Greenbelt Internet Access Cooperative

Monthly Board Meeting – January 12, 2006

Conference Room, Greenbelt Police Station

D R A F T

M E E T I N G   M I N U T E S

 

DIRECTORS:   Anne Andersen, Peggy Bates, Mary Camp, Ed James

OFFICERS:     Terry Henderson (absent)

MEMBERS:     Neil McLeod

GUESTS:       Jim Bates, Elizabeth Hubley

 

=== PRELIMINARIES ===

 

1.      Call to order at 7:20pm

Meeting chair:  Mary Camp

Recording secretary:  Mary Camp

 

2.      Introduction of Directors, Members, and Guests

 

3.      Changes to Agenda

a.      Proposals (additions/deletions) and approvals - None

b.      Approval of final agenda (PB moved, EJ seconded, unanimous approval)

 

=== GUEST PRESENTATIONS ===

 

4.      Scheduled Guests (15 minute limit) - None

 

5.      Unscheduled Guests (3 minute limit)

Before all board members arrived and meeting was called to order, Elizabeth Hubley was told to go ahead and discussed her problem sending email. Various members tried to help her. Neil said he’d schedule a time to meet with her and work on this problem if it was still occurring.

 

=== MONTHLY REPORTS ===

 

6.      Secretary (Neil McLeod) [Terry absent]

a.      Approval of meeting minutes

MONTHLY MEETINGS

1)     Meeting September 8 – ballot D-051027 not completed

2)     Meeting October 12 – ballot D-051027 not completed

3)     Meeting November 10 – ballot D-051229 not completed

4)     Meeting December 8 – ballot D-051229 not completed

ANNUAL MEETINGS

5)     Meetings June 7, 2005, not submitted

·         Sign-up sheet – please forward to Neil for posting (Peggy)

·         Ballot summary – please forward to Neil for posting (Peggy)

6)     Membership meeting 2000 – Treasurer’s report needed (Peggy)

b.      Old action items

Buy paper - Done

c.      New action items - None

 

7.      Treasurer (Peggy Bates)

a.      Financial report

Year-to-date $66, this doesn’t include wireless card for the laptop, about $40, to charge in 2006

b.      Membership report

No new members, still have 43 dial-up accounts

c.      Old action items

1)     Send latest contacts PDF to all – No progress

2)     Relocate GIAC bank account - Done

3)     Relocate GIAC CD account – CD can’t be rolled over until August

4)     Submit Treasurer’s 2005 Annual Meeting Notes [membership report, financial report, audit reports]- No progress

5)     Upload Member journals – 2004 done; 2005 not done

6)     Collect receipts from Mary Camp, Terry Henderson - Done

7)     Need list of classes (Mary) – No progress

8)     Webspace billing – In progress

d.      New action items

1)     Send dunning notices to members

2)     E-mail subscribers about idle dial-up accounts. Neil is on call to help with this.

3)     Upgrade to QuickBooks 2005.

 

8.      Vice President (Mary Camp)

a.      Classes report

1)     Scheduled classes

·         No classes scheduled till after mid-March

2)     Proposed class topics

·         Class in March on necessary Internet concepts including: the dialer program, web browser, GIAC page, webmail such as “Horde” and e-mail such as “Outlook”.  Showing these with the laptop is important. (Mary)

·         Class on spyware and internet security (Neil)

b.      Old action items

1)     Make sign for New Deal Cafe showing GIAC's sponsorship of WiFi hotspot. (Mary)

·         E-mailed Phil Larkin again about his work on making a sign.  No response yet from Phil.

2)     Configure and test wireless relay. (Neil)

·         Subsequent purchases will depend on the outcome of GIAC class planning.

3)     Prepare membership forms using Acrobat so they can be filled in online. (Mary) – No activity

4)     Make class handouts available online. – No activity

c.      New action items

Upgrade Norton System Works program on laptop. Meet with Peggy and Jim Bates to download. (Mary)

 

9.      President (Any Directors) [acting]

a.      Old action items

1)     Recruiting for principals and committees. – Neil is done

2)     Update posted Board procedures per past minutes. (Neil) – No activity

·         Stalled pending outcome of bylaws update ballot D-051101. February agenda.

3)     Enforce Board procedures. (Directors) – No activity

·         Stalled pending outcome of bylaws update ballot D-051101. February agenda.

·         Anne Andersen nonfeasance was discussed at length.  Specific guidelines were established defining a Director project for Anne to pursue as well as ongoing interim requirements for her to remain on the Board.

b.      New action items

1)     Neil’s participation in GIAC non-technical administration at all levels is suspended until the backlog of major administrative tasks by other Principals has been fully cleared and until mutual responsiveness and support among the Principals have been restored, demonstrating once again the essential element of teamwork.

2)     Elizabeth Hubley will put notice of Board meetings in Greenbelt News Review.

 

10.  System Administrator (Peggy Bates, Neil McLeod)

a.      Technical support activity report

1)     Joyce Wineland (Bob Cochran)

·         Joyce is very satisfied with Bob’s work on her new computer and has given him non-GIAC referrals.

2)     Dianne Wilkerson (Neil)

·         Resolved password question.

3)     ValueReseller (Neil)

·         Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) protection for all reseller plans was enabled by VR on 12/1/05 as a “free” add-on; however, in conjunction with the DDoS implementation the subscription cost for all shared server plans was increased.  Cost of the Gold Plan increased $49.95 > $59.95/month, incorporating resource increases in total webspace (3.0 GB > 5.0 GB) and traffic limit (40.0 GB > 60.0 GB).  The effective date of the rate increase will be April 2006.

·         Implementation of the dedicated mail server option for shared server plans has not yet been announced.

·         SquirrelMail is to be discontinued before summer.  Neil is appealing this decision with VR management.

b.      Old action items

1)     Report Greenbelt News Review network upgrade status. (Neil) – No activity

2)     Submit 2005 Annual Meeting notes [ISP report]. (Peggy) – No activity

3)     Upload work orders. (Peggy) – No activity

4)     Give Peggy written notification of price change for 2006 hosting service. (Neil) – Done

c.      New action items - None

 

11.  Webmaster (Neil McLeod)

a.      Community Website report

1)     Apply monthly and weekly Community Calendar updates. - Ongoing

2)     Upgrade Gallery format (using Google Picasa) – Almost done

·         Now using thumbnail photo link to Gallery updates from Community Home Page.

3)     Solicit photographs for Community Gallery.

·         Added 9 Greenbelt New Year photos contributed by Joan Dunham of Greenbelt Swim Team.

·         Added 182 photos contributed by Linda Siadys in eight groups -- Halloween Parade, Veterans Day, Greenbelt Lake, Christmas Lights, Berwyn Day 2003, Greenbelt Day Weekend 2004, Pet Expo 2004, and Pet Expo 2005.

·         Linda plans to send more photo sets for “Opening Day of Museum of the American Indian” and “Terrier Races in Maryland”!

b.      GIAC Website report

1)     Post procedural decisions made during Board meetings. -  No activity

·         Stalled pending outcome of bylaws update ballot D-051101. February agenda.

2)     Upgrade Minutes section. – No activity

·         Stalled pending completion of minutes approval ballots. February agenda.

·         Locate (or create) financial and membership report files. – In progress

3)     Upgrade GIAC website format. – No activity

·         Stalled pending outcome of bylaws update ballot D-051101 and enforcement of Board procedures

4)     Integrate PayPal sign-up procedure into Online Registration form. – No activity

·         Stalled pending resolution of Board nonfeasance

c.      Old action items – Integrated into monthly reports above

The Webmaster has finally drawn a solid demarcation between GREENBELT.COM and GIAC support items and issues.

d.      New action items

Need resolution by Board to modify procedure for approval of minutes; otherwise, discontinue posting minutes ballots. February agenda.

 

12.  Director (Ed James)

a.      Old action items

1)     Sent email reserving room for 2006 monthly meetings. Will call and verify.

2)     Promote & support community WiFi usage.

·         Only 2 units in Crescent Road Court using shared wireless access point (WAP).

3)     Brought GATE interview DVD to circulate to Principals, gave to Neil

b.      New action items - None

 

13.  Director (Anne Andersen) [absent - report submitted]

a.      Old action items

Selected Open House at New Deal Café as Director project. – No activity

b.      New action items - None

 

14.  Audit Committee [vacant]

a.      Old action items

1)     Complete 2003 audit report. (Mary) – No progress

2)     Collect materials for 2004/2005 audits. (Neil) – In progress

·         Requested Member journals from Peggy on 10/18 – 2004 journals were uploaded on 12/08; still awaiting 2005 journals

3)     Neil McLeod and Jim Bates are committee members.

b.      New action items

15.  ISP Committee [vacant]

a.      Old action items

Develop and propose new service offerings.

·         Negotiate IKANO DSL reseller package. (Peggy) – no progress

·         Neil received introduction letter from IKANO’s CEO. He in turn sent a letter to them asking if IKANO will offer a DSL plan.          

·         Document approved new service -- read-protected directories. (Neil) – no activity

b.      New action items - None

16.  Legal Committee (Neil McLeod) [acting]

a.      Old action items

1)     Review and update legal documents. – Suspended

2)     Amended Articles of Incorporation. (Neil)

·         Re-file Amended Articles rejected by Maryland SDAT due to procedural error

-         Must be done within 60 days (by January 21) to avoid additional fee

-         Stalled pending demonstration of active commitment by Directors.  Two options are available:

-         Re-file Amended Articles.

-         Request refund of filing fee.

-         Based on reassurances by Directors concerning their commitment to perform, Neil will re-file the Amended Articles.

3)     Draft bylaw proposals. (Neil)

·         Ballot D-051101 (extended to 11/18) still not completed by Directors. February agenda.

4)     Compete IRS tax-exempt application (Form 1023). (Clement)

·         Pending acceptance of Amended Articles by Maryland SDAT

·         Pending completion of bylaws updates ballot D-051101

5)     Implement nonprofit hosting program.

·         Issue “invitation” form letters to candidate organizations. (Neil) – In progress / delayed by Neil’s January illness

b.      New action items

Re-file Amended Articles (Neil)

 

17.  Membership Committee [vacant]

a.      Old action items

1)     Update membership forms and save as PDF files. (Mary) – No activity

2)     Need committee volunteers to support recruiting activities. – No activity

3)     10th Anniversary Celebration

·         Need a vote to authorize the expense – Pending results of preliminary invitation

·         Set a working date – Saturday, April 1? – Still undecided

·         Who will coordinate planning, invitations, food, etc.? – Continue discussion on details at January 24 meeting

4)     Preliminary 10th Anniversary invitation to be sent out in January. (Peggy)

·         Reminder:  Neil volunteered to verify mailing list addresses, print and stuff envelopes, affix postage, etc., for both sets of invitations

b.      New action items

Committee Meeting:  7:30pm, Tuesday, January 24, at Jim Bates’ house to plan 10th Anniversary celebration

 

=== OLD BUSINESS ===

 

18.  Decision and actions by the Board to maintain the Cooperative and its mission

STATEMENT BY NEIL:  Sadly, no activities by the Board can be detected to support its stated intentions of maintaining the Cooperative’s mission.  Since this issue was first raised and voted on, it’s been Business as Usual, with the only noticeable effect being to string Neil along a little further.  That will now stop – it’s been your turn for quite a while.  KEY ISSUES:  2003 audit report, rigorous application of all billing procedures, bylaws updates, minutes approvals, etc.

a.      Important issues if YES:

1)     Demonstration of teamwork (response, attendance, voting) ??

2)     Essential recruiting of Members and Principals ??

b.      Important issues if NO:

1)     Discontinue pursuit of nonprofit status

2)     Disposition of GREENBELT.COM

 

=== NEW BUSINESS ===

 

19.  None

 

=== CONCLUSION ===

 

20.  Voice Mail Roster           (GIAC e-mail monitored daily by Ed James & Neil McLeod)

Jan 08 – Jan 14   Peggy Bates

Jan 15 - Jan 21   Neil McLeod

Jan 22 - Jan 28   Anne Andersen

Jan 29 - Feb 04   Ed James

Feb 05 - Feb 11   Mary Camp

 

21.  Scheduled Meetings

·         Audit Committee: 

·         Legal Committee: 

·         Membership Committee:  7:30pm, Tuesday, January 24, at Jim Bates’ house to plan 10th Anniversary celebration

·         Monthly Meeting:  7:00pm, Thursday, February 9, at Greenbelt Police Station

 

22.  Meeting adjourned at: 10:05pm