Advisory board presses to form Friends group as town confirms it can accept donations; outstanding $631.50 check flagged

At the Feb. 19 advisory board meeting members flagged an outstanding $631.50 check from December 2023 related to the Bay Oaks Christmas tree festival that has not cleared the bank and discussed forming a functioning Friends of Bay Oaks organization to support fundraising and project advocacy.

A board member reported the check has not cleared and said the original account signatories are no longer available or are unsure how to proceed; the board agreed to ask the issuer to void and reissue the payment and to move the discussion about the Friends organization to a future agenda to determine officers and banking arrangements.

Board members emphasized the need to recruit a separate Friends board because municipal advisory board members cannot serve simultaneously on the nonprofit board that will solicit donations. The advisory board set a goal for each member to bring two candidate names for Friends board membership to the next advisory meeting.

Staff addressed tax and donation questions: the town can accept monetary and in‑kind donations, staff said, and contributions to the town are reportable for tax purposes under government contribution rules (the staff liaison referenced the town’s receipt status and that donors may report such gifts for tax purposes). Staff and board members also discussed using a 501(c)(3) friends group for proactive fundraising and donor stewardship, noting a friends group or a 501(c)(3) can provide solicitation and donor relations that the town alone typically does not perform.

Ending: The board set a near‑term tasking for recruiting Friends candidates and asked staff to follow up on bank paperwork and to advise on the correct process to receive a reissued check and to document donations properly.