October 2020 Consent Agenda

First Coast Apartment Association

Consent Agenda

October 23, 2020

1. Minutes of the July 10th, 2020, Meeting of the Board of Directors
   
2. New Members

3. Executive Vice President’s Report

First Coast Apartment Association

Minutes of the Meeting of the Board of Directors

July 10, 2020

9:00am – 11:00am

Zoom Meeting/First Coast Apartment Association

9456 Philips Hwy. Suite 4 Jacksonville, FL 32256

Present:                                   April Hudson, Ken Furtaw*, Jody Mayor*, Shannon Gregory*, Camy Bermudez*, Julia Furber, Beth Lakin*, Michelle Murphy, Brenda Sherrill, Sharon Steffen, Katie Wrenn*, Jason Frotten, Danny Fusinatto*, Ken Hilbert*, Scott Jaikin, and Melissa Wenger*.

Absent:                                   Terri Jeffries, Ben Zeigler

Non-Voting Present:                Sam Dougherty*, Kris Millerschone, Amanda Bednar and Josh Madden*.

Staff:                                       Lindsey McClain, Taylor Tucker*, Cory Luster

*Indicates attendance via Zoom meeting.

1. Call to Order and Welcome: President April Hudson called the meeting to order at 9:05 AM.  A quorum was confirmed.  

2. Approval of Consent Agenda: April Hudson

Motion:           To approve the Consent Agenda.

Status:             Motion pass unanimously

3. President’s Report: April Hudson
   1. Dinner Meeting: President Hudson began her update with a positive note that FCAA re-launched in-person meetings beginning with the July dinner meeting. FCAA limited the number of attendees to a 50-person maximum. Total attendance ended up at 33 total attendees. FCAA required that all attendees wear masks. With the increase in cases that Florida is seeing, FCAA is taking every precaution to make sure that all members are safe at all of our in-person classes or meetings.
      
   2. NAA Dues Increase: Hudson reminded attendees that NAA introduced a dues increase for 2021 around June of 2019. At that time there was little push back against the idea of the dues increase. The motion was formally presented to the NAA Board Members during their meeting at the Advocate conference in June. The board approved the motion. Dues increases for NAA must be approved through the Assembly of Delegates. The assembly met virtually on Wednesday, June 17^th to vote on the proposed Increase. The proposed increase featured a $0.05 per unit increase that would go directly into a housing affordability fund for the next 5 years, and also a $0.07 increase that would step up over the next 5 years. The assembly did not approve the proposed increase given the economic fallout from COVID. There was an alternate proposal made that delayed the additional $0.05 increase until 2022 while beginning the $0.07 increase in 2021. This alternate proposal was accepted and approved by the assembly. This increase will begin with a $0.02 per unit increase to NAA in 2021 for FCAA.
      
   3. NAA Apartmentalize Conference: Hudson updated that the NAA Apartmentalize conference that was scheduled for June in Boston was postponed until November. The conference will now be held in Dallas on November 3^rd – 6^th in conjunction with the annual Assembly of Delegates meeting. There is still hope that this conference will take place, however there is a growing concern about the conference given the increasing cases of COVID in Texas.
      
   4. FAA Conference Cancellation: Hudson concluded her report with the news that on Friday, June 26^th the FAA Board of Directors met in Ponte Vedra to discuss the annual conference planned for September 30-Oct. 2 in Hollywood, FL. The Florida Suppliers council make a motion to the board to cancel the conference due to low expected attendance. The FSC felt that low attendance would not make their financial investment worth it for the conference to continue. The board considered the motion and voted unanimously to cancel the conference. The Executive committee will meet with the planning committee to determine if there is an option for a virtual conference or education offering.
      
4. Treasurer’s Report: Jody Mayor
   55. FY 2020 2^ND Quarter Financial Statement: Treasurer Jody Mayor shared that as of July 7, 2020, FCAA showed an unfavorable net operating income of -$6,055.00 or -9.14% from our budgeted income. This unfavorable net revenue is due mostly to postponing the Trade Show as well as other events and classes. FCAA hopes to be able to reschedule and reclaim as much of our anticipated budgeted income as possible while managing expenses for the rest of the year. On April 22^nd, 2020 FCAA received $30,993.00 as part of the PPP loan from the SBA. That balance has been cashed but is not yet showing as income for FCAA for 2020. FCAA was advised to show that loan as a liability until it has been forgiven the balance. Once that happens, FCAA can show that money as income for 2020. BBVA announced that the application portal for loan forgiveness should be live by the end of July. FCAA has also not recognized any booth income for the postponed Trade Show given that the likelihood of having the show is in flux.

Motion:           To approve 2020 2^nd  Quarter Financial Statement

Status:             Motion passed unanimously.

23. Reserves Update: Treasurer Mayor gave an update on the Apartment Associations reserves and accounts. Reserves Update: On July 7, 2020, we had $799,023.79 in our bank accounts.

• $88,512.18 in our main BBVA Checking Account
• $455,463.97 in our BBVA Money Market Account
• $146,556.83 in our Ameris Bank Money Market Account
• $108,490.81 in a BBVA CD that expires on 7/20/20

5. Executive Vice President’s Report: Lindsey McClain

1. Executive Vice President McClain began her report with a compliment for the resilience and hard work of all of the FCAA committees. The committees have been willing to meeting and discuss the various events, membership, and education courses that we have planned for the rest of the year. Their insight and information is so valuable to the decision making process. FCAA is stronger because of their hard work.
   

1. McClain continued that as of July 9^th, 2020, it has been 129 days since the first positive case of COVID-19 was discovered in the state of Florida. Since then, there has been a constant fluctuation in the information, government mandates, and challenges that have faced the multifamily industry.

1. The FCAA staff has returned to the office part time, but the office is still closed to visitors without appointments. Staff is required to wear masks inside when they are unable to socially distance. All Visitors and students are required to wear masks as well unless they are seated at least 6 feet away from other students or staff. FCAA launched a new in-person attendance policy that requires mask wearing for all in-person events and classes. FCAA also updated our cancellation policy to be more lenient for attendees. This was done in an attempt to help someone who might not be feeling well to make the correct decision not to attend an in-person event because they might not get refunded their money. We hope that these changes will be able to make our in-person classes and events comfortable and safe for all attendees.
   
2. The FAA AEC continues to meet virtually every two weeks. This meeting has been incredibly valuable to our association and to the state. We are able to share idea, challenges, and brainstorm different solutions to problems that we are all facing due to COVID-19.

6. New Business:
   
   
   1. Proposed Dues Increase: April Hudson

In June of 2019. The board voted to implement a three year stepped up Dues Increase for FCAA members. The schedule dues increase was approved as follows:

$0.33 per unit for Community members stepped up over 3 years, and $10 for Associate members over 2 years.

This increase took effect in 2020 with community dues increasing from $2.40 per unit to $2.51 unit, and the associate dues increasing from $435 to $440.

For 2021 the dues are scheduled to increase from $2.51 to $2.62 per unit for Community Members, and from $440 to $445 for Supplier Members.

Motion:           To postpone the scheduled Dues increase from 2021 until 2022. Then resuming the remaining $0.11 per year increase in 2022 and 2023 respectively.  

Status:             Motion passed unanimously.

1. FCAA Trade Show: Jason Frotten
   1. Given the uncertainty around the Trade Show, the trade show committee has begun to survey our membership to get feedback about the potential show. The staff and the committee wants to hear from the board what type of parameters we are looking for as far as if we have to make the decision to cancel. Is there anything that the board would consider as reasons to cancer. Taylor feels that we need to make the decision to go forward with the show, or cancel by July 17^th at the latest so that we can begin to advertise for tickets and ramp up for the event.
      

Motion:           To cancel the 2020 FCAA Trade Show

Status:             Motion passed with 9 yays, 6 nays, and 1 Abstention. 

7. Committee Updates
   1. Trade Show Committee: Committee Chair Jason Frotten deferred his update since the board voted to cancel.
   2. Maintenance Mania Committee: Committee Chair Jason Frotten reported that the Maintenance Mania championship was going to be virtual for 2020, and that more information would be out soon about participation.
   3. Education Committee: Committee Chair Sharon Steffen reported that the committee was working on putting together a virtual NALP course to hold before the end of the year. They are working on material and instructors. They are excited and hopeful to hold the course before the end of 2020.
   4. Special Events Committee: Committee Chair Josh Madden updated the board that the Special Events committee was focused on the golf tournament and was confident that they would be able to hold that event in 2020. He also shared that the committee was reviewing venues to see if it was possible to add outdoor components to events.
   5. Membership Committee: Committee Chair Julia Furber shared that the committee was
   6. Communication: Committee Chair Melissa Wenger reported that the new membership directory would be published soon, and that ad sales had gone pretty well for the first year.
   7. Hospitality/Mentorship Committee: Committee Chair Jennifer McCombs wasn’t present, so Executive Vice President Lindsey McClain reported that they were able to successfully hold the July dinner meeting with 33 attendees in person. They were looking forward to holding the next dinner meeting.
   8. NextGen Committee: Committee Chair Sam Dougherty reported that NextGen was disappointed that they weren’t able to host the annual Apartment Day event. He stated that they were looking to focus on something charity related later in 2020.
   9. Legislative Committee: Committee Chair Shannon Gregory shared that she didn’t have much of an update outside of FAA’s efforts with the statewide eviction moratorium. She shared that FAA has been working hard to engage with not only the Governor’s office, but the State Supreme Court on behalf of the industry in regard to the moratorium.
   10. Maintenance Committee: Committee Chair Kris Millerschone shared that the committee was hopeful that they would be able to hold the in-person CAMT course, and that they hoped to have some more in-person maintenance classes later in the year.
   11. Circle of Excellence Committee: Committee Chair Terri Jeffries was absent, so Executive Vice President gave her report that the committee was still hopeful to hold the combined Holiday/COE awards in December.
       

8. Adjournment: The meeting adjourned at 10:28 AM.

New Members

Community Members

Executive Vice President’s Report

2020 has been quite the year for FCAA. We have learned to pivot and be nimbler than we have ever had to be before. There are lessons that we have learned, and technology that we have embraced that I hope will be the silver lining of this year.

As of October 15, 2020, we have had to cancel or postpone 10 major events/classes. Most of them have been cancelled and rescheduled for 2021. Despite the challenging year for events and get togethers we have seen an increase in community membership by 9.12% year over year. I attribute this growth to the outreach of a strong membership committee, Cory’s efforts as Director of Membership, and the strong communication that we put out as an association during this difficult time. We strived to put out as much important information to our members as quickly as possible.

I have no illusions that 2021 will be 100% back to normal for our association. We will have new and difficult challenges to overcome in the coming year. Our goal for our association for 2021 will be reconnection. FCAA will be focusing on reconnecting with our membership in the safest and most convenient ways possible. We want to make sure that our members always see the First Coast Apartment Association as a valuable resource to them.  

 Membership

At the time of our last board meeting, July 10, 2020 there were 175 Supplier Members and 399 Community Members with 91,671 units. As of October 12, 2020, there are 182 Supplier Members, and 415 Community Members with 93,069 units.

FCAA has seen a 9.12% increase in community membership units year over year from our October 2019 reporting to NAA to our October 2020 reporting. This is fantastic growth considering the hardships of 2020.

FCAA has seen a -0.56% decrease in our supplier members year over year from our October 2019 reporting to our October 2020 reporting. The difference is one supplier member. 2020 was a very challenging year for our supplier membership. We saw a decrease in our renewals during the pandemic. Slowly and surely, the supplier members are beginning to rejoin. We hope to see an increase in our supplier members for 2021.

Dues Renewals will be sent out to all of the membership on December 1, 2020.  Invoices will be due on January 31^st, 2021.  

Events

A comparison of revenue and expenses to the budget and to FY 2019 is shown in the table below.

The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively affected our revenue in all of our events. Since the middle of March, FCAA has cancelled or postponed the New Construction Bus Tour, Trade Show, Summer Sizzler, Circle of Excellence, Bowling, Jumbo Shrimp family fun day, in-person Business Exchange, Food Drive, and the September Dinner Meeting. FCAA was able to hold a virtual business exchange, and the bus tour has been rescheduled for October 23^rd.

Currently the Circle of Excellence awards and Holiday party are still scheduled for December, however it is doubtful that event will be able to be held with normal capacity.

FCAA was able to hold the Golf Tournament in September outside on the course with great results. The majority of scheduled for the remained of the year will be schedule at outdoor venues. FCAA hopes to recoup some of the lost events income with Glow Ball, rescheduled bus tour, Bingo, and the holiday party.

The special events committee is focused on venues that can provide an outdoor seating option for attendees so that we can work to make all attendees feel as safe as possible attending an in-person FCAA event.

Education

A comparison of designation and seminar revenue and expenses to the budget and to FY 2019 is show in the table below.

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected FCAA’s education revenue just as it has affected everything else. FCAA had to cancel our wildly popular Fair Housing and landlord tenant courses as they normally have over 80 people in attendance in our office. FCAA did offer fair housing as a virtual class but didn’t have nearly the same numbers of participation. FCAA postponed the Spring CAM course to the fall. The fall course was limited to a maximum of 20 students in person to accommodate social distancing. This limited number lowered our income for 2020. FCAA is trying to put together a possible virtual NALP course in December to help recoup some of the missed income.  

Communications

A comparison of advertising revenue and expenses to the budget and to FY 2019 is shown in the table below. 

Coastlines was paused as a publication during our January Board meeting. We have not been actively attempting to sell advertising for it, nor have we published an issue yet in 2020. Our expenses were budget for a monthly designer, however early in 2020 he decided that he would prefer to be paid on a per project basis. Therefore, we have saved quite a bit of money by not producing Coastlines in 2020.

The new printed membership directory went out to all member in August. In conversations with the publisher the ad sales were strong. They didn’t reach the threshold this year for FCAA to make additional income, but they do believe that it will continue to be profitable in 2021 and will more than likely provide additional income to FCAA.

Financial

As of October 15, 2020, FCAA showed an unfavorable net operating income of $-16,898.67 or

-25.09% from our budgeted income. This unfavorable net revenue is due mostly to cancelling the Trade Show as well as other events and classes. On April 22^nd, 2020 FCAA received $30,993.00 as part of the PPP loan from the SBA. That balance has been cashed but is not yet showing as income for FCAA for 2020. FCAA was advised to show that loan as a liability until we have been forgiven the balance. Congress is potentially issuing new guidance on the PPP loan forgiveness. Therefore, none of the banks are processing the loan forgiveness yet. The PPP loan money is still showing as a liability. We hope that congress will issue new guidance soon, and that we will be able to apply for loan forgiveness. Once we are able to have the loan forgiven, then we can recognize that money as income for 2020.

On October 15, 2020, we had $799,023.79 in our bank accounts.

• $16,653.58 in our main BBVA Checking Account
• $425,754.79 in our BBVA Money Market Account
• $146,631.53 in our Ameris Bank Money Market Account
• $108518.16 in a BBVA CD that expires on 8/7/21

Summary

2020 has certainly been a challenge for FCAA on almost every level. The staff has learned some very valuable lessons that should make us a stronger association. Financially, the hope is that we can recognize the PPP loan as income to help make our budgeted 2020 goal. FCAA also hopes to recoup as much money as possible from the few remaining events and classes for 2020. The association is certainly going to need as much support and guidance as possible from its leadership board as we go into a new and unknown 202