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THESE MINUTES ARE SUBJECT TO APPROVAL BY THE BOARD OF MANAGERS.
The Edmond Town Hall Board of Managers held a regular meeting on Tuesday, February 12, 2013 in the Lower Meeting Room of the Edmond Town Hall, 45 Main Street, Newtown, CT. Chairman James Juliano called the meeting to order at 7:08 p.m.
PRESENT: James Juliano, Margot Hall, Tom Long, Marie Smith, Karen Pierce, Mary Fellows & Building Administrator Tom Mahoney
GUESTS PRESENT: Sandy Motyka, Marg Studley, Don Studley, Sherry Paisley, Hayden Bates, Don from DNR Collaborative Designs
Public Participation: To be discussed under Old Business.
Acceptance of Minutes: Upon motion of Margot Hall, the minutes of January 8, 2013 were approved upon proposed corrections by the Board. Seconded by Karen Smith and unanimously accepted.
Corrections to January 8, 2013 minutes: Karen Pierce to be marked as absent. ‘Kid Catcher’ is to be changed to Kate Katcher.
Upon motion of Margot Hall, the minutes of January 19, 2013 were approved by the Board. Seconded by Karen Smith and unanimously accepted.
Fund Raising Proposal(s) discussion with members of Mary Hawley Society:
Tom Long discussed the proposed upgrades to the theater whether it be going digital, sound, etc. Mr. Long presented an online fundraising program in order to raise funds to contribute towards the upgrades. Mr. Long explained the program is through Kick Start which also has ties with Amazon by collecting funds through the internet with the help of social media. It was also stated that the individuals trying to raise fund through Kick Start are not required to be a 501(c)(3) which allows flexibility for the Board. The only possible issue with Kick Start is that if the goal amount set is not reached none of the funds raised are released they are returned to the donors. Kick Start also receives 5% of the funds collected. The recommended duration of a campaign is between 30-60 days, and a reasonable goal
needs to be set in order to achieve what is desired. The campaign also needs to be accepted through social media because Kick Start strongly relies on networks within the community and how that can grow. Another essential element to Kick Start is a video explaining what the campaign is all about to help build the cause. Mary Fellows has reached out to Charter Communications to see if they can possible help with the video or if they are able to loan equipment to produce the video which they were very receptive too. Sandy Motyka from the Mary Hawley Society stressed how important it is to produce a high quality professional video in order to receive a positive response. Mr. Long suggested that since the video can be a costly expense to produce is to incorporate video into the total cost of what needs to be raised. Most contributions toward a campaign are usually between the $20-$25 range with the average being around $75. The key to being able to raise the desirable goal set is
volume and having good resources. Mr. Long researched successful campaigns and he explained that rewards or givebacks are a great way to promote people to donate to the cause. Karen Pierce also suggested reaching out to the larger community businesses to see if they can be solicited to act through Kick Start with possible dollar to dollar match or encourage participation within. Mr. Long explained that Kick Start does all the campaign reporting online to show the progress, the donations collected are held by Kick Start until the end of the campaign, and givebacks/rewards are given out at the end of the program. The key element to start off the campaign is the video to promote awareness, to determine if Kick Start is the right option, and to set a goal as to how much needs to be raised.
Report from CL&P representative re possible energy saving measures: James Juliano met with the inspector from CL&P regarding all the lights in the building for possible energy savings. The inspector examined all the lights and is going to submit a proposal.
Building Administrator’s Report: Mr. Mahoney presented that the Fire Marshall conducted the annual inspection in which he found a few minor things that need repair. The main issue that was addressed is that motion sensors need to be installed in the stairwells near the new elevator. A benefit concert is being held on Sunday, March 3rd for the victims’ families from Sandy Hook School. WMNR and Newtown Friends of Music held benefit concerts on Sunday, January 13th which were very successful. On January 18, Lucinda Rowe held a concert for healing which also went very well. Also, on Monday, February 25th Katie Couric will be conducting her show live from the Alexandria Room with a live audience. Mr. Mahoney brought up that the lights on the stage need to
be replaced as soon as possible. Mr. Juliano explained the lights on the stage might be covered under the CL&P proposal for LED lighting and that he would look into the matter. Mr. Mahoney also presented that the stage service was upgraded to 400amps, and explained an electrician needs to come out to check the system and to install a proper breaker with a possible sub-panel containing some outlets. Ms. Fellows brought up that power distribution is also a part of DNR’s package separate from the sound package. Mr. Mahoney spoke to JaffeHolden a company based out of Norwalk about doing a thorough evaluation of the theater to explore different options other than the ones presented DNR. The evaluation would be a full day process conducted by two individuals at a cost of $2,500. Mr. Mahoney then reviewed the financial report answering previous questions Mr. Long was inquiring about. Line 3109, what is rent and other income? Rent is from the groups that rent on a regular basis
and other income is from groups that do not have line items such as the Grey School of Irish Dance, Newtown Christian Fellowship, etc. Ms. Pierce asked Mr. Mahoney if these are steady streams of income that should have their own line items to which the answer to that was yes. Line 3470, Lathrop School of Dance Studio, $1,190 appears to be high for a single month, does this include rent for more than one month? The payment varies depending on what space they are occupying, what hours of the day, and how many hours the space is being used for. Line 4560, outside service expense of $3,005.63 what does this pertain to? The outside services consisted of garbage removal, Otis Elevator contract, McKinney Mechanical, Front boil works, meeting clerks, etc. Line 4620, supplies, repairs and maintenance what does this apply too? Newtown Hardware, Dumouchel Paper, life safety service, emergency lights, reimbursements. The Board agreed that the financial report needs to be reorganized in order
to fully understand and operate in the best manor. Line 4715, office service contract is this new? This was in regards to bill from Cohen & Wolfe law firm. Sales and Use tax $5,389 is for multiple months. Movie phone is not included in this month’s report and should it be? AT&T consolidated bills and the movie line bill was not located. Line 490, other expense for $89 which was for deposit into petty cash.
Chairman’s Report: Mr. Juliano reported that he received the bid from Bi-Glass to replace the windows, other than in the 1950 addition, was a proposed cost of $59,050. Mr. Juliano is also waiting on the CL&P proposal regarding the LED lighting for energy savings.
Old Business:
Sound & Power updates for theater- Phase 1 of the project is a cost of roughly $36,180, Phase 2 $33,010, Phase 3 $22,700, and onstage power $10,000. Hayden Bates expressed how important it is to get a system in place in order to build up funds through the various concerts and events. Production costs for vendors will be reduced as well as drawing more vendors in for shows based on the improvements proposed. Don from DNR discussed how Hayden Bates as well as himself have reached out to various groups that use the facility and asked them what their needs were. After that process, Don put together a base system that is power for shows which is a critical aspect. The sound system is a fundamental left right sound system that would cover the theater complete for any show that comes to Edmond
Town Hall which would also facilitate the movies. Ms. Pierce inquired about the time frame of Phase 1 if it was to be implemented. Don explained from approval, equipment order, and job completion would be roughly 60 days. To complete the entire project of all three phases the theater would be out of commission for about three months. The anticipation is to have Phase 1 started by April in order to support Hayden Bates show and various other shows that are regular performances. Don explained what the minimum requirements are and formulated a new Phase 1 by combining the power and roughly half of the audio requirements. The final price to complete Phase 1 of the project is $41,000. The price for Phase 1 might seem inflated but in actuality Phase 1 and the onstage power package of $10,000 were combined under Phase 1. The total cost for the whole entire
project would roughly be around $100,000 for all 3 phases.
Tom Long made a motion to allocate funds of $41,000 to complete Phase 1 as outlined preliminary to come from the NSB Special Projects account and if that proves inappropriate to remediate NSB Savings account to cover the cost. Seconded by Karen Pierce and unanimously carried.
Mary Fellows made a motion for the $9,000 available from the Hayden Bates fund be used towards the stage package of new stage lighting and a new stage curtain but not exceeding $10,000 with possible use of $1,000 from the Board of Managers funds. Seconded by Marie Smith and unanimously carried.
Approval of Monthly Bills: Marie Smith reported on the bills. The Town of Newtown payroll was roughly $15,695 covered under the Building cost. Yankee Gas is inflated for this month because it reflects two months of billing. The bill for Margaret Principi for $1,250 was for the snow removal during the storm. The Connecticut Sales Tax is a monthly bill. The Building bills totaled $29,773.59 and the Theater bills totaled $10,651.47 for a total of $40,425.06.
Action on payment of bills: Tom Long motioned to accept approval of paying the building monthly bills totaling $29,773.59. Seconded by Margot Hall and unanimously carried.
Mary Fellows motioned to accept approval of paying the theater monthly bills totaling $10,651.47. Seconded by Tom Long and unanimously carried.
Correspondence: Karen Pierce received correspondence from Paul Lindquist from the legislative council regarding the sound system.
New Business:
Update on computer and telephone service for the ETH office- Tom Long received two quotes regarding the computer and phones which will be discussed during the next meeting. Either vendor would support a new software change as well.
Comments: Margot Hall suggested a copy of the Library Budget format be obtained for format reference.
Executive Session: Upon motion of Karen Pierce and seconded by Margot Hall, executive session was entered at 9:25pm for discussion of personal matters and tenants/renters matters, and discussion of restructuring, job descriptions/assignments. At this time the clerk left the meeting.
Mindy Kovack, Clerk
Edmond Town Hall Board of Managers
Minutes - Executive Session
February 12, 2013
Motion made by Karen Pierce and seconded by Tom Long to go into Executive Session. Motion unanimously passed at 9:25 P.M.
PRESENT: James Juliano, Mary Fellows, Marie Smith, Karen Pierce, Tom Long, Margot Hall . Also present was Tom Mahoney, Building Administrator.
The Board discussed a personnel matter concerning Mr. Mahoney.
Motion made by Marie Smith and seconded by Karen Pierce to go out of Executive Session and adjourn this meeting. Motion unanimously passed at 10:00 P.M.
The discussion by the Board did not require a vote.
Respectfully submitted,
Margot S. Hall, Vice Chairman
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