Membership Meeting Agenda, November 12, 202

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The meeting agenda for the latest neighborhood association meeting has been published below. Note that additional information for specific agenda items is included where applicable.

Detailed Information on Specific Agenda Items

» Sedgefield Montessori Updates

Representatives from the school will be at this month’s meeting to update the neighborhood on the latest happenings at the school, and to promote an upcoming informational meeting about planned capital improvement projects. If you are not able to attend the SNA meeting on Tuesday, information about the Sedgefield Montessori meeting is included below.

Join Sedgefield Montessori families, staff, and community members on Thursday, November 21st at 5:30 pm for an update about the capital improvement projects for Sedgefield Montessori Elementary school. Representatives from the CMS school district will be at Sedgefield Montessori to share information. RSVP for the meeting here.

» Neighborhood Feedback Survey Update

The neighborhood feedback survey initiative was launched at the previous general membership meeting. The board is still working to get the word out to all neighbors and collect as much input as possible. Thus far, this has included promotion via email, social media, and flyers dropped on at each house in the neighborhood

At last check, there were 85 total submissions from neighbors. If you have not yet responded, there is still time. The survey will remain active until November 17th. Read more about this initiative here.

Meeting Minutes - SNA Executive Board Meeting - September 10, 2024

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Date: September 10, 2024

Board Members Present: Jeremy Whelan, Duncan Robinson, Jen Virion, Dan Kapfhammer, Kevin Hofer, Nicole Frambach (6 of 9).

Agenda / Notes:

Voted on the minutes from the previous meeting

  • Jeremy raises motion to approve the minutes

  • Kevin seconds

  • Vote: 6 aye, 0 nay, motion passes

Old Business

  • Recap / Review of Back to School Event

    • Overall, really great event, not much to really make it better

    • ~100 total attendees

    • Could improve marketing to raise overall awareness. Social media definitely worked, but sending an email could have potentially helped

    • As a best practice, at any of these events, we should use that opportunity to promote the NEXT event

  • Recap / Review August Meeting

    • Need to post the minutes and voting results to the website and promote that on social media

      • Post the new version of the finalized bylaws

    • We do have three months of grace on the sign topper project (originally end of August deadline) What data does he need to move that along to the next step?

    • Talked about how we can better present designs for projects like this in the future

    • Survey - circulate updated copy changes for flyer to be distributed door-to-door

      • Two QR codes, one for survey, one to become a member

      • Add line to save the date for Sedgefest 2025

      • Communications / marketing to promote the meeting

Officer Reports

  • President

    • USPS doesn't do "informed delivery" for PO Boxes and/or businesses

    • New board retreat, still waiting to hear back on potential dates in the last part of the year.

    • Tree event, going to dovetail with their own event. Potentially do our own down the road.

  • Treasurer

    • N/A

  • Communications

    • Kevin provided an updated on operational infrastructure project.

      • Working on obtaining final price quote from vendor.

      • An existing board member is potentially interested in sponsoring / subsidizing the project. This would be approved pending certain advertising requirements can be met.

      • As part of ongoing due diligence, Kevin will work with the vendor to get contact info of three existing customers for us to chat with. Dan / Duncan will reach out to other neighborhood associations to see if they are using (or have considered using) similar platforms. Board will convene for a one-off meeting to review all info (and review demo) and make final decision on moving forward.

    • Kevin is working on updated copy to be used on the community feedback survey flyer. Rough timeline, new copy created in next couple of days, flyer design completed / approved next week, printed and ready to go by Monday 9/23.

New Business

  • Community workout

    • Scheduled for 10/5 from 9am - 10am at Sedgefield Church

    • Jen will do a signup genius to capture interest / RSVPs

    • Cooler of water will be provided, also working on some sort of coffee / food truck

    • Board voted to sponsor the purchase of five Sedgefield Sweat classes to be given away via raffle at the event - in an effort to drive participation.

  • Community Yard Sale

    • Happening 9/21 from 9am - 1pm

    • Need one person from SNA to open (Duncan) and close (Dan)

  • Support for other neighborhood events

    • This conversation was framed specifically around Halloween on Habersham, but led to a bigger conversation

    • How can / should SNA support these types of community events that are not necessarily SNA organized / sanctioned events.

  • Board Business

    • Stick with monthly meeting cadence. Once per month (2nd or 3rd Tuesday), rotating location, preferred at board member houses

    • How do we establish / drive participation in committees

      • In the short term, board member(s) to chair specific committees: Sedgefest (Dan & Nicole), social media team (Kevin), new neighbor welcome team (Jen & Jeremy), social events (Jen & Jeremy), treasurer trainee (Neil to find), others? – time to start tapping shoulders

      • During October board meeting, we will make final recommendation / votes on committees to be established and the associated board chair person for each

    • Board insurance, ongoing - need to work on finalizing this over the next few weeks

  • Next General Membership Meeting

    • Proposed date, 11/12

    • Need input on agenda

    • Reach out to office Matt ASAP to confirm availability

SNA General Membership Meeting Minutes - August 13, 2024

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Sedgefield Neighborhood Association General Membership Meeting
Date: Tuesday, August 13, 2024
Location: Sedgefield United Methodist Church
Time: 7:00 p.m.

Attendance: 23 adults

Pastor Tom kicked off the meeting, welcoming all in attendance

  • Distributed a handout promoting the church cookout event, Saturday 8/24, 11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

  • As we are squarely in back-to-school season, the church will perform a “blessing of the backpacks” as part of the worship service on 8/25.

Meeting called to order, Dan Kapfhammer

  • This is the first general membership meeting in about 4-5 months, the first since the 2024 Sedgefest event.

  • The SNA Board has met every month since forming, and is continuing work on some foundational things

  • Thanks for everyone for coming out

  • Office Matt was not able to make it.

Treasurer Report, Neil Boss

  • Walk through of flowchart outlining where we were, to where we are now

    • A previous board member provided, from a personal bank account, a cashier's check for $29K

    • We opened a business bank account at Wells Fargo (with three signers)

  • The systems set up (and shown here) are considered best practice in the industry for organizations like ours

  • Walk through of financial statements

Proposed bylaw discussion, Duncan Robinson

  • Duncan quickly reviewed the changes proposed in this iteration

  • Public comments welcomed (limited to two minutes per individual), however, no one came forward with any feedback / comments during the meeting.

Street Sign Topper Project Review, Dan Kapfhammer

  • Dan provided an update on the status of this project

  • We are now at the stage of selecting designs for the project, so it can be completed before the deadline to receive the matching grant from the city. Active members of the SNA were then encouraged to vote to select their favorite design and decide what the sign toppers will ultimately look like. The final designs up for consideration are included below:

Vote on Bylaw Amendments and Sign Topper Designs

  • Analog ballots were distributed to those in attendance who wanted them

  • All were encouraged to vote via the online ballot

  • Absentee voting will be made available for those who could not attend the meeting. The online ballot will remain open for 48 hours from the conclusion of the meeting.

Community Feedback Survey Kickoff, Kevin Hofer

  • One of the things the newly elected board has been very clear on from the beginning (since being elected) is that they want the vision of the neighborhood association to be shaped by the community at large, and not just by those serving in an official board capacity.

  • As a group, the board spent their first few months in office tackling the items directly in front of them. Namely, doing what needed to be done to make Sedgefest 2024 a success, continuing the enduring legacy of that event, and also getting the proverbial house in order (after hand-off from previous board members).

  • With a bit more time and space, they’ve been able to look forward and think a bit more strategically about what a sustainable SNA can look like. The first step of this process is to gather feedback from our neighbors on what THEY want the association to look like.

  • This serves as the official kick-off of a listening period where we will be soliciting feedback from ALL neighbors on what they want from SNA. The survey - which will be available online - will remain open for a number of weeks. This will give us time to properly get the word out (via multiple communication channels) to the entire neighborhood.

New Business, Duncan Robinson

  • Review of upcoming events

    • Church cookout

    • Back to school event, 9/8 from 4-6 pm

    • Community workout, 10/5 @ SUMC parking lot

    • Tree event (10/12)

    • General membership meeting, 11/12

  • Committees

    • Committees will be formed and organized to help maximize the impact of the organization as a whole. This served as a generic call for volunteers for anyone interested in forming or volunteering on a committee.

    • The board made a more specific ask for volunteers to support committees they view as important to form as soon as possible

      • Finance

      • Sedgefest

      • Communications

      • New resident outreach

Adjournment

UPDATE (8/28) - Voting Results

Bylaw vote results - the updated bylaws were accepted with ~96% of the votes cast in favor of the changes.

  Votes
Accept 49
Reject 1
Abstain 1

Sign Topper Design vote results - residents were asked to vote on the top three designs ranking their first, second and third choices. A positional voting system was used, with each choice assigned a number of points (1st choice = 3 points, 2nd choice = 2 points, and 3rd choice = 1 point). The design with the most overall points will be declared the winner / selected design. Design C was the design with the most points, and will be used as the design for the new sign toppers.

Option Total
Design A 102
Design B 93
Design C (Winner) 111

Membership Meeting Agenda, August 13, 2024

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The meeting agenda for tonight’s neighborhood association meeting has been published below and is also available for download here. Note that additional information for specific agenda items is included where applicable.

Detailed Information on Specific Agenda Items

» Bylaw Amendments

As part of the larger reorganization of the neighborhood association at the beginning of this year, an updated set of bylaws was adopted. At that time, the newly elected board committed to a further revision based on community feedback.

The most recent update cleans up and clarifies portions of the bylaws while also addressing some specific issues raised by neighbors that did not make it into the March revision. You can find a full breakdown of the recommended changes here.

» Sign Topper Project

If you’ve driven through the neighborhoods of Charlotte, you’ve no doubt noticed that some neighborhoods display decorative signs on top of their normal street signs (click for example). Some even have larger, stand-alone signs at key points throughout their neighborhood.

Decorative signs and monuments help define the boundaries of your neighborhood, promote your area, and develop a greater sense of place among neighbors. Signs add character to an area and represent a proud, engaged community.

The city encourages neighborhood to take on these projects, and even has a program available to help organizations offset the costs of the project through neighborhood matching grants (NMG). The Sedgefield Neighborhood Association began this project in 2023, and was approved for an NMG to move forward.

We are now at the stage of selecting designs for the project, so it can be completed before the deadline (end of August 2024). Active members of the SNA will vote to select their favorite design and decide what the sign toppers will ultimately look like. The final designs up for consideration are included below:



» Neighborhood Feedback Survey Kick-off

One of the things the newly elected board has been very clear on from the beginning is that they want the vision of the neighborhood association to be shaped by the community at large, and not just by those serving in an official board capacity.

The board spent their first few months in office tackling the items directly in front of them. Namely, doing what needed to be done to make Sedgefest 2024 a success, continuing the enduring legacy of that event, and also getting the proverbial house in order (after hand-off from previous board members).

With a bit more time and space, they’ve been able to look forward and think a bit more strategically about what a sustainable SNA can look like. The first step of this process is to gather feedback from our neighbors on what THEY want the association to look like. We will kick off this listening period at the general membership meeting and provide more information on how that feedback will be collected.

Meeting Minutes - SNA Executive Board Meeting - July 23, 2024

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Date: July 23, 2024

Board Members Present: Jeremy Whelan, Duncan Robinson, Jen Virion, Dan Kapfhammer, Kevin Hofer, Nicole Frambach, Brian McHugh, Neil Boss (8 of 9).

Agenda / Notes:

Voted on the minutes from the previous meeting

  • Jeremy raises motion to approve the minutes

  • Kevin seconds

  • Vote: 8 aye, 0 nay, motion passes

Old Business

  • Update on business / board insurance from Nicole

    • Discussed coverage required and associated cost

    • Board to review and deal with open questions / issues, and approve spend / cost

  • August Meeting Planning

    • Can Officer Matt attend / present?

    • Communications / marketing to promote the meeting

Officer Reports

  • President

    • Working on date availability for Board Retreat with the city

    • Looking at a reschedule date for the neighborhood tree mapping workshop

  • Treasurer

    • Preview of presentation to neighborhood at the next general membership meeting

    • Will have July 30th financials for the meeting / presentation

    • Will add summary at the bottom / end of visual, outlining next steps

  • Communications

    • Finalizing plans for communications leading up to August general membership meeting

    • Neighborhood feedback survey update

    • Pushed discussion of operational infrastructure to new business portion of the meeting

New Business

  • Preparation for August General Membership Meeting

    • Finalize and publish agenda

    • Create appropriate ballots for the votes (bylaw updates and sign topper designs)

    • Create flyer for community feedback survey, to be distributed AT the meeting

    • Don’t forget to post signs in neighborhood beginning Wednesday, 8/7

    • Communication / marketing plan leading up to the meeting

  • Back to School Fall Festival Event

    • Reviewed date / time details

    • Vendor overview

    • Other items needed (i.e. marketing / communications)

  • Neighborhood Feedback Survey

    • Goal is to use this as the first step in establishing a longer term vision / mission for the association.

    • Take the feedback from the community, bring that to the city-sponsored retreat, do the work to establish vision / mission, circle back and share that output for review / approval by the neighborhood

  • Operational tech stack discussion

    • Review of analysis of various platforms and the pros / cons of each.

    • Biggest hurdle in most cases - in terms of adopting a platform like this - will be the overall cost.

    • The cost of implementation needs to be weighed against value delivered and how that can help the board (and community at large) get more done.

    • Kevin to continue conversations with vendors, review demos and establish trials to determine overall feasibility.

Meeting Minutes - SNA Executive Board Meeting - June 24, 2024

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Date: June 24, 2024

Board Members Present: Jeremy Whelan, Duncan Robinson, Jen Virion, Dan Kapfhammer, Kevin Hofer, Nicole Frambach, Steve Lonnen, Neil Boss (8 of 9).

Agenda / Notes:

Voted on the minutes from the previous meeting

  • Jeremy raises motion to approve the minutes

  • Kevin seconds

  • Vote: 8 aye, 0 nay, motion passes

Old Business

  • Rally Pickleball Event Debrief

    • Overall, very well received, a lot of positive feedback. Around 60 people attended the event.

    • Had some people pay dues just to attend the event (somewhere between 7-8)

    • Discussed ideas for next time both in terms of how / when to execute and also manage cost

  • Access to the neighborhood Facebook group, Jeremy now has Moderator access

  • Sign Topper project update

    • Need to approve design(s)

    • Project needs to be completed in August to ensure we get the neighborhood matching grant (NMG) from the city

Officer Reports

  • Treasurer

    • Review of progress so far and remaining actions to having financial status in good position

    • Preview of presentation to neighborhood at the next general membership meeting

    • Review of progress so far and remaining actions to having financial status in good position

  • Communications

    • Discussed / reviewed overall operational requirements of the board and if there are ways to work smarter and not harder. Pushed most of this conversation to new business

New Business

  • Operational tech stack discussion

    • Are there platforms available that can be leveraged to tackle some of this work and centralize it. Will ultimately require a cost benefit analysis to determine what solution(s) make the most sense

    • Kevin will do further review / analysis and report back to the board with his findings / recommendations

  • August General Membership Meeting Preparation

    • Preliminary agenda items:

      • Officer Matt?

      • Treasurer report (first real one since the reorganization)

      • Vote on bylaws clean-up items

      • Vote on sign-topper designs

      • Kick off of community feedback initiative 

    • Other item to potentially address is establishing an initial set of committees and recruit volunteers from the neighborhood 

      • Sedgefest 

      • Finance

      • Communications

  • Upcoming events / promotion discussion (not all definitive)

    • General Meeting - August 13th, 7:30 p.m.

    • Back to School Fall Festival - September 8th, 4:00 - 7:00 p.m.

    • Sedgefield Community Workout - October 5th, 9:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.

    • Neighborhood Garden Walk

    • Movie Night in Halloween

    • Halloween Bash on Habersham

    • Fall Fest on Dover

    • Christmas Sleigh on Habersham

    • Back to School Adult Social?

    • Tree Inventory reschedule

    • City Resources / Board Retreat

  • Board Insurance discussion

  • Next board meeting, 7/23 @ 7:45 p.m.

Meeting Minutes - SNA Executive Board Meeting - May 21, 2024

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Date: May 21, 2024

Board Members Present: Daniel Kapfhammer, Kevin Hofer, Neil Boss, Duncan Robinson, Jen Virion, Jeremy Whelan,  Steve Lonnen, Nicole Frambach via Zoom (8 of 9).

Agenda / Notes:

Voted on the minutes from the previous meeting

  • Jeremy raises motion to approve the minutes

  • Kevin seconds

  • Vote: 8 aye, 0 nay, motion passes

Sedgefest 2024 Debrief

  • Date / time - discussed whether or not we should consider moving the date of the event, and/or adjusting the hours / duration.

    • Had a good turnout despite conflict with Mother’s Day and PGA tour event in town

    • Modifying the time to 1:00 - 6:00 p.m., might be better timing in terms of giving business to food trucks, and also doesn't conflict as much with kids sports, although some vendors were heading to event(s) later in the day

  • Reviewed neighbor feedback submissions, and also planned to reshare the request for feedback on social media to try drive more eyeballs and hopefully more responses.

  • How did the process / execution go?

    • Overall, it was a pretty efficient event. There were a decent number of volunteers, not too dissimilar from previous years. Less vendors, etc. made it a bit easier.

    • More bodies would definitely help (volunteers, or paid labor), overall, and especially the day of.

    • Historically, tough to get volunteers, it's been half the people you want. Then personal asks around the neighborhood to get the help are what makes the thing go.

    • As part of the work done this year, we now have a playbook that can be handed off to a committee established to own / run the event next year

  • What is the spirit of the event?

    • The last thing we discussed is what the overall spirit and goal of the event is / should be.

    • Should this be our biggest fundraiser of the year? How does this decision impact the overall funding of the organization throughout the year and its ability to give back to the community.

    • Vendors - focus on businesses in the local community

    • Fees - why are the fees the way they are, should they be adjusted for next year?

    • Sponsorship - what is the overall value proposition for the event. Which led to a larger discussion about expanding the idea of sponsorship from being event-specific to association-specific.

    • New ideas for this year: cotton candy machine

    • Tally and turn volunteer hours in to Julian

    • Duncan reviewed the updated / marked-up version of the bylaws

  • Tally and turn volunteer hours in to Julian to support the sign topper project

New Business

  • Upcoming events / promotion discussion (not all definitive)

    • Tree Survey - Saturday, June 1

    • Rally Pickleball - Friday, June 7

    • Back to School Fall Festival

    • Neighborhood 5K?

    • Neighborhood Garden Walk

    • Movie Night in Halloween

    • Halloween Bash on Habersham

    • Fall Fest on Dover

    • Christmas Sleigh on Habersham

  • Access to FB group

  • Communication / operational infrastructure plan

  • Leveraging city services, Duncan will investigate

  • Overall, how do we want to define SNA and how do we want to serve? This needs to be driven by the community at large and not just the board.

    • Action - develop community feedback survey to collect neighbor input

Proposed Bylaw Updates and Call for Community Feedback

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As promised at the March 12, 2024 General Membership Meeting, the Sedgefield Neighborhood Association board has prepared an updated version of the bylaws. This update cleans up and clarifies portions of the bylaws while also addressing some specific issues raised by neighbors that did not make it into the March revision. A marked-up version is available for download and review here:

Sedgefield Neighborhood Association Bylaws - Proposed Changes, April 2024

We are asking the community to not only review this updated version and provide feedback on the suggested changes, but also to provide input on anything else in the bylaws that they would like to see addressed. Feedback will be collected, and all input will be discussed at the next general membership meeting.

At this time, there is no timetable on which a vote will be taken to adopt the next version. A vote will only be scheduled after everyone in the community has had adequate time to review and provide their thoughts. Finally, the bylaws will also be subject to a legal review before the next vote.

Just as was done for the last revision, the board has provided a summary of the key sections of the bylaws that have been modified:

  • Article II, Section 1.a. - includes specific language that clarifies the meaning of the phrase "long term renter"

  • Article II, Section 3.d. - specifies that any dues forgiveness due to financial hardship is a full board decision, and not up to any single member

  • Article III, Section 2 - amended to include specifics on voting mechanics for officer elections

  • Article III, Section 5.c. - clarifies the duty of the secretary to not only document meeting minutes, but also publish / communicate them to the general membership in the interest of transparency

  • Article IV, Section 2.c - clarifies specific quorum requirements for both board meetings and general membership meetings

  • Article IV, Section 4 - added language that clarifies the status of the association as a non profit, charitable organization operating in the state of North Carolina

  • Article VI, Section 1 - generalized the beneficiary language in the event of dissolution

Any and all feedback on the bylaws should be submitted in written format to the Neighborhood Association's email address at: sedgefieldneighborhood@gmail.com.

Meeting Minutes - SNA Executive Board Meeting - April 23, 2024

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Date: April 23, 2024

Board Members Present: Daniel Kapfhammer, Kevin Hofer, Neil Boss, Duncan Robinson, Jen Virion, Jeremy Whelan, Nicole Frambach (7 of 9)

Agenda / Notes:

Voted on the minutes from the previous meeting

  • Jeremy raises motion to approve the minutes

  • Kevin seconds

  • Vote: 7 aye, 0 nay, motion passes

Bylaw discussion

  • Duncan reviewed the updated / marked-up version of the bylaws

  • Discussed the process by which this version should be reviewed and ultimately voted on

  • Reviewed the communication plan (to the membership) about the review process

Events Review

  • Just about all work in this area is dedicated to Sedgefest

  • Next Sedgefest planning meeting scheduled for Wednesday, 4/24

  • Sedgefield Chuch Cookout, cross promote to drive attendance

  • Discussion / brainstorm of events post-Sedgefest:

    • Tree canopy inventory, in cooperation with Tree by Tree

    • Potential social event(s)

    • Board retreat (fall 2024)

Finance update

  • Starting balance booked in the new bank account

  • Financial report will be presented to membership at the August general membership meeting

  • Treasurer will be present and available to review the report and answer any questions from membership about the report

Meeting Minutes - SNA Executive Board Meeting - March 25, 2024

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Date: March 25, 2024

Board Members Present: Daniel Kapfhammer, Brian McHugh, Kevin Hofer, Neil Boss, Duncan Robinson, Jen Virion, Jeremy Whelan, Steve Lonnen, Nicole Frambach

Agenda / Notes:

This is the first meeting of the newly elected board.

Dan (President) kicked off the meeting at 7:35 p.m., then did quick introductions around the table.

Handover from previous board to the new officers

  • Lessons learned over the last few years

  • Meeting timeframe: monthly, going forward but likely requires more frequent meetings in the near term

Voted on the minutes from the previous meeting

  • Jeremy raises motion to approve the minutes

  • Kevin seconds

  • Vote: 9 aye, 0 nay, motion passes

Bylaw discussion

  • The board met, and is now operating under the newly adopted bylaws

  • Next proposed iteration from the board will be "clean-up", largely operationally-focused

  • Follow-up to this would be a public / general membership meeting to solicit feedback on more structural / strategic changes to the bylaws. Timeline on adoption is TBD

  • Line item each of the amendments, to allow for most flexibility for adopting changes

Finance update

  • We are registered as a non-profit corporation (essentially, an LLC)

  • We have articles of incorporation, Sedgefield Neighborhood Association is the official name

  • Changes / actions being taken

    • Remove previous officers from all of the filings and add new officers as appropriate

    • Treasurer is setting up financial systems to drive accountability, tracking and transparency

Sedgefest is 5/11 (11am - 4pm), day before Mother's Day

  • Reviewing what's committed and what still needs to be done

  • Calling a meeting for later this week, Thursday evening to finalize the scope of what needs to be done for the event.