April NCAS Board Minutes

North Cascades Audubon SocietyBoard of Directors Meeting Agenda619 E. HollyApril 3, 20177:00 PM Board Members Present: Pam Borso, Paul Woodcock, Kelley Palmer-McGee, Steve Irving, Judy Kreiger, Steven Harper, Sue Parrott, Jamie Huson, Nicole Huson, Chris Brewer, Twink Coffman, and Ken Salzman 

  1. Additions to Agenda- Added below.

 

  1. Approval of March Minutes – Approved by the board.

 

  1. Treasurer’s Report- Sue explained the report and it was accepted by the board. Benevity (the administrator for the companies that are matching donations for our members) made a pitch for Apple Pay and Jamie will investigate to see if it has value to NCAS for use as a payment option and whether it will work on our website.

 

  1. Communications & Input

      Newsletter – Kelley asked everyone about items they intend to submit for the next newsletter. She reminded everyone that the info needs to be submitted by April 15.      Wings Over Water Event update- Because of the rain it seemed that attendance was lower than in the past at many of the events although Chris had lots of people at her presentation.  We will await more information.      Carol Roberts has resigned from the board and has appreciated all of the experience and interactions through the years on the board.  We appreciate all of her assistance as a host for the meetings and the holiday party as well as other contributions.      Mature trees letter to City of Bellingham update – Rae finished the letter and it was sent to all of the people at the City that were recommended by Rae and the rest of the board.      Museum update: Audubon will be at the Museum from 2-4pm on the 4th Sundays in May – August. Pam is looking for volunteers for May 28, June 25 (Paul), July 23(Sue and Steven), and Aug 27.      Washington Ornithological Society (WOS) annual conference update- Ken is still looking for a few field trip leaders for this event to be held at Semiahmoo, Sept 21-25.      Google Doc update – Jamie has submitted information to Google to see what they can offer for a cloud storage system for all of Audubon's documents. She is waiting to hear back.      April 29 - Backyard Habitat and Native Flora Fair at Village Green – Sue, Steven, Judy, Paul and Chris have volunteered to attend this event.      Climate Group update- Sue has found volunteers to be at the Farmer’s Market for every shift this spring (April 15 and May 20).  Stands, displays and materials have been developed for the tabling.      Background Checks Account Application – Pam is waiting to hear from the Washington State Patrol (WSP).      Waiver liability form – There were concerns by Ken about using these forms since he feels it is duplicating the intent of our liability insurance coverage and would be difficult to manage. After discussion, the board agreed to try using the forms to see how they work.       New meeting room needed for board meetings – WECU will be converting the Education Center into offices in April so we will be having meetings in the old Baskin Robbins building through June.  The board decided to use the Unitarian Fellowship Hall as our new meeting space beginning sometime after June.      The Audubon NW meeting is June 17. A lot of people would like to attend and Pam is looking into possibly having the date changed to accommodate higher attendance from our board.      We will be co-sponsoring a presentation, along with RE Sources, on May 25 at 6:30 pm at the Unitarian Fellowship Hall.  The presentation and reading is by Angela Day author of the book Redlight to Starboard: Recalling the Exxon Valdez Disaster.      Whatcom Land Trust survey update – Steven gave an update on the meeting he and Paul had last week with WLT’s Rich Bowers and Eric Carabba.  WLT is very pleased with the survey work to date. They  would like to expand coverage on some of the properties that are in areas where expanded purchases or conservation easement activity may occur.  We discussed prioritizing the areas depending on the ability to recruit surveyors and possible grant funding in the future (especially from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology) to facilitate our efforts.  

  1. Old Business

      Swan taxidermy update –  Paul has not talked to the taxidermist lately but noted that we will need a plaque to go along with the swan in the display.  Paul will coordinate this and wants everyone to think about what we should inscribe on the plaque.      Membership software – Jamie will keep investigating this but did not work on this during the past month.      Scholarship for WCC Community Ed Birding classes – Ken talked to WCC and they agreed to put the blurb regarding the scholarship in their catalog for the fall quarter. Nicole will develop the application form and bring it to the board. Nicole will be also be the lead person deciding on potential scholarships for the eligible class members.      City of Ferndale bird walk May 10 – Pam is looking for volunteers to help lead a bird walk.  Paul agreed to assist. Judy is a possibility as well. 

  1. New Business

       Go Solar – Pam described a contact with someone working on a campaign to pass a solar resolution at the Bellingham City Council.  She asked them to send us more information regarding the role we might play.       Summer board meetings – We will not be having a June board meeting and may skip July as well if we don’t have any urgent business to attend to. 

  1. Committee Reports as needed

       Education Committee             Birds and Brew – The Audubon sponsored event will be Saturday, May 20 with Jamie and Nicole coordinating. Others are  invited to participate. Board members were asked to help distribute the great posters that were designed and produced for the event.             Scudder Pond walk April 7 at 9:30 am – Everyone is welcome to help out. Chris has put a great deal of effort into planning the event. People coming to the walk will be divided up into groups depending on skill level and age.             The committee is looking at two autumn activities to be held in rural Whatcom County. Chris has contacted Wild Whatcom and the Whatcom County Library System regarding programs in the future.       Nominating Committee – Nicole will be the nomination committee. Nominations must be in the May newsletter. 

  1. Programs

    April 25-      Jonathan White:         Tides: Science and Spirit of the Ocean     May 23-       Kathleen Bander:        It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane, No It’s a Bat    May 25-       Angela Day:                 Red Light to Starboard    Oct. 24-       Ed Diehl:                      Coopers Hawk Study in Seattle 

  1. Adjourn - Next Meeting, May 1, 2017, Unitarian Fellowship Conference Hall, Bellingham, WA

 Follow-ups 

  • Pam is coordinating volunteers for the Sunday Audubon at the Museum events and WSP background check information along with Chris Brewer. She will also coordinate logistics for the move to Audubon’s new meeting space, the City of Ferndale bird walk, and follow-up with the Go Solar campaign.
  • Ken is continuing to look for WOS conference field trip leaders.
  • Jamie will continue to work on the Google docs idea and investigate a new membership database, and will coordinate the upcoming Birds and Brew event.
  • Sue will continue to look for volunteers for possible summer tabling at the Farmer’s Market.
  • Steven continues to coordinate the WLT survey and upcoming presentations.
  • Paul will coordinate the swan taxidermy and the plaque that goes along with the swan.
  • Nicole will develop the form for the WCC bird class scholarships, coordinate nominations for the 2017-2018 board officers and coordinate the Birds and Brew event.
  • Chris will continue to investigate upcoming education events.