Potsdam Humane Society
Board of Directors Meeting
July 14, 2014 @ 5:30 p.m. at PHS 17 Madrid Ave.
Multi-Purpose Room
Attendees: R. Jewett, K. McAllister, L. Camaano, D. Massell, S. Smith, T. Donahue, A. Lindsey, B. Boyd, T. Beane, R. Huckle, L. Waterson, A. Maynard (staff), Betty Wolf (guest/volunteer at Best Friends)
Meeting called to order at 5:32 p.m.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
– M. Proulx resignation. C. Tuttle thanked M. Proulx for her service to the board and explained that Missie had submitted her resignation as she regrettably does not have the time available. She relayed that her and her husband Jeff would continue to support the Shelter.
MEETING MINUTES:
– Meeting minutes from 5/20/2014 board meeting were emailed out just prior to the meeting.
– Approval of minutes from 6/17/14. Posted online. T. Beane motioned to approve, T. Donahue seconded; motion carried to approve minutes.
DIRECTOR’S REPORT: Report is posted online at:
– Cat adoptions: A. Maynard provided an update on the status of the cat intakes. She received a call from Parishville today from someone that had 100 cats that he “needs to get rid of”. A. Maynard will do some research on this situation and see if there are opportunities to spay/neuter the cats. She told him that there presently is no room in the Shelter for these cats. To address the cat population increase, the Shelter is running adoption promotions (animals that have been here >6 months are half off). A couple advertisements have been run. Adoptions are occurring but the number of cats coming into the shelter is high. Some feral releases are occurring. A. Maynard will reach out to Channel 7 News to request a piece on the cat population crisis. D. Massell recommended that every Saturday that we bring a couple cats to Best Friends to be displayed off premises and that we take cats to Farmer’s Market.
– Town Contract Pricing: The board discussed the proposed pricing structure for the upcoming Town contracts. Board members agreed that they would like the proposed pricing structure to follow the same logic that was proposed last year – attempt to make pricing more fair based on the numbers of animals. Board agreed that 1/3 of the cost of the impact of the minimum wage increase will be passed on to the municipal contracts. That will be 1/3 of $20,000. A. Maynard will put schedule out for Town meetings so board members can attend with her.
– Letter to Vets: Board agreed that we would offer distemper/parvo to customers that are coming in for SNIP program. A. Maynard will update program materials and pricing information. Letter to vets will not be sent based on this minor program modification.
– Thank you letter and documentation of contributions from last year generated about $6,300 in unsolicited donations.
CORRESPONDANCE REPORTS: None to report.
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
Finance: No Report this month.
Fund Raising (Suzanne (chair), Amber, Karen, Ruth)
– Par for Paws is Friday July 25th at 1:00 p.m. –S. Smith provided an update on the event. There are 1-2 fewer gold and silver donors. Up to about $5700 in cash sponsors thus far. Could use a few more golfers. We have about 12 teams so far and food will be provided. Board members are needed to help with the event (i.e., registration, setup crew, clean up, food, etc.) More prizes could also be used. Email will be sent to volunteers and posted on Facebook. Suggested that we send letters out to sponsors in February annually for the event. Gold sponsors are Save-A-Lot, TNR Wines and Liquors, Town and Country, LTI, and MH Studios.
– Car Wash – A. Lindsey mentioned that she would approach her boss to sponsor another car wash in July at June meeting. It is scheduled for August 16th ~10 – 1 p.m. Signage will be Potsdam Humane Society Car Wash.
– August 23rd is Garage Sale.
Public Relations & Donor Recognitions (Bonnie (chair), Kay, Lucille, Suzanne, Tony): B. Boyd mentioned that there was a request from a donor for plaque for deceased pet friends. Personnel/Operations Report (Carrie (co-chair), Tony (co-chair), Linda, and Ruth): No Report this month.
Technology Committee (Rob (chair), Carrie, Irene, Kay, Julie Johnson): B. Boyd requested permission to do an advertisement find a volunteer for website update. Board agreed this is a priority.
Best Friends: (Bonnie, Missie, Lucille, Amber, Karen): B. Boyd emailed a copy of Hilary’s report for Best Friends. Bonnie passed around some graphs that show the month by month contributions and that the thrift store is performing better than expected. Bonnie relayed that the store needs 6-8 regular cashier volunteers and 3-4 inventory volunteers. Base is solid but we need additional volunteers and it’s taking time to grow the volunteers which will free up Hilary and Bonnie as they are contributing significantly. Hilary has requested an increase of $200 per month (from $800 to $1,000). R. Huckle motioned to approve the increase, T. Beane seconded the motion. Motion carried. C. Tuttle requested that Hilary submit a revised contract that includes the increase.
Personnel/Operations Committee: No updates
OLD BUSINESS
– PHS Sign – total budget now at $800. Next step is to get quotes from different sign companies. No updates. D. Massell offered that Jackson had offered to do a sign in a red sandstone concrete sign.
– Dog Park Contest – PHS is one of 15 finalists in the “Bark for your Park” contest. D. Massell reported on the Madrid and Potsdam festival. $760 was raised from Potsdam festival and <$100 was raised from Madrid Bluegrass festival. D. Massell reported on the extremely positive atmosphere of the Best Friends shop. Ad will be coming out in the Courier Observer. A short video is out on the dog video. $2500 was won from Potsdam Youth Philanthropy. Volunteer base has been solid for dog park. D. Massell requested that board members pass along her email address to any other board members
– Viridian – Some board members expressed concerns about increasing pricing.
NEW BUSINESS
– Open Officer’s Position of Secretary
– Opening for Treasurer; may need to hire a bookkeeper to take over Irene’s duties
– S. Smith recommended that the Personnel Committee clarify the expectations of board members and officers. Reminder to board members about expectations and commitments.
– D. Massell requested a tour and review of Shelter protocols.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Next Meeting – 8/19/2014 @ 5:30 p.m. Shelter Tour will be at 5:00 p.m. for members interested in attending. S. Smith mentioned that she may miss next meeting.
Meeting Adjournment: Motion to adjourn meeting at 8:07 p.m.
Minutes submitted by C. Tuttle.
