Minutes of General Meeting
December 9, 2008


Welcome

  • Several new attendees were present and, after welcoming them, David Graff explained the purpose of Amigos de Lo de Marcos. He also explained how the meetings are conducted and how the committees function. Attendees were encouraged to check out this website for additional information.
  • No items were added to the agenda.

Old Business

  • David reminded the group of the special meeting to be held on January 20, 2009 to elect new officers. Nominations are accepted at this meeting as well as the next general meeting to be held on January 13, 2009. Only members can vote for officers and must be present to do so.
  • Mitch Schilling nominated David Graff for the office of president. Bill Dickson seconded the nomination and David accepted. Jacque Graff nominated Manuel Maassen to be a vocal. Bill seconded and Manuel accepted. Mitch nominated Jacque for the office of treasurer, Bill seconded, and Jacque accepted.
  • Ray Hummel mentioned the importance of involving national people and supporting discussion ensued. The Membership committee was asked to lead the charge on this endeavor.
  • Bill nominated Ann Embury-Lewis as a vocal. Manuel seconded the nomination but Ana was not present and could not accept.
  • At the previous general meeting, the meeting time issue was raised and the Officers discussed it at their committee meeting. It was decided to keep the meeting time and location the same until the new Officers group is formed. They will address the issue.

Treasury Report

  • Jacque reported a previous balance of $34,357 (pesos). A payment of $5,000 (pesos) was made to Ron Deschamps for materials for the garbage site. The current balance is $29,357 (pesos). Jacque expects another payment is due for the garbage site (Ron nodded) but doesn't know the amount yet.

Committee Reports

  • Environmental

    Gary Harr, Chairperson and only member of the committee, asked to drop the committee. The suggestion was met with approval and Amigos no longer has an Environmental committee.

  • Garbage

    Ron Deschamps said the first garbage site is almost complete and will be finished this week. When asked, he said it's located on the southeast corner of Universidad and Calle Las Minitas. Ron said many people have commented on it's usefulness and pleasing appearance. One side of the brick structure is for garbage and the other side for recycling. Manuel said there are barrels at El Caracol that are designated for use in the garbage site.

    Werner Rohde is working on a sign to post on the building that will honor those who contributed their time and energy. The builder (a local man named Cuco) has donated his time. Werner plans to make a wooden sign and Gary offered the use of his router. Pat Murphy and Gary Harr constructed a bench that has been installed on the grassy area next to the garbage structure. Ron would like to have an official opening ceremony and invite the current delegado, Rodrigo Pena. The Garbage and Officers Committes will work together to arrange an opening ceremony.

    This is the first permanent structure Amigos has built and Werner would like to see more built. Ray agreed and explained his trash collection efforts on the beach. He suggested trash barrels be placed along the beach, including the intersection with Calle Emiliano Zapata. This was the original site where the Bahia de Banderas government planned to build public restrooms and showers. When local residents explained the drainage problem there as well as infringement on the beach (which is a designated federal zone), they moved the public facility a few blocks south. Ron suggested we create a Drainage committee. (This will be addressed at the next general meeting.)

    Mitch asked the price of the garbage site and was told the budget was $10-12,000 (pesos). Ron is not certain of the total but believes the project will finish under budget.

  • Recycling

    No one from this committee was present.

    On behalf of the Garbage committee, Ron doesn't want to wait until the next general meeting to discuss the sign with the Recycling committee. A plan to transport recyclables needs to be defined, as well, and it needs to be implemented before the next general meeting.

  • Membership

    Jacque reported no new members and summarized the current membership. The group represents 27 Mexicans, 28 Canadians, and 39 United States-ians. She told the group that memberships will be renewed in 2009. There is no fee to belong to Amigos. She will be at the general meeting an hour before starting time to facilitate renewals.

  • Signs

    Ron Deschamps would like to resign from the committee and believes the committee's usefulness has expired. There will be another meeting or two to discuss the sign for the garbage site.

  • Website

    Mitch Schilling reported few changes to the website (a few more 'minutes') and requested help in two areas: (1) a translator to complete the spanish side, and (2) more information to promote our activities. Please submit a story and photos about the garbage site. When Werner asked for assistance from someone with a digital camera, Jack Bergeron offered his. Mitch reminded everyone of the website address and said a laptop was available after the meeting.

New Business

  • The first new committee under consideration is the Security committee. Manuel explained that the Amigos group was formed initially to address the robberies and burglaries occurring in town. A few cases have happened recently. This committee can offer insights about protection, thus encouraging prevention. It can also provide instruction or assistance if a robbery or burglary happens. It is the victim's duty to report the incident and this committee can offer guidelines to follow (what to do, who to talk with, what is needed, etc). Favorable discussion ensued. When David called for a vote, the Security committee was accepted with unanimous approval. Bill Dickson and Ron Cothren volunteered to be on the committee and Manuel offered his assistance with spanish translations until another biligual/local person is part of the committee.
  • Some opening suggestions for the Security committee include: a neighborhood watch system, printed instructions in both languages, and education about the crime resolution process in Mexico.
  • Discussion was postponed on the Animal Community Health committee as no one was there to present it.

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Open Discussion

  • Werner asked about Dave Martinez' offer to work with La Casa de Los Ninos. If we want to educate children about recycling, it's a Recycling committee issue, said Mitch. San Pancho has a puppet show that can be presented in Lo de Marcos. Discussion revolved around education and whether we need an Education committee. We decided to keep education within each committee. Beyond the education issue, there was general enthusiasm to work with La Casa whenever possible.
  • Manuel said that Lupita Meza does not want to be the Amigos secretary in 2009 and we are looking for another.
  • Jack asked if we were planning another fundraiser this year and suggested we have it earlier than the end of February. Fundraising benefits every committee.
  • David asked Werner to give a prototype of the garbage site sign to Manuel, as president. Stacy Harr suggested we include information and/or pictures on the recyclable signs to facilitate explanation. David said he would relay her comment to the Recycling committee.

Meeting adjourned

  • Twenty people attended the meeting, including three officers. The meeting was conducted in english only.