Minutes of the OTIA Board-December 5, 2018
Board members present: Colleen Hodges, Tracy Kleinschmidt, Kevin Shifley, Jim Loring, Richard Rieck, Ken Hohs, Nancy Krejsa, Ramona Triebold, and Jill Bates.
Members at large present: James Harms, Wanling Ruan and Katie Eaman.
The meeting was called to order by President Tracy Kleinschmidt at 7:02pm.
The minutes of the October Board meeting were read by Secretary Colleen Hodges. Ramona Triebold made a motion to accept the minutes as read. Jill Bates seconded the motion and it passed.
Treasurer’s Report-Treasurer William Yarbrough was not able to attend this meeting. He will present an updated report at the February meeting of the Board.
President Tracy Kleinschmidt began the meeting with a round table discussion of goals for the coming year. Some items that were mentioned for consideration were:
- Increased communication with members
- Greater visibility for the subdivision in the larger community
- Cooperation with other similar communities for sharing information and ideas
- Advanced planning for budget, events, and transparency
Members offered their thoughts on some items to help advance these goals. Discussions included:
- Communication-Nancy Krejsa will take over the website and will help develop a communication strategy that will be consistent and include multiple types of media. She will explore options for document sharing sites to increase communication for the Board.
- Katie Eaman will continue to publish The Acorn each month which will include articles of interest to our residents along with important events.
- Parks-Rich Rieck has offered to take over the position of Parks Commissioner for Oak Terrace. He will communicate with our landscape service about projects that need to be done. He will also survey the parks periodically to make sure all maintenance is current.
- Cooperation with Fremont Township-Ken Hohs has volunteered to be our representative on a panel being assembled by Diana O’Kelly to explore the possibility of consolidating services in the unincorporated areas of the township in order to secure the lowest price for our residents. He will pursue the possibility of leaf pickup in our subdivision. Ken will report on any advancements in this area.
- General- Some ideas for improving our efficacy as a board- revisit our calendar and reduce the number of meetings, more social events for our members, create a document outlining the responsibilities of each position on the Board, and create a process for members to present issues to the Board.
Tracy asked that each Board member dedicate at least one hour per week to community development and support. It was suggested we track our hours of service for possible use in the future applying for grants and support. She asked that we spend some time considering the above mentioned items and come to the next meeting prepared with ideas. Tracy asked us to focus on the goals of being committed to serving our members, respecting each other, being on time to meetings, and presenting a united front to our members.
Other items discussed-
Jim Loring received a cost estimate from ILM and he will share our options for restoration area treatments when more contract proposals are received.
Tracy reported on the Fremont Township Holiday Food Drive. Pick up will be December 21st from 11am-2pm.
There being no further business before the Board, Nancy made a motion to adjourn and Jill Bates seconded. The meeting adjourned at 8:03pm.
Respectfully submitted by-Colleen Hodges, OTIA Secretary
