The California Progress, Inc. board of directors met Monday evening, with the search for a new executive director and further discussion of progress at Latham Memorial Family Park highlights of the meeting's agenda.
Current executive director Resa Dudley had announced her resignation earlier this month, with Aug. 27 planned as her last day. Per Board President Pam Green, the search for a new executive director is already on, as the board begins reviewing resumes for those candidates.
One of the more lengthy discussions from Monday's meeting was regarding the use of discretionary funds for the park project. Entering the meeting, the board had roughly $12,000 available in discretionary funds, and another $2,000 that was to be designated specifically for the park project. With the veterans memorial reaching completion thanks to pledged funds covering the remainder of costs for that portion, the playground portion now has the most need for diverted funds.
With a lay of the land established, the board approved directing the full $14,000 toward the playground portion, as well as any additional discretionary funding CPI receives for the next six months, until Feb. 1, 2022.
"I'll tell you guys, it's a tribute to this board that people trust us to spend their money using our discretion," Green said Monday.
In line with the funding discussion, the board also looked ahead again to its upcoming fundraising ventures. One new wrinkle that garnered approval from board members was a "Passport to Autumn Fun" mock-up presented by Green. The mailer consolidates most of the group's upcoming donation opportunities - an ongoing raffle, an Oct. 8 golf tournament, the "Spooktacular" event set for Oct. 23, and project naming opportunities - and will be sent to community members. The idea, Green said, would be to allow the public to look forward to donation opportunities all at once.
Other meeting topics related to the park project included the installation of security cameras. Tom Winters with Moniteau County Memorial VFW Post #4345 was looking into cameras for just the veterans memorial portion of the park, but CPI's board agreed Monday that they would like for any installed security cameras to cover the playground portion, too.
A group is also planning a dedication for the veterans memorial for Memorial Day next year, the board was informed. CPI wasn't yet involved in any part of the planning process, and board members discussed whether they would like to be a part of the process and when they should dedicate other portions of the park down the road.
Finally, the board briefly discussed bringing on new members, as a trio of terms - those of Ellen Ash, Matt Abernathy and Sharon Campbell - are up this year. Green said the board wouldn't need to nominate anyone new to fill their seats if they all signed on for new terms, but Ash said Monday she didn't plan to. That leaves CPI with at least one seat to fill on its board at the end of the year.
CPI's next regular monthly meeting is set for Monday, Sept. 13 at 5:30 p.m.