Meeting Minutes: October 4, 2013

PLEASE NOTE THAT THE NEXT MEETING WILL BE Friday, November 1st at 9am at the Panther Mountain Inn. As noted below, certain members are out of town October 18th and therefore a meeting can not take place that day.

Farmers Market: Great season. Numbers last year were well over 6,000. This year’s have reached well over 9,000 attendees. Next week, October 10 will be the last market for the season. Wine vendor Fran Morrison has passed away and they will be sending a donation from the market to help the family defray funeral expenses.

The Carol Theatre: There has been a lot of interest in a project to save the Carol Theatre. Donnie called Bob Swan to see how he feels about restoration potential but has not heard back from him yet.

Town Wide Garage Sale: planned for the weekend of October 5th and 6th to correspond with Warrensburg’s Largest Garage Sale. Space is at various spots throughout town. Maps will be available throughout town for people to pick up so they can find locations more easily. Contact NW Chamber of Commerce at #494-2722 or go on their website NorthWarren.com.

Wine Tasting Benefit: A correction made to last month’s minutes – the benefit is November 6 as announced in the Journal.
A Taste of the Tri-Lakes: will be held to correspond with the Rotary’s Memory Tree Lighting at the main intersection in Chestertown. The Rotary has given Donnie a date of Dec. 3rd. It was suggested they might want to use the Carol Theatre and bring in a Select Choir to perform. Local restaurants will be offering samples of their establishments and we’re looking forward to another great town wide event to bring residents together. More information will be forthcoming.

4th Toys for Tots ATV Poker Run: There were 111 riders, $2,570 was raised along with 130 unwrapped gifts. It turned out to be the best event they have held so far.

Townwide Lights On: Tri Lakes Business Alliance is asking that all businesses/homes on Main Street and beyond participate once again in lighting up our town for the holiday season and to coordinate decorations with the Rotary’s Memory Tree Lighting celebration by doing their holiday decorating/lights as early as November 27th. We sincerely appreciate all who are willing/able to participate in this fun-filled event.
Brant Lake Winter Carnival: Mark your calendars for February 8, 2014!!!
Rumrunners Weekend: still being talked about two weeks after the fact. Bill Richards who performed in the Carol Theater for our entertainment has returned his check to the alliance because he felt he had too much fun doing it to be paid.

Placemats: Donnie is getting quotes and working with Linda Lewis to get new ones printed up. Plan is to order more this time and the artwork will remain the same.

Mailing List and Website: Brandon Himoff suggested we may want to consider working with the chamber to set up a combined mailing list, perhaps using the chamber’s Constant Contact, to get the word out on all our events. He suggested that perhaps this winter we build a fuller website for the business alliance.

Guest Speaker, Jim Murphy, Adirondack Economic Development Corporation: Jim attended with two of his board members, Joel Beaudin and Wayne Thomas. He described how his organization works with small business start ups or existing businesses that want to expand their market and/or add additional employees. Many of their loans go to start up businesses that banks don’t generally lend to. AEDC is an intermediary lender with rates competitive with other financial lenders. They are NOT a grant program. They look for well thought out ideas that have a solid business plan. They also offer training sessions to get people off to the best start possible. If you are a seasonal business they will adjust loan payments to work with your cash flow. They frequently partner with local banks on larger loans. They cover most areas north of the NYS Thruway. He left his business cards for anyone who is interested in talking with him.

Joel Beaudin: one of the organizers of the North Creek Business Alliance. He shared that their alliance is in the process of purchasing a shuttle bus for winter use to transport people to and from Gore Mt. He said there is more room for annual advertising on the bus if anyone in our alliance is interested. It will also be used all summer to transport people from the SNCRR. He offered the possibility of Chester sharing the use of the shuttle for special events as well.
Next Meeting Cancelled: due to the fact that a number of major players in the alliance will be out of town, it was decided to cancel the next meeting and move to the November 1st meeting. PLEASE NOTE NEXT MEETING DATE!!!
Next meeting: Friday, November 1st at 9am @ the Panther Mountain Inn.

Meeting Minutes: September 20, 2013

Rum Runners Weekend: An unbelievable success! The Vaudeville theatre performance was sold out and some were let in for ‘standing room only’. Plans to expand the performance are in the works for future years. Babe Ruth Battle of the Bats had 68 participants and over 100 spectators, next year we plan on having a school class or scout troop sell Hot Dogs, etc. The ‘Car Chase’ had over 20 classic cars participate and next year we’ll have the group drive through town and extend the route a bit so more people can see it. Restaurants reported some of the best nights they’d had all year, and people of all ages were out enjoying the events throughout the entire weekend. The community involvement and participation was fantastic, and someone on Face Book even posted “this makes me want to move to a town like this”…. What better compliment can we receive? The Rum Runner weekend will be a yearly event, with the same 1920’s theme, around the same time in September next year so pack those costumes away for future use. Over 200 photos have been posted on the Tri-Lakes Business Alliance Face Book page so check it out!

The Carol Theatre: As we re-opened the Chestertown Theatre for this past weekend, many realized what a classic and historical building this is, and the Alliance mentioned starting a fund to Save the Carol Theatre and possibly applying for federal or state grant monies to help accomplish this goal. Anyone interested in pursuing this, please let us know as it’s a landmark building in the heart of town and its restoration/renovation would be a benefit to us all.

Town Wide Garage Sale is planned for the weekend of October 5^th and 6^th to correspond with Warrensburg’s Largest Garage Sale. Space is available at various spots throughout town (bank parking lots, etc) and a map will be handed out with private locations off the main routes, although the more people who set up in town, the better. More than 100,000 people attend the Warrensburg event every year, and there is no reason we can’t bring some of them 9 miles north to avoid the crowds and shop, eat, and spend the night in our towns. To reserve a space or get put on the map, please contact the NW Chamber of Commerce at #494-2722 as soon as possible.

Wine Tasting Benefit: A Wine Tasting to benefit the Tri-Lakes Business Alliance will be held Wednesday, October 6^th at the Bull House Restaurant in Chestertown. Please mark your calendars and try to attend this fun and worthwhile event.

Woman’s Small Business Expo to be held on Oct. 19th @ 4 pm Green Mansions. Each vendor will have a space set with product & at least 1 giveaway. The vendors will be local people who own an independent business, Crafters, Picture Perfect Photography, Fantastic Fashion Jewelry, Avon, Pampered chef, Toys, Adirondack Lamps and more… Currently 22 vendors have signed up, and there will also be a 50/50 raffle to benefit the TBA. Call Nikki Monroe Rising @ 494-2178 for more information or to reserve a space.

A Taste of the Tri-Lakes will be held toward the end of November to correspond with the Rotary’s Memory Lighting of the Town Christmas Tree at the main intersection in Chestertown. Local restaurants will be offering samples of their establishments and we’re looking forward to another great town wide event to bring residents together.

Toys for Tots ATV Poker Run to be held Saturday September 21^st with poker stops at the Tin Tee Pee, the Crossroads, Country Haven, the Bull House, Hemlock Ledge, Panther Mt. Inn, Main Street Ice Cream Parlor, and Green Mansions. Entrance fee is $20 and includes a BBQ at Tin Tee Pee at 5pm. Please bring a new, unwrapped toy for Toys for Tots.

Committee gave an update on the new entrance signs for Chestertown and Pottersville and designs were approved and ready to be presented to the Town Board.

Fall Leaf Peeper Weekend: It was suggested the Alliance organize a Leaf Peeper Weekend(name to be decided upon) for next fall. Businesses with local attractions (Stone Bridge & Caves, Rail Roads on Parade, Green Mansions, etc.) as well as local restaurants would benefit from this, and a Committee was formed to follow up and organize for next year (Committee members: Lonnie Shenefield, Dee & Greg Beckler, Clark & Barb Dunham, Lynda Lewis and Ron & Martha Walker).

A presentation was made by Lynda Lewis Carlstrom for AFLAC, a reasonably priced supplemental health insurance program open to individuals and businesses. For more information, call Linda at #494-7707 or #941-586-5191
Next meeting is Friday, October 4^th at 9am @ the Panther Mountain Inn.

Meeting Minutes: August 9, 2013

• Approval for Adirondack Journal ads for the upcoming Rum Runners Weekend on September 13-15 were approved as well as clues to the password needed to get into the Speakeasy at the Panther Mountain Inn the evening of the 14^th. A $5 ‘Boost’ to our Face Book page advertising the upcoming Music on Main Street reached +/- 1600 people and it was agreed we would use this form of media for additional advertising for our upcoming events.
• MUSIC ON MAIN STREET is scheduled for Thursday, August 15^th, on the front lawn of the Chester Town Hall. The Stephen L. Smith band will be playing from 5:30 until 8pm and we’re hoping for a great turnout. All are welcome to bring their lawn chairs & coolers to this free concert sponsored by the Tri-Lakes Business Alliance and enjoy the evening. Food will be available on site. It was agreed that the NW Chamber of Commerce will work with the TLBA for future concerts next summer and we’ll try to make this at least a monthly event during the summer.
• FARMERS MARKET had 909 people come through the gate last week…. An issue from a handful of people regarding vendor tire tracks ruining the lawn has been addressed and the Market will continue to be held on the front lawn of the Town Center.
• RUM RUNNERS WEEKEND scheduled for Sept. 13^th – 15^th is moving along, committee is working on getting the movie theatre opened up for the weekend for the planned Vaudeville & Burlesque Show on Saturday afternoon. Monies were approved to purchase feather headbands, boas, beads and men’s hats to either sell at a discounted price or give away over the weekend so everyone can be ‘in costume’. More volunteers are still needed to help with this event and the next ½ hour meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, August 14^th, 6pm at the Panther Mt. Inn.
• The TLBA announced their support as a group for the Town of Chester to proceed with developing a town sewer plan so we have the needed paperwork ‘on the shelf’ when grant monies and funding come available.
• The August Car Hop netted $57 from the 50/50 raffle and Upstate Agency paid for the trophies this month. Next Car Hop is scheduled for September 6, 2013.
• Tentative date for the Brant Lake Winter Carnival was set for February 9, 2014.
• The Warrensburg Business Alliance is planning a car hop the Thursday before our Rum Runner Weekend (Sept 12^th) to assist us in advertising our event. It will be held at the Lucky Star from 5-8pm and tickets for the Vaudeville show and advertising flyers will be available.
• Don Butler and Cindy Mead will give a brief presentation to the Brant Lake association on Saturday August 10^th to explain what our organization is about and distribute information on upcoming events. We would like to do this for all the Lake Associations so if anyone knows of upcoming meetings we could attend, please let us know.

Next meeting is Friday, August 23^rd at 9am @ the Panther Mountain Inn.