Loading...
03-21-2013 CITY OF EDGEWATER SCHOOL SHOLARSHIP COMMITTEE REGULAR MEETING March 21, 2013 5 : 00 P.M. COUNCIL CHAMBERS MINUTES 1. CALL TO ORDER Councilwoman Power called the meeting to order at 5:00 p.m. 2 . ROLL CALL Present Vance Smith Rebecca Porter Christine Power Justin Kennedy Bonnie Wenzel John McKinney Absent Mike Kelly Also present was Janet Shira, Economic Development/Special Events Coordinator. Mr. Kennedy arrived at 5:30 p.m. 3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES - None at this time 4 . OLD BUSINESS a. Update on scholarship funds - Finance Director John McKinney Mr. McKinney stated he had a discussion with the City Manager and City Clerk and it was determined that he would assist City Clerk Wenzel with coordinating the committee and attend the meetings. Mr. McKinney then went over the expenses and revenues of the 2012 Princess Ball and provided a comparison to the 2013 Princess Ball. Mr. McKinney stated the fund brings in about $600-$700 every year in recurring donations. He further discussed the number of people who donate on their water bill, and indicated that information is in the monthly newsletter, it is put on the water bill when space is available and there is page on the city website. He stated FY 2012 ended with $3,408 in the fund. He then went over this year' s revenues and expenditures. He stated there were no expenditures included for tickets and posters for the Princess Ball because these were funded by the Leisure Services Department. The total amount in the fund as of 1 School Scholarship Committee Regular Meeting March 21, 2013 today is $6, 172 . Mr. McKinney stated this number was so high because the scholarship awarded last year was never withdrawn, the second check that was disbursed to the school was returned to the city. Mr. McKinney then discussed the options for the money the first recipient did not utilize. Mr. McKinney stated that at least 500 of the citizens pay their utility bill in city hall and the majority of them pay on one of three days; the day before it's due, the day it is due, and the day right before it gets shut off. He stated that that is when the majority of the people pay and they are paying when they are already past due. Mr. McKinney cautioned that most of the people that come in to pay their bill are already in arrears, he felt having information at the events would be better, there is a different socio-economic group. Mr. McKinney made some other suggestions about fund-raising that could bring in more money than a recurring amount. Councilwoman Power stated they should be open to different ways for raising money. Ms. Shira stated they might have to start thinking outside the box. Mr. Mckinney stated he would provide the fund amounts to the committee quarterly. b. Review of 2013 Princess Ball - Economic Development/Special Events Coordinator Janet Shira Ms. Shira went over the expenses and revenues from the Princess Ball. She indicated that other than the flowers the expenses were nominal. Ms. Shira than spoke about notes for next year' s ball. She stated Councilman and Mrs. Emter were there doing most of the balloons and they offered to take on the responsibility for the decorations next year and if the committee agreed she would work with them. Ms. Shira then asked if the committee wanted to ask Council to do certificates of appreciation for the volunteers and the three high school students who helped at the ball. Councilwoman Power suggested also for the YMCA employee' s who stayed to help her and her six year old and Justin clean up. Mr. Kennedy then apologized for being late, as he was confused as to the time of the meeting. Ms. Porter felt it would be great if Councilman and Mrs. Emter took care of the decorating. City Clerk Wenzel stated if someone would get her the names for the certificates she would get them done for the May Council meeting. She stated she would also need contact information to invite them to the meeting. 2 School Scholarship Committee Regular Meeting March 21, 2013 Councilwoman Power asked if they needed to make comments on the flowers. Mr. Kennedy talked about buying the flowers in silk, however the committee previously decided not to for valid reasons. Mr. Kennedy suggested they establish a committee for the princess ball outside of this committee, they would have the budget and larger decision making factors, the new committee could be Mr. and Mrs. Emter and others from the community that could work outside the Sunshine Law and collaborate and put this together in a smoother motion. City Clerk Wenzel stated that committee would fall under the sunshine if they were making any decisions. Mr. Kennedy wanted clarification on that and stated he disagreed with City Clerk Wenzel. Mr. McKinney stated that was what happened this year once the committee decided on a budget, this would just be the budget being decided upon ahead of time. Ms. Shira stated that Councilman Emter and his wife committed to do the balloons next year; she could not say if he would commit to being on a committee. Mr. Kennedy stated Councilman Emter told him he would, and that it was his idea. Ms. Shira stated again that Councilman Emter told her that he wanted to do the decorations. Councilwoman Power stated the ball was a short commitment. Ms. Shira stated she was here per the City manager to work with this Board on fund raising and special events that you may or may not want to do for the scholarship fund. She stated it did not mean just the one event, she asked for direction from the board; did they want to have her work with a few people and give her a budget? Mr. McKinney stated there were five different tickets to sell, he agreed that there should be less tickets, a parent/child with flower and extra child with flower, only two tickets. Ms. Porter felt one adult and one child ticket only. Mr. McKinney stated you had to have one combined. Mr. Kennedy stated there have been issues since day one about the cost of the ticket and making the flower mandatory. Councilwoman Power stated it did get pricey if you had four people going and got four sets of flowers, these are the same people who cannot add $1/month to their water bill for the scholarship fund. The committee could seek more corporate sponsorship. Ms. Shira stated the Board decided to have a sign up table at the ball. Ms. Shira stated she felt the goal for the ball was for participants to have a good time and any money made would be for the scholarship fund, which is why she felt getting sponsorships would put more money in the coffers, which is why they are here. She felt they should work more on getting sponsors and just make the ball a fun event. Councilwoman Power stated someone might be more apt to donate to the princess ball than to the scholarship committee. 3 School Scholarship Committee Regular Meeting March 21, 2013 Ms. Porter stated at the beginning of the meeting Mr. McKinney said there would be a booth at the RiverFest this weekend and she suggested July 4th, that whenever there were events down here they could be there promoting the scholarship fund. Mr. Kennedy stated that was not the only venue, he stated they had to remain focused on their goal, which is to get people to sign up on their water bill, otherwise this is a fundraising committee. Councilwoman Power stated it was one thing to target the families, but there is another cross section of people that only addressing the princess ball doesn't get to. Ms. Shira stated the fundraising and marketing shouldn't be just targeted to the water bill, which is only one mechanism. She is hearing that it is not yet a very successful mechanism. She stated that just asking four companies that do business with the city they took in more money than the water bills did in a year. She stated the bottom line is they want money in the fund so they can give scholarships to graduating seniors, if the water bill method is not as successful, but continue that, other mechanisms need to be used. Ms. Shira stated she has a much better understanding of the event and the boards' direction; the success could be built on. She stated the only mistake made this year was ordering too many flowers. Mr. McKinney stated they could possibly have a deal BJ's Flowers where it is on the ticket that they can go there and get their flower at the lower rate, like they do for prom or homecoming. Mr. Kennedy again suggested creating a committee to do the leg work, absent of this committee, absent of meeting in the public for efficiency sake. He stated that if Councilman Emter had an idea for the decorations, would they have to have a meeting to vote on it or could they just tell him to go ahead. City Clerk Wenzel stated they could give Councilman Emter the leeway to plan and implement the decorations ahead of time, he would not have to go back to them for direction. There was a short break to allow City Clerk Wenzel to swear in Mr. Kennedy. Justin Kennedy moved to establish a princess ball steering committee to handle the day to day planning and follow through under the department Janet works for, under Janet, to be the city liaison and the committee to be appointed by the Scholarship Committee, second by Vance Smith. The MOTION CARRIED 4-0-0. Yes Rebecca Porter, Vance Smith, Christine Power, Justin Kennedy No None Abstain None 4 School Scholarship Committee Regular Meeting March 21, 2013 5 . NEW BUSINESS a. Board term expiration - Justin Kennedy, whose term expired on March 7, 2013 (Added Item) Rebecca Porter moved to approve the reappointment Justin Kennedy, second by Vance Smith. The MOTION CARRIED 4-0-0. Yes Rebecca Porter, Vance Smith, Christine Power, Justin Kennedy No None Abstain None b. Board term expiration - Vance Smith, whose term expired on March 7, 2013 (Added item) . Rebecca Porter moved to approve the reappointment of Vance Smith, second by Justin Kennedy. The MOTION CARRIED 4-0-0. Yes Rebecca Porter, Vance Smith, Christine Power, Justin Kennedy No None Abstain None C. Determination of scholarship amount, awards and length of scholarship Mr. McKinney stated the high school still held $1,250 that can be used for another student. The committee discussed how to handle the scholarship money from last year' s recipient. Justin Kennedy moved to use the $1,250 that was awarded Diquan Simon last year to be used on another student, second by Rebecca Porter. The MOTION CARRIED 4-0-0. Yes Vance Smith, Rebecca Porter, Christine Power, Justin Kennedy No None Abstain None Mr. McKinney stated the committee had $5, 000 to use for scholarships this year. The committee then discussed a time frame for the scholarship to be used as well as paying directly to the school the student had enrolled in. Mr. McKinney suggested it be used within one year and if they needed an extension they could come ask. He 5 School Scholarship Committee Regular Meeting March 21, 2013 added that it should be specified when awarded what it can be used for, i.e. , books, room & board. Justin Kennedy moved to approve a 12 month period beginning August 1 of award year ending July 31 of following year with an extension allowable if approved by board coordinator; the scholarship will include tuition, required learning supplies (i.e.books/software) payable to the school of choice, second by Vance Smith. The MOTION CARRIED 4-0-0. Yes Vance Smith, Rebecca Porter, Christine Power, Justin Kennedy No None Abstain None Mr. McKinney stated the money could be sent to the college in a lump sum or on a reimbursement basis. City Clerk Wenzel stated if the lump sum was sent to the school it should to be stated whether or not the money is refundable to the student. Rebecca Porter moved to make the scholarship non refundable to the student, second by Justin Kennedy. The MOTION CARRIED 4-0-0. Yes Vance Smith, Rebecca Porter, Christine Power, Justin Kennedy No None Abstain None d. Review scholarship applications and determine recipient (s) The Committee discussed several applications and chose their top choices and discussed those applications further. After much discussion the Committee determined they would award five $1, 000 scholarships. Justin Kennedy moved to award a $1000 scholarship each to the following students: Sierra Stull; Stephanie Weiland; Vivian Weiland; Shannon Murphy; Madison Tuck, second by Vance Smith. The MOTION CARRIED 3-0-0. Yes Vance Smith, Christine Power, Justin Kennedy No None Abstain None 6. ADJOURN With no further business to discuss the meeting adjourned at 7:37 p.m. 6 School Scholarship Committee Regular Meeting March 21, 2013 Minutes submitted by: Bonnie Wenzel, CMC 7 School Scholarship Committee Regular Meeting March 21, 2013