1. Town Meeting: The annual town meeting will take place on May 21 at 10 a.m. in the school auditorium.
2. Lallas Property: There has been some interest in this property and Selectman Rodd Hopper will be putting it on the market

1. Draft project agreement: The final draft has been approved by the Selectmen and a copy for their signature is expected soon. The title opinion has to be updated by the Town Attorney and a copy of the 2002 warrant article stating that Town will accept the funds must be sent to the State, after which the funds will be released.
2. Church Property: No report.
3. Tax-exempt Status: David Tonry said the Committee should file a form 1023 in order to obtain 501(C)3 status. This would allow a donor to deduct 100% of a contribution up to 50% of his or her income. It is also possible to get a letter from the IRS saying that the Schmid Preserve Committee is a 501(C)3 organization. If the income of the organization is less than $25,000 a tax return need not be filed.

1. Spring Newsletter: A draft was distributed for comments by the committee. Changes should be sent to Amanda Russell by Friday, April 22
2. Town Report: Bob Leone has completed his report on the Schmid Preserve for the Town Report and copies were distributed.
3. Visitor Registers: These have not yet been installed in the kiosks.
4. Bird-dog Training:

   Mark Warren, Inland Fish & Wildlife, distributed application forms and rules and explained the process for becoming a propagator which is necessary to hold birds (pheasants) for training dogs. The two-year permit costs $28. This allows a person, upon inspection of his or her facility, to hold birds, release them and shoot the birds as a part of hunting dogs' training. An additional $28 permit is necessary if birds are being bought out of state. A one-year permit which costs $13 may be obtained to use fire arms while training dogs in the presence of a propagator. Small shot is used which carries the least distance. He said the area should be posted on days of activity and there isn't any greater risk than during hunting season. Most of the dog training is done before the hunting season. Mark Warren said that hunting safety programs were started in the 1950s and most years there are only one or two minor hunting injuries even though 250,000 hunting licenses are issued.

   Barry Hathorne suggested that if there were limits on the days for dog training, then there should be limits on the days for horseback riding and other activities. He trains his dogs on the preserve and said he would continue to do so. He added that the preserve was left to the town by Charles Schmid, who was a hunter, for residents to enjoy for hunting as well as hiking and other activities. There was discussion on the safety issue, whether warning signs should be posted, whether days or time should be limited, etc. It was the consensus that inasmuch as there were no rules forbidding the activity, the committee should take no action. It was recommended that educational not prohibitive action be taken. An indication that dog training with firearms is allowed will be posted on the kiosks.

1. Bridge Construction: Work on the bridge was scheduled for Sunday, May 15, from 9 to 12 providing that wood is available for the decking, otherwise trail clearing will be done. Volunteers will meet at the Bob Brown parking lot.
2. Spring Work trips: May 2 and 16 from 5 to 7 p.m. were set as times for trail clearing or brush clearing in the Middle Road field. Volunteers will meet at the Bob Brown parking lot on Middle Road.

In response to an email from Midcoast Stewards, Deb Sondergaard will list activities that have taken place on the preserve as well as ongoing boundary inspection and maintenance for which volunteers are needed.

None