Meeting Minutes – January 22, 2020

Present: Justine Bachman, Steve Bachman, Richard Bleiler, Donald Christ, Willard Dellicker, Eugene Handwerk, Harold Handwerk, David Keller, William Mantz, Nancy Zellner

Donald Christ called the meeting to order 7:05 PM at the Lynn Township Office and presided over discussions of the following topics:

1. MINUTES: The October 22, 2019 Minutes were accepted as written.

2. TREASURER’S REPORT: The bank statement ending 1/22/20 for the Memorial account at New Tripoli National Bank shows a current balance is $21,252.96.

Motion to accept the Treasurer’s report by Harold Handwerk, seconded by David Keller, approved by all.

3. ELECTION OF OFFICERS: Eugene Handwerk made a motion to nominate the current officers for the coming year: President – Donald Christ, VP – Harold Handwerk, Secretary – Willard Dellicker, Treasurer – Eugene Handwerk. Seconded by William Mantz.

Motion to approve the nominations by David Keller, seconded by Eugene Handwerk.

4.  WEBSITE: https://nwlehighvetsmemorial.org.

Dellicker showed the latest Google analytics report showing activity on our website. In 2019 there were a total of 759 users for a total of 994 sessions.

The committee unanimously suggested that all of our Township should put a link to the NWLVM website on the Township websites.  This should be done through each of the Township representatives.  W. Dellicker said he would contact the NWL School District to put a link on the district’s website.

5. EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES: On December 19, 2019 Don Christ and Bill Dellicker met with Chris Brown, of Brown Design Corp. Landscape Architects and Planners to discuss design and construction costs, and design and planning strategies. As a result of the discussion, Chris Brown submitted four design options based on the committee’s conceptual sketch, an opinion of the construction costs that included estimates for the materials and labor to build according to the conceptual sketch, and a proposal for architectural design services.

6. DISCUSSION: Chris Brown of Brown Design Corp. was present at the meeting to review and discuss the design options, the construction cost opinion and his proposal for design services as stated in #5 above.

• A question/answer discussion among committee members and Chris Brown resulted in many suggestions and new considerations to be incorporated into the design. Some of the suggestions included grading and stormwater management, design with the future in mind for durability of materials and maintenance, architectural aesthetics and drama as people approach the entrance, lighting to enhance the memorial, addition of a flagpole, orientation of panels and using both sides to engrave names and historical quotations, fencing ideas with stone pillars and lighting.
• Option 3 (of the four options submitted by Brown) was the unanimous selection to use as we move forward with our design. Chris will take these suggestions, create a new drawing and update the cost estimate to reflect the committee’s design discussion.

• The proposal from Brown Design Corp dated January 13, 2020, for Professional Services to complete the design development and construction documents for a total cost not-to-exceed $8,925 was reviewed and discussed. A motion was made to accept and approve the proposal by Steve Bachman seconded by David Keller and unanimously approved by the committee.
• The committee discussed the Brown Design cost opinion and the need for a project budget to move forward with fundraising and public awareness. A proposed total budget of $300,000 to include design costs and construction contingency was approved by the committee with a motion by Steve Bachman, seconded by David Keller.

7. NEXT STEPS:

• Nancy Zellner reported having 1425 names entered into the database towards our estimate of 3000. The committee discussed setting a deadline for accepting names to be engraved on the memorial panels. The total number of names must be known to proceed with the final design before construction begins.  July 4^th 2020 was the suggested date and approved.  Motion by Nancy Zellner, seconded by Steve Bachman
• A flyer will be created by Bill Dellicker and Justine Bachman to be included in the NWPress on Memorial Day to tell the community about the progress being made for the memorial and to announce the July 4^th deadline for submitting Veteran’s names. Motion was made with a cost not to exceed $250 by Nancy Zellner, seconded by Justine Bachman
• Develop a fundraising plan that includes solicitations from local businesses, banks, organizations, Steve Bachman will ask the Eight Oaks Distillery if they would consider sponsoring a fundraising night for the memorial.
• The NWLVM Committee appointed by the Townships should consider how to incorporate volunteers from the community who want to help. Ad-hoc committees for the Dedication Ceremony, Memorial Booklet, Fundraising, Publicity, Construction Management, and Data Base Maintenance could utilize volunteers to help the appointed committee.  Needs further discussion/action.

• Discussion ensued about incorporating the Ebenezer Cemetery’s WW-II memorial into the new memorial design. It was agreed that all of the names on that memorial would be included in the new memorial however, the actual panels would not be incorporated.  The DAR will be notified of the committee’s decision with thanks for their willingness to relocate the memorial from its original location.  The consensus was that the panels would not appropriately fit in with the design and layout of the four-township, all-wars-design concept.  Motion was made by Eugene Handwerk, seconded by David Keller.

8. ADJOURN: Motion by Steve Bachman, seconded by Harold Handwerk at 9:04PM.

 NEXT MEETING will be determined by President Christ who will notify the committee.