Uncategorized – Manhattan Beach Badminton Club

Dear Members,

Thank you all for your feedback on the preliminary proposals, which resulted in a few very helpful changes. Please find enclosed information for your review, on the key issues that will be voted on at the Semi-Annual Meeting on Sunday November 3rd.

There will be two main proposals.

Facilities: Develop architectural drawings for an Integrated Facility Plan, and for Phase 1

The Board would like membership approval to take next steps towards updating our facilities.

First, a quick summary of what has been done to date:

2018 – Early 2019: Following the member survey, our New Construction Chair led Mini-Committees and discussion of which areas members want to improve. Five key areas were identified — bathrooms, kitchen/lounge, barbeque area, fitness center, and pool infrastructure. We also met with three local architect firms for bids and proposals.
May 2019: Members approved a dues increase, primarily to pay for major improvements in a phased approach, likely to span 5-10 years.
Mid 2019: The Club hired Tomaro Architecture to develop some preliminary concepts and meet with City of Manhattan Beach to assess potential feasibility; at a cost not to exceed $5,000. The City provided guidance as to which changes could be made, and others that would not be allowed. Based on that information, we learned the scope and areas of the property that would most-likely get approval.

Proposal: Develop architectural drawings for an Integrated Facility Plan and Phase 1; not to exceed $45,000. Funds to be used as follows:

Retain Tomaro Architecture at a cost not to exceed $35,000.
1. Develop schematic designs of all key areas to be remodeled (ADA bathrooms, BBQ area, kitchen/lounge, fitness center, pool equipment), at a cost not to exceed $20,000; to include meetings to ascertain requirements, schematic design documents, drawings and scale documents, additional feasibility meetings with the City, best order of new construction phases, and assistance to get preliminary construction estimates from contractors.
2. Remaining funds (approx. $15,000) to begin design and construction documents for Phase 1, to be determined based after developing the Facility Plan; or for other expenses directly related to the Facility Plan.
Spend up to $10,000 for associated fees such as site survey updates and engineering studies (geotechnical, etc).

Bylaws: Changes to correct, clarify wording, and remove inconsistencies

The Board is proposing a ByLaws revision to improve wording, remove outdated sections, and fix inconsistencies with current policy. The effort started as a small review, but expanded as we enlisted the assistance of a California corporate attorney. Numerous changes were recommended on almost every page, to improve readability, interpretation, and clarity.

Please note: We are not proposing any changes to current policies, rules, authority, or privileges of any members or officers. Rather our objective is to “Clean Up” the Bylaws so that they properly define current existing practices, and serve as an accurate and easy-to-understand set of rules for how MBBC operates.

The revisions fall into 2 general groups:

Improved wording for clarification, or to correct typos, grammar, and duplication
Inconsistency between By-Laws and current policy

The first group of changes are self-explanatory.

The second group are summarized here:

In the Bylaws, Children are classified as Members. But in practice, children are not members. They do not have the privileges of members and cannot use the Club without their parents. We recommend removing the “Junior Member” classification for children, as it is confusing and problematic to call them members.
The Bylaws state that new members pay $350 of their initial membership fee upon joining, and the balance later. But for the last 5+ years, new members have paid their initial membership fee in full, not in two phases.
Our Bylaws reference stock certificates in many places. In practice, the Club has not issued any stock or membership certificates in over 20 years — and our attorney confirms that certificates are not required to prove membership (California Mutual Benefit Nonprofit Corporation).
The Bylaws say Playing Memberships are for only 6 months, and must be individually reviewed by the Board and renewed every 6 months. But this is not what we do in practice, and not necessary. We have also updated the classifications and qualifications for Playing Members to be more consistent with how the Club admits new members.
The Bylaws state the Club must elect a Badminton Committee with staggered terms, which has not been done for many years. We have modified the requirement to be discretionary, and the wording to be less onerous; so that future Boards can more easily follow this procedure.

Proposal: Move to adopt the proposed Bylaws revision, as defined in the Commented Bylaws Proposal, or the pdf Bylaws Redline Proposal. The Bylaws as they will read if the proposed revision is adopted is also available here: Bylaws Proposed Revisions.

Category: Uncategorized

Architectural Drawings for MasterPlan

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May Membership Meeting – May 17th 2020

2020-21 Board of Directors

2019-20 Club Financials Available

Covid-19 Protocols for Sport court and Outdoor Areas

College Scholarship Opportunities

Arizona Collegiate Badminton Scholarships available for Fall 2020

Amended Club Rules – January 2020

October 2019 Club Financials Available

Membership Meeting Recap – November 3rd 2019

Final Proposals for Nov 2019 Membership Meeting