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HomeMy WebLinkAboutKMB 9/15/2026Y l llt i. "Empowering residents, businesses and government to make Mansfield a greener, cleaner place to five, work and play." KEEP MANSFIELD BEAUTIFUL COMMITTEE Meeting Minutes Meeting Date: 15 September 2026 @ 7:00 p.m. Location: Room 3A/13-Mansfield Town Hall Attendees: Jeff Ward (Chair), Ana Newell, Janice W ivagg, Pat Colbert, Martha O'Connell, Tobey Lovett Ludlow, Lisa Chaffee, Kelly Kemp, Danielle Dupre, Kara DesRoche Welcome & Call to Order • Meeting call to order at 7:03 p.m. • Motions made to accept minutes from KMB meeting of 9 June 2026 and approved by committee members in attendance. Treasurer's Report Treasurers Report as of 15 September 2026 Total FY 2026: $15,347.58 Mural Account: $1,297.30 Net Total: $16,644.88 Rrnnkilnwn of Finnncink by KMR Program Program Name Town Hall Account PayPal PayPal Expenses FYT Fees Cleanup 2026' $100.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $100.00 Cleanup 2027 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 Flower Barrel Program 2026 $780.00 $0.00 $0.00 $2520.00 $1,740.00 Flower Barrel Program 2027 $10.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $10.00 pg.1 Program Name Town Hall Account PayPal PayPal Fees Expenses FYT Flower Barrel Program 2028 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 Adopt -a -Spot $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 Nip Bottle Initiative Stipend 2026 $100.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $100.00 Nip Bottle Initiative Stipend 2027 $600.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $600.00 KMB Administration $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $23.19 $23.19 Family Fun Night $162.00 $10.00 $.78 $0 $171.22 Total FY 2027 $1,752.00 $10.00 $0.78 $2,543.19 ($781.97) Total KMB Balances Prior Yrs. $16,129.55 Total FY 2026 $15,347.58 Mural Account $3,000.36 $1,703.06 $1,297.30 Net Total $16,644.88 Notes from Treasurer: • Ana Newell reported spending $1,703.06 of mural account funds. Funds were used towards the memorial bench and plaque at Fulton's Pond. • Nip Stipend Funds of $600 were collected for 2027 -new town fiscal year started July 1, 2026. • Ana Newell reported she has an additional $111 to deposit into the KMB account. The IONICS /Mitsubishi check for $390.00 was raised for discussion. IONICS /Mitsubishi performed a great cleanup and there is a question regarding the outstanding donation check meant for KMB that was sent to Keep MA Beautiful. KMB does not have an agreement with Keep Massachusetts Beautiful to accept funds on our behalf. Can these funds be applied towards our KMB fees or shared storage costs with Keep MA Beautiful? We have done something similar with these funds in the past. Ana will follow up with Neil Rhein. • Jeff Ward will follow up with Neil Rhein on question about KMB's need to pay fee to be a member of Keep America Beautiful. We are already members of Keep MA Beautiful. Welcome Lisa Chaffe We welcomed Lisa Chaffee as an official member of the KMB Board. Lisa is also a member of the Mansfield Garden Club and helped out KMB at the Family Fun Night in July. Jeff Ward would like us to have an updated group photo taken at the October meeting for the website. pg. 2 Open KMB Board Position KMB currently has an open board position. An item for the open position was included in the last KMB Newsletter. Kelly Kemp previously suggested providing an informational handout that can be given to interested applicants. She indicated how important it is to invite potential candidates to a KMB meeting. Fundraising 2027 Kara DesRoche and Jeff Ward will resume their work on fundraising efforts and finalize letters. Discussion ensued about the timing of letter distribution and personalization. Agreement that the personalization was a nice touch and should continue. Suggestion was made to simplify the levels of the donation amounts and include a mention that any small amount outside the specified levels would be welcome. KMB used Allegra in the past for letter printing. Pat Colbert mentioned that Allegra moved their location fi•om Mansfield to Franklin. Since Allegra provided KMB with excellent service for many years, we agreed we should continue to use their services. Jeff Ward mentioned that Bluestone Bank is taking applications for grant monies for non -profits through their charitable foundation. Since KMB no longer has 5010 status, we may not be able to apply. Jeff plans to contact Kim Thomas, who manages the grant process for Bluestone Bank, to inquire if a grant recipient is required to be a 501 c3 organization or if there is opportunity to receive a donation outside of this initiative. Conversations/Initiatives/Miseellaneous Nancy Wall Memorial Bench and Plaque Ana Newell discussed the location of the site for the memorial bench placement with DPW and Nancy's husband which was changed from North Common to Fulton's Pond. Both sites are near Nancy's former residence on West Street. Wording for the plaque inscription attached to the memorial bench was to include Nancy's birth year and death year dates (1945-2025) as requested by Nancy's husband, David Love. Costs for the memorial bench and attached plaque were funded through the Mural Account. We need to coordinate with Nancy's husband and get a bench dedication date on the calendar. At a past meeting, the Board discussed placing a plaque in Nancy's memory on the mural wall. Nancy's husband had also mentioned placing a plaque indicating Nancy's connection to the mural on a tree in North Common. Since a plaque on the mural would require spec design and commissioning someone to do the painting on the existing mural, we discussed alternatives. There is a dedication plaque at Harry Chase Place that may be the best alternative. Kelly Kemp volunteered to explore the costs of a similar picture plaque for Nancy Wall. Town Manager Invitation Jeff Ward will reach out to the new Town Manager, Mallory Aronstein, with an invitation to our next KMB meeting. Mallory will be invited to attend our upcoming 10/13 meeting or the 11/17 meeting. Nit) Bottle Recycling Disposal of nips is still a concern. There was a past bill sponsored at the MA State level banning the sale of nips. Janice Wivagg communicated with Neil Rhein (Executive Director, Keep MA Beautiful), about a campaign to modernize the current Bottle Bill. Janice will continue to follow up with Neil to find out if there is any update on that bill movement. pg. 3 Neil Rhein previously reported that Senator Paul Feeney is sponsoring a bill that would include education regarding moving vehicles and trash disposal. Senator Feeney stopped by the KMB Cleanup Picnic in April to promote support for the bill. Janice Wivagg reported that a bill is making its way through The Ways & Means Committee on Beacon Hill that may help fund monies for highway cleanup. Neil Rhein is a member of that committee. Ongoing Programs Traffic Box Wrap Project Revisited - Pat Colbert originally worked with designer Karen Reardon to create the Select Board approved design for a KMB funded traffic box wrap at the corner of Pratt Street and Rte. 106 across from Caanan Fuel. The box was prepped for the wrap installation in 2025 and the initial company who was slated to install the wrap could not deliver. The wrap must be installed in warm weather. Pat Colbert inquired at Bay State and Ana Newell inquired at Allegra. Neither vendor currently produces wraps. Follow up will occur to seek other potential vendors. Home Depot Community Outreach Program — Kara DesRoche is working with Home Depot Community Liaisons (Zachary & Doug) to discuss on all going KMB/HD partnership ideas. Kara has been working with Home Depot and the JJ School to procure a water buffalo. Kara reported that HD is providing new fencing for the updated Jordan Jackson School science garden. Kara has also been working with the JJ Principal and 2 science teachers on the garden projects. The hope is to eventually connect the science garden with the pollinator garden that was established by KMB. The pollinator garden was pushed back by plowing last winter. We may want to consider placing plow sticks around the garden before this winter sets in to prevent more damage. Kara plans to do a write up on the garden project in the newsletter when the science garden is ready. Home Depot did not want KMB to publish recognition for their fencing contribution and other work although KMB might consider making mention on our website, so residents are aware. Flower Barrel Program —Neil Rhein provided content in the town newsletter on this program as well as a wrap-up on the Spring Cleanup. KMB received some feedback on the watering cans that were purchased at a Tractor Supply for the downtown program. A single sampling indicated some paint may have some lead content. If KMB decides to re -order watering cans in the future, we will check paint contents with the vendor. We Noticed Program — Pat Colbert mentioned considering Mansfield Meadows on Stearns Ave as a potential candidate for the award recognition. Painted Barrels Program — No new discussion. Adopt -a- Street — Brownie Troop contacted KMB to adopt a street. May be a safety issue for children. Community Roots Program_ The free trees from Patriot Subaru in No Attleboro were distributed during the 2026 Spring Cleanup Picnic. Danielle Dupre will follow up with Neil Rhein about program continuity. KMB will need to decide how to award new trees in the future. Do we want a raffle or signup7 TBD. Adopt -a -Spot Program — There are two garden sites that still need permanent adoption: the Flammia Square Memorial on Rte. 106 near the Jeep Dealership and the Mansfield Bike Path gardens. The sites have perennial plants and require seasonal maintenance. Site Location Caretaker Contact Email Garden at Entrance to Mansfield Public Presentato Landscape Library Company Peter Presentato cetera rresentatolandwat) inng.com Island at School Street and Old Elm in West Mansfield Mansfield Elks Nikki Benencourt NMR1771(alhotmail.com Superintendent's Butterfly Garden at Town Hall The Garden Lady Stephanie Hooper steohaardenlady@yahoo com East Mansfield Business Sign - Corner of Riverview East Street and Etc. 106 LandscapeslGuerrini Chelsey Buckley ebuckleyt?riverviewco.com Flagpole Garden at East Common and East Common Sign The Garden Lady Stephanie Hooper steplrgardenladv a yahoo.com Fulton's Duck Pond and Two Memorial Family of Matthew C. Linda Mercier - Rocks McCue Janssen IindamercierjansscncOverizon.act Garden at Verizon Bldg. on North Main - Samoset Ave The Garden Lady Stephanie Hooper stenheardenladytrAyahoo.com Willow Street Island Ward Family Jeff Ward iward1010(aPmail.com Island at Welcome to West Mansfield Sign Todd Richardson Todd Richardson Iodd ir)carichardson.Coal Small Garden on West Street near Fulton's Bridge Danielle Dupre Danielle Dupre danidupa ggmail.com Corner of Main Street and Cottage Street - next to Happy Hollow Celia Herschlag Celia Herschlag celia.herschlag n gmaii.com Carnevalli Square Veteran's Memorial - Pratt Street by GMC dealership Kristen Shannon Country Krisse614(ayahoo.com Devine Square - Winthrop Street after embankment Stephen/Kerry Smith Stephen Smith Kssmilh2(a}verizon.net Flammia Square - Rte. 106 after under pass on right side near Jeep Dealer TBD Mike McCarthy Memorial Bench - Fulton's Pond Julie McCarthy Julie McCarthy juliemecarthy968 ggmail.com Jessica Small site at intersection of Fruit Street Jessica Walsh/Cindy Walsh/Cindy .and Hall Street near Mansfield airport. Buckley Buckley jbuckley2390 agmail.com Butterfly { Pollinator Garden at Jordan Friends of Jordan Jackson School Jackson Kara Hanks kart.lianks@gmail.com Mansfield Bike Path- Fruit Street enhance TBD Lisa Chaffee and Rails for Trails Bridge (interim) Fall. Clean Up- Registration is OPEN on the KMB website. Event dates: Nov 1-Nov 15. Participants can register now or contact into @DkeepmansfieldbeaLit ift Ixom. For more information check the KMB Clean up page on the website. The Fall banner will be posted over Rte. 106 for the last 2 weeks in October. There are plenty of supplies at our storage facility. Pat Colbert will place supplies for participants to pick up on her front porch. 2027 Spring Cleanup Ideas — Since the 2027 Spring Cleanup will be the 20a' Anniversary event, the group started a list of potential ideas to make the event more memorable and to help increase participant numbers. Projected date: Saturday, 24 April 2027. This date is the last Saturday of school vacation week. Further discussion at upcoming meetings. Marketing Ideas for upcoming Spring Cleanup: pg. 5 • Promo - Start promoting early (after the holidays) — Save the Date • Social media- Post on various websites, FB, Instagram • Venue selection—Fulton's Pond vs. South Common • Recruit Volunteers - school groups to get more volunteers- Environmental Club, National Honor Society, Sports Teams, Band • Promote Nostalgia- Do you remember the Mansfield cleanup when growing up? • Displays - Gather collection of former cleanup t-shirts for display • Deploy litter signage to problem areas • Signage - Digital signs posted around town announcing dates, signup opportunities • Outreach - Advertise dates with local preschools • Write up in the Town Manager's newsletter • Write up in the school superintendent's newsletter and the school principals' newsletters • Ask Paul Feeney to send a message to his followers • Announcements - Large eye catching 2-sided signs/painted and placed at North Common and South Common intersections • Painted signs in the shape of the volunteer's T-shirt • Colorful flyers posted around town with graphics vs. just words ... .......... I......................... Activity Ideas for Spring Clean up After Party: • A band, ice cream truck, food truck, face painting • Photo booth • Raffle • Rent a Jumpy House or Inflatable Slide (maybe we could get one donated?) • Lawn Games: Cornhole, Giant Jenga, etc, • Meet and greet with Paul Feeney, Town Manager, and any other local "celebrities" • Recruit volunteers to help on picnic day with activities. Motion made to adjourn meeting and approved by all members. Meeting Adiourned: 9:06 p.m. Next Meeting Date: Tuesday,13 October 2026 @ 7:00 p.m. Minutes approved on: Secretary signature: pg. 6