German Village Society Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes

January 3, 2011

Present: Roy Bieber, Darci Congrove, Beth Ervin, Norm Hall, Jim Hopple, Sarah Irvin-Clark, Jeanne Likins, Brian Santin, Crystal Seamon, Mike Yarbrough. Absent: Jim Nichols.

Also present: Russ Arledge (staff), Garth Bishop (newspaper), Jerry Glick (Friends of Fetch Park), Sarah McNealey (Chair, Parks, Public Spaces and Community Events Committee), Gary Seamon (newspaper), and Mal Young (German Village Garden Club).

President Brian Santin called the meeting to order at 7:01 PM.

President Santin opened by thanking Trustee Darci Congrove, recently retired German Village Society President, for her year of service to the Society and to German Village. Brian thanked Trustee Norm Hall for baking a cake and then poured champagne for a thank you toast. After thanking Darci, Brian also thanked Roy Bieber and Jeanne Likins for their 2010 service as Treasurer and Secretary, respectively, and presented all three with certificates of appreciation on behalf of the German Village Society Board of Trustees and its members.

1.  Secretary’s Report Jeanne Likins

The December 6, 2010 German Village Society Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes were approved unanimously.

2.  Staff Reports (no report) Jody Graichen

(written report) Russ Arledge

Trustee Darci Congrove thanked Office Coordinator, Russ Arledge, for all he has done in support of helping those honoring Fred after Fred’s December 23rd death.

3.  Treasurer’s Report Roy Bieber

Balance Sheet (written report)

P & L (written report)

Treasurer Roy Bieber noted that the Schiller Park Arboretum Fund effort to raise money to treat the ash trees has been very successful, with $3,000 contributed to date. Roy reported that the Society’s bookkeeper is almost done with the 2010 financial books and that the auditor will begin shortly.

4.  Committee Reports

Standing Committees

Executive Brian Santin

German Village Society Director Search update (oral report) Norm Hall

Trustee and German Village Society Director Search Committee Chair, Norm Hall, shared that the committee has been reviewing the applications and is in the process of winnowing down the candidates. The committee will solicit Board feedback on candidates prior to the subsequent Board interviews of the top candidates.

German Village Society Historic Preservation staff update (oral report) Darci Congrove

Trustee Darci Congrove reported that the Society’s Historic Preservation Officer, Jody Graichen, will work ten hours/week doing the weekly N4N Digest and in other activities in support of the German Village Commission and the German Village Society’s historic preservation efforts. Darci noted that Jody is ready for the Society to replace her so she can spend more time with her family, although Jody hopes to work these reduced hours until the Society finds her replacement.

German Village Society Board Retreat (oral report) Brian Santin

President Brian Santin reminded everyone that the Board’s retreat is this Sat., January 8. The Board will gather at 8:30 AM for some breakfast and then start the meeting at 9:00. The retreat is scheduled to end at 1:00 PM and is being held at the Meeting Haus.

N4N Content for members only (oral report) Brian Santin

A small committee of Board members will convene to address the technical and logistical aspects of the Membership Committee’s fall 2009 recommendations for member only vs. for the good of the community N4N content, reported President Brian Santin, now that some necessary things were resolved with the Society’s website, such as adding dual membership log ins and getting all members log in information to access the member only section of this website.

Agenda format update (oral report) Brian Santin

President Brian Santin announced a small format change with the Board’s monthly agenda: public participation will now be at the end of the meeting after the Board has concluded its regular committee reports.

Tour/Pre-Tour update (oral report) Darci Congrove

Trustee and Pre-Tour Chair, Darci Congrove announced that Chris Hune, 2011 Haus and Garten Chair, is off to a good start, Grange will again do the printing pro bono, there’s a meeting this Friday to talk with Kroger about sponsorship, and there are other sponsorships efforts in process .

Website (oral report) Brian Santin

President and Society Webmaster, Brian Santin, reported that he is currently receiving and tracking lots of hits to the Society’s website every day. A specific focus lately is an evaluation of what the Society needs in a database for all of its many needs, such as membership, website, development efforts, etc. Brian is working with a committee with expertise in all these areas and hopes to have a recommendation before too long.

Civic Relations (no report) Crystal Seamon

Finance (written report) Roy Bieber

Historic Preservation (no report) Will Eylar

·  Streetscape (written report) Brian Santin

Long Range Planning (no report) Carolyn McCall

Go Green (no report) Crystal Seamon & Brian

Santin

Organizational Development (no report) Jim Hopple

Proposed GVS Bylaws changes (oral report) Mike Yarbrough

Vice President Mike Yarbrough reviewed the process for the proposed changes to the Society’s Bylaws, which were sent to the Society’s membership the required 15 days prior to tonight’s meeting. Mike noted that there were not any concerns expressed about these proposed changes and the Board unanimously approved the bylaws changes.

Parks, Public Spaces, and Community Events (no report) Sarah McNealey

Old Business Brian Santin

Mal Long, President of the German Village Garten Club, thanked the Board for its support in transferring the funds from the Society’s Fetch Park Fund to the German Village Garten Club. Jerry Glick, Chair of the Friends of Fetch Park, expressed concern that there was some delay in transferring this money. Treasurer Roy Bieber explained the situation and Office Coordinator Russ Arledge noted that the check was cut today.

Jammin in the Park (oral report) Brian Santin

Jammin’ in the Parks, a new music series held in several parks along the High Street corridor, is being planned for 2011 by Aaron Leventhal, a long time German Village resident and event promoter, in cooperation with the Columbus Recreation and Parks Department. This initiative is with the support of organizations such as the German Village Society and the Short North Business Association.

The Board approved $500 as seed money for the June 12th concert in Schiller Park from 5 – 9 PM which will showcase three bands and offer food and beverages. It is free, with a $5 suggested donation, and is designed as a family event. The $500 will be returned to the Society regardless of how well the event works financially. Schmidt’s is the presenting sponsor.

In addition, the Society will assist by recruiting volunteers to help with ticket sales, general operations and clean up. In exchange, 80% of the revenues will be distributed to the designated non-profit organizations (including the Society) in equal amounts.

The promotion includes a major ad in the High Street Neighborhoods, radio spots, and full-color posters through Columbus libraries, recreation centers and other selected locations, as well as exposure on the websites of all non-profit groups benefiting from this series.

New Business

President Brian Santin appointed a small committee of folks (both Board and non-Board members) to consider how the Society might best honor Fred and Howard and how best to utilize the funds contributed in Fred’s memory after his recent passing.

The Board adjourned at 7:29 PM.

Respectfully Submitted,

Jeanne M. Likins, Secretary