CVB reorganization continues with first meeting of officers
The first meeting of the new officers committee of the Putnam County Convention and Visitor Bureau could end up being the last.
The committee of president Rick Patel, vice president Eric Wolfe, secretary Gail Smith and treasurer Michele Faison met Wednesday evening at the CVB office, discussing a number of issues that were tabled during the meeting of the full CVB board meeting in late May.
During a discussion of the bylaws, the subject of the need for the officers committee was discussed. One of the problems that led to the recent reorganization of the CVB board was the lack of access that "regular" board members had under the previous administration.
Additionally, if the officers committee is not officially prescribed by the bylaws, it can meet unencumbered by Indiana Open Door Law requirements. The flip side is the committee will have no official power, but as less than a quorum of the board (six of 11 members), the four officers can meet privately and freely.
The four officers reached a consensus on the matter and agreed to bring it before the entire board at the Tuesday, June 16 meeting.
A review of the current bylaws, as well as suggestions from the Indiana Tourism Association, will be conducted to see if the bylaws need updating.
With the CVB staff currently on administrative leave, some of the tasks have been passed elsewhere.
For example, Tami VanRensselaer of Main Street Greencastle and the Greencastle Economic Development Center, as well as Elaine Peck of the Putnam County Community Foundation, recently approached Wolfe about placing local travel brochures in the lobby of their organizations' shared workspace, the Putnam County Partnership Center, until the CVB office reopens.
Wolfe took them up on this, and a sign on the front door of the CVB now points visitors a half block west to the Partnership Center, 2 S. Jackson St.
Additionally, payroll has been outsourced to Hammer and Company, a move that may be permanent.
CPA Mark Hammer also came up in a discussion of an upcoming audit of CVB finances. With an outside auditor likely to be hired, Hammer has offered to help get files in order beforehand.
With a plan to put audit proposals before the board at the upcoming meetings, Faison is contacting two different vendors, Char's Accounting and Blue and Co., to interview them as potential auditors.
Another important hire will be that of legal counsel. The committee hopes to continue consulting with Glenn Bowman, the Brownsburg attorney who sat in on the previous CVB meeting, for a couple of months. However, permanently retaining Bowman is extremely unlikely.
While working with Bowman temporarily, CVB officials will seek a local attorney to work with permanently. Although he did much work in helping reorganize the board, County Attorney Jim Ensley does not seem interested in working with the board on a permanent basis.
The officers also announced that when the entire board meets on June 16, it will convene at 6 p.m. for an executive session to discuss personnel issues. Any personnel decisions will be made in an open meeting.