2002-12-09Beverly Cultural Council
Minutes, meeting of Dec. 9, 2002
Beverly Public Library, 7 p.m.
Members present: Lou Ann Fafia, Jan Plourde, Rachel Pohl, Doreen Ushakoff, Brad
Walrdon.
The purpose of this meeting was to make final decisions about funding for all grant
applications not denied.
Lou Ann reported that she had been in touch with Tom Durkin, CFO of the city, and
received the most up-to-date account information possible at this time. Mr. Durkin
supplied a list of all checks paid from the account for the last two years. As of the
meeting date, the account balance was $25,957. After subtracting encumbered funds of
$7,208, Lou Ann reported that the council had $18,749 in unencumbered funds that must
be regranted. Jan reported that historically the council had had difficulty getting clear
account information from City Hall, which explained the large unencumbered funds
information. The council decided to use as much of the fund as possible by increasing
nearly every approved grant to full funding. Members also urged Lou Ann to claim at
least $250 for administrative services, which she reluctantly agreed to.
There were no dissenting votes on any grant. The only one not qualified for full funding
was L9, which faces the dependency clause in the MCC rules. The council has
communicated to the requesting organization that it must seek matching funds.
Brad asked if members were obligated to track down grant recipients who had not yet
claimed their money from the previous cycle. Lou Ann agreed to ask the MCC about the
matter.
In other business: The council also voted to nominate Express Yourself as a Gold Star
project. The low profile of the Beverly LCC was discussed. Rachel suggested the council
write a grant for itself for the next funding cycle in an effort to raise the council's
visibility and the visibility of arts in general in the community. The council also agreed
that in the coming year it would increase its mailings to schools and attempt to work with
the local weekly newspaper to raise arts awareness in town. Discussion will be continued
at a late January meeting.