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HomeMy WebLinkAboutFBMINUTES050504Friends of West University Place Parks Board Meeting Minutes May 5, 2004 Friends of West University Place Parks Board met on Wednesday, May 5, 2004, at 11:30 a.m. at the Rec Center. The following were in attendance: Board Members 1. Joni Fichter 2. Leah Ragiel 3. Shannon Gardner 4. Whitney Walsh 5. Lynne Goddard 6. Stacey Speier 7. David Klutts 8. Cindy Hassler Executive Director & Staff Donna LaMond Tim O'Connor City Councilman Mike Farley Chairman's Report - Joni Fichter The May meeting was called to order by Chair Joni Fichter. A report was given and the following items covered: Chick Fil A was thanked for their luncheon contribution. The June 2 meeting will be held in the evening at the Rec Center at 6:15 p.m. There will not be a July or August meeting, just committee meetings only. Went to the City Council and it was voted to accept the $26,200 plus the Lewis Matching dollars for the Rec Center. The city will bill us as soon as the work is complete and we will pay up to the $26,200 ASAP - then the additional $26,200 by year-end regardless if we have received the matching funds from the Lewis. dU Lewis' have agreed to match the funds through the Park Ball 2007 instead of Feb. 1, 2007, just in case the ball timing is later. Thank-you letter will be sent out shortly to the Lewis' since it should be approved by council this week. Joni requested that members of the board write personal thank-you notes to the Lewis' if they had not already. The Challenge Letter from the Lewis' that we can use to promote the matching funds program has been in the works for more two months and is near completion. This letter will spell out the specifics of the program and is awaiting approval by council. Wrapping up PLB 04. All underwriters have been sent thank-you letters with the exception of a few which Leah Ragiel is working on. Met with hotel hosting the 05 PLB and also contacted Sterling McCall Automotive Group about providing valet services in addition to underwriting a table as they usually have done. Donna LaMond is preparing a packet for them. Last month's (April) minutes were to be amended listing Donna LaMond separately from the Board. All future minutes should list Donna separately as well. Motion to approve April minutes as corrected was made by David Klutts and seconded by Leah Ragiel. Executive Director Report - Donna LaMond Wrapping up details of Park Lover's Ball 04. Wrote the auction donor thank you letters and printed out labels for the mailing. Some letters are complete and have been mailed. A few are awaiting signatures from Leah. Handing letters over to Lynne and Karin for auction. Continuing to work with Katherine K. to be sure all information is captured in eTapestry as well as Auction Tracker. Sue Hanna is focusing on final collections from auction and underwriters and ED will ensure that all collections are recorded in Auction Tracker. Working to get the Lewis Challenge Letter completed so that we can begin using this letter to promote our matching $500k grant opportunity to the public. Also working to complete the thank-you letter to the Lewis'. Trying to get the letters completed so that we can focus on raising money. Working to sending out press releases about open positions on board, second annual membership drive, Colonial tiles, and park updates. Provided information to Tim O'Connor on Friends to help bring him up on to speed on our mission and current projects. Continuing to work with Cheryl Hoyal on donor recognition at Colonial Park. Cheryl Butler is aggressively working to confirm wording on all donor tiles and Cheryl H. is ready to start production of tiles as soon as they are purchased this week. Objective is to complete this project before Cheryl B leaves town on June 8. All the tiles have to be done before installation can take place. Cheryl will keep us posted on progress and will recruit any help she might need to speed things up from Friends Board. Working with Shannon to launch second Annual Friends Membership drive. This will include placement of banners at two parks, advertisement on marquee at the Rec center, generation of letters and information packets for mailing to current data base, as well as press releases. Membership acknowledgement letters and packets need to go out as well. Secured Intercontinental Hotel for next PLB, January 21, 2005. The contract has been executed and a check for the deposit issued. Still need Ball Co-Chairs for 2005. Prospects are being contacted. This is a high priority item. David Klutts has signed on for Ball Co-Chair. Still looking for one to two people to head up underwriting and auction aspects. Still need to secure some new board members as well. Working with Jon S. to fill vacant positions. Received a new Friends membership online at the $1,000 level. Provided materials for distribution at Arbor Day and Meet the City Day that took place on April 17. Working with Lynne Goddard on launching BuyForCharity.com as a new Friends Community Partner. Updating Website for post PLB information and to add information about matching grant from Lewis Foundation, BuyforCharity, Membership (with Rec Center designation spot), tiles at Colonial, etc. Working with Shannon to get Friends annual newsletter underway. Working on getting a photo of Gayle Jackson, Ross Frazer, and Beverly Loftis by "their tree" at Colonial Park for a press release. Working with Cece McCann to get 10 people on the advisory board by May, and to further establish the role of the advisory board to get them more involved. Cece wants to propose an annual meeting which includes the advisory board. She also asked that the advisory board members be added to the list to receive meeting notices, agendas, and minutes. Current advisory board member terms are up in August and members will need to renew. Treasurer's Report,,- Sue Hanna Still trying to collect checks/money from the PLB. No changes in balance sheet since last meeting. Board Reports E-store - Cheryl Butler No report Admin/PR Committee - Katherine Kardesch and Rosemar Leach Helping Donna with letters from the PLB 04 Development Committee Chair - Charlie Henke To hold committee meeting soon to divide up prospective contacts and work on getting them as donors. Donna will attend meeting and Joni will, too, if possible. To contact Kenny Mercado at CenterPointe. Membership & Marketing - Shannon Gardner As part of the Annual Membership Drive, on May 15 and 31 - charitable contribution and volunteer recruitment stuffers will be inserted in the water bill. Each board member was asked to send out 20 postcards each asking for charitable donations from neighbors and friends to Parks. Postcards were distributed during meeting. Banners will be displayed at parks and press releases will be sent out announcing the annual drive. Cards also will be sent to those who have given to Friends in the past and at the Park Lover's Ball. Membership spent $293 on the postcards and the water bill stuffers. Special Events & Projects - Whitnev Walsh Thank-you on Arbor Day to several of the Friends Board members who helped. It was a big event at Colonial Park that drew a lot of people. A couple of shirts were sold and a Friends membership. Sue Jensen had a baby girl. The board contributed a sibling star. Stork orders are occurring. West U Home Tour will occur on October 16, 17, 23 and 24. T-shirt price will drop to $10 from $20. Investigate the potential for a Park Lover Volunteer of the month. PLB - Leah Ragiel Just wrapping up PLB 04. Still a few letters to send out to a few underwriters. Will be happy to sit down with new PLB chairpersons and do a handover and share information from this year's ball. For instance, Tootsies was willing to help us with something in the future - maybe some kind of pre- ticket sales. Netted about $125,000, but the credit card fees were higher than expected. Looking into the possibility of getting a reduced fee. Next Year's Ball - David Klutts Arriving and leaving the new venue (Hotel Intercontinental) will be much easier. All inclusive pricing - decorations, staging, cocktail event, food, etc. Hotel Intercontinental very pretty venue. Silent auction will be in an adjacent area separate from the ballroom. Great opportunity, fresh start at a new facility. Suggestion to try and work with the hotel on a pre-sales promotion. Wish List/Giving Tree - Vicki Grams and Maria Elena Herbst No report Business Partners -,,Lynne Goddard Will be doing Buy-for-Charity on the Web site and will get something up at the Community Center about it. The share cards - Randalls, Krogers, and others - when funds are pulled together - really contribute and help. Letters will be sent to other local retailers discussing partnership with Friends. Block Captain Liaison - Lynne Goddard No report Contracts, Nominations and Bylaws Committee - Jonathan Shoebotham Given Jonathan a few names to contact for the Friends Board. Any other ideas or suggestions, send Jonathan an email. Ball Co-chairs, Computer Input and follow-up, and Development are areas that need to be filled. Parks & Advisory Liaison Chair - Cece McCann Working on the advisory board members. Broadening her search. Parks & Rec Report - Tim O'Connor a All components of the Colonial Park are opened. Lost a pecan tree at Colonial and will be replaced later. Raising tree canopy - West Point and Bryon, and Case and West Point is a possibility to accommodate the Rotary's desire to build a concession pavilion there. Rec Center is coming along. Classes will start in a few weeks. Joni mentioned to Tim that Friends will need a master plan - updated from the master plan of 2000. Just an insert about the Rec Center and the Pocket Park will be fine but are necessary. Park and Rec Board Report - David Klutts Met with Rotary Group. They are interested in donating about a $100,000 - 150,000 at Colonial Park to erect a structure. Rotary was interested in erecting a structure in a park where residents utilize the facilities more frequently than others. Rotary had a rendering of a Concession Stand, something like a pavilion, that would be built by the pool area. They would like to build it before April 1 of 2005. Start time will be October 2004 and will be built by members of the Rotary - Habitat for Humanity type of project. It was discussed that the cover on the pool has a ten-year life and it is nine-years old. Will look to see if there's something better to replace it. Support our liaisons - like Mike Farley, who is the Friends liaison with the city council. Parks survey is being drafted and once finalized, will go in to water bill for residents to fill out and send in. Other Business Tim O'Connor found some brochures and racks in a closest and will show them to Donna to see if they can still be utilized and should be placed at any of the Parks. Adiournment Shannon made the motion to adjourn. Leah seconded. Motion carried and the meeting was adjourned at 1:00 p.m.