Trustees debate Place Boundary contract; volunteer business‑alliance group offers to form nonprofit and mentor new board

The board reopened a previously tabled item (resolution 2025R39) that would have extended a professional‑services agreement with Place Boundary to promote a local business alliance. During discussion trustees considered an alternative: a volunteer‑led nonprofit business alliance assisted by local practitioners and mentors rather than a contracted firm.

Trustee Rusty Wright introduced the volunteer option and said he and others had assembled a group of experienced downtown leaders and nonprofit operators who are willing to mentor a newly forming organization and assist with basic nonprofit startup tasks. “All these folks are happy to do this. It’s not gonna cost us a dime,” Wright said, describing conversations with local leaders including Jeff Adams (co‑founder of a prior local business alliance), Gary Frank (current executive director of a nearby organization) and Dan O’Day (current president of a regional group).

Board members and village legal counsel discussed the village’s appropriate level of support. The attorney (referred to in the transcript as Attorney Green) said the village could assist with limited administrative tasks—helping an organizer fill out the simple state incorporation form and obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN)—but that the volunteer group should remain independent and avoid ongoing village control. “The village’s office assistance extends only to helping [fill out] one simple form and setting up the EIN,” the attorney said. The attorney also said any assistance would not be billed to the village and promised only limited, nonrecurring administrative help.

Trustees debated whether to proceed with the Place Boundary contract or to back the volunteer nonprofit alternative. The board took a roll call on resolution 2025R39; the transcript shows multiple recorded “No” responses and the discussion then moved toward supporting the volunteer effort without committing public funds. Trustees suggested possible symbolic endorsements via a future committee‑of‑the‑whole resolution to demonstrate moral support while preserving organizational independence.

The volunteer group’s stated offer includes mentorship on bylaws, governance, grant writing and organization formation. Staff and trustees asked that the volunteer organizers coordinate with staff (including Katie Thompson, who was identified as a local contact) and that the village provide the limited administrative assistance described by counsel. No public funding was pledged for startup or operating expenses in the transcripted discussion.

Next steps: trustees asked staff to invite the volunteer organizers and the local contact (Katie Thompson) to a future meeting for a fuller briefing and to prepare a possible nonbinding resolution of support if the board wishes to express moral support without contracting for services.