Meeting Minutes - February 21, 2001
Poynette Elementary/Middle School

Attendees: Russell Bellman, Nancy Braker, Steve Braker, Jim Burnett, Steve Mueller, Tom Kemp, Yvette Lokotz, Steve Mueller, Theresa Plenty, Todd Rietmann, Dave Egan, Carl Hilgenberg, Dale Peterson.

Meeting called to order at 6:30 pm

Review and Approval of Minutes from December 6, 2000. No comments.

Finance Report: Allison Russell was voted as new treasurer by the directors in December. She was not present to report. Nancy Braker read her prepared report. - Received $7,500 grant payment from the DNR in January, 2001. - Expense of $65 for January 17 event. - $7,987.74 in checking account. A portion of the grant funds has been put into a CD to get a better interest rate. Membership Report: Nancy read Allison's prepared report. - Received $60 memberships in January, 2001 - Received a business membership from General Engineering Services based in Portage.

Administration: - Bylaws/Articles of Incorporation Revised: In December 2000 the directors met to revise the bylaws. - File for 501 (c) status: Nancy will meet with an attorney on March 6. The seven board members will need to reconvene. - Insurance: Nancy reported that most groups carry a group policy. The group agreed that the Friends should have a policy. Theresa Plenty volunteered to call a local insurance company to get a quote. Publicity Committee Report: Brochure update and approval: Steve Braker handed out a sample brochure and asked for comments. - Steve Mueller suggested to add a donation category for someone who wishes to just donate but not become a member. - Jim Burnett suggested a font change on the sentence, "Please Join Us!" - Nancy Braker will look up information about non profit status - Dave Egan suggested to add "A DNR hiking and cross country ski trail…" to delineate that it was not made by the Friends. The group added that the words "a locally sponsored trail on DNR property" because the community worked hard to have a trail. Give Steve Braker any additional comments by March 28. He will have the brochure printed at Ken’s duplicating in Poynette. Library Notebook: Nancy Braker reported that a binder with minutes and articles about the Friends is available at the Poynette Library. Trout Unlimited Article: Nancy Braker reported that the recent Trout Unlimited Article, submitted by the Friends, generated a few memberships and phone calls. Theresa Plenty will contact TU to get a copy of the article. Website: Steve Braker reported that the friends have a Web address, http://www.rowancreek.org. Other Items: - Speaker: Dale Peterson, Natural Resources Conservation Services spoke to the group about what kinds of services and projects are available to land owners. He handed out various information about conservation and grants. - Purchase property: Jim Burnett discussed that the DNR is continuing to look into purchasing additional land next to Rowan Creek. - Yvette displayed hat and shirt samples. A sign up sheet for purchasing hats was passed around. Yvette will place a small order. - Nancy Braker suggested the group change regular meetings to Thursdays to accommodate more people who have conflicts on Wednesday. There were no objections. Future regular meetings will be the second Thursday of each month. Steve Braker will contact the Village to secure meeting space. - Grants are needed to fund Ken Potter watershed study: Nancy Braker is seeking options for funding the 2002 watershed study. She is meeting with the County Conservation Committee on March 5 and will look into EPA and NFWF grants. She is on the agenda to speak at the February 26 Village of Poynette board meeting and will ask the board to fund $1,000 for the project. Calendar items were discussed: - Spring activity, Trout sampling. Jim Burnett will contact Tim Larson, DNR fish biologist - Earth Day clean up April 22, 1-4 pm. Rain date April 28, 1-4. The group didn’t have enough time to complete the calendar and will move to the first item on the agenda for the next meeting. Projects that need volunteers to coordinate: - Portable display - Bike route - Exotic Plant mapping Upcoming Meetings: March 8, April 12, May 10, June 14 Meeting Adjourned 8:35 pm. Respectfully submitted, Theresa Plenty, secretary