FICRA BOARD MEETING MINUTES (Draft)
Thursday, December 13, 2018
Board Attendees: Hal Goodell, Chad Gottschalk, Naomi Grant, Miguel Martinez, Rob Moore and Howard Stapleton. Jim Braden was excused.
The meeting was called to order at 7:00 pm.
Minutes from the November 8th Board Meeting, as posted to the website, were unanimously approved.
Public Comment: Darrell Johnson (FI resident and current FICRA Member) is concerned about there being an over‐population of deer on Fox Island. Potential issues include collisions with motorists, impact on native and other plants, and health of deer herds. He noted that “odd” deer have been seen on McNeil Island which was determined to be from inbreeding or lack of genetic diversity. There are no natural deer predators on Fox Island. Although the State of Washington is responsible for managing deer populations, he has spoken with a state biologist and found there is generally no funding for this responsibility. Darrell acknowledged the sensitivity of the subject and described several non‑lethal means of managing populations. There were a couple of ideas suggested by the biologist, but all state led initiatives would have to start with a formal census. In response to this, he would like to request the State to set aside some funds to do a census of the deer on Fox Island to further understand their health and population.
Howard Stapleton suggested that he contact local or state representatives to determine their support for funding, and Miguel Martinez suggested reaching out to the local extensions of WSU and our County Council Member, Derek Young, for additional information and ideas. Rob Moore suggested he contact other island/area associations to see if they have similar issues and what actions they pursued.
There was extensive discussion in which it is made clear that the FICRA Board would take no formal position on the deer inhabitants of Fox Island but would support gathering factual information and community forums to discuss the issues. It was also mentioned that this sort of concern was addressed once in the past with coyotes, and in the end, the individuals with specific concerns found solutions independently. A straw poll of audience attendees at the meeting found people split on doing a census, with at least one comment that a census would be unlikely to produce any further results.
After hearing audience input and Board discussion, Miguel made a motion to support only a census of the deer, if available. The motion was seconded Naomi Grant and unanimously approved by the Board.
Joan Broughton requests that the building be adequately heated before each meeting.
President’s Report: Howard thanked ALL the volunteers who helped with the Christmas Tree Lighting/Concert. The crowd consumed more than 2 tins of cookies, 200 servings of hot cocoa and 5 ½ gallons of cider. The event was very successful once again! We received only one complaint via the website – that there was no caroling and the tree needed more decorations. The concert was well attended. A big thanks again to all who helped!
Treasurer’s Report: Hal Goodell presented the report. There were no issues.
- Checking Nov 1 $27,860.32 Nov 30 Cleared Balance $27,511.82
- Money Market Nov 1 18,695.33 Nov 30 Cleared Balance 18,701.48
- PayPal Nov 1 413.59 Nov 30 Balance 654.52
- Membership Total 309 for 2018/19, many members have not yet renewed
Howard noted that the 2018 budget reflects a sizable donation that is not likely to happen again in 2019. In addition, the NCC usage fee due to the Trust for 2017 was paid out of the 2018 budget, which means that the usage fee should total $7,000 for 2018. To ensure that the 501(c)(7) does not continue to carry an unusually large surplus, Howard has requested that Hal complete the remaining $3,500 payment to the Trust in 2018.
Unfinished Business:
- FICRA Budget for 2019 – Howard asked for Board input on the updated FICRA 2019 Proposed Budget distributed with the Meeting Agenda. The Proposed Budget reflects a deficit of $4000 for 2019 to reduce FICRA’s Net Surplus and continues the policies encouraging new events incorporated in the 2018 Approved Budget. A motion to approve the Proposed Budget was made by Miguel, seconded by Chad Gottschalk and unanimously approved.
Committee Reports:
- Social Activities – Miguel reported proposed budget for next year has categories for recreational/concert and other community events. He would like to have a notice sent to all those interested in volunteering between now and the next meeting to “set dates” for all those “other activities.” He would like to see another event in the spring, possibly Sunday picnics. Miguel proposed setting up a planning/brainstorming meeting at the NCC to put some of these dates on the calendar. He plans to avoid planning events that conflict with others on the “All Island calendar” (which includes FICRA, the Chapel, the Museum, and school district breaks). The planning meeting will be scheduled for a date in January to be determined.
- Membership – Naomi reported that Howard has obtained printed membership cards and that she will draft a letter for signature by Howard so that they can be mailed out. The current membership is 309. Hal noted that the mailing should qualify for a bulk rate.
- Senior Activities – Ray Kittelberger reported that on Nov 29th Dave McHugh held the first meeting with a county representative in attendance who was informative on services that are already provided. It was a good meeting. There are a staff of 70 case workers at the County to handle requests. Their next plan is to assess if there are seniors on Fox Island that may need assistance and what activities seniors they may be interested in attending, (i.e. Bingo). Another meeting will be planned to see if island organizations (the FICRA Building Trust, Fox Island Alliance Church, and Museum) collaborate on this. There are future plans to contact Pierce Transit to see if they might assist with transportation of seniors. Dave would like to see them host an information booth at the FICRA Fair. He is also proposing there be a permanent meeting place for them. The DeMolay building is being considered. He also says they are looking for longer term solutions, so not to assume much will happen for about a year. Bob Riland (sp.?) was excellent. Ray and Dave have been consulting with the Mustard Seed project and they have a board with a large budget.
New Business:
- Dance Lessons – Howard reported there is a proposal for Dance Lessons at the NCC. The proposal is for FICRA to fund the activities for the first 2 months, requesting voluntary donations of $10/person per lesson. FICRA would pay $600 for the instructor. Attendees are not required to come with a dance partner. Naomi made a motion to accept the Dance Lessons as proposed. The motion was seconded by Miguel and unanimously approved.
Meeting adjourned at 8:07 pm. Next meeting is January 10, 2019.
Respectfully submitted by Gina Olson for Secretary Chad Gottschalk.