Highlands Business Partnership
Regular Meeting of the Board of Director's
June 26, 2003
Henry Hudson Regional High School

Executive Session
Carla Cefalo-Braswell (CCB), HBP President, called the non-public portion of the meeting to order at 8:00 p.m. There was a meeting quorum for action. In attendance were the following: C. Cefalo-Braswell, L. Bodnar-Nolan, M. Kovic, F. Rosiak, A. Parmelee, J. Urbanski, L. Kochanik, E. Sousa, K. Lustig and ?????

Resignations & Elected Board
CCB read Henry Moyer’s letter of resignation. Henry was sent a thank you letter for his support vial email. Bill Weber of Seahab, Inc. was elected to fill Henry Moyer position. Eddy Sousa of the Sandy Hook Cottage Bed and Breakfast was previously elected to the Board via email and fax to replace Larys Cartaya’s resignation.

CCB explained Nick Evangelista’s resignation and the outcome of the Executive meeting pertaining to the internal pains of the organization as well as the lack of resources and limited budgetary funds available to get the job done. CCB stated that in fairness to Nick, there were limitations that prevented him from the day to day operations of the managerial position such as office space, etc. In addition upon his hire he was told by various board members to go in one direction then that direction changed midway which caused frustration amongst the organization. CCB said that Nick is a team player and is still working closely with HBP and has taken on co-chairing the VIC committee.

Discussions were also had regarding the admin services provided by Carla Cefalo-Braswell on a 1099 basis and her role as the President of HBP. The workload for the upkeep of records and meetings as well as day to day operation is consuming so much time. Various businesses need help and a place to go CCB stated and explained how much time was being consumed and can no longer be managed without a short tern solution. The position is really a full-time job with a part time salary. Board members discussed the pros and cons of the situation. The services provided are on a temporary basis. CCB expressed concern of Board Members that are not participating and carrying their weight. J. Urbasnki requested a letter be sent immediately enforcing the by-laws and corporate structure for meeting attendance and committee participation.

ACI Contract Renewal
Discussions on the renewal of ACI’s contract were had in depth. A subcommittee will meet and document findings on similar companies. CCB stated she had discussions with a few companies (Square Foot, This is It, and Green Eggz Inc.) Most inquiries would not even respond due to our budget amount. CCB stated that although at times the Board has had problems with ACI for the most part, we would have a difficult time finding a consulting firm that writes grants, sell sponsorship, manages events, and produces PR & Media all in one package. In addition ACI has waived all commissions outlined in their contract for the past three years. For the most part we can renegotiate under our terms and see if it can all be worked out. E. Sousa said that he agreed it would not be advantageous to not renew altogether but agreed that negotiations were in order. K. Lustig spoke of her prior feelings and that in her opinion things have gotten much better with ACI.

Ordinance Amendments
CCB announced that Councilman Urbanski will review our existing sign ordinance to better accommodate businesses. The ordinance will be amended based on the Board’s recommendation.
The original ordinance that created the BID will also be amended to reflect Vacant Land (income producing) to be included in the assessment.

Executive Session was closed by a motion by Mike Kovic, second by Fred Rosiak with all in favor the session was closed at 8:55 p.m.

Public Session
Carla Braswell, President, called the public session of the HBP Board of Directors to order at 9:00 p.m.

Meeting attendance: ï = present x = absent

50% plus one = quorum (9/16)
Ten (10) in attendance for quorum
Also in attendance were: Kathy Armstrong, ACI.

Presentation by Kathy Armstrong, ACI, HBP Marketing Consultant
K. Lustig made a motion to move ACI to the forefront of the Agenda for their presentation; E. Sousa second and the motion carried. Kathy Armstrong presented a report to the HBP Board of Directors. It included a breakdown of Vendor Fees for various events, sponsorship dollars and the Tourism Grant and Farmer’s Market Grant. Kathy said the Banner Program is now sold out and she stated the banners are being held up due to non-payment. To date the total dollar income reported from ACI without Barter was approximately $24,000.

Minutes of the March 27, 2003 Annual Meeting of HBP
Minutes prepared by Nick Evangelista from the Annual meeting were provided to the Board in advance the week of 6/16/03. Minutes were reviewed and a motion by Loriann Bodnar-Nolan and second by K. Lustig to accept the minutes into corporate record. With all in favor the minutes shall be included in corporate records and added to our Website for public access.

Treasurer’s Report
The Treasurer’s Report as of June 26, 2003 reflects a Balance of $22,567.80 in the Shrewsbury State Bank checking account. The Fidelity Prime Money Market account has a balance of $19,985.33 as of 6/26/03 and the Fidelity Short Fixed Income account has a balance of $3312.48. As of today there were no outstanding checks. A motion was made by F. Rosiak to accept the Treasurer’s Report second by E. Sousa. With all in favor the Treasurer’s Report shall be included in corporate records.

Executive Committee – Carla Cefalo-.Braswell
The annual audit was completed May 31, 2003 through the professional services of the Churchin Group for a fee of $2,000. Copies are available upon request and have been sent to Mayor and Council. The letter was sent to the State with a copy of the audit on June 3, as required by statute.
Ordinance amendment Budget 2003 reduced our budget to approx. $85,000 however the roster is in total disarray and desperately needs Borough to provide updated list with explanations. J. Urbanski will have the Borough provide the list.

Committee Reports
Loriann Bodnar-Nolan and Nick Evangelista, Committee Co- Chairs
Design Maintenance Beautification Capital Improvements
Discussion was had regarding the Way finding system’s growth. Mayor O’Neil and Borough administrator David Gilson informed CCB that the Borough would install the signs for HBP rather paying for installation. J. Urbanski agreed and the VIC will coordinate as signs are ordered. Nick Evangelista gave a report on signage that he is working on with our sign fabricator. CCB explained the committee’s maintenance database initiative that Councilman Billy Ciazza as a member of the VIC committee has committed to. The town was broken up into sections and reviewed by VIC members. They consist of unsightly code violations. The list is then presented to Councilman Ciazza to review with Code enforcement office and DPW for clean-up. As the list is updated, the committee continues feedback. Discussion was had on an open item which was presented earlier for a vote action via email on June 17, 2003. It was a project submitted by Nick Evangelista, a Downtown Pilot Maintenance program which was for street clean-up, sweeping, weeds, graffiti, etc. The board felt it was an excellent idea but need to further investigate insurance and funding issues for this year. It was tabled for next year’s budget as funds are constricted this year due to Clean Communities Cutback. HBP paid for Clean Communities for year 2003 and hopes to be reimbursed when Borough gets funding.

Economic Development – Fred Rosiak
CCB stated that Parking was officially moved from the VIC committee to the ED committee. Councilman Urbanski spoke on the revisions of the master plan currently in process and will keep us abreast. A new committee kick off meeting was held and Fred would like to encourage participation in this committee as a draft waterfront redevelopment plan submitted by Michael Kovic is on the table and desired by the Planning Board as well as the Mayor and Council. Councilman Urbanski also requested a letter from HBP to the Mayor and Council, Planning Board and Zoning Board addressing our serious concerns regarding changing use from Commercial to Residential and the impact it has on the business community as well as residential community. A letter will be forwarded on behalf of HBP.

Marketing/Special Events – Carla Cefalo-Braswell
The Best Kept Secrets brochure is presently being distributed on the thruway. The NMCC Concert Series was again held this year at the Seastreak Ferry Landing. The Farmers Market is being held again this year every Saturday 9 am- 2pm through October. We began the market early this year with a strawberry farmer in May. Weather was an issue for Clamfest for previous years so it was decided to move to August 7-10 of this year. Electric was negotiated this year and generators will be used to reduce costs. Volunteers will be needed. Meeting was held with Bike NY and Bike event is underway and moving along quickly. We expect to double the riders this year.

Action Items:
Old Business:
None

New Business:
None

Public Portion:
Nick Evangelista, Sandy Hook Cottage, Bill Webber, Seahab Inc., Robert Lipowitz, Twin Lights Gallery were in attendance and introduced to the Board.

The meeting was adjourned at 10:40 p.m. by a motion from M. Kovic, second by L. Bodnar-Nolan with all in favor the meeting was adjourned.

Next meeting of the HBP Board of Directors is:
Thursday, September 25, 2003.

Submitted by Carla Cefalo-Braswell, 7/8/03