Date: Wednesday, December 1, 2010 Time: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Asa Waters Mansion, Millbury
Attendees
Executive Committee Members Present
Carole Chiras
Roger Desrosiers
William Kane, Sr.
Ronald Marlborough
Robert Morton
PaulRaffa
Chris Sinacola
Others Present
Executive Committee Members Absent
Rebecca Rehm
Joyce Ostrowski
Minutes
Agenda Item I – Welcome
Roger Desrosiers opened the meeting at approximately 6:15p.m. with 7 members present.
Agenda Item II – Approval of Minutes from April 28th, June 9th, & August 25th meetings.
Motion: Rom Marlborough moved to accept the minutes, seconded by Paul Raffa.
Vote: All in favor, none opposed, no discussion. Motion approved 7-0.
Agenda Item III – Treasurer’s Report
1. Treasurer's report, Rob presenting. Basically, net funds are $82,459. We're ahead of our budgeted cash flow by approximately $13,000, excluding any monies to be raised in the month of December. We are somewhere around $9,300 to $9,400, and have a bill for the cost of mailing of about $1,600. Anticipates a net gain of about $8,000 on the current pledge drive, exceeding expectations. Has asked Joyce Ostrowski to create a separate column for clothing items. The general intent is that as we have fund-raising campaigns for specific items or events, we will break those out as separate lines for accounting purposes.
2. Reimbursements discussed and voted upon. A $500 deposit for the June 20, 2011, golf tournament at Blackstone National Golf Course. Ron made motion, seconded by Paul. No discussion. Unanimous approval, 6-0.
3. Vote needed to hold the course. A second deposit for the June 11, 2012, golf tournament necessary. Ron moved, Paul seconded this. No discussion. Unanimous approval.
4. Bill made motion to approve contracts with Blackstone and Highfields golf courses, $500 each, to hold dates for the tournaments in 2011 and 2012. Ron second, unanimous approval.
5. $1,665.67 expense, cost of the mailing relative to the ongoing pledge drive to the residents of Millbury. Motion to approve by Carole, second by Ron, no discussion, 6-0 unanimous approval.
6. $422.79 for shirts to replace depleted inventory. Motion to pay the invoice by Paul, Ron second, unanimous 6-0 approval.
Agenda Item IV – Committee Reports:
Finance and Fund-raising Committee:
The Executive Committee did vote on the commemorative coin. Believes Executive Committee already voted on capital campaign plaques, banners and decals.
Competitive bids received, and vendors selected, including banners by Sign-a-Rama, 567 Southbridge St., Worcester, $295.00; plaques by City Sports Goods, 154 Blithwood Ave., Worcester, $47; decals at $5 each. 10 of each item. Total of $3,470.00. Bill moved to accept signatures on banners, plaques and decals; second by Paul, unanimous approval.
Media Committee:
Paul reports on website. We have received a generous offer of support from Cyndi Papia of Millbury, who runs a company called Office To Go. Cyndi is a virtual assistant and very adept at multimedia, websites and so forth. The Media Committee had a brief, very productive meeting at Barnes & Noble on Monday, November 29, and Cyndi is already in the process of setting up our website.
This will enable us to move quickly, and the millbury2013.com domain name will be retained and automatically redirect visitors to the new website. The site will have everything we're looking for, including newsletter link, products, news, online newsletter, photos, articles, promotions, etc. This is a much more user-friendly site or approach than making our own website, which we had tried to do previously. Paul noted that there will be administrators authorized to change the templates, others able to post material. Suggests that each subcommittee of the MBC have their own area; the site can be as interactive as people want it to be. Rob said he feels it is important to have a dedicated space on the website that will accommodate an electronic version of the fund-raising thermometer for the capital campaign, and recognition of donors and
sponsors. Renewal of the domain name is coming up in January.
Bill moved to spend $36 to secure the domain name for the next three years; Paul will check with Joyce Ostrowski to see how Town Hall prefers the renewal be handled financially. Roger asks whether, once it is up and running, it would be possible to have a meeting at which Cyndi would attend a meeting and help committee members learn how to access and use the site. Paul said that would be possible, and that he has a manual from Cyndi already with the information on how to do so.
Bill suggested that for each committee there should be a designated person responsible for sending information to the Media Committee; this will be an important point moving forward, to ensure information is posted in a timely and accurate fashion. Bill made motion to that effect, seconded by Carole, no discussion, 6-0 unanimous approval.
Events Committee:
Ron Marlborough reports a Ball Committee meeting will be held Dec. 2 at Asa Waters Mansion, and that that committee is making progress on the event to be held at Mechanic's Hall in Worcester. Events Committee's next full meeting will be held in January, probably on the 20th.
History Committee:
Carole Chiras reports that meeting had to be canceled, but that the next meeting is to be held on January 11, 2011. Carole needs a tape recorder for the collection of oral history. Maxine Mann has two residents lined up who are willing to sit down with her and give oral history. Carole also wants to push ahead with a local history curriculum, which will involved meeting with Roger, and Millbury Public School officials, with appropriate topics for each grade level.
Agenda Item VI – Old Business:
Remaining old business items can be dealt with at the full board.
Agenda Item VII – New Business:
Discussion on eliminating quorum for the MBC.
Bill notes that we felt short last month of a quorum at the full board meeting, and that it is necessary to have a policy in place so that decisions of the executive committee on business/action items can stand if the full committee fails to achieve a quorum at a given meeting; otherwise, it could be a hindrance for events. Rob made motion; Ron seconded for purposes of discussion, and asked whether we currently have a requirement for a quorum, which we do.
Discussion ensued as to the rules that the executive and full committees need to operate under. Roger: ìIt doesn't seem that we want to do something (a policy) that would be for any particular item.î Roger noted that we had a donation for the making of the commemorative coin, and had we been hard pressed to vote at that time in order to move ahead, ìwe would have been in a bind.î Roger said the policy would only be invoked on a matter in which the failure to vote ñ on account of lacking a quorum ñ would slow progress on a specific event.
It is, Bill said, not intended to bypass the full committee in any way, but is a practical matter. Currently, the executive committee can authorize any expenditure of up to $5,000; this new policy would be in place to address other, potentially urgent matters, not limited to expenditures, that require urgent action. Roger then asked whether it was necessary to amend the original motion; general agreement that the motion expressed the intent. Discussion ended, vote was taken, 6-0 unanimously.
Roger said there is likely going to be a need for another subcommittee, probably subsumed under the Events Committee, which is devoted to photography. For example, there has been informal discussion of putting a DVD together at the end of the bicentennial celebration. For this and other ongoing needs throughout the celebration, it seems there may be a need for a committee devoted to photography. Bill said that the ball, historical reenactment, and many other of the events are likely to be ones where the MBC would want to record matters. General preliminary discussion agrees that there is a need for someone to serve as the point person on this, as chairman of a photography committee. Ron said there was some interest in the community when there was discussion of the ìDay in the Life of Millburyî book. Motion by Carol, Ron second,
unanimously approved 6-0, and agreement to continue with further discussion at the full board meeting.
Remaining items to be discussed at full board meeting. Agenda Item VIII – Discussion for next executive meeting and agenda items for the MBC meeting on June 24th:
Agenda Item IX – Adjournment:
Motion: Paul Raffa moved to adjourn, seconded by Rob Morton
Vote: All in favor, none opposed, no discussion. Motion approved unanimous at 7:02
Submitted by
Chris Sinacola
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