Board approves Optum lease, decides on RFID fee schedule
GRF BOARD HIGHLIGHTS
by Ruth Osborn
rutho@lwsb.com
The GRF Board met Aug. 22 to tackle a full agenda that included updating governing documents, funding community improvements and approving a lease.
But first, it paid tribute to the late Tony Dodero, who died Aug. 13. He represented Mutual 9 on the GRF Board for more than six years and attended last month’s meeting.
GRF President Marsha Gerber called him “a beloved member of the board,” offering condolences to his wife, Marge. “There will never be another Tony Dodero,” she said.
During the public comment period, six people took the podium to give their opinions on club instructor fees, whether a new rubberized path is needed at the golf course, transparency concerns and parking ticket enforcement in the Mutuals.
The GRF is enforcing parking violations on Trust streets, which include all named streets in LW. But Mutual streets are currently excluded from GRF enforcement protocols. Vehicles cannot be parked for more than 72 hours on Trust streets, among other restrictions.
In other highlights, the board took the following action.
Rubberized Golf Path
Upon the recommendation of the Facilities Committee, the GRF Board approved replacing the rubberized path leading to the bridge at Turtle Lake Golf Course. The cost will not exceed $14,195 plus a 10% contingency.
Staff ascertained the path, which has undergone patching in the past, should be replaced for safety reasons.
Elevator Cab Remodel
Upon the recommendation of the Facilities Committee, the board voted to spend $20,427, which includes a 10% contingency, to rebuild the elevator cab in the Administration Building. The cab is now past its useful life.
The GRF Reserve Study has $38,000 earmarked for this project; the bid from Elite Elevator Service came in at $18,570, for a savings of about $17,500.
GRF Governing Docs
Upon the recommendation of various GRF committees, the board is amending several governing documents that are due for updates.
Subjects include publication of board minutes, glossary of terms, temporary visitor and member RV parking and LW Weekly advertising. The amendments update job titles and improve policy organization and clarity.
Request for Proposal Requirements Despite the recommendation of the Administration Committee, the board sent proposed amendments to the Request for Proposal Requirements back to committee for further review.
Among the amendments suggested were modifications related to the wording of bid solicitations and more precisely defined budget-level categories to clarify spending approval procedures.
Sparking the most debate was a recommendation to expand the spending authority of the executive director. The current policy allows the GRF executive director to authorize expenditures of up to $10,000 for budgeted items approved by the Board of Directors in the annual budget.
That spending authorization has not been increased since December 2007. Inflation over the past 16 years has significantly diminished spending power, so the committee recommended adjusting it to about $20,000, which amounts to one-tenthof- one-percent of the total GRF annual budget.
That is the same percentage of authorization set in 2007. In that year’s budget, one-tenth of one percent totaled $9,141. For the 2023 budget, that same spending formula amounts to $20,386.
But several directors took issue with the proposal.
“I have a real problem with going up to $25,000 because there are tons of items under $25,000 that could be replaced without any input. Our job, our fiduciary duty, is oversight,” said GRF Director Carole Damoci who represents Mutual 12.
That limit would apply only to reserve expenditures. The executive’s director already has authority over the operating budget with a $20,000 cap.
GRF Vice President William Thompson of Mutual 5 questioned the wisdom of having separate authorization levels: “To an extent, it’s somewhat illogical to say that an operating budget can be spent up to $20,349, but a reserve that we have also approved has a different standard. We’re kind of putting a double standard on (this), saying that the operating budget is a greater expression of our intent than the reserve study is.”
GRF Director Susan Jacquelin representing Mutual 2 agreed: “I would suggest that all amounts be consistent,” she said, requesting that the committee restudy authorization amounts and levels.
GRF Director Pattricia Vienna representing Mutual 7 also supported reviewing the policy. “I think this moves the shareholders and the GRF further away from each other. I think the board has a big fiduciary duty to watch spending.”
The board voted to return the amendment to the committee.
Purchasing Warehouse Guidelines Upon the recommendation of the Administration Committee, the board voted to amend 40-3326-1, Purchasing Warehouse Guidelines for Mutual Inventory and Non-Inventory Purchases.
The new rule increases fees charged to Mutuals by 10% of the cost for special items that only that individual Mutual wants to buy, such as lamp posts. The intent is to recover shipping, storage and staff time spent searching for suppliers, placing purchase orders, tracking payment, receiving inventory, etc.
The increased fee will enhance the GRF’s annual revenue, although exact amounts have not been determined.
Optum Lease
At its July 13 meeting, the Administration Committee recommended that the board approve renewing Optum’s lease at the Health Care Center for a five-year term beginning Oct. 1. The board rejected the contract, asking for additional assurances that Optum would place a pharmacy in the Health Care Center building.
The Optum lease for the community’s medical facility expires Sept. 30. The existing agreement requires Optum to pay GRF $60,000 per month to lease the building.
Language in the current contract established a pre-agreed renewal amount of $65,000 per month for a new five-year term, which starts Oct. 1. That amounts to $780,000 per year to the GRF.
The board approved extending Optum’s lease at a rate of $65,000 per month for 60 months.
A new pharmacy will open at the HCC sometime this year. Watch the LW Weekly for updates.
RFID Transmitters
On the recommendation of the Administration Committee, the board voted to adopt a fee schedule for members’ gate-access identification tags. Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags will soon be required for gate access. Each GRF member will receive one free RFID tag.
Extra RFID tags will cost $10.95. People can place tags on vehicles or golf carts. But rest assured, decaled golf carts without RFID tags will be waved in by Security personnel.
Both the Operations and the Administration committees recommended a progressively higher fee structure for people who want to equip additional vehicles with automated community access. Free RFID tags will be issued to about 11,000 members, contractors, employees, lessee employees, care givers and real estate company personnel. These RFID tags cost approximately $120,000, which was appropriated at the Jan. 24 board meeting.
Because other GRF-issued documents authorize gate access— including window decals and LW identification cards— not all members are anticipated to purchase RFID tags for all their vehicles.
The sale of additional RFID tags is expected to generate less than $10,000 in annual revenue.
Temporary Member RV Parking
The board adopted changes to 80-1937-1, Parking, which modifies authorized temporary parking for recreational vehicles for members and establishes a fee schedule for RV parking access.
GRF Members who rent RVs for upcoming trips or who are temporarily transitioning to a new RV sometimes need temporary parking facilities. The proposed fees will recover costs associated with staff time for paperwork and registration checks.
This policy will also help maintain oversight on nonmember RVs that are temporarily in LW and help keep them off streets or illegally parked.
Mini Farm Report A report on a proposal to build a mini farm at the 1.8-acre site will be on given at the October meeting of the GRF Board.
The Board approved a five-year extension of Optum's lease at the Health Care Center.
