Executive Board Meeting Present: Jerry Francis, Denise Francis, Ted Goldsborough, Alison Graham, Joan Roberts, Dennis Montagna, Jack Hagner, Betty Cannon, Hamill Horne, and Bobbie McElroy Excused Absences: Andy Amsterdam, Ross Mitchell, Phil Eidelson Guests: Commissioner Bruce Reed (Ward 13), Commissioner George Manos (Ward 9), MaryEllen Hagner, Leon Levine, Joanne Murray, and Joel Westman. Jerry Francis called the meeting to order at 7:33 pm, followed by the Pledge Of Allegiance. Minutes of the October 5, 2006 Board Meeting were unanimously approved. Cynwyd Train Station Project: A Task Force has been formed to work with the County, the Township and SEPTA to repair and restore this structure. The group is Co-Chaired by Bruce Reed and George Manos, along with Ken Brier, Jim Easter, Jerry Francis, Leon Levine, Mike Weilbacher, and Joel Westman. The station was built in the late 1880's and is listed as a Class 2 on the Township's Historic Inventory List. It is now derelict, deteriorating inside and not used effectively. The many attempts by SEPTA to find a tenant have been unsuccessful and talk of having the Township buy the building from SEPTA is not feasible. Therefore, we need to explore other options. Bruce Reed lead a discussion and outlined some of the background issues. SEPTA has no money for repair and stabilization, so funding will have to come from outside sources. Tom Ellis, a Montgomery County Commissioner, and a SEPTA Board member, has asked the Township for an assessment of the Station property. A Pennoni Associates study reported that it could take as much as $900,000 to do a "complete" refurbishment of the site. An alternate study is currently in progress by the Task Force to determine the cost to "just" stabilize the station and make it suitable for tenant occupancy. The Task Force has determined that they may be able to secure up to $400,000 in funding from the Township and Montgomery County. The Historical Society, with its 501(c)(3) status could be the means of securing this funding, as we did for the Academy Project. Joel Westman, who has 35 years of experience in building construction and historical renovation, believes that the station is salvable. The interior has become dangerous, it has been broken into several times and is now a fire hazard. Leon Levine commented that an option would be to collect documentation and have the station listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Having this status could be a help in funding the needed repairs. If the structure can be properly repaired, the Station could be an important element to the neighborhood, an asset to the Historical Society, and acquire a productive tenant. Jerry suggested that SEPTA be approached with a plan to stabilize the building and make it available for tenant occupancy. Also, a section of the building could be re-purposed as a Trail Head for the emerging "Rails to Trails Network" that has been proposed in the Township's Open Space Plan. Mary Ellen asked if stabilization meant just the outside or also the inside? George's goal is that the outside is presentable and that the inside is repaired and that the electric, HVAC and restrooms are operable. By February 15th, the Task Force will have completed their site study and will have a proposal. This document will include scope of work, site diagrams and cost figures for each phase of the project. The Township Commissioners have asked if the Society would be interested in participating and possible act as the project manager. The following motion was made: Resolved that, in light of the discussion of the Society's potential participation in the stabilization of the Cynwyd Train Station, that the President and Solicitor of the Society undertake a review of the means of such stabilization and the role which the Society might play therein, together with such members of the Board and such other persons whom the President and Solicitor deem it appropriate to consult for such purposes, and that periodic reports be made to the Board for its consideration of such participation by the Society. This motion was seconded and passed by unanimous vote by the Board. President's Report: The Lower Merion School District is preparing their 2007 Budget for the needed repairs to the Academy building. Stucco and patio repair to the sun porch will be done this summer. An architect has been hired to be sure that the work is done in an appropriate manner. Treasurer's Report: Jack Hagner presented the Statement of Financial Position as of December 31, 2006. The balance sheet shows a good cushion for future activities and any unknown problems. The Report was unanimously accepted, with many thanks to Jack, for a wonderful job. Strategic Planning: Future leadership remains our priority. The Society is financially sound for its future operating expenses, but we have a limited endowment fund for long term plans. For example, we may need to hire an Executive Director as a paid position. Rental income from the Cynwyd Train Station could be used for this purpose. Education: The statistics for 2006 was that the Society had 39 Lectures/Events with a total attendance of 1845 people. Ted Goldsborough needs a new liaison person to interact with the School District. It would be a help if the School District would assume the job, but they have not stepped forward to do so. Because of this the program may not be able to continue. Max Buten and Ted have been taking pictures of historical properties before they are torn down. Harriton High School has donated multiple sets of the back issues of their school newspaper from 1958 to 1979. A set was given to the Library and a set has been given to the Alumni Association. The remaining issues were distributed to class agents. Joanne Murray, who is the Assistant Dean at the Annenburg School of Communication at the University of Pennsylvania, is a new volunteer who works every other Saturday helping our patrons in the Library. Julia Fleekop, a Junior at Lower Merion High School, volunteers every Wednesday evening and is assisting Ted with the School District Archives. Library & Website: Jerry announced the recent acquisition of a 1948 Franklin Maps Atlas. For this we have Andy Amsterdam to thank since he scanned his copy, printed it out full size, in color on linen canvas paper, and using archival dyes. Another recent acquisition was from the Philadelphia Print Shop on Germantown Avenue in Philadelphia. We purchased 49 8"x10" antique black/white photos of "Coolkenney," a mansion that was located on Montgomery Avenue in Haverford. The Bala Cynwyd and the Ardmore "Then and Now" powerpoint presentations that we co-produced with the Lower Merion Conservancy are now on our iMac for the public to view. Ted and Max's archive of photos, which are stored on 48 CDs, are also being loaded on our iMac computer for public use. Our website continues to grow in popularity and in size. We have had a worldwide audience of over 176,500 visitors this past year. Since the launch of our website in August 2002, we've had a total of more than 506,000 visitors to our virtual library of information! Membership: Denise Francis thanked members who had made phone calls, which allowed her to be able to clean out the delinquent members from our database. 39 names were deleted so the database is now up to date. Members now number 296, including Life and Complimentary memberships. New letters will go out at the end of the month. A second letter will be mailed the end of June, to those who have not paid by then. Other sources of income are needed. Programs: Nothing to report for the Spring calendar. We need a volunteer to help with this Committee. Publications: Leon Levine discussed the start of a project to document the development of the Jewish community in our area. He is hoping to come up with a structured questionnaire for each Congregation in Lower Merion. Andy and Jerry are thinking about doing their own history of Lower Merion, to compliment "The First 300." It will be an illustrated historical atlas of Lower Merion and Narberth and they plan to hire John Maki of Acquire to assist them with the graphic and layout design. Old Business: Nothing to report. New Business: Three Committees have been formed: 1) Budget Committee: Jack and Jerry. There is no report yet on the 325th Anniversary of the founding of the Welsh Track in Pennsylvania. The date for our April Annual Meeting and Banquet at the "New" Tavern has not yet been set. Ask The President: A meeting date will be set on the Cynwyd Train Station project before the April meeting. The meeting was adjourned at 9:35 pm. Respectfully submitted by Barbara McElroy. |