The meeting came to order at 6:42 p.m.

Present were: Kevin Brady, Bob Cranston, Peggy Schwartz and Mike Campbell.

OLD BUSINESS

Next Members' Meeting.  We discussed the plans for the Thursday, Sept. 24th members meeting, 6:30 p.m. at Total Tennis.  Peggy indicated that the meeting will be in the room that has a fireplace, rather than the large cafeteria room.  She indicated she was going to talk with Miriam, to be sure the logistics for the talk by David Lundquist (laptop, screen, etc.) and the participation of any participating insurance companies was all arranged for.

Merry-Go-Round Gala/Auction.  With the successful Merry-Go-Round Gala and Auction having completed the weekend prior to the board meeting, there was discussion about the event.  It was noted that HITS had requested that the money from ticket sales go to help defray their costs.  This was agreed to, pending a discussion to verify the request, between Kevin and Tom Struzzieri.  (Kevin called after the meeting and Tom verified it.)  The other agreement was that we would approach the artist of the Harley Horse, to see if they would be willing to paint another horse, which we could auction on eBay.  The proceeds would be split between the artist and the Chamber.  This was in part to "test the waters" regarding how successful an eBay auction of a carousel horse would be.

Chamber Publicity.  There was discussion about the taking of photos at Chamber members meetings, and the subsequent sending of those photos to the local weeklies, in order to spread the word about the fun events the Chamber members meetings have become.  We reiterated that Mery has signed up for this, and if she cannot attend any given members meetings, we should arrange for backup.

"What's Happening" Kiosk.  Regarding the kiosk sign at the corner of Market and Main, intended to cover the top special events going on in Saugerties on any given month:

• Mike showed an example of a 3 foot by 4 foot sign that would be placed in a (to be designed) weatherproof (and hopefully grafitti resistant) cabinet placed on Village property on the corner of Main and Market Streets.  This is to keep people (locals and visitors) informed of what's going on on any given day.  The main points agreements that were made were:
  • The group liked the general design, which will be shown to the members at the members meeting
  • Only the top 16-18 events in any given month will be included.  This cannot become an exhaustive list of events; otherwise it will require too large an effort.
  • The events that are covered will be focused on tourism-encouraging events with the largest impact, including not-for-profit events.  This is for the community and tourism and not for consumer/commercial purposes.
  • The design and plans had previously been reviewed with the Mayor and he approved of the plans/approach. 
  • Local artists/woodworkers Alex Kveton, Z'ev Willy Neuman and Gus Pederson will be approached and asked for designs/cost estimates for the cabinets.

Member-to-Member Discounts.  This was discussed.  Mike indicated that there were not that many submissions thus far and we will bring it up to the membership again to encourage participation.  We need at least 10 participating businesses in order to kick this off.

NEW BUSINESS

Hudson Valley Garlic Festival.  It was agreed that the Chamber will share the booth with Ulster County Tourism.  Mike is ordering ballons and arranging for helium tanks, for balloons that will be handed out to children.

Ulster County Chamber membership.  The Saugerties Area Chamber of Commerce's membership in the UC Chamber lapsed as of March 2009.  We've been sent reminders and it was agreed that Kevin would talk with Ward Tood about possibly arranging for reciprocal/free memberships . . . Ulster County in the Saugerties Chamber and vice versa. 

Village Holiday Lights.  The firemen want to start on the lights for lighting up the Village during the holiday season.  Their estimate of the cost of regular lights needed to upgrade what's already installed is $1,500 for regular lights and $4,500 for LED lights (lower electric-running costs, but obviously higher purchase price).  Kevin was looking into whether he could obtain LED strings/lights for closer to the $1,500 cost.  But for now, a maximum payment of $1,500 was approved for the purposes of the Village business holiday lights.

Agenda for September 24th Members Meeting. 

• Member Intros
• Talk by David Lundquist, CEO of Benedictine Hospital
• Talk by Insurance Companies?  (Needs to be verified with Miriam)
• Sunset Concerts 2009 Wrap-Up Report (Mery/Cheri)
• Hors'n Around/Merry-Go-Round Gala/Auction Wrap-Up Report (Beth/Mark)
• Kiosk Report (Mike C.)
• Member-to-Member Discounts (Mike C.)
• Requests by members for future topics or other announcements

The meeting concluded at 8:22 p.m.