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Board weighs paid wine‑tasting at library to fund dune education; members debate cost and timing
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Summary
The Town of Highland Beach advisory board on Nov. 5 reviewed a proposed library wine‑tasting and pairing event intended to pair resident outreach with a short coastal‑science presentation; board members discussed costs, dates and whether to charge attendees.
Members of the Town of Highland Beach Natural Resources Preservation Advisory Board discussed a proposed wine‑tasting event at the library intended to attract residents to dune‑restoration education and fundraising.
The outline presented calls for 40–50 guests, a hosted tasting with short presentations about each wine and small complementary food plates, and a speaker to summarize dune restoration findings. The wine distributor Massimo Batista and restaurant Italiano (owners Fabio and Mahida) were proposed as providers; the wine list in the outline includes Pinot Grigio, an Amalfi Coast white, Pinot Noir, Montepulciano d'Abruzzo and Moscato.
Cost and scheduling
The proposal's original conceptual cost to the town was described at the Sept. 17 meeting as roughly $600–$800; the board reviewed a revised estimate described in the outline that increases the town’s subsidy need to roughly $3,000. Miss Allen said staff would have to discuss the revised cost with the town manager. Board members ran preliminary math and suggested charging an attendee fee of roughly $40 if the town covered a partial subsidy (for example, $800) to keep net costs manageable.
Timing and format
Members discussed dates and timing; they favored mid‑week evening slots to avoid weekend scheduling conflicts and suggested a 6 p.m. start rather than 5:30 p.m. The board asked the event organizer to propose two or three candidate dates so staff can confirm provider and library availability; candidates discussed included early‑to‑mid February (Feb. 10–12 or Feb. 11) and dates in mid‑November as backups.
Program aims and logistics
The educational component would include a short, 20‑minute presentation by a coastal consultant (the board mentioned Doug "Doc" Mann or Dan Belante) followed by questions and a guided tasting. The menu in the outline lists small plates such as quadranti focaccia, arancini, small lasagna portions, eggplant, meatballs, and desserts. The restaurant would offer guests a discount on additional bottle purchases; the outline reported the provider would offer a 20% discount but not wholesale pricing.
Next steps
- Event organizer Karen Jones (via the board) will request two or three dates from the distributor and restaurant; staff will confirm library availability. - Board member Kiki Baxter was asked to draft an invitation that staff can route to the town manager and to the board for review; Miss Allen asked that materials be submitted at least 10 days before the agenda for any meeting where the board would approve invitations or budgets.
Provenance: Discussion of the wine‑tasting outline began at 00:27:52 and continued through scheduling and budget discussion until approximately 00:48:00.
