Board members in attendance were: Ann Brunswick, Phyllis Gates, Betsy Jacobson, Loren Reich and Janalyn Travis-Messer. Absent were Mary-Faith Healey and Stephanie Zinger.

Non-Board members in attendance were: Georgiana Ketcham, Tullia LiMarzi and Myra Peskowitz.

Prior to convening the meeting, Ms. Jacobson circulated a petition emanating from the LWV Suffolk County Headquarters in favour of optical scan voting machines and gave members the opportunity to sign it if they wished.

The business meeting was convened at 5:05 p.m. in the lower level of the Shelter Island Library.

Minutes From the Last Meeting: Minutes from the meeting held on March 18, 2007, were approved with no changes.

Treasurer’s Report: Ms. Jacobson reported that in April 2007, the LWVSI received dues from one new member, Ms. Susan Siegelbaum, and renewal dues from Ms. Cindy Belt. There is a balance of $1,944.38 in the checking account. Funds amounting to $155.35 were drawn from the Education Foundation to pay some invoices, including copying charges relating to the “Register to Vote” flyer and the Directory of Public Officials.

Committee Reports:

Membership Committee: Ms. Gates was pleased to report that Ms. Georgiana Ketcham has agreed to join the Membership Committee. There were three new members last month and one renewal; our total membership now stands at 70. Ms. Gates prepared and disseminated a list of prospective members which she asked the Board to review, identifying those names which, in their opinion, may wish to join. She is putting the final touches on the membership brochure/profiles and hopes to have it ready in time for the Annual Meeting.

Ms. Ketcham, who is very active in the North Carolina League, suggested that prospective members might be “intimidated” by some of the LWVSI Board and membership since it is comprised of many successful business people, educators, professionals, etc. Ms. Travis-Messer stated she feels that attests to the potential clout of the LWV – it is a group that studies issues in depth and produces a strong, educated consensus, and thus the legislators are inclined to listen to our recommendations. Ms. Gates indicated part of her goal in preparing the membership profile is to emphasize the “Shelter Island-ness” of the LWVSI. There was an exchange of ideas about how to encourage new and diverse members and to stimulate more active involvement amongst the current membership. Ms. Gates will draw up a list of possible activities and will revert.

Observer Corps: Ms. Gates reported that the distribution list of the weekly report, which is written following Town Board Work Sessions, is growing – it has now reached 120, of which 53 are LWVSI members, leading one to conclude that there is a large contingent of potential members amongst the recipients. Ms. Travis-Messer suggested that these informative reports are precisely the kind of thing that might draw in new members. There was some discussion/confir-
mation about the usefulness of these notes, which even several Town Board members have lauded. Ms. Jacobson emphasized that we are not seeking to replace The Reporter’s coverage and that it is critical the observations be objective and not biased. Ms. Jacobson then offered the Board’s kudos to Ms. Gates for this initiative.

Voter Services: Ms. Jacobson reported on behalf of Ms. Healey who was absent from the meeting. She distributed a copy of a flyer aimed at increasing the number of registered voters on SI, especially amongst second homeowners (“Your Vote is Your Power – You Have a Right to Make Your Voice Heard – REGISTER TO VOTE”), which briefly identifies how one vote counts on SI, eligibility requirements, forms/procedures/deadlines, important dates (primary and general elections, school budget vote and school board election) and a brief mission statement and genesis of the LWV. The Ram Island Association has requested copies which it plans to send out with its newsletter; the Hay Beach Association has also requested copies. The Democratic Party of SI has expressed an interest in receiving some and it was agreed that Ms. Ketcham would contact Republican Party Chairman Wayne Bourne to ensure they receive copies, too. There was some discussion about various means of making Shelter Islanders aware of the importance of registering to vote, mindful of the fact that flyers in PO boxes do not seem to work. Some suggestions included: the LWVSI compare the taxpayer registry with that of registered voters; encouraging cartoonist Peter Waldner to draw up a cartoon or series of cartoons promoting voter registration; inserting clever “blurbs” or ads in The Reporter, etc.

Ms. Jacobson reported that Ms. Cathy Kenny has agreed to be Chair of the Voter Services Committee. One of her responsibilities will be to run the candidates forum preparatory to the local elections in November.

Education Committee: Preparatory to the LWVSI-sponsored meeting later in the evening with School Superintendent Sharon Clifford, Ms. Jacobson, who serves on the School’s Budget Advisory Committee, reviewed some questions which Board members might wish to pose on the proposed budget.

Ms. Travis-Messer reported she will act as Moderator at the May 1 school board candidates forum (7:00 p.m. in the School Auditorium). She handed out copies of the ad which will appear in the newspaper and asked that Board members please distribute/post them. The forum will provide attendees the important opportunity of seeing how the four candidates think on their feet, evaluate their thought processes in responding to questions about issues and also provide them (the candidates) with a notion of what is on the radar in terms of issues foremost on the minds of the local community. Ms. Gates asked if Channel 22 will be covering the forum – Ms. Travis-Messer will check with Channel 22 coordinator Mary Ellen McGayhey. Ms. Jacobson asked if the PTSA is involved with the forum, to which Ms. Travis-Messer replied she had contacted them but never received a reply.

With regard to the Mock Election initiative which Ms. Travis-Messer is spearheading along with LWVSI members Mary Dwyer and Cathy Kenny, the former reported that she has had several meetings/conversations with the PTSA who are very excited about the concept. Prior to meeting with Ms. Travis-Messer, PTSA President Melanie Matz spoke with the School’s Assistant Principal about it, and there was to have been a faculty meeting on the subject today. In further developing the project, several of the suggestions which were made at the last Board meeting were taken into consideration. Students will randomly select assumed roles out of a fishbowl; as suggested at the previous Board meeting, they will not take on the name of the candidates who will actually be running on the local ballot. The students will develop and vote on the issues that are important to them and student candidates will be scored by the rest of the student body on their understanding/reasoning/presentation of the issues, their responses to student voter questions, etc. Ms. Travis-Messer is working on having the Board of Elections bring in a real voting machine to demonstrate how it works and teach the children about the voting process (absentee and write-in ballots, how the BOE works, etc.). She hopes to have an assembly in the next 4-5 weeks with grades 8-11 to present the initiative and several meetings in August to continue discussions with the students. Actual voter registration, campaign and elections would take place in September and October 2007 (students will have elevated to grades 9-12). So as not to interfere with the actual local elections, mock election results will not be announced until after Election Day (November 6). Ms. Jacobson stated she finds the initiative very ambitious – it involves a lot of children and many roles. Ms. Travis-Messer replied that, having seen how the children pulled off performing “Les Miserables” at the school the prior weekend, she feels confident they can do it, as long as she, Ms. Dwyer and Ms. Kenny organize and orchestrate it well.

Programs/Special Projects/Speakers: Ms. Jacobson confirmed that SI Police Chief James Read will be speaking at a meeting on May 6 at 5:00 p.m. at the Center Firehouse (an ad will appear in next week’s edition of The Reporter). With regard to having a speaker from Plum Island appear in the near future, Ms. Reich reported that she is still waiting to hear about the speaker’s availability. Ms. Jacobson has contacted Town Justice Helen Rosenblum about a possible speaking engagement, but has not yet heard back. It was agreed that the LWVSI would hold off scheduling further speaking engagements for a short while in light of the number of recent and current events that are scheduled.

There was some discussion about scheduling speaking engagements so as to make them most accessible to all Shelter Islanders, including weekenders who tend to leave early on Sundays. One suggestion that was made was to alternate the times.

With regard to Know Your Town, Ms. Reich reported that she is continuing to make editions/updates and will be sending out letters to those individuals who contributed certain sections in the previous edition asking if they would agree to having their copy run again in the new edition.

Ms. Jacobson reported on the Welcome Basket program which Board member Stephanie Zinger had initiated in 2006. The “baskets” are being revamped – there will be less merchant coupons, more home-baked cookies as well as voter and League information. Ms. Jacobson suggested the local realtors be contacted as a means of getting the “baskets” to new homeowners.

Dr. Brunswick indicated she is working on updating the LWVSI by-laws, but they will not be ready in time for the annual meeting.

Preparations for Annual Meeting: Ms. Jacobson reported that everyone who is currently serving on the Board has agreed to continue to do so. The date of the Annual Meeting was changed from June 9 to June 2 due to scheduling conflicts. Ms. Jacobson will check with The Chequit to see if the meeting might be done there, perhaps over brunch.

LWV County and State Meetings: Ms. Jacobson reported that she will be attending the State meeting and Ms. Travis-Messer the County Meeting.

Other Issues: Ms. Jacobson opened the floor to a discussion on Channel 22. Ms. Travis-Messer indicated she (and other businesses on the Island) had received a letter from Town Board Supervisor Alfred Kilb requesting a donation be made on a quarterly basis toward Channel 22 to help pay for increased coverage of events on the Island. In return, the names of contributing businesses would appear on a “zipper” on the bottom of the Channel’s screen. Expressions of concern were raised amongst several of the members in attendance in light of the fact that Channel 22 is a government-sponsored channel. Due to time constraints, the discussion was tabled until a future date.

The next meeting of the LWVSI will be on May 6 following Police Chief Read’s presentation. In light of its proximity to this evening’s meeting, it was agreed it will be abbreviated and focused on some of the more imminent initiatives.

The meeting was adjourned at 6:40 p.m.

Respectfully submitted.
Loren S. Reich

LWVSI Meeting Minutes 4 25 07
 

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Updated June 10, 2008