Board Minutes July 2015

From Bike Edmonton
Jump to navigation Jump to search

These minutes were approved at the August 2015 board meeting.

EBC Board Meeting Minutes for July 15, 2015

Board meetings are open to the EBC members and the public.

  • Location: Room 213 Education South Building, U of A campus
  • Start Time: 6:30 pm

Please RSVP to [board@edmontonbikes.ca] if you plan on attending. Please include a brief summary of any agenda item you would like to table. Thank you!

Attendance

  • Meeting Chair: Geoff
  • Minute-taker: Anna
  • Food by: Alex
  • Board attendance: Geoff, Nancy, Chris Corrigan, Adrian, Alexey, Anna, Rachel (via phone)
  • Staff attendance: Chris Chan, Marianne (7pm)
  • Regrets: Dan, Jonathan
  • Absent: Alex
  • Guests: Alberta Bicycle Commuters Conference organizers (Berndette, Sarah); YCR2 (Janine, Molly)

Call to Order

  • Meeting called to order by Geoff at 6:40pm.

Logistics for Next Meeting

  • Date: Wed Aug 19
  • Location: 213 Ed S, UofA
  • Chair: Nancy
  • Minute-taker: Anna
  • Food by: Adrian

Approval of Agenda, Minutes, Reports (5 min)

  • Motion: To approve this July agenda, the June 2015 minutes, and reports as presented below. Moved by Adrian. Seconded by Nancy. Alexey abstains. Motion Carried.

Treasurer's Report

Executive Director's Report

H.R. Committee Report - Nancy

  • [H.R. Committee Report June 2015]

Policy Committee Report - Dan

  • [Policy Committee Report June 2015]

Strategic Planning Committee Report - Alexey

  • [Strategic Planning Committee Report June 2015]


The following reports are not approved this month - tabled to Aug


Current & Completed Business

Updates on Action Items From Previous Meeting (5 min)

  • Everyone log your 2015 board volunteer hours for the past month.
  • Everyone sign reports that you have reviewed each month.
  • Committee Chairpersons to post all committee meetings to EBC calendar - public ones go on "EBC Events", other committee meetings go on "EBC Internal" calendar.
  • Apr 2015: Anna will create new website application for 2015 board. Board will share with contacts and review applications prior to board meetings; applicants will be invited to meetings to be guest or interview.
  • May 2015: Geoff, Nancy will draw up an Executive Director performance plan by June 30 2015.
  • May 2015: Dan, Anna, Rachel will review existing TOR and draft new TOR and Policies to clarify responsibilities and accountabilities for committees and board members by September 30 2015.
  • May 2015: Jon, Neil will conduct a complete EBC Budget Review by September 30. The review should be conducted after EBC Charitable Status and BWN lease issues have been addressed.
  • Jun 2015: Jon to meet with Michael (urban planning intern) to discuss 95 ave bike lane data analysis.


COMPLETED

  • Anna will add Strategic Plan check in as standing item in future agendas.


Strategic Plan Updates (5 min)

  • Review action items from March 2015 Planning Retreat
  • Nancy: ED performance plan updates today.
  • Program re-assignment (YCR2, spoke) - prelude to charitable status appl
    • Alexey: have been busy! Spoke update at July meeting.
  • Charitable status - conversation with membership about charitable status aka decision whether EBC should proceed with charitable status application or remain not-for-profit - DONE
  • Review payment systems with staff, volunteers, Neil = Michelle/Finance
    • Tasked to Jon today.
  • Annual budget review with org priorities in mind = Michelle/Finance
    • On today's agenda
  • Consistent board committee TOR and policies = Dan/Policy Committee
    • Policy committee has not met for a while.

BikeWorks North Lease Update (5 min) Adrian

  • Need to make decision on new lease asap. Current lease expires next month.
  • Need to prep cheques for next 6 months.
  • Adrian: Landlord has allegedly dropped the new lease papers at BikeWorks North. This would be for 3 year lease with same conditions as previous lease. Cannot find the papers so will follow up with Landlord.
  • Discussion notes:
    • Coreen would like to add piece about trailer.
    • Jonathan would like to add piece about signage.
    • Chris Ch: Our lease expires Aug 31, 2015. He has cheques running past Aug but we're going month to month for lease for now.
    • Anna: can we get email copy and do email vote? All: Sure.
  • Action Items: Adrian will email/call landlord to get electronic copy of draft lease and circulate for email vote before Aug board meeting (asap).


Charitable Status Application Decision (10 min) Jon

  • In our June meeting, we discussed progress and pushed decision to July.
  • Discussion:
    • Alexey: no news since open house.
    • Rachel, Nancy: no new questions.
    • Chris Chan: Issuing tax receipts would be more-or-less automatic through electronic system. New funds would go to staff to support our program.
    • (more discussion that scribe did not capture)
  • Motion: To apply for chartiable status. Moved by Adrian, seconded by Alexey. 5 in favour. 1 oppose. Motion Carried.


  • Rachel left the (phone) meeting 8:30.
  • Break 8:30-8:45
  • Alexey left meeting 8:45pm.


WTGNB Program (2 min) Anna

  • Received a letter from AHRC postmarked June 29
  • Anna working with Matt B on response (due July 29)
  • Matt legal fees
  • Nancy: Glad this gave us an opportunity to review this program to improve its communication.


Conflict of Interest Disclosure Form Signatures (1 min) Anna TABLED

  • Action Items: Anna will send form to staff and Chris Co to sign.

Asana Software Overview (10 min) - Chris Chan TABLED

  • Tabled from May meeting
  • view an intro video as background info
  • from NYT article: "Asana is task-based software, a shared to-do list for the company. Work is assigned and completed by a potentially unending set of teams created on the fly. Tasks can be named and assigned across the company, then shut down or subdivided as the work progresses. People can rank, or have others rank, which of their jobs need attention soonest. If a company wants, anyone can look in on anyone else’s work, offering help and criticism. 'We think of e-mail, in-person meetings, and whiteboards as our competition,' said Justin Rosenstein, Mr. Moskovitz’s co-founder at Asana."
  • Action Items: Jon, Nancy, Anna, Chris Chan will meet to get an orientation and see if Asana can be used for board tasks/to do list too.

New Business

Guest Speakers: AB Bicycle Commuters Conference (10 min) Sarah, Bernadette

  • 6:40-7:00pm
  • Conference website: http://albertabicyclecommuters.weebly.com/2015-conference.html
  • Dates: Sept 26-27, 2015
  • Location: Canmore
  • Cost: $60 ($80 after tonight for early bird fee)
  • Same time as Canmore Film Festival and a City Planning Conference.
  • 2014 EBC sponsored $500 for registrations and $500 sponsorship.
  • EBC has previously been the fiscal agent for ABBCC. ABBCC has $ in EBC account which they would like to withdraw for use. Bernadette will leave financial report from 2014 with us for review.
  • New fiscal agent will be S.H.A.P.E.
  • Conference tix are 27/100 sold!
  • Offering 1 free registration to EBC and asking for $500 in sponsorship. Also asking for marketing promo support.
  • Would like EBC to present a Pecha Kucha style workshop too! 6-7 min presentation on a cycling related topic.
  • If EBC sponsors, we would be happy to distribute EBC promo materials.
  • Themes: Building Momentum, Shared Use, (see website)
  • Molly: What would 500 go toward? Sarah: Conference organizing, paying travel fees and honoraria for keynote speakers, Music Is A Weapon bicycle-powered soundsystem.
  • Chris Ch: Both keynote speakers are very experienced and compelling. Both are effective advocates in their respective cities. Bernadette: Eg. Velo Quebec has 80 paid employees!
  • Discussion:
    • Chris Chan: We have $5k in current budget listed for donation to other orgs. However, we are running a deficit.
    • Adrian is supportive of funding and also interested in attending/presenting on behalf of EBC.
    • Nancy also interested, depending on her schedule.
  • Motion: To fund $500 to Alberta Bicycle Commuters Conference. Moved by Anna, seconded by Nancy. Motion Carried.
  • Action Items: Anna will contact Neil to ask for $500 and any remaining ABBCC funds to ABBCC asap.


Guest Speakers: You Can Ride Too (20 min) Janine, Trent, Molly

  • 7:00pm - 7:45pm
  • Janine: Overview
  • Present an update of the YCR2 program and our thoughts on charitable status.
  • 110 bikes in load pool, 105 were lent out
  • 3 part time paid staff (head mechanic, inventory coordinator=Molly, event coordinator)
  • Has been great having Marianne as a resource because the program is very large and we dont want to borrow Chris Chan with everything
  • Partnerships: Kiwanis Service Club, Rotary of Spruce Grove, Kid Sport, 3 commercial bike shops for bike fitting days, etc.
  • Have developed a remote-control brakign system and a power-assist system in collaboration with UofA Engineering Dept
  • Have raised over $100k this year, mostly through Rotary of Spruce Grove (held in Inclusion Alberta because funds were needed for charity).
  • Trent: Charitable status
  • Excited to hear that EBC is looking to charitable status.
  • Challenge this year:
    • money. Not knowing how much we have in bank account (last statement from March 2015). This makes accountability difficult.
    • Cant deposit money. Difficulties withdrawing funds
    • Losing potential donation from PCL (~$20k) due to lack of clarity of writing a cheque to EBC and they thought this was "fishy" rather than writing YCR2 on cheque.
  • Need to think about the structure of this program to help the program run efficiently.
  • How can EBC assist YCR2 manage accounts. YCR2 has an accountant volunteer willing to work with Neil but this hasn't been able to happen yet.
  • Want autonomy and own budget and own bank account to ensure accountability and transparency to our funders.
  • If EBC does not pursue YCR2, logistically would make more sense to separate as a diff not for profit and would then apply for charitable status after a few years as our own organization.
  • If a partnership with EBC does not work, we are committed to our program and the sustainability of YCR2.
  • Marianne has been great but we need more help! Marianne 30 hours = 1/3 spoke, 1/3 YCR2, 1/3 BikeWorks.
  • Currently Janine, Trent, etc work over 100 hours/week for YCR2.
  • YCR2 and spoke both work with specific populations so perhaps more staff hours could be dedicated to these two programs. Paid position for these two programs. Marianne: had meeting to discuss how this could work with our current EBC budget, which would be topped up with funding from YCR2.
  • Molly: Have approx ~$25000 in EBC account from YCR2 donations. Marianne: March bank statement said $15k so we are extrapolating from that. Trying to take hours away from what Janine and Trent are doing to a paid position.
    • email communication to assess best bike for each participant, event organization, physio assessments, etc.
  • Could grow to sell specialized bikes and parts/adaptations because there are no current groups or businesses in Edmonton. If we could have space and business expertise to run this, we have a lot of ideas!
  • Discussion:
    • Nancy: How is $ organized for YCR2. Chris Ch: YCR2 has a separate account under EBC. Jon has been involved in the banking. Not sure why you dont have access to statements yet... Janine: We were waiting for ability to deposit.
    • Anna: is there a marketing or communication clarification about YCR2 as EBC program? (Re PCL donation). Janine: EBC letter head was odd to PCL, delay in getting it done, charitable status for EBC would allow donor to select program of EBC for their donation.
  • Nancy: What do you see as pro/con of EBC partnership? Trent: EBC insurance. EBC staff time/resource. EBC volunteer pool for mechanical repairs. We cannot run the program without mechanics! So we could technically partner with another charity like a disability org but we always need mechanics so we are better of partnering with an org that has this expertise.
  • Janine: We bring in a lot of money quite easily. If we had better foundations/resources (space, staff, etc), we see many possibilities for partnership. Need to meet the challenges that we have. If we dont have resources, we will downsize because our current rate is not sustainable. We have discussed cutting back by half. Hoping for a separate position for YCR2/Spoke (no tie in to BikeWorks because this is too busy/big).
  • Geoff: you slow down in April? Trent: bike loan go out in April and are returned in Oct. Summer is slow. Sept is getting ready for the bike return and figuring out storage. End of Oct is bike repair and mechanics over winter. January registrations open to families. Spring 3 events to get bikes to families, get therapists and 8 mechanics, 30+ volunteers at each event.
  • Trent: we havent event begun to look at grants. Have not had time! If we had a paid position, they could write this during the slow season.
  • Anna: I would like to see the bike orgs grow in Edmonton so would love to see you branch off as own organization. EBC has helped you grow this mid size but now we are holding you back. Glad to hear you are considering separation and your own charitable status.
  • Geoff: I disagree - EBC's programs do seem charitable. Your vision is inspiring!
  • Janine: We could be separate but we could do more with partnerships. We need significant changes in order to stay with EBC. We have been reluctant to call ourselves a program of EBC because we havent felt supported but we would like to figure out the partnership.
  • Janine: our $90k will likely go to paying for storage. We have 3 storage spaces now, all free, but need more and more stable space.
  • Action Items: Jon will connect with Janine and the bank to get clarity on accounts. Chris Ch will follow up with where YCR2 cheques are begin deposited.


From ED July Report - CFEP funds (15 min)

  • See Risks & Issues in ED June Report.
  • Recommendation: "Amend budget to allow for new spending: $9,900 for Shop Tools + Supplies. Updated CFEP budget is here."
  • Original CFEP budget here. CFEP application folder.
  • Review 2014-5 Budget
  • Received all the funds in FY2014 but have expenses from 2015. Should have deferred the funding in our budget to reflect the
  • We would have to return the matching funds (~$5k)
  • Motion: To amend 2014-5 Budget to add $9,900 for Shop Tools and Supplies. Moved by Nancy, seconded by Adrian. Motion Carried.
  • Action Items: Anna will update Neil with new budget info.

AGM Planning (5 min) Anna

  • Date?
    • Ususally held end of Sept or early Oct
    • Our fiscal yearend is Aug 30, 2015. Neil prefers some time to compile the financial report.
    • Sunday October 4th?
  • Location?
  • AGM reports to prep at least 3 weeks in advance for circulation to members.
    • Annual Report:
      • President's Report (all governance overview)
      • ED's Report (all operations overview)
      • Financial Report
    • Proposed 2015-6 Budget
  • Discussion:
    • Adrian: I attended Parkdale meeting. It is a beautiful venue.
    • Chris Ch: Would be better to have a consistent, central location. We have a new-ish partnership with La Cite Francophone, which would be a beautiful venue.
    • Nancy: There are free locations, would be great to do free.
    • Anna: Would be good to develop more community partners near BWN and since huge renos have been done at BWS and many events in south, would be good to balance our support for north residents and members. If north location within our budget is not available by Aug meeting, we should defer to La Cite Francophone (or others on south).
  • Action Items: Anna will investigate north side venues within the AGM budget line. Will update by August meeting.


Advocacy (10 min) Chris Co

  • Addition to agenda
  • Is communicating with Councillors after a motion worth it?
  • Discussion:
    • Geoff: Might be helpful to encourage members and residents contact their councillor to follow up on the recent motion.
    • Chris Ch: I'm working on a strategy. Must balance emotions of people who are angry about this motion with the support of the councillors who honestly do support active transport. Dont want to burn bridges with councillors. But will show dissatisfaction with the motion, because leaving it status quo woud have been better...
    • Chris Ch: Our member expect our analysis on this issue, so i'm working on a communication. Nancy: Timeline? CC: Next couple days for communication to members, then email following that.


Casino - Chris

  • Is there a board member who is leading this? Or is it deferring to me? June 19 email.
  • Action Items: Nancy will email board members to call for a lead.
  • Action Items: Annawill add to Aug agenda. Must appoint someone (board or chris)


Director Assignments (5 min) Anna TABLED

  • Suggested by Nathan/Spoke at June meeting.
    • "Nancy: Clarifying - what type of board capacity are you recommending? Nathan: board member who has spoke as portfolio. Marianne: Having a name assigned shows board commitment for the program."
  • Should we have a Director assigned to each Program? BikeWorks South, BikeWorks North, YCR2, Spoke, WTGNB, Rentals, etc?


In Camera Session

  • no topics


Adjournment

  • Motion: To adjourn the meeting at 9:35pm. Moved by Nancy, seconded by Adrian. Motion Carried.
Retrieved from "https://apps.bikeedmonton.ca/w/index.php?title=Board_Minutes_July_2015&oldid=4132"