Prior to the meeting, we gathered at the RI Park and Recreation offices to present the parks department with Mark Cook’s painting of the Hauberg Bridge. Mr. William Nelson, Parks Director, accepted the framed picture, which will be hung in the Denkmann-Hauberg House. Diana Alm took photos for us to provide to the press and Jill Doak. We then moved to the Hauberg House for our regular meeting.

President - Linda Anderson called the meeting to order at 7:20.

Vice President - Pam Saunders: Daryl Empen will host the March 16 Award Selection meeting at the Credit Union where we will review photos of annual award candidates and make our selections. Walter and Ann Lilius will host the April 20th meeting at their home at 925 17th Street in Moline. We will invite the Moline Preservation Society to participate as well. The evening will emphasize a tour – 1 –1.5 hours of the historic home. Walter also wrote a history of the house for our recent newsletter. Pam asked for preferred dates and times for the Clock Tower tour. There was a consensus that it should be the last of April or very early May on a Saturday at 1 pm. She said that the building was handicapped accessible and that the tour could accommodate as many as 35 people.

Secretary - Diane Oestreich emailed the summary of the January meeting.

Treasurer - Terri Cone reported a checking balance $3194.95 and a CD of 1323.14. This does not include the donations (about $4000) for the Villa arch, which are being tabulated separately. Linda submitted a postage bill for the Villa alum mailing for $220. Diane said that membership renewals are just beginning to arrive and she will make a deposit very soon. Terry also asked for someone to do the annual audit of our books. Diane volunteered to do so.

Corresponding Secretaries - Martha Dismer published the quarterly newsletter and included the membership renewal forms. Jill Doak has asked to use three of the articles in an upcoming Neighborhood News. Clayton Peterson wrote a condolence note for relatives of Greg Binder, a former member, who was very generous in sharing his historical document collection with us. Greg was only 58.

Committee Reports/Business

1. Endangered Properties /Preservation Projects:
   Status of Villa Arch – Linda is sending letters to those Villa alum who have already contributed. Clayton has researched the “undeliverable” returns and has remailed some when he found updated addresses. Some other alums have disappeared. Some memorabilia has already been sent and other material has been promised. One alum even offered her gold Villa pin. We had a brief discussion of how such archival material should be secured and displayed, but generally decided that we would wait until we see what we receive and the specific location where the school would display it. In some cases, copies that can be handled may be used; in others we may need to provide a sealed display case.

   Martha said that additions are being planned for both Jordan and Alleman. If we cannot raise sufficient funds to restore a freestanding arch, we may be able to provide enough money to reuse the arch as a decorative element in one of these new additions. Linda said that there’s a problem in that the stonemason who numbered the stones has retired to Florida and there is no record of the numbering system. She is trying to track down the key.

2. Awards:
   Last call for candidates this month. We have received several more viable suggestions and Daryl will begin taking pictures for our March review.

3. Hauberg Art project:
   Diane -- Press releases about the presentation were sent to QC Times & Argus/Dispatch. Argus will only do a short sidebar; Alma at the Times will do a full story. Jean Dasso found contact info for Marge Cook, the artist’s mother, and Alma has since spoken to Mark. Look for a great story soon in the Times. The comments made by Bill Nelson at the presentation regarding our historic landscapes by Jens Jensen and O. C. Simonds were appreciated.

4. Election of Officers:
   Linda noted that our current constitution and bylaws call for a maximum of three one-year terms for office. Prior to a complete review of the document, it was moved by Terri and seconded by Pete that we eliminate those time limits so that we could proceed with elections tonight. It was approved unanimously. Linda presented a slate of candidates for the coming year. The only change from the present is that Diana Alm and Pam Saunders would serve as co-Vice Presidents, with Diana responsible for coordinating the “event” type meetings. Pam would continue doing as she has with sites and contacts for regular business meetings. No nominations from the floor were forthcoming and Linda closed nominations. The slate was unanimously approved on a motion by Jean Dasso and seconded by Clayton.

5. Review Constitution/Bylaws:
   Clayton volunteered to review our current documents and make recommendations for changes that would ensure flexibility in our meeting schedule and officer/committee designations. Diane will email him a copy of the current document.

6. Neighborhood Partners:
   Linda and Diana both attended a Leadership Task Force (primarily presidents of neighborhood organizations) with Mr. Schroeder about insurance for non-profit and neighborhood organizations. He said that the basic cost of writing a policy was $300 which partially explains why liability insurance is so expensive, even for groups that don’t have major events. They said that the task force is exploring options that would permit small organizations to acquire special event insurance under a larger “umbrella” policy. Note that RIPS insurance over the years went back and forth between Cleaveland and Schroeder insurance groups.

   Diana also noted that Black Hawk West neighborhood group will probably be made a full member of Neighborhood Partners at the next meeting.

7. Website:
   Pete Cone was able to view presented statistics from Go Daddy, our web provider for our website “hits”. Overall, there were 435 in the first quarter of 09, 191 in 2Q, 167 in 3Q and 257 in 4Q. Once in the website, viewers visit many pages. The Postcards from Home main page leads with 50 percent of the views and individual postcards also have many views. It was suggested that we have a Facebook page as well. This could lead to more links to our webpage.

8. Meeting Structure for Future:
   Once again we discussed our potential calendar with no firm resolution of events, although we may be getting closer. It was noted that Moline’s calendar is also somewhat flexible in that it is divided into quarters, without specific dates given for events in the future. Their regular meeting date is on a Thursday. Some options for us include March - Award Selection meeting (little regular business); September – Highland Park Tour; December – Social meeting; Summer – potluck picnic; Planning Business meeting – winter or fall; Hauberg landscape tour – summer. Our awards will be presented at a mid-May City Council meeting. There was some sentiment for having a planning meeting on a Saturday, while others suggested doing it within smaller committees. Although our overall agenda is not firm, we are getting closer to a plan. Linda may summarize some ideas for critique and input. Most of our meeting-active members are also very responsive to email and we can make decisions that way.

9. Other Business:
   Hauberg has raised its meeting room rate slightly. It was previously $10 for up to three hours for non-profit groups. This has been raised to $15. There was general agreement that the rates were still very reasonable.

Announcements & General:
The Black Hawk Park West neighborhood group is having a potluck at Singing Bird Lodge at 5 pm on Sunday, February 21. Ferrell Anderson will present a slide show about his archeological digs in Saukenuk. Contact Diana Alm for more information.

The annual Farnam Dinner will take place on Friday, March 12, at the i Wireless Center. Tickets are $40 per person. If you’d like to attend but haven’t received an invitation, contact River Action. The evening’s featured speaker, Tom Rasmussen, is a descendant of the Weyerhaeuser family and will talk about the early years in this area. There will be many displays as well.

ADJOURNMENT - by consensus

Diane Oestreich
(309) 788-1845
blueskies78900@yahoo.com