Wintonbury Land Trust Meeting Notes - September 10, 2014

WINTONBURY LAND TRUST – September 10, 2014, Seabury Retirement Community, Bloomfield  

Present:  Jim Trail, Kevin Gough, Paula Jones, Vikki Reski, Dale Bertoldi, Doris Johnson, Vic Herson, Sten Caspersson

Great Blue Heron

                                                                               

1)      Minutes for the August 20^th Board Meeting were approved. 

2)      There was one addition (discussed under Financials), a $630 structural engineering bill for the Thrall Farm Potato Barn.

3)      Committee Reports

a)      Grants – (1) Evans Property – The Environmental Review is scheduled to be done by the end of October.  

b)      Financial

1.      Our August 31, 2014 account balances are as follows:  Checking - $2,559.16; Savings - $23,219.49; Restricted - $113,536.83.  Vikki reported that a number of contributions had been made in memory of Paul Hughes.

2.      Vikki requested Board approval to purchase a laptop and software for (approximately) $330 from Techsoup.  Money had been budgeted to do so.  The Board unanimously approved a motion to do so, noting the appropriateness of Wintonbury Land Trust owning a computer dedicated to Land Trust business.  We also discussed different options for data backup.  Paula will pass along a copy of Simsbury Land Trust’s Record Retention Policy to the Financial Committee.

3.      Vikki reported that we had received a $630 bill for structural engineering work for the Thrall Farm Potato Barn that was not budgeted for.  We briefly discussed how we could avoid this in the future by including in our annual budget any potential expenditures included as part of grant applications.

c)      Events

1.      Stewardship work days:  A work day is scheduled for Stout Family Fields on September 13^th (rain date September 14^th).  A work day is also scheduled for Van Otterloo on October 11^th at 10 AM, with a follow-up beer tasting at Back East Brewery at 2:30.  Rain date will be October 12^th (with no tasting since the Back East is closed on Sunday).

2.      Lisa Lane Ribbon Cutting on September 20^th – There will be local, state, and federal government representation at the ceremony. 

3.      October 4^th hike from Stout Family Fields to LaSalette – Jim Trail is planning this hike for the Seabury Community, with Land Trust members invited to participate.  Details will be provided in the September newsletter. 

d)     Membership/Community/Website

1.      Trail Guide for website – After some discussion, we decided to collect some examples of trail guides in order to determine upfront what format we would like to use.  Kevin offered to scan some pages from Simsbury Land Trust’s Walk Book; Doris also offered to provide some examples.

2.      Board Members Bios – Paula will send Diana Hughes the Board bios used at the Annual Meeting in June, with Jim, our new Board member, copied in.  We agreed that Board Bios should be used as filler material in newsletters.  We also agreed that it would be good to have a group photograph of the Board.

3.      Paula set up a Land Trust account for The Hartford Courant’s My Towns section.  We can use this to submit articles for upcoming events.  She will send the account information out to Board members involved with Community Outreach.

e)      Capacity Building –

1.      Volunteers –

(1)   Nancy Bowden would like to do a Community Garden project.  We are planning a demo garden at Lisa Lane Farm; a plot there has been identified.  Bloomfield’s Leisure Services has offered assistance. 

(2)   Christopher Shepard will attend an upcoming Board meeting to provide his analysis of our membership data, and to make some recommendations regarding building membership.

(3)   Catriona Horstmann has volunteered to serve on a Committee.

2.      Kevin reported that he had met with Joel Neuwirth about WLT’s participation in Pride Week Bloomfield next June.  Kevin conveyed that the Land Trust wants to participate, and suggested ideas generated during our August Board meeting.  Joel was receptive to those suggestions, and indicated he would be setting up a meeting at the end of September or early October.  Kevin offered to represent the Land Trust at that initial meeting.

f)       Stewardship

1.      The Stewardship Committee has completed a Baseline for Hawk Hill.

4)      New Business –

a)      Next meeting dates:  (2^nd) Wednesdays October 8^th and November 12^th at Seabury Retirement Community.  In general, we are planning on the 2^nd Wednesday of the month for Board meetings.  Start time:  6 P.M. 

b)      No Community Q&A.

 

Recorded by Paula Jones 

Wintonbury Land Trust Meeting Notes - August 20, 2014

WINTONBURY LAND TRUST – August 20, 2014, 52 Duncaster Road, Bloomfield  

Present:  Jim Trail, Kevin Gough, Paula Jones, Vikki Reski, Dale Bertoldi, Doris Johnson, Sten Caspersson

Territorial Toms

          1)      Minutes for the July 16^th Board Meeting were approved. 

          2)      There were no additions to the agenda.

    3)      Committee Reports

           a)      Grants – (1) Hawk Hill – As noted on the agenda, the   paperwork submitted by the Town attorneys is at NRCS for review.  We did not submit a 1772 Foundation barn grant application for Hawk Hill.  (2) Evans Property – The Environmental Review Team is scheduled to be done in late August/early September.

 

b)      Events

1.      Lisa Lane Ribbon Cutting on September 20^th – There will be local, state, and federal government representation at the ceremony. 

 

2.      Wildwoods Trail Hike at Seabury – Jim Trail will be leading this hike on August 30^th at 9 AM.  Brief descriptions will be posted on the Land Trust website and blog.  Paula will submit an article to The Hartford Courant. 

3.      Stewardship work days – Lisa Lane:  A work day has been scheduled for August 21^st.  The head of NRCS may be visiting the farm, depending on his schedule.  Stout Family Fields:  September 13^th; Van Otterloo:  October 11^th, (Rain date of October 12^th).  If we have the workday on Saturday the 11^th, we’ll follow up with a tasting at Back East Brewery.

4.      Jim is planning a hike ending at LaSalette on October 4^th for the Seabury Community.  He reported he had many requests to repeat the route offered on Trails Day in June.  He graciously agreed to open up the hike to WLT members as well.  Once he determines the exact route that will be offered, he’ll provide a short description for the September newsletter.  Paula offered to help him coordinate that with Diana Hughes. 

c)      Membership/Community/Website

1.      We discussed having a membership day at Back East Brewery next Spring or Summer.   

2.      Trail Guide for website – Jim reported that the IT department at Seabury is working on moving Seabury Trail information from Seabury’s internal resident-only site to their public-access site.  Once that work is complete, we can talk to Diana about linking our newsletter to the Seabury Trails link.  Ultimately, we can provide that link on the Land Trust website.

d)      Financial – July account balances:  $2,457.81 in checking; $21,015.59 in savings; $113,525.31 in restricted.  The 2013 tax filing was submitted on August 1, 2014.

e)     Capacity Building –

1.      Paula made the following motion:  “In accordance with Article VI, Section 3, of Wintonbury Land Trust Bylaws, I nominate Jim Trail to the Board of Directors for a term expiring at Wintonbury Land Trust’s 2015 Annual Meeting.”  The motion was seconded and passed unanimously.  Welcome Jim!

2.      Paula offered to take the lead in setting up a Nominating Committee this fall in preparation for the 2015 Annual Meeting.

3.      Since Chip Caton was unable to attend, we tabled the Logo Design update.

4.      Dale reported that Joel Neuwirth had contacted him about the Land Trust participating in the 2015 Bloomfield Pride Week (June 8 – 13).  We brainstormed ideas for the event, including extending it to the full month of June (to offer more weekend activities), or at least to the preceding weekend, which would encompass Trails Day.  Either Kevin or Paula will follow up directly with Joel.

f)      Stewardship

1.      Stewardship Days - Our fall stewardship days are scheduled for the second Saturday of the month.  Vikki suggested we try the 3^rd Saturday of the month during the spring.  She also suggested we follow our workdays up with a social activity.  All agreed this is a good idea.  As mentioned above, if the Van Otterloo workday is not rained out and is held on Saturday, October 11^th, we’ll try a tasting at Back East Brewery.

2.      The Stewardship Committee plans on working with the property stewards to establish Baselines for Hawk Hill and Thrall Farm. 

2)      New Business –

a)      Next meeting dates:  (2^nd) Wednesdays September 10^th and October 8^th.  In general, we are planning on the 2^nd Wednesday of the month for Board meetings.  Start time:  6 P.M. 

b)      Jim Trail offered the use of a large lounge at Seabury to us for a meeting space if we think it would be suitable.  Jim suggested someone from the Board take a look at the space to make sure we agree; Paula offered to do so.  We’ll plan on meeting at Seabury Retirement Community for at least the next couple of meetings (to try it out); room details and directions will be provided prior to the September meeting. 

 

Recorded by Paula Jones