Sachem Fund Board

Sachem Fund Committee 5/5/10 Room 335 Meeting Notes Attendees: Chairman Alderman Bill Nash, Co-Chairman Bill Quidgeon, Jr., Mohegan Tribal Member, Joseph Ruffo, Comptroller, Lottie Scott, James Gessner Jr., Mohegan Tribal Council and Bonnie Cuprak, Recording Secretary Not Present: Mayor Peter Nystrom, Peter Davis Director of Planning & Development, Mark Brown, Ambassador Mohegan Tribal Council Members of Press Present: Claire Bessette 1. The Meeting of the Sachem Fund Committee was called to order at 6:35 P.M. 2. It was determined a quorum was present 3. A motion was made by Bill Quidgeon, seconded by Lottie Scott to approve the minutes of the March 14, 2010 meeting as amended, Motion carried. 4. Joe Ruffo presented finance reports and reported the balance includes unspent funds that have been reclaimed. The total of all available funds is $ 134,637.49 5. Discussion on the monetary value of grants to be given out. 6. Chairman Nash said he might receive a motion to suspend the rules to determine if the committee is going to use funds for Economic Development, Community Organizations or a combination of both. Lottie Scott commented on the request all being worthy causes but that money needed to go where the most economic impact would be felt for Norwich. James Gessner stated that the committee needs to sit down and rework the rules on what the committee is going to give the funds for. It was decided by general consensus to define more clearly the intent of economic development. Joe Ruffo said the committee needs to define the mission statement for the committee to better explain the mission to everyone. It was decided by general consensus that the committee will seek ways to set guidelines, rules, a mission statement and possibly a cap if needed. 7. Votes on requested grants were as follows: a) Pat Fuery of the Chelsea Boat Club the vote was to deny at this time with regrets. (5 no-0 yes) b) Janice Thompson of Norwich Safety Net Team the vote was to deny at this time with regrets. (5 no-0 yes) c) Deb Kievits of Bully Busters the vote was to deny at this time with regrets. (5 no-0 yes) d) Liz Hall Hurley of Christmas Party the vote was to deny at this time with regrets. (5 no-0 yes) e) Anne Shapiro of CT Story Telling the vote was to deny at this time with regrets. (5 no-0 yes) f) Bassem Salahi of Lazizah the vote was to grant him a $ 15,000.00 conditional grant. Corporate Council is going to draw up a contract to go with the grant that the committee will approve before grant given. (0 no- 5 yes) g) Sheila Hayes of NAACP the vote was to grant them $ 5,000.00. It was decided that bands were a great way to draw crowds to Norwich. There was a discussion on a reduction on amount and it was suggested that they could request more funds at the next round of grant request if needed. (0 no- 5 yes) h) Dennis Baptist of the VFW the vote was to deny at this time with regrets. The Mohegan Tribe will look into helping with this equipment. (4 no-1 yes) i) Vivian Zoe and Alan Bergren the vote was to grant $ 10,000.00. It was stated that this will keep Norwich in the news for at least 7 months with good press and bring attention to the art galleries we have. (1 no- 4 yes) j) Sherry Filiatreault of Children First Norwich the vote was to deny at this time with regrets. (5 no-0 yes) k) Peter Leibert of Norwich Arts Council the vote was to grant $ 28, 500.00 this is to match the grant they have from the State of Connecticut. (2 no- 3 yes) l) Peter Leibert of Norwich Arts Council facade grant. It was decided that there were not enough bids sought to determine a fair market cost to the work. (4 no- 1 yes) m) Jack Malone of SCADD the vote was to deny at this time with regrets. (5 no-0 yes)  n) William Champagne the vote was to deny at this time with regrets. (5 no-0 yes) o) Barry Ellison, City of Norwich the vote was to deny at this time with regrets. (5 no-0 yes) p) Marcelyn Dallis-Jones of Artwork Therapy the vote was to deny at this time with regrets. (5 no-0 yes) q) Bob Farwell of Otis Library the vote was to grant $ 7,480.00. There was discussion on the value of more books compared to digital books. It was decided maintain books until there is a need to have digital books. (0 no- 5 yes) r) The total voted on was $ 65,980.00 8. Presentation to the City Council for their vote to be, tentatively set for June 7, 2010 at 7:30 P.M. Citizen Comment: None Meeting adjourned at 7:15 P.M. Respectfully submitted by: Bonnie Cuprak, Recording Secretary