West Norwalk Association Board Meeting
January 9, 2012
Minutes of the West Norwalk Association
January 9, 2012
Board members present were: Ken D’Arinzo,Ron Padino, Candide Valadares, Gay Mac Leod, Regina Krummel, Chris Potts, Linda Forcellina, Anthony Carrano, Donna Dolle, and Peggy. Guest was Chuck Chester of 3 Old Rock Ct, West Norwalk.
President Chris Potts, called the meeting to order at 7:35.
Chris presented the minutes of the November meeting. Regina moved to accept the minutes and Ron seconded the motion. The minutes were unanimously accepted.
Donna presented the Treasurer’s Report. The holiday party was discussed, and it was noted that approximately 110 people attended and that Dolce charged for 110. The Holiday party was paid , and we generated a profit from the party (dues, silent auction, raffle )of $1,110. Linda moved to accept the Treasurer’s Report and Ken seconded the motion. The Treasurer’s Report was unanimously accepted.
A guest speaker; Chuck Chester was invited by Chris to speak to the board about his ideas of sharing resources and objects among residents. It is an idea that was started in Chicago by Founder Chuck Templeton (who started and sold Open Table). The mission statement of OhSoWe states that if we share more, we consume less and save money. In turn by sharing, we cut back on the carbon footprint and help the environment. Subgroups of existing members have created networks to share car rides, houses, parking sites, tasks and tools. More information is Ohsowe.com.
Chuck wanted to present his idea to explore the best method to promote his sharing and perhaps start at a local level the concept of neighbors borrowing and embracing the program. Gay suggested possible sponsorship of West Norwalk clean- up day. Candide mentioned notice on our website. Both Gay and Ken suggested blogging about it on West Norwalk Wanderings. The conclusion was to explore various media outlets to test the reaction of Ohsowe for use among West Norwalk neighbors.
Linda reviewed the Ambassador program and announced we had delivered 19 baskets so far for 2011.Various board members reported back that upon delivery of the baskets, the response was very positive.
Linda presented a new list of people that have moved in (provided by Donna and Ken). Linda asked for volunteers to deliver 7 new baskets. The baskets will be put together by both Linda and Gay. Linda will coordinate the names/addresses and deliveries of the baskets. She announced she will be leaving for Florida soon and suggested the program go on hiatus for a while.
For the current group of baskets, Peggy will donate some baskets, will print business cards for the Ambassador Program and print whatever additional materials we may need. Peggy also suggested emergency information cards, but this idea was not accepted due to liability. However a decision to have members email addresses on cards was accepted.
Linda asked the board members to ask vendors for coupons, gift cards or certificates to add to the baskets.
Peggy made the suggestion of collecting cans of food for the next Holiday Party for WNA. All board members agreed it was a great idea and easy to coordinate. It was agreed and voted by the board members that the food should be donated to the Norwalk Food Pantry.
Discussion of the annual WNA Clean up event was mentioned with some new additions. Anthony suggested a backup rain date, and the Land Trust wants to join us and have us help them clean up specific areas. In addition, there was discussion of tying in an event after the cleanup such as a pot luck meal at the meeting house. Linda suggested a tag sale or “British bring and buy event.
Gay will work with Keep Norwalk Beautiful and select a date that corresponds with the city effort to maximize press coverage. The date should be before leaves come out, but also avoiding snow and cold. Gay will present the date to the board for feedback. There will also be a backup rain date. Gay will put in the order for the free signage, gloves, pickers, and trash bags and confirm the delivery.
Board members want to generate more interest from the community.
Chris offered to reach out to a community watch program and contact a representative.
Donna mentioned an emergency update from our website and how to contact us, the concern was that we could be liable for any serious emergency.
Linda brought up we already have a standing offer of helping WNA citizens in need and the response has been only one person.
Linda offered a suggestion about a shuttle service to the West Norwalk Meeting House to encourage people to attend any events held there. The suggestion was not voted on, but approved as a possibility.
Donna brought up the concern for people filling out the application forms at the WNA Holiday party. She suggested exploring a newer more efficient way to sign up people. It was noted that only two people used the credit card payment system at the party and only one online so far.. which was Chris.
Gay brought up the WNA offer of a scholarship to a WNA senior or Junior. A conversation with Dr. Susan Marks at the Holiday party, and her enthusiasm to explore more was presented to the board by Gay.
The feedback from the board was that the amount was too small, that students will not bother for that small amount and that it would negate the financial aid process. Other feedback was that every student needs money now and no amount is too small. The board members agreed for Gay to explore more with Dr. Marks before decisions are made.
Anthony mentioned that Ponus is having a paper shortage and that the Fox Run School needs new benches. He mentioned that the boys scout group would not get to the bench project until much later and the bench was needed soon. Anthony thought perhaps the WNA would help. The board responded these were great ideas and for Anthony to explore more.
Chris made a motion to adjourn. Both Candide and Peggy second the motion. The meeting ended at 9:01.