Minutes
TASMA Board Meeting
Sunday, July 6, 2003
Mel’s Sewing Service
947 N. Euclid Street
Anaheim, CA 92801
The minutes were approved at the November 9, 2003, TASMA Board meeting.
Mr. Joe Macera called the meeting to order on Sunday, July 6, 2003, at 1:05 p.m.
February and March 2003 Board Minutes
Mr. Joe Macera ask Mr. Ted Fukushima why the minutes were not sent to Mr. Howard Brown for placement in the TASMA newsletter. Mr. Fukushima replied that the minutes were not ready until recently. The minutes will be sent to Ms. Jane Avnet for placement on the web site and to Mr. Brown for placement in the newsletter later in the day.
Ms. Pat Finke made a motion to approve the February and March 2003, Board Meeting minutes as written. Mr. Mike Marin seconded the motion. (3-0-0)
Ms. Finke asked if the minutes will be published in the newsletter. Mr. Fukushima replied that due to the size of the minutes, a Summary of Motions would be better to publish. Mr. Macera agreed with the idea.
Internet Services
Mr. Marin talked with Mr. Jim Fortney at the April General meeting and said that Mr. Fortney did not have a problem since it was a small number of people who would need access to the TASMA FTP web site. After Mr. Marin sent Mr. Fortney a list of directories and the people who needed access, Mr. Marin said that Mr. Fortney replied that the TASMA secretary has full access to the FTP site.
A month after Mr. Marin sent Mr. Fortney the list; Mr. Marin sent a reminder to Mr. Fortney. At the present time, Mr. Marin stated that Mr. Fortney has not made the changes to the FTP site. Mr. Marin said that he would like to place all his records on the FTP site, so that other people can access and check the records.
Mr. Marin then asked that since Mr. Fukushima has full access to the FTP site, that maybe Mr. Marin should send the files to Mr. Fukushima and to have Mr. Fukushima place the files on the FTP site. Mr. Marin also stated that he has many files that he would like to place on the FTP site.
Mr. Macera asked Mr. Marin if he wanted access to the Board of Directors (BOD) sub-directory to place all the files. Mr. Marin replied, "yes," but he currently does not have access. Mr. Macera said that he will send a note to Mr. Fortney to ask that Mr. Marin be given full access to the BOD sub-directory on the FTP site.
Treasurer's and Membership Report
Mr. Marin stated that he tried to look at what Mr. Fortney did with the membership records and its relations to the budget last year. Mr. Marin said that six (6) members who joined in December 2002. were reflected in the first quarter of 2003, when their dues were deposited in the bank account with one operson joining for two years.
Mr. Marin said that there were 243 members at the beginning of the year 2003. Since then, twenty (20) memberships have expired and eleven (11) of those memberships are within the 45-day renewal grace period for continued membership.
There were twenty-five (25) renewals this year. There was also one member who wished to remove their membership and was refunded their $10. There are seventy (70) memberships that will expire in July 2003.
Mr. Macera asked Mr. Marin to update the listing of members on the TASMA web site. Mr. Marin replied that he did the day before. Mr. Marin also stated that he sent nineteen (19) e-mails to the members with expired memberships and sixteen (16) e-mail to the members who’s memberships will expired in July, for a total of thirty-five (35) e-mails sent. The e-mail message asked that the members should renew their membership by going to the TASMA web site, download the membership application, and to mail it to TASMA. There were three (3) e-mail addresses than bounced."
Mr. Macera asked that another e-mail be sent to the members with expired memberships to encourage them to renew and that a letter be sent to the members with bounced e-mail addresses. Mr. Macera wanted be make sure that the members knew that they were wanted back into the membership. Mr. Macera also asked Mr. Marin to send him the list of the names, so that Mr. Macera may also send a personal note to them
Mr. Marin then passed out a report on the list of deposits made to the bank account in 2003. The first two checks deposited was from the previous bank account, a total $5,400+. Additional deposits were made in May and July. Mr. Macera asked about the notation on the bottom of the report. Mr. Marin replied that it was a teller fee that was charged and he did not realize that there was a $2.00 teller fee.
Mr. Marin stated that between the last 2002 Treasurer’s report from Mr. Jim Fortney and the two checks, there was a difference of $150.00. Mr. Marin said that $50.00 was charged as expenses to the 2002 TASMA Secretary, but Mr. Marin still cannot account for $100.00. Mr. Marin think that it might be advances made to last year's officers and has not been charged to the budget. Mr. Marin is still investigating.
Mr. Marin also noted that there was a $175.00 advance that still has not been charged. Mr. Macera asked that if the procedures in the past were to advance funds for general expenses and then receive receipts later to account for the funds, that maybe the procedure should be changed to prevent funds from disappearing, especially if the person leaves TASMA. Ms. Finke said that it would be nice to have the funds ahead of time for known expenses, like the printing and mailing of the newsletter. Mr. Macera suggested that the procedure should be changed to where funds will be advanced only for immediate expense.
Mr. Marin made a motion that TASMA will only advance funds for specific, short-term expenses and to discontinue the practice of advancing funds for general expenses. Ms. Finke seconded the motion. (3-0-0)
Mr. Marin then gave his report on the budget. Mr. Marin is concerned that TASMA is spending more than what TASMA is receiving in revenues. With the current trend in expenses, Mr. Marin believes that there are enough funds to handle another two or three years. Mr. Marin said that the budget is within the proposed budget, but the $10 membership dues is not enough to cover all expenses, especially with the expenses of mailing out letters and printing and mailing of the newsletter. Mr. Marin suggested having a filing fee for Requests for Coordination (RFC) forms as a possibility of increasing revenue.
Mr. Macera noted that the revenue from memberships is lower than the expected revenue according to the proposed budget. Mr. Marin replied that he hopeful that the reminders he sent will increase memberships.
Mr. Macera thought that to reduce newsletter costs to post the newsletter to the web site for electronic distribution. Ms. Finke was concerned that the By-Laws required certain written items had to be sent by mail. Mr. Macera thought that next year, a check box could be placed on the membership application asking if that member would like to receive the newsletter via e-mail. Mr. Marin said that even if 15 to 20% of the members switched to electronic distribution, the savings will offset the higher costs in the newsletter expenses. Ms. Finke asked that somebody should check to see of electronic distribution was legal in the By-Laws.
Proposed Band Plan Changes
Mr. Bob Dengler, NO6B, was not present.
The proposed Band Plan changes were printed in the TASMA newsletter. Mr. Macera said that he received comments on changes to 15KHz spacing in the lower part of band. Mr. Marin replied that with the bad reception received on the idea last year, that it was dropped from the current proposal. Mr. Macera feels that the overall changes are minimal in comparison to the current Band Plan. Mr. Marin suggested that a reminder should be printed that there is no changes to the 20 Khz spacing in the proposed Band Plan.
Mr. Macera reviewed the procedure for the proposal. The Board was to vote on the proposal, then the Technical Committee will vote on proposal, and then the membership will vote on the proposal
Mr. Macera feels that a discussion on the proposal should be held at the upcoming Southwestern ARRL Convention in September. Mr. Marin agreed with the idea and suggested that Mr. Dengler should be there to present the proposal. Mr. Finke agreed with the idea of having an open forum at the convention on the proposal only and not for general TASMA issues.
Mr. Macera asked that vote on the proposal should be postponed until the November Board meeting. After the discussion on the proposal at the convention, the Technical Committee can vote on it at the September Technical Committee meeting. The Board can then vote on it in November and the membership can vote on it in December.
Ms. Finke asked for clarification on the procedure and on the Band Plan proposal itself. Mr. Marin replied that the proposal main purpose was to clear up language, update some changes in terms and the language of the inverted 15Khz repeater spacing was simplified
Mr. Macera said that Mr. Howard Brown made a document comparing the current Band Plan with the proposed changes, but was not sure if it was up-to-date with the current version of the proposal. Mr. Macera also asked why it has not be generally distributed. Mr. Marin replied that it has been published in previous newsletters
Mr. Macera also said that the general attitude on the proposal was that it has been on the table for two years and that the membership should finally vote on it.
Mr. Macera suggested that Mr. Dengler should be present at meetings to answer questions on the proposal and to help "sell" the proposal to the community. Mr. Marin replied that Mr. Dengler tried last year to do that and that the web site contains all the information on the proposal.
Mr. Macera suggested that Mr. Dengler should be at the convention to present the proposal in simple terms the to the amateur radio community. Mr. Fukushima suggested that Mr. Macera should contact Mr. Art Goddard, the Southwestern Division ARRL Director, about reserving a room at the convention and being placed on the schedule of events. Mr. Macera will sent a note to the convention organizers and will send a request to Mr. Dengler that he should be present.
Mr. Fukushima asked if the membership will vote on the proposal or will be presented to the membership at the December meeting. Mr. Macera replied that if the Technical committee approves the proposal, the membership would vote on the proposal in December. Mr. Marin feels that the membership would be fully informed about the proposal by the December meeting.
Internet Services – Links to Other Ham Clubs
Mr. Fukushima asked about the policy of placing links to other amateur radio groups on the TASMA web site, since a few groups has requested via e-mail to Ms. Avnet to be placed on the web site.
Mr. Marin and Ms. Finke was concerned on accepting some groups, but excluding others. Mr. Fukushima asked what would be the definition of a "club." Mr. Macera thought that maintaining a list would be a burden to Ms. Avnet and suggested for links to higher level groups and to the Amateur Radio councils. Mr. Marin thought maybe groups that support amateur radios, like some of the ham stores.
Ms. Finke made a motion not to accept clubs for links [on the TASMA website], but to allow links to the ARRL and local area Amateur Radio Councils. Mr. Marin seconded the motion. (3-0-0)
It was decided to remove all other links to clubs from the web site.
Internet Services - Payment for Internet Domain Name
Mr. Macera stated that he received a note from Mr. Fortney on the renewal fee. Mr. Marin asked what the length of the license was. Mr. Macera replied that it was for five (5) years.
Mr. Macera authorized payment of the $95.00 fee for the 5-year license of the TASMA domain name, since the Board did not have time to meet to authorize payment.
Ms. Finke made a motion to authorize payment of $95.00 for the 5-year TASMA domain name fee. Mr. Marin seconded the motion. (3-0-0).
TASMA July Newsletter
The Board reviewed the draft of the newsletter.
The newsletter draft was missing the Treasurer’s section. The proposed Band Plan will be printed in the newsletter. Mr. Fukushima will send the summary of motions to Mr. Brown for placement in the newsletter and to send the minutes to Ms. Avnet for the web site. Mr. Macera also asked Mr. Fukushima to send a note stating that the April General meeting was cancelled due to lack of a quorum.
Mr. Macera asked Mr. Marin to give Ms. Finke a check for $400.00 to pay for the printing and mailing of the newsletter.
August General Membership Meeting
The meeting time and location was in the newsletter draft. Mr. Macera sent Mr. Brown the agenda for the meeting. Mr. Fukushima will sent out e-mail notices on TASMA-Talk and the TASMA reflectors. Mr. Marin will print out mailing labels and will send the labels to Ms. Finke.
December General Membership Meeting
Mr. Macera will look into a site for the December General meeting.
Technical Committee
Mr. Andy Ormonde, KB6OPR, has resigned as Technical Committee Secretary. The position is currently open. Since Mr. Brown was not present, an update on the status of the database re-validation project wasn’t given. Mr. Marin noted that the Technical Committee Secretary’s job would be easier if the duties were split up, making it easier to handle. Mr. Marin also noted that the agenda and minutes were the easy part of the job, but the notifications and keeping up with deadlines is the hard part.
Mr. Macera will talk with Mr. Alex Groza, Technical Committee Chairperson, about the position.
Mr. Macera will also talk with Mr. Groza about adjacent channel coordination notifications.
TASMA Membership
Mr. Fukushima passes out an e-mail received from Mr. Dan Violette, KI6X, inquiring on the status of his membership.
Mr. Marin has talked with Mr. Violette and he is waiting for a check from Mr. Violette.
Mailing Service Expense
Mr. Marin will handle sending a check to the mailing service to pay for the mailbox rental and mail forwarding from the P.O. box.
Ms. Finke made a motion to adjourn. Mr. Marin seconded the motion. (3-0-0)
The meeting adjourned at 2:41 p.m.
Summary of Motions – TASMA Board Meeting, July 6, 2003
Ms. Pat Finke made a motion to approve the February and March 2003, Board Meeting minutes as written. Mr. Mike Marin seconded the motion. (3-0-0)
Mr. Marin made a motion that TASMA will only advance funds for specific, short-term expenses and to discontinue the practice of advancing funds for general expenses. Ms. Finke seconded the motion. (3-0-0)
Ms. Finke made a motion to accept the 2nd Quarter Treasurer’s and Membership Reports. Mr. Ted Fukushima seconded the motion. (3-0-0).
Ms. Finke made a motion not to accept clubs for links [on the TASMA website], but to allow links to the ARRL and local area Amateur Radio Councils. Mr. Marin seconded the motion. (3-0-0)
Ms. Finke made a motion to authorize payment of $95.00 for the 5-year TASMA domain name fee. Mr. Marin seconded the motion. (3-0-0).
Ms. Finke made a motion to adjourn. Mr. Marin seconded the motion. (3-0-0)
Ted Fukushima (N6ZZK)
2003 TASMA Board Secretary
e-mail n6zzk@arrl.net
E-mail TASMA