Minutes – February 4, 2013

Halfway Library, 1:30-3:30pm

Present: Ruai Gregory, Bill Schuhle , Bill Shields, Mark Christianson, Steve White, Celinda Miller, Denise Christianson, Larry Miller, Liz McLellan

1. Minutes: the minutes from the Jan. 21 special meeting were read by Ruai and approved by all.

2. Discussion on the election process. According to the bylaws, we need to hold an annual meeting to which all members are invited, at which time accomplishments of the year will be covered and the new board will be elected (of five members). This new board will then elect the three officers from the board. The meeting will take place on Monday, February 25, at 7:30pm, ideally at City Hall. Denise will contact Sheila to set this up. Ruai will email all past and present members and will write an announcement for the HCJ. Liz will place the announcement on the website.

3. Treasurer’s report: no activity in the checking account this month. Bill Schuhle is in dialogue with US Bank regarding the process for donations for the Ski Club to be deposited, as it may be changing. The brokerage acct. made $59.28 in interest (see attached document).

4. Ford Family Foundation Leadership Training: Ruai reported on the Advanced Facilitation training she attended at Kahneeta from Feb. 1-3, and shared materials. She also shared progress on the organization of the proposed leadership training for Halfway (called “Pine Eagle Cohort”) next fall. The first organizational meeting took place last week, with 5 Ford graduates (Lauri Bryan, Andrea Bryan, Ruai Gregory, Spring Bartlett and Denise Cairns) making initial plans and filling out the Ford community cohort application. Lion’s Club has agreed to provide the Hall free of charge for the training, and Stephanie’s Bakery has agreed to cater the training sessions.

5. Website: Liz would like to post blogs on our website about various resources, topics, etc. She will email us her proposed blogs for our input before posting.

6. Projects:

Bandstand: Steve told us about matching grant opportunities, and that Cindy Thayer has agreed to be our grant writer. Bill Shields explained that the total budget, which includes the sound system, now comes to $16,700.00. It was agreed that we would pay Cindy up to $250.00 (approximately $20.00 per hour) to write one grant application. Denise expressed concerns about utilizing the “grant system”, which includes documenting in-kind contributions. Bill Shields and Celinda agreed that it can be seen as a type of wasteful approach, yet necessary if we wish to “play the game” in order to achieve results in the community. In-Kind was explained as a way to document community support. Bill Shields holds planning meetings each Wed. at 10am at Stephanie’s Bakery. All interested people are welcome. The conceptual plan will be  finalized this Wed., Feb. 6. Liz will put up a project page and Facebook page for the bandstand project.

Cross Country Ski Club: Liz reported. She trained as an instructor and worked with some of the children at school. Several classes have met and the “Borrow Ski” day for the community was highly successful. Liz keeps the facebook page updated regarding the state of the various tracks.

Preschool: Ruai reported on the progress made on the two upcoming fund raisers: the trikeathon takes place the Friday before crab feed and the run/walk is the third Sat. in May. Larry suggested we add a “race-walk” category. He could train the judges in what to watch for. Ruai will tell the organizing committee about this.

7. New Business: Larry reported on the group that is looking into accessing spring water from the valley’s west wall. This would be used for emergencies and could also generate electricity. He and Denise also described the city’s ongoing sewage treatment problems.

Larry described the idea of providing “micro-loans” for business startups. These funds could be in a special account at the bank. Liz mentioned groups that are doing this that can be accessed online: Kiva, Prosper and others. She can write up these resources on our web page.

Celinda described the “community regeneration” project material she has researched. Bill Schuhle is scanning the material and will email it to us. The concept of internal and external inputs and resources was described. This can be helpful in guiding our community development mission.

Larry also talked about the idea of developing a list of classes that could be offered in the community which could generate funds in the summer. There would be a framework, and people would attend from other locations. He will bring material about this possible project. With all the talent in the area, there is a lot of potential for this project. Art Camp and Clear Creek Music Festival could be a part of this too. Steve mentioned the discussion around this same concept at the last LIEAP session a few years ago. The issue that always seems to come up around all the great ideas is the lack of a “champion” to organize, delegate, and implement the project. Liz said she can post something about possible classes to offer on the UCP website. Denise described the opportunity available to offer classes at the fairgrounds.

Next meeting: Feb. 25, 7:30pm – for annual meeting and board election.