Chairperson Mary Lynn Ritchings called the meeting to order at 7PM.

Roll Call

Attendees were as follows:  Maryann Ellsworth, Dorothy Hadley, Janine Mastrokalos, Robyn Palang, Sandy Pasola, Mary Lynn Ritchings, Mary Steiner, Karen Testa, Sue Deitz, Arlene Testa, and Chesla Wechsler.

Review and approve January 24, 2023 meeting minutes

No changes were proposed.  Mary Steiner moved to approve and Maryann Ellsworth seconded.   Minutes are approved with nine in person votes and two in absentia votes from Gary and Penny Mecca, who approved the meeting minutes as written and unchanged.

Treasurer’s Report

Gary is on vacation but there’s nothing new to report.  We ordered flowers and bought some paint.

Joining Forces Meeting Report

Mary, who attends the meeting for the Beautification Committee (BC), stated it was canceled for this month.

The Decorating Committee is in the forming stage and the invitation was sent out on FB, under Point Beach Arts committee.    Some BC members expressed interest but would like to know more.  Volunteering appears to be the way to find out more.

The Chamber of Commerce sent a calendar of events, which Mary Lynn distributed to the committee.

The Show Us Your Heart event was well attended.  The Rec committee did an excellent job.  It was located between BamBam Burger and The Beanery.

Decorating for St. Pat’s day will start soon.  The event itself is in April.  Sham-Rock will take place in the Channel Drive area.  Councilperson Arlene Testa reported that there will be a parade that Councilperson Vitale is managing.

Planters/Gardens (clean-up, assignments, fertilizer)

Mary Lynn has assignment sheets and would like members to verify that they will be doing the same assignments as last year..  There are areas of need highlighted on the lists.    Mary Lynn would like the assignments this to be wrapped up by the April meeting.

Greens in planters should be taken out once they start appearing brown, even by removing selected brown branches.  They should all be removed before the March meeting.

Karen Testa would like to know who has fertilizer remaining so we only order what we need.

Mary Lynn will set a date in April for inserting planter plugs and topping off the potting soil special mix and ask for volunteers to help.

Flower Order

Nothing has changed.  Everything is on schedule.

Flag order

We need to place a flag order in March and we’ll ask for volunteers in April to prepare the flags for hanging. This will allow DPW to put the flags up on their schedule.  Doing the work in April avoids conflicts in May with the volume of work that we have with our planters and gardens.

Arlene reported that four local artists will create four banners each to hang on the lampposts.  DPW will be putting these up before Memorial Day weekend.  Arlene will check to see if the banner mounting can be coordinated with the flag mounting.  Military banners can still be ordered.  There is a payment due each year for the military banners.

Arlene proposed having a Garden Tour in PPB in 2024, in cooperation with our artists, to follow with something like a tea party, have an orchestra at the bandshell, etc.  Arlene plans to attend the Manasquan Garden Tour to see how they do it.  This is a great way to publicize what the Beautification Committee does.  Sandy Pasola and Mary recalled that the Library did a garden tour in the distant past.  Sandy will look at old notes to see if there are any ideas that could be reused.  We should include our own gardens in the Tour.   It’s possible to look at gardens this year to find candidates and perhaps put a flyer into the person’s mailbox or send a letter asking if they’d be willing to participate.  The planning for this needs to begin this year as there is a lot to think about and coordinate.

Special Project-Niblick/Randall Garden report

The subcommittee met (Mary, Sue Deitz, Joan Crowe, Penny Mecca, Karen, Mary Lynn) and proposed a butterfly waystation/pollinator garden.  They sized the garden in order to get cost estimates for sprinkler, etc.  Estimates have been provided to Christine Riehl.  The town will pick up the cost of the sprinkler, which is a huge help.  This garden has no shade, so it needs a sprinkler and is perfect for the butterflies.   Mary Lynn distributed a signup sheet to get together to prepare the garden (remove shrubbery, lay out a design, etc.).  The plan is to plant it in May.

Public Portion

Nothing was raised.

Janine Mastrokalos moved to adjourn the meeting at 7:47PM and Sandy seconded.