Agenda (February 18, 2010)

Draft Minutes (January 21, 2010)

Minutes Archive

FORT WILLIAMS ADVISORY COMMISSION

MEETING AGENDA

DATE:                 Thursday February 18, 2010

TIME:                 ***** 7:00 PM *******

LOCATION:        Public Works Facility

7:00     Call to Order – Maureen McCarthy, Chair

7:05     Approval of January 21st meeting minutes

7:10     Park update - Bob

7:15     Budget update & Draft of Budget to go to Town Council - Bob

7:20     Discussion of Budget.

8:10     Request of FWCF to support Motion

8:15     Discussion regarding formation of    subcommittee to explore Councils request on “concessions, special events, new park uses . . .”

9:00     Adjourn

            Next meeting Thursday, March 18th

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Draft Minutes

Fort Williams Advisory Commission

Draft of Meeting Minutes.
Date: Thursday January 21
Location: Public Works Facility

Members Present: Maureen McCarthy (Chair), Bill Brownell, Frank Butterworth, Dan Chase, Richard Dunham, Bill Nickerson, Chuck Wilson.

Absent: No one

Guests: Lois Carlson

Staff: Bob Malley

Call to order: Maureen called the meeting to order at 7:04 PM.

Minutes: Approval of  12/17/09 meeting minutes was motioned by Dan Chase and seconded by Bill Nickerson, with unanimous approval.

Park update: Staff has done trimming and landscaping in and around the Headlight circle.
Due to the time of year not much else has been done.

Budget update: Bob handed out an income statement and spreadsheet of expenses forecast on the current income/expense structure. A review began with the capital fund balance and estimated expenses, followed by a line by line review of the Special Funds Budget.
Line items discussed at length were as follow:

Tree and Planting Expense and Stone wall: expense were moved to the operating budget in 2009.

Battery Keyes: Minimal expense was included so as not to impact necessary expenses for Battery Blair.

Battery Blair expense: Since no substantial repairs have been done since 2002 it will be necessary to remove the current coatings of the battery and resurface. Chuck suggested that we confer with the consultants to be sure that the process used is in keeping with their recommendations on long term restoration. $30,000 was budgeted for this expense.

Since safety is involved with Battery Keyes repairs Chuck suggested that we should be budgeting a larger amount to address these issues.
After a lengthy discussion of necessary repairs and improvements within the Park, including a tree replacement program, comprehensive stone wall repair estimate, and a need to articulate to the town council the realistic maintenance expenses required for the Park it was resolved that members should forward their line item expense recommendations to Maureen and she would forward these to Bob for revision of the draft budget.
The subject of quantifying those necessary maintenance expenses was tabled till the 2/18/10 meeting, where they could be the main focus of the evening.

Use requests for 2010: Bob presented the use requests for the following groups for commission approval:
-Cape Elizabeth Little League.
-Cape Elizabeth High School Graduation.
-Cape Elizabeth Family Fun Day.
-Portland Amateur Wireless Association.
-Beach to Beacon Race.
-Portland Yacht Club: Monhegan Island Race.
-Engine Company One Art Show.
Chuck moved and Bill Brownell seconded to approve usage.

Boards and Commissions Meeting scheduled for 2/1/2010: Bob suggested that it would be a good idea for all commission members to attend!

Discussion of workshop meeting: Maureen informed us that Jim Walsh is the liaison between the council and the commission on the issue of fee proposals.
The commission and council workshop on fees is scheduled for  Monday 1/25/10. All members of the commission are strongly encouraged to attend as it is primarily intended to address the issue of Park fees and income sources.   
Maureen said she would contact Anne Swift-Kayatta regarding the desire of the commission to establish a subcommittee of commission members, council members, and interested public members in exploring the opportunities for generating income from retail operations within the Fort.

Next Meeting scheduled for Thursday 2/18/10: We will approve the revised Park budget, share Lois Carlson's brief presentation of the Charitable Foundation's Feasibility Study, and devote the balance of the meeting to quantifying of realistic Park expenses going forward.

Adjournment: Chuck will moved and Bill Nickerson seconded.

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