Minutes 

Board of Directors  — Greater Hidden Hills Community Development Corporation (GHHCDC) .  Meeting held at Mainstreet Community Center, Nov. 23, 2013, 10 a.m. -12:05 p.m.

Attended: Jan Costello, Larry Coles, Joyce Russell, Charlene Taylor, Calvin Sims,  Phyllis Frierson, and Rod Frierson

Absent: Nadine Rivers-Johnson

We began at 10:10 with introductions. We reviewed our board responsibilities.

President – Jan Costello

Marketing and Communication (chaired by Nadine Rivers-Johnson)

Finance and Budget (chaired by Secretary-Treasurer Phyllis Frierson)

Ad Hoc Streetscape Committee (chaired by Charlene Taylor)

Fundraising (chaired by Calvin Sims)

Membership Development (To be determined)

 

New Board Member: Joyce Russell has agreed to serve on the Board. She represents the Muirfield neighborhood. We will have an official election process next year.

Photos – Board members will send headshots to Jan so that they can be posted on the website.

 

Update:  Adcox Road Proposed Gas Station/Convenience Store Development

Our understanding is that the owner intends to seek a Special Land Use Permit to build a gas station and a convenience store at 1332 S. Hairston (Hairston/Adcox Road intersection). This is an inappropriate us for that area, and many representatives of the area made that point at the first meeting with the developer Nov.5. The owner is out of town through late December. The architect has provided no new information. Jan will call the owner and ask for a meeting between the GHHCDC Board and the owner/architect to discuss ways to develop a thriving business plan that meets the conditions of the overlay zoning. Wendall Ervin plans to update the Community Council about our objections. We will continue to watch the matter closely and keep the community informed.

 

Treasurer’s Report – We have $108.22. The report is attached and on http://www.greaterhiddenhillscdc.org

 

Banking Account – We discussed where to set up a checking account. Calvin Sims suggests that we open the account with Wells Fargo because there is a branch in Tier Two of the overlay zone and the bank has a strong community reinvestment commitment. The discussion concerned the costs of the account. The Wells Fargo Gold Business Services Package does not have service charges, but it seems to require that $150 be deposited in a savings account each month. Calvin suggested that we set up automatic transfers between the checking and savings account. Some people expressed concern about the time and hassle of monitoring the activity. Calvin said that another option would be to leave $500 in the checking account at all times.

 

Larry Coles and several others suggested we open an account with whichever institution gives us the best rate. We can always change accounts later when we have more money.

 

Calvin will check further on the options at Wells Fargo and at other banks. If others know of a good rate for a non-profit checking account, please let the Board know.

 

To open a banking account, Calvin mentioned we would need a Corporate Resolution. Charlene will forward a sample of such a resolution to Jan. We already have the Articles of Incorporation, Employer Identification Number, and state incorporation.

 

Grants – Joyce said she would research grants available the Foundation Center (http://foundationcenter.org/) and other institutions and select the top possibilities for the GHH CDC to pursue in 2014.

 

Membership – Board members thought it would be a good idea to visit the business meetings held by the Tucker Main Street Alliance. Jan learned from co-found Honey Van de Kreke that businesses pay $125/year for membership. The Alliance attracts businesses to meetings by offering food and guest speakers who address business development issues. The Alliance has had tremendous success over the last 10 years. Jan said she would get in touch and let the Board know about upcoming meetings.

 

Promotion – The logo and website masthead are under development. The layout of the flyer will follow the creation and acceptance of the logo.

 

Calvin shared his ideas for including the names of all the neighborhoods in and adjacent to the overlay zone. Phyllis and Jan shared an idea. The Board does like the idea of using all of the neighborhood names. Phyllis and Jan will work on incorporating that element into the design. He suggested changing the “kicker” under the organization’s name as follows: “a nonprofit collaborative initiative to market and develop our community.” The Board agreed.

 

We discussed reaching out to businesses. Wendall Ervin reported that he now has a list of businesses and contacts in more than 50 percent of the area. We plan to invite the businesses to be part of this economic development organization. We discussed having a kickoff meeting with refreshments and speakers if the first quarter 2014. There is a new meeting facility on Redan, and Jan will approach the owner about hosting the meeting.

 

 

New Business – The South DeKalb Improvement Association asked that we network with the Wesley Chapel area on economic development issues. We received and made new contacts. We are already sharing experience and collaborating with each other through David George, and we will continue to do so.

 

Our next board meeting will be Jan. 11, 2014, 10 a.m. at Mainstreet Community Center.