1. One new member, Brad, was opened – just this week. We are holding steady at about 25 active members. Finances are stable – nearly everyone contributes consistently in cash and/or services. We’re making our Regional contribution and are up to date on insurance and loan payments. Our committee personnel are Stephen Kelly, Chair, Matthew Spivey, Vice Chair and Susan Van Winkle, Treasurer. We have gained one new helper – Harris Boebel who moved recently from Dallas.
2. We’ve undertaken repairs and renovations to deal with our moisture and mold problems. The most effective of these measures was the installation of an underground sump pump which siphons underground water, which would otherwise be absorbed by the foundation, to the street. We’ve paid for these efforts through fund raising and the sale of a piano that had been donated to the center but was not being used. We recovered from the “crash” of 2015 – when a 90 year old woman drove her car into the front wall (no one was hurt).
3. Our 4 skylights which comprise a large part of our roof area are failing, causing roof leaks. There is still more trenching work to be done around the building. We are requesting confirmation of the loan offer of $10,000 at 5%, interest-free for one year, to pay for this work, as approved at the Sacramento Council Meeting in October, 2014. We are striking a sub-committee of resourceful and knowledgeable members who will oversee these projects. We will be using licensed contractors for this work.
4. We have a renter- the Taoist Tai Chi Society (TTCS) – a very fine organization that teaches Tai Chi for health benefits with about 40,000 members in 26 countries. As a non-profit, charitable organization, its payments to us are in the form of contributions from one charity to another. We earn about $300/month from this arrangement. They provide their own insurance. I’m a long time member of the Society and aspire to become an instructor to help grow the TTCS branch here in San Diego.
5. Mikail Collins continues to raise money from outside and inside Subud for the “Brickmakers”, a collective of families outside of Tijuana whose enterprise is manufacturing bricks from clay soil. Mikail visits them personally and facilitates celebrations and gatherings.
6. The restaurant next door that had expressed interest in leasing our outdoor side yard changed hands and has not yet reopened. When We discovered that they are just leasing the space and so there is no way that they could punch a hole in their wall to add a door from their restaurant into our yard. Permits seem to be a challenge for them too. We don’t expect anything to come of this.
7. The Regional Helpers visited us in April. Their presence was healing and helpful. We are working on our Visioning Workshop’s 2 year goals – which include to become financially self-sustaining through rentals. Smaller but satisfactory goals are being realized too, including monthly Bapak Video nights. A member donated new AV equipment for this purpose.
Respectfully submitted
Stephen Kelly, Chair