Guemes Island Community Center Association

Guemes Community Council Meeting

Minutes of Meeting - Thursday May 15, 2008 - Draft

Members Present: Co-presidents Connie Snell, Anne Jackets, Treasurer, Carol Pellett; Trustees, Gary Curtis, Carl Cady, Charmaine Johannes, Diane Murray, and Jerry Frelix. Approximately 10 community members.

Connie Snell called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Minutes for April were approved (Carl Cady, Anne Jackets) as written. Treasurer’s Report was presented by Carol Pellet. Recent fundraisers: Plant Sale—$897; Mother’s Day Brunch—$534;

Movie—$133. Expenses for the month were $267. There is approximately $39,000 in the club checking account. Discussion: It was suggested by a community member to invest some of the money in the checking account. Carol noted the recent work by Bart Hetterle (Design Right Plumbing) and the upcoming hall renovation would need to be funded with the money in the account. Carol also noted that the club had a $10,000 CD. Connie suggested that if there were strong feelings about investing the money, the council would bring it up at the June meeting.

Unfinished Business:

Road Construction: Carl Cady gave an update on his communications with the County Public Works Department’s David Walde. Carl reported that the county is going ahead with the widening of the road, beginning this summer, but will not complete the full construction of the project. He reported that the county will begin the construction on the east side of Guemes Island Road starting at the Anderson’s Store, and go “some distance but not as far as the church.” There was no commitment by the county as to when the project would be completed. Discussion: Some community members asked about the input from the community to Mr. Walde at the last council meeting, and whether any of the alternatives were considered by the county. Carl said the island committee working on the Guemes Ferry Vehicle Waiting Capacity suggested running the ferry more often during the few high volume days when ferry overruns were occurring. He said this suggestion was “not warmly received.” Community members asked if scheduling a community meeting with Mr. Walde was possible, and Carl noted that perhaps a mid-week meeting could be scheduled.

Plant Sale and Garden Tour: Anne Jackets reported that she had put together a poster and banner for the Garden Tour. She noted that there were six gardens and that Ann Passarelli was preparing descriptions of each for a brochure, and that transportation for the event was being organized. The cost of the tour is $10 per person, there will be refreshments. Anne J. noted that there was still a need for vans for transporting people.

It was reported by Connie Snell that the Plant Sale was the best ever! The community participation was great. She added that the Mother’s Day Brunch was also well attended.

Spring Fundraiser Letter: Anne Jackets presented the draft of her letter for the Spring Community Club fundraiser. Discussion: Bob Anderson commented about his concern for presenting two fundraisers (Church and Hall) to the community at the same time, and stressed the importance of funding the commercial kitchen at the church as part of the plan that the church is the hub of community assistance during an emergency. Members were confident that there was not a conflict and that the community has traditionally been supportive of both the hall and the church. Some other suggestions were made as to the content of the letter and the council agreed to submit comments via email, and that the letter be completed and mailed out by Thursday, May 22. An envelope stuffing party was to be scheduled at the hall—volunteers are Connie Snell, Dick Hein, Gail and Nick Nicolls and Anne Jackets.

Trustee and Other Reports:

Generator Training: Carl said the training was going well, and that there would be another training session in June, 6:30 p.m. before the meeting.

Playfield Repair: Jerry Frelix reported that the county will do the repair the ruts in the field and also replace the basketball backboards.

Future Kitchen Work: There was some discussion on the possibility of making the hall bigger and whether county codes would affect the size. Gary Curtis suggested that there was only 12 feet available on the east end of the building because of the septic tanks.

Fire pit: Gravel Bob Anderson volunteered to arrange for some gravel for the area around the firepit. Jerry and Howard volunteered to help spread the gravel around. Bob also inquired about the Hall lawn and whether or not there was still someone mowing it. He volunteered to find out who could mow the lawn, and he also said he will continue to do clearing around the hall, cleaning up branches and other debris. Bob asked for volunteers to help with the weeding around the hall and said the forget-me-nots were taking over and that it is okay to pull them.

Sound System: Jerry Frelix reported that Robert Olsen is willing to train people on the sound system for the hall. Jerry, Carl, and Mike Jackets volunteered to learn how to operate it. Carol suggested and it was agreed that the whole system be stored securely at the hall.

Foundation Work: Gary Curtis reported that Bart Hetterle has completed the sewer work and has moved the sewer line away from the existing foundation wall. He said Tyler Smith will be doing work and that Tyler has done a lot of work on the island and is dependable. Gary said he tried to find an island contractor and was not able to find one to do the job. He reported that the Community Club was not asking for bids, because there is no way of knowing what will be discovered during the beginnings of the construction. It will be a “pay as we go” operation. Gary also reported that he has a possible volunteer mason who will do the foundation work and donate his labor. And finally, Gary reported that the sheer wall construction will quite possibly limit hall use during construction time.

Other Business:

Summer Schedule: There will be no July and August meetings. The last meeting of the summer will be in June. Meetings will resume in September. Hall business that crops us during July and August will be attended to by the officers and trustees as needed. Connie reported that the Hall has a busy summer schedule that includes several weddings, and a seminar.

Overnight Policy: The Overnight Policy was reviewed and it was agreed that no overnight stays will be permitted at the Hall.

July 4th and Labor Day Sale: The council offered to grill hotdogs for the Fourth of July, at the park after the Northbeach parade. Howard Pellet volunteered to begin organizing volunteers, etc. Gail Nicolls said she will shop for supplies. Other volunteers are needed from the community and should call Howard if they would like to help. There was discussion about the disbanding of the Women’s Club and which organization would take on the Fall Festival. In the past, Carol Pellett has scheduled the sidewalk vendors on behalf of the Community Club, and that the Women’s club scheduled the inside vendors. Howard suggested that the Community Club take on the Fall Festival and that there would have to be someone to spearhead the event. It was discussed and decided that the council will discuss this at the June Meeting.

Hall Scheduling Person Needed: Carol Pellett has been doing the scheduling of the hall for quite some time, and is looking for a replacement since she will be stepping down as the Treasurer next year. Carol stressed the importance of having someone who can take on the full responsibility of the job, which involves keeping track of reservations, following up on clean-up and damage reports, and being responsible for taking and returning damage deposits to community members. The Scheduling Person does not have to be a council member, but can be a community member. Ann Jackets has done scheduling for the church, she said, and mentioned the availability of the church for functions as well. She suggested that coordinating hall and church events was important. Connie said she would send out an Island email and ask for a Fall Festival volunteer and a Scheduling volunteer.

Pay raise for Hall Janitorial: It was decided by the council to raise the hourly rate from $15 to $17/hour for the cleaning of the Hall. The Hall cleaners work from a calendar given them by Carol, who keeps in touch via email. The cleaners come after all hall events to check for cleaning and damage. They also check the Hall garbage every other day and put garbage out when needed. The total cost for a month, for cleaning is $130 to $150. Ann Jackets motioned to give the pay raise; Charmaine J. seconded. Unanimously passed.

Guemes Gold Scholarship: Howard Pellett updated the council on the Guemes Gold Scholarship. He reported that GIPOA has taken on the scholarship duties that the Women’s Club has done for many years. The money for the Guemes scholarships will be raised in part by the proceeds from this year’s Shipwreck Days Sale in Anacortes. Howard reported that he and his sons have been raising money for several years by collecting “good stuff” and selling these items at the annual Shipwreck Days sale. Proceeds from these sales have benefited community charitable needs such as the Guemes Firehall Solar fund. This year the money from the Shipwreck sale will be given to the scholarships. Howard asked community members to start culling all their “good stuff” for the sale, and to give him a call. Howard volunteered to store the sale items until the sale this summer. He stressed that he would not take “junk,” and that proceeds are going to a good cause.

CERT: Gail Nicolls reported on the Community Emergency Response Team meeting. She talked about meeting with the Red Cross and developing a relationship with that organization. There will be a presentation of the Guemes CERT on June 17th at the Soup Supper where the group will discuss their what they do. Gail also mentioned that the group was the recipient of past Shipwreck Days funds given by Howard Pellett. The money was used to purchase the group’s ham radio communication system, which Gail said was great.

The meeting was adjourned. Respectfully submitted by Temporary Secretary, Charmaine Johannes

February 15, 2007

Guemes Island Community Council Meetings 2003

The purpose of the Guemes Island Community Center Association is to promote the educational, recreational, and social welfare of Guemes Island. In conjunction with this purpose, the Association shall maintain and operate a meeting hall and associated facilities and properties, hereafter called the Community Center. These shall be for the use of all members in a scheduled manner. For-profit organizations, certain private affairs, and off-island organizations may be allowed use of the Community Center at the discretion of the Board of Trustees. While the Association may offer financial or logistical support to various Guemes Island organizations or individuals, in order for the Association to appeal to and gain the broadest support from the membership, it shall not directly sponsor other organizations.