The meeting came to order at 6:00. Present were Scott McCaskill (chair), Bruce Gezelman, and Jim Bibbo. Also present were Marlene Freyler (Select Board) and Matt Baronas of CNHRPC.
The minutes from the previous meeting were accepted.
We moved directly to a discussion of the possible merger of the committee with the Facilities Use Committee, as the Select Board may wish to combine them, and because substantially the same people are involved. From there we moved into discussions of facilities.
Marlene stated that the priorities need to be:
- Get the BACC up and running.
- Set up, or re-establish, a Governance Board for it.
- Establish or organize a Friends of the Community Center.
- Establish or organize a similar Friends of the Town Hall Theater.
- The Friends organizations should be set up as separate 501(c)(3) entities.
Some possible candidates for these organizations were suggested.
We discussed the state of the current leases of the BACC, who holds them, how much is paid through them, and future possibilities. While the Center is to be used for community activities, there are some who want to rent parts of it out in order to bring in more money. Marlene noted that the downstairs is currently a mess, and needs cleaning up and painting before any use is considered.
Grants were brought up. Matt described how the CEDS process works, and notes that it is stalled due to a change of leadership at the top levels.
Marlene asked whether there was any money in the trust funds that could be used. There are two funds that could possibly be used, the 1991 Repair Town Buildings Fund with $22,000, and the 1997 Town Facilities and Buildings Fund with $33,000.
There was a short discussion of insurance of volunteer workers, and another on shades and seats for the theater.
The meeting adjourned just past 7:00.