August, 2009 Board Meeting
President Diane Schulz called the meeting to order at 6:35pm, August 3, 2008.
Attendees: Diane Schulz, Chris Keister, Dale Knipschield, Paula Connors, Phyllis Lee, Kay Kluseman, John Martin, Dick Vorwald, Tom Welu, Cinda Welu, Karen Vandermillen, Meg Wall-Wild (Did I miss anyone??? I didn’t write this down.)
Item 1. Audit of Books
Diane pointed out that the books need to be audited.
Treasurer Dale Knipschield pointed out that we have not had an audit since he took over as Treasurer.
Dale will bring the bank statements and checkbooks to the August meeting.
ACTION: VP Chris Keister and Secretary Paula Connors will complete the audit.
Item 2. Membership list
Diane (and others) requested an updated membership list.
ACTION: Dale will email the latest version to John for inclusion on the website.
Item 3. Insurance bill for Old House Tour
House Tour Chair Kay Kluseman explained that the Dubuque Fine Arts Society was billed $135
for a rider covering the House Tour. They requested that Old House Enthusiasts pay this expense.
John Martin moved that we pay Dubuque Fine Arts Society $135.
Paula Connors seconds.
PASS
Item 4. House Tour stipends to home owners
Treasurer Dale Knipschield requested that the board set guidelines for the House Tour Committee.
There was general consensus that the Tour Committee inform the home owners of the stipend up
front instead of keeping it a secret until after the Tour is complete. After much discussion,
a guideline for the amount of the stipend was also agreed upon.
John Martin moved that the home owner stipend be calculated as 8% of the
(NET profit rounded up to the next $1000) not to exceed $1000 per homeowner.
(NOTE: the rounding to the $1000 is done to the net profit and THEN the 8% is calculated.)
Dick Vorwald seconds.
PASS
Item 5. Handling of cash during the House Tour
Treasurer Dale Knipschield posed several questions to the board members:
Should all ticket takers and money counters be dues paying members of the club?
The majority of the members there thought that non-members could also be allowed
to handle money during the Tour so long as they were vetted by a member. However,
the board also agreed that as Treasurer, Dale should set all policies regarding the handling of cash.
ACTION: Dale and Kay will meet to discuss the handling of cash for House Tour.
Item 6. Free House Tour tickets to advertisers
Treasurer Dale Knipschield wondered whether we should continue to give free tickets
to brochure advertisers.
It was noted that although we used to track how many of
the tickets were advertisers and volunteers, we no longer do this.
ACTION: Dale and Kay will meet to discuss.
Item 7. Membership drive activities
President Diane Schulz noted that the postcard campaign cost $700 and didn’t net many new members.
There was consensus that this method was too pricy to repeat.
Kay suggested using more on-line mediums rather than bulk mail. John Martin noted that
street addresses of old home owners are easier to get than their email addresses. John also noted that the mailing
may have been too close to the event to be effective.
Someone thought that Terry Kosel had gleaned email addresses from ticket stubs that
were turned in, but no one was certain. If so, we could use this for an email campaign.
Or we could ask all current members to forward an email invite to 2 friends.
No resolution.
Item 8. Grant to buy bench in front of City Hall
At the November 2008 meeting, the members voted to spend $1800 to erect a bench (with OHE plaque)
in front of City Hall so that people had a place to sit during Farmer’s Market. After sitting
in limbo for months, President Diane Schulz tracked down our un-cashed check that has stalled
in the City Manager’s office. Once it got un-stuck, the Assistant City Manager noted that there’s
no room to put a bench in front of city hall.
However, there is an opportunity to put one in a re-furbished pavilion in Eagle Point Park for
its 100 year anniversary. This would cost $1000.
Paula Connors moves to re-direct our bench money to Eagle Point.
Kay Kluseman seconds.
PASS
Item 9. Preservation activities for DBQ Malting & Brewing
President Diane Schulz asked Preservation Committee members Dick Vorwald and Karen Vandermillen
whether further ACTIONs were needed by the club regarding DBQ Malting & Brewing. Dick suggested
that we continue to promote awareness of the building and its historical significance.
It was also suggested that we add an “Endangered Dubuque” link to our website. Webmaster
John Martin will erect one but he needs suggestions on what to include.
ACTION: Paula will ask members to send suggestions to John.
Item 10. Election of Officers
President Diane Schulz asked whether we should move the election of club officers to later
in the year. She (and others) noted that attendance is down during summer months and that
we’re still recovering from the House Tour in June/July. Diane suggested appointing a committee
to identify the slate of officers in June, but hold the elections in September. There was general consensus.
It was noted that our by-laws state that we hold elections in June.
ACTION: The membership will need to vote on whether to change the by-laws to hold elections in September instead of June.
Item 11. Future meeting suggestions
Dick Vorwald noted that we’re tentatively set to have the September meeting at the Old Jail
if Meg Wall-Wild can open the building for us. She didn’t think that would be a problem.
The August meeting is set for the Shalom Retreat Center. The original plan was to have
them cater cookies and soda for treats. However we wondered whether we could bring our
own treats and give them a donation instead. Dick will check.
Other suggestions for future meetings:
Four Mounds – Gentleman’s Farm (Kay suggested going in October during harvest)
Julien Hotel
Irish Hollow (outside Galena)
Old Casket Company
Roshek Building
Meeting Adjorned