Baxter County Friends of the Taxpayers

MEETING NOTES

BAXTER COUNTY FRIENDS OF THE TAXPAYERS

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2007

BCFT Director Frank Kaye opened the meeting at 1:00 pm at Redeemer Lutheran Church.  He welcomed everyone and introduced special guests, Gwen Khayat, Deborah Knox and Bobbi Brown.  Mrs. Khayat is the director of the Baxter County Public Library; Mrs. Knox is the chairman of the library board of directors and chairman of the ongoing Capital Campaign; and Mrs. Brown is the library’s Community Outreach Coordinator.

Mrs. Brown began the library’s presentation with a PowerPoint slideshow.  Some of the points made were:

• the library is a “hub of activity for all ages”;
• attendance at children’s programs doubled in 2004-05;
• special emphasis on teen programming;
• technology literacy is a new role for public libraries;
• they have developed many community partnerships;
• Friends of the Library are huge supporters;
• the 1-mil property tax levy that was passed in 1952 still funds the library today (unchanged);
• received a planning grant from the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation in 2004;
• DWRF will match the hoped-for $2 million endowment (current Capital Campaign) with another $2 million;
• naming opportunities are available for the new facility;
• people can help by contributing to the capital campaign, or through planned giving or tax relief;
• any purchases made at Amazon.com (when accessed through the BCL website) will generate credits for the library.

Mrs. Khayat said that while the DWRF is very generous, it still requires that the library generate an endowment equal to 20% of the total ($10 million) grant they will apply for (approximately $2 million).  Representatives from DWRF are coming to Mountain Home in November for a site visit; the library will present their case to DWRF in January, and should find out at that time whether the grant has been approved.  The foundation has $1.2 million in hand to date (including the $500,000 from the proposed sale of the old building to the city); DWRF will give them 3 years from their occupancy date to reach the endowment target, though the library hopes to be very close to their goal by the time they meet with the Reynolds Foundation.  Groundbreaking is anticipated in late summer 2008 if the grant is approved; the grant will pay for construction of the building, furnishings and equipment.

A member pointed out that the old building will become the new MH Police Department, and said that building the new library will be a win-win situation for both, as the current police department is cramped beyond belief.

Other questions and answers from the library presentation:

Q:  The cost of this new building won’t fall back on taxpayers any time soon, will it?

A:  No – that’s what the endowment is for.  The $2 million we raise plus the $2 million match from DWRF will be put into an interest-bearing account.  We will be allowed to draw 5% of that per year (~$200,000) to supplement the tax revenue we receive from the county for maintenance and upkeep of the facility.  Current budget is about $600,000 per year.

Q:  Will there be a staff increase?

A:  The proposal includes new technology to reduce the need for more people.

Q:  My biggest complaint is the operating hours.

A:  It’s a trade-off; with the limited number of staff we have now, we can’t be open all hours of the day.

Q:  I volunteer with the Twin Lakes Literacy Council.  Will there be space for us in the new library?

A:  Yes – it has been incorporated into the new design.

Since there were no further questions, Frank thanked Mrs. Khayat, Mrs. Knox and Mrs. Brown for coming and asked for a short break before beginning the regular meeting at 1:40 pm.

Frank welcomed everyone to the meeting and asked guests and new members to stand and introduce themselves.  He then gave a brief synopsis of the history of BCFT and asked everyone to remember that the group is not here just to oppose issues, but that we have been put in that position by officials who continue to seek tax increases.

Treasurer’s report:  Balance as of 7-28-07 was $840.86.  Since then, deposits were made as follows: $227.50 in dues, $525 in donations, $32 for shirts; withdrawals include 3 checks written for room rental at Redeemer, totaling $22.50; $150 for fair booth; $18.36 for copies; $248.30 for materials for school bond election signs; and $539.60 for an insert in the Baxter Bulletin; leaving a balance of $646.60 on 9-29-07.

Old Business

Fair report:   Frank thanked all the volunteers who helped with our recent booth at the county fair.  He said that we had received many good comments from fair-goers and lots of support for our stance on the school bond election issue.  Suzan reported that 325 people had signed up for our free half-day fishing trip, and that the winner had been notified by phone.  She will be making her trip down the river in about a week (thanks, John!).

School bond issue wrap-up:  Frank will make an appointment with Dr. Scriber to remind him to listen to what the voters have said when drawing up new plans for the school expansion project.  He also said that we had heard through the StoryChat forum on the Baxter Bulletin website that a special election to reconsider this issue could come as early as next spring.  A member pointed out that the school board keeps saying they need more classrooms and teachers, but they have not investigated the possibility of increasing class size; that classes in AR are considerably smaller than those he used to teach in another state.  He also stated that he would like to see cost projections for future needs and more access to school budget data for the public.

Jim Bond reported that the school board did not change its meeting time/date at its last meeting, though the subject did come up for a vote.  So the meeting continues to be scheduled at the same time as City Council meetings on the 3^rd Thursday at 6:00 pm.

Airport grant:  Jim reported that fixed base operator Lori Benedict has filed another lawsuit against Judge Hall et al., this time a citizen’s complaint about the airport using grant money improperly to build the hangar that is under construction.  If her motion is denied, the taxpayers will pay for that building.  The case comes before Judge Webb Tuesday (Oct 2) at 10 am.

New business

Flotation Standards for Commercial Boat Docks:  This issue was brought to us at the fair by a local dock owner.  Frank explained the gentleman’s concern that the Corps of Engineers was forcing all dock owners to replace the foam used as flotation for docks and mooring buoys with new material that is more environmentally friendly, whether the current material needs replacing or not.  The new standards would place a huge financial burden on marina owners, possibly even cause some to declare bankruptcy, and would significantly raise the cost to consumers for enjoying a day on the lake.  Other concerns include the apparent lack of public input in drawing up the new rules and the fact that it would apply only to the Little Rock District of the US Army Corps of Engineers.  After several minutes of discussion, it was decided that BCFT as a group would not take a public stand on this issue. 

Chamber of Commerce election for board of directors:  Ballots were passed out to members, who were asked to mark their choices for the four open seats on the board for 2008-2010.  Suzan will tally them up and send our final ballot to the Chamber before the October 19 deadline.

New meeting place:  Beginning October 27, we will hold our meetings at the Western Sizzlin’ Restaurant on Hwy 62 next to the Ramada Inn; time and date are still the same, the LAST Saturday of the month at 1:00 pm.

Library support:  Frank pointed out that the Baxter County Library foundation has taken the voters’ opinions into consideration over the years and has embraced BCFT ideals.  In return, we would like to show public support for their campaign to build a new facility, and suggested making a donation to the foundation in BCFT’s name.  Motion to do so was made and seconded; the motion passed.  The money would not come from the BCFT treasury, but from individual members’ donations.  We will have to donate more than $1000 to have a photo published in the paper.  In order for everyone’s gifts to be tax-deductible, checks will need to be made out to the library foundation, not BCFT (donations to BCFT are NOT tax-deductible) … we will collect the individual checks, then make a combined presentation.

(Secretary’s note:  A charitable giving flyer from the library is included for guidance.  If you are interested in making a donation to the foundation, please don’t send it directly to the library!  Bring it to our next meeting – or mail it to us at 1118 Heatherdown Trail, MH — so that we can count your contribution as part of our grand total.  If we raise more than $1000, we will arrange for a photo op at the library ASAP and let you all know, so that you can be in the picture, if you choose!)

Frank opened the floor for general discussion, and presented a special award to Assistant Director Jim Bond for his efforts during the school bond election, and for everything else he does for BCFT.  A member passed out the URL for articles in a Milwaukee newspaper regarding incredible abuse of their school districts’ pension system.

Meeting adjourned at 2:50 pm.  Next meeting is scheduled for Saturday, October 27, 2007, at 1:00 pm at the Western Sizzlin’ Restaurant, Hwy 62 next to the Ramada Inn; please note new location, and come at least a half hour early if you would like to have lunch before the meeting starts.  There is NO requirement that you purchase a meal to come to the meeting.

Suzan P. Kaye
Secretary
Friday, September 28, 2007