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HVFF Meeting Minutes – Nov. 11, 2023

HVFF Meeting Minutes – Nov. 11, 2023
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Attendees

In person: 

  1. Wayne Neckles – President
  2. Paul Voight – Treasurer
  3. Cathleen O’Connell
  4. Greg Black
  5. Jane & Fred McCarty
  6. Kenny & Joyce Foldvary 
  7. Shani Schechter
  8. Tim Curran

On Zoom:

  1. Brian Herbert – Vice President
  2. Jim Donovan – Fundraising Chair
  3. Bill Diomis
  4. Brian Engleheart
  5. Dave Berman
  6. Dave Lewis
  7. Doug Dillon
  8. Greg Saracino
  9. Helder Delucio
  10. Israel Beneti
  11. Jamie Hall
  12. Joachim Roesler
  13. Jorge Grey
  14. Joseph Stearn
  15. Martin
  16. Max Emmer
  17. Osvaldo Mena Ugalde
  18. Paco Carr
  19. Peter Geoghegan
  20. Ricardo Costa
  21. Stan Miles
  22. Susan Stoltze
  23. Tom McCormick
  24. Ze Luis

Recent Updates

  • Treasurer’s Update: The club has approximately $7,000 in its bank account for operating expenses. Fundraiser funds are collected in a separate savings account – totaled below.
  • Fundraising Update: As of 11/10/23, the club has received:
    • $187,671 in Pledges (not including any Foundation for Free Flight amounts), of which
    • $119,595 is Realized (= Funds deposited in bank account + Funds collected on Gofundme/Facebook but not yet disbursed to the club)
    • $108,624 is Deposited in the savings account
  • Membership vs Donations: 
    • Note that the annual membership fee is separate from donations. Even individuals who donated in 2023 (including those who donated $10,000) will need to become HVFF members to fly the site in 2024. 
    • Nevertheless, donations are invaluable for securing the downpayment to buy the site and for reducing the residual balance to be covered by annual memberships. A lower residual balance makes annual membership more affordable – which increases the number of annual members – which makes annual membership even more affordable: a virtuous cycle.
  • Recent Meeting with Tony Covelli: Wayne met with Tony on 11/6/23 and confirmed that Tony would be willing to extend the repayment period beyond 5 years if the club’s revenue falls short of $90,000 per yer. These terms will be formalized in the purchasing agreement and address a concern raised by some members and donors on what will happen if the club falls short of the $90,000 annual payment in year 4 out of 5, say. See also “Tony Payment Mechanism” below. 
  • Recent Meeting with Foundation for Free Flight (FFF)
    • Wayne’s presentation and meeting with FFF on 11/6/23 went well
    • Beyond consideration of a FFF grant, FFF asked if they could do fundraising for us (as they are connected to donors)
      1. Wayne of course said yes
      2. Nic Greece (FFF board member) started making calls; so far received $10,000 donation from 1 person and another $20,000 pledged from 2 people
  • Audit considerations for funds raised: Because HVFF is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, we are subject to a rule where if we receive fundraising over $200,000 in a calendar year, NY State requires an audit of our fundraising. Such an audit would cost us ~$7,000 to complete. The club can avoid the audit by keeping receivables to $199,000 by Dec 31, 2023.
    • Accordingly, FFF would disburse any funds after Jan 1, 2024, in case HVFF fundraising approaches $200,000 before FFF’s contributions.
  • Snafu with RRG Insurance: The State of NY has not yet certified RRG (USHPA’s site insurance) to do business in the State of NY. USHPA and the VP of FFF (Randy Leggard) are working on it. RRG needs to get certified. Will try to get it worked out in time. We’re ready to do the needful. 

Upcoming Dates & Activities:

  • Next Club Meeting will be 12/9/23. There will be 2 HVFF meetings in December 2023 in order to vote on various matters (including bylaws, membership fees, club officers, etc.)
  • Attorney / Purchase Agreement: Bob Bolukas – HVFF attorney and pilot – is drafting the official Ellenville Flight Park Purchase Agreement; draft is expected end of November 2023.
  • Accountant / Tony Payment Mechanism: Ross Wisdom – HVFF accountant and pilot – will propose in the coming month/s different options for structuring the payments to Tony Covelli in order to minimize his tax burden. Tony’s desire to minimize taxes could align with the club’s interest in spreading out payments over more than 5 years – which makes annual memberships more affordable.
  • Town Supervisor: Wayne wants to meet with the Town Supervisor in December 2023 to get the town well acquainted with our plans for owning the flight park and what they can expect from us – so that the town does not become surprised or uncooperative down the line.
    • E.g. on the topic of Camping:
      • Wayne doesn’t want a scenario where the club allows camping for members and then the town comes in midyear saying we can’t. Wants to get town supervisor on board with flight part as a whole and what they can expect out of us.
      • For context: when Tony Covelli and Greg Black brought their properties, the town put some restrictions on camping. Wayne wants to talk to the town supervisor before talking to the planning board about the LZ subdivision; will point out that the flying site has been there “forever”; and that the flight park already has camping as a use in the agreement with Open Space Institute – both in the LZ and on launch – so not going to be a deed restriction. (Will need to point out the same to camping liability insurance provider.)
      • Greg pointed out that we don’t have to start camping from the outset. Indeed, the club has discussed that camping on launch will not be allowed initially.
  • Town Planning Board / Subdivision of LZ: Wayne wants to meet with the Town Planning Board in mid December 2023 in preparation for the subdivision appointment 2nd week of January 2024. The LZ that the club will purchase is being subdivided from the portion of land on which Tony’s house sits.
  • Purchase Vote: The membership will vote on whether to purchase Ellenville Flight Park: yes/no. Hope everybody will vote yes. Will get email from Wayne with a doodle poll. Look forward to it in your emails and check spam folder. Email will come from WayneNeckles@hudsonvalleyfreeflyers.com.

Matters Under Consideration:

  • Additional Deed Restrictions / Purchasing Launch before LZ: 
    • Wayne has pondered the idea of using the downpayment and additional fundraiser proceeds to purchase the launch upfront and use subsequent installments to pay for the LZ. The incentive to nominally bifurcate the purchase like this would be to allow the club to put a deed restriction that states the launch and LZ land parcels must allow flying regardless of who the current or future owner is. (The club intends to own into perpetuity, but just in case – since we know that Open Space Institute didn’t want to allow flying.) However, Wayne suspects Tony Covelli would be amenable to put on such a deed restriction right away. This avenue will be explored.
  • New Committees to Commence / Roles to Fill: HVFF is looking for volunteers for the following roles and committees. Please reach out to Wayne if you are interested in helping in some way (wayneneckles@yahoo.com 845.590.3241‬).
    • Site Management Committee: A group of volunteers for grass mowing duties, monitoring the road condition, helping with general site maintenance as needed. It doesn’t have to be 1 person: ideally multiple people to share the workload. 
    • Rules Committee: One group to define camping rules and one group to define site flying rules (joint HG/PG committee). Now with Ellenville becoming an USHPA site, and the flying community taking over responsibility for site ownership, more than ever we want to cultivate a culture and track record of safety. 
    • Insurance Manager: The club would like someone to help research/manage the non-USHPA insurances, talk to insurance agents as needed, familiarize themselves with the coverage of the insurance policies we sign on to, and make sure we continuously comply with the terms. Maybe a small business owner within the flying community.
      • USHPA’s RRG insurance only covers recreational flying, and does not have a carveout for camping or any commercial activities on the site. We will need insurance to cover camping liabilities, any structures we may build on the site (way in the future), and new activities that may be permitted at the flight park (in the future).
      • As Wayne knows from business experience, it’s important to account for overlaps and gaps across those insurance policies – to plug the gaps and make sure we’re not overpaying through overlaps. 
      • Note, we’re not going to be able to get an umbrella policy because of the unique nature of what we do.
    • 1 Safety Director & 3 Safety Officers: The Safety Director works with the Safety Officers (plural): people who make sure that pilots fly in conditions that they’re rated for, comply with rules in place, etc. (Wayne acknowledges that it won’t be possible to have a safety officer around every flyable day, but they’re also someone who can be consulted on the phone about conditions). The distinction between Safety Officers and Mentors will be discussed/clarified.
      • Wayne says we need to have a number to call so pilots can call that safety officer about conditions. Many times people fly in conditions that shouldn’t fly in. Should be able to say, “No, this isn’t safe for a P2 or P3 to fly in the type of gliders they want to use that day.” Need to come up with a way to do that. Will be up to the rules committee.
      • Shani pointed out that the judgement of conditions is why we require mentors for P2s/H2s and (depending on the HVFF site rating) P3s. Cathleen suggested clarifying the distinction of rules of the site (launch police that confirms did you sign in and sign the waiver?) vs mentor to say if it’s flyable. 
      • Jane suggested that instead of some people taking all responsibility – maybe rotate.
    • Camping Director for 2024: When the club starts to allow camping on the newly owned site, the club needs to do so in a way that complies with state law and HVFF’s own rules. Like the safety director for flying, the camping director will help oversee camping rule compliance. Will need set of rules for the camping (part of site rules committee). Insurance will dictate some of the things that we can and can’t do. 
  • Nominees for 2024 HVFF Officers: HVFF needs to identify club officer nominees by Dec, election in Jan
  • Meeting attendees opted to nominate the current officers for reelection, instead of waiting till December
  • The following were nominated:
    • Wayne Neckles for President,
    • Paul Voight for Treasurer, 
    • Brian Herbert for VP
    • Brian Vant-Hull Secretary 
  • Vote will occur at the next club meeting (Dec 9) or perhaps via email / Doodle

Q&A / Discussion 

Question (Shani): What interest rate are we earning on the fundraiser funds in the savings account?

Answer: Paul said the interest rate is small: around 0.15%. Wayne said we may want to secure a money market rate.

Question: Aren’t we restricted to how much money we can hold on to as an 501c3?

Answer (Wayne): Ross Wisdom (accountant) says no. Can structure it appropriately.

Question (Paco): Who handles membership? 

Answer (Shani): Starting Jan 6, 2024, membership will be handled by the club. Membership and waivers will be online. There will be membership fees to fly, and people can continue to donate. Donations keep membership affordable / accessible. Membership is required even from those who donated.

Question (Tim Curran): What will be the membership fee? 

Answer (Wayne): The annual dues will be decided in the coming month once we see where donations and grants land. The group also discussed the matter of membership affordability while we pay off the note:

  • We really want to raise $300,000 upfront in order to make membership more affordable.
  • Bc Tony can’t take the money all at once, the accountant will work on ways to keep his capital gains taxes lower.
  • The pace that Tony can absorb the payments – especially if slower than 5 years – will influence our annual membership fee.
  • The more people donate, spread the word about fundraising, and commit to be annual members – the lower the dues are for all.

Question: Does the snafu with RRG Insurance inhibit flight park use in the meantime? 

Answer (Wayne): Well, there’s no insurance on the site right now. So we take ownership of the risk. Have to be more vigilant on flying days, antics, rated pilots, anything that can cause accidents. Landing not close to road to avoid spectators getting injured. Etc. Existing safeguards are the waivers that we have and that we only let members fly.

Question (Greg Black, who lives in the Mountain Wings training hill next to the LZ): question on camping: if I can’t hear my tv bc of campers, what do we do about it? 

Answer (Wayne): Wayne thinks we would use state camping laws like at state park; will be decided at rules committee.

For other non-camping rules – can check out other clubs’ rules. 

Question: Teeth – how do we enforce rules? 

Answer: May give warning after first violation, and revoke flying access for 3 months in event of another violation.

[SUMMARY] Action Items for the Ellenville flying community:

  1. Please reach out to HVFF President Wayne Neckles (wayneneckles@yahoo.com 845.590.3241‬) to volunteer for any of the above committee roles
  2. Current HVFF Members should look out for the flight park purchase vote via email (check spam folder for an email from WayneNeckles@hudsonvalleyfreeflyers.com) 
  3. Reminder to people who want lower membership dues, the best way to do this is:
    1. Spread the word and share the gofundme link with your circles – so we raise more donations from outside the local community (this lowers the residual amount left to cover each year by local pilots.)
    2. Be ready to be an annual member. The more annual members we have, the more people we can split the residual balance across.