Thursday, July 26, 2007

Fido General Meeting Minutes 7/24/07

South Euclid F.I.D.O. Dog Park Meeting

Meeting Minutes

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

FIDO Membership list of attendees: Jennifer Bartlett, Chuck & Laura Berk, Amy Biro, Freddie Conwell, Jean Durant, Cynthia Hale, Denise Hatala, Judy Henderson, Merrill Henkin, Danielle Merriman, Kari-Ellen Organiscak, Marianne Reeves, Aspasia Sicking,Kevin Wachs, Carolyn Wadatz.

Welcome to our new members: Marsha Ungar, Henry Ungar and Oscar Saks

FIDO Supporting Member list of attendees: Hanne Jonikall (I hope I spelled it right Hanne), Ken Roehl, Norah Joseph and Philip Wolpe, (Please excuse me if I left anyone out).

Meeting started at 7:05 p.m.

Chuck began the meeting by thanking everyone for showing up to the meeting. And we quickly introduced the interim board members to the attendees.

1. Secretary’s Minutes: The secretary read the minutes from the last meeting of May, 22nd.

  1. Treasurers Report: Numbers from the Treasurers' Report of 7/24 (all numbers correct as of 7/23):

Revenue

From membership dues = $500.00
From Dog Walk Event = $437.00
From Brick campaign = $5,885.00
Total revenue = $6,822.00

Expenditures

From postage for first mailing = $942.21
From postage for thank you notes = $24.60
From purchase of bricks = $1,058.50

Total expenditure = $2025.31

Net gain = $4,796.69

Estimated expected cost of postage for second mailing (3800 pieces at .277) = $1052.60. Savings by using 5-digit presorted bulk over first class $505.40.

  1. Report from the Board: Danielle and Amy were nominated for interim Vice President. And Danielle was elected by a vote of 12 to 1. Congratulations Danielle for being elected to Fido’s interim Vice President. Jean and Denny were appointed by the board to be Board Members at-large. Congratulations to them also.
  1. Proposed revisions to the bylaws: For the replacement of website and e-mail addresses. Change to the bylaws was voted on and amended by a vote of 12 to 0.
  1. Events and Fundraising report: The next event and fundraiser is the South Euclid Fun Days. Slated to start this Saturday, July 28th, from noon till after the fireworks. Sunday, July 29th, from noon till 6:00 p.m. FIDO will have a booth at the Fun Days. We will be displaying some of the Café Press items that people can view and order online. Also, there will be brick fundraiser forms and membership forms available. Also, Jen who is a Vet-Tech will be at the booth various times on both days to answer any pet related questions.
  1. Kiosk Update: Chuck reported that the kiosk should be completed in approximately 2 weeks. Chuck also talked to Ed Gallagher (the Maintenance Director of South Euclid) and he reported that the water to the dog park will be installed in approximately 2 weeks. The Contractor had been hired and it is a matter of scheduling. Also, he reported that the 2 lights will be repaired in approximately 4 to 6 weeks. CEI has been contacted to do the repairs.
  1. New Business: The Electoral Committee was formed and will be taking nominations for the upcoming October elections. The Electoral Committee consists of following members: The Secretary (Laura Berk), Marianne Reeves, Jen Bartlett and Cynthia Hale. We will be accepting nominations for Board Member positions for President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer. The nominations must be made in writing by delivery to a electoral committee member or via email to any of the electoral committee members email accounts, by August 21st. Any active member may make a nomination, and the nominee must be an active FIDO member in good standing and willing to serve.
8.Open Discussion: These are points brought up during the open discussion period.

  • Enlarging Dog Park downhill.
  • Coyote roller for on top of the fence for escaping dogs that like to jump fences.
  • Can we fix the double gate to keep small dogs in?
  • Signs that say Do not open both gates at the same time.
  • Get paper recycling bin for paper, newspaper and magazines. To provide income for FIDO. Maybe even a plastics recycling bin.
  • Apply for grants to pay for park improvements.

The Meeting was adjourned at 8:30 p.m.


These minutes are respectfully recorded and submitted by the FIDO interim secretary Laura Berk.

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Dog Park Ground Cover Contractors

Hi everyone,

Jean asked me to post this info on the contractor quotations that we have received so far concerning the ground cover at the dog park. The question was asked at the general meeting as to the status of the ground cover.

Please keep in mind that these are not decisions and only Jean's opinion of the different contractors to this point.

Monachino is my first choice. ($9,800.00) He’s done a lot of work for local contractors and I’ve never heard anything but good about him. He is a dog owner and seemed to have a genuine interest in the project. He spent almost two hours testing the dirt, discussing the project with me, and asked the most (and most intelligent) questions of any of the contractors. Also his bid reads that if more gravel is needed than was stated in the bid it would be at no extra cost to us for the gravel or the labor.

Cooley is my second choice. ($10,115.75) He also showed a genuine interest in the project and said that he would work with us (some) with the bid price. He seemed to be competent and knowledgeable, but I don’t know anyone who has used his company.

Chagrin Enterprises is my third choice. ($15,850.00) His company has a good reputation but it’s a subcontract company and his price is way high. Usually subcontract companies have to give a portion of their profit to the main company.

SEVCO is my fourth choice. ($10,900.00) Sevco is the main company, but the work would be done by an independent contractor. The bidder (who would be the actual contractor) was very nice but didn’t seem to have much experience with this type of project.

We will keep everyone in the loop as the project goes along.

Saturday, July 21, 2007

Dog Park Waste

Several people have been telling me about dog droppings left in the park that have not been picked up and what we should do about them. We do have some very dedicated park patrons who graciously patrol the park every morning picking up the droppings from the previous day, and I definitely thank them for their hard work and diligence.

It is up to the individual dog owners to pick up after their dogs and remove the waste they make. We do have signs that were generously donated put up in the park to remind people to keep an eye on their dogs and pick up after them.

The main purpose of FIDO is as a fund raising organization, and not for the purpose of maintenance of the dog park on a daily basis. FIDO can help to organize people for fund raising, obtaining a kiosk, ground cover, and water, but FIDO has NO power over the day to day activities or rule enforcement at the dog park. It is up to the individual dog owners to control their dogs, pick up the waste and keep the park clean.

The rules on the dog park sign are based on the rules at other dog parks around the country, and must be reviewed by the city of South Euclid Law director prior to posting at the dog park.

Please help keep our dog park a clean and healthy place to have fun.

See you all at the dog park

Thursday, July 19, 2007

Revised General Meeting Agenda

Hi Everyone, I have made some changes to the agenda for the July 24th 2007 General meeting. Here is an updated version. Please keep in mind that this may be subject to change prior to the meeting.

See you at the Dog Park...

FIDO South Euclid Dog Park Committee

General Meeting Agenda
South Euclid Community Center
Tuesday, July 24th, 2007 7:00 pm


1. Call to Order

2. Secretary Report and minutes of last general meeting - Laura

3. Treasurers Report – Kevin / Cat

4. Report from the Board

a. Appointments to the board
b. Proposed revisions to the bylaws

5. Committee reports

a. Fundraising - Kevin
b. Events - Kevin
c. communications - Laura Malto
d. Maintenance ?
e. Kiosk update

6. 0ld business if there is any - ?

7. New business
a. nominations and Interim Vice President (re-vote for at large members)
b. Creation of Electoral committee
c. Nominations for permanent committee members for next general election (yearly) in October

8. Open discussion

9. Adjourn meeting

Monday, July 16, 2007

Welcome To The New South Euclid FIDO Website

Hello and welcome to The FIDO Committee's New Website at www.SouthEuclidFIDO.org. First of all, I would like to thank all volunteers and donors, past and present, for their tireless work and support of FIDO. Without their help there would be no dog park.


FIDO, which stands for Friends of the Ideal Dog Park, Off-Leash was created in mid 2004 by South Euclid Councilwoman Sunny Simon and a small group of citizens dedicated to creating a place in our community for dog owners to exercise, socialize their dogs, and promote responsible dog ownership. It is also a great place to meet your neighbors and make new friends.


My wife Laura and I have been associated with FIDO since its inception, and we are very excited about the direction that the committee and dog park have taken, and the bright future ahead.


In this blog I will be posting meeting agendas, meeting minutes or anything else that would be of interest to all the dog park patrons.


I hope you enjoy our new web site and I hope you will consider joining FIDO or making a donation.


See you at the Dog Park,


Chuck, Laura, Lucy, and Tillie