Friends of Fellsmere Heights Newsletter

Hello Friend,

Another winter is closing in. Here’s hoping we get some good sledding this year! This newsletter discusses:

• Upcoming Open Space Community Forum
• A procedural change regarding our Zoom meetings
• FoFH Board meeting later this month

Open Space Community Forum

The Malden Office of Strategic Planning and Community Development is holding a Community Planning Forum this coming Wednesday, November 13, from 6 to 8 PM at the Malden YMCA, 99 Dartmouth Street. The purpose is to continue the process of updating Malden’s Open Space Plan. The open space at the former hospital site will be a large component of this plan, so we hope many of our Friends will turn out. More information and a form to indicate you will attend is available at https://form.jotform.com/241406977311153

Photos of the Park

In our last newsletter, we asked for your pictures of Fellsmere Park. We are grateful to Julie Connors for her generous response. The following is my personal favorite, both for what it is, and what it isn’t – a charming view of a favorite place, without a building looming over it! We are finally seeing the view from the far side of the Pond as Frederick Law Olmsted planned it.

Please continue to send your pictures in!

Board Meeting

Our next meeting is scheduled for Saturday, November 23, from 10:30 AM to 12 noon, and will begin with a formal Board Meeting, as required in the Friends of Fellsmere Heights By-laws. The meeting will be held in person, and the site and agenda will be sent closer to the date. If there is any matter you wish to bring to the Board, please reply to this email.

Procedural Change

Those who attend our Zoom meetings know that we usually don’t send out links to the Zoom call in our general emails. Instead, we’ve asked you to click a link to access a “hidden” page on our website and send us your RSVP. The email acknowledging your planned attendance contains the link.

We do this to make sure that our meetings are secure. I’m sure you’ve all heard stories of unpleasant people taking over Zoom calls. However, Nationbuilder, provider of our mass email tool, web page, etc., has changed their security procedures. They now require additional passwords to access non-public areas of the website. Thus, hidden event pages no longer seem to be useful for our many supporters who don’t necessarily want to have to sign in to another website.

We are still working with Nationbuilder on this issue, and in the meantime, we will develop a method to maintain our privacy and your security during Zoom meetings. More on this as things change.

Hoping to see you soon!

Lauren McGillicuddy, Clerk

Friends of Fellsmere Heights