May 2021 Meeting Minutes

Freeport Merchants Association

Meeting Minutes

May 20th, 2021

Present: Chase Barfield.

Ethan Barfield

Yolanda Ellis

Aaron Ellis

Nico Powell

Bill Blanken

Melissa Miller

Scott Miller

Ann Kurz

Allene Register

Betsy Steinbaum

Nancy Spears

Laura Pentel-Klang

Next meeting: June 17th, 2021, 8:00am, Blount House

1. Announcements

• Current Membership Total: 60

- We have grown almost 50% in the past year

• Current account balance: $3378

• Large Expense:

- They finally cashed the check for the nonprofit status. We are hoping to get the notification

letter any day.

• Nonprofit status 2021:

- All membership fees paid for 2021 will be retroactive as a donation. Members will receive a

letter at the end of the year regarding their donation, for tax purposes

• Name tags:

- They are at the printer. We should have them for the next meeting.

• Membership Committee

- New Member: Bay Life – They publish local family newspapers

Freeport Merchants Association

Meeting Minutes, May 20th, 2021

Page 2

o If you are not receiving this publication, please call the post office and request to

receive “Bay Life”

o Second edition covers Niceville and Valparaiso

o They welcome and information on events and celebrations – feel free to send to

Scott: sales@mybaylife.net or Lori Smith, their publisher:

publisher@mybaylifenwfl.com

o Visit them online at: https://mybaylifenwfl.com/ and on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/BayLifeNWFL/

• Business Intro Emails:

- Some members have participated, some have not

o If you have not participated yet and want an introduction sent out to the

membership base, please write a summary and send it in

There will be no edits made so however you send it in is how it will be sent

out – copied and pasted, no auto or manual corrections will be made.

o The application for membership now asks for a description so it can be circulated

• Business Checklist Program:

- Topics already volunteered for and cover by:

o Legal: Laura Patel-Klang

o Financial: Bill Blanken

o Technical Infrastructure: Ethan Barfield

o Culture Development: Aaron Ellis.

- Topics Needing Volunteers:

o Accounting

o Insurance

o Marketing

o Sales

o Location

• June Social will be hosted by Aaron and Yolanda Ellis at the Hammock Bay Lake club: TV

room and outside patio.

Freeport Merchants Association

Meeting Minutes, May 20th, 2021

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2. Discussion

• May 22nd Event: A Night Out for the Library

- Saturday 4-10pm

• FDOT Road Widening Project

***For questions reach out to Laura Pentel-Klang lpentel@destinlaw.com 850.837.3662***

- Hwy 20 road widening project going from King Road to Black Creek Blvd.

- Eminent domain on all homes and business – State will come to make offers to purchase the

properties along Hwy 20.

- There are 15 businesses and 20 homes that will be relocated

- Some people have businesses and homes that have been in the same place for generations

o We want to make sure the state pays what each property is worth

o Do not accept the first offer

o Engineers and lawyers will work with the state to get the best prices possible. State

pays all fees.

- Intersection at 311 and 20 – they are adding additional turning lanes when they widen Hwy

20.

- They have not given a specific timeline yet, but Tallahassee thinks it will be bumped up on

schedule due to the influx of people and money coming in to Freeport.

- Estimated 3 years out but that is not set in stone.

- State has not issued letters to property owners yet

- There have been 2 public meetings in the last 2 years.

- It is suggested and encouraged to get your ducks in a row and is in your best interest to do

so sooner or later.

***Attorney Laura Pentel-Klang is happy to help and again, the state pays her fees, not the

property owners. Reach out to her for more information and guidance at:

lpentel@destinlaw.com 850.837.3662***

• New Library

- Location has been a moving target...Current chosen location is just north of Planning and

Zoning office, behind the bar.

- Current library is 4,000 Sq. ft. Minimum compliance for Florida State Law – it has to be over

9,000 Sq. ft.

Freeport Merchants Association

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- They want to raise enough funds to fund the entire building

o Initial estimate was about 1M

o Estimates where done prior to the lumber prices raising

o New estimate is comfortably at least 1M, less that 2M

April 2021 Meeting Minutes

Freeport Merchants Association

Meeting Minutes

April 15th, 2021

Present: Chase Barfield

Ethan Barfield

Nancy Spears

Yolanda Ellis

Aaron Ellis

Nico Powell

Bill Blanken

Rick Gonzales

Melissa Miller

Keith Miller

Next meeting: May 20th, 2021, 8:00am, Blount House

1. Announcements

• Current Membership Total: 59

- We have grown almost 50% in the past year

• Current account balance: $2801

• Expenses to pay:

- Membership works portal – auto pay

- 501c6: $60

• Preparing for 501c6 Status and moving forward:

- We will need to do a few things a little more formally.

- As we continue to grow, we will be putting processes into place so that all who volunteer

can do their responsibilities in an easier more efficient fashion.

- The Secretary will reach out via email, one week in advance of the next monthly meeting

requesting any items you would want added to the agenda which you would like to discuss.

- The morning meetings will now be compiled into a formal set of minutes. They will be

uploaded to the Minutes Section of our website https://thefma.online under

News>Minutes. You must use your username and password that you have to manage your

membership account in order to access them. Minutes will be up within a week of our

morning meetings.

Freeport Merchants Association

Meeting Minutes, April 15th, 2021

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• Aaron Ellis appointed Secretary

- Voted in by the board

- Jeff Weller requested to step down from position due to his level of other responsibilities

• Due to the May 22nd Event, we will not have an evening social in May.

• Membership Committee

- Bill Blanken and Josh Spears are taking over

o They will share who the new members are at each meeting

o Secretary will send them a report prior to each meeting

- Freeport Jujitsu joined

o Rob and Lisa are the owners

o They have a big “Family type” event coming up on May 10th

- Rick Gonzales will be doing “Thursday Promote Your Business” in his Freeport Insider Group

o Bill Blanken will monitor to see who is not a member yet and reach out to them to

share about the FMA

• Business Intro Emails:

- Some members have participated, some have not

o If you have not participated yet and want an introduction sent out to the

membership base, please write a summary and send it in

There will be no edits made so however you send it in is how it will be sent

out – copied and pasted, no auto or manual corrections will be made.

o The application for membership now asks for a description so it can be circulated

• Business Checklist:

- Received feedback

o Asked to add Sales - process, planning, forecasting

o Asked to add Location – office needs, physical, virtual, how to choose, etc.

o Asked to add Culture Development – creating an environment for success and

thrive, personal value proposition, team member selection, etc.

- We are ready to ratify and formalize

o Legal

o Accounting

Freeport Merchants Association

Meeting Minutes, April 15th, 2021

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o Insurance

o Technical Infrastructure

o Financial

o Marketing

o Sales

o Location

o Culture Development

• FMA Emails:

o Emails used to be in person’s name@, with the 501c6 filing, emails will be created

based on position. i.e., president@, secretary@

2. Discussion

• May 22nd Event: A Night Out for the Library

Full details can be found here > https://thefma.online/events/a-night-out-for-the-library

- All members can have a booth at no cost (not required)

- A donation is suggested for members.

- Nonmembers are able to get an event space

o Any business that wants to do a sponsorship and/or pay for a booth can pay with

cash, check, PayPal, and Venmo as well.

o Early bird special for non-members is ending soon

- Members, if you can take a shift in the FMA booth, this would be helpful

***Get in touch with Lori Logue – Lorilogue1220@gmail.com or Kaylee Pylant Casey –

Pelicanprintshack@gmail.com, regarding all of the above***

• Sponsorship form

- There is a form for sponsorship that needs to be revisited

o Needs to be more descriptive with more imagery describing what each level of

sponsorship gets.

o Kaylee is working on this.

• Advertising for the event:

- Lori, Kaylee and others have been doing a lot of word of mouth

Freeport Merchants Association

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- Library is pretty good at getting the word out

- Barbara at city hall will tell everyone that walks in the door there.

- Lori and Kaylee have created an e-event on the FMA page and an event on Facebook and

they will be sending out reminders and notifications.

- Members can share these events and invite members right from the event page.

- Social media marketing for the event is in motion

o Any members who see the posts, etc. and has any ideas, please send them to Lori

Logue - Lorilogue1220@gmail.com

Rain Date for the Event:

- Lori and Kaylee are working on getting one set up

Needs:

Reach out to Lori Logue – Lorilogue1220@gmail.com or Kaylee Pylant Casey –

Pelicanprintshack@gmail.com

- Volunteers for FMA booth

- Creating a map

- Punch cards

- Contacting local businesses

- More sponsors

- Silent Auction

- 50/50 raffle

- Band/Singer – There is one lined up and we would love to have 2-3

April 2019 Meeting Minutes

Freeport Merchant’s Association – Monthly General Meeting 18Apr19

Welcome and pledge – Amy

Thanks to for coffee and food provided by FMA – Jennifer

Committees (still need volunteers) – Jeff

• Membership volunteers (help get new members)

• Event volunteers (help with events, including finding hosts)

Host For June Evening Social (May is TipToes) – Jeff

• Adriane Rily with Style Dots will be hosting on June 6.

Accounting Report (anything relevant to FMA accounting)- Nanci

• Membership payments

• Tax filing

• Nanci is in process of filing for 503c status for FMA

Signs and banners (cont) – Chase

• FMA wants to get copies of actual ordinance (Tim will get) and get this on the City Council’s agenda as it is felt to be selectively enforced and a hinderance to small business advertising

Website – Chase – Taken off City of Freeport –

Requesting posts

• Any member can post on the website & it will increase search capacity and visibility on the web.

Intro Answer This Question (how it works) – Amy

• This was postponed as the group spent time discussing various topics, including ways to increase membership and visibility in the community. The idea of an FMA discount card was discussed at length. With proceeds going to a non-profit org.

Any other questions, comments, concerns – Nanci

Close Meeting – Chase

February 2019 Meeting Minutes

Call Meeting to Order – Jennifer Laird

Pledge of Allegiance – Jennifer Laird

Thank you for coffee & refreshments – Jeff Weller

• Coffee provided by Sweet Southern Comfort

• Café & Pastries provided by JNS Financial

FMA Web site – Chase Barfield

• Profiles

  • Members, please go out to the FMS website & complete your profiles

• Listed on Freeport City Site

  • FMS Is now listed in a more conspicuous place on the Freeport City website

FMA Committees – Chase Barfield

• Membership volunteers

• Event volunteers

  • We are looking for committee volunteers

Reporting questions, comments, issues – All

• No comments from the floor

Discuss signs and banners – Chase Barfield

• There is a city ordinance prohibiting signs and banners except for realty or politics.

• It appears to be selectively enforced.

• Deron is going to locate a copy of the ordinance.

• FMA will look to act with the City Council in some fashion as it appears to be prohibitive to a healthy business environment.

Need a Host for FMA Evening Social – March – Jeff Weller

• We are looking for a host for the March social

Introduce Speaker – Jeff Weller

• Guest Speaker Nanci Watkins – Tax Changes for 2019 & How they impact small businesses

  • Tax Law Changes

    • There is no deduction anymore for entertainment

    • Still allowed a certain amount of meal deductions at 50% for clients

    • There is a 21% flat tax for corporations

    • LLC’s are allowed $20,000 in deductions

    • You can depreciate assets 100% in first year

    • The limits on business losses have increased

    • There is a minimum of $250 per donation for charitable donation deductions

    • FILE ON TIME!!! Penalties and interest charges are HUGE!

Final Comments & Adjourn meeting – Jennifer Laird

• The Tax Collector Office will be having an Open House at its new location in Freeport on Wednesday February 27th from 9:00 – 11:00 am.

• The office will then have a “Soft Opening” the following day.

January 2019 Meeting Minutes

Freeport Merchant’s Association – Monthly General Meeting 17 Jan 19

Meeting Call to Order – Chase Barfield

Pledge of Allegiance – Amy Blizzard

Thank you for donations of refreshments – Jennifer Laird

– Coffee: Sweet Southern Comfort Café

– Pastries: JNS Financial Services

New Member Welcome – Amy Blizzard

Request for After Hours Host – Jeff Weller

– Amy Resiak with Premier Designs Jewelry Volunteered to host

Introduction of Board Members – Chase Barfield

Review of Billing and Dues Information: Nanci Watkins

Website Review and Information: Chase Barfield

Main Speaker “How to Protect Your Business Accounts” – Debbie Uezato AVP & Branch Manager Trustmark Bank

Question & Answers for the Association

Auto Draft available for dues? – Yes

Is the website live? – Yes

How many members are allowed per company? – Currently Unlimited

When are meetings and socials?  3rd Thursday each month at 8:00 am and 1st Thursday evening

Announcement of Veterans Memorial Golf Tournament – Tim Ard

Close Meeting – Chase Barfield