Grange Notes Archives - Page 48 of 54

Scary Things

October 28, 2015 by Tova

Grange Notes for October 18, 2015 by Tim Swartz

Scary thing #1: Halloween comes back to the CDU dance

Grange members and friends who are part of the contra dance community may remember 5th Saturday dances in October of the past, when the Hall is inhabited/haunted/decorated with strange-looking people in costumes. The dance calendar has not produced this date for a few years…but now it’s BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK!
On Saturday the 31st, Luke Donforth will call, and Maivish will play, and Merry and I will undertake the difficult task of picking winners of prizes for the most interesting, or most elaborate, or most scary, or most original….or whatever seems appropriate. One year we gave a prize for best use of cardboard.
Come enjoy the fun, 8:00 to 11:00 as usual!

Scary thing #2: Advice for our Parking Lot Landscape Feature, A.K.A “the gully”

On Friday, Oct. 16th I met with a stormwater specialist from the VT Agency of Natural Resources, Ryan McCall, to get a free consultation on our newly enlarged hole. He was very positive, seeing ways that we can deal with the problem–but also made it clear that we will have to plan a comprehensive solution. Ryan pointed out how all the water running over the parking lot collects in one stream, since our parking lot is basically bowl-shaped. Because the edge of the parking lot drops off sharply on all sides, erosion of a gully like the one we have developed this summer is inevitable–there is no easy way to spread out the out-flow. He strongly recommends that we work with a contractor to design a permanent solution to the problem.
He believes that this will involve building a catch-basin to which the water will flow; that should lead to a culvert which will take the water down to the lower level of our property beyond the south side of the parking lot. There, it will need to go into a basin to dissipate the energy of the falling water–otherwise, we will just shift the erosion down there.
For the short-term solution, we’ll be looking at filling the gully with a mixture of large-to-small rocks, which will need to be done to resist immediate washing-out–but it will need to not make the permanent solution more difficult. We’ll need to do the filling before we get a snow-plow stuck in the hole this winter….We have an excavation/grading contractor to talk to, who re-graded our driveway and dug the holes for the sign foundation last fall, and did a good job.
Ideas and expertise welcome–contact me.
Contributions of money also welcome–contact the FCCGH via the “donate” link on most pages of our website: www.capitalcitygrange.org/donate/ will take you there, and you can donate with Paypal or a credit card. Or send checks to FCCGH: PO Box 31, Northfield Falls VT 05664

Not so scary…but impressive!
Grange kitchen gets TLC…and hoeing out!

On Sunday afternoon, an energetic group of volunteers who love the Grange and its kitchen gathered for a few hours of work–and what a lot got done!   My less-than-great pictures convey only some of the volunteers doing some of the work. Many cupboards got opened for the first time in a while, and many shelves, nooks and crannies got cleaned for the first time in an equally long while.   The coffee urns got tested! A pile of stuff that we just don’t need got sorted out–see the bottom picture for some of the pile.
The volunteer crew included stalwart volunteers who have been part of many photos I’ve taken of Grange work crews: Merry Shernock, who organized the project, Alison Forrest, Elizabeth Templeton, Marisa Keller, Patty Giavara, Jody Pettersen and me–and also our Master of the VT State Grange, Brenda Rousselle, who has been a friend of the CCG for a long time. Everyone worked hard!
The “get it out of here” pile will stay in place on one of the cafeteria tables until November 9th, when it will be taken to recycling or the trash. Take a look when you are at the Grange Hall, and take home a useful item–or a souvenir!   We’d be happy for these items to get a new home.   The table includes ceramic dishes with chips, hundreds of bingo cards, a variety of out-dated kitchen tools, and much more.   Check it out!
The volunteers also did a lot of re-organization of the items in the various drawers and cupboards, and planned for even better labeling. The goal that kept being discussed is “how can someone who was never here before find….” and that led to items being moved to better places, with associated tools and supplies.
My contribution was implementing Merry’s idea to have a work-counter behind the peninsula sinks, where a pre-rinse plastic tub now has a place, and there is room for a “busing tray” to be set down–without walking into the busy work space in the center!   Supplies for “set-up” for a meal are now centralized in that area too–table cloths, table covers, and more.
There is much more that could be done to improve the kitchen, its functionality, cleanability and comfort.   It’s going to be a while before we can afford a real renovation–see the article above about the gully in the parking lot, for example!   But even without a major project, more TLC will make it a nicer, better organized work-place. A couple of volunteers who could not make it to the Sunday work-day have signed up already to rebuild the bottom of one of the sink cabinets (John Mallery), and to paint the walls to harmonize the colors (Cynthia Haviland, continuing the excellent work she has started on the south end of the kitchen, plus the cafeteria wall). Merry has started a Kitchen Binder with suggestions and instructions on best ways to make a meal, or set up a dinner, and then clean up afterward, for which she is soliciting input. You can always contact her at her Grange Rental Agent email address: merrykaysings@gmail.com. What else can you do to improve our Grange Community Hall?

Tax Petition, Recycling, TLC for Grange Kitchen, How to Fill in a Too-Big Hole

October 12, 2015 by Tova

Grange meeting: plans for our tax relief drive

Our Oct. 3rd meeting included discussion of plans for us to ask the town of Berlin for tax relief. As everyone probably knows, our annual property tax bill of almost $7,200 is a huge burden–about 1/3 of our annual budget. Merry Shernock has taken on the project of getting our taxes reduced, and presented plans for a sequence of actions we can take:
Phase 1: we need to collect signatures on a petition to place our request on the ballot for Berlin’s Town Meeting. The minimum number needed is 100; we plan to collect at least 130 to make sure we have enough valid signatures of Berlin voters. The deadline is January 16, 2016. We plan to set up tables at places like Central VT Hospital, Applebee’s restaurant–and at the contra dances at the Grange.
Phase 2: the petition asks for elimination of our property tax bill for 10 years; we need to get a majority of those who vote in Berlin’s “Australian ballot” to support our request. We will need to make a case for the value of our community hall to the town, to justify the Town voters giving up the tax money. As the well-informed people who read these Notes know, we have been meeting with a sympathetic member of the Selectboard, and are willing to donate free use of the Hall to Berlin organizations for couple of rentals every month, as one direct benefit. We also expect to make the case that our Grange Hall is a valuable asset to the entire region, which happens to be located in Berlin. We provide an essential resource for community and non-profit organizations, plus individuals and families to provide a venue for celebrations, community organizing, training, dances, and much more.
So how will we reach the people of Berlin who will vote on this important issue–one that will make a huge difference in our future finances?

Information in the Town Meeting Report–like other organizations looking for support, we hope to present our case with information sent to every household
Information tables–like our petition drive to get on the ballot, we can set up tables in public places with pictures, handouts and friendly people who can talk about the value of the Grange and the Hall
Personal contacts with the voters–we’d like to follow up with any Berlin residents who already use the Grange Hall, as part of the dance, church or other groups–if you know someone who lives there, pass on contact info!
Door-to-door canvassing–this is how most of the votes are gained for financial support and tax relief, according to those Merry has consulted. We’ll be developing lists of neighborhoods with likely voters, and looking for volunteers to knock on doors, asking for support on March 1st, 2016 when the Grange tax relief proposal appears on the Australian Ballot.

We know that this sounds like a lot of work–but it is an issue that will repay us for the work, by removing a heavy burden of tax payments. If we can avoid having this large amount of money siphoned off every year, we can improve our Hall more easily, and could make it possible for us to consider making charitable contributions, rather than struggling to survive.
Can you help us? Please contact me (at the usual email and phone number) or Merry (her contact info is at the top of these Grange Notes). We really need some of the friendly people of the Grange community to show the people of Berlin that we are worthy of support.

Remember my appeal for help with the washed-out low spot in the parking lot?

Well, it turned out to be a lot more than we could do with a wheelbarrow and a few shovels–even if more people had turned out. As it was, Grange members and stalwart volunteers Kurt and Patty Giavara showed up, plus Lewis Neill after church. We researched the problem a little more deeply on the spot. As you can see from the photos above, the visible gully leads to a much deeper eroded area. Runoff from the parking lot, which has this year directed itself to a new “exit” from the plateau on which the Hall sits, has eaten a real gully in the edge, leading down to lower areas on the south side of the lot. Lewis has re-directed the runoff using water bars, to a different side for the time being.
We need a permanent solution to the run-off problem. On Friday, Patty and Kurt met with an excavation contractor. This is the guy who re-graded our driveway and dug the footings for the new sign last year–we were impressed with his work and careful approach. Matt Dwyer thought it would take about 3 dump-truck loads of material, and about a half-day of bulldozer work to fill and compact this ravine, and to re-grade to create a slow, less eroding drainage solution. This is obviously not going to be cheap! He also suggested we get some advice from a specialist in drainage solutions from the VT State Agency for Natural Resources. This is not going to lead to a big regulatory intervention, just a useful second opinion before the operation, as for any expensive reconstructive surgery.
I have emailed Matt’s contact, with whom he has worked before, and expect to meet with him this week. Stand by for more information and cost estimates…we will need to get this fixed before the winter. Contributions gratefully accepted!
In the meantime, I have surrounded the gully with stakes and fluorescent surveyors’ marking tape for safety.

Noon Sunday October 4: filling in the hole in the parking lot

October 4, 2015 by Tova

We’ve got a big hole…in our parking lot. Recent good-sized rains have eroded a hole big enough for several bathtubs. Last night, the orange cones failed to keep a van from getting stuck in the hole–an AAA towtruck had to be called to get it out.

Starting at noon today, Oct. 4th, 2015 I will be there with a wheelbarrow and a couple of shovels–and I appeal for help to fill in the hole, using rocks and dirt which we can find around the edges of the parking area.

In the cool fall weather, this will be a comfortable, not-too-sweaty job. Hope you can pitch in with me!

–Tim Swartz
225-8921

October 3rd meeting: Recycling–it’s not just a good idea anymore

September 27, 2015 by Tim Swartz

We’re Back…to our regular schedule for Grange meetings on the first Saturday of the month. Join us at 4:30 for our monthly consideration of all Grange business–legislative, agricultural and health concerns…and taxes! More on that below.
At 5:45, we’ll take off our sashes, put away the Grange paraphernalia and rearrange the chairs, so we can listen to our “Program”:
What: Recycling 101
Who: Cassandra Hemenway, Zero Waste Outreach Coordinator of the CVWSMD
How much: Free!–and open to everyoneThis presentation will explain the new mandatory recycling being required for all Vermont waste generators–which includes all of us as individuals as well as the Grange Hall. It will also be an opportunity ask questions about what to do about composting, recycling specifics, and more. Do you know what the “Statewide Six” are? Cassandra will take on all your questions.Followed at 6:30 by the equally free (as well as being famous and fabulous) Grange Potluck Dinner. Make something tasty with the bounty of the harvest season, and get to know the rest of the Grange members and friends who show up to share good food and good conversation.

Property Taxes and our chances for reductions

As predicted, we spent a fair amount of time at our September meeting talking about taxes–specifically the $7,159 we are paying this year to the Town of Berlin. This is about 1/3 of our annual budget! And as we discovered when volunteers did a survey of the Granges in the state of Vermont, we seem to be the only Grange Hall which is taxed at the full local tax rate in the whole state. All of the others, we found, get at least a 50% tax break.

At our meeting, we talked about the best way to demonstrate our value to the town, and to convince the Town that we too deserve a break on our taxes. We’ve been talking with the Town Selectboard, and have proposed expanding our role as a de facto Community Hall for the town, by donating a couple of rentals per month to Town uses. We’ve found out that we would need to be on the Town Meeting’s Australian ballot to get a reduction–this is because this action would mean a (small) increase in the taxes on other property taxpayers. Our tax payments represent about 3/10 of 1% of the total taxes paid by the taxpayers of Berlin.
In order to get on the ballot, we will need to get about 120 signatures on petitions, by January of 2016. In order to get our taxes reduced, we would need to get a majority of votes on the Australian ballot voting on the first Tuesday of March.

So the question is–how to get the word out that we are worth this small subsidy? How to convince people to vote to give us this break–which will make a huge difference in our ability to survive and thrive as a community service organization with a wonderful Hall?

We didn’t come to a final decision; we voted to give our Executive Committee the authority to craft a resolution to put on the agenda of the Berlin Town Meeting in March, and to decide how to best promote it. Merry Shernock has been working with Selectboard member Jeremy Hansen to come up with ways to be more involved in Berlin, and she has been leading the struggle to figure out the best strategies for tax relief. Our meeting talked about the potential for this struggle to take more than one year, as we spread the word and get more recognized as part of the community.

A great help for the Grange would be more contacts in the Town of Berlin. Do you live there? Do you know other Grange users who do? Contact Merry using the phone number and email you’ll find a the top of these Notes.
I’m sure we will be talking more about this question–join us for these important discussions at the meeting, or on the Grange Facebook page–don’t forget to “Like” the Grange there to get all the news as it happens!

Flushed With Pride: New Bathrooms Debut

May 27, 2015 by Tova

Ready for use! Our new bathrooms got a trial run.

On May 23rd, our almost-complete bathrooms were used for the first time by a crowd attending Annie Dunn-Watson and Moshe Braner’s “Honeymoon Wedding Celebration” event. Reaction was generally positive, with people impressed by the concept and the design–and the contrast with the old bathrooms!
Our “multi-stall, all genders” bathroom design made sense to everyone with whom I spoke. Some were aware of the plans we’ve publicized for over a year, while others only realized what we were building when they saw the finished product. Having the ADA bathrooms upstairs and down, now, provides choices for anyone who is uncomfortable with the multi-stall plan.
One glitch: we have found we need to modify the stall design before we declare it complete. Once the toilets were installed last week, it became clear that the in-swinging doors don’t leave enough room for easy entry. So we have come up with alternative door plans–stay tuned to see how they work out!
Also, this coming week we will get the real lighting fixtures installed in the stalls, plus individual exhaust vents. Lights for the stalls and the ADA bathroom are controlled by motion detector switches just inside the doors; the common area lights will all stay on.
We couldn’t have gotten to this point without the help of volunteers–besides the “permanent volunteers” who keep the Grange and the Friends of the Capital City Grange Hall going, see below for the people who answered my calls for painters and cleaners!

Volunteer painters get us to the finish line!

Over the past couple of weeks, some dedicated folks have given up their sunny outdoor afternoons in spring to paint the bathroom walls, the trim and the doors. Pictures above show various members of the crew at work, including Dana and Marisa painting trim (first coat), Cynthia rolling paint, Marisa second-coating the trim, and John cleaning, while Marisa and Ann apply clear finish to the doors. Many thanks to all the volunteers!

Time for Spring Cleaning–June 6th

With construction winding down, so no more dust will be produced, we have reached the logical time to do some more cleaning, more than playing catchup with construction work.
So–join us on Saturday, June 6th, from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM to clean the dance hall, the stage, the windows (much easier than the old windows!), the lights, and more. Bring some cleaning tools if you can: window washing squeegees, rags, buckets, rubber gloves, vacuums, window and general cleaning liquids, etc. We’ll have some supplies too.
We’d love to have someone bring food for cleaners! Let me know if you can bring some snacks to keep us all going.
After the clean-up, Merry and I will have shower and nap space available in our home in Northfield Falls if people want to stay in the area before the Grange meeting at 4:30.

Grange meeting and baking contest follows the clean-up

We’ll have our usual Grange business meeting starting at 4:30 PM on June 6th, following the clean-up. We have intriguing possibilities in developing relationships with the Town of Berlin, new liability insurance investigations, and we will celebrate the completion of the bathrooms!
We’ll also have the annual Grange baking contest judging at this meeting. As usual, the recipe is the same for everyone–and the interest is in the variations that are found when different bakers work from the same starting point. This year, the recipe is for Pineapple Cookies.
We ask that every entrant bring 5 cookies on a plate, with your name on a label on the bottom. You can bring more to share after the judging, of course!
So: here’s the recipe:
3-1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1-1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup shortening
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup crushed pineapple

Sift the flour, baking soda and salt together. Beat the sugar and shortening in a mixing bowl until creamy. Add the eggs and vanilla, and beat until blended. Fold in the pineapple. Stir in the blended dry ingredients. Drop by spoonfuls, 2 inches apart on a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 400 degrees until light brown. Cool on cookie sheet for 2 minutes, and remove to a wire rack to cool completely. Yield = 3-4 dozen.
And don’t forget the Grange potluck at 6:30. Bring something tasty to share–we hope to be well-supplied with cookies!