Quad Committee Meeting – August 13th 2008

The location of the meeting was in the Livingston “History Barn” which was located immediately behind the Livingston Town Hall. It was an inspiring location as this building is a tribute to those who have gone before for this township.

The meeting was called to order at 10:30 a.m. by Ms. Piwonka. Ms Cooper was first on the agenda and she submitted a document received from the state regarding the nature of how the grant monies should be spent. The name of the document is “Questions regarding Grants to Counties and Cities”. She requested that we publish this document on the Blog.

This document explains how funds will need to be used and what in-kind services will equate a match. It was agreed that while the document was vague, there was enough for us to move forward on a responsible basis.

She also presented a copy of the Ulster County Resolution to the State for the $45,000 in funding. Basically the resolution is a promise by the county to match the funds with limited details on how this would be handled. The point was that the State is looking for an official commitment even without a voucher for payment. Ulster County was issued a check in full and is the only county to obtain funds to date.

Supervisor Williams recommended that Columbia County follow the same format and move forward. Ms. Cooper will prepare the resolution.

Ms. Cooper explained that the Tourism Department would submit a line in the budget for $10,000 to match $10,000 of the $45,000 funding. This would be used for county wide needs for promotion, etc

The balance of the funding ($35,000) would go to communities. Ms. Boeringer and Ms. Cooper will meet to outline the details needed to re-grant remaining funds. For example, Ms. Boeringer will create a commitment form for communities to use to detail how the match will be obtained. They will also put together an application with a due date for communities to request funding. A procedure will also be adopted to establish how the selection process will be resolved. In previous meetings, it was already determined that funds would not be equally divided in the county, but would be awarded based on events that lend themselves most to the education and celebration of the HFC400.

All funding will need to be spent by December 31, 2009.

TO DO:
AC – Find out if funds can be used for capital projects.
AC/PWilliams – Draft Resolution for the County to request funding from State. Ms. Cooper also recommended a joint press conference for the County & Hudson when the Resolutions are submitted.
AC/GB – Draft procedures for communities to request funding.

Park Ranger McKay reviewed activities with the MVB celebration this September 20th which would include some joint efforts with the local schools. There would be some education on food preparation and music. Mr. Andrews asked if he could provide the Elementary School principles with his email address should they wish to participate in some fashion.

Mr. Andrews has been in communication with the Elementary School Principles. All schools have an interest and are considering if there is a way they can celebrate together – maybe with a jeopardy game. The schools would prefer to let this evolve. Communication will continue.

Ms. Cooper noted that Robert Bulluck has resigned from the State HFC400 office with no replacement as of yet. He was Tara Sullivan’s co-chair and had been responsible for working with the region north of Albany.

Ms. Ellen Thurston reviewed some developing ideas for a festival to be held next July when the Half-Moon will be in Hudson. She asked for the committee to consider being involved as a county celebration.

Some of her ideas included community tables to be supplied at no charge. She also mentioned that there would be a Farmer’s Market and an opportunity for other booths for sale items.

There was discussion of a joint retailing project such as t-shirts or mugs that would be something the entire county could be involved in. No decision was made.

Ms. Knott (Town of Stuyvesant) passed around a copy of some art work that will be used for “cards” that will be sold in commutation. She said she would be willing to get a digital copy for the Blog site.

Mr. Westmore read a quote from a historical reference (I will get the quote) regarding Germantown and their part in history. Four mini-grant requests have been presented. There is still no official confirmation of who were awarded the grants. Ms. Cooper will try to obtain this information.

To-Dos
AC – Obtain mini-grant list.
SA – Submit awarded mini-grants in a press release and include on the Blog.
ET – When details regarding the Hudson HFC400 festival are ready, Ms. Thurston was advised by Supervisor Williams to make a presentation to the full Board of Supervisors.

The date of the next meeting will be September 10th, 10:30 a.m. in the Hudson Opera House. October 8th, Germantown Library (tentative)

Meeting adjourned: Promptly ended by 12 noon.