PLAIN Monthly Meeting Minutes
October 2, 2008
The meeting was called to order at 7:40 p.m. by Lalah Manley.
Attendees: Lalah Manly, Vice President; Mary Stuckey, Treasurer; Linda Orgain, secretary; Karen Bernheimer; Jean Gosselin Chidi, Kathie de Nobriga; Beth Carr; Faye Ridling, Co-chair, Neighborhood Watch Committee; Nicky Rosenbluth, Immediate Past President; and James Schwarzlose.
Review of the September Meeting Minutes. The minutes for the September 4, 2008, meeting were submitted and accepted with a few changes. Linda will send them to Gwyneth for posting on the PLAIN Web site.
Treasurer’s Report. Mary Stuckey submitted the Treasurer’s Report for September. The current balance is $2,196.87. She stated that nearly all of the checks written in August were on the Playground account. The Playground Fund was nearly cashed out because of checks written for this activity; $20 remains in the account. There also is a $2,144 balance in the Tree Fund.
The question about a fee received from the bank last month was discussed. Mary informed the group that this was related to the number of checks written on the account each month, which is a nonprofit account with Wachovia. In August, there were several checks drafted for materials related to the Playground building. Mary said that normally we only write 2–3 checks per month. Mary will contact the bank to find out the maximum number of checks that can be written on our account per month before the bank assesses a fee; Nicky thinks it is 10 checks. Kathie deNobriga recommended that we review the PLAIN financial policy for this; Mary will do this with Kathie.
Old Business:
Non-Profit (501c3) Status Update. There is no update. Mary said that she still needs to get together with K.C. Wildmoon to make sure work this work is completed. Nicky says there is no problem with the status. We had a 990 form to fill out. The IRS needed information from previous years that K.C. has, and Mary believes that this has been done. Kathie deN. Says that we should be able to check our nonprofit status online. Kathie says she can do some research – will need to know the tax I.D. number. Kathie will follow up with Mary Stuckey and track our status.
Membership Drive. We currently have 57 members who have renewed – we will have membership forms available at LakeFest for people to renew or join PLAIN.
October PLAIN Breakfast. The question was raised on whether we can we invite the LakeFest vendors for breakfast. Kathie said that they must be set up by 9:45 a.m. The Playground Committee will provide coffee and breakfast treats in the early morning. People felt that the vendors would be engaged in setting up and would not attend the breakfast.
PLAIN Talk. Nicky said that she has arranged for printing at Office Depot to go through her YMCA account. We can get the newsletter printed for $82 for 450 copies; this is copied 2-sided and stapled. Next month, we will have our own PLAIN account under Ella Johanaber’s name. She submitted the newsletter (ordered it); it was supposed to be picked up at the Stone Mountain store, but it wasn’t there. Kris Casariego has sent another high resolution file to Office Depot. In the future, the process should go smoother. Because the front page article of the October issue is about LakeFest, people wanted to have it available on Saturday, October 4, at the Beach House.
The last printed copy of the newsletter to be delivered to homes will be the November issue.
Gwyneth posts PLAIN Talk to the PLAIN Web site. Kris C. sends it in a link to download it from. Lalah will e-mail Gwyneth to see if she has received the October newsletter for posting on the PLAIN Web site.
Playground Committee Update. Beth Carr discussed current activities of the Playground Committee. She said that the group has met to discuss things that needed to be done in the play area to complete the play space. The group has discussed making the seating area to the left of the play equipment ADA accessible. There is a ramp from the beach onto the playground, but it is difficult for people who are on mobile devices to access the seating and cabana area since there is no ramp connection on the left side. She showed the group a rendering of the plan for the new ramp. She said that the group has a proposal to purchase a ramp similar to the one on the other side from the same company – Playworld Systems. The cost of the ramp is about $800. They are going to hold a bake sale in conjunction with LakeFest; the goal is to make $1,000. She said the group would also like to purchase a vine for the pergola and some native plants for a nearby garden. They are contacting people to ask about drought resistant, native plants. She also discussed suggestions that there be a fence between the play space and the lake. She said that the group proposes to cover the stones at the edge of the playground with sand and dirt, which would be a natural fence. If people over the edge of the playground, they would fall into sand and plants. They are soliciting feedback from the community about this idea, and presented this last Tuesday at city council. They will present on this again. The Pine Lake City Council will vote next month on whether they can move ahead with these additional playground improvements. She also mentioned that people in wheelchairs cannot move down the current mulch ramp, so that area is not very passable for people with mobile disabilities.
Beth added that if the proposal for the new ramp and natural fence passes City Council, the group wants to have a mini-build day at the end of October.
Nicky asked whether it has been proposed to the contractors about constructing a more accessible main ramp to the playground. She noted that it is expensive to lay concrete, which she feels is not very attractive. Beth said that we need to start dialoging about what we want to do and how we are going to fund it.
The group expressed its thanks to Beth for her work and for representing the Playground Committee, and Beth thanked PLAIN for holding the committee’s funds.
Halloween Party. The Halloween Party is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. on Saturday, October 25. Nicky Rosenbluth is coordinating this event. Kathie deN. said that she plans to tell stories at this year’s Halloween party. Ellen Mintzmeyer and Kathie will be the storytellers. However, in the past, because of the noise level, this has been difficult. She said that the problem is that parents are talking while stories are being told and the acoustics in the Beach House make it difficult for the stories to be heard above this noise. Kathie suggesting telling the stories telling at the beginning of the party, although then some children who come later will miss them. It was suggested that we put signs on the door when there is storytelling asking people to enter quietly. Parents also could go outside to have conversations. Nicky suggests only admitting new people to the party between stories, to minimize the noise and disruption. She suggests that we have people at the double doors who let people in when there is a break between the stories.
In addition to the stories, there will be crafts activities on the deck behind the Beach House. Nicky said that she will have all the games together by this weekend. She asked for in assistance providing the games, and particularly with the indoor games. She said that several games could be provided at the same time. She also needs someone to monitor arts and crafts. Based on last year’s response, she will have more supplies for the arts and crafts. She also needs volunteers who will bake cookies that will be decorated at the party, as well as icing supplies. Annette and Beth Carr volunteered to make cookies.
Decorations will be put up on the same day, beginning at 1 pm. Lalah M. volunteered to help with the decorations. She has also spoken with Pam Heiges regarding providing the spaghetti dinner following the party. The menu will be spaghetti marinara and meatballs.
Mary Stuckey suggested putting out an announcement about getting candy donated for the party.
Nicky said that prizes will include non-candy treats as well as animal crackers and fruit snacks.
Nicky said that while she can get the Moon Jump, this requires constant adult supervision. Mary said that she doesn’t think they need it for this event. The group decided not to have this at the Halloween Party. The questions of whether to have a movie after the Halloween Party was also discussed. It was decided to have a movie sometime next summer.
Later that evening, there will be a Halloween Party for adults. Liz Beneski is organizing this activity.
LakeFest. Lalah Manley, one of the Lakefest planning committee members, presented about this event, which is scheduled for the coming weekend, Saturday, October 4, and Sunday, October 5. At this point, she said that there will be 26 booths. Kathie de N. said that parking will be available at the Hogan, Kingfisher, and Church lots on Saturday. There will be music entertainment starting at 11 a.m. on both days. She said that a number of wonderful bands are scheduled to play. Children’s activities lined up as well. In addition, there will be a party on the beach on Saturday night starting at 6:30, with adult beverages, pizza, and snacks. Port-a-johns will be provided. The Pine Lake police will assist with crowd control. They have been alerted for the move-in on Sat morning beginning at 7 a.m. The layout for the booths will be made on Friday evening. Kathie deN said that volunteers are needed at 6 pm to get things laid out and staged, and to get the signs up for parking. There also is a need during LakeFest for people to staff the City table in the information center.
Lakeshore Drive will be closed during LakeFest, including overnight on Saturday. Overnight security also has been hired.
Nicky noted that we need to set the date for LakeFest at least a year in advance so that more vendors can participate, since they set their calendars far in advance. Kathie deN says that based on how this goes and how it complements the Pancake Breakfast, they will set next year’s date in advance.
Plamingo Parade. The PLamingos, which have been decorated, will be auctioned at LakeFest to raise money for some additional Playground-related projects. Brian Carr may be the auctioneer. There will be materials available to decorate them available during both days. Lalah will bring the supplies for decoration that Gwyneth left. The PLamingo Parade will take place on Sunday afternoon at 4 p.m. Nicky says can go on Web and google “Flamingo Parades” can see examples of decorated flamingos, e.g. Mardigras beads, etc.
Caring and Sharing. Faye Ridling is the chair for Caring and Sharing. This is an activity that she started about 20 years ago because there was a Pine Lake family that needed some holiday asistance. Thus, for Thanksgiving and Christmas, we provide food baskets for those in need. PLAIN can ask people to bring cans to the monthly breakfast. We need a sign made for this Saturday’s breakfast; Linda volunteered to make the sign.
Normally, neighbors recommend someone to receive a food basket. Faye said that she will check out the recommendation after getting the referral. Most baskets are provided to Pine Lake families. This is kept confidential. Nicky said that sometimes we have given more assistance than a basket, e.g., a utility bill and a month’s rent. However, there is a stipulation that this is one-time assistance. Faye said that she likes to receive grocery store cards and cash. She provides enough food to the family for a couple of weeks. For Christmas, we also try to provide some gifts for the children in addition to food. She will need help putting the baskets together.
People can bring food to the November and December breakfasts or to her house. She will set a deadline and put signs on the Boards around the city.
New Business:
Signs. Kathie de N. said that a new resident in town, Barry Settles, has volunteered to design a background for the new sign board in front of the Beach House that would also be repeated on the one by the wetlands. For instance, there will be specific places on the board where people can post lost pets, yard sales, cit notices, volunteer needs, etc. This will provide a standard location and way to display information. Barry currently is working on a couple of different concepts and she will pass them around for comment. The board by the other side of the lake will include information about Pine Lake history, flora and fauna, wetlands information, trail map, etc. Both boards will be attractive and monitored. All items will be dated. We will laminate items that are designed to stay up for longer periods of time.
December Holiday Activities. Lighting of the Lake. These activities are scheduled for Saturday, December 6, at the Beach House, along with the annual cookie exchange. Faye asked if people could help put up the lights, so city workers would not have to do that this year. Kathie says that anything we could do to assist the city with these tasks is appreciated. Faye said we can try to get donations of lights. Kathie mentioned that the outlets on the berm to not work. There was discussion of ways to get power out onto the bridge. Faye said that the lake is a pretty asset, and last year’s placement of the deer was not so attractive. Beth suggested that we use luminarias on the berm, however other people thought there were too many bushes to see it.
People arrive at 6 p.m. for the cookie exchange and general socializing. Beth said that since the Beach House was very crowded last year, could the Clubhouse be used. However, Faye said that the kitchen in the Clubhouse is in need of major repairs, and is not safe. Nicky suggested setting the chairs p better. Kathie said she is getting entertainment together for this year, and that there will not be as many children in the performance. Mary said that her husband, Mike, will be this year’s Santa. Gwyneth has the Santa suit.
Food Bank and the Clubhouse. Faye R. and Juanita Towns are working to implement a food bank. She has been approved to use a room at the Clubhouse that has an outside door. However, the Clubhouse, in general is in need of significant repairs, including to that room. This raised the issue about Clubhouse repairs. People mentioned that the Clubhouse roof is leaking. Nicky asked about doing an All Volunteer day, what they were willing to give in kind in exchange for recognition. Kathie suggested obtaining about $5,000 from Home Depot in supplies, and then getting people to do the work. She also said it might be possible to get others to donate the supplies. Edie was supposed to get a list of the contractors in the city for Faye. Talani is a commercial building inspector. It was felt that before any repairs to the Clubhouse began, that the city needed a building inspector to help determine what repairs are needed.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:52 p.m.
Submitted by Linda Orgain