Call to Order, Roll Call
The General Meeting of the Flanders, Riverside and Northampton Community
Association was called to order by Vice President Tom Weber at 6:52 p.m.
on October 27, 2003, at the Flanders Nutrition Center. Although President
Michael Brewer was there, he was ill with a cold and had asked that Tom
run the meeting. Before turning over the meeting, Michael expressed our
thanks to Best Choice.
Executive Board members Dave Brewer, Janice Artandi,
Eugene Rausch and Ellen Rausch were also in attendance. Mary Anne Corwin
and Lonaway Muldrow were absent. Approximately 75 people were in the room.
A quorum was declared.
General Meeting Minutes
Janice Artandi read the minutes of the September 22 General Meeting that
Mary Anne had written. Several corrections were suggested by members of
the Executive Board.
Motion: Janice Artandi made a motion to
accept the minutes with the corrections. Michael Brewer seconded the
motion, which passed.
Executive Board Minutes
Ellen Rausch read the minutes of the October 15 Executive Board meeting
that Janice Artandi had written.
Motion: Tom Weber made a motion to accept
the minutes. Michael Brewer seconded the motion, which passed.
Meet the Candidates
Per the Executive Board, Janice Artandi had formally invited-by letters to
the Republican, Democratic and Working Party committee chairmen-the
candidates for supervisor and town council to our second Meet the
Candidates Night. Tom Weber explained that each of these candidates would
have 10 minutes, which included questions and answers. Since the two
candidates for county legislator had arrived unexpectedly, Tom explained
that we could grant them only five minutes each.
The first guest speaker was current Supervisor
"Skip" Heaney (R), who was the sole candidate for supervisor in
the coming term. He was followed by the candidates for the Legislature:
Jay Schneiderman (R) and incumbent George Guldi (D). They were followed by
the candidates for Southampton Town Board: Incumbent Steve Kenny (D),
Nancy Grabowski (R), Fred Stelle (D), and Bruce Tria (R). When this
portion of the meeting concluded at about 8:15 p.m., we returned to our
regular format.
Treasurer's Report
Eugene Rausch read the Treasurer's Report, which showed a balance of
$5,425.89. From that balance, $2,217.31 is designated for Beautification
funds.
Government Committee
The report was waived by Mike Brewer, who said that the important matters
had been covered in the Executive Board minutes that were read earlier.
Membership Committee
Chair Ellen Rausch reported that there are currently 100 individual
members and 10 business members. Michael Brewer showed a sample of a
certificate that would be given to our current business members and to all
new business members upon joining.
Motion: Michael made a motion to allow up
to $50 for the purchase of frames for these certificates. Lonaway
Muldrow seconded the motion, which passed.
Another membership award that is being considered is
membership decals. They were priced at $1.51 apiece. Eugene Rausch
suggested that we order a large amount. Allen Perkowski said that in order
to boost membership, we should reconsider the idea of reducing the
following year's dues for anyone who brings in a new member.
Youth Committee
Dave Brewer said that he was looking into grants.
Correspondence
Secretary Janice Artandi read a letter written to Mike Brewer from Skip
Heaney. The letter of October 7, 2003, stated that Resolution 1304 had
been placed on the Town Board agenda now that we had obtained 501(c)(3)
status. Sponsored by Heaney, this resolution authorizes a Beautification
Grant of $2,500 to the association and was subsequently adopted by the
Town Board on October 14.
Old Business
There was no old business to discuss.
New Business
Michael Brewer suggested that our members join with members of the local
Northampton association in their annual Christmas caroling hayride. He
said that if there were enough interested parties from the other hamlets,
another hayride might be arranged. Pauline Sandmin, who is the president
of McCleod's association, asked that the carolers visit their community,
which has many seniors.
Holiday Party
David Brewer suggested that we change the date of this year's Annual
Holiday Party from December 22 to the previous Monday, which is December
15. Different venues were discussed such as Esposito's, the Flander's
Men's Club (which costs $200), and the Nutrition Center. Lona said that
she would contact Mike Esposito. Janice Flood volunteered to speak to
Hampton Deli about the possibility of providing food.
Casino
We were informed that the Coalition Against the Casino now has a website:
Stop the Casino.com. Carl Iacone said that Skip Heaney has visited
Connecticut and cannot foresee positive results to having a casino. Carl
said that he has also contacted people there. Alex Gregor said that the
town should continue the dialogue with the Shinnecock tribe.
Motion: Michael Brewer made a motion that a
vote be taken on whether or not we as an association should take a stand
on the casino. The motion was seconded and passed.
In the vote that followed, eight voted in favor of
taking a position on the casino and 13 voted against taking a position.
There were 40 people (not necessarily members) left in the room. The
consensus was that the Executive Board should continue to gather
information on the issue, including possibly opening a dialogue with
Tribal Trustees.
President's Role
Michael Brewer asked that the general membership clarify his role in
conducting business for the association. On issues relevant to our
community, he asked whether he could take a stand on the association's
behalf without a prior vote. With this ability, he said that he could
respond more effectively at town, school and zoning board meetings.
Motion: If there is not ample time to get
approval from the general membership, the president has discretion to
represent the community association as a whole. The motion passed with
22 in favor and one opposed to the motion.
Raffle
Woodrow Hobson won the 50-50 raffle. He donated all of the money back to
the Beautification Committee.
Adjournment
Motion: Tom Weber made a motion to adjourn
the meeting. David Brewer seconded the motion, which passed.
The meeting adjourned at 9:10 pm.
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