CDA Meeting Minutes: 7/24/2018

Chelmsford Dog Association

Meeting Minutes

Chelmsford Police Department Community Room, 2 Olde North Rd, Chelmsford

July 24, 2018  6:30 PM

1. Call to order: 6:33pm
2. Roll call:
   • Board members present: Kathy, Sandra, Joyce, Danielle, Sarah, Will
   • CDA Members present: Barbara, Jesika B.
3. Approval of minutes from last meeting: Motion to approve the minutes from the June 24, 2018 meeting.
   • Presented: Kathy
   • Seconded: Danielle
   • Vote: Unanimous
4. Officer Reports
   • Website and Media Report (Will)
     1. CDP Group: 2,242 members (1,861 active -interacted with page in last month) — 137/859/2,405 (posts/replies/reactions)
     2. CDP Page: 538/527 followers/likes, CDA Page: 785/763 followers/likes
   • Treasurer’s Report (Sandra) (defer discussion of recent purchases to VI-1-a) – $5,334.18 in account. National Grid bill paid July 11 and second transaction on July 18^th for outstanding balance.
   • President’s Report (Will)
     1. CDA: 23 Individual / 25 Family (48 total)/ (18 un-renewed since July 2017)
5. Committee Reports
   • Fundraising/Events Committee Report
     1. Donations- Monetary donations from park boxes are down from last month by about $100. Small dog area generated $14 in donations. Large dog area $143 as of Friday July 20^th. / $120 from B. Thompson/ $50 “Bear’s Birthday Party.” / $20 for membership renewal.
     2. Restaurant Fund Raisers
        1. Papa Gino’s (Jul)- No results to date
        2. Hunter’s Cafe and Outback- Results pending.
        3. Zesty’s (North Chelmsford) –Monday Aug. 25^th. Date to be confirmed by Kathy.
   • Xmas in July (discuss issues)- Canceled due lack of availability, interest and vendors.
   • Fourth of July- July 3^rd event on common brought in $172. Cost of booth was $80. Good attendance. / One of EZ up tent needed to be thrown out due to damage. Will need to be replaced. Two good tents and one usable currently in use. /July 4^th parade went well. Joyce, Will, Kathy, and a few dogs in the convertible car.
   • Chelmsford Fall Farm Fair (Sept 15, 12-4 at the Byam House)- Kathy, Sarah, Danielle and possibly Will to work it. Danielle to purchase balloons for balloon animals.
   • Chelmsford Fall Fest (Sept 22, 10-3 on the Common) – 10am-3am
   • Howl’ween (Date)- Saturday October 13 10am -2pm.
     • -Kathy secured grill for event.
     • -Joyce to contact the Board of Health for Serve Safe.
     • -Will and Sandra to look into Serve Safe certification.
     • -Kathy to check in with Market Basket for funding of food
     • -Will to contact Port-A-Potty
     • – Will need replacement tent/EZ up
     • -Decorations from last year in shed. Will need to get bales of hay. Used 6 bales last year.
     • -Mary for pictures (?)
   • Bark for Your Park Grant (Pet Safe Brands) (Decision due in the Fall) – Application submitted. Winner of grant to be announced by Bark for Your Park in the Fall.
6. Old Business/Open Issues
   • Summer Park review
     1. Park purchases/costs
        1. New bag of grass seed/food from Agway- $132.98
        2. Walmart- $57.22 Drill kit, screws, storage hooks, tent stakes.
        3. $98.97 Rototiller rental.
        4. Lowe’s- replacement heads and oil for weed whacker- $169.95 (?), post for small dog side for poop barrel (ended up in agility area), fence posts (picket fencing), screws, hooks, boards to attach the message board on small dog side, two info boxes for the small dog side.
        5. Community Tree -Dirt and Mulch order $192 for 4 cubic yards of dirt/ $360 for 40 cubic yards of mulch.
        6. Amazon- $171.99 -time out kennel/ $290.49 message boards.
        7. Lawn Mower (push mower) donation by “CJ.”
     1. Work Party results- Was successful. Seven hours of work put in 7am-2pm. Many volunteers attended. Boy Scout present for assistance.
     2. Work still to be done- Trash pickup, cleaning of pea stone by double fountain on main/large side (not draining well), need new pea stone to put around agility fountain, more RAP needs to be put down. Dumpster needs to be relocated onto dumpster pad.
     3. End of September work party. Date TBA
   • Scout Eagle Project Status- Paperwork signed by CDA. Now needs approval from Boy Scout counsel.
7. New business
   • Open Nominations for (4) positions on the Board of Directors for a 2- year term (2019-2021).
     Nominations will remain open through October and the Vote will be held at the Annual Meeting (November).
     • Nominations may be presented and seconded in person at the September and October Meetings. Will close “in person” nominations after October meeting. Must submit nomination in writing after that.
     • Official nominations:
       • Will nominates Sandra, seconded by Barbara
       • Kathy nominates Joyce, seconded by Will
       • Sandra nominates Sarah, seconded by Joyce
       • Joyce nominates Will, seconded by Danielle
       • Will nominates Paul LaMadeleine, seconded by Jesika
     • Per Article V, section D: Additional nominations may be presented, in writing by a member and signed in affidavit by two additional members. Such presentation must be mailed to the organization no later than 15 days prior to the Annual Meeting.
   • Insurance ($572 – TT Kosciolek Insurance Agency) – Sandra to take care of.
   • Discussion on issues related to the pavilion poles- Some dogs have injured themselves running into poles. Pool noodle suggestion- won’t actually fit around these posts, athletic post padding (used for goal posts) very expensive, could be chewed, soiled. Will suggests picket fencing to block off side of pavilion facing the field to slow dogs from running into posts. Jesika mentions pet safe stain to protect wood.
   • Website redesign – suggestions? Sandra –says there’s a date of when a post is made shown, but it makes it look like when the event is happening. Upcoming events down at bottom of page-harder to see- have a box “our next meeting is:”/ Discussed changing content of drop down menu/ fonts, combine photos and videos, move “policies” to footer menu, move “rules” under “about us.” Board to continue to brainstorm revisions.
   • Bylaw review: Article IV, section C (meeting dates)- Will to put together revised bylaw for next meeting to change proposed wording update. Will to send to the board for review.
8. Public Discussion (15-30 minutes – depending on time)
   • Jesika- Agility section “poop barrel” in far corner, some people are not aware it is there. Unsure of where else it could be installed. / Suggests purchase of tent ($40 from Dick’s Sporting Goods), and/or 10×10 EZ up./ Discussed that it is not the right or responsibility of the CDA to enforce rules, DPAC does this. Safety concerns brought up regarding human interaction at the park. /Suggestion of placing a list on a board at park that states what CDA needs/needs help with-items and tasks – Will states there has been a list in the enclosed bulletin board, however it was taken down recently due to item maintenance. / Jesika is working on a coffee table photo book of rescue dogs at the park- requests permission to use branding of CDA/ spread the word.
9. Next Meeting Date? August 30th 6:30pm
10. Adjournment- motion by Kathy: 8:32pm