March 21, 2018 minutes – Friends of the Outlet board of directors Present: Carol Worth, Gwen chamberlain, Phil Rahr, Steve Stork, Nancy Tharp, Dan Condella, Peg Thompson and Mickey Orr. Dave Reeve present via Skype Guests: Mary Ann Brand, Mark Sugalski, Steve Miller and new residents Andrea and Jared Stoltzsfus Meeting was called to order at 7 p.m. by President Gwen Chamberlain. Marianne Brand, Director of Sales at Finger Lakes Tourism Alliance who spoke to the board about the organization. The Penn Yan- based group has between 650 and 700 “partners”. Marianne outlined the services of the group and its target area. In response to a question, she said the annual fee to join is $375. Mark Sugalski, Associate Professor of Biology at Keuka College, told the board he is working on a project that includes the Keuka Lake outlet and inlets. He would like to build on the date gathered by Finger Lakes Association over the years regarding the health of Keuka Lake. He said there seems to be a gap in information on what comes into the lake and what leaves it. He would like to get a sense of the quality of the water in the outlet both above and beyond the Penn Yan treatment plant. He said he is monitoring the macro invertebrate population which allows a sense of the health of the waterway by population. Gwen asked for a proposal for support of the project and Mark said he will try to put one together by the next FOTO board meeting. Mickey’s report for the maintenance committee was distributed to the board prior to the meeting. He said volunteer Guy Love passed away recently. Guy had been a valuable volunteer on the maintenance group. John Tharp and Tom Hohman worked on tree and brush removal after the earlier snowstorm. There was a brief discussion of buggies on the trail. Mickey will get input from Ivan. Upcoming cleanup days were discussed. Gwen said there will be a group from Hobart William Smith Colleges here on April 14 and CelebrateServiceCelebrateYates is April 23. Focus of this day will be Cascade area. There was discussion of the pavilion at Cascade. Phil asked if the roof on the pavilion be fixed. Nancy asked if trees in the water could be removed. Carol reported for the nominating committee noting she still has two individuals who are considering being nominated. She expects to hear by the end of the week. Carol will be taking a year-long leave of absence from the board next year. Phil presented the proposed new brochure. The work of the committee on the document, including Keuka field period student Thomas Alfieri was praised by the board. Phil said the cost to print 5,000 is $600. Gwen said the board could front the money until funds are received from the Tourism Advisory Council. Motion by Dave. seconded by Carol to approve spending $600 to print the brochure. PASSED. Discussion moved to Business After Hours FOTO is hosting at Cascade on May 9. The community relations committee has suggested a wine tasting at the event. Dan said the bylaws should be researched regarding alcohol use on the trail. Additional picnic tables are also suggested at Cascade, for this and future events. Dan will check on costs of tables. Following discussion, motion made by Carol, seconded by Phil to approve spending up to $2500 for 10 picnic tables. PASSED. Phil reminded the board about Dinner With Friends: The Village of Hope on April 14. He has tickets and they are also available at Stork Insurance and Lyons National Bank. There were no questions about the financial report. Motion by Steve, seconded by Carol to approve the financial report as presented. PASSED. Motion by Steve, seconded by Dan to approve the minutes of the February 21 board meeting. PASSED.