B & G CLUB – FUTURE REMAINS UNCERTAIN – 5/16 MEETING RECAP

  

May 17, 2022           10:00am   

   

Acknowledgements:     

      

1)   A huge thank you to the parents and concerned community members who attended last night, and helped us ask the tough questions, and try to understand the answers we were given. 

 

2)   As always, a heartfelt thank you to the wonderful B & G club staff, who stayed for 2 hours extra in order to watch our children while we had our mtg.  Snacks were provided, and it felt really good to be able to have our mtg inside the clubhouse.     

 

   

Critical Points:   

   

1)   There has been a subtle unannounced shift of responsibility.     

   

Parents use to pay fees, drop their kids off, and pick them up, period.  The Board handled management and fundraising.  Their website remains very stale, with very little financial details.  There is no parent’s council, but yet, it all seems to have run smoothly for a long time.   

   

   

2)    Now, the Board has shifted a huge part of fundraising onto parents, without asking.     

   

*The financials are still very murky.     

*There is no clear view of life expectancy of the club.     

*No parental or community input on the Board.     

   

   

This is not very customer friendly if we are supposed to be one big happy family.    

   

In essence, we are being asked to buy a very expensive car without looking at it, driving it or getting a mechanical inspection. And the seller will not tell us anything about it.   

   

   

MONDAY 5/16 MTG -  Left us with more questions than answers.   

   

Attendance: 60     

    

SUMMARY:    

   

1)   We have 1-2 years of funding left.     

   

2)   Board is transferring a large part of their responsibility to fundraise onto parents, without any discussion.   

   

3)   Pacifica specific financials were not available. Yearly deficit is around $300,000 and may increase.   

   

4)   Parents need to see how this plays out over the next couple of months, and what the actual Pacifica financials look like. Jury is still out. 

   

5)    We asked for, and got a commitment for, an additional parent’s meeting in one month. We also received a verbal commitment to develop a parent’s council.   Details to follow.   

   

6)   B & G Club has an ongoing problem with refusal to reveal key board workings and decisions.   In today’s climate, and in the wake of a crushing pandemic, this is just bad parent/customer relations.   

   

7)  B & G Club will not tell us who is being considered for the new Pacifica board.   

   

8)   The financials that were passed out at the 5/16 meeting are combined  SSF/Pacifica -  and do not give us an accurate picture of Pacifica finances alone.   

   

9)   Pacifica finances will be available sometime in early July. That is the end of their fiscal year, so the data has to be prepared by July 1st.   

   

10)    The NDA only served to keep Pacifica parents in the dark.   Boards and Leadership discuss financials every day without an NDA, what was the new reason here for the NDA? 

 

B & G Club’s NDA appears to be put in place to prohibit discussion. A convenient and artificial bar, to allow BGC board members to hide behind, so Pacifica was not alerted to the drastic changes.   

 

Decisions about the merger and cutting Pacifica out in the first place, have not, and will not, be answered, per the B & G Board.  

 

 

11)     The Pacifica clubhouse and IBL site remain operational, and the building will be transferred to the Pacifica club.   

   

12)   A Pacifica-only budget will be created. A multi-year forecast was asked for.   

   

13)      A new Pacifica executive has been hired: Maddy.  Hopefully her resume will on the website soon.   

   

14)       The expectations of parents have drastically changed -  with no discussion or warning to the parents. The new situation post merger is a take it or leave it offer-- Parents will be asked to fundraise. Parents can apply and volunteer to be on the board. Various board committees need volunteers.   

   

15)     The current deficit is around $300,000. This may get worse as financials are rolled out. A part time contract fundraiser is on staff.  Quarterly financials were requested to be made available to parents and to be posted on the website.  Given the current spending rate, the lag time to crank up fundraising, and an unknown number of parents who have time to fundraise, year-end financials showing two quarters of post-merger revenue will be revealing.     

    

   

Right now, without major improvements, the club has 1-2 years left     

    

NOTE:   Three members of Pacifica city council attended: Mayor Mary Bier, Vice Mayor Bigstyck and Mike O’Neill. O’Neill is scheduled to join the BGC board of directors.  No comments were made by council, and there will be no city contributions to the club.     

      

In Solidarity, 

Erin Pickett