Baxter County Friends of the Taxpayers

MEETING NOTES

BAXTER COUNTY FRIENDS OF THE TAXPAYERS

SATURDAY, MARCH 19, 2005

BCFT Director Frank Kaye called the meeting to order at 10 a.m., in Room B of the Fellowship Hall at Redeemer Lutheran Church. Eighteen members were in attendance.

Meeting started off with a vigorous discussion of the A&P Tax, and the need to replace the current city council and mayor with "electable" candidates. The subject of polling door-to-door was brought up; question asked about how many times the pollsters should make the rounds. Only once -- poll sheets are now available (pick out desired areas after the meeting). Questions to ask residents include:

• Are you aware of the A&P Tax?
• Are you a registered voter? Do you plan to vote in the special election?
• For / Against?
• Would you like to have a yard sign?
• Would you consider making a donation for the sign?

A new printing of brochures (2000 this time) will be ordered Monday (March 21); should be ready before the end of the week.

Yard signs -- now available at the Safety of Seniors office (624 Hwy 62E, across from Radio Shack) during business hours. Pick up as many as you like -- they're already starting to pop up around town. Remember to ask for a donation when placing a sign (if you are comfortable doing so) -- though not a requirement, it would be appreciated!

John Beach suggested using one or two signs as a sunshade when parking a vehicle in a public place.

The comment was made that it's vital to get people motivated to vote in this election -- that voter apathy is our biggest danger. If this tax survives the election, next time we manage to get it put to a vote, it will be even harder to defeat.

Treasurer's report: As of March 12, balance in the checking account was $1146.46; after paying Lewis Sign & Neon $788.80 on March 14 (balance for yard signs), we were left with $357.66. On March 16, a donation of $50 was deposited, bringing the final balance for the week to $407.66.

Tickets for the "Chili & Chocolate" fundraiser dinner are still available. Cash and checks totaling $375 were turned in for tickets already sold; this amount will be deposited into the BCFT account on Monday morning.

Ed Schild, coordinator for Letters to the Editor, reported that he visited with Baxter Bulletin Managing Editor Sheila Boggess on Wednesday, and discussed BCFT's lack of representation on the editorial page. Mrs. Boggess explained that there is a backlog of about 90 letters awaiting publication (not all about the A&P Tax), and that space is limited. The paper isn't able (willing?) to increase the number of editorial pages (or allocation of space on other pages) for letters to the editor. Our only recourse is to be patient -- and keep sending in letters!

Roger Paul, coordinator for speaking engagements, is out of town until March 26. Frank reported on his speech at the Republican Men's Club luncheon on March 15. Upcoming talks include:

• Polish-American Club at VFW, Monday, March 21
• Interview with XL7-TV ("This Week Mountain Home"), Thursday, March 24 (will be aired numerous times the following week)
• Debate with A&P Commission Chairman Rick Johnson on KTLO Radio, Wednesday, March 30, 5:30 p.m.

Discussed the issue of the proposed debate with the Democrat Club (originally scheduled for Saturday, March 26; Frank withdrew from the debate after being advised to do so by several people inside and outside the group). Frank reported on his conversation/e-mails with Doug Hadden, president of the local Democrats group. Frank asked Mr. Hadden to change the format of the debate and just allow him to come as a guest speaker (as Stewart Brunner had done), but Mr. Hadden refused. Frank also told the group that his offer to talk at the Democrats' meeting still stands, and that if anyone wanted to contact the Democrats and try to arrange a meeting, he would welcome the opportunity.

Frank mentioned that KTLO Radio had contacted him about BCFT buying radio ads that would run the week before the radio debate (scheduled for March 30) -- total cost would be about $350 for 36 ads, aired at random times, but with 2 guaranteed to air during the actual debate. After discussion, it was agreed that the best value for our investment still would be newspaper ads and an insert in the Bulletin right before the election.

Library issue: Rob Welch brought more "community needs assessment" surveys to distribute. Several members reported that they had given out every survey they had picked up at the previous meeting. Survey is available from the library's web site; there is also a link to it from the BCFT site: http://bcfriendsofthetaxpayers.org. From the front page, click on "Issues/Projects" link, then the link to the survey page from there. Be sure to include the BCFT cover letter with voting recommendations when you distribute the survey to your friends/neighbors!

Fishing tournaments - a BCFT member said that he thought offering tournament organizations large sums of money to bring them to town amounted to nothing more than extortion, and wanted to know how they can get away with such practices. Is it even legal? Also, increasing the number of tournaments would not be beneficial to the lakes, to the fish population, or the environment.

Rob Welch suggested that BCFT take out a newspaper ad opposing the public library's survey findings (which are due to be made public about April 11). Frank asked Rob to work up a draft of the ad and get back to him with it.

Regarding the certification forms for poll watchers, Frank hadn't been able to get any information from either Rhonda Porter or Bob Bodenhamer (not returning phone calls). Jim Bond volunteered to go to the Courthouse on Monday to get the forms.

Steve Kampen suggested that each of us should go to local business owners and politely let them know how we feel about the A&P Tax.

Remember the "Chili & Chocolate" Fundraiser Dinner on Sunday, April 3, from noon until 4 p.m. at the VFW Hall! Please let Suzan know ASAP if you can provide a big pot of chili or a chocolate dessert (brownies, cake, pie, cookies, ????) -- 424-6235. Thanks for your help!!

The meeting was adjourned -- no meeting date was set for next time; will wait until after the fundraiser to decide when/where to have a meeting before the election.

March 25, 2005

Suzan Kaye

Secretary, BCFT

424-6235