HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023-12-04 Cultural Council Minutes611
Town of Reading
Meeting Minutes
Board - Committee - Commission - Council:
Cultural Council
Date: 2023-12-04 Time: PM
Building: Location: Zoom
Address: Session:
Purpose: Version:
Attendees: Members - Present:
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Brian Kimerer, Christine Keller, Liz Rogers, Sherilla Lestrade, Steve
Theodoridis
Members - Not Present:
Others Present:
Karen Klett
Minutes Respectfully Submitted By: Liz Rogers
Topics of Discussion:
Karen Klett joined meeting as an interested board member
Call to order:
Meeting called to order at 7:01 PM
Introductions to Karen:
Previous grant applicant In Andover; Interested in being part of the board from the other
side.
All members introduced themselves and explained roles.
Approval of minutes from November 6. 14. and 15
Steve mentioned there was no end time on the Nov 14 minutes. 9:00 PM was added as the
adjournment time.
Brian pointed out a typo in the November 6 minutes. The word "the" was removed.
Motion to approve with amendments raised and seconded. Approved unanimously.
Treasurer Report
Brian processed another reimbursement from last year. 17 done; 9 to go. Deadline is
]anuary for submission of receipts. Brian to send out a reminder to do this.
Reading funds: we have spent 13.2% of that account.
Received another $473 in interest on state account. We have spent @6% of funds in this
account.
Motion to approve report raised and seconded. Approved unanimously
Review RCC applicant letters
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Tonight's deliberation is focused on determining which applicants we will deny, as denial
letters need to be sent early enough before year end to allow 15 days for applicant appeal.
Approval letters are sent in January. There Is a second letter that goes out with
acceptances that is directly from us. Liz confirmed that she will help Christine with the
wording of this letter. Brian agreed to share what we have sent in the past.
Liz asked a question about the detail In the denial letter. Steve read through the denial pull
down menu and clarified denial options.
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We have $25,802.00 to spend; total requested by applicants is $40,510.
Discussion was held regarding those we were considering for denials. Three stood out as
ones that did not meet the criteria for Cultural Council support: Musary, Afternoon of Brass,
and "I AM..."
Discussion was then held regarding strategies to approach the rest of the applicant list. It
was generally agreed that the higher dollar amounts needed to be talked about first.
Deliberation proceeded with conversation about all requests $1,000 and over.
Liz asked if we consider whether or not applicants are seeking $ from other sources
Steve tracked all funding decisions on a spreadsheet to share with the board
Funding deliberations will be continued at January's general meeting. Board members are
encouraged to review the spreadsheet created prior to that meeting.
Christine going into the MCC system to send out denials to the three entities we agreed not
to fund. She will do this by Wednesday, December W6 to allow time for appeals.
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The board received a request from Maria Morgan; she was the contact for the Right to Read
film screening program from last year. She wanted to let us know that she is no longer in
this role and would like approval/denial information sent to her replacement with her
personal address cc'd to ensure the information is received.
Aoenda for January (Zoom meetin
Next Meeting: January 8
Call to order
Approval of minutes
Treasurer report
Finalization of applicant funding
Review approval letters and determine mail date
Issuing approval letters - sent by January 17
Set agenda for March meeting (no February meeting)
Motion to adiourn
Motion to adjourn raised and seconded. Unanimously approved at 8:43
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