Board of Directors Meeting Minutes
October 8, 2002
Attending:
- Mark Alberstat
- Ed Dyer
- Bernie Hart
- Gerard MacNeil
- Bill Matheson
- John McKay
- Jeff Warnica
Regrets:
- Marilyn MacDonald
- Mark Rushton
- Chris Watt
- Andrew D. Wright
Absent:
Minutes of Previous Meeting
The Minutes of the Sept 17 meeting were amended as follows: Bill Matheson
had sent regrets and the word CAPE was changed to CAP. The minutes were
approved as amended. Bill Matheson circulated a sheet seeking an up to
date Board contact list.
Word on the Street
John McKay reported Word On The Street was markedly better than last year
and that Andrew and Johnathan should be commended for the work they had
done in preparation. It was agreed there was a definite interest in 56K.
It was agreed next year we should do a schedule for Board participation at
the booth. This would involve more people and ensure there were not high
and low participation periods. It was also suggested that next year we
attempt to do a wireless demo.
Inner City
John McKay indicated that Philip Mason would be interested in being
considered for one of the positions. John will send Bernie a
résumé. John also indicated he has another line on possible
laptops. Bernie reported the final funding requirements are being put in
place. The Project Director position has been assigned to John Odenthal.
B. Hart indicated there is now a need for a meeting of CCN reps and GPI to
discuss the database specs.
Hope Cottage
Gerard reported the space for a training area has been assigned and the
computers are being put in place. There will be two to start and a third
one can be added if demand warrants. There will be a slow start-up period
as the target audience will take time to acclimatise. They would prefer
to allow the necessary time rather than get the wrong participants - those
who do not really need this specialized program. Gerard suggested
Chebucto will be able to offer follow-up support.
Staff Funding and Scholarships
Jeff indicated he was hoping a plan could be in place for January. Next
year we should make it part of the scholarship program. The University
will recognize this opportunity and publish information about it. Jeff
suggested we need to allocate approximately $2,000 for this project. Ed
agreed with the proposal but indicated there will be work on our part to
prepare for the position and to administer it. Bernie agreed to check on
the availability of COOP funding through the Province. Jeff will check on
the Scholarship arrangements at Dal.
Ed agreed to meet with Randy Barkhouse to outline the volunteer
opportunities which students could have at CCN.
Committee Reports
Technical Committee
Dal will be going ahead with the renovations. There will be a new raised
floor which may cause a problem for our racks. There may be a tender call
for the rewiring of the computer connections at Chase. This may mean
short outages for CCN. But the benefit will be a faster connection from
the Office to the Machine Room.
It is still not clear who the CCN sponsor is within Math/Stats.
Kassiem will soon have an Ultra 60 Sun Server available for sale at an
estimated cost of $5,000. The Spam Server crashed last week due to the
high loads being experienced. It appears to be alright at present.
The "beeper" system will need to be replaced by a Cell Phone. B. Hart
moved and John McKay seconded that Ed be authorized to purchase a cell
phone to match Johnathan's. Passed
Eastlink now has the paperwork complete for the 56K service. Ed is
anticipating the rate to be $600 per 24 lines (same as Dal rate). We will
begin with 72 lines. B. Hart suggested we plan a ceremonial switch over
to get press coverage. The Board thanked Ed for the long hours he had
been spending in an attempt to correct problems. Ed suggested everyone
change their pass words to attempt to avoid another "take-over" episode.
At this point the Spam is again under control.
Internal Committee
Mark Alberstat was commended for the great job he did on the brochures.
Mark will also meet with Marilyn to discuss ways of involving more
volunteers in CCN programs.
Mark also spoke about the proposed column in the Herald. It was moved by
Gerard MacNeil and seconded by John McKay that Mark Alberstat be asked to
lead the Herald project (passed). He will initiate the article
preparation process. He would like to be three columns ahead at a time.
He asked the Board to make suggestions for articles - maximum of 500
words. The CCN Logo will be included with the articles. Two suggestions
were What can CCN do for the community. Where are CAP sites located.
It was reported that the Kings School of Journalism will be doing an
article on CCN in their newsletter.
Other Business
There was a brief discussion of the role to be played by the reps of
organizations. It was agreed this group of people is important to CCN and
we should do more to keep them informed.
Ed pointed out that if we continue our present meeting schedule we will be
meeting on News Years Eve. It was agreed the monthly meeting schedule
will be raised at the next meeting. There was a suggestion one meeting a
month may be sufficient if work is also being done by sub-committees.
John McKay pointed out that we must begin serious searching for new Board
members. Those with one more term include Marilyn, Gerard, Bernie, Mark
A, Mark R and Reg. Those whose terms expire this year are Ed, Chris,
John, Andrew, Bill and Jeff.
The meeting adjourned.