MANGROVE ACTION GROUP MEETING MINUTES
February 28, 2024
1:30pm at the Community Center
Call to Order & Quorum Determination – Tom Sabourin called the meeting to order at 1:38PM with the Pledge.
Quorum Present: John Adams (arrived after presentation), Louise Dowd, Nancy Lewis, Fil Raia, Ted Raia, Linda Roth and Tom Sabourin
Members/Guest in Attendance: 9 plus our speaker
Prior to the Speaker Presentation, Tom shared two announcements:
Speaker Presentation – Katie Laakkonen, City of Naples, Oyster Restoration (see attached presentation) A Q&A session followed Katie’s informative presentation and ended at 2:25PM. Tom called for a 5 min. break prior to continuing the monthly Board business meeting portion.
Minutes of January 24, 2024 – Additions/Corrections/Approval – Ted R. made a motion to approve the minutes as presented and John A. 2nd the motion. Motion carried.
Financial Report - John A. reported that the current operating account balance is $7,481.81 after paying the $1,118.50 invoice for the Bird Boxes. Outstanding are (2) $150 stipends/donation for the January and February speakers. The $10,000 CD matures in June.
Reports/Updates:
Board Topics – Open Discussion – None other than Linda R. suggesting we use meeting sign in sheets again.
Next Meeting Date: March 20 (Speaker: Jeremy Sterk, Earth Tech Environmental, LLC, Clam Bay)
April Meeting: April 3 tentative while working out conflicts (Speaker: Brad Cornell, Audubon Corkscrew & Western Everglades, Topic TBD)
Adjournment – with no further business, Fil made a motion to adjourn, Louise D.2nd the motion and the meeting adjourned at 3:28PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Nancy Lewis, Secretary for MAG
Quorum Present: John Adams (arrived after presentation), Louise Dowd, Nancy Lewis, Fil Raia, Ted Raia, Linda Roth and Tom Sabourin
Members/Guest in Attendance: 9 plus our speaker
Prior to the Speaker Presentation, Tom shared two announcements:
- The February PB Nature Walk had 55 attendees! The March walk will continue with two guides as planned, and from there, the need for a 3rd guide will be evaluated accordingly.
- The Bird Boxes have been installed and an article about them will be in this evening’s 2/28 e-newsletter, Today in the Bay.
Speaker Presentation – Katie Laakkonen, City of Naples, Oyster Restoration (see attached presentation) A Q&A session followed Katie’s informative presentation and ended at 2:25PM. Tom called for a 5 min. break prior to continuing the monthly Board business meeting portion.
Minutes of January 24, 2024 – Additions/Corrections/Approval – Ted R. made a motion to approve the minutes as presented and John A. 2nd the motion. Motion carried.
Financial Report - John A. reported that the current operating account balance is $7,481.81 after paying the $1,118.50 invoice for the Bird Boxes. Outstanding are (2) $150 stipends/donation for the January and February speakers. The $10,000 CD matures in June.
Reports/Updates:
- Nature Walks – The next Walk is March 13 and, again, Tom emphasized that this year is an experimental year and, as a result, future walks will be evaluated for the optimal attendee/guide ratio. The 55 attendees to 2 guides last month was phenomenal but the groups were too large. It was also noted that Mike Ruffolo, PBF Chair, attended the February Walk and mentioned it at the February Foundation meeting.
- Berm Bird Boxes - The Bird Boxes have been installed. Mary Johnson attended the installation along with Tom. He advised that it will be exciting to see what happens with the boxes because nesting season is now through May and we, therefore, hope to see some activity with them start next month.
- Website Update - Mary J. and Linda R. are still working on the MAG history to be uploaded to the website and expect to have something completed for next month.
- MAG Bookmark - Prior to the commencement of the meeting, Tom shared the MAG bookmark mockup with Ted R. and advised that they are hoping to have it done for the March Nature Walk, working with Office Depot.
- Membership / Fundraising – Board discussion centered around the $25 annual membership fee and whether it was per person or per household and when it would become effective. At the conclusion of the discussion, Ted. R. made a motion to accept the new member policy of $25 per household effective October 1, 2024 for the 2024/25 MAG season, with the roll out announcement of it to be made at the March annual meeting. Fil R. 2nd the motion. Motion unanimously carried.
- Naples Grande 11PM Beach Restaurant Proposal – Tom presented to the Board information that a proposed ordinance had been made at the County to have the Clam Pass restaurant remain open until 11PM and that (perhaps) the hotel might be expanding on the beach. Discussion followed as to who had jurisdiction over this (PB, PBSD and/or CC Parks & Rec) and whether MAG should take a position. Ultimately, it was determined that, at this point, it was a rumor that needed to be looked into, so no Board action was needed.
Board Topics – Open Discussion – None other than Linda R. suggesting we use meeting sign in sheets again.
Next Meeting Date: March 20 (Speaker: Jeremy Sterk, Earth Tech Environmental, LLC, Clam Bay)
April Meeting: April 3 tentative while working out conflicts (Speaker: Brad Cornell, Audubon Corkscrew & Western Everglades, Topic TBD)
Adjournment – with no further business, Fil made a motion to adjourn, Louise D.2nd the motion and the meeting adjourned at 3:28PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Nancy Lewis, Secretary for MAG
MANGROVE ACTION GROUP MEETING MINUTES
January 24, 2024
1:30pm at the Community Center
Call to Order: Tom Sabourin, President, called the meeting to order at 1:34PM with the Pledge.
Quorum Present: John Adams, Louise Dowd, Peter Duggan, Mary Johnson, Nancy Lewis, Ted Raia, Linda Roth and Tom Sabourin
There were 13 members and guests in attendance. Peter took a moment to introduce the attending Nature Walk Guides: Sid Freund, Florida Master Naturalist and Lisa Arnold and Deb Seibel, Naturalists.
Nature Walk – The first Nature Walk went well with 14 people in attendance. Tom thanked Louise for getting the Nature Walk announcements placed throughout Pelican Bay in visible common areas.
Speaker Presentation – Brittany Piersma, Audubon Western Everglades (the speaker presentation began with Tom S. introducing Brittany. The presentation ended at 2:29 and was followed with questions from members/visitors (see separate presentation summary).
Minutes of November 15, 2023 – In review of the minutes, the Board discussed setting a new policy to not include donor’s names and donation amounts without specific donor permission. As a result, Louise D. made a motion to accept the draft minutes with corrections as suggested by Tom and the removal of the donor name and gift amount. Mary Johnson 2nd the motion and it carried unanimously.
Financial Report – John A. & Tom S. met at Truist Bank today, ordered new checks and transferred $10,000 from the checking account into a 5 month CD @ 5%APR. John reported the checking account balance is now $8,588.22. In addition, Tom S. advised we now have a new P.O. box.
Reports/Updates:
Membership / Fundraising – The intended roll out date of the new membership campaign will be at the annual meeting on March 20th.
Board Topics – Open Discussion – A suggestion was made to begin using sign-in sheets at meetings again in order to increase our email list and membership.
Next Meeting Date: February 28 (Speaker: Katie Laakkonen, City of Naples, on Oyster Restoration)
March Meeting: March 20 (Speaker: Jeremy Sterk, ETE FL, Clam Bay)
Adjournment – With there being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 4:15PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Nancy Lewis, Secretary
Quorum Present: John Adams, Louise Dowd, Peter Duggan, Mary Johnson, Nancy Lewis, Ted Raia, Linda Roth and Tom Sabourin
There were 13 members and guests in attendance. Peter took a moment to introduce the attending Nature Walk Guides: Sid Freund, Florida Master Naturalist and Lisa Arnold and Deb Seibel, Naturalists.
Nature Walk – The first Nature Walk went well with 14 people in attendance. Tom thanked Louise for getting the Nature Walk announcements placed throughout Pelican Bay in visible common areas.
Speaker Presentation – Brittany Piersma, Audubon Western Everglades (the speaker presentation began with Tom S. introducing Brittany. The presentation ended at 2:29 and was followed with questions from members/visitors (see separate presentation summary).
Minutes of November 15, 2023 – In review of the minutes, the Board discussed setting a new policy to not include donor’s names and donation amounts without specific donor permission. As a result, Louise D. made a motion to accept the draft minutes with corrections as suggested by Tom and the removal of the donor name and gift amount. Mary Johnson 2nd the motion and it carried unanimously.
Financial Report – John A. & Tom S. met at Truist Bank today, ordered new checks and transferred $10,000 from the checking account into a 5 month CD @ 5%APR. John reported the checking account balance is now $8,588.22. In addition, Tom S. advised we now have a new P.O. box.
Reports/Updates:
- Berm Bird Boxes Update – Tom S. reported the paperwork is in place with Brian Beckner for the bird boxes and that we have a verbal agreement with the PB Foundation for the maintenance cost of the 8 boxes in PB’s next budget cycle ($850). Tony D’Errico will assign a staff member to coordinate the periodic maintenance starting October 1st. MAG will pick up the approximate initial $1100 cost of the boxes and installation. Tom advised that he’d let the Board know when the boxes will be installed in the event any members would like to join in.
- Website Update – Prior to the meeting Tom sent the website link out for the board to review. Both Linda R. and Mary J. felt the history needed to elaborate more on the mangrove die off and how the PBSD became responsible for maintaining Clam Pass. They stressed the importance of including it in order to understand how Mangrove Action Group came into being. Both Linda and Mary agreed to work together to expand on the details of the history and report back next month.
- MAG Bookmark – Tom S. shared a sample MAG bookmark and asked for a volunteer to take charge and have one made. No volunteers came forth and Ted Raia (in absentia) was overwhelmingly elected to spearhead that.
- MAG Trifold – Tom S. also had a mockup of an updated trifold brochure and will e-mail it to the board for review. Its’ purpose is to be a vehicle for membership. Linda R. provided Tom with an old membership application to review to incorporate into it and/or put on the website.
Membership / Fundraising – The intended roll out date of the new membership campaign will be at the annual meeting on March 20th.
Board Topics – Open Discussion – A suggestion was made to begin using sign-in sheets at meetings again in order to increase our email list and membership.
Next Meeting Date: February 28 (Speaker: Katie Laakkonen, City of Naples, on Oyster Restoration)
March Meeting: March 20 (Speaker: Jeremy Sterk, ETE FL, Clam Bay)
Adjournment – With there being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 4:15PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Nancy Lewis, Secretary
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