Christine Westerman called the meeting to order at 7pm and led the Pledge of Allegiance.  Christine asked for a motion to approve the minutes of September 16^th, made by Bonnie Smith, 2^nd by Andy Cannella, passed unanimously.

Treasurer’s Report:  Joe reported a donation of $1150 was made by Bonnie Smith to pay for the flower baskets we put up.  The money was the proceeds from a silent auction for furniture donated by Broadway Home.  We have profits of $3,477.30 and $9,157.28 in unrestricted funds.  There is a balance of $306 in the signage grant fund from the Catskill Center.  $3,145 has been collected in dues this year.    

There was no Town of Thompson report.

Helen Budrock, our Renaissance liaison, reported Alexandra and Kris would be at the CVI building in Liberty on Sept. 24^th to receive the judge’s final comments.  A letter is needed as to how we intend to spend the $5,000 completion bonus from this year as well as a letter from Rock Hill Sullivan First as to how and when the $16,000 from prior years will be spent.  Obtaining our completion bonus is contingent upon Renaissance receiving these letters. 

She also advised there is a gardening seminar on October 3^rd at 7pm at the CVI building.  There will be a tour of the four category C communities that have completed their 3-year projects on Sept. 29^th. 

The firehouse has contracted with Jack Yelle to do renderings of the new Rock Hill firehouse project as part of the technical assistance available to Category C communities from Sullivan Renaissance.  Steve Gottlieb passed around the preliminary sketches.  There will be a budget hearing at 7pm and a public hearing at 7:30pm on October 16^th at the firehouse.  The voting referendum will take place on October 30^th from 6 to 9 pm at the firehouse. 

The Fall Event has been cancelled due to a scheduling conflict.  We will start planning next year’s event early in 2008.

Kris advised we have received permission and filed a permit with the DOT to paint the exit 109 underpass, we have permission to paint the guardrail in front of our directory sign and Glenn Fodor will give us advice for landscaping around the directory sign.  A suggestion was made to have Katrina Falls Rd. striped to make it easier to stay in your lane.

Kris reiterated the thoughts from the August meeting about how to fill the remaining slots on the directory sign.  After a discussion, the consensus was as follows:

o        Should we allow businesses not in Rock Hill on the sign (for example, those in Glen Wild)?  The answer was no.

o        A motion that new additions must be a member in good standing for 12 months (or they can pay 2 years dues) before being added to the sign unless it is a new business to the area was made by Dale, 2^nd by Sam, passed unanimously.

o        A motion to charge anyone being added now $150 (instead of the $100 we charged initially) was made by Alexandra, 2^nd by Kris, passed unanimously.

o        A motion that the physical location of the businesses on the sign must be in the Rock Hill zip code was made by Alexandra, 2^nd by Audrey, passed unanimously.

o        A motion to charge a $25 yearly maintenance fee to all businesses on the sign was made by Joe, 2^nd by Sam, passed unanimously.  This money would cover the future costs of repainting the sign and/or landscaping maintenance.

Halloween Event:  Kris reported the Ladies Auxiliary from the fire department are planning an event for the children on October 27^th from 1-4 at the firehouse.  It would include pumpkin decorating, crafts, bobbing for apples, to name a few events.  There will be a meeting on October 3^rd at 7pm at the firehouse to begin to planning.  The Business & Community Assn. will do their annual Halloween scavenger hunt on the same day from 12-2 pm. 

Joe Henle explained that Tyler Salovin was our intern in 2006 and was not compensated for his efforts that year.  We are looking for ways to possibly give him something to show our appreciation for the work he did.  The issue was tabled until the next meeting.   

Alexandra discussed the need for storage space for the association as we have stuff scattered all over Rock Hill.  We would like to buy a shed (rather than rent space) but need a place to put it.  Steve Gottlieb suggested we attend the fire department meeting on Oct. 8^th and see if they would allow us to put it on their property.  Joe Henle will look into getting dimensions of the shed and attend the meeting on our behalf.

The flower baskets and banners will be taken down soon.

Our next meeting is October 17^th at 7pm at the firehouse.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:10pm.   

Treasurer’s Report:  Joe reported there is $7,451.46 in unrestricted funds. Our renaissance fund received $311.50 from the 50-50 sales and $1,600 from sign income for a total of $1,911.50.  Our renaissance project expenses totaled $1,974.00 for a difference of ($62.50).  Our renaissance fund has a balance of $10,015.30.  We will receive $5,000 in Sept. as our 2006 completion money and anticipate receiving $5,000 next March for year 3 of our Category C project.  The business & community assn. has a balance of $1,771.48.

We welcomed Yvonne DeSimone, a new member who has recently moved into Rock Hill. 

Town of Thompson Report:  Peter Briggs reported on the following:

            A resolution that was proposed by the Town Board to impose a $1000 park & recreation fee on all developments of 20 units or more.  It failed with a 2-2 vote.

The Town is also looking to build a new Town park building with more space and better facilities.  The money would come out of the Holiday Mountain Reserve fund, which currently has a balance of $625,000.

Peppy Satenstein has resigned as Town Historian as he is leaving the area.  If anyone is interested in applying for the position, please send a letter of interest to the Town of Thompson.  There is a small stipend that goes with the position.

The Town has settled with the publishers of the Yellow Book.  They have paid a $500 fine. 

Rally Day will be held in the Town on September 7^th & 8^th.  This could bring as much as 200k in economic revenue to the Town.

Renaissance Liaison:  Helen Budrock reported that Rock Hill did a great job with their project for this year.  We will be working through the winter on our project for 2008, our last year in Category C.  We will continue to work with Arleen Glass and the Town Engineer on the walking path and we will contact the DOT for the permit and information to paint the 109 underpass.

She also advised nominations are being sought for the “2007 Sullivan Showcase Awards” to recognize owners of homes and businesses that enhance the appearance of their community.  The awards are presented by the Sullivan County Board of Realtors.  The application deadline is September 10, 2007.

She discussed possibly obtaining $3000 from Renaissance for the fire department rendering of the new building.  We also discussed using prior Renaissance monies for solar light fixtures.

Renaissance Project:  Christine reported the final judging for our Renaissance project was this past weekend.  The award ceremony was held at Bethel Woods Monday night.  She also thanked Paula Kay, Richard Benjamin, Rich Price, TJ Brawley and Tom Belgiovene for their help with obtaining our directory sign permit and removing the old signs.

Christine advised the co-chairs (Jane Bloom & Janet Newberg) of the Fall event are working on it.  The date is Sept. 29^th.  We will discuss the Halloween event at the next meeting.

New Business:  A discussion took place about filling the remaining 5 slots on the directory sign.  Some thoughts were:

o       Should we allow businesses not in Rock Hill on the sign (for example, those in Glen Wild)

o       Should we say that new additions must be a member in good standing for 24 months before being added to the sign unless it is a new business to the area

o       Should we charge anyone being added now $150 (instead of the $100 we charged initially

o       Should the business only come from the Rock Hill zip code

o       Should we charge a yearly maintenance fee to all businesses on the sign and if so, how much

This was tabled until the September meeting for more input.

Paul Walsh asked about how to go about reducing the amount of time it takes for a business to get a sign permit.  Kris Douglas added we would like to work with the Town to streamline the process to help the businesses.

Gary Smith advised there will be a referendum on the new firehouse on September 18^th.

The guard rail in front of the directory sign was discussed.  Paul Walsh suggested we replace the metal one with a wooden version.  If not, we could paint the existing one dark brown.  Kris will speak to Rich Benjamin about it.  We do have our completion money to use if necessary.

Paul Walsh asked Peter Briggs if the Town could mow the Emerald Corporate Park grass more than once a season.  He suggested creating a maintenance schedule for Rock Hill for next year.

Christine adjourned the meeting at 8:05pm.

The next meeting is September 19^th at 7pm at the firehouse.

Treasurer’s Report:  Joe Henle reported our total income is $4,280.00 total expenses are $513.44 for a net profit of $3,766.56.

Town of Thompson Report:  Arleen Glass reported on the walking path that the Town will be constructing in Rock Hill.  The DOT did a site visit today and will report back to the Town.  A color chart was passed around showing the many designs and colors available.  There is $200,000 + available to do the project which currently includes the north side of Rock Hill Dr.  If funds allow, we may do part of the South side as well.  Public meetings are important because they show there is a consensus in the community for the project.  Hopefully, it will be completed by next year in time for the Renaissance judging.

Cliff attended the Town board meeting last night.  There was an agenda item regarding the proposed “Town Center” development in reference to an engineering study that is required for traffic analysis.  They are supposed to pay the towns expenses for reviewing the study but have not yet done so. 

Renaissance Liaison:  Helen Budrock reported the faux rock painting of the 109 underpass is not a dead issue.  Many departments in Binghamton have been reviewing the project and there is a definite possibility it will be approved in time to complete the painting for next years renaissance judging.

There is a renaissance meeting on July 30^th on how to prepare for the judges.  The binders are due Aug. 6^th, Aug. 10^th is when we present to the judges and the judges will be here on Aug. 11^th for the judging. 

Renaissance Project:  Christine advised the sign directory (as well as the freestanding sign and the sign on the building) are being done by the sign maker.  The directory sign will be installed at exit 109w.  The existing benches will be replaced with new ones and once the walking path is complete, we will purchase permanent benches to place along the north side of RH drive.

Business Promotion:  The ad journal was a great success.  Thanks again to Cliff Schwartz for the story he wrote.  The Sullivan Democrat distributed 8000 copies and the business association gave them to the Chamber of Commerce, Visitor’s Association as well as individual businesses.

The fall event is being co-chaired by Jane Bloom and Janet Newberg.  Jane reported they have begun to coordinate an autumn event in Rock Hill which hopefully will end with a bonfire at the firehouse.  There will be a softball game, music, craft vendors with an environmental theme and food vendors with a global theme.  The date is Saturday, Sept. 29^th. 

There will be a litter pluck on Saturday, Aug. 4^th at 8:30am at Bernie’s to clean up Rock Hill prior to the judge’s visit.  Volunteers are needed to help clean up our community.  

The 50-50 drawing was held and Sarah Bogursky pulled the winning ticket for Erik Concors who won $311.50.

Christine introduced our guest speaker, Nick Lanza from Catskill Regional Hospital.  He spoke about the past, present and future of the facility. He discussed the return of the Crystal Run Healthcare doctors, who had previously left the facility, the change in management at the hospital, and affiliation with the management group overseeing Arden Hill and Orange County Regional Hospitals.  They want to become the best rural hospital in the country.  “The community needs this hospital”, he said.  Mr. Lanza provided specific information on cost savings initiated by the hospital and described some of their advanced medical equipment and services, including the ability to rapidly detect a heart attack and helicopter those patients and other advanced emergency cases to larger hospitals. He took questions at the end of the presentation.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:30 pm. The next meeting will be Wednesday, August 15 at 7:00 p.m.