Minutes of October 22, 2008 Meeting

The third regular meeting of Sustainable Glasgow convened at 7:00 p.m. at the home of Dr. Jerry Ralston, 200 Bayles Road, Glasgow, KY, on October 22 2008. Those present were William Ray, Brenda Chaney, William Travis, Joe Trigg, and Jerry Ralston.

The first item of business considered was the two different sets of Articles of Incorporation proposed by John Rogers. William Ray explained that John suggested one method of incorporating the group if the intention of the group were to someday pursue 501(c)3 tax exempt status and another method if the group wished to be capable of taking political positions and lobbying for its chosen causes. Discussion ensued and it was eventually the unanimous consensus of the group that Sustainable Glasgow should incorporate under the latter structure such that its capacity to participate in the political process would be preserved.

The next item of business was the consideration of a plan to attract more folks to the group, both as active participants and attendees at the regular meetings and as philosophical members who believe in the causes espoused by Sustainable Glasgow and participate in those causes as well as in the on-line presence of Sustainable Glasgow, www.sustainableglasgow.blogspot.com . Discussion of the ways to expand the group took place. William Ray reported that the email listserv, sustainable@glasgow-ky.com now contains over 25 members. Jerry Ralston suggested that the group develop a document in the format of a press release, announcing the creation and incorporation of Sustainable Glasgow and the reasons for its creation, and submit that document to local new media outlets as a way of announcing our presence and attracting folks to the movement. All agreed with this suggestion and it was agreed that William Ray would create a draft of the document and post it on the site for input from all members before submission to the media.

The next item of business was the discussion of the formerly stated list of desired outcomes, especially the establishment of a full time retail space for local producers to sell their products by May, 2009. It was agreed that a group of members should formally meet with Glasgow Mayor and Barren County Judge Executive as soon as possible so they could be advised of the formation and intentions of Sustainable Glasgow. Further it was agreed that a group of members should approach South Central Bank with the idea of creating the retail facility on the site of the new South Central Bank Operations Center at the corner of L. Rogers Wells Blvd. and Cleveland Avenue in Glasgow.

Other business was discussed as well as longer range goals and ambitions for Sustainable Glasgow. The matter of regular meetings in November and December was discussed in light of the obvious conflict with Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. It was agreed to meet in November for breakfast on Thursday, November 20, at 7:00 am, at George J’s on the square.

Other discussion included a report on an initial success in bringing Joe Trigg’s vegetable producing operation together with the food purchasing folks at Barren County Board of Education such that the schools are beginning to offer locally produced vegetables as part of their daily student lunches. Joe Trigg also reported interest from three local restaurants in purchasing locally produced vegetables for their menus. William Ray advised the group of upcoming an upcoming program on KET entitled “To Market, To Market, To Buy a Fat Pig” which will appear on EPB channel 193 at 9:00 p.m. on November 1. He reported that the documentary is a great study of local food markets in cities around the nation and an outstanding way to help the group imagine what Sustainable Glasgow might be able to create here in Glasgow.

The meeting finally adjourned at about 9:30 p.m. to meet again at George J’s restaurant on November 20 at 7:00 a.m.