February 2009 Minutes

Friends of Sugar Creek
Board of Directors
February Meeting Minutes

Board Members in attendance: Zach Cain, Matt Williams, Doug Calisch, Doug Miller, Jim Suren, Nathan Mullendore
Guests: Gus Nyberg (NICHES), Gary Weliver (Crawfordsville MS4)

FSC/NICHES FAMILY FRIENDLY FLOAT TRIP (JUNE 6/ JUNE 13 rain date)

• The trip will start at the Bachner Nature Reserve and end at Deers Mill.

• The first 20 boats will float free of charge. This expense will be split evenly between NICHES and FSC. The estimated cost at $25/boat is $500 or $250 per organization.

• Clements Canoes will provide the canoes and shuttle service for whoever brings their own. Matt Williams will confirm details with Clements.

• Registered floaters will be asked to provide their own lunch. FSC will provide a light snack and bottled waters.

• Planned start time is 10 am. Float should take 4 hours.

• Matt Williams will handle registration.

• We may advertise in the paper depending on the response.

BACHNER NATURE RESERVE DEDICATION AND WORKDAY

• The dedication will take place at 10 AM on Saturday, April 25.

• Gus will speak about the ecological significance of the site. An undetermined speaker will talk about Mike Bachner.

• Event is rain or shine—once the trees are moved to the site, they must be planted (all 5400 of them). NICHES will provide three augers for drilling.

• Gus plans to setup a display about the site in the Crawfordsville Public Library during April. He will also distribute flyers around the area.

• Nathan will contact local press including JR, The Paper, WCVL, WFYI

• ~40 volunteers can be used at a given time. Doug got a good response from the Wabash community and expects student groups from Students for Sustainability and APO. Marc has talked to his church about volunteers. These groups will come on Saturday.

• Nathan will ask Indiana Smallmouth Alliance volunteers to help on Sunday.

• Gus and NICHES will flag planting locations on Thursday and Friday. The group will probably camp out at the site.

• FSC and NICHES will have displays at the site but won’t push membership.

NEWSLETTER REVIEW
• 384 newsletters were mailed. Of those, more than 100 were returned with bad or corrected addresses. Some of these will be purged, others will be corrected as possible using the phone book. Jim will provide stamps to re-send.

• With the bulk rate, it costs ~16 cents to mail each brochure and roughly 22 cents to print each. We did incur one-time expenses of $180 for bulk mail registration and $180 for the annual bulk mail fee.

• The board agreed that the goal is to reduce the number of mailed newsletters in favor of emailed/online editions wherever possible. However, several members will still need or prefer a printed copy.

FUNDRAISING DRIVE
• After a lengthy discussion of the pros/cons of a fundraising effort during current economic conditions, the board decided to continue with plans for a February drive.

• Gus stressed the importance of making a personal connection who we ask to donate. Cold letters have very low return rate.

• Letters will be sent to all FSC members; mailing list has been refined as a result of the newsletter.

• Board members will follow up on the letter with individuals and businesses they know.

ANNUAL BUDGET
• A preliminary 2009 annual budget was set. Nathan will type the draft and distribute it for voting at the March meeting.

MISCELLANEOUS BUSINESS
• Nathan reported that he is seeking a different company to work with on the interpretive sign project than previously intended.

• Nathan discussed developing projects with Wabash College, including an economic impact study, water testing, and potential summer intern.

• The website was updated January 27 at a cost of $270. This was a previously approved expenditure that solved some security concerns and added functionality to the website.

• Gary discussed some of the current challenges with the Crawfordsville’s MS4 and stormwater programs. He may give a more details explanation at the next board meeting.

Dutifully submitted by Nathan Mullendore