Jamestown School Forest Board of Directors Meeting
April 11, 2006
Members present: Dick Stineman, Jim Swanson, Dave Anderson, Mike McElrath, Leslie Melquist, Christine Baglia
- Meeting called to order at 3:30
- Minutes of the November 22 meeting were reviewed and approved.
o Motion for approval by J. Swanson, second by C. Baglia. Motion carried unanimously.
- Treasurer’s Report – presented by J. Swanson
o M. McElrath, D. Stineman, and J. Swanson convened to discuss funds over the past few years. Examined mutual funds that were not showing as good of a return as others (Dreyfus, Janus, Worldwide, Parnassus). Perhaps we need a better rate of return, and a different investment other than stocks. J. Swanson recommended closing the four lesser return funds and use the money for scholarships, Arbor Day, etc..
o Motion to close the four named accounts listed above made by J. Swanson, second by D. Anderson. Motion carried unanimously.
- Application for IRS 501 (c) - D. Stineman spoke with Mike Goldman. We are registered with NYS Charities Bureau, which has $135.00 annual fee. We are waiting for the IRS to send response.
- Director Vacancy - D. Stineman spoke of director vacancy. Named people of interest should attend meeting in May.
- Arbor Day Plantings – D. Anderson spoke of Arbor Day plantings. Teachers are on board, sites have been finalized. The approximate cost is $883.00. Plantings optimize JPSF mission: working with children & teaching children.
o Motion for JPSF to commit to Arbor Day plantings up to $1,000 per year made by J. Swanson, second by M. McElrath. Motion carried unanimously.
- Mission Statement Review – D. Stineman reviewed Mission Statement. We spoke of replacing the word “district” with “students”, and also removing the term “current”.
o D. Anderson asked about the educational aspect to the mission statement.
o Motion to amend mission statement, to read as follows: “The mission of the Jamestown Public Schools Forest, Inc., is to conserve the woodland quality and ecological health of our natural resources for the educational benefit of the public school students of Jamestown, NY. (Adopted April 11, 2006)”; made by J. Swanson, second by D. Anderson. Motion carried unanimously.
o D. Stineman recommended that we examine the by-laws at some point.
- E. Bella’s Research – D. Stineman would like to contact Libby Bella about her research. It was tabeled until next meeting.
- Open Forum – D. Anderson asked what the status was of the trails. C. Baglia read from Bruce Robinson’s report of last year.
- Motion to adjourn by J. Swanson, second by M. McElrath. Motion carried unanimously. Our next meeting will take place May 11, 2006.
Respectfully submitted,
L. Melquist
Secretary