Doc. #2007-73
CAYUGA LAKE WATERSHED NETWORK
BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Wells College, Aurora NY

Directors present: Brian Boerman, Mark Delaney, Ronda Fessenden, Deb Grantham, Doug Haith, Chuck Kroll, John Mawdsley, Julie Patterson, Eric Reigel, Ruth Richardson, Bill Shaw, Keith Tidball,

Excused directors: Joe Cambridge, Kevin Zippel

Also in attendance: Sharon Anderson

The meeting was called to order at by John Mawdsley, Chairperson.

Items from the floor: : K. Tidball reported that NYSDEC will be stocking Canoga Creek with brook trout and may do some habitat improvement. The intent is to re-establish a breeding population.

Business:
September Board Minutes:
A motion to accept the minutes as printed was offered by J. Patterson and seconded by K. Tidball. Unanimously approved.

Assistant Treasurer:
B. Shaw explained the role of Assistant Treasurer and offered a motion that D. Grantham serve in that position. Seconded by K. Tidball. Unanimously approved.

Stewards Report:
S. Anderson provided context for the Year to Date Financial Report. She announced her need to focus on completing grants and contracts, which necessitates cutting back on other work she has traditionally done to support the Board and the organization in general. As an example, at least for the short term she will not be participating in most committee meetings.

Year to Date Review of Finances:
Third quarter financial statement, budget versus actual year to date, and projected income and revenue for year end were presented and discussed (Doc. # 2007-73). The Board requested the Finance Committee create and bring to the November Board meeting an “options tree” for finances and staffing until year end. If immediate action is deemed prudent, the committee is to work with the Executive Committee, which was given the authority to make a decision.

The earlier Board request for a comparison of long-term financial plan to actual was worked on by the Treasurer but not completed. The categories used in recent and current years are no longer identical to the categories use in the Long-range Financial Plan, which makes the comparison more complicated. A strategy to implement that plan (i.e. move the organization from where it is currently to the goals stated in the plan) is needed. Re-establishing funding for core expenses (office facilities and a certain level of staffing) is a goal that should be included in the strategy.

Aurora Initiative:
B. Shaw reviewed related efforts including a recent meeting with the Finger Lakes Institute. The reception has been positive enough that it is time to draft something more concrete. The next step is to add one or two more Board members to the working group. Directors are invited to volunteer. Next tasks of the working group will be to add one or two more funding partners and to draft a written plan.

2008 Work Plan and Budgeting Process
The committees are charged with evaluating their progress on their 2007 plan of work, drafting a plan of work for 2008, and creating a budget needed to complete that work. Again this year as last, the committees are asked to identify how to fund their budget. Ideally, the budget would be presented to the Finance Committee before its November 6 meeting so the Finance Committee can work on the full budget at its Nov and Dec meeting for presentation to the Board in December.

Committees
a) All Directors not currently on a committee should select one to participate in before the next Board meeting. Contact the committee chair, J. Mawdsley or S. Anderson for more information about the various committees (for Chairs see http://cayugalake.org/personnel/committee_members.pdf )
b) Committee Chairs. J. Mawdsley will be calling a meeting of all the committee Chairs in the next 3-4 weeks. Initiatives across committees and how to tie the 10th anniversary into the work of all committees will be among the topics to be discussed. J. Mawdsley prefers an in person meeting iif possible, however a conference call is possible.

Other Business:
In light of the many tasks that involve the current Finance Development Committee, discussion of the need and creation of a development committee that is separate from the finance committee is recommended for the November agenda. The tasks related to development are significantly different than the keeping the books.

Committee Reports and Updates:
Finance/Development: Annual giving campaign is still planned to take place before year end.
Issues Committee: The conference planned for the fall has been postponed until spring. The next meeting is Oct. 25 when D. Haith will be presenting modeling results.
Outreach Committee: A drawing/painting/photography contest is being developed to replace the Annual Essay Contest. Outreach would like input from the Board. It was suggested that the top 12 entries be used to create a calendar.
Membership/PR Committee: K. Zippel has stepped down as the Chair. New Board members are encouraged to join. A committee of 4 to 5 people is the minimum needed for a successful Love Your Lake campaign (working title) to celebrate the organization’s 10-year anniversary. S. Anderson was encouraged to include this focus in the annual campaign letter. Love Your Lake is a good example of a cross initiative that will involve Outreach, Membership and Finance.

There was discussion about promoting the organization to funding agencies, potential members and other donors and the importance of a clear function and direction of the organization. Use of “watershed” versus “lake” was discussed. No decisions were made.

Task Summaries:
· Finance Committee to create at its next meeting and present at the Nov. Board meeting an “options tree” for finances and staffing until the end of the year.
· Finance Committee to provide an analysis of the progress on the long-range financial plan and strategies to take the organization from where we are currently to where the plan defines.
· All Directors not currently on a committee are to select and participate in a committee before the November Board meeting.
· B. Shaw and J. Mawdsley to get one or two more Directors on the Aurora Initiative working group followed by drafting a more concrete plan.
· Each committee is charged with evaluating their progress on their 2007 plan of work, drafting a plan of work for 2008, creating a budget needed to complete that work, and identifying potential funding. Committee budgets are to be submitted to the Finance Committee before Nov. 6.
· J. Mawdsley will arrange for a Chair for the Membership/PR Committee.
· J. Mawdsley will call a meeting of the committee Chairs before the November Board meeting.
· S. Anderson to add as a November agenda the creation of a development committee.
· S. Anderson to create and implement a plan and budget for an Annual Giving Campaign before year end that includes Love Your Lake concepts.

Adjournment. Motion offered by J. Patterson and seconded by D. Grantham.

Next Board Meeting: Tuesday November 13 at the Old Jail, 125 East Court Street, Ithaca

Submitted by
Brian Boerman, Secretary.