EXECUTIVE BOARD MEETING President Jerry Francis called the meeting to order at 7:32 P. M. Hamill Horne led the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. Officers and Directors Present: Jerry Francis, Jack Hagner, George Broseman, Bruce Reed, Denise Francis, Joan Roberts, Chris Jones, Dick Jones, S. Hamill Horne, Ross Mitchell, Alison Graham, Betty Cannon, Jack Maguire, Bobbie McElroy. Excused Absences: Ted Goldsborough, Mary Keim. Jerry welcomed Betty Cannon to her first meeting and noted that this would be the last meeting at Ashbridge. Minutes of the January 19, 2003 Executive Board Meeting, page 3, corrected the spelling of the Architects name to read, Frens and Frens. Minutes were then approved as corrected. Minutes of the Annual Meeting April 13, 2003 were approved. President Jerry Francis used his Presidential prerogative to rearrange the Agenda order. NEW BUSINESS: Lee's Shoddy Mill, which is listed as a Class II structure on the Township of Lower Merion's Historic Inventory List, is about to be demolished. The Neighborhood Club of Bala Cynwyd has filed a zoning appeal to the Montgomery County Common Pleas Court. To assist in this action, the Neighborhood Club has asked the Historical Society to join them in this action. Bruce Reed stated that this mill, one of the last remaining mill structures in the township, has been Ranked # 1 on the Lower Merion Conservancy's 2003 List of Threatened Structures and the Township of Lower Merion's Historical Commission and it's Commissioners have voted against the demolition of the mill structure. The owner of the property, George Painter, wants to build a multi-level storage facility on the site. At the recent Zoning Board Hearing, along with the Neighborhood Club and the Conservancy, the Historical Society testified against the planned demolition and the re-building of the storage facility. The Zoning Board has issued their opinion and has given Mr. Painter permission to proceed with development plans even though the new structure will be situated in the flood plain. A 30 day window exists to file an appeal. When the Township did not appeal the Zoning Board's decision, the Neighborhood Club filed their appeal in the Court of Common Pleas on June 9, 2003. The Neighborhood Club has asked the Historical Society to join them in this civil action. Jerry Francis noted that a vote to join in the appeal was needed. The motion was unanimously approved. Discussion followed about several developments proposed for Rock Hill Road being studied by the Township. Rita White, the owner of the Merion Memorial Park Cemetery, has been cleared of all charges that were filed by a disgruntled employee and exploited by the local Fox Broadcasting Channel. The Cemetery still has residual problems stemming from the erroneous information. TREASURER REPORT: Jack Hagner presented three handouts; the audited 2002 financial statement, financial position as of May, 2003 and the Budget for year 2003. The first big payment on the restoration of the Academy Building has been made. These financial statements are required to keep our Solicitation License with the state of Pennsylvania. It was moved and seconded to approve all reports. ACADEMY BUILDING: Jerry Francis reported that the transition from Ashbridge to the Academy is occurring and the work is progressing in an orderly fashion. The contractors are superb, the electrical work is finished and the School District will paint outside and inside the building over the summer. At that time the project will be about 90% complete. Sun Porch issues have yet to be resolved. Ross presented an Academy Renovation Phase ll Tracking Budget spread sheet. As of 6/15/03 about 55% of project has been paid for. Ross has made applications for grants from many sources including Ardmore Rotary, Lincoln Financial, Questers, Main Line Art Center, and DCED. EDUCATION: Jerry Francis reported for Ted Goldsborough that 34 lectures or events have been held thus far in 2003. Over 2,300 adults and children have participated. Alison commented on the successful Inter-Generational programs that took place with fourth grade students. Jack Maguire discussed the Federal government's, "Teaching U. S. History" program. The three musts are to address People, Places and Events. American History has been short changed in recent years. Villanova University will offer a program of nine courses. The applicant must pick five, all in American History, to be eligible for credits. They must also be aligned with a Historical organization. Teaching and bus tours are consistent with grant requirements. Applications must be in by July 7th. The educational philosophy of the program is to "teach Teachers to teach" and to be historians. The hope is to make improvements to the educational program a permanent benefit in the School System. Teachers will take courses in the summer or at night. The program will start at 4th and 5th grade levels. LIBRARY: Jerry Francis reported for Mary Keim that most of the Library has been transitioned over to the Academy. Our book collection keeps expanding; for example, the Merion Meeting is donating 143 books of 18th and 19th Century Philosophy/Theology as a permanent loan. These items will be cleaned, cataloged and put on our Website. MEMBERSHIP: Denise Francis is about to send out the Second Notice for the 2003 Membership Dues. So far the response has been poor, but many of our core members have paid their current dues. Ted Goldsborough and Denise Francis continue to maintain the Membership Database. Anyone who has not paid for two years will be dropped. About 1/3rd of membership has not yet responded. PROGRAM: Chris Jones announced that the June 8th tour of Stenton has been canceled. The response to this program was too low for us to proceed with the event. September 20th will be the ceremony to unveil the roadside marker of the Autocar Company on Lancaster Avenue in Ardmore. The Historical Society will be the co-sponsor of this program. The "Friends of Autocar" anticipates that 250 of their members and 35 antique cars and trucks will be on-site that day. A luncheon will follow at Lower Merion High School cafeteria. Also, on November 5th Ed Lawler will present a lecture at Waverly Heights. Ross has contacted the Barnes Foundation about doing a tour in late February. In April the Annual Meeting will be the rededication of the Academy Building. Caro Roc of Main Line Life has offered to do an insert to promote excellence in education. A joint meeting with the Haverford Township Historical Society is being planned for May. PUBLIC RELATIONS: Chris Jones reported that she continues to work and refine our publicity program. PUBLICATIONS: As expected, sales of "First 300 Years" have dropped. The book will continue to sell over the years as an historical record. Bookstores will probably reorder in fall. 66% of the inventory has been sold. STRATEGIC PLAN: The Society needs a source of revenue enhancers. Since we have an inventory of over 1,500 postcards in our collection, the idea has been proposed to produce a book of many of these local postcards. Postcard books are easy to assemble and are currently selling well. Dick Jones will investigate the idea and the topic will be discussed at the October meeting. WEBSITE/NETWORK STATUS: In December 2002, we switched to Advantagecom.net as our Internet Service Provider (ISP), and during this time period they have been a reliable server. Also, during these past 6 months, our site has had an average 149 to 180 visitors per day. We are currently upgrading our Main Line Atlas offering from low resolution black & white images to high resolution color images. Andy Amsterdam of Franklin Maps is assisting us in digitizing the more than 340 plates that make up this collection. In process is the cataloging of the more than 150 mansions & estates images as well as the Merion Meeting Books Library and the burial records from local sites. ARTIFACT INVENTORY PROJECT: In 1997 the listing of objects at Ashbridge began. Over 100 items were labeled and boxed. Some items have no connection to Lower Merion but could be used as teaching tools. Ann Bagley, with assistance from Jerry Francis, Mary Keim, and Mary Wood is continuing to catalog these objects. This is an ongoing project as we discover uncatalogued items in the attic, drawers and cabinets. Many of these items will need research to determine their value to the Society. Some are of museum quality such as a 1758 map of Philadelphia, a hand sewn pre-Civil War flag, and an 1840's black walnut desk from the Lower Merion Academy. The meeting was adjourned at 9:35 PM. Respectfully Submitted |