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Members Present: Nelson Grman, Bryan Siegfried, Poonam Jain, John Fritsche, Larry Leone, Russ Masinelli, Bill Napper Members excused: Josh Rosh, Phyllis Spurney
Old Meeting Minutes
Minutes of the last meeting (June 27th, 2006) were presented by Poonam Jain. Some corrections were noted. A final vote was not yet made.
EIN number attainment
The application process for the ITS Trail Committee's Employer ID Number (EIN) was delayed by a typo on our application. The problem was recently identified and has been rectified. Within a few days the paperwork should be through. Mr. Verticchio and Poonam Jain have been working on this issue. The EIN is necessary for the establishment of an official bank account for the ITS Trail Committee.
Bank account for the ITS Trail Committee
The actual account is slightly delayed, as noted above. When it is activated, we will have three persons who may sign checks, and each check will require two signatures. John Fritsche suggested that the three people be Poonam Jain, Bryan Siegfried, and Nelson Grman. This was approved on a voice vote.
Susan McBride reports that we have a total of $780 to deposit based on our current membership of 11 persons.
Future plans for landowners contracts
A title study has been completed and 8 landowners have been identified, including the Norfolk & Southern railroad. Letters of introduction have been sent to all landowners, except the cities of Benld and Sawyerville, as proper addresses for their City Halls were not available. This letter contained general information regarding our mission and goals. One other private landowner has also not been contacted, also because a proper mailing address was not available.
John Fritsche reported that two separate railroads will be involved. The old ITS corridor operated by Norfolk & Southern goes to Sawyerville, but it crosses a route currently in operation which is owned by the Chicago Northwestern Line. If we follow the eastern corridor of the existing Chicago Northwestern rail line, we would not have to cross the line, but this would most likely require an an easement from the Chicago Northwestern line.
Since our plans may impact on the Chicago Northwestern Railway, we will send a similar letter to the Chicago Northwestern railroad. Poonam will look for a contact person for the Chicago Northwestern Railroad.
Governmental relations
Members of the ITS Trail Committee Board have discussed our goals with many local city councils. Staunton and Benld have both passed resolutions of support. Larry Leone, Rus Masinelli, and John Fritsche spoke to the Benld City Council. Russ Masinelli, Nelson Grman, and John Fritsche spoke with the Macoupin County board just today. Hopefully, they will also pass a resolution of support.
Nelson Grman has discussed the ITS Trail with the Route 66 bike trail committee at their recent meeting at the Pontiac Route 66 museum. Their chairman, Dick Westfal was encouraging about our chances for support from their committee also.
A new feasibility study was discussed briefly. John Fritsche suggested a performing a new feasibility study to help improve our chances for a future grant. Poonam Jain noted this had already been done. John Fritsche noted that Green and Bradford would likely be able to do a feasibility study for $10,000-$15,000. This is less than the cost of the previous Macoupin County Trails Organization study, because of the smaller scale and previous work already done for the MCTO study.
Plans for increasing membership A membership drive was discussed. We would like to push for membership fliers in many local businesses, along with fliers included in bills and newsletters from local businesses and governments. Several local entities have already shown some interest in helping with small notes or fliers in their regular mailings.
The fliers and posters will be based on the previous mission statement, but will need to be adjusted for easier readability and simplicity. A few areas of agreement included:
Many thanks were extended to John Fritsche for his work on the letterhead and envelopes. Discussion of improvements in website
The website is getting dated, and needs to include names of donors, etc. Several suggestions were made and will be followed up.
Attending the meeting: Poonam Jain, Jere Stiller, Larry Leone, Sylvia Lux, Susan McBride, Jarid Ott, John Caldieraro, John Fritsche, Bryan Siegfried, Bill Napper, Rus Masinelli, Nelson Grman
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Administrative Items 
