Board of Directors Meeting Minutes
January 7, 2003
Attending:
- Mark Alberstat
- Ed Dyer
- Bernie Hart
- Marilyn MacDonald
- Gerard MacNeil
- Bill Matheson
- John McKay
- Jeff Warnica
- Chris Watt
- Andrew D. Wright
Regrets:
Absent:
Call to Order
Called to order by Marilyn MacDonald
Minutes of November 19 and December 10 Meetings
Moved by John McKay, Seconded by Bernie Hart that the minutes of November
19 be accepted. Motion Carried.
Moved by Bernie Hart, Seconded by Mark Alberstat that the minutes of
December 10 be accepted. Motion Carried.
Inner City Initiative
A full time staff member and administrative assistant have been hired for
the Inner City project.
Voluntary Sector Initiative
An attempt to develop a support network in each province for volunteer
organizations is underway. Proposals are called currently being called
for from each province. It was generally agreed that Bernie Hart and
Marilyn MacDonald should pursue this matter.
Request for refund
Another request for a refund has been received from a Chebucto member
whose request has previously been rejected (and who has resisted efforts
to troubleshoot his computer).
It was agreed that the Chair should contact the member in question and
reiterate our policy on refunds and our willingness to assist in any
problems connecting to the Chebucto dial-up service.
Priorities: 2003
Some input is requested on priorities for the coming year. Items which
were raised include:
- The Inner City Project
- Membership (overall numbers are declining, particularly text account
holders).
- Chebucto's public profile (too many people don't know we exist).
- Rejuvenation of Chebucto's relationship with CAP.
Several suggestions were made, including:
- More involvement by Chebucto in computer and internet education.
- A business plan for the coming years.
- Wireless connectivity.
- DSL or other high-speed connections for business or CAP sites.
Herald column
Would each board member please send two title suggestions to Mark before
the end of the week.
Column idea suggestions are also welcome.
Committee Reports
Technical Committee
Because we still have a significant number of beta testers for 56K who
have not been able to get good connectivity, Chebucto plans to provide an
ongoing 33.6K service on a limited number of lines, but the existing 56K
service appears to be performing well and may be ready to bring online
next week.
The Executive committee will meet to discuss priorities for the technical
assistant.
Finance Committee
Bernie has been in touch with Johanne DesRosiers, and is awaiting final
statements for 2002. The Royal Bank merchant account has been closed out,
the remaining balance has been transferred to the Credit Union account.
Policy Committee
The Policy committee is currently soliciting suggestions for changes which
should be made to Chebucto User Agreements for the new year.
External Committee
An External committee meeting will be called for next week to prepare for
the AGM.
In external news, Chebucto was recently featured in The Coast magazine, as
well as getting some publicity at the Internet new years levee.
Internal Committee
Nothing to report.
Other Business
John McKay will be meeting with the CBC to discuss possible space in the
CBC transmitter tower for Chebucto's use in wireless networking, and is
also pursuing possible involvement with Industry Canada.
Bill Matheson attended the MISA open house. MISA representatives
expressed an interest in internship positions with Chebucto.
John McKay would like to acknowledge the contributions of Marilyn
MacDonald, Ed Dyer, Andrew Wright and Johnathan Thibodeau.
Adjournment
Moved by Ed Dyer, so declared.
Next meeting February 4, 2003.