Note: The Long-Range Planning Committee is next scheduled to meet on Tuesday, September 18, 2018 at 7:00 p.m. in the Administration Building boardroom.
GHI’s Long-Range Planning Committee (LRPC) held its second meeting on Tuesday, August 14th.
Neron Adams-Escalera, Director of Member Services, gave a presentation on the listserv technology that some GHI committees are using for collaboration.
The committee then debated how to moderate posts by GHI members. Some committee members preferred to review comments before approving/rejecting them while others preferred unmoderated posting with the option to remove inappropriate (spam, malware, foul language, etc.) content. Neron noted that any approved post that was then deleted by moderators would still be archived.
The committee agreed to start with unmoderated posts then revisit the policy as-needed. As new requests to join the listserv are received, Neron will confirm GHI membership status before requests are approved.
Next on the agenda was a discussion of the LRPC’s charter. The draft document was revised to mention technological advances and clarify that the LRPC is empowered by the Board of Directors. The draft was further amended to note that the LRPC’s work is connected to GHI’s ability to provide member-approved community facilities, services, and benefits. The updated draft will be circulated among committee members for review.
Moving on to discuss strategic-planning models, the LRPC debated pros and cons of SCOC, SWOT, SOAR, and STEEPLE. The committee hopes to recruit volunteer GHI members with experience using one or more of these models to help the LRPC select and implement a planning structure.
Thinking about what types of data the LRPC will need to conduct its work, the committee and attendees compiled this list as a starting point:
- Member fee trends
- Real estate tax trends (assessments, homestead exemptions, etc.)
- Compare members’ monthly co-op fees with their share loan (mortgage) payments
- GHI expense trends that factor into the co-op fees
- Member demographics (age, tenure in GHI, etc.)
- Member technology profile (landline phone v cell phone, internet access/speed, etc.)
- Home sale transaction trends (cash transactions, share loan size, etc.)
- Home sale price trends
- Recent legislation affecting GHI
- Trends among other housing co-ops and associations
- Member turnout/voting at annual meetings (number of ballots cast, etc.)
Creating mechanisms for data gathering and analysis along with member participation will require a multifaceted approach. Ideas included outreach during town hall meetings and new-member socials, the court liaison program, online surveys, and word-of-mouth.
There was an in-depth conversation about the Prince George’s County zoning re-write and its possible effect on GHI. The council is expected to vote on the plan in October followed by a period during which zoning maps are fixed so the LRPC may need to factor new zoning laws into its work. Interested members are encouraged to follow GHI’s Zoning Task Force or contact task force chair Stefan Brodd at vicepresident@ghi.coop for more information.
The LRPC discussed next steps in its work – approving the committee charter, defining deliverables, planning for the data collection project, and launching a member-outreach effort.
The next LRPC meeting will be Tuesday, September 18th in the Administration Building boardroom.
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