Friends of Dicken Woods General Assembly
DRAFT Minutes for the Wednesday, May 30, 2007 meeting at Dicken Elementary School
Attending were Jim Boyd, Amanda Cressman, Brian Cressman, Jack Eaton,
Jim Foulke, Sandy Foulke, Marcia Higgins, Kay Holsinger, Evelyn House,
Stephanie Hunter, Tom Ivacko, Amanda Koeller, Theresa Leite, Harvey
Mieske, Rayelene Mieske, Deb Norbotten, Linda Pickl, Marian Williams,
and Doug Wood.
Tom Ivacko chaired the meeting and opened proceedings at 7:00p.m.
Minutes were accepted from the 4/2/07 meeting.
Budget Report
Tom Ivacko reported that the organization currently has $5217.70 in the
bank. He stated that the only expense since the last meeting was $37.09
for flyers for the Max & Erma's Fundraiser. There were revenues of
$774.67, which included $404.67 earnings from the Max & Erma's event
and $370.00 in private donations, including $60 in cash donations from
members who couldn't attend the Max & Erma's event. Tom made a
motion (seconded by Jack Eaton) to approve the expenses incurred for the
flyers and all approved.
Tom also stated that the Max & Erma's fundrasing event generated 13%
more profit than it did in 2006. All agreed that it should be an annual
event. Tom expressed thanks to Naela Jenkins and all who helped
distribute flyers and attend the event.
Tom also noted that FoDW's dues to the Huron Valley Community Network,
which hosts the FoDW website and email listserver, were overdue. Jack
Eaton proposed sending a check for $35, which was seconded by Linda
Pickl, and approved unanimously by all present.
Officer Nominations/Vote
Jim Boyd asked if there were any new nominations from the floor for the
July 2007 - June 2008 Board. After concluding that there were no more
nominations, the following slate was voted in unanimously, as follows:
Tom Ivacko as President, Bob Palmer as Co-Vice-President, Jack Eaton as
Co-Vice-President, Deb Norbotten as Treasurer, and Amanda Koeller as
Secretary.
Tree Planting Project
Stephanie Hunter reported that about 230 trees were planted in
approximately 4 hours at the recent tree planting day. She, Ray Hunter
and Doug Wood orchestrated a group that planted 100 service berry
bushes, 50 red oak trees, and other miscellaneous trees including black
cherry, bur oak, chinkapin oak, pin oak, white oak, swamp white oak, and
black walnut,
where they had flagged spots earlier in the week. The trees are now
marked with red flags as well as tags that National Area Preservation
(NAP) made, which indicate the type of tree and year, so they can be
tracked. Tom Ivacko gave a big thank you for all of the folks who went
out and helped with this whole process. All agreed it was a very
worthwhile project and a major accomplishment for the year.
Fall Stewardship
Doug Wood announced that the Fall Stewardship Day, planned with NAP, was
now set for Sept. 29, 2007. This is the first weekend in September that
did not have a home football game. It will be similar to last year's in
that the majority of time will be spent pulling and marking buckthorn.
Doug said that shortly after the workday, Doug and Ray Hunter will
herbicide the buckthorn roots. He also stated that he plans to send out
emails announcing work days in the woods on Sundays, beginning in the
Fall
Stephanie Hunter asked if anyone would like to take over maintaining
flowerbeds in 2 areas, to just let her know. One is at the end of Carol,
and the other is around the sign at Maple and Pauline.
Doug said that he has been working with NAP to get rid of the poison ivy
in Dicken Woods. He said that he's seen quite large amounts at the end
of Dicken drive, and theat the corner of Pauline and Maple roads. Marcia
Higgins, one of our Ward's City Council Representatives and a Friend of
Dicken Woods, said that she would ask the appropriate city staff to get
this job done asap.
Tom Ivacko discussed the FoDW five year plan, stating that of the 13
goals listed for year 1, significant progress had been made on 12,
including 7 of which were completed. And of the 5 goals listed for year
2, FoDW had already made significant progress on 3. Tom thanked Doug
Wood for his work in writing the master plan and in keeping FoDW on
course and on track to implement the plan.
Fundraising
Tom Ivacko stated that in past meetings, our group had discussed
requesting targeted donations for specific initiatives. For the Fall
2007 Fundraising letter, the members present discussed possibly
identifying specific projects for which funds could be requested,
including: signage; plants and/or trees; seating; posters for Dicken
Elementary; and additional footbridges over stream crossings.
Tom said that he discussed with Mary Anne Jaeger the prospect of hanging
rotating posters in the hallways of the school. Stephanie said she was
worried that it would be too time consuming for the teachers, who were
all ready stretched. Marian Williams suggested rotating pictures by
season. Doug Wood suggested possibly having items to educate students
on the Emerald Ash Borer - something permanent so kids would remember it
ten years down the road.
After much discussion, it was decided that the Fall Fundraising letter
should be handled like last year, encouraging members to speak with the
president about any possible targeted donations they would like to make,
but otherwise the group should not yet commit to a specific project
like signs or bridges. Rather, it was agreed that the organization is
making good and steady progress on implementing the master plan and we
should proceed apace.
Discussion of City Budget
Marcia Higgins provided a thorough overview of the city budget process,
issues related to parks and nature areas, and how these relate to the
recently passed parks millages. A number of questions were asked by
members, and all thanked Marcia for presenting this information.
New Business
Tom discussed a recent request he received from someone on Greenview
Blvd asking if FoDW would publicize their neighborhood effort to replant
street trees. A general discussion ensued regarding whether FoDW
should use it's mailing list in this way. Many opinions were expressed,
and it was determined that we should handle future requests on a
case-by-case basis, with an eye toward not overwhelming our membership
with too many email messages, yet still providing a public service
particularly when the matter relates to nature areas, parks, etc.
Next Meeting
Tom stated that our next meeting date will be in the fall, with a specific date to be determined.
Meeting adjourned at 8:30 p.m.
Minutes by Amanda Koeller and Tom Ivacko
