WICOMICO NEIGHBORHOOD CONGRESS

Rewastico Creek, in Athol and near Hebron in the Fall.

WICOMICO NEIGHBORHOOD CONGRESS
P.O. BOX 145
SHARPTOWN, MD 218 61
“Education, Organization, Empowerment & Advocacy”

GENERAL MEETING
September 22, 2009 @ 6:30 PM
Room 300, Government Office Building
Route 50 and North Division Street,
Salisbury, MD

WNC OFFICERS
President Jim Ireton
President Elect Mike Pretl
Secretary Mary Jane Marine
Treasurer Lena Wallop


I. PRESENT:

City Council Debbie Campbell, (Camden Avenue) Kurt Drechsler (Harbor Pointe) Jim Fineran (County Executive Office), Julie Glanz, (Intern SU) Bob Hocult, Winona Hocult, Mayor Jim Ireton (Johnson’s Lake), Mary Jane Marine (Sharptown), Cindy Pilchard (Schumaker Woods), and Lena Wallop (West Side).
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II. CALL TO ORDER:

Secretary Mary Jane Marine called the meeting to order at 6:30 PM at the request of Mayor Ireton who called and said he was running a little late due over-lap of other meetings.
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III. BUSINESS:
It was agreed that the minutes of August 25, 2009 were accurate and acceptable.

The Treasurer reported a balance of $254.10.
It was decided it would be acceptable for the secretary to send out a draft agenda a week before our regularly scheduled meeting to give members an opportunity to include topics for discussion at the upcoming meeting.
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VI. DISCUSSION:

1. WNC Website:
Kurt Drechsler explained two separate web site possibilities. The first being a 2 or 3 page link from the County’s website. It would include upcoming events, local pictures and a procedure for downloading an application. He will discuss this setup with the County’s webmaster Ray Machiche and Donna Rush. She would store our pictures separately to avoid losing them should there be a change in the County’s website. This link would be at no cost.
The second possibility would be our own website with an approximate cost of $1,500.00. It would be open to what ever we would want to include on it. Kurt Drechsler said he would suggest we discuss the financing with members who own a business that would be interested in purchasing advertising space. The tax exemption matter was discussed but nothing was decided.

2. Home Owners Association Contacts:
Mayor Ireton made copies of the HOA list of address/contacts for Cindy Pilchard and Julie Glanz which Jim Fineran had put together with information from County Public Works. The list will be helpful in promoting the WNC.

3. 2nd Annual Convention:
Mayor Ireton said the university will be the site again for the convention. Suggested ways to promote the upcoming event were through e-mail by individual member’s contacts and neighborhood association contacts, flyers on campus and other locations, the media by community events listings, regular mailings and members asking friends to attend.

Cindy Pilchard volunteered to put together a fly. She will form a committee that includes Winona Hocult, and others she would ask, to copy, address and help out in any way to promote the convention scheduled for Tuesday, evening October 27. Jim Fineran will put together a press release for the committee. He and Lena Wallop will work with PAC 14 for a segment on promoting the WNC and the convention as well if it works with the scheduling.

Topics of interest for the convention were again discussed. It was suggested that perhaps questions from the audience and response from the experts instead of a lecture type forum would be more interesting. Topics to be included would be crime, environment – what individuals can do, a tip sheet as a hand-out, perhaps contacting Margaret Vivian for rain barrel and rain garden information, organizing a neighborhood crime watch, organizing a neighborhood association and Assessment of Community Attributes i.e. – why people live where they live – the best part of where I live is and what are the good things that keep you in your neighborhood.
Lena Wallop said the West Side Community Foundation would be interested in the convention. Mayor Ireton said there is a new neighborhood group organizing on North Divisions Street beyond the cemetery.

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V. MOVING FORWARD:
Cindy Pilchard may be asking several of the members to help her with the promotional preparations for the conference. Mayor Ireton is familiar with the contacts for the presentations. He may be coordinating this with Cindy Pilchard and her committee for help in this regard.

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VI. ADJOURNMENT.
The meeting was adjourned at 7:35 PM.
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VII. NEXT MEETING:

OCTOBER 27, 2009 – TIME AND DETAILS TO FOLLOW - OUR ANNUAL CONVETION BE SURE AND BRING A FRIEDN. MARK YOUR CALENDAR NOW TO RESERVE THAT DATE FOR THE WNC.