Pittsfield Beautification Committee
Minutes
April 15, 2013

The Committee met at Town Hall
Carole opened the meeting at 7:02 pm.

Members Present: Carole, Tina, Ted, Nancy, Carol, Nicole, Dawn, Gail

Members Absent: Ida, Jason, Theresa, Paula

Secretary’s Report: The minutes of the October 23, 2012 meeting were approved. Carol sent around the membership roster and asked everyone to update their contact information. Carole will get in touch with Teresa to get her new phone number.

Treasurer’s Report:

The current balance and last pickup in 2012 from our retail boxes were reviewed. Nancy will pick up the donation boxes and distribute to Bell Brothers, Jack’s Pizza, Danis, and Jitters.

Old Business:

Nicole reported that Dan, Joe and Tom will be getting the final rock from Rocky Point at the end of May when the ground dries out. Because Dan is currently injured and we are unsure of when he will finish, Nicole believes that we will only be able to do the planting at that lot in the fall. Gail reported that she had been contacted by Gail Nickerson who had a pile of rocks she wanted to donate. Nicole said she will be able to pick them up. .

New Business:

Derek Hamilton from the High School contacted Nicole and asked how they could help on Friday, Earth Day. We have used them in the past to clean out the gardens from winter debris. We will request that they do it again this year. We will ask that they rake everything out and spread mulch and/or rock as needed. Nicole will lead the initiative and Ted will help. If Carol does not have to work she will also help out. Metal leaf rakes, contractor bags and brooms can be dropped off at Nicole’s house. Nicole will pick up about a ½ yard of crushed rock from K&K for the Crescent Lot. Tina will reimburse Nicole when she gives her the receipt.

There was some discussion of the plants that will go in the gardens this year. Everyone was in agreement on how stunning they looked last year and we would like to plant the same annuals. Because of the traffic visibility issues at the Rite Aid lot, Nicole suggested a shorter grass for the center, perhaps a purple fountain grass or a sedum. Ted brought up that he would like to see some trailing plants at the Aranosian Lot. We also discussed putting trailing petunias between the marigolds this year. For early spring, Nicole and Gail will pick up and plant pansies.

Carole has been contacted by the new leadership of the Cub Scouts to ask how they could help out. We suggested that since they are usually accompanied by their parents that perhaps they could put the flags out this year. If this is not something they can do, perhaps they can adopt one garden and water it for the summer.

Nicole spoke about the possibility of putting a rain garden in the Aranosian Lot where the water now collects. We all agreed that we would approach the owner about doing so only after we have a design plan for the entire lot. Nicole will be attending a workshop on installation. She will also speak to Candice Dolan from Granite State Community College, who is an expert on rain gardens, about grant money we may be able to apply for to pay for the project. Ted said he would have a design plan for the Lot ready by the end of the year so that we can get going with the project in 2014. Nicole will check to see if Candice, or someone else who is closer to our area, would be able to come and speak to the committee about rain gardens.

Ted thought that we should set up a tent at Old Home Day and have a raffle to raise money for the Aranosian Lot makeover. Many felt that there was too much competition that day for a raffle and Carole suggested that perhaps the Annual Town Yard Sale on June 1st would be a better venue to raise money. Ted has quite a few items from his garage that he can donate and Carol also has many cachepots and other garden containers she can donate. Nicole and Dawn have plants, some from the Washington House Lot. We will also look into purchasing some flats of annuals and hanging baskets and, as with our fundraiser last year, we will also have baked goods. Carol will bring her tent and tables. Plans will be finalized at the next meeting.

Nicole will print off the list of garden sponsors and mail the letters out requesting their sponsorship donations. She should also have the price list from Pleasant View for our next meeting. Carole will contact the Rotary to request that they continue with their sponsorship of the Washington House Lot.

Next Meeting and Adjournment:

Our next meeting will be in Monday May 13th at 7:00 pm at the Town Hall.

The meeting adjourned at 8:10 pm.