LACEY HISTORICAL SOCIETY (LHS)
PO Box 3324 Lacey, Wash. 98509-3324
‘To be a voice for the early citizens of Lacey, and to be their stewards protecting the historical heritage they have given us’
BOARD OF TRUSTEES REGULAR MEETING
August 10, 2023 – 3:30pm
PROPOSED MINUTES
Present: Jon Halvorson, President, Robert Southwick, Vice-President; Kendra Hensley, Treasurer; John Dziedzic, Secretary; and Trustees Peggy McHugo, Nancy Miller, Monte Pascual, John Turner, and Margie Wyllie. Guests: Cynthia Jo Pratt and Tim McGuire, Trustee Nominees.
Excused: Trustee Wilson was unable to attend due to illness; Trustee Webb reported a last-minute conflict.
Photographs of the Executive Officers of the Board were taken for publication in the newsletter to be distributed soon.
President Halvorson convened the meeting at 3:32 p.m.
Agenda/Previous Minutes: The Agenda was APPROVED as presented. The Minutes of the July 23, 2023 meeting, as presented, were also APPROVED.
Website Development Proposals: Treasurer Hensley and Secretary Dziedzic briefed the Board on proposals to develop a website for the Society that had been received from two professional website developers: ProfitzUp, located in Olympia, and Washington Our Home Communications Consulting, located in Spokane.
M/S/P Secretary Dziedzic moved and Trustee Wyllie seconded a motion to accept a proposal submitted by ProfitzUp, which includes the described “basic” website design, “advanced” options (including a 12-month maintenance provision), and a Facebook optimization/Social Media training “add on.” The motion was adopted.
President Halvorson appointed Secretary Dziedzic as the Board’s liaison with ProfitzUp during the development of the new website and the modifications to the existing Facebook account.
2023 Budget Discussion: President Halvorson distributed a one-page proposed budget for the current calendar year. Treasurer Hensley also distributed a one-page document comparing operating and capital expenditures-to-date for 2023 vs. proposed expenditures for the remainder of 2023, as well as an annualized comparison of actual/proposed operating expenditures for all of calendar year 2023 vs. calendar year 2024.
M/S/P Treasurer Hensley moved and Trustee Miller seconded a motion to adopt the budget for calendar year 2023, essentially as expressed in the third column (with the heading of “2023”) of the two-year budget comparison. The motion was clarified to provide that “the 2023 budget” was intended to include:
(a) an increase in the “supplies, postage, copies” line item from $40 to $100;
(b) an increase in the “miscellaneous” line item from $40 to $50; and
(c) recognition that the items identified as “capital expenditures” for the following items were to be expensed during the current calendar year: (i) $3,250 for “website development & maintenance;” and (ii) $1,500 for “Social Media (Facebook) services.
The specified changes resulted in an authorization to spend a total of $9,926 for the 2023 calendar year. The motion was adopted.
Lacey Historical Commission representative: President Halvorson distributed materials related to the composition and city ordinance provisions governing the Lacey Historical Commission. A sign-up sheet was circulated among the Trustee to identify volunteers willing to attend one or more of the Commission’s regular monthly meetings during the upcoming year.
President’s Report: President Halvorson distributed two one-page documents: (a) the first describing a set of proposed “Trustee Expectations” and “LHS Priorities;” and (b) a second page entitled “Jon’s Thoughts – Volume 3,” which, among other subjects as discussed above, identified a number of by-law changes for future discussion by the Board and possible submission to the membership at the October 24, 2023 Annual Meeting.
Treasurer’s Report: Treasurer Hensley distributed and discussed the most recently received statements from the Society’s financial institutions, as well as an internal summary of the Society’s expenditures through the end of July.
M/S/P It was moved and seconded to accept the Treasurer’s report. The motion was adopted.
Trustee Miller recommended that the functions of (a) processing payments; and (b) reconciling financial statements be segregated and performed by two Trustees. President Halvorson announced that, following today’s meeting, the Executive Officers of the Board intended to visit the Washington State Employees Credit Union to finalize the transfer of authorization from the former Board.
Nomination Committee: Nomination Committee Chair Dziedzic distributed copies of a mock-up of a ballot identifying the committee’s unanimous recommendation of a slate of 12 nominees for election to the Board of Trustees.
M/S/P Committee Chair Dziedzic moved and Trustee Pascual seconded a motion to accept the recommendation of the Nomination Committee. The motion was adopted.
Annual Meeting: Following questions raised, and a discussion about how the election of the nominated candidates for the board was to be conduction, President Halvorson appointed two ad-hoc committees, instructing them to meet and report to the full board at the next meeting of the Board of Trustees:
- By-Laws and Election Process committee, with responsibility to make recommendations to the board regarding how to conduct the election (including issues such as how to determine who is eligible to vote; whether the officers of the Board of Trustees are to be elected (i) by the membership at the annual meeting, or (ii) by the elected Trustees at a Board meeting following the annual meeting), and the development of proposed amendments to the by-laws to memorialize those processes, as well other necessary changes.
This committee’s chair will be President Halvorson, and its members include Treasurer Hensley, Secretary Dziedzic, and Trustee Miller.
- Annual Meeting planning committee with responsibility for making the physical arrangements for the event and developing the program for the meeting. In addition to required meeting elements (presenting reports from the President, etc. and the conduct of the election) programmatic suggestions offered included paying tribute to member(s) of the prior Board of Directors and/or collecting and displaying aerial and other nostalgic photos (i.e. buildings that no longer exist) of the City of Lacey.
Trustee-nominee Pratt was appointed chair of this committee, with President Halvorson and Trustee Wyllie appointed members.
Newsletter: Trustee Wyllie summarized the status of the newsletter, and plans to get it printed, folded, and mailed in the near future. President Halvorson suggested that, given the intent to propose by-law changes, a second “call to meeting” edition of the newsletter should be developed
Lacey Library Display: Trustee McHugo distributed and discussed a report describing the steps she went through to plan and execute a display about the Lacey Historical Society in the large display case located in the entry-way of the Lacey Timberland Library during the month of August. Several Trustees stated that they had seen the display and thanked Trustee for the excellent job of promoting interest in the work of the Society.
Next Meeting: The Board agreed to next meet on Tuesday, September 12 at 3:30.
The meeting was adjourned at 5:03 p.m.
Submitted by: John Dziedzic, Temporary Secretary
NOTE: Subsequent to the meeting, arrangements were made to hold the meeting at the Community Meeting Room in the Lacey City Hall, located at 420 College Street next to the Lacey Timberland Library. Please also note, the Community Meeting Room is located closest to the City Hall entrance to the Public Works Department and Police Station; it is NOT the Council Chambers, which is located near the entrance to the Public Works Department and Mayor’s Offices.
Attachments:
- Website development proposals: ProfitzUp and Washington Our Home
- Draft LHS 2023 Budget 8-10-2023
- Lacey Historical Society Two-Year Budget Comparison
- Lacey Historical Commission membership roster
- Lacey Municipal Code Chapter 2.42 (Historical Commission)
- 8-10-2023 Draft Trustee Expectations
- Jon’s Thoughts – Volume 3 – 8/9/2023
- Year to date checking account summary (deposits and expenditures)
- Recommended slate of nominees (in the form of a proposed Official Ballot)
Report on the LHS display at the Lacey Timberland Librar