MINUTES OF THE
MORTLACH COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT and AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY (MCDAS)
MEETING HELD ON WEDNESDAY, JULY 15, 2009
Chairman: Ron ; change over meeting – Dale
Treasurer: Marge ; change over meeting Rhonda with Ken S as assistant
Secretary: Marcia
Marcia read the highlights from minutes of the June Meeting.
Business Arising from the Minutes
· Costco was sold out of the awning tent
· Block buying of ads in the Moose Times Herald was money saving
· No more contact from Home Builder who was present at June Village Council Meeting
Marcia moved minutes of the June meeting be adopted as read; Carolyn seconded; carried.
Treasurer’s Report – no official report as the position of Treasurer is being transferred from Marge Gardner to Rhonda Haukass (who has the Simply Accounting computer program) and Ken Skibsted will be the assistant treasurer.
· Rhonda, Ken, Marcia and Dale will have signing authority – 2 out of 4; Rhonda, Ken, and Dale will have to go to Conexus to sign papers
· SBF bills were handed in and cheques were written
Action: Rhonda, Ken and Dale will go to Conexus (downtown in Moose Jaw) to sign papers for signing authority for MCDAS.
Correspondence
· Letter from Terry J. Parks (electrician form Caronport, Saskatchewan) – re: invoice for installation of the fifty amp stage outlet – he is donating this as a complimentary community service trusting that it will help festivals for years to come.
Action: Marcia to write a thank you card to Terry for this donation.
· Herbert Herald and Moose Jaw Times Herald newspaper reports – thanks to Mary and Ron for submitting these.
Action: Marcia will put both these articles in the binder for Communities in Bloom.
Saskatoon Berry Festival Lessons Learned
1. Budget – Ron – compared final budget from last year
· Gate revenue almost doubled
· Vendor Booth and pie sales revenue were more
· Received some of the same grants/donations again this year
· Terry Parks donation of electrical equipment and labour saved us some money in expense column
· Some of the main expenses were the advertising, the musicians (including $120.00 for the pipe band), the soundman and equipment rented from Regina (which made set up, show time, and take down less stressful; the fellow operating the unit did a good job);
· Loraas – we will have to pay GST and PST
2. Gate – Ray – went better this year than last year
· Still a problem with people who think they don’t have to pay and with those who don’t want to pay gate admission – “I’ve paid and got a star – why hasn’t he/she paid and wearing a star?”
· Parade entrants and vendors fell they can bring in numerous people and none of them need to pay either
· Too many occupants per car
· Suggestion arm bands in place of stars for next year; need a “star/armband” to go into the beer garden/children’s activities
Traffic Control – flowed well; the 2 stations for gate admission worked well
· Busiest Time was from 8:00 am to parade time
3. Music/Stage/ Soundman – some thought music ended too early
· Stage location was good, but needs a shade tent by the stage
· Good quality of music – lots of “We Could Be Cousins” fans; bands and music handlers seemed to work well; musician/bands are wanting to come again next year
· Have Local Band as wrap up
· Host Allowance: Ron and Linda hosted the bands in their backyard after the festival ended and served breakfast the next morning
4. Vendors – Rhonda - were very pleased and majority are on the list to come for next year
· 37 vendors @ $30; 5 food vendors @ $100.00; 9 non-profit organizations – some wanted to be closer to where the food was, some complained of slanted ground
· Bus food vendor was invited to Central Butte Days the end of July
· Vendors could be given a number and then that number could be visible on their spot on the street
· Suggestion – next year $30.00 in advance and vendor gets choice of spot; $50.00 if vendor fee is paid on SBF Day
· Rhonda needs more help with set up and take down
5. Prairie Berries – Ron - very cooperative; did well at their vendor booth too.
6. Pie Sales – Cheryl and Shirley; Thanx to Coteau Hills Church Volunteers
· Ordered 300 pies and sold 324
· Some problem with location of where they were selling and serving pies – the main hall door was being used by people going in and out, servers going in and out, people looking for bathrooms, Vern Reese, looking for a shady spot to sit down to eat their pie…
· Suggestion: pie sales could be out south hall door along with other food vendors
· Prairie Berries brought the first load of pies on their pie holder rack, and left it at the hall for a place to store pies. This meant that subsequent trips back and forth with pies, they had to bring a small amount of pies at a time so there was some time during the afternoon when pies sales stopped waiting for pies to arrive. But for people really wanting pie and not wanting to wait there was also Saskatoon pie available at Wagons West Cookhouse and The Country Garden Tea House
7. Volunteers – Marilyn Forbes – no report; more volunteer help needed with vendor booths
8. Kids Program – Kerri Legal – ponies need a water tank for a water supply; the cost of the
pony rides was $3.00 this year instead of $2.00 – discussion that it was too high and that
the jumping castle could be free
9. Parade – Penny Cumming – very good; Penny spends hundreds of hours on the phone getting
entries
· Start and end at Coteau Hills Church
· RCMP were in attendance dressed in Northwest Mounted Police attrie
· About 60 entries
10. Film Festival – Sylvie – needs to be finished editing yet
· Started at 1:00 pm in the Bradley Building to a room full of people; various showings all afternoon
· Universities and museums across Canada are interested in this CD that Sylvie is creating about Casey Jones
· Mortlach and area is significant in archaeological research – Mortlach phase of North American history.
Action – Sylvie will finish editing and contact the Universities and museums.
11. Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA) – Sandy – many people came to watch their
jousting demonstrations that they presented while the bands were changing
· Next year they need to be more visible – they were behind the museum, but it also would not convenient to be demonstrating in front of the stage with wires and chairs in the way.
· Set up their village Friday night – and stayed Saturday night.
· They are planning to do an Open House to teach people of Mortlach what SCA is all about in preparation to their convention going to be held in Mortlach in the fall.
12. Beer Garden – Ron – worked well; people were upset that the permit ended at 10:00 pm
(which meant that last call was at 9:30 pm)
· Liquor Licence specified – no children allowed in the beer garden
· Smoking was a problem in the beer garden
· Rink Board has volunteered to do the Beer Garden next year – permit, supplies, volunteers…
Action: Rink Board will do the Beer Garden at SBF July 3, 2010
13. Clean Team – Marg Apperley – did not work well
· Need bigger bags to fit village garbage cans
14. Agriculture – Sylvie – spin farming demonstration stated about 2:00 pm
· MRAA – Greg – they had a good day; people came until about 2 or 3 o’clock
15. Central Information Kiosk – Marcia – being in the middle of the street worked well
· Need 4 tables manned by 4 volunteers with each table having the same information on it
· After the parade was very hectic – we need to get the tables ready during the parade to move out to the middle of the street directly after the parade ends
· We need to have agendas showing all events, time schedules and location – programs/maps could be handed out by volunteers on the street as well.
16. Toilets/ Dumpster – Ron - 4 + 1 handicap toilet; 1 dumpster
17. Advertising – Sylvie and Vi
· Advertising in Moose Jaw Times Herald, Herbert Herald, Sask. Tourism magazine, Wood River Press newspaper, CTV, CHAB radio Moose Jaw; rack cards distributed in neighbouring communities and provinces
· Rack cards and CTV ad did not mention admission fee
· Next year, maybe more advertising needs to be done at Swift Current
· Picture for Advertising should be approved by Prairie Berries.
18. Vern Reese Antique Appraisals – Carolyn – 10:00 am to 5:00 pm - were steady all day
· Needs more advertising and signage
· Carolyn has booked him to come back next year
19. Pancake Breakfast – Playschool Moms – Cheryl – was more efficient than last year; power
was still a problem
20. First Aid Station – MCP First Responders – Cheryl – 2 minor complaints
· We should be very thankful at having 2 years without a casualty at the SBF
Decisions/Discussion Arising from SBF Lessons Learned – Action:
1. 3rd Annual Saskatoon Berry Festival - July 3, 2010
2. SBF Manager Positions
· Overseer – Dale
· Advertising – Vi
· Booth/Vendors – Rhonda, Marilyn
· Gate – Ray
· Music, Stage, Sound – Ron, Chris Locke, Andrew Bugiera
· Information Booth – Marcia
· Pie Sales – Coteau Hills Church – Cheryl
· Budget – Dale, Ron
· Volunteers – Marilyn
· Parade – Penny
· Film Festival – Sylvie
· Toilets/Dumpster – Ron (Village Admin)
· Beer Garden – Rink Board
· First Aid – M C P First Responders – Cheryl
· Agriculture – Sylvie
· Sponsors – Dale, Ron
· Kids Events – Kerri
· Clean Team – Parent Volunteer
· Map/Schedule – John Horncastle
3. Hosting Allowance – Ron and Linda hosted bands after festival and for breakfast on
Sunday morning; the bands enjoy this hospitality and it encourages them to want to come
back another year. They also tell their friends that Mortlach is a great place to come to
perform.
4. 50/50 tickets and Door Prizes – are they worth the effort; someone walking around selling
50/50 tickets might work better
5. Stars Wrist Bands – need to find a sponsor for them
· 5000 stars at $275 US – each 6 cents US
Action: Shirley will inquire about wristbands used at Caronport Youth Quake.
Whatever we are using to show that admission fee has been paid has to be ordered at December 2009 meeting.
6. John is working on creating a map of downtown Mortlach to use for SBF.
7. Budget – Dale and Ron will develop
Action: Building Communities Through Arts and Heritage – Federal Government Grant; Ron will apply.
8. SBF Dinner/Supper – is there a service club interested in doing this as a fund raiser…
9. Discussion re: prepaying for the event – ie admission, meals
10. Discussion re: paid SBF Manager Position
· Discussion about hiring someone to organize all the details around a successful SBF – someone with good organizational, communication, and computer/internet skills; advertising, media, and sponsorship contacts
· A SBF professional promoter
11. Tables – Some of the Hall tables are missing. The last new tables bought for the hall were
bought by the Village. There are not enough tables available for use at the SBF.
Motion: moved by Terry Bittles and seconded by Mike Franklyn that MCDAS will buy 10
more tables for the Mortlach Hall; carried.
· Costco has tables like the ones that the Village bought for @$49.00.
12. There should be a cash reserve of $4000.00 for start up funds for Saskatoon Berry Festival. 13 We need better SIGNAGE
14 Gate - envelopes for money pick up from each area.
- Stars or Arm Bands
15. Stage, Music, Soundman - shade tent, host allowance for family hosting musicans
16. Vendors - set up and take down needs more help
- advance vendor fees
- vendors need to know where their spot is in advance
17. Pie Sales - Where is the best place to sale pies? Where can we store pies so that P B can
take their rack home to bring subsequent loads?
18. Ponies need a better water supply.
19. SCA - Where would their demonstrations be more visible next year?
· They are planning an Open House for Fall to explain some of their activities
20. Clean Team - MCDAS needs to set up terms of reference, expectations, list of duties
(both for garbage and recycling) for these young people to follow.
21. Information Booth - Programs and Maps are needed for the Information Booth
22. Advertising - Maybe will need to increase budget for advertising next year
- Admission fee has to be shown on CTV ad and rack cards
- Do more advertising in Swift Current area
23 Vern Reese - advertising and signage
24. Pancake Breakfast – the playschool moms had electricity problems
25. To put $200.00 in the 2010 budget to cover Hosting Allowance
26. A community letter to be could be sent in May or June 2010 so that local people
understand what it is we raising money for and how important it is for all to pay
admission fee.
27. Each SBF Manager needs to write a detailed information package that lists all the jobs
that need to be done month by month. Each manager needs a shadow committee
manager in training.
28. Tables - Who is shopping for the tables?
Old Business
1. Communities in Bloom Judges will be in Mortlach on Thursday, July 23rd; Mayor’s Business
Breakfast will be that morning.
2. Shop Swap and Save Day
Motion: moved by Rhonda and seconded by Vi that the Mortlach Fall Garage Sale Day be
Saturday September 19th; carried.
Action: Rhonda will book the hall
3. Rolling Across the Heartland July 1st on CHAB 800 Radio – 6 businesses, village and SBF
advertised; Mike reported that people came to the Tea House because they heard the
advertisement on the radio.
4. Ain’t We Got Fun – let Ron know if you are interested in going July 25th.
5. Election – there were no further nominations so Dale Domeij becomes our new chairperson
· At this point in the meeting Dale assumed the chairperson’s position.
· Thank you to Ron and Linda for a job well done.
· As previously noted, Rhonda with Ken as assistant will be the new Treasurer.
Dale took over the position of Chairperson of MCDAS at this point in the meeting.
New Business
1. Sidewalk Project – motion to complete the sidewalk north of the library once water and sewer lines are in instead of sidewalk in front of the hall where pavement is still ok.
· We need to know the long range plans of the Village; a quote of cost; what grants are available
· Tabled to August meeting
2. Motion to conclude sidewalk project, leaving the Village to complete any additional sections
· So that MCDAS could move ahead with other projects and a new focus
· Tabled to August meeting
3. Ken explained how the money given to him for sidewalk was used. The deck on Thunder
Creek Trading Post is on town property and the boardwalk will extend north from the shop.
4. Motion Ken and seconded by Sylvie to donate $2,000.00 to the rink to help replace lights if
other funding does not come through; carried.
· MRAA is pursuing other options for funding – ie: Sask. Power Grant for lights in rinks
· We are also requesting a representative from the Rec Board to begin attending our meetings
5. Other new project ideas:
