Historical Commission meeting May 7, 2019
Present: Diane Provenz, Sonia Morrison, Thom Garvey, Celeste Watman, Tom Ragusa, Lauretta Harris, Judi Mabee
Called to order 5:30 pm
Minutes of March meeting approval was postponed to June meeting
No April meeting was held
East Otis Schoolhouse – We can apply for grant while in the process of getting on the registry. Bonnie will meet tomorrow for a walk-through of the building with Town Building Inspector. Diane volunteered to speak at the town meeting to explain the warrant and matching fund grant.
Can we get a contractor to see what needs to be done to restore the building?
St. Paul’s – Quiet title action is in motion. The church may be agreeable with giving back some of the personal property from the church. We would not want to accept anything until such time as the town holds title to the building.
Fundraising – Historical Society could do fundraising if the Historical Commission is on board with it. Should we set up a separate account with monies going to town and earmarked for the Historical Commissions use for specific projects (tax deductible) or set up an account through the Historical Society (non-profit)? Historical Society will need more volunteers – can something be set up as a subcommittee of our group? Diane and Lauretta will look into this.
Open to all ideas on how to raise money could we do a 50/50 raffle at the town party in June?
Community Outreach – Sonia will speak to the select-board at their meeting to see if we can donate $200 to the 5th grade class trip to Fort Ticonderoga. We would invite them to take pictures and discuss their experience with us. A hike on the local section of the Knox Trail led by Tom Ragusa has been planned with the students and Mr. Keller before they leave on their trip. Vote to donate $200 was approved.
Vote to expend monies to pay Quick Print to create informational pamphlets with maps of the Knox Trail, pictures of the School House and our mission statement to hand out to the public was approved.
Five year plan – Approximately $500K needed ($250K for church – we would need ½ of that amount with remainder coming from grant) $65K for Harmony Hall (if needed) to start.
New business – Tom is working on stops for the Knox Trail in Sandisfield, and Celeste is working on inventory
Next Meeting Thursday June 6th
Meeting adjourned 7:30 pm