Posted in: Admin, Board Minutes, Minutes

Board Meeting 10-MAR-2021

Date: Wednesday-10-Mar-2021   Location: via Zoom   

Directors and Officers Present:  Bruce KO4XL,  Jay S. N2ELG, George WA2NVW, Bonnie KC2JVS, Mike G K8BQ,  Jeff S K4BH, Lou K4LA,  John C N1QFH, Jerry W4BFL

Bruce called the meeting to order at 6:07 pm local.

The following items were discussed and actions assigned:

OVERVIEW

This was a virtual meeting using Zoom. General BOD business was discussed

Previous BOD Minutes

Motion to accept February 10 minutes was made by Jay S, second by Jeff S, carried

Motion to accept February 27 minutes was made by Ralph, second by Jay, carried

Financial Business

    REPORT: Bonnie presented treasurer’s report. $120 expense for remote hotspot service

    ACTION: Insurance Bonnie has a bill for $833.51. It covers liability for an event. Also covers $20K current value for the building and $20K current value for contents.  Bonnie will see if we can pay with debit card.  Officers and Directors insurance will be investigated separately.

    ACTION: Bonnie needs to be set up with PNC Bank at Clint Moore

    COMPLETE: Bruce has updated Sunbiz with new officers

    COMPLETE: Bruce has downloaded PNC statements and sent to Lou and Ralph.

    Complete: Lou has questions on a couple of expenses to forward to Bonnie. Bonnie answered

    ACTION: John, Bonnie, and Bruce need to get together to create a PayPal button on our website.

Email Tools (update)

REPORT: The club has been grandfathered to allow two seats on MailChimp for our non-paying subscription.  A paid subscription would run $52 a month for 5 seats. We could also look at Constant Contact instead.

  RECOMMENDATION: Continue as is with MailChimp for now.

 ACTION: John reports we’ve been seeing a high percentage of bounces lately.  Need to fix the cause.

FACILITY OPENING PLANS AND LOGISTICS

The Shack remains closed. Board regularly reviews the COVID status.

          REPORT: Lou reported that the committee has a final draft of recommendations for reopening. Includes the latest CDC guidance. Preliminary plan is to open to fully vaccinated members. Then Phase 1 and Phase 2.  A release should be part of the process.

          ACTION: Bruce recommended that the committee look at how we would present this to the club at a general meeting in a way that would be positive.

          ACTION: John.C will examine filter.  He has checked the filter

ACTION: Bruce will pursue HEPA filter when shack opens

ACTION: John.C will rotate antennas, oil cable, spray the weeds. He has been following up with this

2021 WINTER FIELD DAY

Waiting on member submissions

ACTION: Bruce will review entries to determine winners

         ACTION:  Board will need to find someone besides John to take the lead on both FD and WFD going forward. It was suggested that Grant W4KEK or Myles N4EHG be approached about this

 MEMBERSHIP

Mike presented the status of payment and renewal activity.

ACTION: Mike to create a targeted renewal email for those who haven’t renewed yet.

 TRAINING AND TESTING

Grant said that that he could help organize remote testing. It was recommended that he contact Jerry, W4BFL who is the club’s testing lead.

           ACTION: Bruce to propose dates for online classes

ACTION: Jay, Jeff.R, Roger, and Al to define DMR curriculum – On hold

ACTION: Bruce will define logistics for future classes – apparently will be Zoom for now

BOARD ADMINISTRATION

Discussed transition plans for new board, handling keys, and banking. New board needs to discuss role backups.

ACTION: Jeff.S has updated the flyer. Needs some additional material to fill white spaces. Waiting on input

ACTION: Mike and Bonnie will need Shack and Gate keys

ACTION: Need to check legacy key inventory. – Information on who should have keys is on the legacy site per John C.

          REPORT: Ralph reported that he has box of keys from Jeff R

          ACTION: Officer’s and Director’s insurance. Bonnie will contact agent to get pricing

ACTION: Board will continue member good and welfare checks

          ACTION: Mike to draft a letter with the slate of officers for PNC Bank if needed.

PRESENTERS

The Board discussed potential topics. Among them were; ARRL Lab, 3D printing (Bruce), VOACAP, Winlink, QRP Go Box (Bruce), Electrical Safety (KC2WE)

 April: Ralph will do a presentation on his stealthy antenna

May: Bruce will do 3D printing

EQUIPMENT STATUS (updated)

A committee was created for the next auction. Date will be April 17 at 2pm.  Bruce will be auctioneer, Mike recorder, John C and Jay S will be gatekeepers and go through the stuff in the shack.

ACTION: Auction committee to meet and start planning

ACTION: Jay will continue reviving laptops and desktops

THE SHACK (new items)

         ACTION: George suggested to reactivate camera and DVR to monitor the shack. Jerry Z can check it out. Jerry found a fried hard drive in the security system. Bruce will give him a new one. Will get a WD “purple drive” rated for continuous duty estimated cost $100.

         ACTION: Jerry to re-key storage room locks and distribute – On hold

ACTION: Board to coordinate re-keying and station training – On hold

           ACTION: We need a replacement B lock. Check with Walt from County to find a locksmith who would rekey this brand.

ACTION: John.C to install dipole lightning protector. – He has the device but needs to install a copper bar tied to the existing one.

ACTION: Board will change shack door combination – On hold

         ACTION: John C said that he would look through the shed a box at a time to see what is worth keeping and what may be used in the next auction.

         ACTION:  John C says that we need to declutter the VHF room

         ACTION: Need to vacuum out the place – will delay major shack clean up until closer to reopening.

         ACTION: Start thinking about Radiator Grill to be held in Fall 2021

Next BOD Zoom meetings:

    • BOD meeting dates:
      • 27-March-2021 10 am board business, meeting planning

New Business:

John asked if we will be opening the Shack for Field Day.  One suggestion was that individuals could use it separately, but this seems to violate the FD rules. If we do it it will have to be a team effort with tight scheduling.

MEMBER SILENT KEY MEMORIAL 

No activity

ACTION: John.C and Bruce will finalize and purchase plaques.

ACTION: Bruce will continue with certificate, ARRL brick, ARRL on hold

ACTION: John.C will collect silent key details and pictures

GROUPS.IO PRESENTATION AND LOGISTICS 

Bruce updated board on status and activity.

ACTION: Bruce will continue to manage groups.io

DMR MICROWAVE PROJECT – No current activity

Board reviewed status and current plans.

ACTION: Art, Lew, and Jerry will relocate dish

ACTION: Jerry will address FAU and repeater IP to shack

ACTION: Bruce will check with Jerry on alternate plans

 REMOTE STATION – No current activity

Reviewed status – no change, is dependent on solid IP service to the shack.

 REPEATER STATUS – No current activity

BOD discussed possibility of packet/winlink node, plans, objectives.

ACTION: Bruce and Lew will  update DMR repeater details

ACTION: Art and Lew will continue site repairs as needed

ACTION: Bruce, Robert.E W1ENG, John to configure packet/winlink

 SATELLITE PROJECT – No current activity

ACTION: Relocate fan dipole antenna that may block the satellite system

1-YEAR MEMBERSHIP – No current activity

ACTION: Bruce will send letter when full services restored

AED UPDATE – No current activity

Discussed next steps and status.

ACTION: Bruce will continue linkage with Life Safety Solutions for AED.

 BADGES – No current activity

ACTION: Bruce will pursue alternate badge suppliers

(check with https://thesignman.com)

PROJECTS – Currently on Hold

  • Conduit outside building. Gap exposing wires, rusty outlets. Replace with outdoor conduit after some get their Covid shots
  • Satellite System
  • Repair Ameritron HF Amplifier
  • Acquire AED for The Shack
  • IP FAU-to-Shack
  • Relocate FAU dish at repeater site
  • Cross connect matrix switch

 OTHER ITEMS Currently on Hold

ACTION: John.C is setting up 6 sessions of WordPress training via Zoom. Bruce, Mike, and Bonnie to attend. Probably will slip to March or April

ACTION: Bruce will continue addressing refrigerator repair when able

Adjourn: Motion by Jeff S and seconded by Jay  adjourned at 7:15 pm and Zoom ended.

Respectfully submitted

Mike Greenfeld K8BQ/ Secretary