Approved as amended, July 8, 2006
Minutes of August 20, 2005 Board Meeting
Wellfleet Non-Resident Taxpayers Association
Present: Dorothy Altman, Lila Croen, Aida Donald, Sam Frank, Jim Hood, Alice Iacuessa, , Curt Lippincott, Diane Mangiaratti, Edwards Rullman,, May Ruth Seidel, Marilyn Silver, Mary Von Kaesborg, John Siegel, Elga Wasserman, Agnes Wolf, Dave Garrison on the speaker phone and Jean Schaefer, Administrative Consultant. Absent: Tom Baratz, Jerry Sadow, Marian Palley.
Aida Donald, President, called the meeting to order at 9:30 AM. She welcomed the newly elected directors and reminded them that the Association s by-laws, minutes and list of study groups are available on our website.
Actions taken at the meeting were as follows:
· It was suggested that, henceforth, motions passed be highlighted in the minutes and the secretary agreed to implement this in the future.
· A motion was made and passed that the Executive Committee review the proposed budget for 2005-2006 and that it then be submitted to the Board for approval.
· A motion to increase the fee paid to Jean Schaefer, administrative consultant, was passed with the understanding that this might require withdrawing some funds from the cash balance of $5648.50. A motion to have the Executive Committee review the consulting agreement with Jean was also approved.
· Dave Garrison proposed that we ask Dale Donovan to help us find a way to participate in the Charter Review Committees. A motion to have May Ruth and Dave draft a letter to Dale, for Board approval, was passed.
· A motion was made and passed that up to $500 be spent on the purchase of a podium for the Senior Center.
Minutes of the July 30, 2005 Board meeting were approved as amended. There was some discussion about whether the minutes should reflect the general tenor of the discussions that occur during a meeting or whether they should only report decisions made and those present
Treasurer s Report. Curt Lippincott, Treasurer, submitted actual and budgeted expenses from August 23, 2004 to August 1, 2005 and a projected budget for the coming fiscal year. Total expenses for the year ending on August 1st were $5405.50, representing an increase of $438.50 over projected expenses. Our current balance is $5648.40. Curt proposed increasing our membership fee for the coming year. However, since brochures have already been printed with the current fee structure no action was taken on this proposal. Sam Frank again suggested that voluntary donations be solicited in the newsletter and on the membership application, and that Board members be encouraged to make a donation to the association. These suggestions met with general approval.
Committees and Study Groups.
Membership Committee. Marilyn Silver, chair, reported that 500 brochures have been mailed to a random sample of non-resident taxpayers who are not members of the association. She reviewed changes that have been made to the brochure and suggested that the association have a table at the Oysterfest, scheduled for October, in an effort to recruit new members. Lila Croen suggested listing our meetings in the events calendars of local papers and local radio stations. Marilyn stated that during the past year we recruited 35 new members, for a total current membership of 515.
Committees and Study Group Membership. Aida reviewed the list of current committees and study groups and urged board members to participate in at least one of these activities. She requested the chair of each group to define its purpose and submit a statement to her by October 1st. May Ruth Seidel suggested that the Board approve these statements of purpose before this information is posted on our website and the general membership is invited to join in their work. It was agreed that year round residents are eligible to serve on these committees and study groups but that they cannot vote.
May Ruth asked whether we should make an effort to have members of the Association serve on Town committees, particularly those that will be involved in discussing the Charter Review. John Siegel suggested that we ask to participate as non-voting members. .
Study Group of Wellfleet Finances. Jim Hood, chair, proposed to begin the work of that group by analyzing the amount of money contributed by non-residents and how the Town spends its money. He saw as his focus that the Association is a resource for the Town and that it has something to contribute. He plans to analyze the budget and see how much is spent in various areas, including the size of the staff relative to the size of the population. He believes that while one person can gather some information, some data may not be readily available. Jean indicated that much information can be obtained from Rex Peterson, the Town Planner, and from the annual report.
It was agreed that Jim would ask for help, as he sees the need for it. May Ruth suggested including an item about this study group in the newsletter.
Old Business.
John Siegel reported that Outer Cape Health Services had not responded to Marian Palley s efforts to set up a meeting to discuss its current policy of not doing blood tests for those who are not regular members of its patient panel unless a physical examination is scheduled. As a result, he drafted a letter to Henry Tuttle, its Chief Executive Officer, which he read to the Board. After extensive discussion, the consensus of the Board was that the letter should be revised, should be sent on Association letterhead, and should be signed by Aida and John. It was agreed that Aida would edit the letter, email the text to Board members for their review and approval, and that it would not be sent unless a majority approved.
May Ruth proposed that instead of making our annual cash contribution to the Wellfleet Senior Center, that the funds allocated for the fiscal year ending on August 1st be used to purchase a podium that would be available to all groups meeting in the Center. It was also suggested that a plaque be put on the podium stating that it was a gift from the Association.
Dorothy Altman summarized the results of the survey conducted for the Town s Local Comprehensive Planning Committee. She stressed the similarity that was found between views of residents and non-residents in this survey sample and thought it was very positive for the Town to have sought the views of non-resident taxpayers. She also stated that these results will be only one of the data sources considered by the committee.
Given the lateness of the hour, it was agreed that reports of other committees would be sent to the Board via email.
It was agreed that the Board would have a pot-luck supper on Friday, September 2nd, at the home of Lila and Walter Croen.
The meeting was adjourned at 12 Noon.
Respectfully submitted, August 30, 2005; Resubmitted as amended, July 10, 2006
Lila G. Croen, Secretary
Wellfleet Non-Resident Taxpayers Association.
| 
