242 UNION STREET ROCKLAND, MASSACHUSETTS 02370


9/10/03

Rockland Historic Commission Meeting Minutes August 14, 2003

Those members in attendance were: Peter Dow, Jerry Martin, Bill Bean, and George Dearth ( associate )

1. The meeting was called to order at 7:08 PM.

2. Minutes: The Minutes of the June 26, 2003 were approved.

3. Treasurer's report: 

Working A/C: 277.59
Donation A/C:2,434.45
Postage:19.59
Total:2,731.63



4. Old Business:
A. Annual Elections - The results of the elections are: Chairman- Peter Dow; Vice Chairman Jerry Martin; Secretary- Bill Bean. The Treasurer's position is currently unfilled, and will remain the Chairman's responsibility for the near future.

B. Fundraising/Direct Mailing -Peter obtained a listing of Rockland's Head of Households from the Town Clerk's office. We could use a small subsection of this list a test mailing.
-Other publicity includes a running announcement of WRPS to be timed with the mailing.
-Suggestion to put tear-off contribution form at the bottom of the letter, with contribution levels for the donor to choose from. Also include message about tax deductibility for charitable donation.
-For the next meeting: review final draft of the letter, review the Head of Household list and decide size of test mailing, and decide whether to include the 1745 House postcard in the mailing as a souvenir.
-Discussion also regarding a business donation letter, perhaps using a business/membership list from the Chamber of Commerce.
-Plaques could also be offered to recognize business and larger individual donors as well.
-Bulk mailing/postage will need to be finalized. Right now, choice between using the Tax Collector meter (35.5 cents) vs. the Water/Sewer bar code (27 cents).

C. 1745 House Update -Jerry's relative still interested in working on the windows. The roof is the highest priority. 


-Peter Will investigate the tarping and strapping- use Home Depot donation connection.

D. Web Site www.historicrockland.com update -4565 hits thus far.
-Jerry is in contact with a new service provider for the website, www.advise.net. The quarterly cost will be approx. $100 (about what Polyactive costs), but there will be significantly more space to accommodate pictures and other data (1000 MB).
-Jerry set up and the Town Hall employees are using 4 email addresses provided by the RHC through the website service.

E. RHC Sign (Hingham and Webster St) -Great feedback on the sign- looks great, good location, and good promotion for RHC and other sponsors.
-Interest in other sign up at the VFW/Union St. corner. A similar design but smaller sign can be put there for approx. $1100. Jerry will follow up on this at the next meeting.

F. DAR/Jones Plaque -The re-dedication will take place on 9/20/03. Planning is moving along.
-We will likely need to set the GAR Hall the night before.
-Jerry will contact Rockland Cement to see if they will donate a stone.
-Peter working with Barnicoat Memorials to get 2nd plaque and have both attached to the stone. Items to be worked on are: the monument (size, attachment of plaques); making another plaque to be mounted below the main one, indicating the re-dedication date and sponsors; coordination of the GAR Hall and reception (Dean Sargent to be the coordinating contact between RHC and GAR).
-Promotion materials also need to be sent to advertise the event- public, newspapers, town officials, etc.

G. Holiday Tour -Need to finalize date in conjunction with the holiday stroll (it will be either the Dec. 6th or Dec. 13th). More planning will be done following the DAR plaque event.

5. New Business:
A. Meeting Ni@t Change -General consensus that it would be good idea to change our meetings to the 2nd and 4th Tuesday each month to better accommodate members' schedules. We will vote on this at the 9/11/03 meeting.
6. Correspondence 7. Open Forum 8. Next Meeting: 9/11/03 at 7 PM in the Town Hall Lounge.
9. Adjournment: A motion to adjourn was made and accepted. The time was 8:20 PM.
As recorded by;

Peter Dow Chairman of the RHC

(Recorder of minutes)