A Board Meeting of the Raritan Yacht Club was called to order at 20:22 on March 8, 2005.

 

1.     Roll Call

 

 

N

D

J

F

M

A

M

J

J

A

S

O

N

Commodore Len Keating

n

x

x

x

x

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

VC Dave Frizell

o

x

o

x

x

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

RC Vicky Jo Neiner

 

x

x

x

x

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PC William B. Adams

m

x

x

o

x

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jim Bauer

e

x

x

x

x

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Richard Codd

e

x

o

x

o

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

James Mackevich

t

x

x

x

x

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ann Myer

i

x

x

x

x

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Skippy Paul

n

x

x

x

o

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PC Raoul Rabiner

g

x

x

x

x

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tony O’Reilly

 

o

o

x

x

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Peter Rebovich, Jr.

 

x

x

o

x

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Barry Rosengarten

 

x

x

x

x

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jerry Solas

 

x

o

x

o

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Roger Young

 

x

x

x

x

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

x = present, o = absent

 

2.     The February minutes were accepted.

 

3.     Neither Shep King nor Tom Higgins was present to give the Financial Report.  Tom was going to report on insurance; he will report next month.  The Financial Report cannot be sent electronically.

 

4.     Vicky Jo Neiner presented the Rear Commodore’s Report.

 

a.     Three quotes have been received for the four lost pilings.  A fifth will be redrilled and debris will be removed.  The lowest bid was $8000.  A bid from the people doing the City work was twice this amount.  Dave suggested that the Board approve the expenditure in a resolution.

b.     Vicky met with the people doing the bulkhead repairs.  They have an upgraded engineering plan from McClarin.

c.     The 2-ton hoist was finished.

d.     Vicky met with Fleet Captain, Howard Paul, about some problem areas.

e.     The race schedule was completed.  The Dave Perry seminar was a success.

f.      Members have volunteered to help with the upkeep of the launches.  Two new drivers will be needed.

 

5.     Dave Frizell presented the Vice Commodore’s Report.

 

a.     Dave reminded everyone that the St. Patrick’s Day event is coming up.

b.     Dave asked how many Board members thought a late Spring Formal would draw interest from the membership.  To be successful, a turnout of about 10% of the members would be needed.  There wasn’t a big response.

c.     Dave presented his thoughts on the Sinking Fund and distributed two handouts.  One was a current Sinking Fund analysis, and the other was an analysis that incorporated his ideas.  He suggested that the replacement value of the launches should be $75,000 instead of $60,000 and their lifetime should be 10 years instead of 20 years.  He also consolidated some of the categories.  Dave noted that the bulkhead was uninsurable and suggested that half the replacement cost (about $200,000) should be placed in a long term security, which would take the place of insurance.  Dave should work with the Finance Committee and bring a recommendation back to the Board.

d.     Dave presented a 10 page set of plans for the Grill room.  He is getting prices now.  The cost for the main portion of the Grill room would be about $75,000-$100,000.  Work could start January 2006.  The Surf room project would cost $45,000.  Dave suggested that the Club start with the Surf room and then do as much as possible to the Grill room.  He will have details in the next few months.  Bill reminded the Board that they must decide priorities.

e.     The decking on the roof to protect it from the storage area will be done a week from Saturday.

 

6.     Len Keating presented the Commodore’s Report.

 

a.     Max Lopez sent a thank-you letter to the Club.  Barbara declined the offer to put their request letter in TellTales.  Max won the Florida State Championship out of a fleet of 200 boats.

b.     Last year the Club donated $100 to the City of Perth Amboy for the Domestic Response Team.

c.     The tall ship that was present last summer will have a permanent berth at Perth Amboy.  The owners are planning to become RYC members.

d.     Work on the cash registers is on-going.  They should be in place before Opening Day.

       

7.     Roger Young distributed a handout that listed items for the next issue of TellTales.  Opening Day will be April 30 and Haulout will be October 22.  Launch service usually starts a week earlier.

 

8.     Jim Bauer reported on the RYC web page.  The calendar is in Outlook style and can include as much detail as available.  It goes through December 2005, but could go further out.  There is a members-only section that includes back issues of TellTales and Board minutes from the last several months.  Jim asked whether to include the Club roster.  A motion to include the roster in the members-only section passed.  The By Laws and Rules should also be included.

 

9.     Ann Myer reported that 124 people attended the Dave Perry seminar.  The Club netted $650.  PHRF donated $100.  There are tentative plans to hold a Team Race clinic on JY15s this summer with Dave Perry as instructor.

 

10.   Old Business.

 

a.     Vicky reminded the Board that the damaged pilings need to be replaced before Opening Day.  She asked the Board to approve an expenditure of up to $9,000 for this work.  It was approved.

 

11.   New Business.

 

a.     Vicky distributed a handout, “Suggested Additions to Mooring Rules for 2005”.  The term, commissioned, was defined as, “made to be a useable mooring”.  A motion to approve the changes and additions passed.

b.     The topic of an increase in the membership limit to 320 Regular members was discussed.  Comments included: there could be issues of the number of moorings and parking spaces, it is sometimes too crowded at dinner with the current number of members, some new members do not have boats, and that some people may join just for the social aspects.  It was noted that the Club is on the borderline financially with just 300 members.  In addition to the number of members, different types of membership should be addressed.  For example, a small boat membership could attract younger members to the Club.  One suggestion was to increase the membership to 400, which would provide sufficient funds to do much more at the Club, including hiring a manager.  The 400 members could consist of 300 boating members and 100 social members.  Rather than act on this immediately, it was decided to carefully consider the options.  The Membership Committee should look into this topic, including what is done at other clubs, and come back to the Board next month.  If a change is agreed upon, the plan should be placed on the agenda for the November Annual meeting.

c.     Raoul asked a few questions about the proposed new docks, including whether they would be taken out of the water each year and what kind of warranty they came with.

d.     Tony expressed a concern about guests of members who order from the Galley and then leave without paying their bill.  A suggestion was made that bills should come out with the food.  Another thought was that members should be held responsible for the bills of their guests.  A new rule regarding this topic will be considered and presented next month.

e.     Two weeks ago one of the Galley waiters mugged the daughter of a member.  Pete suggested that procedures for hiring should be reviewed.  Background checks could be required, but these only give adult criminal convictions.  Slavko and whoever hires the launch drivers and cleaning staff should be contacted.

f.      Barry requested that a policy should be set for the launch drivers to maintain the cleanliness of the launches and launch area.  Dave will meet with Vicky and the launch chairperson about this.

 

12.   The meeting was adjourned at 22:40.

 

Respectfully Submitted,

Fred Hartner

Secretary

 

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