Sachem Fund Board

Sachem Fund Committee 12/02/08 Council Chambers Meeting Notes Attendees: Co-Chairman Alderman Bill Nash, Mayor Ben Lathrop, Peter Davis, Director of Planning & Development, Joseph Ruffo, Comptroller, James Gessner, Jr., Mohegan Tribal Council, Mark Brown, Ambassador Mohegan Tribal Council, Lottie Scott and Recording Secretary Evelyn Bessette Not Present: Co-Chairman William Quidgeon, Jr., Mohegan Tribal Council Treasurer (excused) Members of Press Present: Claire Bessette, the Day & Michael Gannon, Norwich Bulletin 1. The Meeting of the Sachem Fund Committee was called to order at 5:40 p.m. 2. It was determined a quorum was present 3. A motion was made by Bill Nash, seconded by James Gessner, Jr. to approve the Minutes of the June 24,2008 Motion carried in due form 4. Mayor Ben Lathrop distributed hand out of his recommendations to the committee regarding future disbursements of the Sachem Fund (Attachment "A"). Hand out distributed "Sachem Fund Activity as of 11/30/08 - Balance $16,715 (Attachment " B ) Spreadsheet breakdown of disbursements (Attachment "C") Discussion followed. Bill Nash proposed setting aside a portion of the Fund money to be used as a pool for interest free or low interest loans to local businesses that would meet certain criteria in order to recapture some of the money in order to keep the Sachem Fund going longer. Possibly use CDBG as a model to start with. Lottie Scott advised loans could be risky. A certain amount of monies to be dedicated to economic development and to groups such as museums within the city that need assistance which fuels tourism and economic development. Peter Davis commented the original ordinance does not prohibit Qsbursements to cultural events. Consider a type of formula or a cap on the amount disbursed depending on the request. Further discussion. Action taken: Committee will concentrate on prioritizing two or three items in the original ordinance to give preference to. Recommended to keep in festivals and celebrations. 5. Motion made by Bill Nash to hold off next round of distribution until after March 1,2009. Deadline of April 1,2009 to receive applications, review and make recommendations in May for monetary distribution in June 2009. Motion carried in due form. 6. Next meeting date scheduled for Tuesday, January 13,2009 5:30 p.m. in Room 335 to address criteria. Committee requested to send their recommendations to the Committee CoChairs prior to January 13" for discussions at the meeting. 7. Lottie Scott reported she received community feedback about organizations submitting more than one application and receiving grant requests. One possibility to tighten up the criteria is limit to one application per organization. Joe Ruffo stated recipients were to show how monies requested were used as per the criteria of their request with a report to the Committee. Joe Ruffo will give a report at the January 13,2009 meeting. 8. Citizen Comment: Sheila Hayes of the NAACP, advised celebration of the loothAnniversary of the NAACP in June 2009. Sheila expressed how she understood and appreciated more controls in place and would support a bank loan program for small business. Also stated moving the application deadline from January to March is confusing to an organization especially in this economic condition. The NAACP was hoping to tap into the Sachem Fund for their celebration in June 2009 and didn't apply in the first round expecting there to be ample time and monies available to apply in the second round. Meeting adjourned at 6:20 p.m. Respectfully submitted by: Evelyn Bessette, Recording Secretary  CITY OF NORWICH Mayor Benjamin P. Lathrop DATE: December 2,2008 TO: Members of the Sachem Fund Committee PROM: Mayor Ben Lathrop & SUBJECT: Mayor's Recommendations to the Committee I would llke to make a few comments and recommendations before we get started. Due to the limited fund balance I would strongly recommend that we do not make any further disbursements or take applications for funding until after March 1,2009. After March 1, we will have a fund balance of about $216,715.00. If we take the next round of applications in March and review them in April, we will have time to meet beforehand and decide what type of projects or community functions we really want to consider for funding. I will be recommending that we consider designating a significant percentage of the fund after March 1". to economic development only. The remaining funds can be considered for other requests as stated in the ordinance. We also need to refine our process and provide more direction to potential applicants. I think we all did a fine job the first time around. But I think in the future we need to work on allocating the majority of funds for actual economic development efforts. 100 Broadway, Nonvich, Connecticut Telephone (860) 823-3742 Fax (860) 885-2914 E-Mail mayorsoffice@cityofnonvich.org  Sachem Fund Activity as of 11/30/2008 City of Nonvich Contribution . City of Nonvich Contribution Mohegan Tribe Contribution Investment Earnings Total Contributions and Interest to date Sachem Funds Resolution UCFS - Funding Turned Back Cash Funding Available SCADD Sand blast building & fence 37 Camp Mooween Rd. Lebanon CT $5,000 $5,000 $0 $5,000 Soc of the Founders of Norwich, Restoration of the Leffingwell CT, Inc House+BP 348 Washington St. Norwich CT $75,000 $75,000 $0 $75,000 Spirit of Broadway Theater Renovate Building 24 Chestnut St. Norwich CT $50,000 $50,000 $0 $50,000 UCFS Welcome Center 34 East Town St. Noryich CT $40,000 $0 $0 $0 $40,000 Z First Round Total '$634,750 $443,000 $141,750 $10,000 $594,750 $40,000