Berkshire Conservation District Monthly Meeting
Monday, December 16th, 2019 at 5:30 PM
Conference Room
78 Center Street, Suite 206, Pittsfield, MA 01201
Minutes
1. Call to Order at 5:38pm with a quorum.
Present:
Board members - Mary Stucklen, Ned Kirchner, Ron Kujawski
Staff - Cynthia Grippaldi
Guests - Donna Kittredge, David Ellis
Reports
2. Secretary’s Report – Submitted by Cynthia Grippaldi, Program Administrator
a. Approval of November 7th Meeting Minutes. Ned moved, Ron seconded.
Approved.
3. Treasurer’s Report for November
a. Bills Due. Checks written to Martin & Oliveira $110 and Zach for cutting board $100.
b. Reimbursements Schedule. $8,786.48 reimbursed from EOEA
c. Sample Monthly Budget - Projected monthly expenses & income for the year.
d. Add GFCU names to mailing list in Drive
e. Nov treasurer's report was not submitted by the Chair.
f. Mary will meet with Ron and Ned at bank to transfer check signature to them
Old Business
4. District Supervisors
a. Vacant Officer Positions: Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary and Treasurer.
b. Donna and David attended and Ron has contacted Sean Stanton. Ron will give
Cynthia Sean’s contact info and she will forward information about the District to him.
Donna and David will return on January 7th, and may be interested in joining as associates.
5. No-Till Program Updates
a. Promotion: Rack card. To be mailed to Berkshire farmers, plus extra for handouts.
Cynthia would include costs in reimbursement. Ned moved $250 to cover expenses for card
stock and ink, Ron seconded. Approved by all.
b. Scheduling rentals: ‘Early-bird’ promotional special. Non-refundable deposit of
$100, if farmers commit by March 15. Also a reduction $5 of per acre. Ned moved to change
the deadline from March 1 to March 15 Ron second. Approved by all.
7. Administrative Assistant Update
a. Office Hours 10-4 MTW.
b. Other updates- NEGEF Pollinator Initiative was not chosen to be funded.
c. Ned moved for Cynthia to come up with standard operating procedures, budgeting,
reimbursements. Google Doc. Ron seconded. Approved by all.
8. Basic & Innovation Grant Update for FY 2020
Contract was not signed by Mary, Cynthia will complete and sign so we can start using funds.
New Business
Audit. Not yet initiated by the Board Chair. Cynthia will contact McMahon & Vigeant P.C.
in Dalton. Last year they charged $750 for the audit.
Spring Plant Sale. When? Use BBG membership and additional items for a raffle.
Computer files backup with flash drive. 1.7 gigs of data on Drive.
Web Site: Cynthia will contact Marita Carroll and see what she can do for $250.
9. Comments and Announcements
Mary announced that she is resigning from the board effective tonight and may continue as
an associate.
10. Adjournment
Ron moved and Ned seconded at 7:08. Approved by all.
Upcoming Events/Meetings:
Ron moved that monthly meeting will always be the first Tuesday of each month.
Ned seconded. Approved by all. Cynthia will call the Attorney General’s hot line to see if we
can use conference calls for meetings when we need Quorum. She will also call Jane
Obaggy (MACD) regarding training courses for Supervisors.
Next Berkshire Conservation District monthly meeting will be on January 7th at 5pm at
78 Center St., Suite 206, Pittsfield, MA 01201, Conference Room
