Friends of Taylor Wildlife Preserve
​Annual Meeting Minutes
​Sunday, March 17, 2019

  1. Attendees-                Mike Zickler, Peter and Lily Taylor, Susan Snipes-Wells, Jonathan Snipes, Tom Wells, Suzanne Day, Kathleen Colley, Michael Robinson, Jenna Forte, Mac Bailey, Stephanie Bailey, Lunden Abelson, Daniel Hunter, Joan and Miller Biddle, Sandy Rea, Stephanie Judson, Joseph Sheets, Josh Birchard.
  2. Approval of 2018 Annual Meeting minutes-       Minutes from the 2018 meeting were approved and can be found on the website. 
  3. Officers and Executive Board members and Terms - (current list is available on website). Tom Wells, Kathleen Colley, Jenna Forte and Daniel Hunter agreed to serve as new Board members. All current Board Members who were present agreed to serve for an additional two year terms, for 2019-2020. Board members who were not present will be contacted to confirm that they are willing to serve for additional two year terms.
  4. Treasurer’s report  - see attached. 
  5. Past Year’s Activities  
    1. Annual Meeting held March 18, 2018
    2. Bird and butterfly walk with Steve Sobocinski held first Saturday in May, 2018.
    3. Several Cleanup days were held, co-sponsored by Raritan Valley CC and Clean Ocean
    4. Action at Wright’s Cove and near Plum Point, and by NJ American Water Company
    5. along the shoreline by the water intake structure.
    6. Contributed $500 to WFS gala.
    7. Narrow lane was cleared of overhanging trees and brush
  6. Update of Ongoing Activities:
    1. Maintenance work on the kiosk area (mulch/wood chips; mowing of grassy areas during growing season; trash control (Need to purchase new trash can)
    2. Plum Point river bank trail stabilization
    3. Deer/Turkey/Beaver control – no specific actions required,.
    4. Projects to work on for 2019. Our landscaper will be tasked to maintain the narrow
    5. lane and trails, and remove choking grape vines from trees. The area around the observation platform needs attention, including shrubs in the marsh restricting the view, and graffiti removal. The property line with NJNLT needs to be clearly identified.
    6. Joe Sheets volunteered to help with tee shirt/hat design and production.
    7. We are extremely grateful to the Washington Crossing Audubon Society for their
    8. generous grant again this year, and will send them a letter of appreciation.
  7. Bird Walk:    Steve has suggested Saturday May 11, with rain date of May 12, which was approved. Walk will begin at 0730 this year.
  8. Newsletter:    Several members expressed interest in making written contributions.
  9. Westfield Friends School Gala – a donation of $500 was approved again this year. WFS has been participating in site visits, picnics, environmental awareness, etc.
  10. Other issues - there was a spirited discussion re: the Executive Board becoming more proactive and forward looking. Potential topics include invasive species control; an accurate environmental inventory of the Preserve; a compilation of the history of the property (including written material, Quaker institutions, local historians, Archeology, native artifacts, etc); and outreach/grant possibilities with other likeminded organizations. We agreed to set up another meeting next month with selected Board members to brainstorm this further.
    The meeting agenda was completed and adjourned at 345 pm.