2020 January - Board of Directors Meeting Minutes 📝
Item 1: Call to Order
o Meeting called to order (9:11am)
Item 2: Financial Review
o SBV 2020 Financials shared with Board via Alison (CEO)
o 2020 Winery Dues: $256,000, $130,000 paid, $126,000 outstanding
o A/R: $17,400, $8,344 from 2019
o 2019: $12,000 in the black, but $66,481 in rollover debt
o This is reflected in our bank account and why we don’t have more money
o Outstanding bills include IT and mileage
o Due to lack of money in bank, utilizing AMEX and Bank of Marin for grant
o Costing association a lot of money in interest
o We will have to make up $66,481 to get to a truly balanced budget
o Tyler: We need to get SBV operation budget to $500,000 with Vintners Festival
o Civitas received data to show true weighting to determine 51% for BID
o Alison researching new tax law that was established in April, 2019 and how it impacts BID
o Adjusting BID may be more receptive to wineries
o May have to only apply to Santa Barbara charges, not full CA
o No wine club could be an easier sell to wineries
o Mona Miyasato is now BID contact at county
o This transition has slowed process at county
o If we adjust BID terms, 3-4 week delay, but relying on county counsel
o Regardless, we will need to get through 2020
o $18,000 fees to use Bank of Marin line of credit
o Must come up with a true Plan B if BID doesn’t pass
o Tyler proposal: 30-50 members that pay significant fees ($12,000/year)
o Tiered membership: Our dues currently tiered
Item 3: Revised Business Membership Tiers
o Stephen and Wayne have submitted new tiers
o Recruit industry related partners: coopers, glass
o Major sponsorship from large businesses
o Donated wine for membership thank you gifts
o Raise tiers to reflect we are a serious organization
o Should we hire a sales person to make money on commission?
o Revise association membership so wineries out of Santa Barbara can be part of SBV
o Motion made to investigate membership restructure. Tyler makes motion, Callie seconds, full board approval
Item 4: Grape Commission
o Nicholas researched steps and details of a grape commission
o Spoke with Lodi & Sonoma
o Funds are for Marketing and Research & Development only
o No advocacy
o CA law prevents it from being SBV, must be a new organization
o Can base it how you want as long as it adheres to CA law
o CDFA: Will help setup structure
o Biggest question: We are included in District 8 which contains SLO county
o Both Lodi & Sonoma had a year of meetings to drum up support, then another year for setup with government
o Fees passed on to buyer
o District 8 would generate $1,200,000 in revenue, around $500,000 if only SBC
o More details will be rolled out at Annual Meeting
Item 5: Meeting Adjourned
o Adjourned at 11:33am