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SOTTC Board Meeting
Minutes 4/2/2003
Attending: Jack Ware, Kevin Talbert, Shayne Maxwell, Curt Sommerfeld, Guy Alvis, Marie Finch, Bill Baumbach, John Irwin, Carol Coye Benson, Roi Crouch, Keith Ely, Al Koski, Jason Tarrant.
1. Kevin Talbert opened the meeting
2. Review/Approve minutes - The minutes from the February meeting were not available to review. Roi will distribute them in a week or so.
3. Treasurer's report - Bill Baumbach. Roi distributed financial reports. Roi has a meeting with the bookkeeper that used to keep the SOTTC books and will get a quote from her to begin keeping the books and doing the quarterly and tax reports. Once the RIF has reimbursed us, and the bills are paid, we should have around $10,000 by June 30th. Bill would like to see a more concise report to show our commitments and expenditures. Regarding the ORTCC travel reimbursements - the budget has about $900 available towards travel expenses that were approved by the Board.
Action items:
Roi will do a recap for tax purposes (990) at the June meeting and will bring an estimate from the bookkeeper for keeping our books.
Bill and Roi will meet to create a more concise report to show our commitments and expenditures.
4. Old Business
a)EAS Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) - SOTTC as fiscal agent. Background: The four local telephone companies have contributed funds to educate the public about the EAS opt-in/opt-out process. The EAS needs a fiscal agent to receive the money, write the checks and issue financial statements. Issues discussed were whether we have the capacity to do this, our liability and whether this is aligned with our purposes. Jack Ware suggested that we raise the limit to $1,500 in case the SOEASR receives more money.
Motion: Al Koski moved that the SOTTC enter into a MOU with the SOEASR and become the SOEASR fiduciary agent. Curt Sommerfeld seconded the motion. It was carried unanimously by a voice vote.
b)Charter spots on technology - Keith Ely. The OECDD has contributed $1,500 for production of four promotional videos to be run on Charter's local advertising channels. Three have already been scripted. They will be made by SOU students under the supervision of professionals. They should be finished by June.
c)501c3 application - Roi Crouch. It's been filed and we're waiting for a response from the IRS.
d)Central Oregon Telecommunications Conference planning. We need a board member to help plan this conference on behalf of the SOTTC. We also need to decide whether to renew co-sponsorship, which involves a financial contribution. Roi was previously involved with the theme and tracks via a bi-weekly conference call . This gave her the opportunity to bring in speakers from Southern Oregon. This year the project has been split into three areas of responsibility - Content, Facilities and Promotion. John is already helping with promotion. No other volunteers stepped forward. Our contribution will be decided at the June board meeting or by the Executive Committee if it's needed earlier.
Motion: Carol Coye Benson moved that we allow the Executive Committee to decide on our contribution as long as the amount can be found within the budget. Shayne Maxwell seconded the motion. It was carried unanimously by a voice vote.
5. New Business
a)All staff contracts expire on June 30th. The Executive committee recommends that Marie Finch take over the basic administrative duties. . Kevin acknowledged the contributions of Roi Crouch since the beginning of the SOTTC and thanked John, Keith, and Roi for their ongoing efforts to support SOTTC.
b)Legislative Issues - John Irwin. John mentioned two pieces of legislation that will be opened and closed to keep them alive. One is a Telecommunications Omnibus and the second is Strategic planning for Education. John publishes a tracking sheet by email that elaborates on legislation of interest.
c)Jackson County Fair Tech Pavilion - This year's theme is Internet Gaming. Kevin is our representative on the planning committee. . Jason Tarrant is also involved representing InternetCDS.
d)Silicon Orchard Evening - We'll need volunteers to step up since Roi will no longer be here to plan it. A November date was suggested. The last Regional Roundtable planned for this year is in June. If one is to happen in the Fall it will need to be volunteer organized. The date and place of both will need to be decided soon. Jason Tarrant and perhaps Shayne Maxwell volunteered to consider this later in the year. We will also put this on the agenda for the June Board meeting.
6. Nominating Committee - John Irwin, Roi Crouch, Joe Graf and Jim Teece are on the committee. They will be communicating by email and should have a slate chosen by the June meeting. We will vote on officers at that time.
7. Sponsorship Committee. Ron Trullinger has committed to serving on the committee. Guy will consult with NoaNet to see if he has time to serve. The letter and request will be sent out by Marie and Roi. Traditionally about half of the sponsors send a check. The rest need to be contacted by phone to be reminded. We have a sponsorship goal of $10,000 between now and December.
8. Program and Education Committee - This topic will be moved to the June Board meeting..
9. Economic Development Taskforce. Kevin said that Trudy Bridgers, Rich Ryan, Shayne Maxwell and Al Koski had all previously expressed interest in this area. Jack Ware was also suggested as a volunteer. John Irwin suggested that many on the Rural Initiatives Committee may be interested in serving on the Economic Development Taskforce. This item will be discussed at the June Board Meeting.
10. Update from NoaNet. They sent out a press release that is available on the SOTTC website at http://www.sottc.org/News.asp?NewsID=9. NoaNet is cooperating with Pacific Power, using Pacific Power's optic strands to extend their network 273 miles south from Eugene to just north of Dunsmuir in Northern California.
The meeting was adjourned. The next meeting will be Wednesday, June 4th from 12 noon until 2pm at the ERC.
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