WCC Fall meetings

The Waterville Community Connections Steering Committee met at 10 a.m. on Nov. 16, 2013 at Cummiskey Law Office The financial report was read and discussed. Our balance at SMIF is $7816.57. Motion made by Karen, seconded by Diane, to approve the payment of $59.84 to Potential Unlimited, for the last plant watering. Cindy presented an overview of the "Community Fund" that is being created by 3 local churches so far. These are the Waterville United Methodist, Trinity Lutheran, and the Baptist churches. Each church plans to donate a certain amount toward the fund, and seek further funding. (Local churches each have a contingency fund for people who may be transients and need gas or food money. This is a different program. The fund would be established to help local people who have a financial crisis. The people would have to be screened, and counseled as to their spending and needs. There would be a board of directors, and a fund set up, plus an amount of petty cash for immediate needs. Payouts would be in vouchers or cards to certain vendors. There would be guidelines and accountability, and Diane mentioned she has a friend who may be able to give help in setting it up. Jane planned to write a letter to SMIF to get their endorsement. Next meeting: Dec. 16, 11:30, lunch at The Cafe. Adjournment by consensus. Respectfully submitted, Karen Bauer, secretary. The Waterville Community Connections Steering Committee met at 10 a.m. on Oct. 7, 2013 at Cummiskey Law Office. Attendance: Jane Cummiskey, Diane Munson, Karen Bauer. Financial Report The financial report was reviewed. Total available with SMIF and petty cash is $3609.83. The bill for watering plants has been paid to Potential Unlimited. Friends of the Library Diane is taking care of articles and ads in Lake Region Life, for the FOL chili cook-off. FOL will pay for the ads. Raffle tickets for the chili cook-off will be sold at the Lions Pork Chop Dinner on Oct. 27. The FOL will make a full report at our Nov. meeting. Sakatah Foundation: close to having the money in SMIF. Popcorn Shoppe All bills have been paid for the popcorn stand. Owner will pay any bills from now on. Total proceeds: $2,133.85. Adjournment by consensus. Respectfully submitted, Karen Bauer, secretary. The Waterville Community Connections Steering Committee met at 10 a.m. on Sep. 18, 2013 at Singing Hills Coffee Shop, Waterville, MN. Sakatah Arts Experience Jane presented the final report of the Sakatah Arts Experience. A payment for art supplies was made to Lynne Coleman for $172.98. The project balance as of 8/22/2013 is $669.59. A motion was made by Jane, seconded by Lynne, to approve the final report for the event. Motion carried. There was discussion about the 2013 Sakatah Arts Experience. The attendance was less, but income was good. There were many other events in surrounding towns on the same day. There were fewer art, craft and food vendors, so the income from their fees was less. There was no childrens' art work as in other years. The artists that gave demonstrations seemed to have many interested people watching. The Popcorn Shoppe provided popcorn and mini donuts at the event. Suggestions for another year: Include a farmer's market. Have a blue grass music event. The Popcorn Shoppe The popcorn stand needs to be cleaned out. There are still some food items there, most can be saved for use at another time. Suggestion made that it be open just for Bullhead Days next year, which is the 50th anniversary of the event. We would offer to give the owner a percentage of the profits for use of the building. The total proceeds of the Popcorn Shoppe is $2,080.92. A motion was made by Jane, seconded by Lynne, to transfer the profits to the WCC General Fund. Motion carried. Downtown Beautification Jane reported that Potential Unlimited will water the Main St. plants through the end of Sept. Their total bill so far is $172.23. A motion was made by Diane, seconded by Karen, to pay Potential what is owed for watering. Motion carried. Luminaries The profit from the New Year's Eve Luminary project last year was $120.00. It was decided that was not enough profit to do again. Extremely cold weather and wind last year made it difficult to set up. A motion was made by Lynne, seconded by Karen, to move the Luminary money to the WCC General Fund. Motion carried. Waterville Friends of the Library. The Friends plan to buy 3 prizes for their 3rd Annual Chili Cookoff Fundraiser scheduled for Nov. 3. Raffle prizes are a Kindle reader, (donated), an iPad, and a $150.00 Cabela's gift certificate. The Waterville Lions are providing the license and tickets for the raffle. Jane will move the petty cash to SMIF. We will look at any future requests for money and dispense funds at our discretion. Next meeting: Discuss revamp of SAE/Bluegrass festival, possibly during Bullhead Days. Have a fashion show in winter for a fundraiser. Adjournment by consensus. Respectfully submitted, Karen Bauer, secretary.

Waterville Community Connections Steering Committee July 10, 2013

The Waterville Community Connections Steering Committee met at the Singing Hills Coffee Shop in Waterville on July 10, 2013.

Attending: Cindy Kennedy, Jane Cummiskey, Lynne Coleman, Diane Munson and Karen Bauer. Also attending was Constance McDermott, who will be working with us at the Popcorn Shoppe, provided by MVAC. Kathy Kerekes spoke about the SAE.                      

1.      Updates/Projects:

Sakatah Arts Experience. Kathy is finalizing her list of vendors and expenses for the SAE, and will get them to Jane for approval by the committee, via email.   

Lynne will confer with Kathy and get all the names of vendors, need the list by July 22 to get to SMIF for end of month payout. Jane will forward the list to SMIF when it’s finished. (The list was given to Jane, and forwarded to the committee on Sat. July 13. Board members voted approval via email.)

Popcorn Shoppe

The financial report was passed out for reviewal and discussion. Jane and Diane are making spreadsheets of popcorn shoppe income and expenses, to show profits. Most bills are paid, and inventory is good. We will continue with Thursday through Saturday hours of operation. This Sat. is Pontoberfest in Waterville, so there was discussion of having special prices on some items. There was also discussion about providing popcorn at a price per large bag, to “Bullhead’s” for their customers. Diane will make contact with the owner.

Lynne knows a man who is willing to donate a “snow-cone machine” to us for use at the popcorn shoppe. She’ll keep us posted. She is also updating our popcorn shoppe facebook page for advertising and promotion.  

2.      Committee Reports:

Beautification

The flower tenders are deadheading and trimming the Main Street plants on Tues. mornings at 10:00. Watering is still being done by the city and consumers from Potential Unlimited. Weekend watering is being done by volunteers. The group will be meeting soon with some of the WCC committee to update them on the flower program’s progress.

Treasurer’s Report

Jane presented the “Cash Report as of 7/10/2013”. The Popcorn Shoppe has been added as a line item on the report. Most of our money is committed to projects.

3.      Fundraising

           

            The Popcorn Shoppe is our only fundraising at this time. Projections of income show our summer            profits could be over $2,000.00.

            Friends of the Library is planning their 3^rd annual Chili Feed to raise funds for the Waterville Lib.

4.      Miscellaneous Business

           

            The survey from SMIF in regard to the foundation funds was reviewed and filled in with needed             information. Jane will forward the results to Alissa Blaha, Development Associate at SMIF. This       survey needs to be received by SMIF before any funds can be released.

           

            Next meeting time will be determined in August.

            Karen Bauer, secretary and blogger.

WCC Committee meeting, May 23, 2013

The Waterville Community Connections Steering Committee met at the Cummiskey Law Office on May 23, 2013.

Attending: Cindy Kennedy, Jane Cummiskey, Lynne Coleman, Diane Munson and Karen Bauer.

A bill for the downtown flower barrels and boxes was received from River St. Nursery. A motion was made by Karen, seconded by Diane, to pay River St. Nursery $745.10 for the flowers, planting, and delivery. Motion carried.

A bill for rental of tents for the Sakatah Arts Experience was received from Soft Sky Tent Co. A motion was made by Diane, seconded by Jane, to pay Soft Sky $800.00, minus a paid $20.00 deposit, for tent rental. Motion carried.

Jane passed out spread sheets of the financial report. We have $4759.13 in SMIF.

There was discussion about reopening the Main St. Popcorn Stand by the WCC.

The owner wants $100.00 a month for rent, and WCC members will run the stand on Thursday to Sunday evenings, probably from 5 to 9 p.m. The building needs cleaning before opening and we will need to see to having the water turned on. There were also questions about the need for insurance, sales tax collection, license, etc.

Darlene Hoban the owner of the popcorn stand, joined us at 1:30 to give us a rundown of all the needs and details of opening and running the stand. She told us who her suppliers are and what she generally sells, which includes popcorn in different size bags, cotton candy, pop, juice and water, nachos, jerky sticks, and mini donuts. It's also a possibility we could sell hotdogs. She also mentioned the process of getting the water turned on. She wants to help run the stand, and will need a ride home after closing. The electricity has been on all winter. The group toured the building and found it is in good condition, needs some cleaning, resupplying of products, probably a better cooler for pop and other foods. It is planned to have a tryout opening the last weekend of May, and hope to be open for business for Bullhead Days. The group will meet at the stand on Sat. morning to remove old product and see what else needs doing. Cleaning will be done after the water is turned on.

Karen Bauer, secretary.

Waterville Area Friends of the Library

Waterville Area Friends of the Library

Minutes of the Meeting on Friday, January 25, 2012

Present:  Karen Bauer, Marge Boyd, Cindy Kennedy, Dallas McIntyre, Diane Munson

Cindy Kennedy opened the meeting at 2:00 P.M.

Financial Report

Dallas McIntyre presented the Financial Report for the Month ended December, 2012 as follows:

            Bank Balance as of 11/7/2012                       $2,920.78

            Deposits:                                                                 14.00

            Disbursements:                                                2,051.57

            Balance  at Year-End                                           883.21

Dallas pointed out that included in the Disbursements total is the transfer of $1,500 from the FOL checking account to the FOL account with SMIF.

Barnes & Noble Book Fair

Deb Bauleke previously reported she has received a gift card from Barnes & Noble in the amount of $161.38 representing the proceeds earned from the FOL Book Fair held on November 16, 2012.  Deb has compiled a list of items she would like purchased with these funds.  Dallas will call Deb and  offer to order the items on line for her.

New Business

Deb Bauleke submitted a list of supplemental items needed for the Summer Reading Program totaling $275.00, a  request for the purchase of the “Heritage Books” totaling $109.00, as well as a two-step stepstool.

Marge Boyd made a motion to authorize the purchase of the supplemental items for the Summer Reading Program, the Heritage Books and the stepstool.  Motion seconded by Karen Bauer.  Motion carried.

3^rd Annual Chili Cook-Off

Discussion followed on need to contact major retailers now to initiate the process/procedure to secure a significant corporate donation to our Cook-Off.  The following retailers will be contacted:

Dallas -  Target/Best Buy

Cindy   -   Wal-Mart/Cabela’s

Diane  -   Menard’s/Lowe’s

Karen  -    Casey’s/Home Depot

Members will report findings at the next meeting.

World Book Night Give-Away

Karen reported she has applied to the WorldBookNight.Org for books to be given away in our community.  In filling out the application, Karen indicated there are folks/families who cannot afford to buy their own books, and this giveaway would encourage them to try buying, or at least visit our local library as well as present another opportunity for people to read and become more aware of the services our local library provides.

Dallas shared an article from the Minneapolis Star/Tribune on the fund-raising efforts of Washington County through the Library Partners organization.  www.librarypartners.org.

Foster Grandparent Program

Marge indicated she had contacted the Waterville Elementary School and currently, their Foster Grandparent Program is adequately staffed.  However, in the future, if they need help, FOL will be contacted.

Next meeting is scheduled for Friday, February 22 at 2:00 P.M. at the Library

There being no further, the meeting was adjourned.

Respectfully submitted,

Diane Munson

Waterville Community Connections Steering Committee meeting, Jan. 12, 2013

The Waterville Community Connections Steering Committee met at 10:00 a.m. on Jan. 12, 2013, at Singing Hills Coffee Shop in Waterville.

Committee members present: Jane Cummiskey, Diane Munson, Karen Bauer, Kathy Kerekes.

Karen passed out copies of the Nov. 9, 2012 meeting minutes and copies of an article written to be submitted to Lake Region Life paper, reviewing WCC's projects and events of the last 2 years. Motion made by Diane, seconded by Jane, to accept minutes and to send the article to LRL. Motion carried.

Jane passed out copies of the fiscal report for 2012, and it was reviewed by the board. Kathy presented cash from the luminary donations and art classes. She reported she was happy with the results of the classes, and participating kids and parents seemed to enjoy it. She would like to continue classes and events, and there are matchable grants available for more activities. Kathy also needs the final report to present to Prairie Lakes Regional Arts Council, including minutes, finances, etc., so she can be paid the last money from the grant for the classes. There are advertising bills due for the art classes, Jane will present those to SMIF.

Jane reported that the money earned by members working at Lions bingo will pay for this year's downtown flower expenses. People from Potential Unlimited would like to do all the weekday watering this year, as an activity for their consumers. This would be done in place of the city hiring someone to water. PU would be paid for watering services. Volunteers would be needed for weekend watering, if needed.

Kathy will pay to renew the Sakatah Arts Experience web page, and present the bill to Jane.  She plans to start advertising for volunteers for SAE starting in Feb.

Motion made by Karen, seconded by Diane, to approve the fiscal report and to pay bills as presented to Jane. Motion carried.

Diane reported on Friends of the Library. They earned a Barnes and Noble gift card for over $160.00 at the book fair. The group will meet soon to decide on how to spend that and other funds earned.

Adjournment by concensus.

Karen Bauer, note taker.

WCC 2 year wrapup article

The Waterville Community Connections, (WCC) volunteer group, formerly Horizons, has been a local project since the Fall of 2008. Many events and programs are working in the city, due to the dedication of a few local people. WCC's finances, the Waterville Community Foundation Fund, are held at Southern Minnesota Initiation Foundation, (SMIF), to ensure our non-profit status. Donations and endowments to this fund would assist in WCC's ability to apply for grants and secure matching funds needed for future local projects.

2011-2012 were a busy years for WCC, including the downtown beautification group. These ladies plan and tend the barrels, planters, and hanging baskets on Main St. every summer. The containers are planted early in the year by River Street Nursery, and are delivered to the streets when the weather is favorable. The plants are watered by the city, as well as people from Potential Unlimited, and other volunteers. The hanging baskets are financed by the Chamber. Benches are placed on the sidewalks by the city, and they are also maintained by the WCC. Some members also help with local park cleanup and maintain the perennial plants in the parks.

The Sakatah Arts Experience, (SAE) a one day art and entertainment show, has been held in Lions Park for 3 years, and the event and their website are promoted and partially financed by WCC. The SAE also receives funds from the Prairie Lakes Regional Arts Council. The SAE site is: http://sakatahartsexperience.com/

The Welcome to Waterville sign was also a project of WCC, along with the Chamber and other local organizations. WCC is a member of the Chamber.

WCC has participated in the Women's Expo held at Frandsen Bank, and held a Community Forum, facilitated by SMIF, bringing together local businesses to share ideas and determine overlaps in services. A Waterville Area Volunteer Directory was developed by WCC.

Summer Activities for kids are promoted by WCC, with financial help of the city and SMIF.

WCC has received funds from the National Night Out and the Chamber Wine Tasting.

The Waterville Friends of the Library (FOL) is a part of WCC, and this group is busy promoting the Waterville Library, and raising funds for activities, supplies and materials, and to pay the wages for a librarian for Saturday hours. To raise funds, the FOL has had 2 Chili Cookoff events, and a Barnes and Noble Book fair, and sells used or excess books at the library. They also assist at special library activities, finance reading programs, publish a monthly newsletter, and help out when needed. They also helped recycle old and worn out books, so library shelves could be reorganized. New members are always welcome. The WCC and FOL have prepared and donated baskets for charitible and community events.

Local producers met a few times to help develop some type of cooperative market, with the assistance of WCC and donations from the Waterville Lions Club. From this developed the Waterville Local Cooperative Outlet, a non-profit corporation, located at Singing Hills Coffee Shop on Main St. Several local people sell their hand crafted wares on a consignment basis, during business hours at the shop. More sellers are welcome to apply to display their products in the shop. Some type of indoor farmers market was also proposed, but plans for that have not yet developed.

The WCC and WLCO have an office in a room at the Cummiskey Law Offices.

Some members of the WCC attended meetings of the Kaleidescope Institute Intercultural Training. The local group would like to partner with SAE and perhaps develop a cultural fest, present story tellers, cultural food, and videos of cultural stories at the arts show.

Kathy Kerekes, owner of the Singing Hills Coffee Shop, received funds from the Prairie Lakes Regional Arts Council and WCC to present art project classes for local children. Local crafters/artists helped kids on 5 Saturdays before Christmas with art projects. The last Saturday was spent decorating bags to be displayed as luminaries on Sakatah Bay on New Years Eve.

One of WCC's favorite proposals has been the development of a Community Center for Waterville. Research into the project is being done by WCC and community members who would like to see this happen in our town. Location and financing are the biggest issues.

The WCC is a small but active group, and with the help of volunteers from other local organizations, has been able to provide city beautification and promotion of local projects for the area. Information about WCC activities can be found on the group's blog site, http://watervillecommunityconnections.blogspot.com.

 

Waterville Community Connections Steering Committee meeting, Nov 9, 2012

Waterville Community Connections Steering Committee meeting, Nov 9, 2012

Updates/Projects

WV FOL:

 Karen gave a report on the planned Barnes and Noble Book Fair, to be held at the B&N in Mankato on Nov. 18. Vouchers will be handed out at the library and by members, and there it will be advertised in the paper. Buyers who bring vouchers will have part of their purchase donated to the library.

Diane reported on the Chili cookoff held at Main St. Lounge on Oct. 25. There were 25 chili entries, first place winner was Steve Mihalik. 835 dinner tickets were sold, and there were good sales at the bake sale and silent auction. Total profit was about $1900.00.

WLCO

Karen gave a report on the shop, there is about $1690.00 in the checkbook. The board will meet to discuss the year and future plans.

Kerekes Project

Kathy will be holding art classes for kids on the 5 Saturdays after Thanksgiving. She applied for a grant to finance the project, and asked WLCO for $100.00 matching funds.

DeMars Project:

Dave DeMars reported on the progress of developing a community center for after school activities and community ed and computer tech classes. A location is needed for the center. Bullheads Bar was considered, it is listed for $180,000.00, and would need renovation.

Kaliedescope Institute:

This group would like to partner with SAE and develop a cultural fest, present story tellers, cultural food, and videos of cultural stories.

Fundraising:

Sakatah Foundation:

No progress on this issue.

Luminaries:

Kathy will have kids who attend the last Saturday art project prepare bags to be placed and lit on Sakatah Bay on New Years Eve. Jane is helping with this project. Bags will be sold to local residents as dedications to persons of their choice.

Home Business/craft sale:

It's too late in the season to plan this, maybe plan for Spring.

Misc. Business:

Karen is preparing an article to be put in the LRL paper.          Next meeting, 10 a.m., Jan. 11, 2013, SHCS.