Burlington City Arts Board of Directors — Burlington, VT
Date: 2026-05-11
Time: 12:15

Burlington City Arts
 Monday, May 11, 2026, 12:15 PM

PLEASE NOTE: https://zoom.us/j/95234456037?pwd=T3ZySjdqUDlOTk5DbS9DVDNlaVRxUT09


1. Approve Agenda & Minutes
  1.1. Motion to amend/adopt agenda
  1.2. Motion to adopt previous meeting's minutes

2. Public Forum

3. Set Agenda for May 19th Meeting

4. Capital Campaign Update

5. 405 Update

6. Adjournment
  6.1. Motion to Adjourn




 Page 1 of 3
 BCA Board of Directors Executive Committee Meeting Minutes
 Monday March 9, 2026
Present: Sarah Rogers, Billi Gosh, Michelle Buswell, Laura McDonough, Lori Rowe, Hannah Lebel,
Rachel Zellem
Absent: Doreen Kraft

Call to order:
 • At 12:04 Laura moved to call the meeting to order, Billi seconded. All were in favor.

1. Approve Agenda & Minutes:
Minutes Approval
 • The committee discovered that minutes from both January 12th and February 9th had not been
 formally approved. Both sets of minutes were circulated during the meeting for review
 • Minutes from both meetings were approved by motion (Lori moved, Billi seconded)
Agenda Approval
 • Meeting agenda was approved (Laura moved, Billi seconded)



2. Public Forum
 No public attendees present for comment

3. Set Agenda for 3/17 Board of Directors Meeting
The committee established the following agenda structure for the upcoming board meeting:

 • Financial Update (Michelle & Sara)
 o Statement available through end of January (February data not ready in time)
 o Budget impact discussion following tax approval
 o 10% budget cut potentially required - details pending department heads meeting

 • Fundraising Update (Billi & Sara)
 o Billi & Sara will share progress toward fundraising targets
 o Sara will share an update on development function reorganization following Joyce's
 departure & future plans for Director of Philanthropy position
 o Rachel to share update on corporate sponsorship and potential for board support




 Page 2 of 3
  • Community Room Presentation (Zach and Elena)
 o Usage statistics (who has used the room to date)
 o Future bookings and pipeline
 o Talking points, marketing materials, and resources available for board members
 o Pricing structure with tiers and rate ranges
 o Call to action for board involvement in promotion

  • Sustainability (Sara)
 o Broader philosophical and logistical discussion about BCA's long-term sustainability
 o Budget planning and resource allocation

4. Capital Campaign Update
  No major changes. We received a $200k commitment from Pomerleau Family Foundation. Pledge
  schedule is uncertain.
  Our fundraising focus right now is operations, but we don’t want to signal that the campaign is
  paused. Doreen is leading these conversations.

5. 405 Update
  • BCA must sell the northern half of 405 Pine Street by December 31, 2026 to repay the $2 million
 New Market Tax Credit Loan through Mascoma Bank
  • Michael Metz leading efforts to find a nonprofit buyer. He has conducted tours with interested
 nonprofit organizations, but the nonprofit market is challenging – it’s difficult for organizations to
 find $2 million in current environment
  • No broker engaged yet
  • Critical constraint: BCA Foundation cannot finance the building - must be paid in full
  • Michael Metz working with BCA Foundation Finance Committee to clarify post-sale operating
 expenses for southern portion
  • Financial projections show very tight margins - minimal surplus after covering southern building
 operations
  • This financial pressure emphasizes need for increased community room revenue and other earned
 income

  Adjourn:
 • At 12:52 Billi moved to adjourn, Lori seconded. All were in favor.




 Page 3 of 3

Executive Committee Meeting- Monday May 11 2026
Called to order at 12:21
 1) Approve Agenda & Minutes
 Motion to approve the agenda made by Billi, seconded by Lori
 Motion to approve minutes from 3/9 meeting made by Lori, seconded by Billi
 2) Public Forum
 No one from the public
 3) Set Agenda for May 19th Meeting
 a. FY27 budget update. This will be discussion only, no vote. Budget presentation
 summary:
 i. Major cuts are:
 1. Elimination of Director of Philanthropy. The plan is for this
 position to move into Foundation, perhaps contracted. Also
 seeking to hire admin/finance staff in the Foundation to alleviate
 Sara’s responsibilities so she can focus more on fundraising.
 Rationale is that development staff makes more sense not being
 managed by the city,
 2. Curator position will sit open for a year,
 3. Downsizing the scale of events by 50% (board can brainstorm
 ways to support these events)
 b. Director’s Report
 c. 405 Update/Michael M and Jeffrey to present on BCAF
 d. Update on Fundraising event & spring appeal: Sarah
 e. Recommendation for the Mayor (committee to meet 5/18)
 f. Committee updates, possible restructuring
 4) Capital Campaign Update
 a. Currently in a period of focusing on org-wide operating budget.
 5) 405 Update
 a. Buttoning up with Neagley Chase
 b. Finding the source of water leak
 c. Separation of utilities ahead of sale
 d. Fundraising focus is on BCA operational needs
 e. Meeting weekly about the sale, and things are going well. Generator, Farmers
 Market are top conversations at the moment. We will look into working with a
 commercial broker (Pomerleau) as a back-up plan. If we work with a nonprofit,
 we won’t pay a fee to the broker.
 f. Rentals are up. Working on a revised rental strategy in new economic reality.
 6) Adjournment
 a. Lori moved to adjourn, seconded by Billi