Mountain Lakes Centennial Steering Committee

Meeting Minutes, March 1, 2010

Committee Members Present:     McWilliams, Halpin, Barlow, Rusak, Sullivan, Thompson, Bravo

1.  Approval of Minutes:

The minutes from the Feb. 1, 2010 meeting were approved.

2.  Banners:  Pat & Kris

Pat and Kris have been in contact with Brett Nickel at Nickel Artistic Services. 

For placement on poles along one side of the Boulevard and in the Midvale area, Brett recommends a 24” x 72” vinyl banner using high speed printing.  The banners would be double-faced and sewn together, requiring one pair of brackets for installation.  Quote is $136 for 2 banners and the bracket set.  Price will not vary with design, lettering or colors and each can be personalized at no additional cost.  A sample of the vinyl was provided.

The committee has put on hold any further action until the banner plans are presented by Blair and Doug to the Borough Council at their next meeting on Monday, March 8, 2010.  Blair indicated that there will likely be some opposition to displaying banners as it has not been a favorable topic in the past.  Pat and Kris will provide Blair with specific information and hopefully, a color sample.  If approved, 2 to 3 additional bids will be solicited.

3.  Schools:  Kris

Dr. Kazmark has not responded to Kris’ follow-up e-mail regarding a request for liaisons from each school. She will reach out to him again as well as directly to Patty McElduff and Frank Sanchez at the MLHS who have both shown an interest in centennial projects.

Doug requested that we suggest to Patty that she develop a tie-in for the Junior Fire Department who hold an annual breakfast at the high school.

4.  Fundraising Committee Update:  Kelly

a. Centennial Bricks/Stones- Kelly reviewed the top three locations including: New pillar entry/ linear park on the Boulevard, wall at the Cove and the library wall facing the post office. Borough Council will be reviewing capital projects at their meeting on Monday. Borough manager Barry Lewis will be presenting the pillar project. The consensus is that our committee will proceed with a tie-in if the entry pillars are approved at a location where residents can safely walk.  It was stressed that HPC needs to be included in the final decision. Blair plans to work with Barry and will send all information to the Centennial Steering Committee and HPC.

 

b. Merchandise- The committee will sell t-shirts and mugs.  We will license the     logo out to other organizations and allow them to sell their items at our events.  It was decided to postpone further discussion on whether a percentage or flat fee should be charged until we can obtain more information on these alternatives. It was suggested that we make our new logo available to the HPC for inclusion in the book.

c. Banners- Fundraising group plans to consider the sale of personalized banners with family names (cost about $250) plus name inclusion on the centennial wall.

d. Luminaries- Committee decided not to consider the sale of luminaries. They believe that it would require a big coordination effort.

5. Mountain Lakes Production:

A proposal for a centennial production was reviewed. It would entail a live performance, videotape and DVD to distribute to the schools. The consensus is that this is a great idea that we would like the group to pursue their tentative plans.  The estimated production cost is $5000.  Two shows at $10 per person could potentially raise about $10,000. The Centennial Committee would get the balance of funds.  April or November proposed months.  Late January or February could also be possibility.  The group should make their own decision on date based on their needs.  The school cultural arts groups may want to tie-in and offer a performance at the schools.

6. Celebrating Volunteerism- Churches, Neighborhoods, Schools:  Pat

Pat, Debbie & Stephanie attended the last joint meeting of the churches to inform then about Centennial plans and propose ways for them to be involved. It is challenging for the churches to plan so far in advance and they are experiencing their own membership & volunteer problems.  The joint Thanksgiving service may lend itself to a centennial celebration.

7. Communication Plan

It was decided that our first communication should be a simple letter introducing residents to the centennial links and an e-newsletter with full Centennial information.  This could be the neighborhood letter.

Going forward, the committee agreed to use an e-newsletter which would be more cost effective and also provide hard copies for the library and borough hall.  The Centennial committee needs volunteers to assist with this responsibility.  Blair will include a request in her next mayor’s letter published in The Bulletin.  A meeting is scheduled with Harrison Charwat, a MLHS volunteer who will assist with new technology, specifically how to develop e-newsletters.

8. Next Steps

 

1. a.      Subcommittee meetings:

            Fundraising & Borough Council Meeting, March 8^th

            Schools Subcommittee- March 5^th at 11:00

            Media- March 4^th at 7:00pm

1. b.      In Process

The final delineations for the Centennial Neighborhood Map are complete.  Pat will color a big version.

Jane provided us with a very comprehensive logo proposal.  The graphics committee will send out the RFP by March 6^th, all steering committee members will be copied.

Next Meeting:  March 22, 2010