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HomeMy WebLinkAboutKMB 02/21/20234 Minutes.21 February-2023 RECEIVED MVFi CLERKS OFFICE, 1013 CHAR 23 P 12: 50 1-9f'rfH5FIELD'' I't� SSACeHUSETTS "Empowering residents, businesses and government to make Mansfield a greener, cleairer place to live, work and play. " KEEP MANSFILD BEAUTIFUL COMMITTEE Meeting Minutes Meeting Date: 21 February 2023 @ 6:00 p.m. Location: MBC Room -Mansfield Town Hall Attendees: Jeff Ward (Chair), Pat Colbert, Janice Wivagg, Kelly Kemp, Martha O'Connell, Mike Healey, Patrick McCue Absent: Ana Newell, Kristy Brooks (Regular Guest Participant -Waste Reduction & Recycling Committee) Guests: Neil Rhein (BOS), Kevin Dumas (Town Manager) Welcome & Call to Order • Meeting called to order at 7:03 p.m. • Motion to accept minutes from previous meeting of 17 January 2023 by Pat Colbert and Kelly Kemp. Minutes approved by committee members in attendance with Mike Healey and Patrick McCue abstaining. • Focus of the February meeting is including Mr: Dumas in the continued discussion of planned' activities' for 2023 KMB programs. • Introductions: KMB member introductions to benefit our guest, Mr: Dumas. • Observance'of a moment of reflective silence in memory of our beloved KMB Treasurer, Michael McCarthy. Our committee plans to memorialize Mike in a special way for his many years of volunteer service. The McCarthy Family is planning to install a tree at Borderland Park in Easton in Mike's memory. Treasurer's Report Discussion: In the absence of a committee treasurer, Jeff Ward and Neil Rhein informed committee members' that Ana Newell volunteered to assume the treasurer's role and associated KMB financial responsibilities, at least on an interim basis. After a brief discussion, a motion to elect Ana Newell as our committee treasurer was made. Committee members in attendance unanimously passed the motion. Mr. Dumas suggested that Ana meet with the Town of Mansfield's Treasurer, Matt Violet, as she begins to assume her new committee responsibilities. There is a line item in the 2023 budget ($2,000.00, FY2023 Grant) from the grant received from Town of Mansfield. KMB must spend these funds by 30 June 2023 else they, will be returned to the town coffers. Committee members are taking inventory and lining up expenditures for 2023 to spend these grant funds. There will be a line item in the 2024 town's budget as of 1 July 2023 for a new $2K grant for KMB. In the future, KMB can go before the BOS to request grant amount increases. KMB Mtg. Minutes 21 Feb 2023 Page 1 KMB Meeting Wilutes`21 February 2023 Note 1: The following financials and notes reflect KMB financials as of 13 December 2022 as updates are currently unavailable due to our former treasurer's sudden passing. Jeff Ward and Neil Rhein indicated that Michael McCarthy's financial sheets are available for access on the Google drive. Note 2: There was a donation pending deposit ($1,000.) in December 2022 from the Mansfield Women of Today (MWOT) organization's Touch -a -Truck event that needs to be reflected in the next financial report. Ana Newell will also send a thank you note to MWOT. Address for acknowledgement of MWOT donation: Mansfield Women of Today P.O. Box 285 Mansfield, MA 02048 Denosited Funds as of 13 December 2022 $6,632.36 (Funds @ Town Hall) $2,000.00 (FY2023 Grant) $1,751.61 (Funds @ PayPal) $330.97 (Funds @ Bluestone Bank Net Total: $10714.94 Mansfield Elks $200.00 Contact for acknowledgement of Elks Lodge 2633 donation from Family Fun Night: Rick Murray (Trustee) New DnnationsReceived Via PayPal as of 13 December 2022 Jennerations $1,000.00 / net $970.12 Note 1— Jennerations Salon made two $500.00 donations via PayPal - both donations made on December 6th. Jennerations donated $1,000 last year to KMB. Perhaps this double donation of $500.00 was intentional or an accidental double submission. Follow-up needed to confirm. Note 2 - Jeff Ward will provide Ana Newell with the appropriate. contact. name to. thank Jennerations for donations. Note 3 — Additional note on PayPal account: Mike McCarthy planned to add the Town's Tax Number / EIN and was trying to get approval for reduced fees from PayPal Np Buttle Stipend Program Funds Received Wines and More $50.00 West Mansfield Variety $50.00 KMB Expenses as of 13 December 2022 Keep Mass Beautiful: $990 (KMB Portion of Shared Storage Unit) Nin It' end Program Monies Discussion Background of Nip Stipend Prograin - Local Mansfield' liquor store owners proposed and agreed to the option' of paying KMB and the Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) organizations a $100 monthly stipend (to be split evenly between organizations) that can be used for cleanup and for educational purposes to help promote proper disposal of nip bottles. Payments began in July 2022. KMB received approximately $1300-$1500 in monies from this program in 2022. At the January 2023 meeting, KMB committee members began discussions on how best to spend the Nip funds received. Follow-up with the MADD organization was done and the committee learned that MADD utilizes KMB Mtg. Minutes 21 Feb 2023 Page 2 A KMB Meeting Minutes 21 February 20 their portion of the funds for their on -going operating expenses. There should be no issue with KMB using the funds for our programs.. Mr. Rhein informed the committee about anew MA Better Bottle Bill proposed that covers more types of beverage containers. This bill would put a deposit on water bottles, vitamin drinks, nips, and other beverage containers that did not exist when the original bottle bill was passed. The bill would also increase the current container deposit charge from 50 to 100.In addition, if the nip disposal issue persists, there is a chance that the donation program to organizations such as MADD and KMB' would end. Note for follow-up: One suggestion made by Kristy Brooks at the January meeting was having KMB sponsor a type of recycle container that would be used specifically for plastic bottle disposal at our town fields (i.e. the soccer fields or Memorial Park). This' could be a type of pilot program for future bottle recycling efforts. The recycle receptacles could be placed neat to the existing painted trash barrels at the fields. Follow-up is needed to discuss this option with DPW. Question: How would the plastic bottles be sorted and disposed of by DPW? Fundraising, Fundraising Letter The final edits'to the KMB annual fundraising` letter are expected and the plan is to have the letter mailed out to potential donors in the next two weeks. Jeff Ward received an updated list of new businesses in town from Marianne Staples and that list will be utilized with the mailing. Jeff Ward requested that Neil Rhein review and make any final edits as well as add KMB photos to the final letter copy. One related item the committee discussed in January was trying to buildout the value proposition for donors. There was a question as to what KMB could offer donors of value aside from real estate on our KMB website and being listed in our social media efforts. Jeff Ward added a Platinum donation level and there was still a need to determine what donors would receive from each contribution level. A decision was made by the committee, at the January meeting not to include sponsor names on the Spring Clean-up t.shirts. r Proposed Donation Levels Platinum ($2,500 - $5,000) Gold ($1,000 -. $2,499) Silver($500-,$999) Bronze ($100 - $499) Note 1: A spreadsheet needs to be created and copy placed on the Google drive to track donation returns. Note 2: Donation "Thank you" letters need to be developed. Recommendation was made to look at past letter copies. 2. Ston & Shop Grant No new information was received on thegrantapplication submitted to Stop &Shop. Mike Healey volunteered to do additional follow-up. Oneoinjz'Pr6arams Great Mansfield Clean -UV 2023 • Item Inventory — Mike Healey will conduct an inventory of items in our storage facility for the March meeting. These storage items include numbers of the following: t-shirts (100 mostly size Ige.), grabbers (200+), green reusable bags (300), yellow trash bags (150), brochures (250), mugs (36), water bottles (90), safety vests (20), banners (1), tents(1). KMB Mtg. Minutes 21 Feb 2023 Page 3 KMB Meeting Minutes 21 • Sponsor Recognition at Picnic - Invite sponsors to the spring clean-up picnic in April where a list'of large donors would be displayed on a banner or poster. The poster could also be displayed at Family Fun Night in July. " Event Auolication: Mr. Dumas reminded the committee that we need a special event application completed for the picnic. The information needs to ID what KMB is planning for the South Common event. Event Announcement Banners: Mr. Dumas reminded the committee of the scheduling for downtown banner hanging and suggested that Pat Colbert reach out to Craig at Town Hall asap. Pat will check' the current banner and decide if we need to order a new one for the Fall Cleanup or if there is a possibility to patch with new dates. • Precinct Man for South Common: At the January meeting, the committee discussed having a committee member at South Common to direct new late registrants to available clean-up routes. The new precinct map at Town Hall is the only copy of the map. Pat Colbert suggested keeping new registrants on available routes downtown so they could easily partake in picnic activities. • Meeting Prior to Clean -um Neil Rhein suggested the committee have a meeting 2 weeks prior to the clean-up event to finalize event details. Trash Can Be Beautiful Program Painted Barrels At the January meeting, Kelly Kemp suggested bringing back the Painted Barrel Event that was held many years ago (2010)at the old DPW facility. The town provided paint and other supplies at that time for the community event. It was suggested that KMB could use the funds recently donated by the Elks to provide the paint and supplies to participants/groups if we are able to hold this event in 2023 at the new DPW facility on East Street. r We currently need 10 barrels to replace some around the downtown area that have deteriorated: There is one barrel already primed and 5 available to be primed at the Fruit Street facility according to Mike Healey. Note: Mr. Dumas was supportive of this community event idea. He requested that Kelly Kemp reach out to Josh Reinke (DPW) and inquire about possible DPW support. Offensive Trash Sites and `Litter Free Zone' Signag_e There are several sites in town that are frequent trash eyesores and require constant clean-up vigilance. These include: School Street, Maple Street, Francis Street, and Oakland Street. Tuckers' trash on Oakland Street is especially offensive. The committee asked Mr. Dumas if there is any other action DPW can take to help keep these areas cleaner. The committee also made Mr. Dumas aware of a resident who regularly litters areas with Sutter Home containers. While this person may be causing safety issues by disposing the containers while driving through areas in town — especially in the Spring Street area — the offender would need to be caught in the act to take action. In the past, KMB has posted the "Litter Free Zone" signs which have helped with this situation and other sites mentioned above. Mike Healey to inventory and ready the signs for deploying during the nice weather. Flower Barrel'Pro ram- ' ' KMB'Mtg. Minutes 21 Feb 2023 Page 4 KMB Meeting Minutes 21 February 2023 This program was initiated in 2010 with only 10 wooden whiskey barrels. There are now approximately 108 flower barrels planted in the downtown area beginning in mid -April. KMB usually sponsors about 20 of these for aesthetics and orders several extra plants in cases where plants need replacement due to damage during the >. season. Pansies are usually planted before the annual spring clean-up event, weather permitting, and replaced with Angel Begonias that last thru fall. This is one of KMB's favorite, programs that now requires financial changes in order to make the program sustainable. KMB needs to obtain a contract commitment with business owners on plant pricing and set goals to receive payment by early April. Pat Colbert and Kelly Kemp are planning to visit businesses. Committee suggests a cost increase for participation in 2023. Cost of setting up a barrel is $70 and the on -going maintenance required during the growing season is time- consuming. Pat Colbert and Mike Healey perform regular fertilizing and watering activities to keep plants looking healthy. They currently fetch water supply'for watering plants from Fulton's Pond area and use 15 gallon buckets. It would be helpful to have the assistance of a pumping truck like the truck used at the memorial site planted on Thomas Street. Some ideas to help remedy the efforts required by maintenance activities include: • Purchase a water buffalo • Get barrel watering on a weekly schedule to help solicit volunteers • Use local landscape company to help with watering needs • Approach BOS to request more grant monies to help support program maintenance • Tap into the Senior Work Program to solicit help with plant watering Note for follow-up: Vendor and pricing needed on aluminum watering cans for program participants Adopt-a-SnotProeram Ana Newell worked on the garden design plans for the new AaS site at the West Mansfield Business Sign area on Otis Street with resident, Todd Richardson. Mr. Dumas approved the design. Plants will include evergreens, hydrangeas, and native plants and grasses that should thrive after a first year of watering and good maintenance. Ana will oversee the planting. Wildflower bombs were seeded in fall 2022 near the new AaS site as part of a wildflower pilot program and the town posted signage to mark the seeded' area. Mr. Dumas expressed optimism that the wildflowers will reduce the need for mowing and hope that neighbors will embrace the wildflowers. At the January meeting, Ana Newell indicated there are 3 potential AaS sites available for adoption: Happy Hollow site on N Main, Mary Fontes site near Old thin St in West Mansfield: and the Elks building on N Main. A suggestion was made by Mike Healey to get a volunteer group together to'do an initialtidying of the front of the Elks building. Note: Mr. Dumas offered to have DPW do some plant removal at the Happy Hollow site so a caretaker can start with a fresh look. Reach out to Josh Reinke if DPW for assistance with this task. Members noted that the garden area near Flynn's and NY Pizza are not well maintained. NY Pizza is under new ownership. Possibly speak with new owner about maintenance of area near Church Street. The Town of Mansfield is also taking over maintenance of plantings with tags near the train station. The ramp area and area near the front of the switchback ramp section needs to be planted. Town is taking responsibility as the MTBA has not maintained these areas. The committee pointed out the issue with this program link on the town's website. KMB's link was not Working properly and committee members were encouraged to go on the website and recommend any changes. Mr. Dumas suggested committee members contact Nancy Griffin for any changes needed to the town's website. Chris Linko originally created the Adopt -a Street link. KMB Mtg. Minutes 21 Feb 2023 Page 5 iB Meeting Minutes 21 February 2023 Additional Projects/ Initiatives On=Ramps —No discussion to report. Adopt -a -Highway Samsonite volunteers are set to perform a clean-up from Foxboro line to School Street on 25 April - Earth Day 2023. Neil Rhein reminded committee that the KMB commitment to Rte. 140 clean-up activity needs to be renewed. Neil will send Jeff Ward the Adopt -a -Highway info. I'Dja Litter Zone" Siena - No new activity to report. Mike Healy will inventory condition of signs and order replacements if needed so signs can be deployed as soon as weather permits. Miscellaneous Discussion Items Stop & Shop Restore Program Neil Rhein told the committee about this program run by an agency in Georgia. Keep MA Beautiful received $5K in funds from them. KMB could investigate application and solicit future funding by advertising the 29 April clean-up event. On-line Social Media'Strategv Kelly Kemp is requesting input from members on ideas or updates to website information. Kelly hopes to steer' people from Facebook to our KMB website. Suggestions for ideas/updates: • Solicit a volunteer to help with flower barrel watering • "Sponsor a Barrel" to help pay for barrels that were not sponsored by business owners (i.e. purchase a barrel for a Veteran's site), • Social media `shout outs" Uneoming. I£MB Meeting Dates for 2023 • Tuesday, March 21st • Tuesday, April'l8th • Tuesday, May 16th • Tuesday, June 13th Ngifing Adjournment Next Meeting Date: 21 March 2023 @ 7:00 p.m. Meeting Adjourned: 8:40 P. Minutes approved on: 2MM 1 2623 l�r Secretary signature: u Minutes 21 Feb_lbi3 -- Page 6