Minutes of July 12, 2004 Board Meeting
Wellfleet Non-Resident Taxpayers Association
Minutes approved 7/24/04
Present. Dorothy Altman, Lila Croen, Aida Donald, Karen Holtcamp, Chick Holtcamp, Curt Lippincott, Marian Palley, Ed Rullman, May Ruth Seidel, Mary von Kaesborg and Jean Schaefer, Administrative Consultant. (Dave Garrison became disconnected on the speakerphone as the meeting was starting.) Absent. Tom Baratz, Sam Frank, Bob Mangiaratti, Marion Sanders, Marilyn Silver
At approximately 9:00AM, following a brief informal discussion of the July 11th open meeting on Building Neighborhood Water Systems, May Ruth Seidel, President, called the meeting to order in a conference room at the Wellfleet Senior Center. A motion to approve the minutes of the August 27, 2003 board meeting was approved after a correction by Curt Lippincott on the spelling of his name.
Curt, Treasurer of the association, reported that as of July 12, 2004 our income for the year was $2690 and our expenses for mailings, supplies~ and the trophy that was awarded for the best Fourth of July float were $580.17 and~$2000 for the salary of the administrative assistant. Our current balance is $4256.93. He also reported that Jean Schaefer had returned checks sent to her over the winter, insisting that she had not done any work and expressing concern that $2000 was too much money for the association to spend on her salary. May Ruth
stated that Jean is an invaluable aid to the president. It was the unanimous feeling of the board that although Jean is paid quarterly, her salary is predicated on work done throughout the year and that our current balance is more than sufficient to pay her salary.
May Ruth thanked Curt for suggesting that the association give a trophy to the best Fourth of July Parade float, which this year was awarded to the Boathouse Fish Market. She also thanked Chick for the excellent signs announcing the July 11th open meeting, co-sponsored with the Wellfleet Community Forum, which were posted in front of Town Hall and the Post Office.
Committee Reports.
Karen Holtcamp, chair of the Nominating Committee and the Membership Committee reported on the activities of these groups. The Nominating Committee, consisting of Lila, Bob, Agnes Wolf and Karen will hold its first meeting on July 14th.
The Membership Committee, consisting of Karen, Marilyn, Aida and Jean held it s first meeting on July7th and will meet again on August 4th. The committee rewrote the paragraph and membership form that has appeared in our newsletter and redesigned the brochure that is available in several settings throughout the Town. It plans to purchase holders for these brochures, which will be placed in additional sites, in order to broaden their distribution. Committee members will write individual notes to members who have not paid their dues. Prior to the next board meeting, Jean will prepare an analysis of present and past membership history.
Dorothy Altman suggested that the new brochure include an enrollment tear off, which new members could send in with their dues. There was some discussion about the advisability of raising our dues but the overwhelming consensus of the board was that our emphasis at this point should be on increasing our membership, rather than increasing our fees.
Marian Palley, Newsletter editor, suggested that we add a Letters to the Editor section to the Newsletter in order to broaden topics of interest and increase participation. The possibility of sending emails to members to solicit letters was discussed. Marian also felt that there had been too much emphasis in the newsletter on water issues in recent issues and that we should cover other topics. The possibility of having more than two issues was discussed, but Marian felt that there would be diminished interest in our newsletter if it were received more frequently. Other non-resident taxpayer associations in the area also limit their newsletters to two issues per annum. Tom Baratz was thanked for submitting a photo for each issue.
Chick reported for the Program Committee. At the August 1st meeting, on Wellfleet Harbor Management, Helen Purcell will give a history of the harbor and Doug Franklin will discuss its natural resources. At the August 22nd meeting, the Town Selectmen and Administrator will appear and answer questions from those present. It was suggested that, to the extent possible, we offer our meetings in conjunction with other Town groups, such as was done on the 11th when the program was co-sponsored with the Wellfleet Forum. The possibility of a community fair on the Town Green or behind the Catholic Church, at which various community groups could have tables and distribute materials and discuss their programs, was suggested for next year. Marian suggested that a
meeting on local health issues might be of general interest and May Ruth reported that other community groups, such as the Planning Committee, would like to appear at one of our meetings.
Chick also reported on efforts to make a video, in conjunction with the Historical Society, of Helen Purcell s guided walk through the Town. Helen has vacillated in her willingness to do this and is currently unwilling. The possibility of filming the walk and then having Helen narrate it as a voiceover was suggested as a way of addressing Helen s concerns about this project. Chick will continue to pursue this. The Historical Society is willing to underwrite the costs of this project.
May Ruth asked for volunteers to put up posters for the upcoming meetings and Ed Rullman, Curt and Chick offered to help Dick Strauss, a former board member.
Mary von Kaesborg and Ed reported for the Harbor Management Study Group. They reported that they are preparing a handout for the August 1st meeting, which will focus on the resources of the harbor. They also stated that they have spoken to the Harbormaster and the Assistant Harbormaster and learned that the Town is in the process of replacing the ramp at the harbor and that it is hoping to receive a grant to defray all or part of the costs. Mike Flanagan and Mike May also expressed appreciation for the association s letters of support for efforts to get the grant funds. Mary and Ed reported that the fuel facility had been taken over by the Town and will eventually be moved. This will free up space at the dock, which currently has a waiting list of 300 for slip space.
Doug Franklin, chair of Wellfleet s Natural Resource Advisory Committee, informed Mary that minutes of this committee are available on line. He hopes that its report will be available by the end of the summer. Chick anticipates that the report may be very controversial. Ed commented that harbor issues are very complex because of competing interest of shell fishermen and boaters. Marian suggested that each stakeholder re: the harbor be invited to write a brief piece for the newsletter, stating its views.
Aida Donald, chair of the Water Study Group. Will call a meeting of the committee to draw up an “action” plan for homeowners who want to pursue community wells. May Ruth suggested using responses to the water survey as a way of connecting neighbors with some interest in this endeavor. Aida thought that the reason no one at the July 11th meeting signed up to pursue this is because it sounded too costly. She also expressed dissatisfaction with Paul Gabriel s presentation because he did not focus on community wells, as was requested.
May Ruth reported that she had discussed the 501C3 matter with Dave Garrison and he did not think this was a tax issue. She also moved that we continue to give $100 per open meeting to Friends of the Council on Aging for making the Senior Center available to us for our meetings. This was unanimously approved by the board members present.
In a discussion about the Catholic Church on Main Street, Chick reported that the residence would probably come down. The Cape Cod 5 bank would like to acquire some of this property in order to create a drive-in window. At this point the Town has not decided what to do about the church but it appears that it is no longer possible to consider renovating the building to use as low cost housing because of the poor condition of the structure. The committee working on this was described as very good and concerned about using the church to help revitalize the downtown area. The roof, which is in very poor condition, is going to be replaced and a permanent table for chess or checkers is being constructed in front of the church.
New Business.
If additional groups are invited to have tables at our open meetings, Dave Garrison suggested that we establish criteria for such organizations. The board agreed that such groups would have to be non-profit, be approved by the Board, have no religious or political focus, and be for the benefit of the Town, the Cape or the community.
Jean Schaefer proposed that we expand our membership to include permanent residents of the Town who would like to participate in study groups and who could make a contribution to the work of these groups. The merit of this change in our by-laws was discussed at some length but there was no consensus that this change was advisable. However, we agreed that we want to continue to build coalitions with other groups in the Town. Mary agreed to ask Jeff Stewart, a former non-resident taxpayer who is now a full time resident of the Town, to write a letter to the editor about the possibility of an associate membership in order to start a dialogue about this issue.
Dorothy stated that seashore residents are taxed at a higher rate than other homeowners but that the organization representing these homeowners has decided not to take a position on this matter. She wondered what the function of that group was and why its members should join our organization. May Ruth suggested that Dorothy see if their members would like to join and that we discuss this again at our August board meeting.
May Ruth reported that Outer Cape Health Services had failed to provide her with financial data that she had requested. This organization will be given five minutes at our annual meeting to make a presentation.
Additional ways of contributing to the Town were discussed and it was agreed that the newsletter should include a column of Volunteer Opportunities. Jean stated that it is good publicity for us when we support activities that meet needs of the Town. Among the suggestions discussed was contributing to the scholarship fund, helping the library staff (the greatest need in the summer is for help restacking books). Aida suggested that we think about some major project for utilizing the church like a maritime or aquaculture museum and also supporting construction of an 18th Century ship as a tourist attraction. Chick stated that the Town wants to use the church to fill some year round need, like a pharmacy. Aida thought we could get some external funding for these projects.
Lila raised the issue of the personal property tax, which is levied on non-resident taxpayers. She learned during the winter that the Town is reviewing the current tax because of the increase in assessment and tax rates and felt that this was a good time to discuss this issue with Town officials. Mary reported that the Town also discriminates against non-resident taxpayers in the fees it charges for participation in recreation programs.
Following a discussion of these matters, Lila moved that May Ruth speak to Tim Smith and other appropriate members of the Town regarding the personal property tax and recreation fees and that she report back to the board. Aida, Marian and Mary offered to join her in these discussions but it was agreed that only one person would accompany her at a time.
Because participation in Town meetings and votes is relatively low, Jean expressed the view that we have more of a voice than we think and encouraged members to attend meeting of Selectmen and other committees of the Town and to participate in the discussions.
Marian expressed dismay at having parishioners from Our Lady of Lourdes going through the garbage at the transfer station looking for return cans and bottles. No action was taken on this matter.
It was agreed to have a board meting on July 24th at 9:00AM.
Ed expressed concern about the green seaweed that appears at ocean beaches and believes that it could have a negative effect on tourism. Dorothy suggested that he contact the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management to obtain information about this matter.
The meeting was adjourned at 11:30 AM.
Respectfully submitted,
Lila Croen, Secretary
July 15, 2004
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