MINUTES
Otis Cultural Council
January 18, 2023
This meeting was conducted on Zoom.
I. Call to Order: 6:05 p.m. Present: Jeanne Randorf, Carole Burke, Shanon Albee, Arlene Tolopko, Deb Fogel, Carol Lombardo.
II. Approval of the Minutes of November 9, 2022. Deb motioned to approve the minutes. Arlene seconded the motion. The minutes were approved.
III. Chair Report (Jeanne)
A. Annual Report: Shanon filed the report to the MCC, the state agency.
B. Budget Request Submission: Jeanne requested the $3,800 that we lost from last year due to miscommunication plus the $5,000 that we usually receive. She wrote a letter explaining that the recycling money is used for additional purchases, and not part of the grant money. Carol Lombardo will ask Rob Putnam (Superintendent/Principal) if he has heard from Ken Packie about the new statue.
C. Community Survey: Jeanne reported that Laurie Flower instructed her on how to do a Google Survey. There were 20 responses to the survey.
D. The committee discussed a meet-and-greet community gathering. The goal of the event would be for new and/or established members of Otis to get to know one another, and to introduce Otis residents to organizations in the community that they might like to participate in. Carole Burke will chair the committee of Deb Fogel, Arlene Tolopko, and Carol Lombardo.
E. New Requests:
1. Wanda Houston: Arlene motioned to grant $800 out of the recycling fund for the event at the Knox Trail Inn. Carole B. seconded the motion. This event will take place on April 1, 2023 and is a fundraiser for the Otis Preservation Trust.
2. Otis Library Grant: Diane Dyer requested $1,000 for Friends of the Library to obtain a non-profit status. Carol L. questioned if the committee was able to fund legal fees. Jeanne will inquire, but more information is needed:
a. Do they need the $1,000 all at once?
b. What role will the committee play? Does the library have people to do this?
c. Is this a legal use of OCC funds?
IV: Financial Report (Shanon):
1. Shannon has requested a detailed account with balances. She is waiting to see if the financial board will give us back the $3,800 that we did not receive last year.
2. Recycling Funds: $7,000 to the school, $1,000 for Bruce Mandel (songwriting course at school)
V. Grants and Other Funding Requests:
A. Feedback and updates:
1. Thank you letters.
2. Otis Historical Commission: The committee approved $2,500 for Knox Trail to create a video, in collaboration with Tom Ragusa. Jessica Provenz is writing the script. The video will be in the Otis schoolhouse and other locations. Jeanne is trying to find out the status of the video.
VI. Recycling Program: Shanon will check on the balance in the fund.
VII. Next Meeting Dates: March 15 at 6:00 PM on Zoom
4/19
6/21
7/19
8/16
9/20
No October Meeting
11/8
The meeting was adjourned at 7:20 p.m.
Minutes submitted by Carole Burke