Resident
Council General Meeting
The Feb.
1, 2016 meeting of the John Knox Village Resident Council was opened by
President Jim Ham at 2 p.m. in the Courtyard Community Center. President Dan
Rexroth spoke to us about the progress our new cable system, CCI, is making.
Although the process has been slower than anticipated, the conversion is moving
ahead. Many residents have already been connected. Dan indicated that overall, residents
will be paying less for internet and telephone connections than previously. Dan
also pointed out that the Village operating budget and the budget for the new construction
are two totally separate entities. Eventually, they will be merged, but only
after construction is complete, and new residences are filled and stabilized.
Dan mentioned the number of events that have been held in The Pavilion lately,
including city events. The KC Remote Control show will be held there, and an
attendance of 2000 is expected.
COMMITTEE
REPORTS:
Resident Services Committee: Chair Martha Wood reported on
the January meeting. Maria Timberlake, vice president of senior living, reported
that residences along O’Brien Road have been demolished as part of the first
phase of the Meadows complex. Closing of certain roads or parts of roads will
be done in a manner to cause the least amount of disruption. When complete,
there will be a total of 22 carports behind KCIM. Food for catering will be prepared
in the kitchen of the new Courtyard Café. This will allow for much more
efficient transport of food to The Pavilion and elsewhere. Maria also spoke of
plans for improvements to major signage as campus redevelopment continues. Our
final presentation of the findings and resulting action plans from the Holleran
resident satisfaction survey was given by Jim Freed, Director of Operations and
Development. It was interesting to note that his department’s budget includes $2.2
million for the Village’s utilities. The highest scoring departmental factors
in the survey for Independent Living pertained to laundry and trash services
and overall satisfaction with housekeeping services. By far the lowest scoring
factor was the condition of the streets and paved areas. Upkeep and repair of
buildings was also a concern. Highest scores for Village Assisted Living and
the Village Care Center were the appearance of buildings and grounds, common
areas and housekeeping. The action plan for the Operations Department is to
complete the Courtyard Commons and the bridge to the Pavilion and to continue
abatement and demolition in preparation for the Meadows as well as the Lakeside
elevator and parking lot. They will continue to look at potential renovations
to Redbud, Peach and Cherry streets and N.W. Shamrock Lane as well as streets
Peace Parkway, Rose Court, N.W. Willow Drive and the service road leading to
the Hobby Hut. Spring will see extensive planting and installation of trees,
shrubs and rock design, and storm water flooding curtailment. There will also
be a focus on expanded resident communication. The Facilities Management area will
continue to improve communication and responsiveness to work order requests
from residents. The next meeting will be Feb. 8.
Finance Committee: Chair Gerry Wachsmann reported on
the December meeting. Vice President of Finance Kim Klockenga presented the
December financial report. Deposits and lease move-ins were below budget,
however, entrance fees were above budget. Independent Living occupancy at the
end of December was 738; Village Assisted Living was 177; Village Care Center
was 277. This year, average entrance fees have increased. Following the monthly
financial review, the committee was briefed on the FY17 preliminary budget that
will start on April 1, 2016. The next committee meeting will be on Feb. 24, 2016.
Health Services Committee: Chair Helen Darby reported on
the January meeting. The speaker was Heather Scott, Administrator of Village
Residential Care and Village Assisted Living. The topic was the action plan based
on the resident satisfaction survey. Orientation for new admissions, more
varied activities, staffing responsiveness, and quality of care were all
addressed. Focus groups with memory care families were instituted. New staff
will be made more aware of quality of care and response to patient needs
through care plan meetings, dementia training and staff meetings to address
clinical issues will be held. Heather shared with the committee that there is now
a coordinator dedicated to memory care assistant living activities. The
coordinator is developing relationships with family members and is asking that
group to serve as volunteers for outings. This has been well received and a
number of family members are participating. Rodney McBride reported on the
state survey for Village Hospice. This was the first survey in seven years.
Current regulations now require surveys every three years. The state surveyors
stated this was the best survey they have ever done. The Committee offered their
congratulations on the performance. The patient care complaint presented at the
November meeting has been followed up and a conclusion reached. The next meeting
is Feb. 10, 2016 and will include the response to the resident satisfaction survey
in the Village Care Center.
Nominating Committee: Chair June Dewsberry reported on
the January meeting. The real work of the committee has now begun as telephone
calls are being made to members of committees who have completed two, two-year
terms, or one two-year term to determine their wishes on any change they need
to make. Most committees have sufficient members. One resume was received for
the Resident Board member position by current member Carol Evans who is seeking
a second term. The resume will be published in the March Village Voice and will also be forwarded to the Board Development
Committee. The next meeting will be Feb. 4, 2016.
Sales, Marketing and
Communications Committee:
The next meeting will be Feb. 18, 2016, at which time Karen Burec, manager of
marketing and communications, and Marybeth Roberts, director of sales,
marketing and communications, will present the resident satisfaction survey
results in the form of the “Family Feud” television show.
Program: Jim introduced our speaker, Kim
Klockenga, vice president of finance and corporate treasurer, and indicated it
was Kim's birthday today. All present then sang a hearty “Happy Birthday” to
Kim. Kim made a presentation on the John Knox Village FY17 proposed budget.
Budget guidelines include: focus being an entrance fee community; improve financial
strength of the community; achieve 0.5 percent increase in revenues greater
than the increase in expenses; achieve appropriate level of NOM (Net Operating Margin);
and meet bond covenants. Funding the strategic plan includes: filling the D
Building apartments and opening new amenity spaces; funding the predevelopment
of the Meadows; funding of renovation work on existing housing inventory to achieve
54 EF (entry fee) sales and strategic positioning for the bond rating. The Independent
Living monthly service fee increase will be 3.9 percent, Village Assisted
Living 3 percent and the Village Care Center 2 percent. There will be associate
wage increases of two to three percent. Costs of associate health insurance and
other insurance costs will increase, as will utility rates. Census in all areas
is projected to increase. Revenue increase of four percent, expense increase of
4.1 percent, contribution increase of 1.8 percent, average entrance fees
proceeds increase of 10 percent, and entrance fee rate increase of three
percent, are all expected. Budget challenges include: managing redevelopment
and hospitality; complex sales environment; meeting entrance fee sales targets;
building days of cash on hand and funding capital needs. The next steps:
achieve revenue growth 0.5% greater than expenses; improve NOM (5 percent
target); create capital budget; establish health care reserve requirements; develop
executable contingency plans; DCOH (Days of Cash on Hand) calculation with goal
of 200 days. Kim announced that his next quarterly financial report will be
given at 9 a.m. on Feb. 17 in the Ambassador Room. All are invited.
Several
questions were asked. One question was regarding when the new fee increase would
go into effect. Kim indicated that for entrance fee residents, new fees go into
effect on their anniversary date. For lease residents, the increase goes into effect
on April 1, 2016. Another question was what are the next steps in budget
approval? Kim stated that the proposed budget will now go to the Board Finance Committee,
and then to the full Board for final approval. Jim thanked Kim for his diligent
work and excellent presentation.
The next
General Meeting will be Monday, March 7, 2016. Speakers will be David Mercier,
Administrator of the Village Care C, and Heather Scott, Administrator of
Village Assisted Living, which includes Residential Care, Assisted Living and
Memory Care. They will give their responses to the Holleran resident
satisfaction survey as related to their respective areas.
Respectfully
submitted,
June
Dewsberry, Secretary, Resident Council
