Bike Edmonton Board Meeting Minutes for December 2023
Board meetings are open to Bike Edmonton members and the public.
- Location: Google Meet
- Start Time: December 11, 2023 7pm
Please RSVP to board@bikeedmonton.ca if you plan on attending. Please include a brief summary of any agenda item you would like to table. Thank you!
Attendance
- Attendance: Marcel, Stephen, Nazz, Daniel, Alexandra, Sarah (left early, after minutes and agenda was approved), Keith, Matt
- Guests: Greg Glatz, Adam Burgess, Coreen
- Regrets: Gino
- Absent:
- Meeting Chair: Stephen
- Minute Taker: Alexandra
Call to Order
- Meeting called to order at 7:09 pm
Logistics for Next Meeting
- Date: December 11th, 2024 8:30pm
- Location: Google Meet
- Chair:
- Minute-taker:
- Date: January 8, 2024 7pm
- Location: Google Meet
- Chair:
- Minute-taker:
Discussion of agenda (5 min)
- Add change of signing authority to Agenda
- Second meeting later tonight to approve minutes for signing authority for Stephen
- Matching campaign discussion needs to be added
Consent Agenda (5 min)
- No items for this meeting
Reports to be reviewed, not in the consent agenda
President's Report (5 min)
Treasurer's Report (5 min)
- Finance Report
- Nazz: When does the casino revenue start covering rent?
- Marcel: Depends. The casino money arrived in November. We made our first expense out of that account in December for December rent. The new casin funds do not appear in this comparative statement.
- Greg: To clarify, tonight's budgets assume casino revenue is applied in December.
- Marcel: Have we received payment from the volunteers from the last order?
- Greg: I don't think so. Need to check with Coreen. I am not clear.
- Coreen: Volunteer orders have been paid. We also ordered studded tires for the Winter City Studded Tire program. We've distributed all but two sets. The money should be now released as we have distributed them.
- Greg: The next round of funding will come in the next couple of weeks.
- Marcel: That funding is $5500?
- Greg: Yes. Robin may hold it aside.
- Coreen: I think your donation amount isn't correct from the Finance Report. I can see more than $4000.
- Marcel: I only see things that are from bank statements. I haven't seen things from Stripe yet. We will have to wait a few days for those.
- Alexandra: In regard to the letter for the CEBA loan, we have made two contacts with Randy Boissonault's office, including Councillor Sarah Hamilton sending an introduction. We have not heard back from his office yet.
- Marcel: Extra snag is that we do not owe this money to the provincial government, we owe it to Servus.
Committee Reports (5 min)
- Committees has not yet met, no reports
Executive Director's Report (10 min)
- Executive Director's Report
- Nazz: What does the operation of the Orange Hub look like? Presumably you would have revenue streams coming from that operation?
- Greg: It depends if we configure it as a storage space or a retail space. It's hard for me to make that decision. There's a few different spaces available to us at the Orange Hub. One space could work very well as a workshop. None of the spaces would work well as retail spaces. By closing the south shop, we lose opportunity to gain revenue.
- Marcel: To remind people, our south shop is on a month to month lease. To be honest, in that area of town, there's a lot of vacant spaces. We might be able to stay awhile. I do get nervous about being kicked out though. The other thing is that in both budget scenarios, we are still in some financial jeopardy. Even with a balanced budget, we are losing money right now, and might not be able to make it to the summer to recover.
- Matt: The Orange Hub right now is stranded, but it will eventually be wrapped around by the LRT. It could become a very useful retail space, even if it's used as a storage space for now.
- Keith: Bankruptcy is obviously not the goal, so there is value to the Orange Hub, because a $1 lease is useful as a fall-back.
- Coreen: Any move will come up with a significant cost up-front as well and need to consider. Do we have that money to invest before we have our major cash influx?
Approval of Agenda, Minutes, Reports (5 min)
MOTION
| To approve this December agenda, the November 2023 minutes, and reports as presented
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| Moved:
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Keith Heslinga
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| Seconded:
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Matt Hoyt
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Current & Completed Business
Updates on Action Items From Previous Meeting, Reminders (5 min)
- Everyone log your volunteer hours for the past month.
- Committee Chairpersons to post all committee meetings to Bike Edmonton Events calendar (unless the event must explicitly be private: then use "Bike Edmonton Internal" calendar)
- Committee Chairpersons to ensure wiki is up-to-date with committee TOR.
- Reminder of our Code of Conduct
- Reminder of conflict of interest policy
Budget
- Greg: Essentially, the ED role as it currently exists is what tips us into a deficit.The ED does important work, but I do think that the funding that is going towards that position is challenging for Bike Edmonton. If you adjust the funding, it allows you to keep both shops and to account for a bargain increase. Limited damage to existing infrastructure, damage to leadership. My preference is to alter the ED position and keep everything else status quo. These numbers could potentially be finessed further.
- Keith: The budget that changes the ED position allows us to keep the shops, but drains the casino in 1 year. The second budget, with 1 shop, lets us use the casino revenue over two years. There's two issues: cash flow/bankruptcy, and then paying rent.
- Coreen: There's also an in-between: use casino to pay rent in winter, and then use revenue in the summer to pay the rent. Idea is to get us to spring 2025.
- Alexandra: How is that different from these budgets?
- Coreen: All the rent is being paid by the casino. In the scenario I'm proposing is we start to draw from revenue in summer.
- Greg: Coreen is suggesting we only apply the casino revenue in the winter months.
- Marcel: The hybrid is a definite possibility. We could extend the life of both the operating account and the casino account.
- Nazz: When do the revenues start picking up?
- Greg: March, April.
- Nazz: What is our burn ratio? Are we running close to zero by March?
- Greg: We will run out before then if we continue operating how we are operating. The fundraiser will help.
- Coreen: To answer the quesiton about revenues picking up, we are planning on having our bike sale in April.
- Alexandra: What happens to the ED'S work if we choose the budget that change's the ED's role? What are their responsibilites?
- Greg: I will be honest, I don't think I can continue if we decide on that budget. I think you need to call it something different. I think you need to recast the role as an administrator, and redo the job description. The shop managers are very effective. It's a long discussion to recast the role, but if you go with that budget, the role would no longer be done by me.
- Marcel: It's possible we could do both budgets. We could change the ED role, and still get kicked out of our south shop (even if unlikely).
- Greg: Related to that, I would recommend that if we decide to keep the south shop, we talk to our landlord to figure out an agreement that goes beyond month to month.
- Matt: Didn't it have a 3 month termination?
- Greg: No, 30 day termination.
- Greg: I don't know if the board is prepared to vote tonight, or if we need to do more work, but I am happy to be involved in further refinements of the budget.
- Marcel: The next meeting of the finance committee will not include me, because I won't be around until early to mid January.
- Greg: I recommend Monday at the latest for a meeting if we need to meet with the Finance committee again.
- Stephen: How are board members feeling?
- Keith: I feel like we need to give Greg and the staff direction. Even if it's only some decisions.
- Alexandra: I feel as though we should vote on a budget tonight.
- Greg: I should not be present for deliberation. I want to state again that I prefer to first proposed budget. My contract states that I require two months notice for a change in my contract.
- Marcel: I agree with Alexandra. I don't know how much more we would learn by having another Finance committee. Do you think we would learn more things?
- Greg: I am not sure the result would be significantly different. But Nazz did raise a good point about the Orange Hub. I don't believe the alternate scenario budget is going to get us where we are going to go, however.
- Marcel: One more question about the Orange Hub: I think it's fair to say that if we would have reduced revenue if we move the South Side shop. We need to spend a few years building a customer base. That does not put us in a good footing in the short to medium term.
- Greg: I agree. I think the best way to utilize the Orange Hub is to take it on as a third space.
- Nazz: Walk me through a hypothetical: what happens if we get notice to move from the South Side shop tomorrow?
- Greg: I can't barely answer that off the top of my head. The biggest challenge is where we would put the stuff. We would SWAMP the north side shop.
- Coreen: Yeah, that sceneraio would be a huge mess. I don't know how likely it is that we will be asked to move though. We have had one person look at the shop.
- Stephen: We should note in the minutes that stabilizing the South Side shop is a major priority if we choose the budget that keeps it.
- Coreen: That would be helpful, so that I can communicate with regulars and begin volunteer training.
- Stpehen: My preference is that we should vote on a budget tonight.
- Marcel: Maybe we should make a motion about stabilizing the south side shop.
- Keith: I don't like either budget. I would like something that shows a future, not being screwed now or being screwed later.
- Nazz: Keith, when you're fighting a wild fire, you deal with the wildfire in front of you. I would like to take the oppurunity to have a private conversation without guests.
New Business
Transfer of signing authority
- Stephen, Keith, and Marcel needs signing authority. Andi and Kelly no longer need it.
- President: Stephen
- Keith: Vice-President
- Treasurer: Marcel
- Secretary: Alexandra
Matching Campaign by Government of Alberta
- Marcel: How does it redirect?
- Alexandra: To this platform.
- Marcel: Can we link in the other platforms Coreen mentionned? Stripe, e-transfer, etc.
- Coreen: I'd have to take a closer look, but I think so. We can also include a message that says "if you donate through this specific channel, it will be matched".
MOTION
| To investigate if this campaign integrates with our donation channels, and if yes, launch it immediately and notify members.
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| Moved:
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Alexandra
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| Seconded:
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Marcel
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In Camera Session
MOTION
| To move into in camera session without Dr. Greg Glatz as guest
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| Moved:
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Matt
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| Seconded:
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Marcel
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MOTION
| To move out of in camera session
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| Moved:
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Keith
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| Seconded:
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Matt
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Budget Approval
MOTION
| Approving budget scenario one (re-evaluation of the ED role) as per recommendation of the ED, and actively pursuing the Orange Hub or other city space in response to end of South Shop lease.
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| Moved:
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Marcel
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| Seconded:
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Keith
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Adjourned at 10:21pm