West Norwalk Association Board Meeting
October 7, 2013
MINUTES OF THE WEST NORWALK ASSOCIATION
October 7, 2013
Board Members present were: Gay Mac Leod, Linda Forcellina, Ken D’Arinzo, Galen Wells, Anthony Carrano, Ron Paladino, Regina Krummel and Candide Valadares. Bill Krummel was a guest.
Co President Gay Mac Leod called the meeting to order at 7:32.
The minutes of the September meeting were accepted as written.
Ken then presented the Treasurer’s Report. The total cost of the Annual Meeting was $1,000.00 and the cost of the Newsletter was $930.56. The total dues collected from the event and the mailing was $2,965.00. A total of $360.00 was collected from ads in the Newsletter. Gay noted that we still have not received the $300 owed for Dolce’s ad. A motion was made by Candide to accept the Treasurer’s Report. The report was unanimously accepted.
Gay reported that all of the feedback about the Annual Meeting was favorable. One of the reasons was the opportunity to hear the Mayor and Harry Rilling speak. Many other local candidates attended and were introduced. The Board members agreed that the Oak Hills Restaurant on the Green was a fine venue and overall they did a good job for us. However, the food drive results were disappointing and Board members agreed that a food drive at holiday time would probably be more successful.
The Holiday Party will be held on December 5 at Dolce and final details will be confirmed by Gay. The Board agreed to have Valerie create the WNA post card invitations. Because of the concern of timing and mailing, the holiday post card will be sent to the printer in early November to allow a week for printing and possibly 3 weeks for delivery.
There was no new news on Oak Hills.
Anthony reported about the CNNA meeting. The group is looking into a permanent easement for the fields and trees in Oak Hills so that nothing can be built there. They are also looking into focus groups about tolls on 95 and changes in the zoning laws to help prevent future box stores such as BJ’s.
The Board agreed to sponsor a” Family Fun “event to attract younger families. The event will have a budget of $1,000 and will take place at Fox Run School. Anthony will prepare a business/marketing plan detailing costs, insurance and logistics. We would serve popcorn, cotton candy and ice cream and because of insurance issues, not have any hot fires or cooking. Ken will report back on face painting options.
Gay submitted a tree planting program for the perimeter of Fox Run School to replace fallen/diseases trees to the Tree Advisory Committee and Parks Department. The proposal was accepted and twelve trees will be planted. Six trees were planted in late September. The trees are a mixture of Oaks to blend in with current tree species. The trees are located by our adopt-a-spot. Six more trees will be planted in the spring. Because of the drought, Anthony and Linda will help Gay with the watering. Gay brought up a request to fund the planting of a special “landmark” species of tree called a Copper Beech. The tree would be planted in a large field across from Richards Avenue. The tree would act as a gateway to West Norwalk and signature gift to Fox Run School from the WNA. The Copper Beech is very rare in the city of Norwalk- perhaps there are only two. The tree can mature to over 100 feet in height and offers a copper color leaf during the fall.
Linda read a letter from Taylor Sturbinger recommending that the Board discuss three ideas.
- Organize an autumn clean up.
- Support the can and bottle drive to aid the McMahon Band.
- Check with the postmaster to see if we can save on postage because we are nonprofit.
The Board discussed all these ideas and decided:
- We will consider a clean-up for next September before the fallen leaves cover the discarded trash along our streets.
- Linda will contact the parent who heads the can and bottle drive to learn more about how the funds are used. She will write an article for the website and Candide will announce the drive each month on Facebook.
- Ken and Linda will talk to the Postmaster at the Washington Street Post Office to see if we can qualify for a lower postage rate.
- Linda will reply to Taylor’s email and keep him up to date.
Candide made a motion to adjourn. Ken seconded the motion and the meeting was adjourned at 8:50.
Respectfully submitted,
Galen Wells, Secretary