Onondaga Ski Club

Board Meeting Minutes

February 2, 2010

Present: Tom Button, Mary Clay, Dave Devendorf, Christa Foster, Scott Foster, Garre Krayenhof, Jack Lancette, Marian LaPierre, Leo Naylor, Marv Patnode, Neville Sachs, Scott Severance, Allan Smith, John Tuttle, Bob Wiley, Marilyn Woyciesjes, Mary Ann Zeppetello

Excused: Mark Bidwell, Art Toll

The February OSC board meeting was held at DeWitt Community Library. President Marv Patnode called the meeting to order at 7:02 pm after determining that the required quorum was present.

Secretary’s Report: The January board minutes were e-mailed to board members and posted on the OSC website. Scott made a motion to accept the minutes, Marian seconded. Motion carried.

Communications: With a letter of appreciation for the use of the meeting room, Marian sent a $50 OSC contribution to the DeWitt Community Library for the use of their meeting room. She also thanked Dr. Steven Nash for his presentation at the January general meeting that was very well received by those present. Also received was a note of thanks for our $50 donation to the Corner School restoration in Granville, Vt.

Committee Reports

Membership

Current active membership is 608, up 24 members over the same period in 2009. Non-renewals stands at 187. Currently also 25 fewer out-of-state members. Bob stated that we have a number of membership categories and that we should try to eliminate some. Garre pointed out that the $5 ski trip category has never been presented to the membership and is therefore not official.

Finance

John gave a brief report on the current balances in our various accounts.

Nominating Committee

At this point we have a full slate running for open positions at the April elections. Mike McCabe will take photos of candidates at next week’s meeting. Bios and photos will be run in the March Boomer.

Lodge

The January lodge occupancy report, e-mailed to all by John, indicated that bed occupancy in January was 159, up from 147 in January 2009

Lodge Subcommittee

John reported in Art’s absence that he, as well as Art, have spoken to a few members about summer rentals.

Marketing

No report. Scott S had offered to print some copies of the trifold brochure but hasn’t been given a copy. Dave volunteered to update and forward the copy to Scott.

Trips

Leo provided the Board with copies of trip committee guidelines. This was as follow-up to the January discussion about a planned trip to Cape Cod on Memorial Day weekend. Garre pointed out that the board has responsibility for any activity that involves the club financially. In other trip news: Mt. Ttremblant still has opening for three persons.

Social

Night on the Town, February 19, 6:00 pm, at Spaghetti Warehouse.

Happy Hour, February 24, 5:00 pm, at Smorols on Avery Avenue.

Unfinished Business

Tabled Finance Committee Strategy: The proposed meeting with a lawyer is scheduled for February 10th. John T., John S., Garre and Marv will participate in the meeting and topics will be insurance coverage for a proposed Limited Liability Corporation, treasurer control, and other insurance issues.

New Business

-- PayPal Account: Dave has investigated this issue further and reported that the club can set up an account with no expenses incurred until it is used. Some of the options are: printing envelopes, buying postage for mailings, etc. Dave asked the board’s approval to work with John to set up a PP account, starting with membership dues. Garre made motion to permit Dave to go ahead, Allan seconded. John mentioned that the only negative is a cost of 3%, but expects the benefits to outweigh this expense. Motion carried.

-- Bulk E-mail Account: The club listserv is too large and requires messages to be sent in a several bundles. Darlene Devendorf looked into bulk e-mail server service availability. One offer is up to 5,000 messages a month, which would allow for two messages a week. Jack suggested a message/activity board on the club web site, however, board discussion did not favor this approach. Dave will continue to explore the expected expense and also who would coordinate this function.

-- Lodge Committee Capital Spending Plan Proposal: Dave suggested we need a capital plan for the lodge that would include a systematical replacement of furniture and bedding, modernizing and updating public areas of the lodge. With WiFi in the lodge we could control heat and security. Scott F. pointed out that our current security system has the ability to remotely control different functions. John made motion for the Finance Committee to compile a capital spending plan for the lodge. Garre seconded. After discussion, question was called. Motion carried.

-- Other: Scott F. referred to a discussion at a former board meeting when Garre suggested dropping the $5 initiation fee and possibly increasing membership dues to off-set the expected loss. After a lengthy discussion, Garre moved to eliminate the initiation fee and raise dues from $20 to $25. John seconded. Discussion. Garre pointed out that there are other by-law changes that need to be presented to the membership, such as electronic board meetings. The motion was approved.

Garre then proposed to amend by-laws Article VII, Section 6 to read that “rates for the lodge shall be established by the Board of Directors upon considering recommendations from the Lodge Committee.” John seconded. Motion carried. A special meeting will be called before the general meeting next Tuesday to approve the wording of the various amendment proposals.

Marilyn questioned what to do with left-over money from trips. There are guidelines within the trip committee guidelines that have to be revisited and perhaps updated.

Scott S. moved to adjourn the meeting, seconded by Neville. Meeting adjourned at 8:43 pm. The March 2 board meeting will again be held at the DeWitt Community Library.

Respectfully submitted,

Christa Foster

Recording Secretary