Sachem Fund Board

Sachem Fund Committee 1/27/10 Room 319 Meeting Notes Attendees: Chairman Alderman Bill Nash, Co-Chairman Bill Quidgeon, Jr., Mohegan Tribal Member, Joseph Ruffo, Comptroller, Mark Brown, Ambassador Mohegan Tribal Council, Lottie Scott, Peter Davis, Director of Planning & Development, James Gessner Jr., Mohegan Tribal Council and Bonnie Cuprak, Recording Secretary Not Present: Mayor Peter Nystrom Members of Press Present: Michael Gannon, Norwich Bulletin 1. The Meeting of the Sachem Fund Committee was called to order at 5:35 P.M. 2. It was determined a quorum was present 3. A motion was made by Mark Brown, seconded by Bill Quidgeon to approve the minutes of the October 21, 2009 meeting, Motion carried. 4. Joe Ruffo reported that the City of Norwich had deposited the $ 50,000.00 as agreed upon and the fund was waiting for the deposit from the Mohegan Tribe. Sachem Fund, fund distributions approved by city council for 2008 and 2009 total $ 828,366 leaving a balance of $ 76,896.13. The balance includes unspent funds returned totaling $ 40,243.58. 5. Chair Bill Nash reported he had received a letter and invoice from Brian Kobylarz of Downtown NRZ, to clarify that his project was being done in stages and he ask for an extension of time to finish. A discussion ensued and it was decided to invite MR. Kobylarz to the next meeting. 6. Joe Ruffo reported receiving a letter from the Assistant City Manager Jennifer Gottlieb, reporting the 26 Shipping St. project was finished and the city would return $ 14,391.80 balance. 7. Joe Ruffo reported receiving a letter from the Assistant City Manager Jennifer Gottlieb, reporting the 26 Shipping St. project was finished and the city would return $ 14,391.80 balance. 8. Motion made by Joe and seconded by Lottie to reclaim the funds 9. A letter was received from Joe Loyacano, P.E. of the Buckingham Memorial Porch Restoration project, which hasn’t pulled all of their funds. The project is being done in stages and the money will be used as needed. 10. Discussion of reclaiming funds after a report from Joe Ruffo was given. Luis DePina hasn’t taken the funds for the rowing club. He would like to transfer them to the YMCA. It was decided after a discussion that the money would have to come back to the fund and be reapplied for. 11. Chair Bill Nash made a motion to recapture the funds on all projects that are completed. Motion seconded by Lottie Scott. 12. Determination of Deadlines, review and distribution of the next round of disbursements: Discussion –February 1, 2010 start accepting applications and set March 1, 2010 at 4:30 P.M. as the deadline to receive applications. The third week of March committee will meet with the applicants and hear a two minute presentation done by applicants. In April committee will review all applications and discuss which to recommend to the council. Recommendations to Norwich City Council will be at their first meeting in May with disbursement the third week of May. Motion made by Mark Brown and seconded by Joe Ruffo. Motion carried. 13. Discussion was held on the guidelines for the grants. It was decided that the committee needed to pay attention to the impact on the community, and to require detailed progress reports for the projects every six months until completion of the project. Motion made by Joe Ruffo seconded by Bill Quidgeon . Motion carried. 14. Discussion was held on submission of one application or multiple applications by each organization. It was decided that one application would be sufficient and that the applicants can break down the projects and monetary request. 15. Next meeting is March 30, 2010 at 6:00 P.M. 16. Meeting tentatively set for April 14, 2010 at 6:00 P.M. Citizen Comment: Letter received from Kathleen Murphy and read by Chairman Bill Nash as requested by Ms. Murphy. Copy attached. Meeting adjourned at 6:35 P.M. Respectfully submitted by: Bonnie Cuprak, Recording Secretary