Chautauqua Lake and Watershed Management Alliance
Minutes of the Board of Directors Meeting
Monday, April 20, 2015
4:00 p.m. at CCIDA Conference Room
Directors present: Pierre Chagnon, Lyle Hajdu, Linda Barber, Don Emhardt, and Mark Geise
Absent: Marty Bova, Edward Wright, Cecil Miller, Randy Sweeney
Others in Attendance: Chautauqua County Executive Vince Horrigan by speaker phone and Chautauqua Lake & Watershed Management Alliance Executive Director Erin Brickley
I. Call to Order
Interim Chairman Pierre Chagnon called the meeting of the Chautauqua Lake and Watershed Management Alliance to order at 4:38 pm. He noted for the record that there was a quorum (5 of 9) present.
II. Approval of Minutes
A motion to accept the minutes of the 2/6/15 Board Meeting was made by Mr. Emhardt and was seconded by Mr. Geise. The motion was approved unanimously.
III. Review of Executive Summary
It was noted that the Executive Director sent out an Executive Summary for review on 4/15/15 via email to all Interim Board Members. The structure of the summary was a list of Alliance short term goals, each with a status update documented. Mr. Hajdu stated that it was fairly detailed and that this was appropriate given how recently Ms. Brickley was hired, and those in attendance agreed. Mr. Chagnon noted that it was good to have such detail as a tool to aid in the transition of the Interim Board to the Permanent Board, and to bring new Directors up to speed on the activities of the Executive Director to date. It was also agreed that this format for the executive summary and the availability of review prior to future Interim Board meetings would carry forward.
IV. Additional topics related to the Executive Director
Ms. Brickley advised that a spreadsheet has been created and is updated regularly for timesheet tracking purposes. This includes tracking of daily work days, vacation, personal, and holiday hours for the Executive Director, and that it is available for review upon request.
A motion was made by Ms. Barber and was seconded by Mr. Emhardt to approve the Executive Director’s attendance at the New York State Federation of Lake Association’s (NYSFOLA) Annual Conference May 1st – 3rd, 2015 in Hamilton, NY. Conference costs are $320 which includes lodging and meals plus the cost of mileage reimbursement. The motion was approved unanimously.
V. Discuss and approve proposed Membership Dues & Structure
A motion was made by Ms. Barber and was seconded by Mr. Hajdu to approve the proposed Membership Dues & Structure. The proposal, which was emailed to all Interim Board Members on 4/14/15 for review, included: defining the dues structure as a 3 tier system with minimal incremental increases in required annual dues by tier; criteria used for setting tier assignments; a membership list of 42 target members was created and assigned a tier; dues were set as $1,000 for Tier 1, $2,000 for Tier 2 and $4,000 for Tier 3; privileges of membership was documented; the 2015-2016 membership cycle was defined; Year 1 membership incentives were listed; and special considerations were listed. The proposal had been previously vetted by the Governance Committee, the Interim Board Chairman and the Executive Director. The only change to the proposal as written was the Membership Drive Deadline, which was changed from June 1st, 2015 to July 1st, 2015. This also shifted the Membership Cycle from June 1st, 2015 – May 31st, 2016 to July 1st, 2015 – June 30th, 2016. The motion was approved unanimously.
VI. Review of the List of Target Members and assistance with Membership Solicitation
A spreadsheet including the list of 42 target members was emailed to all Interim Board members on 4/14/15 for review. It was noted that with 42 target members, the Executive Director was in need of assistance to make sure all target members were reached during this inaugural Membership Drive. A spreadsheet of the target members was reviewed by each Director in attendance on which they noted members they could assist with. The Executive Director collected the information and will collate it as well as reach out to Directors absent from the meeting via email. Mr. Hajdu suggested the Executive Director create a calendar of upcoming target member meetings to aid in organizing our outreach.
VII. Review of Executive Director’s proposed Request for Membership Package
An example package was provided for those in attendance. Each package will include 2015-2016 Request for Membership letter written by the Executive Director, the Membership Dues and Structure, Year 1 Membership Incentives and Payment Options and the Membership Form. The package will also include a pre-addressed and stamped return envelope and 50% Dues Waiver Voucher. It was suggested that a Resolution Template be created as a time saving tool for target members to be included in this Package as well. The group agreed and this will be created and added to the Request for Membership Package. Mr. Chagnon advised that we would be hitting the ground running and that he and Ms. Brickley would be attending the Village of Bemus Point Board Meeting almost directly after this Alliance Interim Board meeting, whereby Ms. Brickley would be officially requesting their membership with the Alliance. A discussion was held on what talking points to focus on when going outbound to target members.
VIII. Discuss and approve the use of Tint Press
Ms. Brickley reviewed time spent on finding a local firm to handle marketing and online services and that Tint Press was the only one who could offer a comprehensive package at a reasonable cost, which includes a 10% discount on all services based on our non-profit status. The Board was advised that due to time constraints, Tint Press had already moved forward on several smaller $ line items including establishing a domain name registration for ChautauquaAlliance.Org, a hosting plan including email as well as starting on the Social Media line item by creating our Facebook page and initial posts.
A motion was made by Mr. Geise and was seconded by Mr. Emhardt to approve the use of Tint Press for marketing and online services as defined in the estimate provided by Tint Press dated 3/16/15. Chairman Chagnon noted an accounting error that would need corrected by Tint Press. The motion was approved unanimously.
IX. Discussion of the process for establishing a Permanent Board
The board discussed a process for establishing a permanent board, and that this process would take place after the 2015-2016 Membership Drive, ideally after reaching a critical mass of membership of the 42 target members. Ms. Barber noted that voting for the permanent Board is an important benefit of membership that should be emphasized in the recruiting effort. In addition, once a target member commits to Membership with the Alliance, their primary representative may attend the Interim Board Meetings and participate in Board discussions. The group agreed that this should be added to the Request for Membership Package. It was decided that defining the election process for the permanent Board should be developed by the Governance Committee.
X. Discuss the Executive Director’s next phase of work
Ms. Brickley advised that her first two months as Executive Director have been focused on administrative needs, establishing spreadsheets and tracking for various subjects, meeting with numerous stakeholders and community members, and working on establishing the Membership Dues and Structure as well as the Request for Membership Packages. However, there has been some initial work undertaken regarding the development of a Projects List as well as identifying funding sources. The next two months will be focused on going outbound for the 2015-2016 Membership Drive but will also entail work on organizing the projects and seeking funding.
XI. Adjourn
Upon motion by Mr. Hajdu and seconded by Ms. Barber, the Board adjourned the meeting at 5:58 pm.