Board Meeting Minutes
The Barton Farmhouse
Board Attending:
Bloomfield (City): Michael Dul
Bloomfield (Township): Dani Walsh, Greg Kowalski
Bloomfield School District: Cynthia Von Oeyen
Bloomfield Historical Society: Pam Carmichael, John Marshall
Community Consultant: Sue Nine
Friends of Preservation Bloomfield: Linda Kmit
Board Absent:
Bloomfield (City): Robert Ziegelman
Bloomfield School District: Ingrid Day
Others Invited:
Treasurer(s): Al Magnus, Ed Anderson
Bloomfield School District: Jason Rubel
Community Representatives: Mary Barton Letts, Brian Kepes
Topics:
Approval of Minutes from 15 November Board Meeting Minutes were approved as distributed prior to the meeting by e-mail.
Introduction of New Board Member Dani Walsh (Brian Kepes) Brian introduced Dani Walsh as his replacement for Bloomfield Township. Dani is a newly elected Township Trustee.
School District Update (Jason Rubel)
Jason circulated a copy of Emergency Procedures that that the School District has developed for the buildings in the school system. The procedure was tailored for the Barton Farmhouse with the inclusion of the floor plan of the House. It will be placed in a convenient place in the House.
Jason also distributed a draft document, Bloomfield Hills Schools Educational and Operational Preferences for Barton Farmhouse. It addresses Educational Use, Scheduling, Safety, Maintenance and Operational Items. This will be placed on the February agenda for discussion.
Election of Officers for 2017 (Michael Dul) Motion (by Sue Nine, 2nd Linda Kmit): That the following slate of officers be elected to the respective positions for the year 2017:
Chairman – Michael Dul
Vice-Chair – Cynthia Von Oeyen
Secretary – John Marshall
Treasurer – Ed Anderson
Motion Approved.
Treasurer’s Report (Ed Anderson)
Ed Anderson has been selected by the Board to serve as Treasurer, replacing Al Magnus who will continue to act as a financial consultant to the Board.
Ed reported that the balance in our two Chase Bank accounts is $72,846.
The treasurer will construct a separate account and related procedure to handle the Preservation Bloomfield Endowment Fund. Sue Nine said that her husband, Paul, will volunteer to assist in drafting the legal provisions for this special fund.
Ed reported that the net proceeds from the Gingerbread Brunch this year amounted to $11,500.
Credit Card Ticket Purchases Linda Kmit
Linda reported that our credit card processing provider, Bravo, will offer an additional service that would allow the purchasing of tickets to the various fund-raising event to be done on-line. This service is being offered for a fee of an additional $44.00 per month.
It was noted that Meredith Bezak who manages the PB Web site will investigate the feasibility and advisability of electing this service.
Bloomfield Hills Optimist Club, Breakfast Meeting (John Marshall) John reported that two representatives (Ferdinand Garcia and Janet) of the Bloomfield Optimists visited the Barton House on 5 January to check out its suitability for a future Thursday morning breakfast meeting of the Club. They will contact us again if they wish to schedule the House for such an event.
Friends of Preservation Bloomfield Fundraising Events (Linda Kmit)
15 April – Farm Event – Asked to use the Barton House Porch as the venue for Easter Bunny
25 April – 2nd Annual Preservationist of the Year – Iroquois Club – Event to raise money for the Endowment fund.
10 Sept. – Corn Roast
14 Sept. – Soup Luncheon (FoPB membership recruiting)
T.b.d – Gazebo Sale
16 Nov. – Gingerbread Brunch – Pine Lake Country Club – Chairmen are: Carol Shaya, Mia Materka, and Sue Nine.
Jan. 2018 – Village Players – Buy out the House – The Stand may bring in a meal for attendees prior to the play.
Wallpaper Report (Pam Carmichael) Pam reported that the person from Waterhouse with whom she and Barbara Balow had been working had recently resigned and our project will be assigned to another representative. Barbara was given assurance that the sample runs that we requested after the November Board Meeting will be available to us prior to the February Board meeting.
Repair of the Stair Hall and the Bathroom
There are holes and other imperfection in the walls and ceilings of the Stair Hall and Bathroom that must be repaired before they can be finished. The Stair Hall must be prepared for wallpaper, and the Bathroom for painting.
The Board asked John Marshall to contact Dave Kellett to arrange with the appropriate subcontractor to perform the work.
Barton Farmhouse Operations Manual, draft (Greg Kowalski)
Greg Kowalski has prepared a draft Barton Farmhouse Operations Manual using the Hamtramck Historical Museum Operations Manual as a model. It was distributed electronically to the PB Board members.
Board members were asked to review the draft and send comments to Greg who will consolidate and present at the February PB Board Meeting.
Cynthia von Oeyen will deliver a copy to the appropriate person at the Bloomfield Hills Schools for their review and comment.
Spring Break Camp – Cabin Request (John Marshall)
April 3-7 – 200 students – ages 6 to 11
There may be an interest in opening the Craig Log cabin as one of the venues for the campers to visit.
John Marshall said that he would be happy to act as the “docent” for these camper visits and enlist additional help if needed.
Informational Signage (John Marshall)
It is important that we review any sign design and information with Bloomfield Hills Schools (Shira Good) and Bowers Farm management (Alan Jaros).
It may be that there would be an interest in having similar informational signage created for the Barn and other Bowers Farm features.
Meredith Bezak may also be able to assist with the graphic design aspects of the signs.
John will send copies of his preliminary design for the informational sign for the Cabin and the Barton House to Board members.
Next Regular Meeting: February 21, 2017
PB Board meetings are the 3rd Tuesday of the month at 2:00 PM