Paperwork

Progress on paper

The past month has been very productive but not in a way that lends itself to pictures. Foundations need to be built not just for the building but also for the organizations that support the restoration of the Grange Hall. This was a month of building organizational foundations.

The Friends of the Ashby Grange Hall (FOAGH) has been working to register with the Secretary of State as a nonprofit corporation (501c3). In early January their registration was approved. It is not an easy task to register as a corporation and, as a nonprofit, they have to register with the Attorney General as well. Thanks to everyone, especially Heather Perry, for sticking with it and making it happen.

The Friends weren’t resting on their laurels. Alice Ward worked with Worker’s Credit Union to set up a bank account. Again, a task that takes some effort as the credit union has to verify that everything is legit and verifiable. Unfortunately one document from the state was missing. Said Alice Ward, “First is that I did reach out to Margaret Scarsdale late in February since we hadn't heard anything from the state. She put her assistant on it right away, and on Dec. 31 he finally contacted me with the info to take to the bank. We would probably be waiting for that information if Ms. Scarsdale hadn't been so active.” The bank account was set up last week and now the Friends are in business.

Over at Town Hall the Historical Commission was working away to craft the Request for Proposals (RFQ) to solicit bids for the recently received $110,000 Rural Development Grant. Special thanks to Paul Lieneck of the Commission for drafting the technical portion of the document. With the assistance of Town Administrator, Mary Daughraty, the RFQ was published with responses due in early February.

Like I said, not much to photograph but the establishment of foundations that will benefit the Grange Hall in the coming months.

Finally, thank you to everyone who has helped get the project to this point. We wouldn’t be here without you. Stay tuned for more progress reports!