Cultural Council

Methuen Cultural Council 2023-2024 Ellen Baranowski - Secretary John Broscoe - Member Karen Broscoe - Member Jennifer Loiselle – Chair Carey Smith- Member Catherine Zembruski – Member Meeting Agenda Monday, April 8, 2024 6:30 PM Location: Virtual/Google Link Video call link: https://meet.google.com/fgr-wufu-zxw 1. Roll Call- In attendance: Ellen Baranowski, John Broscoe, Karen Broscoe, Jennifer Loiselle, Carey Smith, Catherine Zembruski. Meeting commenced at 6:33 PM. 2. Public Participation- none 3. Vote on Minutes - March 11, 2024- motion to accept made by Karen; seconded by Catherine; vote passed unanimously. 4. Financial Report- Jen reported that some reimbursements have been submitted, including Nevins ($1264), Marsh ($1750), Diane McGary ($1500), and Methuen Life ($645). It appears that recipients are being reimbursed in a timely manner. The MCC is not receiving paperwork or ledger information, so it is hard for us to track transactions. It would be easier to track if we had a bookkeeper, but Ellen volunteered to meet with someone in the accounting department to explain their system to us. Jeanetta is our contact at City Hall. 5. Council Business a) 2025 MCC Guidelines and Priorities- the changes made at our last meeting were accepted through the vote on the minutes for March 11th. b) Direct Granting- We still have questions about how this will work. Is it seamless? How can we track money if we are not sure how it’s handled? What is the deadline for changing over? We need to contact the Program Officer from Mass Cultural Council to get some of these answers. Ellen will reach out to her again. c) Summer Night Music Series Planning- Jen reports that the meeting with the city has been moved several times. It is now scheduled for the end of April. Last year, our Music Series was a big hit with 4 nights scheduled. Artists were eager to perform but we lost guest momentum for weather delays. Perhaps with our funding of $5366 for these activities this year, we might sponsor 2 events (summer and fall) and include some other activities to accompany the music. We need to talk to the city about rain dates and contingency plans.  We also sponsored music at Methuen Days, and we would like to do that again. Jen added that other departments, including the Department of Mental Health Task Force, would like to partner with us in this activity. 6. Miscellaneous a) Meeting with the Mayor- Jen will reach out to the mayor’s office to set up a meeting to discuss our budget request. Ellen will draft a simple proposal. 7. Look Ahead/Next Meeting- May 13, 2024 (zoom or in-person?) -We will meet at the library (we will try to switch live and virtual every other month) -Agenda items will include: Summer Nights Music Series: how will we reach out? what will we pay? live art? how many nights/events? 8. Adjourn- Motion made by Karen; seconded by John; vote passed unanimously. Meeting adjourned at 7:07 pm. Next Meeting- May 13, 2024; 6:30 at Nevins Library Anyone needing an access accommodation to participate in City of Methuen programs or services, please contact Sandy Almonte, ADA/DEI Coordinator at 978-382-2123 or salmonte@ci.methuen.ma.us at least two weeks in advance, or two business days before a board or commission meeting. This notice is available in alternate formats upon request.