Minutes of Feb. 4, 2003 Meeting: Friends of Rutland Center Church and Cemetery

Meeting Minutes
Friends of Rutland Church and Cemetery
Meeting at Oregon Senior Center
February 4, 2003 at 2:00 p.m.

Members present: Rev. Cindy Bacon, Dawn George, Carole Peterson, Joanne Gafke, Chuck Anthony, Mark Hanson and Co-chairman, Jean Hanson.

Guest: Deirdre March, Representative from Burial Sites Division, Wisconsin Historical Society

Members absent: Myron Bacon, Chairman

Jean Hanson called the meeting to order at 2:05 p.m.

Purpose: Following introductions, the committee began by discussing its purpose and a name for the committee. The group agreed that its purpose is to develop a plan to assure the long term security and restoration of the Rutland Center Church and Cemetery. Having been created by the Rutland Town Board, the committee will gather information and make recommendations to the Town.

Name: The committee will be known as the Friends of Rutland Center Church and Cemetery.

Goals: Following lengthy discussion and input the following goals were set for the group:

Ownership: Members wanted assurance that the church is in fact owned by the town and that the town had the right to proceed with restoration plans.
-Cindy Bacon agreed to look into the church history.
-Cindy, Jean and Mark agreed to look at Dane County Property Records to confirm ownership.
-Dawn said she was sure the Town had deeds in its lock box. She agreed to check.
Catalog: The group agreed that the next order of business was to get the cemetery "cataloged," a fairly easy legal process that requires the completion of a simple form. The law provides a number of protections for cemetery properties that are registered or cataloged with the Historical Society. Dawn agreed to complete and submit the forms for both the Rutland Center and Graves cemeteries.

Registry: A Registry of Interested Persons is available for people and groups who want to be notified if something is happening to the cemetery. We can fill out an online form that's available from Historical Society. And we could put a link to this on our website. Mark will look into this.

Corner lot: Look into acquiring the lot on the corner. Someone should contact the owner to see if he's willing to sell or perhaps give the land to the town. Task not assigned.

History: Find more information about the history of the church and the cemetery:
The Wisconsin State Old Cemetery Society might have information. Bev Sildorf very involved. Husband Don is treasurer. They are a group of volunteers interested in old cemeteries. They catalog cemeteries from genealogical point of view. Task not assigned.
Search the on line Historical Society library archives at www.wisconsinhistory.org for info on church. Also check their website for info on Historical Places in Wisconsin. Task not assigned.
Visit the Historical Society Library in Madison and seek additional help. Task not assigned.
Check the picture library at the Historical Society. Deirdre will do that and then contact Jean about what she finds.

Website: Mark and Jean introduced the website that they have created through Mark's CTF Web Services business. The website will contain information about the property and the plan to restore the church. Committee meeting agendas and minutes, historical documents, old photos and other information about the project will be archived on the site. The URL is www.rutlandchurch.org.

Advertising: Myron had suggested we advertise in the Stoughton and Oregon papers for new members to join the committee and/or contribute to the project. Dawn indicated that funding was available to pay for the ads. Jean will arrange for the ads to be placed.

Next Meeting: The committee agreed to meet again in the Oregon Senior Center on March 13th at 2:00 p.m.

Meeting adjourned at 3:48 p.m.

Respectively submitted,

Mark Hanson

Ownership:	Members wanted assurance that the church is in fact owned by the town and that the town had the right to proceed with restoration plans. -Cindy Bacon agreed to look into the church history. -Cindy, Jean and Mark agreed to look at Dane County Property Records to confirm ownership. -Dawn said she was sure the Town had deeds in its lock box. She agreed to check.
Catalog:	The group agreed that the next order of business was to get the cemetery "cataloged," a fairly easy legal process that requires the completion of a simple form. The law provides a number of protections for cemetery properties that are registered or cataloged with the Historical Society. Dawn agreed to complete and submit the forms for both the Rutland Center and Graves cemeteries.
Registry:	A Registry of Interested Persons is available for people and groups who want to be notified if something is happening to the cemetery. We can fill out an online form that's available from Historical Society. And we could put a link to this on our website. Mark will look into this.
Corner lot:	Look into acquiring the lot on the corner. Someone should contact the owner to see if he's willing to sell or perhaps give the land to the town. Task not assigned.
History:	Find more information about the history of the church and the cemetery: The Wisconsin State Old Cemetery Society might have information. Bev Sildorf very involved. Husband Don is treasurer. They are a group of volunteers interested in old cemeteries. They catalog cemeteries from genealogical point of view. Task not assigned. Search the on line Historical Society library archives at www.wisconsinhistory.org for info on church. Also check their website for info on Historical Places in Wisconsin. Task not assigned. Visit the Historical Society Library in Madison and seek additional help. Task not assigned. Check the picture library at the Historical Society. Deirdre will do that and then contact Jean about what she finds.
Website:	Mark and Jean introduced the website that they have created through Mark's CTF Web Services business. The website will contain information about the property and the plan to restore the church. Committee meeting agendas and minutes, historical documents, old photos and other information about the project will be archived on the site. The URL is www.rutlandchurch.org.
Advertising:	Myron had suggested we advertise in the Stoughton and Oregon papers for new members to join the committee and/or contribute to the project. Dawn indicated that funding was available to pay for the ads. Jean will arrange for the ads to be placed.