The meeting was held at 4pm at the home of Ginny and Roger Lawrence.

The minutes from the previous meeting of July 12, 2003 were read by Mary Hall and accepted.

The treasurer's report was read by Debra Lynker and accepted.
-Balance as of July 9, 2003 was $5,116.29
-Balance as of July 7, 2004 is $7,105.29
-In addition is: 2004 dues paid of $150.00
2004 book sales of $350.00

OFFICERS
Patricia Adams announced that she was stepping down as President after 5 or 6 years of service. She plans to focus on Volume II of the heritage book. Patricia announced the Board's recommended slate of officers for the coming year. They are:
-President: Les Mattis
-Vice President: David Barnes
-Vice President of Communications: Jane Sokolow
-Secretary: Mary Hall
-Treasurer: Debra Lynker

There were no additional names offered by the membership and this slate was voted on and accepted.

It was noted that the Board is a different entity from the Officers. The slate for the Board was submitted as Les Mattis, David Barnes, Jane Sokolow, Debra Lynker. Discussion ensued about the necessity for an uneven number of Board members as stated in the Bylaws. Michael Teitler recommended that we amend the By-laws rather than the Board.

The Board slate was voted on and accepted.

COMMITTEES
The slate of recommended committee heads and members was offered, voted on and accepted. The committees are:

-Editorial Board Chair: Patricia Adams
-Heritage Committee: Bill Sharpless, John Kelly
-Covered Bridge: Bruce Janklow
-Metal Bridge: Eric Hamerstrom
-Campsite: John Adams
-Church: Stuart Root, Steve Lott
-By-laws: Michael Teitler
-Hospitality: Judith Katz
-Web site: Virginia Lawrence
-Archivist: Barbara and Robert Trelstad
- Website: Virginia Lawrence

It was noted that Don Jaeckel had resigned from the Nominating Committee and has not been replaced.

The meeting was turned over to the new president, Les Mattis, who recounted the beginnings of FOBC and made a statement of appreciation for Patricia Adams' years of contribution. She was acknowledged with a round of applause.

EDITORIAL BOARD
Patricia reported on the progress of the new Beaverkill Stories book.
Interviews on life in the valley are to be submitted by October 15. Stories that are now building include those on Lucy Ackerley, Ethel Osborn, Rudy Meyer and Jessica Foote. In addition, Tim Foote is working on a story about Beaverkill in the 1930s, John Kelly on one about the Willis family, Ed Cherney on one about the Beaverkill Trout Club. Others working on stories include Dick Fisher, Mac Francis, Bill Sharpless, Robert Treslstad, and Bebe Loixeaux. Jane Sokolow is the picture editor.

COVERED BRIDGE AND CAMPSITE
Bruce Janklow, head of the covered bridge committee, was away on vacation. In his stead, John Adams reported on both categories.
The campsite appears to be in good shape in that the cutting of good trees has stopped, new trees are being planted, and fireplaces have been replaced. There have been complaints about garbage. The garbage may be a result of campers using undesignated campsites on the south side of the river, which is prohibited because of the lack of policing facilities there. This use has been protested to the director. John recommended that neighborhood people should get an Empire State pass for swimming at the campsite.

The covered bridge appears to be moving in the right direction for the State to take it over from the County. Discussion ensued about the possibility of the State closing the bridge to vehicular traffic. John said that the Traffic Plan was on record for maintaining the bridge as open to traffic but acknowledged that there were no guarantees. Road repair is badly needed on the north side of the bridge and John suggested that we go to a Town meeting and bring it up, or send a letter from FOBC bringing it to the attention of the Town or the Town Supervisor, who, as Roger Lynker said, had always worked hard for the good of the Town.
There was discussion about the possibility of a "Hamlet of Beaverkill" sign, or, as Eric Hammerstrom said, "former Hamlet of Beaverkill" as at the reservoir. It was recommended that we send e-mail to Les Mattis with both specific pothole complaints and suggestions for placement of a sign.

IRON BRIDGE
Eric Hammerstrom reported on the Iron Bridge.
There was a meeting on June 12 at Lew Beach at which many FOBC members were in attendance. There, information sheets, diagrams and overlays were available. There appears to be a working through of the process and most people seem to be in favor of the "through truss" design, which most resembles the current bridge. There is hope for a decision by September, and if so, work would begin in spring of '05 and be completed before the following winter. Site characteristics like the river banks and castle gates pretty much dictate that the bridge needs to be in the same spot that it is now, but, though still a single lane, it will be wider which will help to alleviate the turning radius problem. It will allow a large truck to pass through although not a hook and ladder truck. There was some conversation about the difficulty of turning and so forth and it was acknowledged that we have had the same conversation for four years, that there was no real solution to it, and that the bridge was a "fait accompli."

CHURCH
Stuart Root and Steve Lott gave the Church report. There was considerable conversation about whether contributions were to the Church as a religious entity or as a community landmark, the FOBC church/state debate. Debra Lynker made the essential distinction: contributions to FOBC designated for the Church and sent to her, Debra Lynker, were considered community landmark contributions and would go to the fund to maintain the exterior siding of the Church; contributions sent to Ellen Loizeaux would go to the Methodist Church and would be used in any way considered necessary by the Church and its congregation.

Yearly contributions by FOBC to maintain the paint have been enough to repaint the Church this summer, even though the painting cost approximately $7,000 and there was only $5,700 in the fund. The remainder was provided by money in the original OSI fund, used before FOBC had the necessary legal standing to collect money. In addition, Steve reported that the Church collected money to replace the roof and steeple. This money came from Church funds, not FOBC funds. However, in the process it was discovered that the shutters were falling apart and would require $2400 to replace, even though the painter has offered to paint them and put them up at no additional cost. The Church can contribute some but not enough to cover whole job. Overall, FOBC has contributed about $13,000 to the maintenance of the Church. Considering that the Church is now in good physical shape and that the new request was for the long term, FOBC approved the additional contribution for new shutters from the $3,400 remaining in the original OSI fund.

Members were reminded to contribute to the FOBC Church fund by sending checks to Box 704, Roscoe, 12776. There was much discussion of the fact that the fund raising letter for the Church sent out by Ellen Loizeaux, Steve Lott and Bill Sharpless raised $7,000 while FOBC received only $150 in Church contributions during the past year. Many members may have been confused and thought that they were contributing to the FOBC fund for the Church. SEE FIRST PARAGRAPH IN THIS SECTION.

BYLAWS
Mike Teitler was cooking corn and this discussion was passed over.

WEB SITE
Ginny Lawrence offered to show the web site at the meeting, acknowledged the great contribution of Colin Foote, and suggested that the Treasurer's report and Secretary's minutes could be posted on the site. The site requires Flash software to view.

ARCHIVES
Barbara Trelstad left an album of photographs, requesting that members annotate the photos with names and dates.

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