Board Meeting Aug 7, 2026

All members were present other than Steve Stewart
A motion was made and seconded to accept the treasurer’s report and the reconciliation
statement. This carried unanimously.
Old Business:

1. John brought the model collection from the Newsom collection for us to decide on
   the best course of action for this enormous collection.
2. The new building project must be decided on.
   What do we want to put in it?
   What do we want it to look like?
   Tentative size?
3. BBQ is on Monday, July 13. We should be on track for a successful picnic.
4. Relocating the Satake car might be in the works very soon.
5. Well water for irrigation was discussed again.
6. The library setup is complete.
7. The museum was busy during the 4 th of July holiday.
8. John gave a nice presentation at the Kiwanis Club on June 17. Thanks, John. Eyes
   were opened and appreciation for our efforts were expressed.
9. The State Surplus Store purchases are on site.
10. Electrical outlets have been installed at the east end of the building for use at the
    BBQs. Also installed is a bathroom outlet for a wall-mounted blower hand dryer.
11. Gift shop items have been ordered.
12. Donations, both monetary and in-kind, continue to come in.
13. Flags have been put up along the front fence.
14. The sign holder at the front of the building is being refurbished.
15. Regarding the library: Milwaukee duplicate books will be pulled out. Repository
    books need to be brought inside from the container car and can be placed in the
    library, so they are accessible.
16. A man from Grass Range is putting a railroad museum together using the depot
    building. He has been communicating with Charley.
17. Charley suggested donated items be seen by the Board of Directors before being sold
    or traded or before leaving the building.
18. JCL Designs, LLC, is in the process of refurbishing the doors on the passenger car
    (off site).
19. The old windows that were removed from the passenger car may be Ebay-able.
20. The security cameras will be upgraded.
21. Aubrey Miller has joined the Board of Directors.

A motion was made, seconded, and unanimously carried to accept the minutes of the last
meeting.
New Business:

1. The picnic was successful and generated a profit this year.
2. The Satake car has been moved to the museum grounds. It was agreed we should
   have a sign made to be placed by or on it giving a bit of historical information.
3. EPA has agreed to remediate and clean the Satake car. James Strait from DEQ will
   be involved. EPA will do an assessment and the work to clean the car.
4. Solar options for the new building and at the depot are being researched.
   This is tentatively to house Central Montana Research Center/North American
   Railroad Library, office, reception area, shop area, AV equipment space in a
   community area, storage, coffee bar, model display area, work room, layout area for
   running trains, and lavatory. An estimate for solar panels on the depot as well as the
   new building was shared. The MSU Architecture Design class made up of eight students
   has been developing our design for the new building. The professor and the students
   will come to Harlo in the fall to discuss and decide where to place the new building.
   Board members are encouraged to attend the August 28 meeting at MSU in Bozeman.
5. July sales via Square have been good for the season.
6. Snowy Mountain Lock and Door has been contacted regarding the security
   upgrades.
7. John Larson of JCL Designs, LLC is in the process of renovating the passenger car
   doors.
8. Mark Luther has turned in his resignation from the Board.
9. Discussion was made regarding our lease for the museum and property. We would
   like to extend the expiration date.
10. Charley will investigate getting 100 ties, so we have them on grounds for any future
    needs.
11. Carla Allen of Central Montana Rail, Inc. in Denton will be kept informed about
    museum expansions and related events.
12. Library inventory: John went through 40 boxes of books from the library. He pulled
    all the Milwaukee books out. John will pursue a seller for duplicates. We need to
    make a policy on managing all duplicates, selling all duplicates to a dealer as we have
    no storage space for them.
    We are a repository for MRHA and the Dennis & Phyllis Washington Foundation.
    Three of four collections are documented in Excel. Jay Lentzner collection is not in
    Excel but rather documented with handwritten inventory.
13. The suggestion was brought up of writing a monthly newsletter to include our closed
    months, emailing them to our base.
14. Becky has created a spreadsheet that can be used for keeping track of projects from
    start to finish, which will also be useful for grant writing purposes.
15. Becky would like to have students serve as Board Ambassadors to promote more
    education and involvement from younger generations. Becky has spoken with Ms.
    Gaugler from Judith Gap about this option.
16. Relocating the Satake car increased public awareness of the Japanese community site
    and prompted community interest in learning more, participating in naming the site,
    and clarifying public access. John will speak with any necessary committee to explain
    the significance of the Satake car, the Japanese community, and the roundhouse
    project, as these are connected and must be addressed through proper procedures.
    We want to emphasize that these areas include historical, contaminated, and sacred
    sites and should be treated accordingly. No trespassing is allowed. Japan Town and
    the Japanese cemetery located within the golf course should be included in a future
    newsletter.
    The next meeting will be September 11, 2026, at 10:30 a.m.
    A motion was made and seconded to close the meeting. This was unanimously agreed upon
    and President, Charley Bennett, adjourned the meeting.