HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020-10-13 Cultural Council Minutes Town of Reading KECEIVEU
Meeting Minutes TOW'N F i i,N CLERK
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Board - Committee - Commission - Council:
Cultural Council
Date: 2020-10-13 Time: 7:00 PM
Building: Location:
Address: Session: Open Session
Purpose: Version: Final
Attendees: Members - Present:
Mary Ann Kozlowski, Nora Bucko, Brian Kimerer, Kathy Natale, Megan
Fidler-Carey, Kerri Perry, Bharti Joy Paris, Jane Soloway
Members - Not Present:
Megan Fidler-Carey, Michael Duncan Smith
Others Present:
Minutes Respectfully Submitted By: Katherine Lopez Natale
Topics of Discussion:
This meeting was conducted via ZOOM due to the Corona Virus Pandemic restrictions for
social distancing.
Call to order at 7:02 p.m.
The secretary read the September minutes which were then accepted by a vote of the
members.
The treasurer, Jane Soloway, delivered her report. She noted that the $8000 promised by
the town has been deposited in the RCC account and must be spent by the end of the 2020-
2021 grant season. The treasurer will reach out to the Reading Concert Band to learn of
their plans to fulfill the terms of their current grant. All other grant recipients have either
been paid or planned to complete their project by spring of 2021. The Reading Community
Singers held a virtual concert but still needed funding to purchase the music for the event.
The council voted to approved the changes submitted by the grantees.
As of the date of the meeting, the state had not finalized the budget. Consequently, the
Massachusetts Cultural Council(MCC) has not be able to inform towns of the size of grants
for the coming year. The dollars that have accumulated in the RCC account, including
interest, may be expended for grants if needed and if the town approves. The treasurer will
meet with the town hall representative to complete the annual report which must be
submitted by November 16th.
Nora Bucko has posted on town common the sign advertising the grant submission period
for this year. It is the only sign there this year. Nora will speak to the Town Clerk about
the possibility of keeping it up through the voting period until November 16th, the deadline
for grant applications.
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Mary Anne Kozlowski finalized the press release on the new grant period which will be
posted in the library and sent to RCN, Reading Art, the schools, etc. and our mailing list.
The document and its distribution were approved by vote of the council.
Both the town and MCC have updated their websites with goal changes that the RCC made
for this year. The MCC has assured us that grant money can now be used for capital
expenditures. While this question has been answered, there remains a concern at the local
level about the content and any potential responsibility for the council should it entertain a
grant for an ongoing podcast. It was also reported that the town has given RCC to use the
town's Zoom account for the December meetings.
Although Brian Kimerer missed the October deadline to get on the agenda of the Select
Board, he sent them the content of the presentation on the Cultural Council's work this past
year and will seek to schedule an in-person update for the Select Board at the next
meeting. The Select Board has asked to receive a list of the dates of events offered by
grantees. Brian will also contact Vanessa Alvarado, the council's liaison, to invite her to a
future meeting. Suggestions were made to invite her to hear the grantee proposals in
December or for the vote on acceptances in January.
Last year's chair, Donna Schenkel, will send us a logo graphic that can appear on written
notices or our social media site.
Megan Fidler-Carey will arrange the December interviews with grant applicants through
SignUp Genius.
Meeting adjourned at 7:39 p.m.
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