Minutes of General Meeting
June 9, 2009


Welcome

  • All in attendance were welcomed.

    One new member was acknowledged and several new people were introduced.

    No new items were added to the agenda

Old Business

  • Welcome Letter
  • Jacque Graff reported that a letter was emailed to all members recently. It's an example of one that will be sent to new members, helping to answer the questions most frequently asked.
  • Bathroom Reports
  • David Graff said that the bathrooms in the plaza will be open only for events, according to Nestor Palomera, the delegado. The bathrooms on the beach need water, electricity, and a caretaker. The government is working on the water and electricity issues and Nestor is looking for a caretaker. He expects them to be open by November 1, 2009. There is a restaurant on the beach directly in front of the bathrooms. The man who operates the restaurant seems to be sleeping in the bathrooms, storing his supplies in the connecting storage room, and sharing the keys with others. David will follow up on this issue with the delegado. When asked about the sewage disposal for the bathrooms, David said he will ask the delegado.
  • Community Cleanup
  • During the month of May, 2009, there was a project organized by Semarnat, an environmental arm of the federal government, to clean the waterways of towns. In Lo de Marcos, approximately 50 people were hired and worked four hours a day for nine days. A few members of Amigos volunteered as well. First the crew cleaned the beach, picking up trash and separating plastic for recycling. They they cleaned the river that empties into the ocean. Not only did they gather trash, they trimmed trees and cut away the underbrush. They cleaned the inland waterways and then the streets throughout town. On their final day, they cleaned the baseball field and burned the tree trimmings along the river. Semarnat bought trash barrels, rakes, shovels, wheelbarrows, gloves, machetes, and other supplies for the project. The trash barrels have since been placed in various neighborhoods and in the casitas de basura that Amigos has built
  • Turtle Eggs
  • This project is being organized by Semarnat, by the same engineer that directed the Community Cleanup project. The goal of this project is the protection of turtle eggs on the beaches of Riviera Nayarit. Currently, paper work is in process and approval is critical to prove the qualification of the workers and conditions of rescue. Manuel Maassen said a similar project was done approximately seven years ago and 2000 eggs were harvested. The eggs were stored and protected until ready for hatching. At that time, the secondary school was involved. Relying on the past project, paperwork for the current project should be easier to obtain. Yajaira Cazarez will contact the Semarnat engineer this week to determine a start date for this project. She is also collecting names of volunteers. This project is being managed by the town government and is not considered an Amigos de Lo de Marcos project.

    • Treasurer's Report

  • David distributed a report of projects and expenditures for review.  He said this report will appear on the website with a reconciliation of expenses.

    • Delegado Report

  • Nothing to report.

Committee Reports

  • FundRaising

    David announced that Molly Kenny is the president of this committee and Sasha Kenny, Mitch, and Jacque are members.  The fundraiser for next season will be held on February 7, 2010.  The committee would like contact information for returning tourists so that we can send them a list of items to bring down for sale at the fundraiser.  Please forward the information to Mitch (mitchschilling@yahoo.com).  The committee plans to have advertising posters around town within the next month.

  • Garbage

    The two movable trash collection sites have been placed in town.  One is on the corner of Calle Principal and Calle Las Minitas.  The other is near the baseball field, at the entrance to the river.  The neighborhood behind the field receives no trash pickup but the garbage truck passes by the collection site and will empty the bins.  These locations were selected by the delegado in cooperation with the community cleanup crew.  An artist is needed to paint the casitas.  Please let Ron Deschamps (327-275-0145) or Pat Murphy (327-275-0012) know if you are interested

  • Recycling

    The plastic recycling effort is working well.  The committee believes less trash is being deposited in the bins.   A man from Las Varas, Luis Fernando, is collecting the plastic from the bins.  Luis is the one who provides us with trash barrels and metal for bins.


  • Membership

    At the close of the meeting, there were nine new members.  Six of the new members are mexican and three are american.


  • TShirts

    Nothing to report.

  • Signs

    Nothing to report.

  • Schools

    The committee submitted a report to the officers for the bathroom repair project and the school is waiting for the work to be done.  Jacque will send an email to Amigos members requesting their vote on whether to approve this project.  She and Vicki Schilling will contact the members in town without email and solicit their votes.  If this project is approved, the work will be done during the school's summer break.

  • Website

    Check out the new photos and events listed on the website.  Please continue to submit information and keep it interesting.

  • Security

    Nothing to report.

  • Drainage

    David and Manuel Maassen have obtained proposals from two different people to test the water at four sites in Lo de Marcos.  According to Nestor, the government is testing the waters at four locations in Riviera Nayarit and Lo de Marcos is not one of them.  David asked the committee to review the proposals and provide a recommendation to the group for next season.  Currently there is no money budgeted for this work.

  • Senior Center

    Mitch Schilling and David met with Nestor today and inspected the work beginning on the septic tank renovation.  The government is funding the entire project and expects it to be finished in one month

  • Animal Protection

    The spay-neuter clinic begins tomorrow, June 10, at 7:30 am and runs through Saturday, June 13.  The clinic will treat 20 animals per day, limiting their work to dogs and cats.  It will be held at La Casa de Los Ninos.  El  Caracol has donated lodging for the vets and their assistants.  Ana Embury-Lewis expressed appreciation for these donations, as well as the assistance of volunteers.

  • Health Clinic

    All projects are finished for the year.

New Business

    No new business

Other Announcements


    • Other Items

    Dave Martinez said that La Casa de Los Ninos is looking for a new house for their school.  They need to relocate by August and would like a house in central Lo de Marcos, close to the plaza.  They would like three bedrooms and a kitchen.  Rent is negotiable.  If you know of a house that's available, please contact him (327-275-0286). 


Meeting adjourned

  • Eighteen people attended the meeting including five officers of Amigos.


  • jg: secretary