WILLOW AREA COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION, INC.

Willow Area Community Organization

1 week ago

AGENDA For WACO COMMUNITY MEETING 08/05/2026

WILLOW COMMUNITY CENTER 7PM

A. CALL TO ORDER

B. DETERMINATION OF QUORUM

C. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

D. APPROVAL OF PREVIOUS MEETING MINUTES: July 01,2026

F. BOARD OFFICERS’ REPORTS / ANNOUNCEMENTS
1. Chair: Tryg Erickson
2. Vice-Chair: Rodney McCambridge
3. Secretary: Sophia Boufidou
4. Treasurer: Maura Shea
5. At-Large Representative 1: Open
6. At-Large Representative 2: Danielle Barve
7. At-Large Representative 3: Hannah Eison
8. At-Large Representative 4: Lindsay Cronin

G. NEW BUSINESS
1. AIDA land Transfer
2. Request to write a letter of opposition to designating land at Mile 77 for a shooting range

H. UNFINISHED BUSINESS
1. Modify the WACO by-laws Article 6, Section 1, (B) to have the board position of Past President term of service be until replaced by a newer Past President.

I. COMMUNITY GROUPS / CLUBS
Fire Service Area, Library, Pickle Ball, WDMA, PTA, Garden Club, WHO (Farmer’s Market), SU300, Willow Junior 100, Friends of State Parks/MatSu

J. ANNOUNCEMENTS/PERSONS TO BE HEARD
Open Forum

K. CONCENT AGENDA REPORTS
1. Carnival Committee
Carnival dates are set! Jan 29, 30, 31 and Feb. 5, 6, 7. The Theme will be “The Lynx”. The T-Shirt design contest is underway. In person meetings will begin August 3rd. 1st Mondays of the month. If you have any questions please email [email protected] We are looking for mini raffle donations and door prizes donations.
Submitted by Danielle Barve, Carnival Committee Chair and WACO At-Large-Representative

2. Youth Forum (40-acre park)
No news this month.
Submitted by Linda Oxley, WACO Past Chair

3. CERT Community Service
· WACO July 4th Parade in Willow: Willow CERT volunteers worked cooperatively with community members who have partnered with us previously in promoting safety along the Parade. It was a great parade and everybody stayed safe!
· Annual Community Safety Day at Willow Farmers Market, July 24th: Willow CERT, Willow Caswell Fire Department and a Mat Su Borough Emergency Operations Center enjoyed joining together again to meet with the public to promote safety and emergency preparedness.
· Houston’s Founders Day Celebration, August 14th at 6 pm: Come join the exciting festivities at the Houston Founders Day and stop by and visit the Willow CERT booth. Last year we even walked in the Parade and we might this year!

Mat Su Borough Emergency/Disaster Preparedness website: ready.matsugov.us
Willow CERT FB Page: www.facebook.com/WillowCERT willowcert.wordpress.com
Contact Brenda McCain at: [email protected] / 907-355-1418

4. Willow Recycling
Marian Charles is now serving as the volunteer scheduling for Recycling. Our Ewaste event was held July 31. Everything continues as usual. Submitted by Fran Lynch
5. Lions Club : Our next meeting is on August 13th 7 pm at the Willow Library Meeting Room. We will have a potluck on August 27th at 5 pm at the same location. Come to the meeting or potluck and see if you’d be interested in becoming a Lion.

In Lion News: Willow Lions Membership- We’d like to invite you to join the Lions Club. We serve the community in a variety of ways. If you have a project that would help the community, let us know. Come to a meeting and check us out. Motto: We Serve!

In the Community:
- 4th of Parade and Picnic: The Lions club members enjoyed with the food for the 4th of July Picnic. Hope you enjoyed seeing us in the parade too.
- Community Calendar- Business, Organizations and Church- we are gathering ads for the Community Calendar. This calendar is distributed free to Willow Residents. We appreciate your support on this community service project.
- Kids Don’t Float- Did you know that the Willow Lions is in charge of putting out the Life jackets that keep our kids safe. Be sure to borrow one if you are out enjoying the lakes and rivers of Willow.
- Willow Lion’s Loan Closet: Does your summer company need a wheelchair, shower chair, or walker? The Willow Lions Club has medical items you can borrow. We just ask that you return them in clean and working order. Call 495-4008 for more information or to pick up items.
Willow Lions Club FB page: Willow Lion's Club ~ Contact: Sid Bertz (907-854 1570). Submitted by Laura Thomas

6. Willow Historical and Wildlife Foundation
The Museum will be open during the Summer on Fridays and Saturdays from 12-4 through August. The entrance fee is $5.00 per person or we offer affordable yearly memberships for individuals and families that includes admission to the Museum.

WHWF would like to recognize and thank Jim Huston for his endless volunteering hours and unwavering dedication to improving the Museum and Community Center. Jim has been instrumental with a current grant project for the outdoor areas at the Community Center and Museum. The public can now enjoy paved walkways behind the Community Center, including a complete walking track around the playground area. The future viewing area with seating and a paved path from the Museum to the lake is also coming along nicely. Submitted by Amber Bowman, WHWF Secretary WHWF contact information: Willow Historic and Wildlife Foundation P.O. Box 388, Willow, AK 99688 [email protected]

L. ADJOURN ... See MoreSee Less

Willow Area Community Organization

4 weeks ago

** DRAFT ** MEETING MINUTES - WILLOW AREA COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION MONTHLY MEETING
DATE 07/01/2026 7:00 p.m.

Call to order 7:01 p.m.

Board quorum was established. Community quorum was not established.

Board members present: Tryg Erickson, Rodney McCambridge, Sophia Boufidou, Maura Shea, Danielle Barve (ALR2), Lindsay Cronin (ALR4), Linda Oxley

Board members absent: Wes McClure (ALR1), who has officially resigned,

May and June 2026 meeting minutes were approved with corrections.

Agenda was approved with additions.


BOARD REPORTS

Chair:

Hannah Eison has been appointed to fill the At-Large-Representative 3 (ALR3) position. See New business section below.

Recognition of Lotto Alaska for donations of 26k last year and 10k this year.

Vice-Chair: Sabrina has left, Paul Norris has been hired 3 weeks now. This weekend is the 4th of July picnic; we are very appreciative of the sponsors: Susitna Realty, SU300, Sonic, and MatSu Credit Union. Planning for 2 Bingos in October.

Treasurer: July Treasurer’s Report

Stmt of Fin Position

Almost $152,000 in the credit union.

Stmt of Activity: Several donations: Carnival 2026 MVFCU - $2500, Sunshine Community Health Center - $500

July 4th picnic: Susitna Valley Realty - $1000,Trail Committee - $1000

Scholarship: Trail Committee $1000

Rentals – Yard sale, baby shower and health fair.

Gaming revenue – rec'd $10,593.66 from Lotto Alaska & sold PT game

Expense

Payroll – A little lower than usual because we had about 2 weeks without an employee.

Insurance and Office Expense as expected.

R&M – big refrigerator in kitchen

Paid utility invoice from the borough. Total was $16,0000. Covered March – June for diesel and snow plowing but only through May for electricity and trash.

Special event – food for July 4th.

BvA

Budget was $9K in net income but we ended the year with almost $63K in net income. So a $54K difference The biggest reasons were:

Revenue

Kitchen revenue $12K higher

Gaming revenue $17K higher including the Lotto AK revenue of $10K

R&M was under by $33k because the backyard project won’t be completed until this fiscal year.

--> Report was accepted as presented.



Budget : the following changes will be made to the budget:

Move $20,000 from corporate donations to a new Lotta Alaska line item under Gaming. There is no budget impact.

Sales revenue – Pin sales, kitchen and clothing revenue the same as actual revenue in 2026. Need to know the estimated ticket sales for the carnival concert.

Rental revenue is the same as 2026.

Gaming revenue is much higher because many more bingo nights are planned.

Special events revenue. This is really carnival related. Art and Dessert Auctions and games revenue are the same as last year’s actuals. Since carnival will run two weekends I need to know whether there will be vendor booths both weekends? Will we charge for parking both weekends?

Interest will stay about the same.

I want to reduce payroll expense by $7500. Wages are less for two reasons: paying a lower hourly rate and all hours will paid at the hourly rate instead of the flat amount. Not paying a scheduler at this time since Lindsey is taking over part of that role.

Advertising is budgeted the same as last year.

Insurance assumes a 15% increase in premiums but some of that is offset by Trails contribution for covering grooming equipment.

Office expense is the same as 2026 except I added $500 for CERT Workshop expenses.

Gaming expense is higher because there will be more prize payouts due to more bingo nights.

Contracts for accounting fees and IT support are the same. There is an added expense for hiring a performer to put on a concert at carnival.

R&M includes completion of the backyard project, doing required window and carpet cleaning, painting the stage, replacing incandescent bulbs with LEDs, purchasing sound and lighting equipment, potential kitchen repairs, and maintenance at Newman Park.

Occupancy – always a guess because some big items are weather dependent. I assumed a 15% increase for electricity and diesel. Propane depends on kitchen use. We are sitting on a full tank so it shouldn’t take more than 2 fills over the next 12 months. Trash is the dumpster plus miscellaneous dump runs. Finally snow removal is an average year.

Special Events

Food – These are either estimates given to me or based on prior year expenditures

Prizes through fireworks are based on last year.

Scholarship awards are based on estimated dessert auction revenue.

The current draft shows an operating loss of $36,000. The revised draft would reduce that to an operating loss of just under $29,000.

-->> Budget approved with these changes with no objections.

At-Large-Representatives:

a. Danielle Barve: the back to school backback drive has produced 53 backpacks already; the clothing drive is underway and it will also open to adults/Parents.

Regarding the Winter Carnival: T-shirt design contest is on now.

Ben, the pin maker of 25 yrs, will not be able to do them this year. We can discontinue or just market previous years’ inventory.

Mini raffle items still accepted.

Holiday dinner will be similar to last year.

b. Lindsay Cronin: she has taken on the management of the Comm. Center Calendar after Sabrina’s departure.



NEW BUSINESS

1. Confirmation of Hannah Eison as At-Large-Representative 3 Hannah had surgery and was not present, but she has been active in attending the WCO mtgs for years. The motion to confirm was unanimous.

2. Review/Approve 2026 4th of July Parade Guidelines: Approved.

3. Healthy Riparian Initiative, a Mat‑Su effort focused on practical steps residents can take to protect local rivers, lakes, and streamside habitats. (Elise Blocker)

4. Amendment to Article 6 Section 1,B of the by-laws regarding the term of the immediate past president to match what has been our current practice. - hope to make changes next month after reporting the intent to make these changes in multiple meetings.



H. UNFINISHED BUSINESS

1. Update on Willow property up Zero Lake proposed to be reclassified for future use as a gun shooting range.

2. Identification of WACO Recognized Groups.

The following are WACO groups: Fire Service Area, Library, Museum, Winter Carnival, Youth Forum, CERT, Recycling, Marketing Group

The following are WACO Recognized groups: Pickelball, Lions Club, PTA, Garden Club, SU300, WHO/Farmers Market, Willow Junior 100, Friends of State Parks/Matsu, WDMA, and She Mon Sun Makers.

The following groups are considered inactive and will need to reappear to WACO to be recognized by it: Willow Ice and Chamber of Commerce.

WACO COMMUNITY GROUP/CLUB REPORTS

Fire service area – 37 calls in June, 146 YTD, on par with previous years. There is no burn bans, only burn permit suspension (i.e camp fires, warming fires, etc. are allowed, provided they are attended – do not walk away and leave them burning). Fireworks are NOT allowed, call non-emergency number to report incidents. Sparklers need to be soaked after as they can be hot for a while after use.

Willow Trails, Museum, Mushers Association, SU300: no news

Library: Halfway through the Summer reading program, tomorrow they will have cake for the 250 years America anniversary. Many fun activities. Julie is retiring, a successor will be announced next week.

Pickleball: Still playing

PTA: Events starting soon

Friends of State Parks/Matsu: funds have been allocated to improve local trails.

WHO(Farmers Market) occuring every Friday 2-7, with live music on occasion.

Willow Junior100: it went well last year. This year will be the 20th year and will add a second, shorter race.

ANNOUNCEMENTS/PERSONS TO BE HEARD

Linda Oxley: youth forum is still working on the Natural Area but funding will occur too late to proceed with building it this summer.

State Representative McCabe: not having approval yet for the gas line will lead to price increases – currently having special sessions which are very costly. Need to get financing, it’s a100 yr project.

Political candidates Peter Bauer (running for Senate District O) and Sandra Loomis (running for State Representative District 30) were present and introduced themselves.

Brenda thanked the community for the participation at the emergency fair, 25% increase in participants from previous years.

Adjourn 8:17pm

Chair/Tryg Erickson ______________________ ____________

Title / Name Signature Date



Secretary/Sophia Boufidou ______________________ ____________

Title / Name Signature Date ... See MoreSee Less