Minutes
Gustavus Mental Health Lands Group
December 11, 2000
Attendance: Paul Barnes, Nathan Borson, Greg Streveler, Janene Driscoll, Tom McCabe, Mike Olney, Melanie Heacox, Hank Lentfer, Judy Brakel, Dan Pratchner, Maureen Moore.
Greg Streveler recapped events of the last year.
The Trust Lands Office Community Enhancement Initiative includes lands that communities have identified as high priority for preservation. Their consultant agreed with the Gustavus Mental Health Lands Group’s proposal and added more land to it, amounting to about 2,000 acres initially valued at roughly $2 million. Now the price seems to be anywhere from 2 to 4.5 million depending on the outcome of a formal survey.
We had talked early on with Trust for Public Lands but when Chris Rogers left them their interest in helping us waned drastically.
Our current plan is a phased approach, starting with small local contributions and finding larger matching amounts. We have a couple thousand now and have asked Alaska Conservation Foundation and others, including Ducks Unlimited (DU). DU has expressed strong interest and has consulted with ADF&G about the wildlife value of the land. Randy Hagenstein (head of Nature Conservancy in Alaska) called from Homer with offer of help. He is optimistic that he can get us some money.
Paul Barnes is having a fundraising dinner at the Gustavus Inn next Saturday at 6:30. $50/plate sushi. Call Paul for reservations (limited to 30). He needs to know how many people are coming by Thursday.
Hank Lentfer has written a letter and made personal contacts asking people to contribute. He noted that people are supportive of this issue.
Andrea Byrnes and Stacy Farley are working on a brochure that can be put in local inns educating visitors about the “Gustavus Lands Legacy” and inviting their participation.
In drafting the brochure, some questions have come up.
- We don’t have a clear vision of what will become of the land (who will own it and how it will be managed). We agreed that we would prefer to buy the land outright and have Nature Conservancy own it if they were willing and were agreeable to the management we want. Tom and the Taylors will investigate ownership options. Judy will draft a description of desired management, starting with text of referendum. The letter of intent from Alaska Senate on the crane flats can also serve as a guide.
- Will the owner be liable for property taxes?
- Who will hold our funds? Can they be tax-deductible? In the survey done earlier, 60% of respondents supported SEALTrust, so Meadow asked them if they would hold the funds. It sounds like they will but they need to have a board meeting to approve it. Need to find out what the terms would be. Check to see if Nature Conservancy offers this service. Hank will ask SEALTrust about setting up an account and Greg will ask Nature Conservancy if they offer this service. We need check-writing ability since the purpose of these initial funds is to pay fundraising costs.
- How much will the land rally cost? Planchon has not been clear about the price and whether it would be conveyance of an easement or outright sale. Need to make sure that accretion rights come with the land. Greg will continue the dialog with Planchon. Nature Conservancy might be useful for negotiations.
- What if we raise a bunch of money but can’t close the deal? Hank: We’ll buy whatever we can afford, and if we can’t do that, we’ll return the money to the donors, less what we’ve spent on administration.
- What’s our time frame? Should we get a first right of refusal or an option to buy? Planchon stated that he wouldn’t sell it out from under us. That doesn’t protect us from price increases. Nature Conservancy might be helpful here.
Melanie Heacox related what she has learned about grant writing. She has the Alaska Funding Guide, listing organizations giving money to Alaska. She found that most sources give grants to non-profit organizations. Now need someone to apply for grants from these groups. Elen Maling of the Alaska Fundraising guide agreed to serve as a consultant to review our grant application for a special one-time fee of $100 (a considerable discount from her usual $130/hr consulting fee). Janene noted that the landfill is also looking to hire a grant writer and she has applied for that position. She is interested in being involved with our effort. Hank said the clinic is also going to be doing some grant writing and Bartlett Hospital gave them $5,000 to write the grant. How do we decide who writes the grant? Discussion went on about local vs. professional or combination. Mike noted that we can barter for grant writing services from people who might like a vacation here. He will work on assembling such a package. Mike will also write a job description for our grant writer position.
Tasks
Pamphlet – Paul and Greg
Web Site - Nate
Fundraising – Maureen will look through the grants book and may contact some of the donors. Mike will write a job description for grant writer. Hank is working on fundraising letter and money agreement with SEALTrust. Janene is also going to look at the grant book. Mike will work on a tour package for a grant writer.
Ownership and Management – see above.
Oversight – Greg will serve as clearinghouse while Meadow is gone and make sure she stays in the loop.
Next meeting: First week of January Mid-course meeting. Then another meeting at the end of January.
.(Prepared by Nathan Borson)