American Legion
Post 108
Prescott Valley, Arizona
MEETINGS: 2nd Tuesday of the month
ALR: 5:00 p.m. - Post/Unit Joint Mtg. 6:00 p.m.
Auxiliary right after joint meeting
Location:
United Methodist Church
8944 E Sommer Dr, Prescott Valley, AZ 86314
14 December 2020
Comrades – just an update on our meeting location.
As you all know, for years we have been meeting at the Prescott Valley United Methodist Church (PVUMC). Unfortunately, since the start of the COVID pandemic, the Church has been closed and we have not been able to utilize it for meetings. Recently our meetings were temporarily moved to the Full Throttle Biker Church, and we appreciate their willingness to accommodate us. However, again due to the COVID pandemic, New Horizons (which owns the building in which the Full Throttle Biker Church is located) had temporarily closed, requiring us to find a new home.
The latest reports we received from PVUMC was that they “might” be able to open in January – but if they did, there would be a number of restrictions:
> We would no longer be able to utilize the “back room” where the Auxiliary and ALR historically have met because of occupancy restrictions and social distancing requirements.
> Chairs in the main meeting room would be limited, again because of occupancy restrictions and minimum 6-foot social distancing requirements.
> We would not be able to bring in any food to the meetings – which means no potlucks.
> If a positive COVID case was found, the Church would again close – which would mean we would again have to find a temporary home for meetings.
Although we appreciate everything that PVUMC has done for us over the year, it was felt that the time had come for the Post 108 family to find a new location for our “home”. Because of cost issues, meeting-room size requirements and storage requirements (we have the Highway 69 flags, the file cabinets for the Post, Auxiliary and ALR, and other assorted equipment to store), our choices were limited. Our major emphasis was to have our new location in Prescott Valley and to maintain our meetings on the second Tuesday of each month.
We had narrowed down potential sites to two: the Prescott Valley Town Hall Complex, and Affordable Burial and Cremation Offices (ABC) [8939 E Valley Rd., Prescott Valley].
In our meeting with Prescott Valley Town Officials, they would make meeting space available at no cost to the Post. However, the current space available (in the Library) would not be available from February to April each year, so for three months out of the year we would have to meet in another room somewhere in the Complex. Also, there is no storage space available for all of our assets at the Prescott Valley Town Complex. Also, since this is a governmental building, there is no certainty that they may close temporarily because of COVID, as did Prescott. Although the PV Officials said that both the Mayor and the Manager have been adamant that they will not be closing PV Town Offices, the Manager recently announced that he is retiring in January; and the Town Council can always decide to override the Mayor and close the facilities.
In our meeting with ABC, Hector De Los Santos (the owner of ABC) made a number of offers to the Post:
> We could continue meeting on the second Tuesday of the month, with the understanding that our meeting times are generally from 4-7 PM.
> Our lease for the space would be $1 per year.
> We would have keys to gain entrance to the building.
> We could have food/potlucks.
> The only restrictions are; 1) we not go into the office area and stay in the meeting room; and 2) no smoking.
> Hector is generally at the PV location in the mornings, and in his Chino Valley location in the afternoons – so if we needed the meeting room for some special event other than on our regular
meetings date, it shouldn’t be a problem.
> There is plenty of parking on site for both motorcycles and cars. The only restriction is that we do not block the garage door on the left side of the building, and do not block his hearse when we
park.
> Hector also has space on the property for us to store our things. He offered us one of his storage sheds, but it is not big enough to accommodate us, so we would have to purchase a storage shed.
There is space on his property (on a cement slab) for our storage shed, and we would not be charged for this space either.
ABC’s offer appeared to be the best alternative for us. At our meeting on December 8 the ALR voted to move our meetings to ABC, as did the Post E Board, and the Post membership.
The only two drawbacks (which we would encounter irrespective of where we go):
1 – There is only one meeting room for us, which would mean that the Auxiliary, ALR and Post would have to have meetings at separate times. In order to accommodate future potlucks, and to continue to have combined meetings with the whole Post family, my suggestion would be:
4 PM – Auxiliary meeting
5 PM – Joint Aux/Post meeting, immediately followed by the Post meeting.
6 PM – ALR meeting
Since an ALR would also be a member of either the Auxiliary or the Post, they should already be at either the 4 or 5 meeting. The Auxiliary, after their meeting, can wait until 5 when we have a joint/combined meeting with Auxiliary and Post. That would also enable us to have potluck at 5 PM when everyone is present. And since the ALR meeting doesn't take as long as the Post meeting, it would also get us all out earlier.
2 – Purchasing a storage shed. Depending upon the type and size, the maximum we are looking at is about $3,000 (which includes set-up, delivery and installation) – possibly less. We are exploring different alternatives to try to get a shed at the best possible price – and maybe even obtaining one via a grant at little or no cost. On the one hand, this shed would be ours – and if we were to move in the future, we could bring the shed with us. Also, since we would no longer be paying PVUMC $75/month, this would be a monthly savings to the Post.
It has been suggested that since the shed is also used jointly by the Auxiliary and the ALR, that both the Auxiliary and ALR be asked to contribute towards the cost of the shed. PVUMC will be refunding the Post $675 for the 9 months we could not use the Church (we prepaid rent for 2020). Split 3 ways (assuming the cost of the shed turns to be the $2323 after we apply our refund from PVUMC), that would be about $600 for each group. Again, that is a maximum amount, and we are hoping to bring in the final cost much lower.
So, folks, that is the rationale behind our move. I would ask both the ALR and Auxiliary (as well as Post members) to consider the following:
>> Are you agreeable with the following meeting times on the second Tuesday of each month?
4 PM – Auxiliary meeting 5 PM – Joint Aux/Post meeting, immediately followed by the Post meeting. 6 PM – ALR meeting
>> Will the ALR and Auxiliary each contribute 1/3 of the final cost of our storage shed, in an amount not to exceed $600 (or if not, in what amount)?
>> I also need to confirm that the Auxiliary will be joining us in our move to ABC.
Please feel free to get back to me with your comments no later than January 4. At the very least we need to confirm our meeting times for January.
For God and Country,
Gary Taylor, Commander