Tuesday, June 9, 2015

Dear Neighbors,

At the Gold Hill Town Meeting Monday night, it surfaced that there are some concerns and confusion around the intentions of the Town Meeting toward the Gold Run Subdivision. I am writing to try to clear this up.

The Gold Hill Town Meeting boundaries have always included the Gold Run Subdivision from way before the subdivision ever existed.  They have not changed.  The traditional boundaries went down to Summerville, out to the Switzerland Trail, down Sunshine past the Snowbound area, and down to the bottom of Lickskillet.  These are the Gold Hill Town Meeting Boundaries and not the platted township of Gold Hill or the Historical Zoning boundaries (Historical Zoning is separate from the Town Meeting and only covers the original townsite) or the Fire Department boundaries.  The Town Meeting boundaries are not changing.  Everyone within the Town Meeting boundaries is a member of the Gold Hill Town Meeting, which they can choose to participate in or not. We have no power over you or anyone else – there are no legal consequences involved.  Our purpose is stated in our bylaws:

The purpose of the Gold Hill Town Meeting, Inc. shall be:

1. To hold town meetings and provide a forum for community discussion and basis for community action, and to establish qualifications for participation therein.
2. To acquire, hold, sell, or lease real property for the general purpose of preserving the historical and natural setting of Gold Hill and the surrounding area.
3. To act as trustee.
4. To cooperate with the County Planning Department, County Health Department, and other departments of the County, State, or Federal government.
5. To take any and all other action to improve, preserve, and benefit the community of Gold Hill and the surrounding area.
6. To apply for and receive government grants or assistance, to solicit funds and donations, and undertake or sponsor community fund-raising projects.
7. To do all other acts necessary or appropriate to promote the social welfare of the community of Gold Hill.

On the town website (goldhilltown.com), under the heading Gold Hill Town Meeting on the left side, you can find all the minutes and a short piece, originally written by Jennie Rice when she was chair, called “What is the Gold Hill Town Meeting?” plus the entire bylaws and a map of the Gold Hill Town Meeting Area. Here is a link   https://goldhilltown.com/what-it-is/  There is a lot of interesting information and history on the website, in case you have not visited it before.

The Town Meeting is a tax-exempt corporation, not an incorporated town.  We became a tax-exempt corporation in 1970 in order to hold property, specifically the cemetery and the part of the meadow that was not the Sosnowski’s.  We also have another little piece we called the People’s Park sort of across from Murray and Jan Eaton’s.  The meadow had been held in trust since the town was platted and the County Commissioners were happy to deed it to the town if we became a legal entity, so we did.  It’s stipulated that it will remain open space.  The Cemetery was deeded to us when the Subdivision was platted by the developers.  As a local representative group, we have some unofficial standing with the County Commissioners, but no binding legal authority.

Our proposal to change from a 501(c)4 to a 501(c)3 is so that anyone who donates to the Gold Hill Town Meeting can write it off on their income taxes and to make it easier to apply for grant money should we want to do so.  501(c)3s are more charitable organizations and 501(c)4s can be political organizations, like the ones that support presidential candidates, etc., which we have never been anyway.  From what I can tell, the paperwork was easier for the original 501(c)4, which is why I think we chose that.  Being either a 501(c)3 or a 501(c)4 Corporation does not give us the right to make any laws, or tax anyone or impose anything on anybody.

The SOGO (South Gold Hill) designation is just a nickname and was proposed by a couple of neighbors in Gold Run – the Town Meeting had nothing to do with it, but we figured if you guys liked it, we could use it.  If you don’t, we won’t.  It was just a friendly effort.  Most of us feel like we are a community and want everyone to feel included if they want to be. We make every effort to communicate so no one is left out of any local news or happenings, etc.  I’m sorry there has been this misunderstanding and hope we can put it to rest soon.

Sincerely, Gretchen Diefenderfer, Gold Hill Town Meeting Secretary, member of the Gold Hill Community since 1965.