SoDo NRZ Minutes rd November 19, 2014 – Hartford Public Library’s 3 Floor Activity Room Attendance: R. Zaleski, C. Ortiz, C. Lowell, M. DiBella, J. Howard, C. Sicbaldi, F. Gordon-‐Quiroga, M. Gottesdiener, Officer DeMaine, Officer Gorman, H. Lynch Minutes A motion to approve the minutes of the October meeting was made by C. Ortiz, seconded by C. Sicbaldi. M. Moriarty had previously voted by email. Approved. Police Report: As a reminder, the police activity that is reported at the meetings are for the 30 day period prior to the meeting (i.e. mid-‐Oct. to mid-‐Nov.) Overall, crime is down 8.2% YTD There has been a slight uptick in burglaries, and in auto thefts, the latter due to owners leaving their cars running to warm them up. There were 12 car breaks, down from 36 the month prior. One robbery of note was a Salute delivery person cutting through Bushnell Park, their cell phone and cash were stolen. Treasurer’s Report: Our current balance is $1,165.43. Our most recent checks were in June: $25.00 to HPL for use of their projector for our annual meeting, and $207.08 to reimburse C. Ortiz for materials for improvements to Buckingham Square Park. When Santander Bank took over Sovereign Bank, they required us to obtain and use a debit card three times/month to prevent monthly maintenance fees on our free checking account. To meet this requirement, C. Sicbaldi has been making small purchases (less than $1.00 each) of toiletries at CVS three times per month, resulting in a collection of items that the NRZ can’t actually use. R. Zaleski will discuss donating the items to the food pantry or other charity with President J. Palerma, as well as pursuing another avenue to avoid the fees. Committee Reports: Communications Committee: R. Zaleski requested that the Board vote to lower the fees for advertising, as no one has advertised in over a year and those who have been approached said the fees were too high for such a small audience (approx. 350 subscribers). The current fees of $25/mo or $200/yr (10 issues) were set years ago, at a time when people did not receive as many emails. A motion to lower the fees for advertising in the newsletter to $15/mo or $100/yr (10 issues) was made by C. Ortiz, seconded by C. Lowell. M. Moriarty had previously voted by email. Approved. Social Committee: R. Zaleski reported that the 2014 Holiday Party will take place on December 17, location will possibly be 50 Elm Café, which she is in negotiations with regarding a facility rental fee and menu items. The committee is also holding the same date at Vito’s On The Park if 50 Elm Café falls through. An email with event details will go out to all members as soon as the location is finalized.
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