts it from the bill pay account.
January Administrative account has $13,915.64 and Activities account has $38,485.74.
Money is given away in the Activities account.
Rainy day/building fund is in the Administration account.
Kevin moved to accept treasurer’s report, Patty seconded, no discussion, all say aye.
Thrift Store:
David shared the thrift store spread sheet. It includes monthly sales, donations, expenses and cash flow. Expenses run roughly run under $1000 per month. He plans to do another spread sheet for the Lions Hall as well.
January income for the thrift store was $3834.20. A great total for January as its usually much slower. David thanked all who work in the thrift store to keep business thriving.
Sight & Hearing:
Michele is out of town.
Meals:
Judy has posted a new sign-up sheet for dinners and appetizers. Need all to sign up when you are able.
Facilities:
June has signed a long-term rental, a youth gymnastic group run by Candi (Barbecue food truck co-owner). The group will meet 2 hours a week every Thursday from 4-6 pm and set up mats and 2 balance beams. The group has agreed to pay $200 per month which will cover the electricity and water for the hall. There was concern when Lunch Bunch coincides with the gymnastic group. David shared there was ample time between the two events to break down tables and sweep floors before the gymnastic group arrives.
June signed another one-time rental in April for $200.
Jim shared that the club could also get additional rental from the Celtic Festival.
Candi will approach the club separately to start a crafters group in the hall; another paying group to help offset hall costs.
Membership:
David shared the hope to start a Leo’s club by sharing Leos pamphlets and applications to the Peace Poster families attending dinner this evening. The 11-year-old age group of the kids this evening is the perfect age to begin Leos. YYFAP had a similar program in the past where the kids did community service like what Leos clubs do today. Gerald thought the teen group was very active until approximately 11 years ago when it was disbanded; not sure of the reason. With the new families that have since moved to Yachats, many of these kids are now in their teens. Numerous parents have been asking YYFAP to start a service program for the teens. Phil shared he had been active in the Rotary Interact club in Grants Pass with two of his teens going through high school and for two years in the Newport Rotary club. He asked to be involved with assisting the Waldport Leos club in starting up. Phil recommended we meet with the school counselors to discuss the importance of activities and community service on resumes when applying for scholarships. David shared that Leos club could receive up to $1500 per year for projects from LCI with the help from the District. There is no active Leos club in Lincoln County due to the Newport club’s teacher leaving with no one to take over.
David also shared that at last year’s Convention, an Arizona Lions club member said he runs 20 plus active Leos club for his district. Most of the clubs are not in the schools due to the heavy bureaucracy put on the Leos program. This enables clubs to have an adult (not necessarily a teacher) to be an advisor. They would also need a Lions member liaison. Jim said he has already looked at 35-40 applications for scholarships and very few have community service hours listed on their applications. Gerald asked if there could be joint sponsorship of the Leos club with Waldport and Yachats as they move forward. David said yes its possible.
David shared that Waldport Lions continue to have internal problems and are losing more members.
Programs:
Spots have now been filled for February and March speaker meetings. In a discussion with June, David and June thought April and May meetings could be used to invite the current recipients of the community awards donations to come share what they use club donations for. They felt this could help inform all our club members where and what our donations go to. Kevin asked if all recipients will be given the opportunity to speak. David shared recipients would be given a chance to share in 4-minute speech limit. All recipients would be given the chance to share whether they could attend or not. Kevin shared letters were sent out to all recipients and called on the phone last year.
Digital Media:
In a phone conversation with Lori, she shared with David that she is now able to figure out and work with the calendar online. The club will need to reduce cost on keeping the website up. There is a question of the platform used whether to keep or change to another program. David said he will follow up to see if he can figure out the site himself rather than using Bruce. Questions on what to use the website for. Facebook is good for posting pictures. David said the digital site is good for attracting younger people as well as the local community. Kevin shared that WordPress is very popular, but very old. The club needs to decide how to work with what we have without redoing the entire site. Redoing would be very expensive.
Old Business:
Crab feed: Kevin shared that Lions served 174 people this year with 23 helpers vs 199 people served in 2023. He said everyone helped this year. Expenses were higher in 2023 due to Bruce developing the website. Even with 25 less customers served this year, the higher ticket price increased the overall profit this year. Net profit this year was $4018 vs $2336 in 2023. Both the Commons and the Hall ran very smoothly. Jim played host at the hall and felt all the guests seem to be happy and having a good time. They commented on the more open seating and how wonderful the crab was this year. The one guest that mistakenly signed up for the Commons instead of the Hall was quickly rectified. There were even several first timers who promised to be back next year. Kevin shared though we had only 5 Job Corps kids helping this year the club had enough help. With generous tipping by the guests, each Job Corp student came away with $119 in tips! The highlight for the evening at the Commons was the sale of the fur coat and hat, aptly named “Esther” and donated by former Lion Esther’s son, Stephen. It sold for $300! Shari shared the crab feed weekend was very profitable for Yachats Lions with the crab feed event, the thrift store open both Saturday and Sunday and the added bonus of “Esther”. Phil shared the Heritage Foundation had their crab feed on the same day, but their cost was $75 per ticket. Gerald asked if Kevin’s total included takeout and also if all extra crab was sold. Kevin replied yes on the takeout tally and since all extra crab was given to the workers; no crabs were sold. Gerald said the board should have been asked before raising the
(cont.) Old Business:
ticket price. He said several past patrons did not come because of the higher price. David said the board would have the opportunity to revisit the pricing next year.
Yachats Lions Debit Card: Theresa has them. David suggested if a member should need something paid by the debit card to please contact Theresa so she can process the debit. TiAanne asked if Lions is donating to Beachcombers this year. Lions donated $500 to them last year. Kevin motioned to give them $500 this year, Jim seconded, all say aye.
Speaker Meetings: David brought up a discussion with June and they agreed the club use the April/May Speaker meetings to hear from our current community donation recipients given opportunities to tell what they plan on using their donation for. Letters will be sent to ask and invite. The intent is to get more club members involved and aware of our community donations. David will send out requests for members interested to be on the committee with Jim who has headed the committee in the past.
Community Projects: In a discussion with Lori, David clarified that Lori proposed we could approach other groups see if there is interest in Lions partnering with them on a project. Jim and Kevin asked about funding. David clarified that any funding would go through the regular club process. The goal of any project was doing service. David shared Joanne Katel?, who is very active in various community projects, said using the Lions name would be very helpful when her group reached out for grants. Shari shared that a member interested in starting any project could do so individually as well as a group. She emphasized the importance of partnering for success and a way to get new members.
David clarified there were two options suggested by Lori: partnering on a larger project and possibly giving a larger donation to less recipients. He said both options would need the committee approval. Jim shared that some groups responded back that they were fine with the funds they received. David reminded all that members interested in a specific project needed to step up and help lead it. Shari suggested the club find a fun project like the car raffle that raised a larger amount of money. Phil suggested having another duck race like what YYFAP sponsors every July 4th. Jim asked for more member help for Sandra doing “birthday bags” since this is a Lions sponsored activity. Jim said he found the old kitchen hood bid and was planning to pursue getting a new bid and solicit the Siletz tribe for grant money. He is hoping the club can get back to using the kitchen with the hoods and renting the kitchen out for use again. Kevin questioned if the club is legally able rent the kitchen out. David said Alan is reviewing our insurance policy/agreement for proper coverage. Theresa shared the club is down $100 for dinners and David is asking members to pay $10 for dinner meals. Members who prepared food would be reimbursed for expenses. For additional $1, ½ would go to Dimes for Diabetes and the other ½ to a raffle. Gerald requested the club find a permanent cleaner soon by raising their fee since the hall is now being used more often.
Meeting adjourned: 6:25 pm
Start: 5:35 pm
Attendees: David, Alan, Phil, Jim, Gerald, Lori, Mike S., Shari, Theresa, Kevin, and Patty. Michele also attended.
Minutes: Jim proposed a motion to accept the 10/10/2023 minutes as presented, Gerald seconded, all say aye.
Treasurer’s Report
Theresa shared the treasurer’s report was pretty straight forward.
Hall rental of $400 for mushroom festival. Gerald asked if the event was for one event. Theresa said yes. David questioned number of events.
Theresa clarified there was only one event, the mushroom festival for 2 days; the rental amount is $200 per day.
Theresa asked David to clarify the charge of $1582 for Blue Sprocket who said that was the digital ad for Yachats News.
Crab feed website cost is $360. Kevin stated this is just the beginning for charges pertaining to the crab feed.
Kevin clarified the $380 is a yearly subscription to maintain the entire website. David said it includes the domain name and payment.
David and Patty went into the bank to get added to the bank account.
Received 2 donations. Volks Walk raised and gave $40 and a private individual from Eugene gave $25. Lunch bunch closed their books and gave the club $300.
Net income: $1361.
Gerald moved to accept the treasurer’s report, Shari seconded, all in favor aye.
Thrift Store:
-Shari shared the thrift store total for the month was $4682.64 and stated that it was very good. Theresa said who ever worked the thrift over the weekend “rocked” because of the huge weekend total.
-Shari and Michele worked the thrift store over the weekend and made $1300. Sunday was over a $400 day. Shari wanted to share more on the store and will do so later.
-David agreed upon board request to discuss the thrift store rent increase.
-Lou Caputo reached out to Gerald and David to speak about raising the rent. David shared the thrift store rent had not been raised for the last 13 years with an increase of only $25.
-Lou said his expenses continue to increase while rents in town are also increasing. He is raising the rent $108 per month in 2024 and additional $108 per month 2025.
-A suggestion was raised to turn off water, but that would not get the rent reduced and the volunteers used the restroom facilities when working.
-David gave members the choice of accepting the rent increase or the club would need to find another building.
-Kevin felt the club had options on what to do with the thrift store and the club should investigate.
-Shari voiced that the club should use the hall for the thrift store and the thrift store revenues have been supporting the Lions Hall for many years while the hall remains mostly unused and empty when there are no meetings. She also felt the thrift store members had been taken advantage of by not getting their voice heard in how we use the hall. Shari said she would not support the rent increase.
-David responded that there are other members that would not like the thrift store moving into the hall and would like to see the hall used more for other events.
-Kevin said in two years the club would be paying $11,000 per year.
-David said the rent increase amounted to $1200 per year in addition to the current rent. -Kevin clarified that the thrift store cost per year is $11,000.
-Theresa shared that the hall raised money for crab feeds, pancake breakfasts and hall rental use.
-David reminded everyone that in previous pandemic years, the hall was used multiple times per week for other activities. Over time some members have voted against the hall being used by non-members.
-Kevin responded that had not happened for at least the last 10 years and said he will head up a discussion group to find other options. He asked for volunteers.
-Shari said she had never seen that usage in her time as a member. Kevin said there are options.
-Gerald shared Lou’s insurance cost is $500 per month and is making $200 per month for the store. Gerald also felt that the club’s success should not be based on surpassing the previous year’s donations to the community. He said that we should recognize Lou’s rental increase is within his rights as a landlord and Lou is thinking of the increase in a 2 year plan.
-Kevin affirmed the rent increase was totally reasonable.
-David reminded all that we need to let Lou know the club’s current decision about the rent increase.
-Michele suggested we accept the rental increase for 2024 and let Lou know the club is investigating other options for 2025.
-David suggested the club needs to find out what is on our current lease/rental agreement and to clarify if the club has a 30 day notice to cancel.
-Shari shared that the club is averaging 30 to 40 hours per week to operate the thrift store and averaging $850 per month.
-Jim felt the club should take into account the business generated during the summer at the hall and thrift store locations in relation to the Commons.
-David reminded the board not all members want to work at the thrift store and that the club also needed other activities to keep members engaged.
-Lori asked if the thrift store moves into the Hall what other activities the hall will be used for to make it a viable building for all.
-Lori moved we accept the rent increase for 2024 and establish a group to investigate other options. Kevin seconded the motion, all say aye. Shari abstained.
Sight & Hearing:
-Michele shared she had signed up one new individual, Chris, to the eyeglass program and okayed his additional cost for his glasses. She also accepted Casey Hatter’s application to for vision screening and glasses.
-The club agreed that applications we receive should be handled by the Yachats club and not sent to Mary with the Waldport Lions.
-Michele shared that Yachats Lions had 100% participation during the school vision screening event. Dan, Robin, Phil and Mike H, along with June and David worked to make it a success as well.
-David added that he helped at 2 schools in Lincoln City.
-Jim said it was great that the club finally got a schedule to work with. Junction City had previously been given Yachats slots for eye screening.
-David followed up that we get an article put into the newsletter to recognize Michele’s hard work in organizing volunteers. He said Oregon Lions Sight and Hearing (OLSF) was very proactive in getting the program on board.
Meals: Judy asked for help for the December dinner meeting.
Facilities: Still looking for a facilities person/s. June has no current rentals. Robert has currently been cleaning the hall. Gerald stated Robert has been actively keeping the hall cleaned and would be open to accepting the invitation to be the facilities position.
Membership/Programs: This membership chair position currently is open. June has been actively finding programs and has speakers lined up for the next four speaker meetings. David reminded all that getting new members was everyone’s responsibility.
Digital Media/Website Maintenance:
–Lori has been working with Bruce Rawls, the website designer?. They have posted and updated the minutes. Bruce has updated the information for the crab feed, the Hall rental agreement/contract and currently working on the calendar. Lori said she can post anything on Facebook if she gets the information.
-Lori, Mayona and Jude repainted the old thrift store sign for a much-needed facelift.
-Mike and Lori were able to put up the newly painted sign on the thrift store.
Old Business:
-Ellie has resigned from the Lions Club and her director position is currently open.
-Michele offered to accept the open position of 2023-2024 since she had to attend the board meetings for sight and hearing. Jim moved that we accept Michele as director, Gerald seconded, all say aye.
-Kevin said he should have updates in December regarding the crab feed. He is planning to train David on the new website.
-David will take over the running the crab feed until someone else can takeover.
-Theresa said the Commons is officially booked for the crab feed.
-June is working on the liquor license and food handlers certificate.
Old Business, cont.-
-Community Project-Lawrence checked with the city to see if the Lions can help out in some way.
-Lori and Patty will work on getting a proposal on how to do bigger projects vs smaller donations to the community.
-Jim clarified that we had proposed for last year to keep donating to our current donors and also see if they need additional funding for their projects.
-Lori suggested we vote on a larger project that all the members could work on.
-Shari reminded that we have previously proposed asking the community if Lions could partner with them.
-The city mentioned that basketball hoops were in need of work/upgrade in the Commons building.
-Other project possibilities include the Log Church, the Boardwalk, and the Trolley.
-Mike Stevens said 804 trail benches are getting old, but the replacement would have to be stainless steel costing $1000 per each. He suggested working with the Parks and the Commons on joint projects.
New Business:
-Service opportunities start by members stepping up and doing.
-Kevin suggested having a good club brainstorming session on getting a concrete/doable list of projects.
-Jim asked if the club could partner with the Presbyterian church in helping the unhoused. The Presbyterian Church has a grant to obtain a shower/washer/dryer combination for them. It will be set out on the church back parking lot. The specifics are still in the works. The church is getting a 501(c)3 for the shower/washer/dryer project they will call “Don’s Place”.
-Through community interest, the Lunch Bunch will start up again at the Lions Hall on Thursdays starting on Dec. 21st. Will be one Thursday a month. This may help re-introduce Lions to the community and getting new members. It will be a Lions event.
The previous Lunch Bunch group donated $300 back to the Lions. David suggested the Lions donation time be pushed back to 12:30 in the hopes of keeping the donation time and also garnering new interest.
-David proposed the club start a Speaker series will start again. It would start after church on Sunday afternoons, once a month.
-The Common’s group called Academy of Arts and Science will also be having a speaker series.
-Gerald asked if Lions would be providing coffee and snacks like the previous group.
-David clarified that when Lions had the event, snacks and coffee were provided.
-David’s goal is to try and provide service that had disappeared during Covid.
-YYFAP calendar now includes the thrift store ad. Lori proposed making the ad about Lions with a mission statement. The deadline is Friday to make that change.
-Lori is emailing out 3 mission statements to be voted on for the Yachats Lions website.
Meeting adjourned: 6:32 pm.