Meeting Minutes for 8/3/04

Carol Tutzauer, Chair Pro Tem, presiding

Henry Sontag, Vice President Pro Tem, Networking

Alex Murphy, Secretary Pro Tem

Attendance:

Reanna Kaopuiki, Dennis Gallagher, Rita Gallagher, Jo Alfano, Pam Rose, Frank Tutzauer, Carol Tutzauer, Alex Murphy, Danielle Darrowz-Pepper, Mary Jo Roselli, Kim Folger, Brian Ferguson, Tracy Doldan, Roseanne Higgins, Suzanne Laba, John Kerruish, Sara Kerruish, Kathy Hogan Billiteri, Polla Millij, Carol Ferguson, Clara Waldin, plus two signatures which were unreadable.

Order of Business

Minutes

• Reading of the Minutes from 7/27/04, voted into permanent record;

Report from By-Laws Committee

· Vote held to address monetary compensation issues. Majority vote of 10 decided to specify that any large disbursement (in excess of $500.00) to be put out for a vote before the general membership. This vote would not necessitate a meeting of the general membership but could be done via ballot (or email);

Dissenting Votes:

Voting in excess of $500.00 by BOD (1)

Leave as is in proposed by-laws, no disbursement above $500.00 (6)

Do away with limit entirely (1)

• Vote taken to accept the inclusion of a Vice President of Operations and exclusion (at this time) of an Executive Director position on the Board of directors. This passed with a majority vote of 18 (2 in dissent);
• Unanimous vote to accept By-Laws;
• By-laws are in place, so the incorporation process may start. The first step is to file the name of our organization, the general membership agrees to use the expedited process, which will cost more but register our name quickly. The next step will be to file our letter of incorporation, followed by filing with the IRS to obtain our NPO/Tax Exempt certification as well as a taxpayer ID. This will cost $500.00. The anticipated cost for the entire process is $750.00. Our group will need to raise funds to cover this cost.

Report by Nomination Committee

• No new nominees, slate stands with the following candidates:

1. Carol Tutzauer, President

2. Henry Sontag Jr., Vice President of Networking

3. Clara Miller, Vice President of Communications

4. Suzanne Laba, Vice President of Operations

5. Mary Jo Roselli, Treasurer

6. Alex Murphy, Secretary

7. Pamela Rose, Member At-Large

• Motion by Dennis Gallagher to have secretary pro tempore cast one vote for each candidate on behalf of general membership. Seconded by John Kerruish, accepted unanimously;
• Secretary conducted vote, Board Elected as nominated;

Report on Continuing Efforts to Promote/Raise awareness of Buffalo CAN

• Dennis Gallagher reported on rabies clinic planning and funding. The vaccinations are funded by Erie County and then the locations are decided on. There are three clinics per year. The next clinic will be in October. Efforts will be made to make licensing part of this effort. While it is necessary for a union employee to “stamp” the paid receipt for licensing, there is no requirement for the licensing to be done at any specific location. Efforts will be made to get applications in more convenient locations. It was noted that the City of Buffalo actually has a higher rate of compliance than most US cities – with a compliance rate of about %15.
• Talks with the Mayor and other concerned parties has also brought up the topic of our group being offered a building in the city to house a shelter once the Oak Street location is closed.
• Motion by Rose Higgins to donate sponsorship to a team participating in the Roswell Park walk (in honor of her son Max). The donation would be made in the name of Buffalo CAN. Motion seconded by Clara Miller and accepted unanimously;
• Clara Miller will be holding a garage sale this weekend (8/7, 10-4PM), and will donate her portion of the proceeds to our efforts. Members may also donate items for sale;

Report on Letters of Thanks and Recognition

• Letters to H.E.A.R.T. Inc and Joe Marcella have been sent. The letter to Pound Hounds is ready to be sent. An email address was provided to thank the theater community, and that letter will be composed shortly;

Report on Op-Ed Letter and Licensing Efforts/Concerns

· Due to the length of time between the Legal Beagle efforts and the resolution to send a letter (along with the additional time debating the content), it was decided that it was not timely enough. The letter will be retained and planned for use at a later date;

Summary of Events

Date Set for Next Meeting

· August 17, 2004, Sterling Tavern, Hertel Ave, Buffalo, NY

Adjournment

• 8:30PM