Approved July 30, 2005
Minutes of July 9, 2005 Board Meeting
Wellfleet Non-Resident Taxpayers Association
Present: Dorothy Altman, Lila Croen, Aida Donald, Sam Frank, Jim Hood, Karen Holtkamp, Chick Holtkamp, Alice Iacuessa, Bob Mangiaratti, Diane Mangiaratti, Marian Palley, Edwards Rullman, Jerry Sadow, May Ruth Seidel, Marilyn Silver, Mary Von Kaesborg, Elga Wasserman, Agnes Wolf, Dave Garrison on the speaker phone and Jean Schaefer, Administrative Consultant. Absent: Tom Baratz, Curt Lippincott.
May Ruth Seidel, President, called the meeting to order at 9:30 AM. It was held in the conference room of the Wellfleet Senior Center. Alice Iacuessa, Diane Mangiaratti and Jerry Sadow, who have been nominated to serve as new directors, were introduced to the Board.
Minutes of the August 25, 2004 Board meeting were approved as submitted. The treasurer s report, which was given by Jean Schaefer, indicated an income from August 23, 2004 until July 9, 2005 of $4835 and expenses for the same period of $3010.65. The beginning checkbook balance as of 8/23/04 is increased by $1824.35, resulting in a final balance of $7193.05. It should be noted that there will be additional expenses to be paid throughout the summer. The report was approved as amended to include these bills. [Approved paragraph contained errors which were corrected on 8/26/05 by L. Croen and J. Schaefer.]
Committee Reports.
Membership Committee. Karen Holtkamp, chair, showed the new brochure, which will be placed in various locations around the Town. It was reported that for the first time in three years, non-resident taxpayers who had not paid their dues (69) were dropped from the membership roster. As of July 9, 2005, 492 members have paid their dues. For the first time, the association has an ad in the Wellfleet Chamber of Commerce booklet and it is hoped that will attract new members. Jerry Sadow suggested a mailing that would include the brochure and the newsletter be sent to 500 non-members who are non-resident taxpayers,
Nominating Committee. Sam Frank, chair, presented the slate of officers and directors that will be voted upon at the Annual Meeting (see attachment). It was noted that nominees should not be viewed as “replacing” current members and that terminology will not be included in the document submitted to the membership and presented on August 1st. The Board approved the slate of directors and officers, May Ruth Seidel expressed special thanks to Karen and Chick Holtkamp, Bob Mangiaratti, who are retiring from the Board, and to Tina Browne, who has resigned.
Program Committee. Chick Holtkamp, chair, reported that programs scheduled for the summer include a July 14th meeting, co-sponsored with the Wellfleet Forum, on Opening of the Herring River Dike. Speakers will be Doug Franklin, John Portnoy, Seth Rolbein and Molly Benjamin. The Annual Meeting, which will be held on Monday, August 1st, will include a discussion of the Local Comprehensive Plan, with Rex Peterson , Town Planner, Benjamin Gitlow, Chair, Local Comprehensive Plan Committee and Dennis O Connell, Chair, Planning Board as the speakers.
Town meetings this summer will address the Harbor Management Plan, on July 12th, Long-term Planning, on July 18th, the Planning Board and Comprehensive Plan Survey on July 30th. Jean Schaefer pointed out that by scheduling these meetings during the summer, the Town was providing an opportunity for non-resident taxpayers to attend and participate in a discussion of relevant issues.
Harbor Study Committee. Mary von Kaesborg and Ed Rullman, chairs, reported that upcoming Town meetings will review a draft of the Harbor Management Plan and the Memorandum of Understanding regarding the dike on the Herring River.
Comprehensive Planning Committee. Dorothy Altman, chair, reported that the Town meeting on July 30th will review the results of the survey that was sent to 1500 Wellfleet home owners, including non-resident taxpayers.
Chairperson s Report . May Ruth Seidel thanked Jim Hood for his help in researching issues pertaining to renewing the association s insurance policy. She has contacted the Chamber of Commerce, the
Conservation Trust and the Historical Society regarding the restoration of Uncle Tim s Bridge and was told by the first two organizations that we should proceed and they may join us in this effort. No response was received from the Historical Society.
Given the Board s approval of co-sponsoring meeting with the Wellfleet Forum, two joint meetings are being held this summer. Co-sponsorship means that the Forum send emails to its members about our meeting and includes an announcement in its newsletter. May Ruth will also ask them to help with setting up and refreshments. In response to a question from Aida Donald, Jean Schaefer stated that co-sponsorship does not require that our members also join the Forum, although many have memberships in both organizations.
May Ruth then began a discussion of the special circumstances resulting when a board of directors meets just a few times a year, the difficulty we have had in recruiting young members for the board, the fact that our by-laws do not always reflect real life implementation (i.e., not always possible to have three members serve on a committee), and whether we should expect the vice president to succeed to the presidency.
In the ensuing discussion it was generally agreed that the board s interactions would be strengthened if we knew each other better. Mary suggested that when new members join the board some time could be give to having each member tell a bit about him/herself. There was strong support for the suggestion that a social component be added to our activities. As a start to fulfilling this objective, Marian Palley invited board members to her home on July 25th, from 6-8 PM, for a pot luck cocktail hour. Other suggestions were to have a pot luck dinner and a clambake for the membership.
Dave Garrison suggested that new board members be given a copy of the by-laws and it was further suggested that they receive an orientation package listing board members, and a description of the role and responsibility of board members. Jean noted that this information is already on our web site.
There was also a discussion about how to keep former board members involved in the association and whether term limits should be extended beyond the current limit of three terms. It was suggested that former board members be asked to serve on committees, and that this become a tradition. Other suggestions were that we continue to send them minutes from board meetings or that they constitute an advisory board.
The role of former presidents was also discussed. Suggestions included having them serve in an emeritus capacity or eliminating term limits and retaining them as directors. Bob Mangiaratti moved that the by-laws be amended to allow former presidents to allow them to continue to serve on the board in an emeritus position with voting privileges. Dave Garrison cautioned that we not adopt a by-law change without reflection and a review of the by-laws, reminding the board that this is a public document. He further stated that usually those in emeritus positions do not vote and that we should follow standard procedures and precedents. Sam Frank then moved that Bob and Dave constitute a committee to research this matter and to submit a proposal to the board. This motion
passed on a 7-5 vote.
A wide-ranging discussion followed on why chairs of committees needed to be board members. Issues of accountability, responsibility and control were stressed.
The meeting was adjourned at 11:00AM.
Respectfully submitted July 21, 2005
Lila G. Croen, Secretary
To: WNRTA Officers and Directors
From: WNRTA Nominating Committee
Subject: Candidates for 2005 Election (revised)
Date: July 9, 2005
The Nominating Committee is pleased to present the following slate for the consideration of the Board and the membership at the Annual Meeting of the WNRTA this August (all terms are two years, except where noted):
Office Candidate Replacing
President Aida Donald May Ruth Seidel
Vice President Sam Frank Chick Holtkamp
Vice President (1 yr) James Hood Aida Donald
Secretary Lila Croen (incumbent)
Treasurer Curt Lippincott (incumbent)
Director Tom Baratz (incumbent)
Director David Garrison (incumbent)
Director Marian Palley (incumbent)
Director Marilyn Silver (incumbent)
Director Mary von Kaesborg (incumbent)
Director Diane Mangiaratti Bob Mangiaratti
Director May Ruth Seidel Karen Holtkamp
Director (1 yr) Jerome Sadow Christina Brown
Director (1 yr) Alice Iacuessa James Hood
Director (1 yr) John Siegel Sam Frank
Incumbent Directors whose terms expire in 2006:
Dorothy Altman, Edwards Rullman, Elga Wasserman, Agnes Wolf
The current Secretary, Treasurer, and five of the Directors whose terms expire this year graciously accepted nomination for another term. Two Directors declined renomination, and one resigned mid-term. May Ruth agreed to become a Director, so that her experience would continue to be available.
Resumes are not available at this time, but will be included with the Annual Meeting materials.
Our committee encountered some reluctance among members to add to their already busy lives and commitments in the foreseeable future. There was also the observation that acceptance of the Vice-presidency automatically suggested a willingness to assume the responsibilities and time commitment of the Presidency at a later time. And so it is important and challenging to prepare and encourage as many members as possible for future leadership roles. To that end, next year s Nominating Committee may want to consider adding a fifteenth Director, the maximum allowed by the current bylaw.
The subject of term limits came up during the nominations process, as well. With the current limit of six consecutive years on the Board, a person who has served four years as a Director, for example, would be limited to just one term as President or other Officer. If we want candidates who can serve two terms as Officers, we will be considering those members whose maximum Association service may have been one term as a Director. A better limit might be two terms in the same position. In any case, this issue deserves serious consideration.
The Nominations Committee thanks the Board for its confidence and support.
Respectfully submitted,
Moe Barocas Lila Croen Sam Frank, chair
Karen Holtkamp Bob Mangiaratti May Ruth Seidel
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