July 14, 2005


Almaden Valley Community Association seeks new policy and direction

Board working to organize paperwork, steer away from political issues

By Sheila Sanchez
Staff Writer

Is the Almaden Valley Community Association a nonprofit organization?Can its members claim their contributions or dues to the organization are tax deductible?

The Almaden Valley Community Association’s new presidency is made up of Lee Dimmitt, president, right; Ray Strong, vice president, left; and Carol Hallett, secretary, middle. They began serving two-year terms in March of this year. Photo by Sheila Sanchez

Should the association be involved in supporting political campaigns or legislation?

Those questions were the focus of the new association’s board of directors July 11 meeting at the McDonald’s restaurant on Almaden Expressway and McAbee Road.

It turns out the last time the association filed for nonprofit status with the Internal Revenue Service was in 1995. Since then, it has been acting as a nonprofit with some of its members wondering if it qualifies as such at the federal level.

“The board is presently investigating its current status and this information is presently being sought from state and archival information. The association has always conducted itself as a 501(3)(c) organization as stated in its charter. No action by this association has been taken to cause it to lose its designation as a charitable nonprofit organization,” wrote new association president Lee Dimmitt in an e-mail explaining the group’s status.

The association has become increasingly isolated from the rest of the valley representing what some critics claim is a small number of wealthy landowners disconnected with the needs of most Almaden residents.

New association President Lee Dimmitt says the group’s goal is to have a cross-section of Almaden Valley residents. “We have a cross section of members and there are people who look to us as a liaison to the city. We welcome anyone in Almaden to join us and work with us to improve the community,” he said.

One of the group’s critics in the past has been former city council candidate Rich De La Rosa.

When the group filed for nonprofit status, it stated that its primary purpose was educational community activities.

During last year’s November elections, however, the organization, under the leadership of former president Bob Boydston, grew increasingly political, with District 10 Councilwoman Nancy Pyle serving as a board director up until Nov. 10, 2004, and an ethics committee that took De La Rosa, Pyle’s opponent, to task when his political consultant called her a liar. Boydston and other board members also appeared in a photo on one of Pyle’s campaign flyers.

This week, De La Rosa was conciliatory toward the group and said he was happy to hear the eight-member board was getting its paperwork in order and more interested in following the guidelines of nonprofit and community associations.

“I’m so far past the election. I look back on it and I laugh. I’m just glad to hear that they’re working on their organizational problems. They are a voice for some of the people in Almaden and they’re a very involved group. They mean well,” De La Rosa said.

“I never agreed to that ethics committee,” said board member Kitty Monahan, a long time Almaden resident who’s highly respected in the community for her volunteerism and activism. “It was something that Bob (Boydston) thought should be done. I never thought that was our role.”

Monahan, who’s been helping the association for about 20 years, also believes the association should be more involved in educating the community about Almaden issues and less interested in politics.

The association’s membership application states that it’s a tax-exempt nonprofit organization and that all or part of the one-year $15 membership fee is tax deductible on state and federal income taxes.

But Dimmitt said association dues are not tax-deductible because they’re not considered donations.

Ray Strong, association vice president, said if the IRS audited members they would have to argue that the group receives less than $5,000 a year—the threshold of income at which it is required for 501(3)(c) organizations to file required tax forms. Dimmitt said the association has never reached that threshold.

Jesse Weller, a spokesman for the IRS, said the filing requirement is $25,000 income for tax-exempt organizations.

Dimmitt, a retired airline pilot, seems to want to steer the organization into non-political territory and to become more engaged in educational community activities and granting scholarships, if possible—the goal of the association when it was born.

Former San Jose Vice Mayor Pat Dando, now director of local government affairs for California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, is pleased to hear of Dimmitt’s new goals. She called Dimmitt an excellent leader who will bring “responsibility back to the organization by following the guidelines of nonprofit and community organizations.”

“Anytime you’re a member or a leader of a community organization that comes with a great deal of responsibility. Community organizations should stay focused on working to educate their members about local issues,” said Dando. “Community organizations should work to help people become more of a neighborhood and foster good neighborhoods and good neighborhood policies.”

Boydston, for his part, said he has maintained the association’s filing with the Secretary of State Corporate Filing Division every two years, as required, by paying a $20 fee. “We’ve never had a requirement to contact the federal government and the federal government has never contacted us and I don’t see why we would have to.”

“We’re a nonprofit…We’re a qualified institution. There’s no doubt in my mind that we’re tax deductible,” Boydston said, adding that Dimmitt will have to renew the same state paperwork in January of 2006.

As a state public benefit corporation, the association’s articles of incorporation 10 years ago were established for charitable purposes, to stimulate interest in civic affairs, provide for circulation of information and make recommendations for community improvements and protection and to exercise such powers as may from time to time be granted to a nonprofit corporation by law.

The association is, therefore, not permitted to participate in activities that carry on propaganda, attempt to influence legislation or participate or intervene in any political campaign (including the publishing or distribution of statements) on behalf of, or in opposition to, any candidate for public office.

Strong cautioned its members against lobbying, which is any attempt to influence legislation or advocating a position that will be voted on by a city council or the state legislature.

Based on the association’s 2005 annual statement, it began the year with $5,882 and has a total of $13,824 in funds. Most of the money is invested in the Franklin Money Fund, where a total of $12,930 is deposited. Board members said Boydston made those investments to earn interest on money raised after the 1989 earthquake for prevention activities. The association helps maintain three shed-like arks that were filled with Red Cross emergency supplies. The arks are located at school sites in the valley.

Dimmitt wants the organization to do everything according to the rules of the game. “Our bylaws call for us to act according to those rules, whether or not we file and whether or not we appear on the federal or state nonprofit list,” he told board members. “We have to abide by the rules.”

Dimmitt and board members have approved a new Web site content policy, which will require him to veto anything he considers inappropriate or not in line with the organization’s goals. His veto will stand until a majority of board members overrides his decision. Dimmitt also wants the material on the site to be relevant to Almaden Valley—those residing in the 95120 zip code—and within the scope of the organization’s mandates.

“We’re not going to put cooking recipes on there… It’s a matter of having the function of the Web site be what our scope of business is,” Dimmitt said. “It’s a check that should be available to the president of the organization.”

When taking positions, the organization will also be more careful in the future to only focus on educational matters, clearly stating the reasons for the position and always giving an opportunity for a minority position to be included with a majority position.

“It would not be appropriate for us, as an organization, to take a position on an initiative and have our president campaign as the AVCA being behind the initiative,” Strong said.

The AVCA was founded in 1961 as a homeowners group. In 1990, when it filed its articles of incorporation to become a nonprofit organization, it changed its name to reflect the diversity of the community, which included not just homeowners, but renters, merchants and businesses. At that time, the group had a membership of 365.

Today it has about 100 due-paying members.

For more information on the association please log onto www.avca-sj.org.