Total attendance: 15.
Minutes approved 1/10/2006.
Assignments are in bold.
We focused in this meeting on the upcoming session with the Department of Education, in which all parties involved in Chebeague's self governance (the Town of Cumberland, Chebeague, SAD51, and North Yarmouth) are all invited to participate. The intent of this session is to insure that all parties have the same information regarding the financial impacts on education funding that would result from Chebeague's secession.
We also heard updates from recent strategy meetings, council
meetings, and CICA committees.
Next meeting: 11/15/2005 (next Tuesday is the vote)
Board Members Present: Donna Colbeth, Mabel Doughty, Mark
Dyer, Bob Earnest, Beverly Johnson, Herb Maine, Jeff Putnam, David
Stevens; Total attendance: 20
Approved 11/15/2005
We reviewed the cloture vote from last Thursday; our bill made
it into the legislative session by a 6 to 4 vote. We continued
the planning of mailings, signs, and ads. We ended with a review
of our strategic planning process.
Next meeting:
Board Members Present: Donna Colbeth, Mabel Doughty, Mark
Dyer, Bob Earnest, Beverly Johnson, Herb Maine, Jeff Putnam, Carol
White, John Wilson; Total attendance: 13
Approved 11/15/2005.
The discussion tonight focused on preparations for the upcoming
referendum. We wrestled with the question of "what level
of support on 11/8 tells us to move ahead?" - knowing that
the statute calls for a 50% approval, but also acknowledging the
need for widespread community support on the Island. We also planned
upcoming mailings, signs, and communications.
Next meeting: 10/25/2005
Finances are on track at this time; we have sufficient funds
to cover known expenditures. We'll continue to raise funds as
the needs occur. PR offered an update on current activities and
a discussion on approach with the press and postal patron mailings
for the upcoming School Board and Town Council meetings. Education
reported on the recent positive meeting with the Department of
Education. We also finalized plans for the School Board and Town
Council meetings, and began planning pre-vote activities.
Good news was our first discussion topic; it looks like our initial estimate of the impact on Cumberland's millage, due to Chebeague's secession, was realistic. Initial estimate was .13 increase in millage rate; current estimate, after discussions between the Town and CICA, is between .10 and .20. The Town's review of our proposed budget also resulted in comments from the Town of "this item could be higher, and that item could be lower, but overall it looks good."
We also reviewed the state of the proposed legislation as we
work to be included in 2006 session. We discussed the importance
of continued conversations with all Chebeaguers, with a focus
on the nature of 'government by town meeting' and on 'what will
Chebeague look like' if secession passes. We worked on the calendar
of upcoming events, including the second public hearing, upcoming
School Board meeting on Chebeague, and on events leading up to
the November 8 vote. We also discussed what we've learned to date
about the upcoming reassessment.
Next meeting: 10/4/2005
Board Members Present: Bev Johnson, Herb Maine, Mabel Doughty,
Bob Earnest, Donna Colbeth, Jeff Putnam, John Wilson. Total attendance:
19
Assignments are in bold.
Minutes approved 10/4/2005
1. The first part of our meeting focused on discussions with
Representative McKenney and others who will help us with the legislative
process and submission; we walked through the submission process,
where we are today, the draft that has been submitted, and steps
required in the next few weeks. Committee reports were then offered
(finance, government relations, PR, and local education. We then
discussed preparations that are needed for the October hearing
(2nd public hearing, to take place on Chebeague; date to be decided
at the October 10 Town Council meeting).
Next meeting: 9/27/2005
Board Members Present: Bev Johnson, Herb Maine, Mabel Doughty,
Bob Earnest, Donna Colbeth, Jeff Putnam, Mark Dyer, Ester Knight.
Total attendance: 19
Committee reports included updates on documents from Department
of Education, initial work on Public Safety planning, and legislative
drafting and related steps taken. In old business we reviewed
feedback regarding the first public hearing; virtually all of
the feedback we've received has been positive, in terms of the
approach (the "high road"), and our presentations, documentation,
and video. We began the planning for the second public hearing,
which will be held on Chebeague. We reviewed the ballot language
given to us by the Town and voted to approve this language as
is.
Next meeting: 9/13/2005 (mock hearing at Town Hall)
1. Board Members Present: Bev Johnson, Herb Maine, Mabel Doughty,
Bob Earnest, Donna Colbeth, Jeff Putnam, John Wilson, Dave Stevens,
Mark Dyer, Ester Knight, John Wilson. Total attendance: 25.
Committee reports were offered. Highlights: Fundraising is moving along nicely; we seem to have a good handle on raising the funds as they are needed (legal fees, publishing, etc). Current conversations with legislative representatives are going well. Recent interpretations of how secession interacts with withdrawal from the SAD indicate that "once we secede, we're out of the SAD" (more work to be done on this topic). The conversations with residents of the outer islands continue to show fairly widespread support for our work to date.
The meeting ended early in order to move on to our first Mock
Hearing (in preparation for the upcoming Public Hearing at the
Town Council).
Updates were offered regarding education plans, upcoming meetings
with SAD51, tuitioning, and finance. Detailed discussion followed
- regarding the possibilities of working with a legislative support
organization and appropriate legal representation. We then reviewed
the current thoughts regarding the format and organization of
the public hearing, who will moderate, and what our contributions
might look like. We reviewed various legal interpretations that
might apply to our situation relative to the potential of secession
and of withdrawal. We discussed the proposed name of the new town
(Town of Chebeague Island). A draft of the Report to the town
was presented; further editorial suggestions were encouraged.
We ended with a more detailed review and planning session of our
presentations at the upcoming public hearing.
In the committee reports we reviewed current fundraising results,
recent attempts to contact the SAD, the status of the petition,
financial plans, and the state of our contact efforts with various
governmental agencies in Augusta. A format was proposed and presented
for our report to the Town. We then discussed in detail the nature
of the upcoming public hearing. The next steps in this direction
include brainstorming, conceptualizing, and eventually wordcrafting
workshops for the Report Prep group.
We discussed at length the nature and report of the documents
and reports for use at the public hearing. We reviewed the current
analysis of tax impacts - of the potential 2006 re-evaluation
in Cumberland on a section by section; and of the proposed potential
withdrawal from the SAD. No major drift from earlier analyses;
if we withdraw and secede, North Yarmouth and Cumberland would
be negatively impacted by an approximate $200k each. We then discussed
the current suggestions from the Attorney General and from the
Department of Education - that, regardless of how we finally are
determined to "fit into" title 20A, we should at the
very least attempt to honor the spirit of that legislation. We
reviewed our timeline's major upcoming events. The current state
of the discussions with MSAD51 was discussed (we are still awaiting
response). The upcoming public information session for this Friday
night was discussed; a group will meet after the regular meeting
to detail plan this event.
Chebeague Island Community Association board meeting
Members of our PR committee met with members of the editorial
board of the Portland Press Herald. The meeting was judged by
all involved to be positive. We also met with Susan Gendron (Maine's
Commissioner of Education). Mrs. Gendron expressed a clear understanding
and a reasonable level of support for our work. She also gave
us some ideas and some homework regarding our next steps for an
educational plan. We discussed and agreed to hold another public
meeting on Chebeague to answer any questions of those community
members who might soon be leaving the island for the season. Next,
we reviewed the legislative submission process for this year (key
dates, appeal process, etc). We continued our work on scheduling
and will move next into an identification of key dependencies.
We discussed a proposed date for submission of our petition and
the PR work that would need to accompany this process. A motion
was offered and passed that our proposed legislation include both
secession from the town, and, withdrawal from SAD51.
Chebeague Island Community Association board meeting
We discussed the benefits of including a broad spectrum of
community members in press visits to the island, with particular
emphasis on young parents. We made plans for the upcoming visit
to Chebeague by the State Commissioner of Education, and, for
our attendance at the SAD51 board retreat. We reviewed the organizational
plan for the Governmental Research Committee. Updates were offered
by document preparation and finance committees. We discussed the
pluses and minuses, and potential approaches and timing, of working
with a lobbyist (as opposed to working with just our community
members and legislators). We discussed the upcoming Island Institute
publication regarding working waterfronts.
Chebeague Island Community Association board meeting
Board Members Present: Ester Knight, Bev Johnson, Herb Maine,
Mabel Doughty, Bob Earnest, Donna Colbeth, Jeff Putnam, Phil Jordan,
Mark Dyer, Carol White. Total attendance: 15
Approved 8/2/05 as is.
The PR committee is working on a fact sheet in the format of
"myths and realities" as a friendly way of getting the
issues defined and broadly discussed. Other formats are also underway,
including video that shows some of what life on Chebeague is like.
Finance is in process with a full review of economic impacts on
all 3 communities (Cumberland, Chebeague, and North Yarmouth)
- should we proceed with withdrawing from SAD51. Finance also
will review our plans and numbers with Glenn Kersteen, who worked
with Long Island on the financial implications of their secession.
Work was done to organize our efforts with the various governmental
entities, upcoming in the months ahead. We discussed the findings
of the recent meeting regarding the village corporation concept,
and concluded that it does not help us resolve our issues. We
decided that we should move forward with conversations with other
school districts regarding tuitioning, but not until we get further
with our SAD51 conversations. Petition status: we're up to 259
signatures at this time.
Chebeague Island Community Association board meeting
Next meeting: 7/26/2005
Board Members Present: Bev Johnson, Herb Maine, Mabel Doughty,
Bob Earnest, Donna Colbeth, Jeff Putnam, Phil Jordan, Mark Dyer.
Total attendance: 14
Approved 7/26/05.
Assignments are in bold.
Committee reports were presented; progress continues on the
various committee assignments. Next, we discussed the tentative
plan for the public hearing (timing, offsets for subsequent steps,
etc). We plan to submit the petition in the first week or two
of August; the hearing, therefore, would be scheduled for September.
As of July 19 we have around 250 signatures. We reviewed the details
and trends of Chebeague's population statistics. We discussed
the concept of village corporation; this approach will be reviewed
in detail at a workshop this coming Sunday.
Chebeague Island Community Association board meeting
Next meeting: 7/19/2005
Board Members Present: Bev Johnson, Herb Maine, Dave Stevens,
Mabel Doughty, Bob Earnest, Donna Colbeth, Jeff Putnam, Phil Jordan,
Carol White, Mark Dyer, Phil Jordan. Total attendance: 18
PR work continues; the press remains interested in our story,
and, we continue to take the high road (open, positive conversations).
A group met to review the current draft of the education plan.
We discussed the state of the major reports preparation, and,
the current status of our organization's application for 501c3.
Our search for appropriate contacts and sources of information
continues. We began the planning of our public hearing. A review
of the recent meeting with Dr. Hasson was presented; one result
is that we will begin a series of meetings with MSAD51 in the
weeks ahead. We also heard a report on a recent meeting with Jim
Ryer, who directs the school finance modeling work in Augusta.
Jim an initial review of the financial impact of Chebeague's withdrawal;
his review seemed favorable and consistent with our assumptions
to date. It was pointed out that the trend of declining enrollments
at most Maine schools actually works in our favor. The petition
was, at the time of this meeting, at 215 signatures.
Chebeague Island Community Association board meeting
Next meeting: 7/12/2005
Board Members Present: Bev Johnson, Herb Maine, Dave Stevens, Mabel Doughty, Bob Earnest, Donna Colbeth, Jeff Putnam, Phil Jordan, Carol White. Total attendance: 18
An update was given on how many signatures have been gathered
to date (186). We reviewed the state of P/R: what has been written,
how accurate has it been, how do we most appropriately react.
Work was done on the report preparation process. 501c3 status
is on track, and we initiated fund raising plans (based on an
"as needed" approach for starters).
June 28, 2005
Chebeague Island Community Association board meeting
Board Members Present: Bev Johnson, Herb Maine, Jeff Putnam, Dave Stevens, Mabel Doughty, Bob Earnest, Donna Colbeth, Ester Knight, Carol White. Total attendance: 16
We discussed recent conversations with the press; as before,
our approach is to be open, to take the high road, and to quickly
respond to any coverage that we feel is inaccurate or unfair.
Plans for key upcoming meetings with education officials (state
and local) were begun. We recapped the petition launch meeting
and discussed next steps in the petition process (how to continue
to circulate the petition broadly while meeting all the legal
requirements of petitioning). Tables were planned for the Store
on Sunday at paper time, and for various places during the race
and picnic on the 4th. The planning for the Report was launched
(we'll use the Long Island Report, and the legislative format,
as our initial template tools). Proposed bylaws were reviewed
and approved. Fundraising plans were initiated (Contributions
can be sent to CICA Treasurer, c/o Cheryl Stevens, 278 South Road,
Chebeague, ME 04017).
June 18, 2005
Chebeague Island Community Association board meeting: Summary Notes
Board Members Present: Bev Johnson, Herb Maine, Jeff Putnam, Mark Dyer, Dave Stevens, Mabel Doughty, Bob Earnest, Donna Colbeth, Carol White. Total attendance: 32
The organizations committee reported on the breadth and depth
of volunteers involved in current island organizations; we were
pleasantly surprised (the legend of "10 people do it all"
was disproven!). This is good news for the concept of self governance.
The 6/13 workshop with CICA and Town Council was described as
positive, with lots of questions from each side, and (as expected)
lots of issues raised. We will continue to work positively with
Council. Our meetings have now been set as Tuesday nights at 7pm
at the Parish Hall. Bylaws and Articles of Incorporation were
presented for review. The Petition Launch Meeting of June 26 was
planned in detail.
Summary: May 28 and June 4 meetings
At our May 28 meeting much of our conversation focused on the need to communicate widely and regularly with all interested community members. The Public Relations committee (to be formed) will look at both web and paper methods of getting info out to the community. We also discussed the need to incorporate and to establish a set of bylaws. And, we began the conversation regarding territory: should the proposal to consider self government involve just Chebeague, or, should it include some or all of the other islands currently in the town of Cumberland? We also began the process of organizing our group - tasks, committees, etc. Finally, we resolved that our Saturday meetings will be open to all, and that we will post meeting notices in the usual locations.
We held our second official meeting on June 4. For the benefit
of some of the new attendees, we had a brief discussion of who
we are as a group, how we got here, and what our work is intended
to address. We discussed a proposed timeline of an approximate
one year process, and we reviewed the current legislative language
regarding self governance. We discussed a proposed organization
of CICA as a 501C3, which will allow us to receive tax-deductible
donations. We also discussed options for membership (general and
board), and an initial list of work / committees. We are hoping
for broad community involvement. We worked on petition language
(in the legislative process, a petition from the proposed new
territory is to be submitted to the current town council, to request
a meeting to discuss the possibility of self governance). We concluded
that there are lots of reasons (fishing and shellfish issues,
conservation, land use) to include other islands that surround
Chebeague as part of the potential self governance territory.