"Friends of Otter Creek Park" to Meet Monday

I have just received some information regarding the next meeting of the Friends of Otter Creek Park. The meeting is being held Monday, January 5, 2009 at the Southwest Government Center on Dixie Highway @ 7pm. Have a look:

Hello Everyone,

I apologize for not sending out this agenda sooner, but I've been more than a little busy during the holidays (as I am sure most of you have been as well). I'm attaching my draft form of the agenda with this email in Microsoft Word, and it is in the body of the email as well in case you have difficulty opening the Word document.

With the coming of the New Year, Otter Creek Park has closed (though by all reports the gate was actually erected before the official closing date) and we have a lot of work to do in order to convince Louisville Metro government as well as the general public within the region that Otter Creek Park should be open and available. As I'm sure most of you saw in Wednesday's Courier-Journal, Metro Parks is now discussing having a private enterprise of some sort run the park, though what form that would entail is vague (see the post about the story on the Save Otter Creek Park blog here: http://saveottercreekpark.wordpress.com/2009/01/02/c-j-otter-creek-park-likely-to-be-padlocked-through-june/). It's clear to me that what we need to do is organize as a group as soon as possible at the very least to be a citizens' advocacy for the park -- to make sure that all groups that use the park are represented, and, again, to find a way to re-open the park (whether with public or private funding) as soon as possible.

With that in mind I think the agenda draft I've written will be a good start for organizing the group. If you have any comments or suggestions or feel that I've left something out, please try and get in touch with me by 2 PM or so on Monday. We'll also have some ability to improvise during the meeting, and change the agenda as we see fit, but I feel that having a structure to our meeting will help us get organized and get on with our real purpose -- reopening Otter Creek Park!

Thanks and again please get in touch as soon as you can if you have any comments, suggestions, or concerns.

Best,

Joel Hunt
saveottercreekpark@gmail.com
http://saveottercreekpark.wordpress.com

Here is the proposed agenda for Monday night:

I. Introduction and Welcome – Approximately 5 minutes
A. Short explanation of Committee Group – Joel Hunt
B. Ground rules for Meeting and explanation of Agenda – Joel Hunt
II. Introduction of Resolution to Officially Name Friends of Otter Creek Park – Approximately 10 minutes
A. Debate on Naming Resolution:
1. Speakers For (2 minutes each)
2. Speakers Against – if any (2 minutes each)
B. Voice Vote on Resolution
III. Introduction of Resolution to Legally Incorporate Friends of Otter Creek Park – Approximately 10 minutes
A. Debate on Incorporation Resolution:
1. Speakers For (up to 5 minutes each)
2. Speakers Against – if any (up to 5 minutes each)
B. Voice Vote on Resolution
IV. Election of Friends of Otter Creek Park Officers – Approximately 1 hour
A. Nomination of Chairperson(s)
1. Short Statements by Candidates (up to 5 minutes each)
2. Voice Vote on Chairperson(s)
B. Nomination of Secretary
1. Short Statements by Candidates (up to 5 minutes each)
2. Voice Vote on Secretary
C. Nomination of Treasurer
1. Short Statements by Candidates (up to 5 minutes each)
2. Voice Vote on Treasurer
V. Organization of Sub-Committees – Approximately 45 minutes

A. Proposal and Explanation of Sub-Committee Groups
1. Petitions and Volunteering
2. Public Relations and Media
3. Non-Profit and Charity Outreach
4. Government Liason
5. Any Additional Sub-Committee(s) to be Suggested at Meeting
i. Short Discussion of proposed Sub-Committee (5 minutes pro and against)
ii. Voice Vote on Sub-Committee Formation
B. Volunteering of Sub-Committee Chairs and Members
VI. Questions and Comments from the Public – Approximately 30 Minutes, up to 5 minutes per speaker

I look forward to seeing you all again.

BT