July 12, 2011 Minutes

Attendees: Danielle Knight, Eileen Kane, Gloria Tsai, Elizabeth Mettler, Helen Dooley, Amy Rofman, Preuit Rauser, Sarah Mitchell

Action Items

  • Elizabeth will put the minutes from the previous meeting on the website.
  • Gloria will call Wachovia to see if there will be any charges associated with a low balance. She will also move $1,000 from the cd into the checking account so we will have enough to cover the Halloween party.
  • Eileen will put up an announcement about the Ice Cream Social on the Tenleytown list serve, and Elizabeth will put up a flyer.
  • Eileen will contact Bob Sumersgill to see if he can help with the tree issues.
  • Elizabeth will make fall cleanup announcements, and put it up on the website.
  • Eileen will put cleanup info on the list serve.
  • Preuit volunteered to write a grant (see below) and defend it at the appropriate ANC meeting.
  • Eileen will price picnic tables and repairs.
  • By July 22 Elizabeth will produce a draft of sign that explains the FoFH mission in several languages.
  • Helen volunteered to ask local realtors for Halloween party sponsorship.
  • Ali Chalupa is willing to host a get together to get volunteers for the Halloween event and enhance fundraising.
  • Sarah will coordinate the bake sale at the Halloween party.
  • Helen will coordinate Halloween party volunteers and use “sign up genius.” Eileen will email Helen background for Halloween party.

Meeting Details

  • The board approved the minutes. ACTION: Elizabeth will put the minutes from the previous meeting on the website.
  • Welcome to Preuit and Sarah, who are interested in joining the board. Danielle nominated them to become members of the board, and the board approved.
  • The next meeting will happen right after Labor Day and will focus on fundraising.

Finances/Bank

  • We have $378.74 in the bank, but we also have a CD with additional funds. PNC has a slightly higher CD rate, and there had been many problems with customer service at Wachovia. ACTION: Gloria will call Wachovia to see if there will be any charges associated with a low balance. She will also move $1,000 from the cd into the checking account so we will have enough to cover the Halloween party.

Ice Cream Social

We made $120 from the successful ice cream social. We purchased ice cream from Broad Branch Market this time, but Giant also donated coupons for additional ice cream that we received after the ice cream social. The board decided to have another ice cream social on Saturday August 6 from 4 to 5 pm. ACTION: Eileen will put up an announcement on the Tenleytown list serve, and Elizabeth will put up a flyer.

Maintenance

  • DCPR did a good job sweeping the playground recently.
  • Vince Cain is our DCPR POC and is responsive to Danielle.
  • A toddler squeezed through the narrow gap in the park gate. Danielle is working with DCPR to fix this gap.
  • We are on the DC government’s list to have the tennis courts redone; it should happen in 2012.
  • The picnic shelter is eroded at the base, and there is concern that it will collapse. Danielle has contacted DCPR. There is also the possibility for a grant from the ANC.
  • Wood by the ramp is coming undone/moving upward. The board decided to wait on addressing this at a later date.
  • Two trees by the tennis courts look like they need to come down. Eileen tried 311 but it hasn’t worked. ACTION: Eileen will contact Bob Sumersgill to see if he can help.

Fall clean up

Some people have commented that the park is appearing overgrown. The Department of Urban Forestry is responsible, but they have very little funding. The board decided to do a fall clean up on Sunday September 25 from 10am to 12 pm. ACTION: Elizabeth will make announcements, and put it up on the website. Eileen will put it up on the list serve.

Fundraising/ grants

  • Idea from Eileen: find 100 families to give $100.
  • Suggestion from Ali Chalupa: we must have fundraising goals. The board’s priority fundraising targets: additional big belly garbage cans; redoing the picnic shelter, more picnic tables, soft padded ground under the swings.
  • We would like to write another grant proposal to the ANC for the big belly garbage can, picnic tables, and new surfacing under the swings. ACTION: Preuit volunteered to write the grant and defend it at the appropriate ANC meeting. Eileen will price picnic tables and repairs.

Outreach sign

ACTION: By July 22 Elizabeth will produce a draft of sign that explains the FoFH mission in several languages.

Halloween Party

Do we want a big party or a smaller party/ tickets or no tickets? It was hard to get volunteers last year. The magician is $300 and the helium for balloons we have from the last event should not be more than $200. ACTION: Helen volunteered to ask local realtors for sponsorship. Ali Chalupa is willing to host a get together to get volunteers for the Halloween event and enhance fundraising. ACTION: Sarah will coordinate the bake sale at the Halloween party. ACTION: Helen will coordinate volunteers and use “sign up genius.” Eileen will email Helen background.

Posted by Administrator on Thu, 6 Oct 2011
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May 22, 2011 Minutes

General:

  • The group approved the minutes from the last meeting.
  • The group approved adding Ali Chalupa to the Board
  • The group approved Gloria as the new treasurer.
  • The next board meeting will take place at the end of June or July.

Bank/funding situation

  • The current balance is $794.74.
  • We made approximately $450 through the Benefit fundraiser. Elizabeth needs to coordinate with Catherine Vernot Jones to transfer $186.32 of Benefit funds to our Paypal account.
  • Wachovia has been difficult. Action item for Gloria: Please check PNC CD rates as this bank may be more suitable for non-profits.
  • There is almost no penalty to move funds from the CD to the checking account. Having the funds separate from a checking account encourages us not to spend it. The group decided to leave it in the CD for the time being.

Repairs

  • Swings have been repaired but baby swings need to be replaced every year. DPR has started digging related to the water fountain. The bulletin board is fixed. T.W. Perry cut the plexiglass.
  • The black tops and sidewalks and ramps get covered with sand and mulch. The group decided to ask DPR for more clean up. Action item for Danielle: Please contact Vince Cain at DPR to see if there can be enhanced maintenance at the park as well as ask if the shelter can be renovated.
  • New ANC member Bob Summersgill encouraged FoFH to apply for another grant for something DPR would not supply. The ANC has $200,000. Some ideas: benches, picnic table(s), splash park, renovate shelter, or water feature. Action item for Eileen: Research benches. Action item for Danielle: email Bob to confirm interest.
  • We should make a large sign to explain and encourage support for the park. Action item for Elizabeth: Design sign. Eileen can help with translation into several languages (Spanish, Chinese, French, Russian, and Vietnamese if there is room) and will get a draft to Danielle soon.
  • Status of Jennifer Tapper’s action item to contact Mary Cheh regarding trees: ongoing.

Internet

  • Elizabeth created a Facebook page. There is a link on the homepage. There is a yahoo list serve. Regarding replacing yahoo, we could try switching to google or we could just put it all on the website. We could keep yahoo or alternatively set up an email marketing page as well as keep up Facebook. Action item for Elizabeth: research and do prototypes of email marketing tools.

Ice Cream Social

  • Sunday June 26 from 3-4pm. Action item for Eileen: Obtain ice cream. Action item for Elizabeth: Make a flier.

Halloween Party

  • October 29 from 10:30 to 12:30. Let’s look into magician. Let’s buy a banner or sign that can be used in the future. Elizabeth has a design. Action item for Elizabeth: forward Danielle the design. Action item for Eileen: Book the entertainment.

Fundraising/outreach

  • We should do a push in the future email and direct mail marketing.
  • Contact Catherine Vernot to get email addresses of the 40 people who participated in the Benefit fundraiser to do a targeted outreach. Action item for Danielle: Reach out to Catherine. Action item for Ali: Next steps for engaging the base.
  • Create printed bookmark.
  • Jennifer Tapper is looking into snow cone fundraiser.
  • We should think about having a wine and cheese party to acquaint community with our work. Action item for Amy: look into condo roof deck as a venue.

Posted by Administrator on Thu, 2 Jun 2011
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March 6, 2011 Minutes

ACTION ITEMS

  • Benches: Eileen
  • Treasurer duties: Elizabeth will hand over the details to Gloria
  • Recommendation for future website/facebook/social media strategy: Elizabeth (deadline: end of this month)
  • Spring Clean up: Elizabeth will do a flier and post on the website
  • Bulletin board follow up: Danielle
  • Asking the contractor to repair the gate: Danielle
  • Contact Mary Cheh about trees and water fountain: Jennifer
  • Ice Cream Social Research: Eileen

DISCUSSION

The board approved the minutes of Sept 14 meeting.

  • Meeting Frequency: The board agreed to seasonal/quarterly meetings.
  • New Board Members: Jennifer Tapper and Ali Chalupa would like to join the board. The board approved Jennifer as a new board member. (Ali was not able to make the meeting).
  • Benches: Eight more benches need to be painted (by the sandbox). Deal kids have a community service requirement and Eileen will reach out to them. Eileen will take on finishing up the benches.
  • Treasurer: Gloria said she would take over the treasurer job, if no one else is interested. The main duties are: reconciling money we are spending, a little treasurer report, and paying the taxes. Elizabeth will communicate with Gloria to officially hand over duties.
  • Reimbursement: Danielle reimbursed Eileen for paint and supplies for the Fall 2010 cleanup.
  • Sand: Sand cost $1300; the labor to excavate the debris out of the sandbox, put in the new sand in the box, and fix the side of the box cost an additional $2,200, for a total of $3,500. This process is necessary every 2 – 3 years. It looks great. Thanks to Danielle. Eileen picked out the water fountain but is having a hard time getting the city to respond regarding contracting issues. We could do a sprinkler with tap. A spray park would be $16,000—everyone would like it; the board had contractors do an assessment, and it did not seem feasible.
  • Bulletin Board: The contractor did a temporary repair. The permanent repair is planned.
  • Gate: The front gate needs somebody strong or a wrench to bend the clamp back into shape. Danielle will ask the bulletin board contractor to fix the front gate. The board will revisit getting a new gate at the end of the summer.
  • Website: Elizabeth will continue to keep up the website. Thank you Elizabeth. Eileen would like to post photos. Elizabeth will encourage people to make the connection between FoFH Board and funding park upkeep.
  • List serve: Do we need one? Maybe we should have a Facebook page. We still want the capability to send out blast emails. Elizabeth suggests using both. We could use something like mail chimp. Our current system for the website is simple and people can update it. Maybe we can put something on the yahoo site to suggest people visit the website. The board decided to start a Facebook group. Elizabeth will look into what other tools we might use.
  • BeneFIT fundraiser: Thank you to Katherine Vernot and Eileen for getting the word out about BeneFIT fundraiser.
  • Spring Clean Up: We need a spring clean up day. There a lot of broken and dangerous toys. Let’s do it Saturday April 9 at 10:30am -12:00pm.
  • Rock Creek Academy: No problems have been reported. Let’s keep an eye out over the Spring.
  • Dead Trees: There are two big, dead trees on the Brandywine side on the street by the tennis courts. They may be marked for removal but when?
  • Director’s Insurance: We got director’s insurance. Thanks Danielle.
  • Halloween Party: Generally the party breaks even. This year we had only 12 people and few bake sale donations. We lost money, even though there were 400 guests in the park. What is it doing for us? Are we over-programming? Do we want a community event? It was too big. We over-advertised; we need to be better, not wider, about marketing. We need to push volunteering. Perhaps we need a gentler approach. People do not understand how much of the upkeep we pay for and how expensive it is. Ideas: we could try more personal outreach and sign up genius, park ambassador, raffle, sell tickets for Zuccinni, tattoos, and crafts.
  • Money: We have about $1300 in checking after all payments made on recent repairs but we have almost $6000 in the CD
  • Next Meeting: Late May. We will discuss the ice cream social then. Eileen will do some research in the meantime.

Posted by Administrator on Sat, 12 Mar 2011
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September 14, 2010 Minutes

ACTION ITEMS:

  • Halloween Party —Flyers (Danielle, Elizabeth, Eileen, Helen, Amy) —Obtaining food/drink items (Danielle, Eileen, Gloria) —Bake Sale coordination (Amy, Helen) —Volunteer recruitment (Eileen) —T-Shirts (Danielle)
  • Sand box (Danielle)
  • Water Fountain (Danielle)
  • Clean up day flyer (Elizabeth?)
  • Bulletin board (Danielle)
  • Sending the marketing document and sign around again for comment (Elizabeth?)
  • Direct mail campaign (Elizabeth?)
  • New pamphlets (Elizabeth?)
  • Second Insurance quote (Eileen)

Discussed

  • Danielle nominated Gloria Tsai and Helen Dooley to be on the board. It was approved by the other board members.

Halloween Party—Saturday, Oct. 30; 10:30 – 12:30

  • Items to order: We have the helium tank reserved, chairs/tables ordered, bullhorn ordered, Eileen ordered tattoos, Great Zucchini ordered, balloons purchased.
  • Flyers for Halloween party: Danielle will email Elizabeth to see if she will make them and drop them off; Eileen will put them in grocery stores; Helen will do libraries and north of Military; Danielle will do Franklin and Politics and Prose area.
  • Bake sale: Danielle will ask Marvelous Market for an urn of coffee, napkins, and cups; Eileen will contact Starbucks; Gloria will purchase candy corn and jar; Eileen will purchase water; Danielle has styrofoam cups; Amy will collect RSVPs for bake sale contributors; Helen and Amy will take shifts selling baked goods; Danielle will sell the t-shirts by the entrance; Eileen will recruit volunteers on the list serve.
  • Set up: we will need volunteers at 9:45am. Perhaps Dan and Manolis could help, if Eileen is not able to get volunteers?

Sand box

  • Some people believe we need new sand. We have money to do it.
  • Right now the sand quality level is acceptable. The board agreed to do it in the spring. Danielle will contact the sand company in March.

Water fountain

  • Danielle will contact Vince to see if we are on the replacement schedule. If we are not on the schedule, we need info on the plumbing.

Clean up day

  • The problem is that people don’t show up.
  • There are a lot of broken toys.
  • Let’s advertise it at the Halloween party.
  • Perhaps combine it with a bake sale and fitness event on the weekend?
  • It was decided it should be Sunday, Nov. 14 from 10 – 12. Hopefully Elizabeth could do a flyer.

Painting benches

  • We should hire someone to sand and paint if clean up day work is not sufficient.

Rock Creek Academy

  • Eileen suggested permitting the field.
  • No reports of seeing older kids lately.

Bulletin board (Susan was going to find out).

  • Danielle will ask Vince who the supplier is to get new parts.

Sending the marketing document and sign around again for comment (Elizabeth not present)

  • Direct mail campaign (Elizabeth not present)
  • New pamphlets (Elizabeth not present)
  • We would need Elizabeth to print

Annual report

  • The purpose would be to get a donation from Whole Foods for money for benches and a picnic table.

Insurance

  • Directors’ insurance would cost $512 per year from one company. It covers the board and is not attached to positions not individual names. We are covered under the volunteer act as well according to Eileen. Eileen will contact another company for a comparison. If we can’t get a quote, let’s go with the $512 policy.

Posted by Administrator on Thu, 16 Sep 2010
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