Minutes of the West Norwalk Association Board
August 10, 2015
Board members present – Anthony Carrano, Isabelle Hargrove, Brian Forschino & Ken D’Arinzo. Stephen Galyas & Rob Notely attended as guests. The meeting was called to order at 7:05pm. Anthony motioned to approve the July meeting minutes, Isabelle seconded the motion and the Board members present unanimously approved.
Treasurer’s Report – Ken D’Arinzo
The current Bank balance is $3,506.94. There has been no activity since July.
Oak Hills Park Authority Update – Anthony Carrano
The Oak Hills Park Authority has been given a $1.5M grant to assist with building the proposed driving range. A meeting of the Oak Hills Park Authority was scheduled for Friday, August 14th to begin discuss plans for the driving range with an architect. The current plans include proposals for a great lawn, nature kiosks, and a rose garden.
CNNA Meeting – Isabelle Hargrove
There are open seats on the Oak Hills Park Authority Board.
State of the West Norwalk Association Board
The Board continued to discuss how to get more residents to attend monthly meetings. The discussion centered around the need to define what the purpose of the Association should be. Particularly, “What is it that the Association and the Board stand for and what are we trying to get done?” The Board discussed the following ideas:
– Offering West Norwalk residents discounts on services;
– Offering meals on wheels services to elderly residents;
– Providing transportation for elderly residents on election day;
– Having a quarterly WNA public meeting to discuss concerns of West Norwalk residents.
The Board also discussed sending a monthly e-mail about what is going on in West Norwalk. The first blast should discuss the Five Mile River, the Annual Meeting and the Holiday Party. Should ask for people to contact us if they would be willing to volunteer. The main constraint discussed by the Board is the difficulty in acting on these proposals given our current resources and lack of Board members.
Annual Holiday Party
The party has been scheduled for Friday, December 4th at Dolce. The Board will consider e-mailing residents asking them to volunteer to help at the holiday party. There was also a discussion about setting up a computer to collect e-mail addresses inside the Party. Anthony will meet with Dolce on the expected headcount and the possibility of getting preferred rates at the bar after the Party.
Annual Newsletter
The Newsletter will include a “Like Us on Facebook” and a “Send us your e-mail” advertisement. Ken will coordinate with Valerie to get the template used for prior year Newsletters. Anthony will collect all articles, format the template and circulate a draft to Board members for review. Proposed Articles:
– Letter from the Board – Anthony
– Update on the Mosque (The City has purchased the property but it is not being maintained).
– West Norwalk Association Scholarship Winner – Isabelle
– Oak Hills Park Driving Range – Ernie DeRoches
– Oak Hills Park Nature Advisory Committee – TBD
– Neighborhood Safety – Ken
– Oak Hills Park Junior PGA Golf League – Brian
– Five Mile River – Ken will speak to Bob Wagman
– Garbage Pick-Up – Isabelle will speak to Dave McCarthy
– The 2015 Membership Dues form will be included in the newsletter.
– Total cost of publishing and mailing the newsletter is approximately $1,200.
Annual Meeting
Anthony will e-mail Principal Martinez to finalize a date. Once a date is finalized Isabelle will reach out to politicians who may wish to speak at the meeting.
Five Mile River
Bob Wagman has asked the West Norwalk Association to spearhead the issue. The Board feels it would be more efficient to have someone who lives on the River and is affected by it lead the charge.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:20pm.