Minutes of the West Norwalk Association
October Board Meeting
October 2, 2017
Anthony called the meeting to order at 7:35pm.
Board members present – Anthony Carrano, Ken D’Arinzo, Brian Forschino, Rob Notley, Ted Stepanoff & Kristin Clemens. Stephen Galyas and Ron Paladino attended as guests. Isabelle Hargrove was not present.
The Board discussed Tom Livingston’s e-mail regarding signs for Buccarelli Farms. The Board was not in support for and exception for the Farm as it would potentially open up the possibility that other West Norwalk companies would seek similar exceptions.
Treasurer’s Report – Ken D’Arinzo
Ken updated the Board on its current financial position. Anthony motioned to approve the report and Brian seconded. The Treasurer’s Report was unanimously approved by the Board Members present.
Ken noted that he recently received the Notice for the annual IRS filing. Brian agreed to handle the filing.
The West Norwalk Meeting House Society has asked the someone from the Board to attend a meeting on the future of the Meeting House. Anthony and Brian agreed to attend the meeting which will be held at the Meeting House on Wednesday, October 11th at 7:30pm.
Newsletter
Anthony has received letters from the local principals. Ted will provide an article on the 2018 Norwalk Plan for Conservation and Development. The Board is also waiting for an article from the Oak Hills Park Association. The Board agreed to include a small article about the electronic sign Brien McMahon High School would like to install on Highland Avenue. Anthony will try to finalize the letter this week and get it to the printers.
The Board decided not to offer a scholarship for the Class of 2018. Isabelle noted that perhaps we could do something more for the school as a whole.
Annual Meeting
The 2018 Annual Meeting is scheduled for October 26th at 7:00 pm at Dolce. Board members will arrive at 6:30pm. Anthony has arranged for Dolce to provide light food and water. There will also be a cash bar.
Anthony will put he signs out. Brian will update and print out the membership sheets. Anthony will talk about the President’s letter and will introduce the candidates. The 4 mayoral candidates will be given 5 min each. Common Council District E candidates will also be given 5 minutes. At large Common Counsel candidates will be given 3 minutes to introduce themselves. Board of Education candidates will be introduced but will not be given time to speak. Ken will print out name tags.
Holiday Party
Received complaints from attendees last year was that food was under par compared to last year. Anthony agreed to speak to Dolce about getting a menu for Board approval.
The Board agreed not to do a formal e-mail invitation for the holiday party due to the significant cost.
Ken will confirm which Board Members have not yet paid their annual dues. Board Member agreed to will make their payments by the next Board Meeting.
Scam E-mail
Brian recently received a scam e-mail addressed from Anthony, asking him to wire transfer funds from the West Norwalk Association account to an un-named vendor. As this was an obvious scam e-mail, Brian contacted the Board as well as the Norwalk Police Department to file a report. The Police suggested strengthening some of the controls surround the webpage.
Stephen commented that he did not believe our webpage had been hacked and it appeared as if the e-mail was sent from a dummy e-mail account as the West Norwalk Association does not have an e-mail server, any e-mail sent to the e-mails on the website are automatically forwarded to our individual e-mail addresses.
Stephen agreed to remove Board Member home addresses from the website.
All Other Business
The Board discussed whether we should continue to maintain a West Norwalk Association website. As the cost is not that significant, the Board felt that maintaining the site was a necessity.
Anthony stated that all Board members should check out Next Door.
A West Norwalk resident reached out to us about the homes at 181 Fillow Street and 190 Fillow Street. The City is aware of potential issues at 191 Fillow Street. The house at 181 Fillow Street is abandoned but has been properly boarded up and the property is being maintained. The Board said it was aware of the situation and would continue to monitor.
The meeting was ended at 9:00 pm.