Minutes of the February 17, 2009
Meeting of the Board of Directors of the
Friends of Scandia Parks and Trails
The first meeting of the Friends board was called to order at 7 pm. Members attending were Stephen Ledo, Mike Harnetty, Jim Martin, Karen Schik, Michele McNulty, Matt Rasmussen and Tom Triplett.
A quorum of at least five members was present.
Jim Martin said that he was unable to serve as a Friends board member because of a possible conflict-of-interest situation with his position as an employee of the state DNR. The other members accepted his resignation and thanked him for his contributions to the organization.
The agenda was approved as proposed. Approval of the minutes was deferred because the minutes were those of a meeting of the membership, and those minutes would be approved by the membership at their next meeting in January 2010.
The board elected Tom Triplett as president of the Friends, Mike Harnetty as vice-president, Stephen Ledo as secretary and Rich Burton (assuming his acceptance) as treasurer. With the two vacancies on the board, the board voted to invite Christina de Sobrino and Tom Krinke to join the board. Triplett offered to contact the two.
The members approved the creation of two standing committees: the Outreach/Development Committee and the Program Committee. The former would be co-chaired by Mike Harnetty and Carol Seefeldt (assuming her acceptance), and the latter would be co-chaired by Stephen Ledo and Christina de Sobrino (assuming her acceptance). Members were asked to consider a preference for serving on one committee.
The board agreed that the regular meeting date would be the fourth Monday of the month at 7 pm at the Scandia Community Center. The next meeting will need to be on a different date, and Triplett will send out some options. For that meeting, Ledo will report on the interests of members in serving on the committees. Board members are encouraged to email him with their preferences. It was suggested that the committees would meet immediately before each regular full-board meeting.
Triplett gave a financial report. As of this date, the Friends have $1583.34 on deposit with the Parks and Trails Council of Minnesota, our fiscal agent. This represents the contributions of about 50 households in Scandia. Several have contributed substantially more than the $20 dues per household.
Triplett reported that there are three outstanding bills relating to the Friends: $128.10 for the Friends banner, $70.00 for the registration with the Mn Secretary of State, and $311.03 for the 1000 brochures printed for marketing purposes. Triplett paid them all and requested reimbursement for the registration and brochures totaling $381.30. Triplett indicated that he will make a personal contribution of $128.10 for the banner to the Friends. Motion approved that Triplett will be reimbursed $381.03 for the brochures and the filing.
With the payment to Triplett, plus yet-to-be-deposited checks of $60 to the Friends, the balance will be approximately $1262.
The members discussed whether to file for tax-exempt status with the IRS or continue to come "under the umbrella" of a tax-exempt organization such as the Parks and Trails Council or the St. Croix Valley Community Foundation. Triplett noted the tasks and costs required in filing for tax-exempt status (primarily the form 1023 and annual 990 filings). He stated his recommendation that we not immediately file and that the Friends continue to operate under the Parks and Trails Council umbrella. There may be future situations (e.g. when/if the Friends acquires real estate) that filing would be desirable. This matter was set aside for future discussion.
The members next discussed activity priorities. Karen noted the birding hike in Wind in the Pines on May 16 (details to come). Stephen indicated the interest of the Boy Scouts in park improvements such as the Wind in the Pines trail construction. Triplett noted that Christina had indicated an interest in having the Girl Scouts involved in Friends activities such as clean-ups. Further discussion of this matter was deferred to the next Friends meeting and delegated to the Program Committee.
Respectully submitted
Stephen Ledo, Secretary