After interviewing a number of candidates, the General Manager Search Committee decided the best candidate for the job was Lynn Briley, who had been acting since April as our Interim General Manager. The committee reviewed his application and interviewed him in the same manner as the other candidates. Not only is Lynn a licensed CAM (Community Association Manager), he also holds a PCAM (Professional CAM) license, considered to be an elite distinction and the pinnacle of community association management credentials. He lives in the community and has been improving the operations and management of the BPCA office since April. We are happy to announce that Lynn is now a permanent part of the BPCA team.
The BPCA welcomes Administrative Assistant Lauren Clack this month. Lauren is already proving to be a great addition to the office, assisting Debra Haydn with issuing bar codes, answering phones and organizing the information and records in the office for easier and quicker access. She is likely the first person you will see when you stop by the BPCA office.
Thank you to resident Frank Walker who answered the call for volunteers and graciously agreed to head up a Records Management and Retention initiative. For any of you who have ever had to locate or request an older (and sometimes recent) record, you know how important the ability to retrieve that record becomes! In addition to being good business practice, Florida Statutes and other governing bodies require Homeowners Associations to retain certain records for specific lengths of time.
At the July 10 BOD meeting, Mr. Walker presented a draft document retention policy for the BOD to review. He is extremely qualified to head this initiative. Some of his background includes having been in charge of the Top Secret/SI document section in Army Security Agency Fort Devens for three years, being reference librarian in charge of Farley Nuclear facility documentation while it was under construction in Alabama, and more than 30 years as a librarian, including director of a university library (Troy-Dothan) for 16 years. He will work with the BPCA office staff to move forward on this project. While hard copies will be maintained as required, there will also be a push to digitize and make the records electronically searchable as much as possible.
Thank you to another resident, Robin Taylor, who has generously agreed to work on updating the information for our Owners’ Directory, a much needed and long overdue publication. Our Directory is a very helpful tool in keeping neighbors connected and making us a true community.
Thank you again, Frank and Robin, from the BPCA Board, staff and community for your volunteerism! It is very refreshing to have you step forward to fill a needed niche.
To all the rest of you out there: Contact Debra at the BPCA office (Phone: 850-234-2727, email dhaydn@baypointflorida.org) if you can volunteer in any particular area, or just help out at the office for a few hours.
In the past few months our administrative processes have improved through the diligent efforts of Debra Haydn working with various
staff members. They have combined needed information, documented procedures and streamlined processes. Many of the accomplishments, such as combining citation information into one spreadsheet (from 3 differing ones previously) and uploading the comprehensive spreadsheet into “My Cloud” have reduced duplication of efforts and improved accuracy. For the first time, Security and the BPCA office staff can access and update the same information, without lag time. While the backlog of citations are still being entered into this spreadsheet, all information is expected to be entered by August 1, 2017.
They are currently working with a new Excel workbook format for the bar code registration and information as well, and are also looking toward uploading it to “My Cloud” for more efficient access and updates. During that process they are comparing current cards issued to owners and renters lists to verify accuracy. Additionally, they are updating the Owners’ List data base from returned mail, updates and information received from new owner’s Warranty Deeds, and owners who notify the office with address or ownership changes.
Teaming with Accounting, a new Accounts Receivable Excel spreadsheet was created to record incoming cash and checks from various sources. Now a file can be printed to submit with the cash and check deposits, eliminating duplicate photocopying, yet providing a paper copy for the accountant’s deposit file as well as a searchable electronic record.
Instead of the white board calendar, the staff has now moved to a “Google” calendar. The calendar is printed and posted in the lobby where the calendar was previously displayed. With this method, the new calendar can be viewed online by staff and Board members who have a Google address. Access is “view only,” so you still need to call the BPCA office to add your meeting to the calendar. This calendar will also be made available on the new website as that endeavor becomes reality.
The Finance Committee and Board of Director liaisons for various budget areas have been busy developing a detailed budget for the upcoming fiscal year, working with the BPCA staff. Our in-house accountant, Tom Worrel, has been working closely with the Finance Committee and is continuing to make steady progress in implementing standard processes and organizing financial information.
The Finance Committee along with our General Manager and in-house accountant also interviewed three accounting firms after receiving and reviewing Request for Proposal (RFP) responses from a number of firms. All three firms interviewed were very strong. In the final analysis, the BOD voted to engage Saltmarsh, Cleveland and Gund as the new accounting firm for BPCA based upon the recommendation of the Finance Committee.
Thank you to all of the Board again this month for your volunteerism! Residents and owners, remember, we are still collecting e-mail addresses to allow us to send important updates and announcements efficiently via e-mail. Send your e-mail address to the BPCA office at contactus@baypointflorida. org.
by LILLIAN COOPER