Board Minutes November 2009
Edmonton Bicycle Commuters' Society
Board Meeting Minutes
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Time: 7:00 PM
Place: BikeWorks
Attendance
Voting:
- CHRIS CHAN, President
- NEIL CAREY, Treasurer
- ERICH WELZ, BikeWorks Director
- KEEGAN McEVOY, Communications Director
- DEREK PLUIM, Office/Sponsorship Director
- JASON PONTO, Policy Director
- SHARON BARKER
Non-Voting:
- JIM STORRIE, Project Coordinator (non-voting)
Regrets:
- MICHAEL JANZ, Vice-President
- BILL SELLERS, Secretary
- LAUREN PRICE, Volunteer Director
- KEITH HALLGREN, Membership Director
Summary of Action Items
- Keegan will contact a locksmith and determine if his could be used by Bikeworks.
Minutes
- Call to Order
- Approval of agenda
- 7-b: Spokesperson Policy
- 7-c: Document Storage Policy
- 7-e: Report from VELO Board Meeting
- 7-f: The Way We Live
- 7-g: Shop Discounts
- 7-h: Changes to Membership Fee Levels
- 7-i: APIRG Training
- Introductions
- Approval of last meeting's and AGM minutes
- Volunteer appreciation event
- Old business
- In-camera item from October board meeting
- Issues regarding neighbour girl
- Safe purchase
- Retro-reflective-wear workshop
- Sustainability Awareness Week
- Trick or (Tr)eat event
- Bike Building Workshop
- New business
- Policy Policy
- Communications Policy
- Office Policy
- Sensitivity workshops
- The Way We Live
- VELO board meeting
- Discounts
- Membership fees
- APIRG volunteer coordinator workshop
- Committee reports
- Advocacy committee
- Bikeworks committee
- Communications committee
- Community events committee
- HR committee
- Membership committee
- Sponsorship and fundraising committee
- Volunteer committee
- Additions
- Bike manufacturers & trade associations
- Momentum magazine profit-sharing
- National lobbying organization
- Adjournment
Keegan calls meeting to order.
Jim requests additions to agenda:
Keegan requests addition to agenda:
Chris requests additions to agenda:
Erich requests addition to agenda:
All agenda additions are accepted. Chris moves to accept agenda, Derek seconds.
The minutes from the AGM have not yet been compiled and cannot be approved.
The minutes from the last board meeting are not complete, missing an in camera item which is not available to to the project coordinator. Jim will get in touch with Lauren and Bill to remind them to pass on the minutes they took at these past two meetings. Board decides to table both approvals until the board retreat, passed by consensus.
Jim requests a budget of $100 to organize a pizza-party/movie-night near the end of November.
Derek/Keegan move to approve. Carried.
Jim will plan and host a volunteer appreciation event in the Bikeworks facility at the end of the month.
Chris reports that this issue is still being dealt with, moves to table it. Passed by consensus.
Erich reports that there have been no further incidents related to our young neighbour.
Chris reports that he and Alex Hindle went to a government surplus auction to purchase a safe, but found that the one available was both too expensive and unfeasible to transport.
Sharon suggests contacting the Edmonton police and requesting a donation.
Keegan says he owns a safe, but has lost the keys. He will contact a locksmith and determine if the safe is usable.
Chris reports that Corinne's retro-reflective-wear workshop was highly successful. It was well-attended and received good publicity, including a segment on the local evening news. Sharon suggests taking pictures at these events for promotional use on the EBC website. Corinne is planning another workshop for the near future.
Chris reports that this event was not a large success, due largely to mistakes in organizing. Jim took responsibility for organizing this event, as no one else was available, but did not do well with it. There were no notable difficulties on-site, and both ECOS and the Office of Sustainability at the University of Alberta welcome EBC participation at future campus events.
Keegan will be assuming more volunteer and event-related duties to fill in for Sharon, who would prefer a different portfolio, and Lauren who has been unavailable.
Keegan will form and chair a new volunteer committee in order to develop more effective event-related policy and procedure.
Chris reports that he and several others took part in a charitable Halloween event for the Campus Food Bank, on behalf of the EBC, which was a success. Between all the volunteers there were six operational trailers. Chris reports that there was a shortage of Rubbermaid tubs for transporting materials, and advises that EBC be on the lookout for a sale on these containers. Chris has photos from this event, and will post them on the EBC website.
Erich reports that while the weekend bike building 'workshops' have been successful, there has been some issue with completed bikes being dismantled later for parts. Erich has taken this concern to the Bikeworks committee, who are working to address it.
Jim suggests the board strike away all prior official EBC policy, as the board does not have access to old policy documents. If there was currently standing policy, the board was unsure what that policy would be.
Sharon/Derek move the above.
The board votes and agrees unanimously.
Jason proposes Policy Policy 1.1: Policy Content and Policy Policy 1.2: Policy Creation.
Chris suggests amending 1.2 such that a simple majority, rather than a super majority, is needed for the board to approve policies.
Chris reports that Michael Janz has suggested developing a careful naming convention before developing too many policies, for maintenance's sake.
The board is unsatisfied with these policies as presented and requests they be returned to the policy committee. Jim will amend them as requested and pass them through the policy committee before next weekend's board retreat.
Jim proposes Communications Policy 1.1: Official Spokespeople.
Chris suggests amending 1.1 such that only the president is an assumed spokesperson, with the vice-president or a chosen delegate filling in in his absence. The board agrees unanimously.
The board is unsatisfied with this policy as presented and requests it be returned to the policy committee. Jim will it them as requested and pass it through the policy committee before next weekend's board retreat.
Jim proposes Office Policy 1.1: Electronic Document Storage.
Neil suggests amending this document to remove its procedural aspects, as it is more procedure than policy. Erich suggests that the actual (digital) location of the document archive be specified not in the policy document, but only its attached procedure, so that changing the location of the archive will not require board approval.
The board is unsatisfied with this policy as presented and requests it be returned to the policy committee. Jim will it them as requested and pass it through the policy committee before next weekend's board retreat.
Chris reports that Corinne has been working with Ariel Bowering to develop volunteer sensitivity issues for EBC, to deal with questions such as inclusivity, gender issues, etc. The intention of the board is that such workshops will be mandatory for all Bikeworks keyholders, and optional for others. The current plan for the workshop is for ten hours; Chris suggests this may be excessive, or likely to drive away volunteers.
The board refers this issue to the Bikeworks and policy committees. Chris will maintain contact with Corinne and report on further developments.
Chris reports that EBC has been approached by affiliates of the City of Edmonton interested in having EBC host one of their community discussion panels.
Jim and Keegan report that they attended the first The Way We Live session and found it not entirely connected to cycling issues.
Chris requests that we host one of these panels and direct it towards our concerns. Jim and Keegan will organize this.
Keegan reports that he has taken part in the latest VELO board meeting (as he sits on their board). VELO is interested in organizing a photo show during next year's Bike Month/Bikeology event. Keegan will meet with Derek to discuss outstanding Bikeology concerns, and how they should not stand in the way of MEC sponsorship.
Chris suggests he would like to set up a discount scheme for members, managed automatically by the point-of-sale system in development. Chris will bring a proposal to the board after developing it with the Bikeworks committee.
Chris moves to set EBC membership fees to the following levels: low income $15, standard $20, family $40, supporting $50. Derek seconds. The board votes and unanimously approves the proposal, effective immediately.
Erich reports that APIRG has offered to teach volunteer recruitment & retention workshops for us.
Keegan suggests not only participating in this, but encouraging volunteers to participate as well. Keegan will follow up with Erich and APIRG.
The advocacy committee is now operational. Its meetings are 6:30pm, the third Monday of each month, at Remedy cafe. Its chair is Michael Janz.
Michael Janz is chair of this committee but absent, so discussion of his committee is tabled until the board retreat.
The Bikeworks committee is now operational. Its next meeting is 6:30pm, November 18th, at Bikeworks. Its chair is Erich.
Erich reports that while the Bikeworks committee has so far been very active, none of its activities require being brought to the board's attention.
This committee has yet to meet. Its chair is currently Keegan.
This committee has yet to meet. Keegan assumes the chair position of this committee with the board's approval.
This committee has yet to meet and is not likely to meet before Spring, as its main activity is interviewing and hiring new employees.
This committee has yet to meet. Its chair is Keith Hallgren.
The sponsorship and fundraising committee is now operational and meets 6:30pm, the second Tuesday of each month, at Bikeworks. Its chair is Derek.
Derek reports that his committee has examined EBC's budget and concluded that EBC should seek to increase both the magnitude and diversity of its funding sources in able to ensure self-sustainability in the case that our casino funding ever stops. Derek will follow up with Karly Coleman for information on EBC's funding in the past. Keegan will inquire with United Cycle about discounts for volunteers or other possible sponsor perks. Jim will propose a non-compete policy to the policy committee, in order to help woo local bike shops as sponsors. Derek will inquire with local shop-owners as to what they would like to see in a non-compete. Keegan will coordinate supplying local shops with Momentum magazines (with EBC inserts).
This committees has yet to meet. Chris and Keegan assume co-chairing of this committee, with the board's approval.
Chris reports that national and North American manufacturers have been increasing their support to non-profits. Chris and Jim will meet with Gary Beaton, the president of Calgary's Tour de Nuit Society, for more information.
Keegan reports that Momentum magazine offers a sort of profit-sharing scheme with bike shops who sell subscriptions to their members.
Chris reports that Gary Beaton of Calgary is also looking to develop a national, or at least regional, umbrella cycling advocacy organization. Chris and Jim will also meet with him to discuss this.
Keegan/Erich move to adjourn.