THE HUNT BUILDING
6 MAIN STREET, NASHUA, NEW HAMPSHIRE 03064
April 26, 2006
TO: Trustees of the Hunt Building
The next regularly scheduled meeting for Trustees of The Hunt Building will be held Tuesday, May 2, 2006, at 2:00 p.m. If you have additional items you would like to add to the agenda, or if you will be unable to attend the Board meeting, please phone Hilary Booth at the Hunt, 594-3661.
MAY 2, 2006 - 2:00 PM
MEETING AGENDA
1. SECRETARY’S REPORT
2. TREASURER’S REPORT
3. MAINTENANCE REPORT
4. STATUS OF RENOVATIONS
5. FUNDRAISING
6. EVENTS
7. OLD BUSINESS
8. NEW BUSINESS
9. ADJOURN
THE HUNT BUILDING
6 MAIN STREET, NASHUA, NEW HAMPSHIRE 03064
April 4, 2006 Board Meeting Minutes
Presentation by Harold Solomonprior to the regular Board meeting: Harold discussed a tour of the Hunt he and a colleague had taken to evaluate the extent of mold, lead paint, and the like. A written report to the Board may be forthcoming.
Introduction: The meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Hunt Building was called to order April 4, 2006, at 2:20 p.m. Those present: Trustees Nancy Blish, Scott MacKnight, Charles Matthews, Jay Minkarah, and Marilyn Solomon; Hunt Administrator, Hilary Booth. Chair Charles Matthews presided.
Secretary’s Report:
Scott made a motion, seconded by Jay, to accept the minutes of the March 2006 Board Meeting as written. All were in favor, motion carried.
Treasurer’s Report:
Scott distributed copies of the report. He noted that copies of the February report had gone out with the March minutes. Marilyn asked where the money from the sale of her book is, and Scott said it is included in the trust fund. The 520 account contains funds for maintenance, but the trust fund can be used for restoration. Marilyn’s concern is that she would like to designate funds from the sale of her book for building improvements. The matter of ownership of the Hunt has yet to be resolved, which leaves use of the trust fund in question. Jay suggested we need to establish a separate account, and Charlie referred to the Friends of the Library, a group which has nonprofit status, which can determine where money raised is to be spent. Jay suggested we start off with an event, and Marilyn added we could use the paper to publicize it. Scott cautioned that we look at what is entailed. Charlie will check with Carol Eyeman about the Friends. Scott reported that we got $250 back from Park/Rec for irrigation. Charlie noted that we had met Nick at one of the budget hearings, and he thought there was a quid pro quo going on. They put up our Christmas wreath, do grounds, etc. Charlie felt we should have sufficient money to cover water in the next budget. Nancy made a motion, seconded by Marilyn, to accept the Treasurer’s Report. All were in favor, motion carried.
Budget: Charlie reported there is a Budget meeting coming up at City Hall April 6th at 7:00, addressing the Administrative Services Division, which includes the Hunt Building. Charlie and Scott have gone over our budget trying to reach some accommodation that doesn’t jeopardize Hilary’s salary excessively. With the salary going from $13,000 to $9,200 to achieve the mandated 5 per cent budget cut, it implies fewer hours for her at a time when the building is more heavily utilized. We will try to convince the aldermen of the negative impacts that will result if Hilary’s hours are cut. It was noted our events do raise money for the City, and Jay said we should let them know we may not be able to get anyone to serve as Administrator if the salary is cut. He added there was also a disproportionate hit to our budget last year. Scott suggested we keep the operational cuts in mind for next year.
Hunt Building Trustee Meeting Minutes
April 4, 2006
Page 2 of 3
Maintenance Report:
Hilary reported we have a new vacuum, purchased by Frank in accordance with the authorization voted at the last meeting. J. Lawrence Hall and Custom Electric will be looking at the thermostat and zone valve in the downstairs Children’s Room. There is a hole in the window of the main reading room, and repair will cost approximately $600. Marilyn asked if we have insurance for that, and Hilary replied the City is self-insured. The back stairs had water leaking today. Turnstone will be checking on this. Charlie suggested we keep a log of the leaks. Dennis Francouer wants to fix the leaks in the roof first. The paint is peeling in the main reading room, which was just repainted.
Status of Renovations: There is another CDBG meeting at City Hall on April 19th; we have asked for $151,000. We have $40,000 on hand, originally intended for our new boiler, which eventually came out of a contingencies fund. We estimate it will take $50,000 (plus the $40,000) to finish the repointing. We will sit down with Turnstone on which to do first. About 70 per cent of the repointing is done. Scott was concerned that if we did repointing but did not solve the drainage issues, we might not resolve the problems. Scott asked if we can fix the roof with these funds, and Hilary said we can. She added that by tracking the leak problems and finishing the repointing, we may take care of some of the roof issues. These actions would be scheduled to start this summer.
Fund Raising: Discussed above under Renovations.
Events:
We’re getting a lot of publicity for Sol y Canto, which will be held at the Nashua Public Library at 2:00 pm on Saturday, April 29th. In addition to the colorful posters, which are being distributed around Nashua, a number of Spanish-speaking radio stations have been contacted to publicize the event.
The first Art Walk of 2006 will be held on Saturday, April 15th, from 1:00 to 7:00 pm. At the Hunt, Terri Twedell will display her artwork; sponsor Morgan Stanley will provide wine and cheese, and City Arts has arranged for music all day, including acoustic guitar, dulcimer, and violin and piano. Charlie, Dick LaRose, and Nancy each will cover a two-hour segment.
Scott noted that the event to introduce the new aldermen to the Hunt, held Friday, March 24, was a great success. Triangle Credit Union was the sponsor. We should continue looking for sponsors for various open houses for the public in order to increase community awareness of the Hunt.
There will be three additional Art Walks during 2006, June 17 and September 16 (the Hunt cannot participate in the third, which conflicts with The Stroll), as well as a Halloween event for children, and The Stroll in November. We might look at an open house in late September as a kickoff for Friends of the Hunt.
Hunt Building Trustee Meeting Minutes
April 4, 2006
Page 3 of 3
Hilary reported we have received $1,500 from New Hampshire Charitable Foundation as a result of our grant application; this is designated for concerts and lectures.
Old Business:
Suzanne Delle of Yellow Taxi Productions sent a letter, which was distributed to Trustees. Risk Management is going to conduct a lead paint test; Charlie called Heidi at the City to see if this could be resolved. The tests will take six months in order to cover varied conditions. It was noted that lead paints do not affect adults; we don’t even know if we have lead-based paints, but this is something that needs to be researched. Charlie said that Dennis recommended having a plumber and electrician go through the building. In the Children’s Library, they should take a section of the flooring and test it.
Harold Solomon will be coming to our meeting next month to report his recommendations.
It will be important to pursue the various environmental health and safety issues with the City; they should realize this is a multi-use building with great potential. The concerns about environmental hazards in the building, however, need to be resolved.
New Business:
Tina Lozeau’s son, Nick Efstathiou, brought in a number of book that he put in the shelves in the main reading room. Tina has more books from the library that she will use to populate our book shelves. Tina also mentioned that Robie’s Room seems dark at night, and she suggested three floor lamps be placed in the room. Her son Nick has two floor lamps in his basement, and perhaps we could find a third lamp. It was agreed this would be a good lighting upgrade and we should try it.
Update on the Thurber’s donation: Frank Mellen talked with Linda Willette, who thought it would be a good idea to honor Joe Sakey. She noted that the Cambridge (Mass.) library had a “Sakey Lecture Hall”. Marilyn wants to have plaques for Joe Sakey, plus all the other former librarians. She said she had spoken to Shirley Sakey, who would be happy to have Joe honored, but didn’t want to be involved with the process. Charlie suggested we set up a subcommittee to work on this project.
Adjournment: There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 4:05 p.m. The next meeting will be held at the Hunt Building at 2:00 p.m., May 2, 2006.
Respectfully submitted,
Nancy C. Blish
Secretary