Board Minutes Feb 2023

February 14, 2023, 9:30 am  -  Zoom Meeting
Our Mission is to develop, promote, and encourage an interest in the arts.
Board Members Present:  Kristi Kuder, Judi Celaschi, Kathrine McDowell, Ann Smith, Shanna Cramer, Sue Kalseim, Mary Jo Wentz. 
Additional Attendees:  Debbie Ness

The agenda was reviewed. 
Ann moved to approve the January 2023 minutes.  Mary Jo seconded; motion carried.
The financial report was presented by Ann and Debbie. It was noted that the Blandin Grant funds were deposited in a money market account. Ann recommended that in the financial report that funds from grants be reported under a grant category, separate from fund-raising.  Additionally, she suggested breaking out payments for software.  Judi moved to approve the financial report.  Sue seconded; motion carried.
     
Old Business  
Committee Updates 

• Art & Craft Affair:  The application has been posted and Debbie has received applications from four new vendors.  Debbie will be letting previous vendors know the application for 2023 is open.  
• Building:  no updates
• Roof update:  roof repair is still pending.
• Fund-raising: The Task Force will be discussing fund-raising opportunities at their March meeting.
• Gallery: 
  • Sue presented a revised version of the displaying artists’ policy for review.   A motion was made to approve the changes. Kathrine seconded; the motion carried.
  • Sue will ask Sandy Thimgan to add a task to the opening of the gallery checklist to check artwork stored in the basement if the artists’ last item has been sold.  
  • Sue will be updating the Gallery inventory in the Spring.  
  • Spring cleaning is set for April 24-27 in preparation for a May 6 Gallery opening.  Artists will be notified to pick up artwork between April 10-12, and new artwork is to be brought in after April 27.
• Marketing:  Shanna will add to the weekly news blast that registration for the Studio Tour is now open, as well as a reminder to members to pay their 2023 dues.
• Membership:  A reminder to members to pay their dues will be added to the March newsletter.
• Plein Air:  The welcome packet is under review and confirmations have been received from two workshop instructors.  A meeting is scheduled for February 15 at 11:00 am.
• Studio Tour:  It was agreed that the AOTL Gallery will be listed on the Studio Tour, allowing a maximum of 4 participants to set up in the Gallery.  Existing artwork on display will not be removed.
• Workshops:  Upcoming workshops include Mary Jo’s Felting class for teens and Hardanger with Mary Williams.  A formula for determining the student fee was discussed and will be addressed at the next workshop meeting.
• Retail items for sale:   Examples of retail items would be art kits or stenciled clothing which promotes Art of the Lakes.   It was recommended that this be discussed with the individual chairs and added to the March agenda.

• Mission statement update procedure:  Debbie advised that changes to the mission statement will have to be filed with the State.

Old Business -

• Tech Update:  Work is continuing to migrate from Asana to Google Workspace.

• Art Center Naming:  Kristi will send out a revised list of suggested names for the new art center.  Each Board member is to pick two names and return by February 15 in preparation for the Task Force meeting on the 16th.
• Grant Update:  Several grants have been submitted and are pending acceptance.  Ann recommended a committee be established to pursue and assist in the writing of grants.
  • MN State Grant for the Arts is being reviewed today.  This grant was submitted to support the Leadership Retreat, summer help, and a marketing position. 
  • The Spring Project Grant was written to cover a  ‘Unity’ project.   This is a week-long community project and will be managed by Sue.  
  • The Department of Transformation Grant, which supports rural projects, has been submitted to secure additional funds for the new art center.   

 

• Endowment:  Ann reported that meetings with the local bank and financial advisor are pending.

New Business – 

• Bank account signature update:  A motion was made to remove John Oleson and Tom Kuder’s signatures from the bank account, and add Kristi Kuder and Ann Smith.  Kathrine moved to approve the motion. Sue seconded; motion carried.
• Student Art Exhibit:  Dates for the Student Art Exhibit will be April 14, 15, 21 and 22 with a final reception on the 23rd from 1:00-3:00 pm.  The ‘featured artist’ space and back area of the Gallery will be used.   Sue, along with three students, will hang the artwork.
• Legal Counsel:  Ann recommended that we engage a non-profit lawyer to review our business structure to ensure that legally we are protected as we continue to expand.  This would potentially include a review of our by-laws, contracts, and board member liability.  The Board agreed to pursue it and have Ann contact the lawyer which has been recommended.
• Artist Call for Art:  This communication will ask artists to apply for the opportunity to produce 25 pieces of art to be given to key donors as part of the fund-raising campaign for the new art center.  The accepted artist would be paid $25 for each piece.   Communication is pending the naming selection for the new art center.
• Domain Registration:    Steve Henning has been paying the annual domain registration since 2017 amounting to $253.17.   Ann made a motion to reimburse Steve.  Mary Jo seconded; motion carried.
• Railroad Park Usage:   Debbie has been contacted by the chairs for the Battle Lake Turtle Races, Craft Fair, and Bethel Lutheran requesting the use of Railroad Park this summer since the previous location will be under construction.  The Board recommended that Debbie negotiate a price that would supplement the cost which the Art of the Lakes pays for lawn mowing.
• Hop into Spring Community Event:   Kathrine, Sue and Kristi will discuss how we can participate in this event which is scheduled for March 18 through April 9.  

Next Board Meeting will be on March 14, 2023.

Mary Jo moved to Adjourn; Sue seconded the motion.