League of Women Voters of Butte County
Board Meeting Minutes
September 10, 2019
6:30-8:00 pm, LWV Office 635 Flume
Members Present: Mahalley Allen, Abe Baily, Mary Kay Benson, Sandra Flake, Andy Holcombe, Kathy Kaiser, William Todd-Mancillas, Linda MacMichael, Elaina McReynolds, Stevi Mittman, Toni Reid, and Sharon Wallace
Members Not Present: Carol Burr
- 1. Call to Order and Mission Moment
Meeting called to order at 6:30 pm. Board members reflected on the mission of the league.
- 2. Approve July Meeting Minutes
The August meeting minutes were approved as amended:
Change “Introductions” of board members to “Members present.”
Mahalley Allen, Stevi Mittman, and Linda MacMichael should be listed as not present at the August meeting.
2. Nominee for LWVBC Board
The LWVBC has an opening for a board member. Kathy Kaiser was nominated for the open position.
Motion:
Board members unanimously approved Kathy as a member of the board.
3. Introduction Item: End of FY Financial Report
Board members discussed the 18-19 FY Financial Report. The budgeted transfer from reserves amount to cover a shortfall was projected to be $6,585, but the net loss ended up being $3,670. Board members reviewed budget to actuals and the expenses of the league. For each member, the LWVBC pays $60 for state and national PMP. Our local league does not retain any of those membership dues.
Linda will gather more information about board members’ questions regarding the end of FY financial report, PMP dues, Altacal’s rent, and other areas of the budget and bring that information back to a future board meeting. Linda also offered to host a future meeting open to all board members to discuss the finances of the league in more depth.
5. Observers’ Director Update
Toni reported to the board that the league has four new observers:
William Todd-Mancillas – Behavioral Health Advisory Board
Carolyn Dusenbury – Library Advisory Board
Debra Barger – Chico Property Improvement District
Satsie Vieth – to be determined
Toni summarized the August 27th, 2019, meeting of the Butte County Board of Supervisors. At that meeting, Supervisor Lucero pulled from the Consent Agenda an item regarding a budget adjustment for the County Service Area of Autumn Park Subdivision.
Kathy updated the board about the need for a new Chico Unified School Board observer. Toni will ask league member Ramona Flynn whether she will be able to serve as the school board observer. Sharon volunteered that she may be able to fill in as needed.
6. Social Policy Action
Stevi discussed the upcoming forum on housing issues. Board members discussed the title of the forum. Andy will moderate the panel, and the four panelists will be: Cory Turner from Legal Services of Northern California; Paul Webb from the North Valley Property Owners Association; Ed Mayer from Butte County Housing Authority; and Meleiza Figueroa from the Tenant Union Organizing Committee. Topics will include: landlord rights, renters’ rights, Section 8 vouchers, and relevant housing laws currently under consideration. The event will be from 11 am – 1 pm on Saturday, October 12th at the PV Rec Center. Stevi and Sharon are publicizing the event.
Motion:
Kathy moved and Abe seconded a motion to change the title of the forum. Motion passed unanimously to change the title of the forum to: “Oh, Give Me a Home…Equality of Opportunity for All.”
7. Natural Resources Action
Mary Kay invited the league to host a voter registration/membership registration table at the Chico joins Global Climate Strike rally on September 20th from 11 am – 1 pm at the City Plaza. Hundreds of people are estimated to attend the rally. Board members discussed hosting a LWV registration table at the event, and William volunteered to be in charge of tabling at the rally.
Motion:
Abe moved and William seconded a motion to approve a voter registration/membership registration table at the climate strike rally. Motion passed with one abstention.
8. Director Update
Andy updated board members about the keynote address on September 16th by Rich Harwood, President and Founder of the Harwood Institute for Public Innovation. Harwood’s speech is jointly sponsored by the Butte County Library and CSU, Chico. He will speak about recovering from community trauma. The event is free to the public and will be on the CSU, Chico campus in Colusa Hall from 1-2 pm.
9. Director Update
Mick LaSalle Visit: Board members discussed the possibility of inviting film critic Mick LaSalle to visit Chico for a speaker event. Mick has done film work focused on the status of women in film at the time of the passage of suffrage. William contacted Mick to ask if he would be willing to come to Chico for a speaker event. Board members discussed an honorarium fee and ideas for the Pageant to host an event showing Mick’s film, perhaps in March to coincide with Women’s History Month.
Power of 100 Follow-up: William suggested hand-written thank you notes to people who attended the event.
10. Voter Newsletter
Sharon discussed plans for the upcoming “Voter” newsletter, which will have a renewal theme and include information about this fall’s speaker series.
11. Pioneer Day Parade
AAUW has approached LWVBC about participating in the Pioneer Day Parade on May 2nd to celebrate 100 years of the LWV, the Chico chapter of the AAUW, and the passage of the 19th Amendment. Toni and Elaina volunteered to be the co-liaisons with the AAUW on the parade. Linda will attend the first planning meeting.
Motion:
Kathy moved and William seconded a motion to approve the LWVBC’s participation with the AAUW in the Pioneer Day Parade on May 2nd, 2020. Motion passed unanimously.
12. January Potluck
Board members discussed the pros and cons of moving the potluck event, traditionally held in January, to
a later date because of candidate forums in January 2020 and the primary election on March 3rd. Board members reached a consensus to move the potluck to February 13th, 2020, to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the LWV with the possible topic for the event being the census.
13. Membership Coffee
The fall membership coffee event will be at 9:30 am on September 28th at the PV Recreation Center. The event will conflict with the Salmon Festival and the City of Chico Affordable Housing Conference.
At the fall membership coffee, observers will discuss their roles. Other topics of discussion will include: a call for membership renewal, an update on voter service activities, and a review of the LWCBC’s achievements over the past year. The event’s program will be on the new Butte County Voting Centers.
Andy proposed a door prize for members who renewed their membership at the event.
14. Event Donation Jar
Many leagues have a donation jar at their events, and board members considered a proposal to have a donation jar at LWVBC events.
Motion
William moved and Stevi seconded a motion that the LWVBC have a donation jar at its events. Motion passed unanimously.
15. Announcements
The lease on the league’s storage shed will end on September 30th. Not renting a storage shed will save the league $400 per year. We will need to move our supplies out of the shed.
Linda ordered three copies of the LWVUS’s policy position book for sharing.
Debra Barger is on the Butte County Complete Census Committee.
Board members provided feedback to Linda that information by email works well for them.
Debra submitted her voter registration report to Board members.
Linda will provide the LWVBC’s tax information to the accountant in the coming week.
Debra is working on events for the National Voter Registration Day on September 24th, including a voter registration table on the CSU, Chico campus.
16. Other Business
CSU, Chico’s Constitution Day speaker event will be on Tuesday, October 1st at 6 pm in the BMU Auditorium. The speaker will be Emily Arnold-Fernandez, founder and executive director of Asylum Access, an NGO that “challenges barriers that keep refugees from traveling safely, moving freely, working and attending school.”
17. Adjournment
Meeting adjourned at 8:04 pm.