GENOA CEMETERY ASSOCIATION

A Nevada Nonprofit Corporation

MINUTES OF ANNUAL MEETING OF BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Date: April 14, 2024, Time: 2:00 PM

IN PERSON AT GENOA TOWN HALL, 2287 Main Street Genoa, NV

I. CALI. CALL TO ORDER: The meeting was called to order at 2:10 PM. Bob Whear made an opening comment that he would like for everyone to realize we are all here for the same reason to honor and take care of our cemetery.

II.      II. ROLL CALL AND INTRODUCTION OF ATTENDEES: The following volunteer board members were present at the meeting: Erin Pasley, Elaine Shively, Bob Whear, Roger Falcke, Eric Brink, Loren Simpson, Tom Peters.

III.    III. DECLARATION OF QUORUM: A quorum was present.

IV.     IV. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA:  Elaine made a motion to approve the agenda with modification to allow public comment, for items not on the agenda, at the beginning of the meeting.  Roger Falcke seconded the motion.  Passed unanimously.

V.       V. PUBLIC COMMENT:

Mike Jessup stated he has lived here for 20 years.  August 2023 purchased a plot at the cemetery.  He feels there has been a lot of effort regarding the cemetery upkeep and voiced his appreciation to the Board for all their efforts. 

VI.     VI. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: The minutes from the meeting held on April 23, 2023, were unanimously approved by Erin Pasley, Elaine Shively, Bob Whear, Roger Falcke, Eric Brink and Tom Peters.  Loren Simpson abstained. 

•      Mark Saliba had a question on the minutes from 2023 regarding the two trees he had donated, which ultimately ended up being 5 trees.  No changes have to be made to the minutes as the additional 3 trees were decided after the meeting.

•        Mark Saliba asked about the Candy Dance parking vote from April 2023 and if it was an agenda item?  Elaine Shively responded stating it was requested to be placed on the agenda three times to last year’s secretary in writing, at a prior board meeting in January and Bob Whear also sent an email requesting for the topic to be placed on the annual meeting agenda for 2023.  There was no communication back from the secretary, so the topic was brought up at the meeting even though not on the agenda.  Bob Whear read from the April 2023 minutes, “Elaine Shively made a motion to allow Candy Dance parking for the next two years (September 2023 and 2024), Bob Whear seconded.  Wally Adams, President allowed for the majority vote of the members present and the prior decision to not allow parking was overturned.”

VII.   VII. TREASURER REPORT: The treasurer gave a report regarding:

•        WF Checking Balance: $21,739.09, WF Operating Account: $51,025.89, WF Brokerage Account: $ 40,662.75

•       2023 Income totaled $59,134.69 of which $11,428.81 acquired from yearly maintenance fees.  Expenses totaled $24,628.30.  Some of the expenses of the cemetery include landscaping, concrete work for new plots being built, road grading, water, tree maintenance, insurance, office supplies, etc....

•       Eric Brink made note that the checking account balance was down because of a recent concrete bill for new Section L plots recently poured.  Eric also noted that $30,000 was voted, by a prior board, to be moved to the brokerage account from checking.  Eric had done this but had to move it back to due the high concrete bill. 

Public comment for item:

•       Mr. Saliba asked if these numbers will be posted to the website.  Eric responded that our current website infrastructure does not allow for this and both himself and Erin are actively working on researching website updates so this can be available in the future. 

•       Edith Loes asked if everyone pays a maintenance fee.  Eric responded that there are some accounts that are “deceased with no heirs” which no longer contribute to the maintenance fees. 

•       Gloria Burruel asked how often the cemetery is maintained.  Bob Whear responded stating seasonally.  It is an ongoing process and volunteerism is an important factor in this maintenance process.

•     John Adams asked about having an updated email list for communications as he has not received any notifications.  Clarification was made that one family member is the point of contact for family plots as the plot owner.  It is this person that is noticed of meetings etc.... There is not a way to notice and communicate with all members of a family as it is too labor intensive, and our current IT set up does not allow for this. 

VIII.  VIII. REVIEW OF CEMETERY NEWS/EVENTS

Elaine Shively provided an update on the news and events of 2023.  Including:  

• Genoa Cemetery Association Newsletter went out to membership February 2024.

• Genoa Cemetery Association Bylaws and Rules & Regulations have been updated.  A subcommittee including Mark Saliba, June DeTurk and Marian Vassar assisted with updates and changes.  Final revisions were reviewed by Kara Hayes, the GCA legal counsel, to be in alignment with NRS 82.  The Bylaws and Rules & Regulations can be viewed on the Genoa Cemetery website, https://genoacemetery.org/. 

•      Volunteerism at the Genoa Cemetery including:

a.     E. Clampus Vitus - Snow Shoe Thompson chapter.  Every year they come out to beautify his grave.  Last year built a retaining wall to help with further erosion.

b.     Eagle Scout project - painting of the shed and office, clean up of Lillian Finnegan grave, rock borders around trees

•      New Board Members’ seats filled April 2023.  Eric Brink and Loren Simpson were elected at April 2023 annual meeting.  Erin Pasley, Roger Falcke and Thomas Peters were appointed after the annual meeting due to 3 vacancies.

•      Bob Whear updated membership on new Section L that has been started with de-rocking and curbing plots.  Of those already formed about 1/3 have been sold already. The Board has also decided to go away from shared concrete walls and each plot will have its own independent walls.

•       Update on easements being notarized for Coatney and Buchannon.  Coatney did not agree to sign the easement.  These were attempted after the fire that occurred for improved access for emergency personnel.   

•      Rockpile grows every time a new section in the cemetery is de-rocked in preparation for new plots.  A sign will be placed on the rock pile for the public, if they would like access.  A Board member phone number for more information and “donations accepted” will be provided on sign. 

IX.     IX. PUBLIC COMMENT: During the report of news/events the membership had unrelated questions of which Bob Whear allowed at that time.

•       John Adams asked for clarification on Board terms.  Elaine Shively stated three-year terms when elected and terms stagger.

•       Mark Saliba commented that he was happy to see electronic notifications allowed in the new Bylaws.  He also wanted to clarify that those who do not communicate electronically would still be accommodated.  Erin Pasley clarified that yes USPS would be the mode of communication for those members.  Mark also had positive feedback regarding the newsletter and hopes it continues in the future.

•        Marian Vassar asked for more information on the Memorial Christmas tree decorating done in December 2023.  Clarification was made that the Haliwell family started this volunteer effort to decorate a tree in the cemetery remembering our loved ones.  This is volunteerism at its finest, and it is not a formal Board sponsored event.

X. X. X. FUTURE EVENTS

a.  Clean up day

•       Bob would like to have garbage company donate a dumpster

•       Proposed date and time:  May 18, 2024 @ 8:00am - 12:00pm

 b.  Future Fundraising ideas

•      Mark Saliba questions if we could solicit donations from Douglas County, The Town of Genoa, or the GCA legal counsel firm.  Another idea was to create hats or T-shirts with the GCA logo and sell them on the website or have a booth at the Candy Dance.

•        Bob Whear took this time to speak of the need for a donation or fundraiser for a new Flagpole and solar light.  Loren Simpson, Board member, stated this is a topic near and dear to his heart.  Having a flagpole that is more prominent and visible from the highway would be ideal.  He would also like to implement an unknown soldier grave to honor our veterans.  He offered to donate the flagpole, but asked for assistance with the solar light that would be needed.  Mark Saliba offered to participate in this project.

•       Eric Brink spoke to an Adopt a Grave program which originally was mentioned by Mark Saliba in 2023.  Eric reports he has researched other programs at other cemeteries and the program can be difficult to implement.  Further discussion can be made on the topic at future Board meetings as more information unfolds.  The question is, is there community support to get it off the ground.

XI.  X XI. TOWN OF GENOA CANDY DANCE PARKING 2024

a.  Bob Whear reported that the 2023 Candy Dance parking was a great success, and he was quite pleased with the volunteer efforts and the monitoring of the parking utilizing the Marines.

b.  Eric Brink reported on survey results sent to the membership in 2023 via the newsletter in regard to Candy Dance parking.  330 was estimated as the number of newsletters sent out minus "return to sender" pieces. 57 responses back at 17.3% response rate.  Per membership 39.5 votes “Yes”, 17.5 votes “No”.  Per plot 53.5 votes “Yes” and 19.5 votes “No”.  All comments were also tracked and placed in each member account for future reference.  

c.  Bob Whear, President, took a moment to thank Gayle Vassar for all of her efforts with regard to designing and implementing the first Cemetery newsletter.

Public comment for item:    

•        Mark Saliba presented a check for $1500, which was the reimbursement amount of Candy Dance parking for 2023 for the Board to consider the “no” votes even though there are less then the “yes” votes. “If not, this can certainly go to the other issues.” 

•      Roger Falcke, Board member, thanked Mr. Saliba for the donation.  Roger expanded the conversation on parking, saying that the cemetery does not allow parking for Candy Dance soley because of the money received.  As the cemetery builds out, there will not be any room for parking in the future.  Roger states there have been conversations with the Town of Genoa that a plan B for parking will be necessary in the future. 

•      Gordon Pasley, Town of Genoa Advisory Board chair, was in the audience and Roger Falcke invited him to speak to the topic.  Gordon discussed that alternatives are being researched.  This relationship between the cemetery and the Town of Genoa is more about community and supporting one another vs. just money being exchanged.

•      Bob Whear reiterated that this is not an easy solution, and it will take some time to work out and it is not a one-sided topic.  He mentioned that until last year parking has never been an issue.  He looked back to the minutes from 2007 to 2019 and parking was never even voted on or mentioned, but parking has been allowed for years.  Thanking everyone for their attendance and raising their concerns.

•       Stacey Stevens asked for clarification on negotiating more money for flat rate from the Town of Genoa to the cemetery.  She also raised some personal concerns regarding her own lot.  It was decided that someone from the Board would contact her at a later time to help resolve.   

•      Gayle Vassar verbalized support for Candy Dance parking provided there is room and it is managed well, having multiple family members buried at the Genoa Cemetery.  She states there is a feeling of honoring their memory as all of these family members loved Genoa.  Gayle reiterated the importance of Candy Dance to the Town of Genoa budget and need for volunteer parking north of town.

•       Marian Vassar requested clarification on how the Marines are reimbursed for their services in managing the parking lot.  Gordon Pasley, Town of Genoa Advisory Board Chair, provided details the Marines fund raise for their Marine Corp ball and the town enjoys supporting our local military.  The Marines receive 45% of parking revenue, after expenses.  It has been helpful having their presence during Candy Dance weekend as it is also Street Vibrations which creates an additional challenge.  The membership asked for total dollars received by the Town with the cemetery parking.  Estimated $4,500 after expenses.   

XII.  XII. ACTION ITEMS

a.    a. Genoa Cemetery Board terms of Elaine Shively and Roger Falcke end April 2024.  Elections to be held for these two seats, which would be a three-year commitment ending April 2027.

•       Nominations included:  Elaine Shively, Wally Adams, Georgia Kiewicz, and Fred Berning.

•        Majority vote went to Elaine Shively at 81 votes and Georgia Kiewicz at 80 votes. 

XIII. XIII. ANNOUNCEMENT OF NEXT MEETING:

The next meeting is scheduled for April 2025 with the date to be determined at a subsequent meeting of the Board.

XIV.   XIV. ADJOURNMENT:

A mot A motion to adjourn the meeting was made by Roger Falcke, seconded by Eric Brink.  The meeting was adjourned at 3:38pm.

Minutes respectfully submitted by Erin Pasley, Volunteer Genoa Cemetery Association Secretary.