12 Present: Carol D, Steve G., Alma, Eric, Larsen, Malcolm, Bill, Jim, Andy, Steve C., Carl, Sandy

1. Treasurer’s Report

Eric reported a balance of $6857. Taxes are due. Will talk to Chris to find out how much we made this year, as a result, may have a bigger tax bill this year. All insurance is up to date. He applied for a new debit card, and Bill will sign for it.

2. Membership Report

Time to Renew?: Our newly appointed Membership coordinator is not here, but Bill mentioned that in the past we didn’t have people rejoining because we thought we might lose them. It was mentioned that dues are only $15, and we could weed out anyone who is not interested in renewing. Membership would need to keep track of when people joined and would have to keep track of when they joined.

We discussed how far back in ’07 we should go to get ’08 membership. It was suggested we go back 6 months for this. Eric mentioned there were some people who gave donations of $100 or more, so they would be exempt. Carol Ann will send out e-mails to those who are renewing, as she has the information. A letter to them would include a link to the website and our FOW stickers. We could possibly give a FOW t-shirt to anyone who renews with $50 or more. Eric will check on amounts.

3. Trail Care Events for 2008

Steve C. said March 16 th is the next date. The damage is bad in the park, and we’ll need to get rid of a lot of dead wood. Some trails could also use some gravel, because of erosion issues.

Park Service Day is in May, and Steve G. said we need to have this project in by the 15 th of March. August 24 th is the next date to get ready for NEMBAfest and the Landmine. Oct. 12 th is the last fall date. Steve G. suggested we could do some planting of flowers and some bricking on Park Serve Day.

Steve C. would like us to work with RTP – Recreational Trails Program. He will work on a grant with NEMBA since we are not a 501c3 company. The information will be available on the DCR website. NEMBA also offers $500 grants, and Steve C. would like us to use that to purchase a set of tools for FOW to use when we do our trail days and a muck truck. He had a proposal to work on abandoned rail beds. We can’t move the railroad ties due to hazardous waste problems, but we may be able to create a path that goes around them and create an unpaved rail trail.

4. Hike with the Hingham Land Conservation Trust 3/29 from 10-12 PM

The Trust is excited to bring their members to the Wompatuck trails. Bill hopes that through this hike, we can acquaint them with some of the nice parts of our trail system. It was suggested to do a loop which starts and finishes at the Visitor Center, or use a van to transport everyone to another location and end up at the Visitor Center. It will be put onto the website and e-mails will be sent to interested parties. Eric suggested we e-mail Vicki.schow@hotmail.com with updates for the website.

5. Web page

Vicki is not here, but we will send her information to update the web page. It looks very nice, and comes up on a good Google search.

6. Pow Wow Update

Jim e-mailed a Native American to speak to us with more information, but she had a conflict with the March meeting date. He believes we would need to have a certain amount of people there to raise about $2500-$3000, and would need about 200-300 people. It will be discussed further at the next meeting.

7. Friends of Wompatuck t-shirt

Malcolm suggested some ideas for slogans. Bill would like to see our FOW slogan on it. Eric said he spent about $600 for about 100 volunteer shirts, which comes out to about $6-$7 each for a colored shirt with the set-up fee and wording. To have a more technical shirt, like REI’s, would cost more money. Bill would like to reward people who join at a higher level with a shirt, and we could also sell them at events.

It was suggested that we find out if a local school has a printing-type program that does t-shirts to lower the cost. Eric will try to find out more information about prices.

Non-profit status update: Eric doesn’t know if there is any more information, and Chris is not here to ask. Eric will try to contact the man in charge to find out more information.

8. New Business

• Steve G. read information on an environmental grant program, given by Entergy, a power plant company, which closes soon (March 10 th.) However, he thought if we could come up with a project, we might be able to apply for it. It’s an annual event, so if we can’t come up with something now, we could apply in the future. Steve G. suggested a boardwalk on Doane Street, since it’s very flooded. Bill said if we take a picture of it now that would help with the grant process.

Specifically, the grant “provides support to community based projects that address energy efficiency and provide sustainable solutions to preserve the environment.” It was suggested that we use it towards replacement of windows.

• Malcolm asked about Reserve America and NEMBAfest. He asked if we could pump up the camping aspect of NEMBAfest, and get a portion of the fee used to reserve campsites. Steve G. said that wouldn’t be a problem. Malcolm asked if we could charge for parking, but it was suggested we incorporate that into the initial fee rather than ask for an additional fee.

• Andy asked if we could move the date to another date except for Monday since he’s involved with the scouts on Mondays. However, it seems that the general consensus is that Mondays work best for everyone.

9. Old Business

• Andy mentioned that there are three boys working on the bunker, and the History boy is done and has his Eagle. He suggested we put a copy of the sign in the front display case to show Bunker N9. We could put a digital picture of the site and the wording on the website.

• The older boy working on the concrete ramp has been held up with the weather. He has until July 2 nd to get done. The younger brother is working on the painting and cleaning up the area, and has 2 years to get it done. Once the concrete is done, it should be finished rather quickly, perhaps by the end of the summer. It has been going on for about 2 years.

• The person who is working on our brochure is not here. Steve G., Jim and Carol Ann are supposed to work on it and will set a date to do so.

10. Upcoming meetings

• Monday, March 10 th
• Monday, April 14 th

 

Submitted by,

Alma Ramos-McDermott

Secretary