ATTENDEES: Jr Bogert,Jay Campbell,Dave DeClue, Mary Drachler, Bruce Kellogg, Barb Mulkins, John Payne, Armando Petruccelli, Teri Schunk, Chris Smith, Phil Wade, June White
- Meeting called to order by Chamber President, John Payne, at 7:36 AM.
- Secretary’s Report: motion to accept by Barb, second by Phil, carried.
- Treasurer’s Report: motion to accept by Phil, second by Mary, carried.
- Jay reported that the golf tournament made $3,700 and the General Clinton Canoe Regatta made $23,400.
- Phil provided a Village Report. The NY Forward Grant is complete and on the Village website if you would like to review it. This is a downtown revitalization grant. Phil should hear back by December. Teri advised that they are going after money from the same grant, and they were told that letters of Support are important in obtaining this grant. Phil asked John to provide a letter on behalf of the Chamber and Teri advised it could be very beneficial to provide businesses with a template to do letters of support as well. The next grant Phil will be working on is the “Restore NY Grant” which will address vacant buildings in the Village.
- Phil advised that the Deputy Clerk position for the Village is open. Phil also wanted everyone to know that there will be a show at the theater again Saturday night – the 2nd show of the season.
- Dolores could not be at the meeting but provided a Town Report. The Town did the 1st coat of oil and stone at the Community Center Monday morning and completed the 2nd coat Monday afternoon. The parking lot looks very nice – thanks to the Town for working with us to get this done!! Dolores also advised that Roy and Joe have finished the electric and are waiting for the 1st electrical inspection, which is supposed to happen Friday, September 16th. Roy has spoken to a plumber to get a quote to finish things up but has not received the quote back yet. Dolores also provided an update on the CDBG Grant – (The Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program provides annual grants on a formula basis to states, cities, and counties to develop viable urban communities by providing decent housing and a suitable living environment, and by expanding economic opportunities, principally for low- and moderate-income persons). The town has 7 accepted applications, and they plan to take a few more. The park had a good year and is in the process of winding down.
- Teri provided a 4TownsForward report. The music festival has been named as “The 4TownsForward Music Festival”. The budget for this event is $200,000 and they have received donations of around $75,000 so far. They have also applied for a grant in the amount of $125,000. The festival will be held the week before or the week after graduation and they expect 3 – 4,000 people. Teri suggested the Town consider renting spaces for campers at General Clinton Park since local hotels are limited. They do plan to offer tent sites at the airport but not sites for campers.
- Teri also spoke about Small Business Saturday, which is Saturday, November 26th this year. Sidney and Bainbridge will be having vendors at their Community Centers and the cost will be $20.00. Afton will not have vendors but will be set up to offer free gift wrapping.
- The next 4TownsForward meeting is next Tuesday @ 8:00 am at the back of Bob’s Diner. All are welcome to attend. Omar will be attending who is looking for properties in Sidney and Bainbridge to do manufacturing of car batteries. Teri also advised that the old K-Mart location (by McDonald’s) will be a future Aldi’s and the old K-Mart location (by Price Chopper) has been bought by Lambrecht Auction to expand their business.
- June reported that the next Bainbridge Connects will be the Christmas Edition which will include all events happening during the holiday season. It was suggested that Bainbridge Connects be expanded to include all 4 towns. June advised this is something that they can consider and investigate.
- This year’s Christmas parade is Saturday, December 10th – always the 2nd Saturday in December.
- Christmas trees were discussed. We did 50 total last year. The Committee will do the 50 trees but if we want to expand it then someone else will need to take this on. It was suggested that we not expand on the # of trees we do but possibly change the placement of some. Could those businesses that are currently placed around the Main Streets but are not located there could they be placed in the park?
- The Season’s Greeting sign that we talked about last year after the holidays was also discussed. Is this something we want to do this year?
- The monitors that were previously used for Chamber events were discussed. We stopped using these during COVID. It was suggested we might raffle them off.
- Membership was discussed. We need to develop a membership packet again. This has not been done in a # of years – the packet should include a membership decal and possibly a Chamber shirt. It also might be more effective if we visit businesses after the initial emailed invoices are sent out. Many forget and their membership invoices get lost.
- Dave discussed his concern regarding increased crime in the Village. Everyone agreed that this is of concern and something that needs to be discussed further. I will ask Phil to address or bring the appropriate Village representative to discuss at the next meeting.
- Teri received the check for the grant for the Bainbridge Library. $3,322 will be given to the library today.
- Motion to adjourn by June, second by Mary, carried. Meeting adjourned at 9:04 am.
Our next Board of Directors Meeting will be held on Tuesday, October 4th and the next General Membership Meeting will be held on Tuesday, October 18th at the back of Bob’s Diner @ 7:30 am.
Respectfully Submitted: Christine Smith, Secretary