Sachem Fund Board

DRAFT MINUTES OF THE SACHEM FUND COMMITTEE MEETING June 8, 2011 Room 335, City Hall MEMBERS PRESENT Mark Brown Lottie Scott Bill Nash Bill Quidgeon Mayor Peter Albert Nystrom Joseph Ruffo MEMBERS ABSENT Peter Davis James Gessner Jr. OTHERS PRESENT Claire Bessette-New London Day Brett Bernadini-Spirit of Broadway Theater Leland Loose-Spirit of Broadway Theater Mark Fields-Stevana Project Alan H. Bergren-City Manager Bob Farwell-Otis Library Sheila Hayes-NAACP William Kenney Dale Plummer I. Call to order – Chairman Bill Nash called the June 6, 2011 meeting to order at 6:05 P.M. II. Determination of Quorum It was determined a quorum was present. III. Approval of Minutes Motion to approve, P. Nystrom, 2nd , Bill Quidgeon. M. Brown abstained due to absence at the last meeting. The notes of the June 1, 2011 meeting were approved. IV. Financial Report Joseph Ruffo: $221751.55 balance in Sachem Fund. No additional financial info to report. V. Discussion on Presentations and Projects Sachem Fund Committee Minutes 6-8-11 Page -2- Chairman B. Nash began with his comments on the applications and clarified that his comments do not reflect the views of the entire Committee. B. Nash recommendations are as follows: 1. Chelsea Gardens: $97,000 requested recommended, $62,000 (Sec. 3 funding for specialized consultants was removed) Discussion followed. 2. Otis Library requested $8,110, recommended same 3. Italian Heritage $5000 requested, same recommended 4. Habitat for Humanity $15,000 requested, same recommended 5. City of Norwich $7,700 requested, same recommended 6. Norwich Historical Society-$6000 requested, same recommended 7. City of Norwich-$17,500 requested, same recommended 8. NAC-$48,500 requested, $28,500 recommended to match CCCT grant 9. Spirit of Broadway $45,000 requested, $25,000 recommended 10. NAACP $27,000 requested, $10000 recommended Total of B. Nash recommendations: $184810.00 M. Brown commented that he felt the City leaders know the projects best and after this round, the process and purpose needs to be reviewed to make sure that the projects that are being funded make sense and meet the original intent. M. Brown asked if Chelsea Gardens project funding could be phased in, B. Nash agreed. L. Scott agreed with fully funding the Indian Leap study. She recommends that the Spirit of Broadway funding be set at $30,000. She asked that it be clarified that the fiscal year for the NAC funding grant falls would be within FY 2011-12. M. Nystrom pointed out that if the Sachem Fund does not match the grant then the grant money would have to be returned and NAC has kept those funds untouched in an account in the event that their request is not funded. L. Scott feels that the Sachem Committee needs to be fair and realistic and get as much information as possible so that the Committee does not fund requests from organizations that will still be in financial distress. M. Brown asked that the Committee follow up on what the benefit was to the City of the funding that has been granted and what the measured return was. P. Nystrom stated that there is a balance in the 350th Fund, but that accessing the funds may not be simple. He pointed out that there are a number of historical events coming up that the NAACP will play significant role in. He asked if there is a minimum required fund balance. B. Quidgeon stated that there is no requirement, but that last year’s economy made them cautious. P. Nystrom recommended that the NAACP request be funded for $20,000.L. Scott feels that some of the costs that the NAACP has included for items in their request could be economized on. She recommends a $5000 increase over B. Nash’s recommendations. B. Quidgeon commented that he feels that most of the projects presented this year do not represent the original intent or criteria of the Sachem Fund. He feels that he would like to see one Sachem Fund Committee Minutes 6-8-11 Page -3- or two larger projects funded that would provide more benefit for the City instead of funding many small projects. B. Nash suggested scheduling meetings after this round to review these issues before next year’s applications are due. M. Brown requested getting a follow-up report from each funding recipient to make sure that the City is benefitting from the projects that receive funds. P. Nystrom inquired about the Spirit of Broadway request. B. Nash clarified. B. Nash asked for additional recommendations/additions from members of the Committee. P. Nystrom would like assurance on the Historical Society’s request to make sure this is not a duplication of another project. L. Scott clarified that the survey is to identify resources, cultural, history and is needed to access other grants with the State and has not been done before. Once it is completed, it can be used by any organization in the City to apply to the State for grants. The Sachem Fund Committee Voted Allocations as follows: 1. Chelsea Garden Foundation: $62,000 Motion to fully fund, J. Ruffo, 2nd P. Nystrom, motion carried, B. Quidgeon against. Motion to reconsider vote, P. Nystrom, 2nd J. Ruffo, motion carried. Discussion followed. B. Quidgeon recommended $50,000 instead of the full request and feels that one or two projects should be funded with larger amounts that will give the City more bang for their buck. L. Scott feels that this is a worthy project and should be funded at the $62,000. P. Nystrom asked if the project goals could be achieved with the $50,000. Motion to fund at $50,000 B. Quidgeon, 2nd P. Nystrom, motion carried. 2. Otis Library: Motion to fully fund $8110.00, M. Brown, 2nd J. Ruffo, motion carried. 3. Italian Heritage: Motion to fully fund $5000.00, P. Nystrom, 2nd Lottie Scott, motion carried, B. Quidgeon against. 4. Habitat for Humanity: Motion to fully fund $15000.00, M. Brown, 2nd P. Nystrom, motion carried. 5. City of Norwich, CD Training: Motion to fully fund at $7700.00, M. Brown, 2nd P. Nystrom, motion carried. 6. Historical Society, Regional Cultural Assessment Grant Match:-Motion to amend that it is not a duplication of effort, M. Brown, 2nd B. Quidgeon, motion carried, L. Scott abstained. Motion to fully fund at $6000, M. Brown, 2nd P. Nystrom, motion carried. 7. City of Norwich, Uncas Leap CCCT grant match: Motion to full fund $17500.00, P. Nystrom, 2nd M. Brown, motion carried. 8. NAC: Motion to fund at $28500.00, P. Nystrom, 2nd L. Scott, motion carried. Sachem Fund Committee Minutes 6-8-11 Page -4- 9. SBT: Motion to increase Chair recommended amount to $30,000 L. Scott, 2nd P. Nystrom, motion carried. Motion to fund at $30000.00 M. Brown, 2nd L. Scott, motion carried. 10. NAACP: Motion to increase Chair recommended amount to $15000.00, P. Nystrom, 2nd L. Scott, motion carried. Motion to fund at $15,000, P. Nystrom, 2nd M. Brown. $182,810.00: 2011 Allocated Total $38,941.55 Fund Balance after allocations. B. Nash personally thanked each member of the Commission for their hard work and dedication to improving the City of Norwich. VI. Citizen Comment B. Bernadini-Spririt of Broadway. Discussed his recent attendance at a workshop that was specifically for the non-profit arts community. B. Champagne-Historical Society-commented on the Vibrant Cities Grant which the City has just been awarded and is totally different from the survey that will be conducted with the Sachem Fund grant. L. Loose-Spirit of Broadway-spoke on the benefits of the theater in the downtown and upcoming plans of the theater for generating revenue. S. Hayes-NAACP-clarified the 350th money situation. The money has to be allocated by members of the 350th LLC. The 350th Committee has no access to that money. B. Kenney-Thanked members of the Committee for their hard work. The next meeting will be set up for July. B. Nash will contact all members this week to set a date. B. Quidgeon asked that it be made policy that the projects that were funded be required to appear before the Committee to give updates. VII. Adjourn Meeting Motion to adjourn, P. Nystrom, 2nd, L. Scott, meeting adjourned at 7:00 P.M.