Board of Directors Meeting Minutes
Wednesday, June 7, 2017, 11:30 AM
Moorestown Town Hall “Donut Room”, Moorestown, NJ 08057
Board Attendance: BOD Members present (7): Candace Coleman, Secretary (MoorArts); Diane Felcyn (Perkins Center for the Arts); Kathleen Hiltner (Liberty Bell Bank); William Kaisla, Treasurer (Moorestown Flower Shoppe); Aaron Katzoff (Spavia); Andrew Mackerer (Mackerer Law Offices); Steven Pazienza, President (Pazienza & Softly Business Ventures). Also present: Annette McGuire.
Meeting Start: MBA Board of Directors (BOD) President Steven Pazienza opened the meeting at 11:30 AM.
Minutes:
· Kathleen Hiltner made a motion, seconded by Bill Kaisla to approve the minutes from the May 3, 2017 BOD meeting. The motion carried.
Treasurer’s Report:
· Bill Kaisla provided May bank statements via email prior to the meeting and reported current account balances:
o LLB Checking: $22,308.87
o LBB Money Market: $37,646.27
o Beneficial CD: $10,408.73
· Mr. Kaisla is getting additional training in QuickBooks and will continue to work on producing event budgets as well as the MBA’s overall 2017 budget. Andrew Mackerer offered to assist Mr. Kaisla in preparing these documents.
· Mr. Kaisla also reported that he has not yet received all Moorestown Day invoices.
Membership:
· Bill Kaisla reported the 2017 paid membership to date is 265, and that the MBA has an email list of almost 400.
Moorestown Day Review:
· Moorestown Day was very well organized and had a great turnout. Steven Pazienza recognized first-time Event Chair Andrew Mackerer for an excellent job.
· Mr. Mackerer will put together a profit and loss statement for the event, and made several observations and recommendations for next year:
o Need to review and compare similar events in other communities to identify where we can increase income and/or lower expenses. The goal is for the event to make a profit.
o Create a written no-show policy, possibly including a penalty.
o Develop a policy for members who give their booths to other businesses/organizations.
o The process of getting vendors onto the street went very smoothly this year.
· Mr. Pazienza asked Mr. Mackerer to create a breakout of participants and their zip codes to gain perspective on where the participants are coming from. The MBA’s goal should be to encourage more participation from Moorestown businesses. He also suggested sending a letter to the non-MBA members who participated in the event to encourage them to join the organization.
· Mr. Pazienza reported that Moorestown Theater Company’s performance during the event was disruptive because they blocked the entire street. An official notice will be sent to the business to request that they refrain from doing this at any future event.
Old Business:
· New Member Orientation Letter:
o Bill Kaisla provided the BOD a list of new MBA members. Aaron Katzoff will finalize and send the New MBA Member Welcome Letter to those on this list, and send it to new members as they join. Names of new members will be posted on the MBA Facebook page the third week of each month.
· MBA Website: Bill Kaisla reported that he has contacted Alison at HypnoDesign, and she will be in touch soon to set up a preliminary meeting with the website committee.
· MBA Print Directory and window clings:
o Bill Kaisla volunteered to get the 2017 clings printed. Once done, the BOD will split the list of members (both in Moorestown and elsewhere) and hand-deliver them along with directories.
· Sponsor benefits: Candace Coleman reminded the BOD that, as per Don Powell’s suggestion at the May BOD meeting, the MBA’s sponsor benefits should be updated. Kathy Hiltner volunteered to collect data from comparable organizations to provide perspective. A BOD sub-committee will then review and revise the MBA’s current sponsor benefit package.
New Business:
· President’s Letter Review: Mr. Pazienza elaborated on the points made in his June letter to the membership, including the recent EDAC meeting; the search for a location for Blue Moon Premium Olive Oil and Vinegar, as well as a bakery and other retail stores; and pursuing the idea of a microbrewery in Moorestown.
· Based on discussion with a vendor who bid on the directory, the BOD conferred as to whether or not the bid process for MBA purchases/expenses should be open to the public. Diane Felcyn suggested that if questions arise, those interested can be directed to GuideStar, the online site disclosing non-profit financial information.
· Bill Kaisla reported that MBA volunteer Gina Zegel has requested a donation from the MBA to offset some of the projected expense for the hanging flower baskets on Main Street. The BOD agreed that this expense should be the township’s responsibility, and deferred voting on the item until after further discussion with township officials.
· At risk businesses: Mr. Pazienza noted that Corner Bakery has now closed and Primo Hoagies will close soon.
· Political Emails: The BOD agreed that if a political party (that is an MBA member) wishes to send an eblast to the membership, a disclaimer should be added stating the email content is the viewpoint of the political party and is not endorsed by the MBA.
Upcoming Events:
· Happy Hour: June’s Happy Hour is scheduled for tomorrow, June 8, at Perkins Center for the Arts.
· The next MBA General Membership Meeting will be Wednesday, June 21 at Catelli Duo. The speaker is Renee Jones, who will address the value of the arts in a business community.
· The next BOD meeting will be July 12 in the Town Hall Donut Room.
· Autumn in Moorestown: Steven Pazienza noted that AIM should be coordinated in the same manner as Daffodil Day, with regular event committee meetings that include several BOD members. The first meeting should take place no later than the 2nd week of July. Diane Felcyn suggested the involvement of Moorestown Creates to facilitate the event, possibly acting as ‘co-chair’.
· Restaurant week: Don Powell has agreed to chair this event; a co-chair is needed. Steven Pazienza is doing some research on creating this event, including conferring with Rob Minniti at Bacio, who helped coordinate the Top Chefs event in this area.
· Ladies Night Out: Steven Pazienza stressed the need to refresh this concept to broaden its appeal.
· Holiday Stroll: A BOD co-chair is needed to facilitate this event.
· Candlelight Night: George Softly will chair, and Kathleen Hiltner will co-chair. Ms. Hiltner suggested possibly kicking off Restaurant Week on Candlelight Night.
Adjournment: Steven Pazienza adjourned the meeting at 1:40 p.m.
Submitted by Candace Coleman, Secretary