MINUTES
NBHA General Meeting
March 14, 2016
Municipal Building, Hermann Rd. North Brunswick
Meeting called to order by Cheryl Vitow at 7:00 pm
Minutes from February Meeting were approved.
It was noted that minutes from January meeting were not on the website.
Reports:
Treasurer’s report – available upon request.
Comedy Night Fundraiser
Income $4035/$2103 net income
Expenses – $1932
Food Bank Program Report
• Old instructions re food bank were removed from Channel 15
• Municipality can give us storage space. Dry food must be in air tight containers.
• Cheryl is going to check on the collection bins. We may discontinue the bin at Stop & Shop.
• 217 lbs of dry food – dog and cat food combined
• 181 cans dog & cat food combined
• Magyar Banks continues as a collection point and the food is used for the Pilot Project
• Most of the dog food was distributed to the Franklin Shelter
• A previous recipient from the food bank contacted us. She will receive a distribution in April.
• Still pending are guidelines for our food bank
CCP Report
• $4,000 approved for CCP at January Meeting for the period from February through June
• $2,263 – current total medical expense; includes $1375 into account for The 50 Feral Fix
• $2,176.70 – approximate balance for Medical
Donations/other contributions:
$440 – current donations and other offsets for medical expenses
$300 – from Garden State Cat Club for a shelter building project (see below)
Number of Cats Helped in February – 55:
• 5 – Cats through CCP program
• 50 – Cats through The 50 Feral Fix – a collaboration among NBHA, HarnessLife.org and People for Animals.
The 50 Feral Fix:
NBHA collaborated with HarnessLife.org and People for Animals to fix 50 cats on Monday, February 22, 2016. The event took place at the Robbinsville PFA clinic. We thank Dee Doherty-Strelecki, Director of HarnessLife.org and Jane Guillaume of PFA for their awesome efforts. So much can be done with good partnerships. For a complete summary of the event, see the blog at HarnessLife.org http://harnesslife.org/2016/02/25/the-first-fifty-fixes-2/
Cat Food Donations and Distributions in February:
The NBHA CCP received 523 cans of wet cat food this month. 388 cans were donated by People for Animals and 135 cans were donated by Gail Whitney, a regular cat food contributor to the CCP. The food was distributed as follows:
• 60 – Cans to a caretaker in North Brunswick
• 208 – Cans to Pilot Project
• 120 – Cans to a local caretaker in North Brunswick Township
• 96 – Cans to Scarlet Paws Animal Welfare Network
• 39 – Cans to a local caretaker in South Brunswick
In addition, every trapper/caretaker that brought cats for The 50 Feral Fix received from PFA a large bag of dry food and two cases of wet food.
Education/Outreach: We co-facilitated a TNR Workshop with People for Animals at the Robbinsville Clinic on February 17. 5 people attended.
A motion was approved to increase the CCP budget by $8000, for a total of $12,000. Donations/offsets will be tracked, but not added to the budget.
Membership Update – 21 new or renewed members. Leslie continues to recruit new members.
Spay Neuter Assistance Program (SNAP) – Motion was made and approved for a yearly budget of $10,000 for SNAP
Bylaws Review
• Updated version distributed; some suggestions were made
• A special meeting will be scheduled to approve new bylaws
Other Business:
• Annual Report Update – work in progress
• Website Update – lots of changes to be done – work in progress; looking to set up separate spaces for members.
• Financial Oversight – has begun with CCP. Reports pending.
Current Events:
• Flea Market/Rummage Sale will be Sat., May 14. Signup sheet was distributed. We are still looking for vendors. Signs were distributed.
• Dog Walkathon & Adoption Event – Process will begin soon. Nothing to report now.
• Tabling Events:
o Rutgers Day – April 30 – sign up sheet circulated
o Second Chance for Animals Dog Walk – volunteers signed up
New Business: None
Committees – Need volunteers for the following committees:
• Education Committee & Education Fund
• Program Committee
• Oversight Committee
• Historian & PR Committee
• Policies and Procedures Committee
• Emergency Use
Other:
Speaker is being arranged for upcoming meeting on Preparing for Emergencies – Carol P & Lisa C.
Donna Hildreth