Board Minutes 11-16-16

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CRAMBA Board Meeting Minutes11-16-16The meeting was called to order at 7:00 PM.Board members present were:

  1. Jeremy Verbeke
  2. Steve Vigneau
  3. Mike Fitzpatrick
  4. Chris Westerlund
  5. Marty Shue
  6. Nick Shue
  7. Alice Jacobs

Recording Secretary’s ReportMinutes of the 10-20-16 board meeting were read. Jeremy V. motioned to approve as read. 2nd  Nick S. passed unanimously.Old Business

  • Confirmation of the following upcoming chapter meeting dates/places for 2017
    • Jan 10, Tuesday, 7:00 PM at Rochester Mills Brewery – Mike F. confirmed w/Matthew at RMB
    • April 13, Thursday, 7:00 PM at Rochester Mills Brewery – Mike F. Confirmed w/Matthew at RMB
    • July 13, Thursday, 7:00 PM Pontiac Lake Recreation Area. Jeremy Verbeke will confirm with PLRA TC Zandra
    • October 19, Thursday, 7:00 PM at Addison Oaks (note sunset at 6:44 PM). Marty will contact Bob first to discuss then contact Katie (Addison Oaks park manager)
  • Got Clinic
    • Tentative dates of July 30, Sunday, and maybe August 19 or 20?
    • Yes, Marty is interested in leading 2 clinics.
    • Marty said she would like to see more CRAMBA members become trained ICP (Instructor Certification Program) IMBA instructors. The course is a Friday, Saturday, Sunday time commitment and it costs the individual $482.00. IMBA needs a minimum of 6 people. Marty will contact IMBA for the schedule.
    • Alice said she would be interested. Mike F. said that he would sponsor her.
  • Massive Fallout, October 15, Recap
    • Nick pointed out that, for insurance reasons, waivers should be printed on individual sheets that are signed by the participants
    • Jeremy Verbeke reported he purchase a 4 drawer filing cabinet to hold all of our archived paperwork such as old waivers. This cabinet is now located in our rented storage space
    • A minimal discussion took place on the socialization after Massive Fallout: T-shirts, barbecue, brewery sponsored, food, BYOB, etc. Further discussion is needed

New Business

  • Chapter Trailers
    • Jeremy V. said that we need to upgrade our groomer trailer with an appropriate size one that accommodates the snowmobile and the groomer. This trailer should have drive-on/off capability
    • Jeremy said we should be able to get away with one enclosed storage unit (at $400.00/year) because the other trailer can be stored for free at River Bends
    • Jeremy will coordinate the effort to find the new trailer for the groomer/snowmobile and report back.
  • Signage, Wrapping, Branding
    • We need 6 new “Trail Work Ahead” signs – especially needed at Holdridge
    • Marty will check with Johnson printing about the cost of wrapping on the trailers and the TWA signs
  • It was noted that CRAMBA has 4 standing committees not 3 as stated in the last minutes. The missing one is, Trail Committee headed by Nick Shue
  • Chapter Branding
    • Jeremy suggested that CRAMBA have T-shirts and Jerseys available at every event we sponsor
    • Marty said that we have a good relationship with Dave (owner) of Armadillo. Armadillo makes custom T-shirts and jerseys.
    • Nick is handling the CRAMBA jersey. Nick said  “more work needs to be done”
    • Nick said a wool jersey is a possibility. Maybe a mid-December email sent by our communications director, Kristen, could gage interest?
    • A discussion followed that CRAMBA probably needs a “Merchandise Manager”. Tony McGee’s name was mentioned. Jeremy said he would ask Tony if he is interested.
    • A short discussion that the goal of merchandise selling is not profit but brand awareness but it  should be, non the less, self-funding
  • Utica Meeting
    • Jeremy will be attending a meeting at Utica Parks and Recreation to get formal approval for trails already built on city property. This should be just a formality.
    • Upon approval signage can be installed on the trail
    • Jeremy will ask for a MOU (memorandum of understanding)
  • IMBA Summit Meeting report
    • Steve reported on IMBA is working on regulating, in some fashion, e-bikes but the categories are not well defined yet. The industry is using the Type system with Type 1 limited to 20 mph or less
    • Chris said the federal Consumer Product Safety Act has already classified e-bikes as electric powered bike with less than 750 watts output.
    • Steve said that the MMBA should push the state to adopt the Type format - Type 1, Type 2, etc.
    • Steve said that e-bike sellers have an obligation to educate their customers that this is a “motorized” bike and to please observe the “no motorized vehicle” signs
  • MMBA update by Nick
    • Nick attended an advance trail building session. He said the main take away was to “scope out your trail day ahead of time” – e.g. have supplies in place, tools to do the job, assigned areas to work, etc.
    • MMBA will be sponsoring a 3 day festival type of event possibly at Boyne City
    • Nick said it would be worthwhile to have a 5 year strategic planning session facilitated by Mellissa our ARD from IMBA (and executive director of MMBA) Nick will propose this in January
  • Riverbend’s Trail Day
    • Jeremey said it went very well. Thanks to everyone but especially to two volunteers, Jim O’Kane and Mark Senyk for their equipment and labor.
  • Membership Committee
    • Mike briefly reported that our paid membership on 11-14-16 stands at 387 (current +lapsed). This compares to 364 (current + lapsed) members on 10-11-16. This is an increase of 23 net members in the past month.
    • The use of point of sale credit card reader’s for phones was discussed. Whether we can link directly to the IMBA account or not. Mike will check with our ARD Melissa and report back
  • 2017 board meetings
    • It was decided that we will have monthly meetings on the 3rd Thursday of each month in 2017
    • The one exception will be January 10 which will combine the chapter meeting and board meeting.
    • Jeremy V. will put dates on the CRAMBA google calendar
  • Take a Kid Mountain Biking
    • Is Jeremey Kozak interested?
    • River Bends?
  • MTB101 Community Event
    • This event is sponsored by Shelby Township
    • The discussion brought out that this is not a CRAMBA sponsored event and our involvement should only be 2.5-3 hours as a participant not an organizer
    • Should be limited to 18+ riders
    • Jeremey Kozak to lead?
  • Volunteer Rewards
    • A discussion took place as to how do we reward hard working volunteers? The general conclusion was that the recognition is the best reward. This might be a photo on our website with words recognition. Also maybe a subsidy for Bike Patrol fees.
  • Treasurer’s Report
    • Kristen texted in our balance at $24,058
    • Rodney, Steve, Kristen, still need to meet at a branch of Huntington Bank to sign signature cards

Meeting adjourned at 10:30 PM (gad!)Next board meeting will be December 15, Thursday, 7:00 PM, at the Fitzpatrick Pub.

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