Joe Scarborough checks his escape route on the Green course at Mt. Pinos, June 2001 (Photo: Joel Thompson, LAOC)

BAOC Board Meeting Minutes

Date: (Mon.) Apr. 3, 2006
Location:
Event Director: - 415.681.7075
Type: Quarterly meeting of the Board of Directors -- 7:00-10:00 pm; pizza will be available at 6:30 -- All club members are welcome

Table of contents

Minutes of the April 3, 2006 meeting of the BAOC Board of Directors

Present: Evan Custer, Tony Pinkham, Nancy Lindeman, Scott Aster, Nick Corsano, Van Boughner, Bob Cooley, George Minarik, Mark Blair, Gary Kraght, Steve Gregg, Trinka Gillis, Dan Greene, Mark Prior, Ian Tidswell, Jeff Lanam, Rex Winterbottom, Jim Fish, Harold DeMoss.

In the absence of the Secretary, Trinka Gillis recorded minutes.

The meeting was called to order in the Alta Bates Imaging Center in Oakland at 7:00 pm by Evan Custer.

1. Approval of Last Meeting Minutes – Evan Custer

The minutes of the December Board meeting were approved.

2. Event Coordinator's Report – Evan Custer

Evan says that the weather has been good for our recent events. He is looking forward to getting out of the Event Coordinator's job, but the schedule is solid through July. After July, it is a little thin. There was discussion about who handles permits now, and it was decided that Rosemary Johnson does insurance and either the Event Coordinator or the Event Director handle permits.

3. President's Report – Ian Tidswell

Ian will be moving to London for a few years for work, but is planning to return to the Bay Area eventually. His position is becoming vacant.

4. Treasurer's Report – George Minarik

The Treasurer's position is vacating.

Event Income – Event income is doing pretty well. We have had some very successful Ski-Os, and several great events. Income per event is higher every year, and we have more events each year.

Budget Report – Some expenses are a little higher than anticipated. Several bills were submitted this year instead of in 2005. Otherwise, everything is as budgeted or under budget.

George Minarik proposed that we change the check signing procedure. Currently, he writes the check and the President or Secretary signs. This is awkward because it doesn't take advantage of transactions that could be done online, and no transfers are possible so the club doesn't have a savings account. He wondered if it would be possible to do online bill paying without anyone signing. Or if it would be possible for the board to have view-only access to the bank account (as oversight), and the Treasurer would write all the checks. Scott Aster will talk with Premier Banker to see if there is a way to work this. This change would require a bylaw change, which must be approved at the Annual General Meeting. Ian suggests we do some exploring.

5. Mapping Report – Bob Cooley

Bob Cooley has created a basemap of Boggs Mountain, and Vladimir Zhuryev is coming in June to check it. It could be used as early as the middle of 2007. The area is a rather featureless, pine-covered plateau. Bob confirmed, in response to Evan's question, that the area is large enough to be used for a 2-day event.

Bob is also looking at mapping Knowland park, near the Oakland Zoo. The area is half forest, but 90% of the forest is fight. The area is centrally-located and would be okay for Orange courses.

6. Officer Nominating Committee Update – Scott Aster

Scott Aster started by saying that this situation is unprecedented in BAOC history – all four officer positions vacating at the same time. The committee has nominees for two positions, and prospects for the other two. Nick Corsano is the nominee for the President's position, and Steve Beuerman is the nominee for Treasurer.

It was suggested that additional responsibilities be given to the Secretary's role, such as setting the agenda for Board meetings. Ian suggests adding membership to the Secretary's responsibilities.

The role of Event Coordinator has become easier over time. Now there are three regional coordinators to divide up the work, and the Event Coordinator no longer has to deal with permits. Some think that it would be better to have a person with board experience, but others think that enthusiasm is more important. Evan is willing to mentor his replacement. Nick Corsano mentioned that we could have an overall coordinator who doesn't also hold regional responsibilities. Evan agreed to write up a list of the duties of an Event Coordinator.

Scott said the committee is still looking for nominees for Secretary and Event Coordinator.

Ian suggested that the committee formed to nominate officers be made into a permanent committee responsible for volunteer coordination.

7. Using EPunch for White and Yellow Courses – Trinka Gillis

Trinka proposed that we begin to use EPunch at all events where it is used on the advanced courses. Results will be faster and easier to compile, and doesn't take much additional time for EPunch. Some drawbacks are that it is difficult to predict the number of rental sticks we will need. At events last year we had as many as 55 competitors on White and Yellow courses, but 25 additional SI Cards would probably be sufficient for most events. We also may be unable to collect for lost cards if they are lost by a first-time runner.

Concerns were raised about several issues. This would create a price increase for the beginning courses – they would go from $6 to $9 with the rental charge. This was likely to especially be a hardship for unaccompanied juniors. Others were concerned about the White and Yellow controls being stolen from their more-visible locations near trails, but it was suggested that cables be used to secure the units to trees or other objects.

After much discussion, it was decided to have three trial events, where EPunch would be used on all courses, and the regular rental fee of $3 would be charged. The EPunch and Registration people will conduct a survey to see if the $3 charge is a deterrent, and if having splits is valuable for White/Yellow runners. The three trial events will be at Joe Grant, Shell Ridge, and China Camp, if those Event Directors and Course Setters are able and willing. Evan will contact the Event directors.

Evan made a motion to charge $1 for SI Card rental for unaccompanied juniors or youth groups. Seconded by Scott Aster.

In Favor: 1; Opposed: 10; Motion failed.

Gary Kraght made a motion to lower SI Card fees from $3 to $2. Seconded by Nick Corsano.

In Favor: 5; Opposed: 9; Motion failed.

Most attendees were in favor of seeing the results of the experiment and the survey before discussing rental price changes. Gary Kraght suggested that the board address the issue of SI Card rental pricing later.

8. BAOC Participation/Relationship with SF Night and Day Event – Terry Farrah

Submitted by email:
Proposal for Co-production of 2006 S.F. Night & Day Challenge

In June of 2005, BAOC and Meridian Geographics (a private business owned by BAOC member Terry Farrah and Cascade member Eric Bone) co-produced a metrogaine, the San Francisco Night & Day Challenge. The event was a success, drawing about 210 participants. The event netted $3438, 50% of which was retained by BAOC as per an agreement reached in 2004.

Meridian would like to repeat this event on June 3-4, 2006. We propose that the arrangement remain substantially the same as in 2005, but with BAOC retaining only 20% of the net proceeds (receipts minus expenses). This would be consistent with the share of the work performed by BAOC (see below).

Our experience in Seattle predicts zero attendance growth for the second year. If this proves true then BAOC will receive about $700, which is typical proceeds for a BAOC B meet.

BAOC will provide course vetting, day-of-event volunteer assistance, and some equipment (club banner, large clock, bullhorn, canopies, rental compasses, registration supplies, and possibly some other items). In 2005, BAOC also provided about 75% of the course design effort, but in 2006 the course will be designed entirely by Meridian.

Meridian will be responsible for all other event production tasks, including course design, map production, publicity, website, sponsor solicitation, permits, liability insurance, T-shirts and bandanas, prizes and awards, pre-registration, bookkeeping, event program, and volunteer recruitment.

If the event suffers a loss, Meridian will bear the burden of that loss.

Within 3 weeks after the event, Meridian will submit a balance sheet for the event to the BAOC Treasurer, along with a check for BAOC's share of the proceeds.

Gary Kraght made a motion to accept Terry's proposal as written. Evan Custer seconded the motion.

In Favor: 17; Opposed: 0; Abstain: 1; Motion approved.

9. Links to Orienteering Vendors on BAOC Website – Van Boughner

Van Boughner had been approached by Joe Scarborough and other outside vendors to list their events on the BAOC schedule, and to have a "sponsored by" box on the BAOC home page.

Van proposes creating a vendor page, with a link from the Home page. The vendors could have additional pages or links to their own websites. Van points out that we are fortunate to be able to completely control the content of our website, because it isn't paid for by advertising. Van said he doesn't want to offer anything on the Home page in perpetuity.

Joe Scarborough wishes to have his logo on the Home page. Van pointed out that it may cost the club money if we don't comply with this. It was pointed out that the club already supports Joe by allowing him to set up a booth at events.

The board agrees with Van's current way of doing this.

10. Sierra Ski-O Event – Tony Pinkham

Tony Pinkham has proposed a week of Ski-O A-meet events for 2007, including the US Ski-O Champs. He expects to hear on April 30th if the BAOC bid has been accepted. He wants a commitment now so he can start working on it and getting volunteers while there is still snow on the ground. He needs to talk to the A-meet committee to set prices. The price will probably be $6 to $8 over the cost of the trail pass, which will cost about $30.

For this year's Ski-O, Tony spent $400 on awards, but $100 of those awards weren't given out so they can be used next year. The US Champs competitive class medals will be paid for by USOF.

Tony said his magnet awards, given to everyone who participated in all four Ski-O events this year, were a big success. They cost $1 each.

He is doing advertising for the 2007 Ski-O week in Far West Nordic Magazine, Yahoo Adventure Racing groups, Navigation Games, and in Orienteering North America.

BAOC usually draws about 50 people to a Ski-O event, and about 20 people seemed interested in coming out from the east. The US Champs this year had 48 participants.

The IOF Ski-O Chairman says there isn't any conflict with European Ski-O events, and he wants us to advertise because nobody else does a week of Ski-O events.

The Ski-O dates are set as 27 January through 4 February, 2007. There will be 6-7 events, including two days at Bear Valley, one day at Boreal (not yet approved), two days at Royal Gorge, one day at Tahoe Donner, and one day at Burton Creek or Tahoe Cross Country.

Attendance depends on the weather, but this year, people attended even though the weather was bad, if they had preregistered. Preregistration also gave us many more volunteers than we usually have.

11. Tahoe A-event Update – Steve Gregg

Steve Gregg is not happy to see snow in Tahoe. The ranger may not allow us to hold the event at Fallen Leaf Lake if the ground is too wet. She will give us a final answer by Memorial Day, which is one month before the event is scheduled.

Plan B is to use Spooner Lake on the other side of the highway from where the second day event will be held. This is not approved yet, but it is the same ranger as Fallen Leaf Lake. He believes the concern is that our presence will damage the still-wet meadows. Dan and Thorsten are flexible with Plan B. We can use Stonehenge for registration on Saturday even if the event is taking place on Forest Service land. The Trail-O will happen on Saturday, in either location. The price for the Trail-O is still undecided.

Evan Custer suggest notifying the USOF sanctioning committee of possible complications with the event location.

12. Working with AR Organizations – Mark Prior

Mark submitted the following by email, and was present at the board meeting to discuss it:

After working as the Adventure Racing Coordinator for BAOC for two years, I would like to suggest a change in the way that we work with 3rd-party for-profit organizations who are looking to use our maps and expertise to create large non-BAOC orienteering events. Specifically, I would like to realign the finances and responsibilities to address several problems:

To address the concerns, I suggest the following solution:

"Any for-profit organization wishing to use BAOC's maps as part of an event with 20 or more participants, must work with one of our approved partner organizations to ensure the quality of the event and full compliance with local permitting and land use rules".

The current approved BAOC event partners would include California Orienteering, Scarborough Orienteering, and Meridian Geographics. Additions to this list would be approved by the club.

In order to support these organizations' effort to work with local clubs, they would receive a 25% discount off the map prices listed at http://baoc.org/wiki/Maps/Purchase. All negotiates and terms of service would have to be negotiated directly between the BAOC partner and the 3rd-party for-profit group. The BAOC partner would have full access to BAOC members to recruit as workers at events.

As an example, when Big Blue Adventure Company wants to host an event for 200 racers at Briones this summer, instead of negotiating a cost directly with BAOC and then paying Bruce (aka California Orienteering) to set the course and work the event, Big Blue can negotiate directly with Bruce, who can have access to as many maps as needed for $2.25 each.

Benefits of this arrangement:

Jeff Lanam made a motion to approve the proposal. George Minarik seconded it.

In Favor: 12; Opposed: 0; Motion approved.

13. 2008 A-Meets – Gary Kraght

Gary Kraght asked if we could consider Big Basin for 2007, but Dan Greene suggests we wait until we can remap it.

He asked if we should concentrate all our effort on the 2007 Ski-O A-meet, of if we should have a foot event too. Dan Green will find out if the ranger at Calero would be open to an A-meet. Sunol was also discussed as a possibility.

14. Director's Reports

We did not have time for the Directors' reports.

15. Other Business

Scott Aster said Judy Koehler led a large outreach group in Sonoma County.

Nick Corsano mentioned that the developer who was planning to build a golf course in Bayfront Park has pulled out.

Mark Prior asked if we were willing to endorse the Yes on Parks initiative. There was concern that taking political stands would jeopardize our non-profit status, but club members are encouraged to support it if they wish.

The next Board Meeting will be held Monday, June 19th. Location TBA.

16. Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned at 22:01:40.

Respectfully submitted,

Trinka Gillis
April 8, 2006