Goleta Valley Beautiful - Board of Directors Meeting - August 5, 2005
Board Members Present: Doug Winter, Al Turnbull, Tami Mason, Thom Myall, Alan Scholl, Merlyn Cummings, Laura Funkhouser, Dave Fainer, Alan Caveletto, and Ken Knight Guests were Itai Shelem and Bonnie Freeman
1 Call to order – Laura
11 Laura called the meeting to order at 7:00 am at the Pacifica Suites
12 Laura introduced guest Itai Shelem, a recent UCSB graduate who is interested in Board membership
2 Secretary’s Report - Doug
21 The July minutes were approved as written by the Board
3 Presidents Report – Laura
31 Laura expressed concern as to the timing of the proposed Annual Garden Tour with respect to the Annual Awards Banquet This concern centered on man power availability to work two events in close proximity to each other
32 Ken emphasized the amount effort that goes into the Awards Committee in preparation for the Annual Awards Banquet
33 Dave commented that the Christmas dinner was lightly attended due to other conflicts He felt that the Annual Awards Banquet was well attended but should be moved to February as the awards were for recognition of activities in the previous year Dave proposed that the Christmas party be dropped, the Awards Banquet be moved to February and the Garden Tour be scheduled in May Ken commented that February is a bad time to be “showing off” landscape projects as they do not have the advantage of the growing season Ken said that the shift to of the fiscal year to the calendar year and the rescheduling of the Awards Banquet to February needs further discussion and if agreed upon, put in the Business Plan
34 Laura mentioned that the Board Café articles were very relevant to GVB She then discussed two of the articles briefly
35 Laura mentioned that a Non-profit can charge for services rendered such as Ken’s tree consulting activities Thom disagreed and wondered if GVB had liability insurance to cover this activity Ken mentioned that his activity is in the budget as a fundraiser Thom felt that it should not be Dave mentioned that the County has significantly increased requirements for consultants to have liability insurance Ken feels that he needs a contractor’s license for his work A separate, offline meeting will be convened to resolve this issue For now, Ken will suspend his consulting efforts for hazard tree analysis
36 The Business Plan drives the budget The budget can not be approved unless the Business Plan is approved The Business Plan was approved with the caveat that outside consulting/contracting be removed from the Business Plan for now A subcommittee headed by Thom will address the question: is consulting/contracting compatible with the GVB mission statement?
37 Laura will be attending the California ReLeaf Conference in Atascadero Travel and lodging are reimbursed by ReLeaf
38 Bermant Development Company has donated $500 to GVB to help cover unplanned truck maintenance as a result of an appeal letter written by Sam
39 Ken announced that GVB received $250 from Cox Communications Ken expects to receive a donation from Raytheon Corporate Headquarters as well
4 Treasury Report – Tami
41 Tami distributed her reports by email prior to the meeting
42 Tami summarized the final GVB 04/05 income budget
421 Government Grants were budgeted for $34,000 with accruals at $20,000
422 Annual Banquet, budgeted for $6,500, earned about $11,302
423 Total Income was $113,585 against a budget of $123,197
43 Tami summarized the final GVB 04/05 expense budget
431 Supplies, budgeted for $19,350, incurred actual costs of $16,912
432 Equipment Rental & Maintenance, budgeted for $1,260, realized actual expenses of $4,924 The overrun was due primary to truck maintenance
433 Tree Planting and Maintenance, budgeted for$31,670 incurred actual expenses or $21,544
434 Total Expenses was $116,036 against a budget of $123,197
44 GVB 04/05 Net Income was $-2451 This negative variance to budget is covered by a loan
45 Ken explained that the new 05/06 Income budget has some unfunded grant line items because it is not known if these funds will be awarded to GVB If these grants are awarded, the amount will be budgeted on the Income side with a corresponding offset budgeted on the Expense side The budget will be revised at mid year
451 The number of trees to be planted has been reduced from 500 to 250 per year due to the limited capacity of the Executive Director to be at all project plantings and also conduct GVB business This reduction is also as a result of a recommendation from the Advisory Council The need for 500 trees a year remains
452 Laura had some comments to add:
4521 She commented that the Unrestricted Income item for Ken’s consulting of $2,400 must be removed of now pending the findings and recommendations of the subcommittee formed to investigate this issue
4522 She feels that the $3,000 income budgeted from benefactors and the $1,500 budgeted from donors are realistic goals
4523 Under Foundations and Trusts, Laura feels that GVB should write a grant for the Santa Barbara Foundation for funds to cover the cost of clerical help for Ken
4524 Membership dues are budgeted at $14,000 which is based upon 400 members at $35 each, which is realistic in that last year GVB had 373 members
453 Ken emphasized the importance of stabilizing GVB income through less reliance on grants and more reliance on memberships and endowments Dave Fainer is interested in helping to establish an endowment campaign for GVB
454 Doug mentioned that he is pleased to note that $3,000 is budgeted for Extraordinary Truck Maintenance Those funds, not expended in the fiscal year, can be rolled over to the next year
46 Ken suggested that the approval of the 05/06 budget be held over till next month as there are changes that need to be made It was agreed upon
5 Membership – Ken for Lori
51 Ken forecast that GVB will loose between 50 and 100 members due to natural attrition To reach a membership level of 400 people will require the addition of about 150 new members
52 Honor tree recipients generally do not renew their membership It needs to be emphasized that GVB as an organization needs to continue to exist to support honor trees
6 Awards Committee – Bonnie
61 The August Residential Award goes to the home of Larry and Sandy Larson at 233 Ancona Ave, Goleta
62 The September Residential Award goes to the home of Larry and Margot Durhani at 7653 Padova Dr, Goleta
63 The Valley Voice has sent a bill to Bonnie for current articles Ken requested that Bonnie alert the Valley Voice that GVB does not have a budget for and is not going to pay for monthly award photos We hope that the Valley Voice will run them as a community service, with no guarantee that they will be published as submitted
7 Education Committee – Ken GVB needs to approach the schools now concerning their Arbor Day program Al Turnbull will work with Ken on this issue
8 Government – Ken GVB has an issue with the Design Review Board (DRB) concerning the Winchester Canyon entry way which Ken will address at the next DRB meeting on Tuesday This Day of Caring project is scheduled to go forward on September 17th
9 Stage Coach Signs – Doug
91 Benton Signs has submitted a bill to GVB This will clear an outstanding expense for the GVB budget
92 Sign vandalism continues to be a problem in the San Marcos Pass
93 Thom and Doug will drive the sign tour next Wednesday to get a complete picture of the status of the signs prior to approaching Wells Fargo for additional funds Sign 35 will be installed in Santa Ynez on Wednesday and the Santa Ynez branch of Wells Fargo will be presented with sign tour brochures
94 Alan Caveletto mentioned that if we are seeing graffiti on the signs, we should spray the signs with Pam which will provide a nonstick surface for unauthorized artwork
10 Urban Forestry – Ken This item was not discussed
11 Executive Directors Report – Ken This item was not discussed
12 2006 Garden Tour Proposal – Bonnie
121 Bonnie has 8 years of experience managing a garden tour in Santa Monica Her proposal was emailed to the Board previously Bonnie summarized her proposal as follows:
1211 The goals are to promote GVB membership, earn funds for GVB and foster community awareness A caveat is that the funds earned be used for a Volunteer Coordinator rather than the Unrestricted Fund
1212 The tour, possibly on June 4th, would be self guided through 5 homes and one larger site promoting sustainable landscaping
1213 This will not be an expense for GVB as Bonnie plans to enlist sponsors It is thought that the tour could bring in around $2,000 after it becomes established
122 Dave Fainer moved that GVB give conceptual approval for Bonnie to move ahead in planning Dave also stressed that we need to look at the liability insurance issues with the tour Conceptual approval was granted by the Board
Laura adjourned the meeting at 8:03
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Goleta Valley Beautiful News
October 2005
GVB cell phone 252-1952, E:mail kennethknight@cox.net
Website www.goletavalleybeautiful.org
American Forests recommends a community average tree canopy coverage of 25%. Goleta Valley's tree canopy coverage is estimated at 10%, Isla Vista 7%
1. GVB Community Service opportunities - General public welcome, especially jr.high to college students
- Oct 1 Tree Maintenance - Watering El Encanto Heights Project - Call 252-1952
- Oct 5, 12, Tree Plantings & Maintenance- Wednesdays 8:30 AM-11:30 AM Call us for location.
-Oct 19, 26 Working with Certified arborist and supervised Work Training Program clients. RSVP 252-1952
- Oct 8 Tree Plantings - Saturday 1:30-4 Meet at Little Acorn Park in Isla Vista. Planting 7 trees in Isla Vista with Lambdas. Tools and snacks provided RSVP 252-1952
- Oct 8,22 Anti-litter cleanup - 9 to 11 AM Report litter problems to Don & Judy Nason of Cambridge Dr Community Church at 964-0436, and volunteer to help with clean-up crews on the 2nd & 4th Sat.
- Oct 22 Tree Plantings - Saturday 1:30-4 Meet at Little Acorn Park in Isla Vista. Planting 7 trees in Isla Vista with Habitat for Humanity Volunteers. Tools and snacks provided RSVP 252-1952
- Oct 29 Tree Maintenance- Saturday 9-noon Meet at GVB Storage area on Santa Felicita Rd. Take Storke Road towards UCSB and make a right onto Santa Felicita behind Home Depot. Make the first left off Santa Felicita into the parking lot next to the Girsh Park bioswale. Look for the GVB sign. RSVP 252-1952
- Ongoing Winchester Canyon Entryway Maintenance - Variable hours- NW Corner of Cathedral Oaks and Winchester Canyon -Assist in watering and weeding site. No experience necessary.Tools provided. Contact Lauren Gleason at 685-2653
- Ongoing Develop your own neighborhood public area beautification project!
Goleta Valley Beautiful will provide resources and expertise to youth groups interested in developing tree planting, maintenance, educational and clean-up programs in public areas. Good community service opportunity for 4-H, Boys and Girls Clubs, Scouts, school groups, fraternity/sorority,church, or any youth groups. Call 252-1952 to develop a project.
- Ongoing Graffiti Cleanup -
Report graffiti to Ed Graper at 964-7117 or e-mail edgraper@yahoo.com Contact Ed if you would like to help remove graffiti in your area. Supplies and training provided.
- Ongoing Board of Directors
There are two openings for remaining one year terms (until 7/1/06) on the Goleta Valley Beautiful Board of Directors. The Board meets once a month, and committees meet as project needs require. No non-profit experience necessary, we'll help you learn about how we serve the community. Call 252-1952 or send e-mail to kennethknight@cox.net for more information.
- Wanted Experienced laborer-Proficient at using a Ditch Witch or similar large trencher to assist with installation of root shields in public parkways prior to street tree installation. Hourly rate paid, call 252-1952
- Wanted GRAPHIC ARTISTS or people with MARKETING/PR background? Help needed for a very fun garden project that will be a major fundraiser for GVB next Spring. We really need more people on our committee (of two presently) to help us organize. Call Bonnie 683-1878
Upcoming events
- Oct 6-8 California Urban Forest Council Annual Conference - Lompoc For information, visit the California Urban Forest Council Website at www.caufc.org
- Oct 15-16 California Lemon Festival - Girsh Park
-Oct 26 Campus Sustainability Day - UCSB Campus
2. GVB Award of the Month
Residential- 7653 Padova Drive, Goleta CA 93117 Larry and Margot Durham, owners. Ten years ago, owners Larry and Margot Durham enlisted the help of contractor Richard Turner of Stone & Earth Landscapes to create a low maintenance landscape with a diverse hardscape. Margot wanted a dry creek bed surrounded by bold colors, and got it all: the bed, stamped concrete, flagstone, New Zealand flax, Coreopsis, Nepeta, English lavenders, Salvia, a stand of Melalucas, a Corynocarpus laevigata tree at the entry, and much more!
Residential - September 8312 Vereda Del Padre, Ian and Susie Miller
You can nominate your favorite Goleta Valley Residential property by
downloading a nomination form.
Click here to see and download the nomination form
For residential properties contact Bonnie Freeman at 683-1878, for all other categories, contact Phebe Mansur at 685-2277 or call 252-1952. We accept nominations in any of our 12 annual categories for consideration of our monthly award. These categories include Single Family Residence, Multifamily residence, Sustainable Development, Home Owners Association, Preservation of Goleta Valley, Public/Institutional, Open Space, Shopping Center, Commercial Orchard, Open Category . Look for articles in the Valley Voice and the SB News Press.
3. GVB News Tidbits
- Free native/ornamental trees for Isla Vista residents - Student Intern Zulema Herrera did such a good job marketing our free tree program in Isla Vista that we now have more requests than we can fund with our grant from the UCSB Shoreline Preservation Fund. While we secure more funds, the first of the plantings will begin on October 8. Call 252-1952 to be placed on a waiting list for a tree when additional funding becomes available.
- Goleta Valley Heritage Self Guided Tree Tour -
A Map of locations and details about the tour here on our website. We left out the full address on last month's newsletter, and we always have readers with sharp eyes..
- So long Board Member Alan Cavaletto -
Alan is taking a new position managing an Avocado Ranch in San Luis Obispo County, so he has stepped down from his position on the Board of Directors effective October 1. Alan has acted as a liaison with our supporters at Camino Real Marketplace, and has been immensely helpful on special projects such as maintenance of our one-ton truck. We congratulate him on his new position, but that leaves us with two vacancies on the Board. Both positions have 9 months remaining in their terms, which expire 7/1/05. For information or to submit your interest in one of the positions, call 252-1952
- Goleta Valley Library Tree Books
- We'll be working with the Friends of the Goleta Valley Library and Librarian Pam Bury to identify items that should be added to the library's collection of books, DVDs, and videos about trees and the urban forest. We'll be particularly concentrating on texts for certification of professional arborists and urban foresters, educational materials for teachers, and our favorite tree books for children of all ages. We're working on getting a list on our website next month of items that we feel should be added to the Goleta Valley library collection, and what it will cost for each item.
- Welcome new Interns - UCSB Intern Stella Faturos will be working on the Trees as Capital Assets using General Plans Project funded by the National Urban and Community Forest Advisory Council (NUCFAC) and UCSB Intern Jamie Jones begins work this term as Assistant to the Executive Director.
- Tree Planting Surveys - If you live on the following unincorporated area streets and haven't turned in your survey yet, please do so now so that we can begin planting in Nov/Dec: Yaple, Via Miguel, La Roda, Kaiser, Turnpike, Frances, Kodiak, San Marcos Rd, Zink, Douglas, and Rhodes. In the City of Goleta, there are about 40 streets where surveys have been sent. Call us at 252-1952 if you have questions.
- New Honor Tree Locations at Grace Baptist Church - The parishioners at Grace Baptist Church on Puente Drive have identified over 50 sites on their property where they would welcome the planting of Honor Trees with plaques. For information on potential sites, call 252-1952
WISH LIST FOR TAX DEDUCTIBLE DONATIONS
- 4 trenching shovels, 2 pitchforks
- 1 Laptop PC computer
- 4 Hand pruners, 4 folding tree saws
- 4 5-lb pick mattocks with fiberglass handle
- 2 800-lb D-handle handtrucks
- 10 Heavy duty 9' x 12' tarps
- 2 17-lb. Digging bars-72'
- 20 pairs leather gloves
- 1 Concrete saw
- 10 Cases of water/soda/packaged snacks for volunteers
- 1 Self-propelled wheelbarrow (it's a wish list)
4. Event results/kudos
- - GVB Tree Planting and Care last month
Trees- Species- Location- Date- Hours- Action
1 - Pistache- St George place- 9/12/05- 15 - Planted
0 - None - Winchester Entryway - 9/10/05 - 70 - Maintenance
23 - Various- Winchester Entryway- 9/17/05- 300- Planted
4 - Oak- Metro,Geijera Isla Vista Parks- 9/14/05- 18- Planted
2 - Pistache- Geijera, Rochester, Calle Real - 9/19/05- 15- Planted
0 - Various - Devereux greenhouse- 9/20/05- 16- Maintenance
2 - Pear- Marina, Brandon - 9/26/05 - 12 - Planted
0 - Various- Devereux Greenhouse - 9/27/05- 16 - Maintenance
0- Various- Devereux Greenhouse - 12 days- 120- Maintenance
32 Total Trees planted 550 volunteer hours
Thanks this month to tree workers Bob Lugo and the Work Training Programs Crew, Kitson Landscape Management Company for the use of their 1000 gallon water tanker, the Western Farm Service employees (Eric, Peter, Ernie, Joe, Letitia, Chuck, Ben and Iggy) who have put in 32 Community Service hours so far at the Devereux Greenhouse and Growing Grounds revamping the irrigation system.
- Neighborhood Cleanups - The Nasons picked up 4.5 hrs and 3 big bags full of roadside cleanup on 9/10, working Cathedral Oaks from Santa Margarita over to Glen Annie, and Los Carneros down to Calle Real, and then 4 orange bags worth of rubbish on 9/24 working about 4 person-hours along Cathedral Oaks, at intersections of Cathedral with Patterson and Fairview, and along Los Caneros from Hollister to the Mammoth driveway. Don, Judy and their group do projects on the second and fourth Saturdays of the month. GVB will sponsor cleanups with your neighborhood groups at your request, just call 252-1952
- Winchester Canyon Entry Beautification Project - After a year of planning, 125 volunteers completed the native landscaping of the northwest corner of Winchester Canyon and Cathedral Oaks Road. Once a barren, unkempt patch of weeds, the site has been transformed with the planting of 125 native trees, shrubs and plants, along with a blanket of organic mulch. Winchester Canyon residents Lauren Gleason and Ingrid Smith worked with Goleta Valley Beautiful to raise the funds and volunteer hours from local residents to finance and implement the project. The area is belongs to the City of Goleta, but there were no immediate plans for its improvement. With City permit approval, project organizers solicited community input on the design, being careful to include low maintenance native plants, and to maintain existing view corridors.
Over two weekends, volunteers prepared and planted the site. On September 10, 25 volunteers from the Jesus Christ Church of the Latter Day Saints cleared the site of weeds, and on September 17, 100 volunteers from the United Way Day of Caring planted and mulched the area. Neighbors will continue to water and care for the area over the next two years while the plants are getting established.
This project was completed with the generous $2500 support from 50 community donors, a $250 Community Project Grant from the City of Goleta, a 2006 California Releaf Education and Outreach Grant, along with mulch provided by the County of Santa Barbara Solid Waste Department. The plants were grown from native seed by Growing Solutions Restoration Education Institute, and by Devereux developmentally disabled clients working with Goleta Valley Beautiful.
Goleta Valley Beautiful conducts one major neighborhood beautification project like this annually. If you would like to nominate a location for the 2006 project, or if you would like to contribute to the on-going support of existing projects like these, please call 252-1952 or visit the Goleta Valley Beautiful website at www.goletavalleybeautiful.org. If you are interested in helping with maintenance, please contact Project leader Lauren Gleason at 893-2239 or Ingrid Smith at 565-8123.
- Unsung hero -
Did we mention what a great job Trudi Carey and Patterson Self Storage did in donating and maintaining the landscape and irrigation in front of the Arco site on Patterson? Kudos!
- GVB One-Ton Truck available for non-profit use -
Goleta Valley Historical Society needed some help transporting plants for their Putting on the Ritz celebration on September 24. If your non-profit organization needs occasional help requiring a one ton truck, please call us in advance at 252-1952
5. Water Kings and Queens. -
If you have a portable tree irrigator (Treegator) installed on your street tree, please fill it once every two weeks in overcast weather, and once a week in hot sunny weather until the fall when the rains start. Please remove weeds and grass but do not remove mulch at the base of the tree and check that mulch is not touching the bark of the trunk. Please do not use any herbicides such as Round-Up near the base of the tree- the newer varieties are strong enough to kill the tree!. Please report any insect, disease or tree damage problems to GVB at 252-1952.
6. Welcome New/Renewing donor members -
R designates renewing member, + designates exceeding minimum contribution for that category
Family: Sherry Mills
Special Donors: Board Vice President Lori Roper and Former Board Member Marc Bradley made a $500 unrestricted contribution to GVB, in addition to all their hard work with membership and the Silent Auction. Beaucoup thanks!
Winchester Canyon Entryway Sponsors:
Hugo and Helen Smart, Brian Frick, Susan Lentz, Ingrid Smith, and a special thanks for the neighbors who raised $400 in a rummage sale and a $500 contribution from Patricia Bragg
Business Sponsor:
Raytheon presented us with a check for $500 that allowed us to finally complete the repayment of loans that we borrowed to repair our one-ton truck in early 2005. Thanks for your support.
Thanks for discounts/donations/reduced prices and services
from Pacifica Suites, Camino Real Marketplace, CopyRight, Growing Solutions Restoration Institute, West Covina Nurseries, Kitson Landscape management for the use of their 1000 gallon water trailer and all of our business sponsors and Silent Auction donors listed on our website www.goletavalleybeautiful.org. We appreciate the ongoing coverage of our events in the Santa Barbara News Press, The Independent, and The Valley Voice.
7. 2005 Annual Donor Membership Information -
kennethknight@cox.net
Board of Directors: Laura Funkhouser-President, Lori Roper - Vice President, Doug Winter - Secretary, Tami Mason - Treasurer. Board members: Merlyn Cummings, Alan Cavaletto, Al Turnbull, Thom Myall, Kristen Amyx, Phebe Mansur, Alan Scholl, David C. Fainer, Jr., Scott Bull
Executive Director - Ken Knight - Member California ReLeaf Network -
Newsletter funded in part from a California ReLeaf 2005 Urban Forestry Grant
Board of Directors meetings at Pacifica Suites, 5490 Hollister Avenue, from 7:00 AM to 8:00 AM on the first Friday of the month.
Our mission: To ensure and improve the beauty of the Goleta Valley through our 5 goal areas, (1) Urban Forestry Management (2) Neighborhood Responsibility (3) Business Responsibility (4) Education (5) Public Area Beautification.
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