Board of Directors Meeting Minutes
December 4, 2003
Attending:
- Ed Dyer
- Bernie Hart
- Reg Hody
- Joan Jones
- Marilyn MacDonald
- Gerard MacNeil
- Bill Matheson
- John McKay
- Jeff Warnica
- Chris Watt
- Andrew D. Wright
Regrets:
- Mark Alberstat
- Jeff Warnica
Absent:
Guests:
- Jason Kenney
- Johnathan Thibodeau
Call to Order
Called to order by Marilyn MacDonald.
Minutes of November 6, 2003 Meeting
Under the Technical report in item 9 of the November minutes, there was
some confusion as to the nature of the expenditure being approved.
Moved by Bernie Hart that the motion for an expenditure under the
Technical committee section of the November 2003 minutes be rescinded.
Seconded by John McKay. Motion carried.
Moved by Bernie Hart that the minutes be accepted as presented. Seconded
by Bill Matheson. Motion carried.
Office Manager's Contract 2004
Andrew Wright, Johnathan Thibodeau and Jason Kenney excused themselves
while the Board dealt with this item.
Moved by Bernie Hart, Seconded by Ed Dyer that the Board go in
camera.
In camera discussion omitted.
Andrew Wright re-joined the meeting and was informed of the Board's
approval of the a contract for the Office Manager's position in 2004.
Technical Review:
Guests Johnathan Thibodeau and Jason Kenney
The office staff was invited to attend this Board meeting to discuss
technical issues and priorities for the future.
The Technical staff have limited contact with the general
membership through the ccn-tech mailing list. In general they deal with
assigned projects and specific technical issues as delegated by the
Office Manager.
The average duration of a PPP connection appears to have
decreased in recent years.
Johnathan Thibodeau suggests that it would be a good idea to
streamline the Chebucto Plus homepage and integrate access to webmail
and other services into the main page.
The Technical staff feel that the CSuite software should be
replaced with a more easily maintained system. Jason Kenney suggests
that a new system would have to be built in a more internally consistent
and well-defined manner if it is to be an improvement.
Marilyn MacDonald expressed the Board's thanks for the
contribution Jason Kenney and Johnathan Thibodeau provided to the
meeting.
Support for Inner City activities
Chebucto is now free to operate independently within the Inner City
area. Andrew is involved in discussions related to computer training
programs and surplus computer distribution in the area.
Volunteer Sector Initiative
Bernie Hart submitted a report on the Volunteer Sector Initiative.
Chebucto has been invited to participate in the planning process for the
volunteer network.
WiFi
Bernie Hart raised discussion of Chebucto's potential future involvement
in wireless networking.
Committee Reports
Technical Committee
Work is progressing on the new server system. It should be ready to be
deployed in December.
Additional lines are being added to the 56K PPP service.
The Technical committee would like to acquire an additional bank
of 56K modems.
Moved by Chris Watt that the Board authorize the technical chair to make
an expenditure of up to $1500 on the purchase of an additional bank of
56K modems. Seconded by Andrew Wright. Motion carried.
Moved by Andrew Wright that the Board authorize the Technical
Chair to spend up to $1000 for the purchase of a monitoring server.
Seconded by Ed Dyer. Motion Carried.
Moved by Andrew Wright that the Board authorize an expenditure
of $1000 for a web caching server. Seconded by Ed Dyer.
Motion amended to authorized an expenditure of up to $2000 by
Andrew Wright. Seconded by Ed Dyer. Motion carried with three
abstentions.
There is a need for technical staff in the Chebucto office
during the winter term. Johnathan Thibodeau has offered to work during
the January to April term.
Moved by Ed Dyer that Chebucto hire Jason McNeil for the
January-April co-op term to work primarily on project-oriented work.
Withdrawn.
Moved by Ed Dyer that Chebucto offer to extend Johnathan
Thubodeau's existing contract at the same rate of pay to end April 30th.
Seconded by Andrew Wright. Motion Carried.
Moved by Ed Dyer that Chebucto offer to fund a Dalhousie
workterm for Jason McNeil during the January-April term. Seconded by
Chris Watt. Motion carried.
Andrew Wright was directed to communicate with Jason McNeil on
this matter.
Finance Committee
Bernie Hart submitted a report on Chebucto's current financial situation.
Policy Committee
The Policy committee is currently considering the impact of PIPEDA on
Chebucto operations and policy.
This legislation will necessitate alterations of Chebucto standard usage
agreements and terms and conditions, and will require the appointment of
a privacy compliance officer. The Policy committee will bring a set of
recommendations before the Board via email in December.
External Committee
Members of the External committee have been in communication with CAP
and the United Way.
Internal Committee
The transition in Internal committee communications from Mark Alberstat
to Gerard MacNeil is nearly complete. Work is being done on a
newsletter.
Adjournment
Moved by Gerard MacNeil. So declared.
Next Meeting January 8, 2004.