Date: 02/11/09; Location: Mick’s place.
Attendees: Jessica, Mick (host), Morgan, Philip, Will W., Zach, and Massimo.
Roles:

• Facilitator: Zach;
• Minutes tacker and time keeper: Massimo,
• Stack/Queue holder: Philip

Meeting Agenda:

• Financial Stuff
• Earn-a-Bike counting report from Mick
• Deliverables and Action items for the EAB and membership proposal
• Volunteer night discussion
• Shop reorganization
• Agenda for next week (02/18/09)

WORD of the Night: DOCUMENTATION

Financial Stuff:

• Jessica shared an info she got from Kitty. Assets from a non-profit stays non-profit. This means that if we go for-profit we will say goodbye to it and it will stay with BP.
• Massimo also shared the fact that Kitty sent an email to him a day or so ago and he said he was going to forward the email to all the group. The general jest of the message is that she is getting up to par with things like 1099 forms and that she need any tape or receipt from end of 2008, which Rachel has so diligently collected, already.
• Morgan offered his help for making the shift to whatever status we decide FR will decide to become. He time restrain doesn’t allow him to do this till late March, 2009.
• Jessica suggested that we ask Scott B. if we could have 1 year to make this shift.
• Morgan covered some details about the meaning of non-profit, corporation and board
• Jessica pointed out that there may be more that one class within the 501.c3 status and we should investigate them
• After this discussion a series of question were raised that we would try to answer in the coming weeks:
  • Q1: What does “Volunteering for Incentive” mean in term of tax purposes as a way to pay someone?
  • Q2: Is it possible that we won’t be able to pay people as indip. contr. as it used to be till now? This is in case make the financial change.
  • Q3: Is it true that the Board (and not the executive manager) is fiscally responsible for the organization? (financial duty)
  • Q4:What are our options in term of legal status? Pros and Cons for each to decide which way to go.
  • Q5: Could it be that a for-profit or not-for-profit represent a possible good choice for us?
  • Q6: Should we ask a lawyer what the legal aspects are for any of the possible choices we have?
    • Zach’s dad is a lawyer, and Zach offered to ask him about our options and possible legal aspect of each
  • Q7: should we start searching for an accountant?
    • Last night committee felt we should.
  • Q8: What is the problem in changing the register from the one we have now?
    • Philip offered to look into a replacement register and evaluate costs for the change.
    • The people attending the meeting felt that Tuesday (02/17/09) is a very short time to get the current register reprogrammed
    • There was a suggestion: Will (PGH), Philip, and Massimo showed interest on checking the reprogramming of the register.
    • The committee agreed to check with Rachel by Monday (02/16/09) to see if Will, Philip, and Massimo feel that they can reprogram the register but they just need a little more time.
    • Suggestion for the Shop (Action item): Add better documentation about using the register in the shop.
  • Q9: How do we want to make sure the Financial task force is operating and moving along with their task?
  • A9: We could set deliverables and deadline.
  • Q10: What these should be?
  • A10:
    • Take money out of the EEFC account.
    • Twice a month prepare a report of finances with income and expenses by FR.
    • We need to have a definitive list of people that are committed to be involved with the financial aspects of FR.
    • Send out an email setting a meeting with Kitty and also to have another mini-group meeting to discuss the finances future of FR.
    • Formulate some questions to ask Kitty in person.

Report from Mick about 2008 EAB Stats:

• Departed bikes: 173
• Rejected bikes: 167
• Most common amount of hours spent on a bike before departure: 12
• Suggestions for EAB:
  • We should check these numbers on a regular basis to see how the new program is going and if we are getting close to the number of departed bikes in 2008.

Deliverables and Action items for the EAB and membership proposal to be completed before reopening of FR:

1. EAB:
   • Change forms (possibly)
   • Put a new explanation of EAB program on the FR website; posts around the shop (maybe as a list of bullet points), and other information items as a brochure.
   • Instruction, signs, rulse of EAB
   • Gather all the documentation already existing about EAB and see what needs to be changed/modified
   • Ask Erok about any possible electronic version of this
   • How is the current system for paying for the drop-in classes? Is the system already ironed down?
   • Enrollment for EAB and rules
   • Explanation of the limitation
   • Proposal approved last night about “Low-income” EAB users:
   • If a person is able to prove that he/she is a low income (by showing an Access card) then access to the two classes required for the EAB is free.
   • Try to promote volunteering as a way to pay for the two classes for others.
   • Aside note: The Programming committee has to figure out the sign up for classes should be implemented
   • In the EAB proposal there should a change from drop-in classes to just two mechanics classes.
   • People at the meeting are concerned about asking people to pay using a CC instead of checks. Some people don’t like to use CC online.
   • Also, there is a concern about using web tools like “google checkout” to accept donation payments. FR has to pay a fee for each transaction. Is this worth?
   • Possible alternatives are to program the register to accepts classes payments and that way we can keep track of that income.
2. Membership proposal:
   • most of the documentation is already available in crabgrass but not entirely ready yet

Volunteer Night Proposal:

• We need to be committed to do this volunteer night and then we felt that we can actually do it!
• During this meeting the following points have emerged:
  • volunteer coordinator is hard to do for some of FR’rs
  • some volunteers don’t like the feel that the coordinator doesn’t know what is needed to be done
  • There is a need to improve utilization of volunteer time
  • Suggestions: Let’s make a commitment to have this volunteer night and to be clear since start and then we will organize it.
  • There was a discussion about the fact the most of the people at the meeting felt that this proposal was passed a few meetings ago, but at the last meeting (02/04/09) we were not so sure anymore. We would like to bring this proposal to the committee attention again.
  • We felt that it is important to elevate the maintenance of the shop organization to have a more efficient and pleasant environment for the regular open shop nights.
  • Volunteer night will be like a group/social event where we take some time to give back to the shop.
  • We need to:
    • Pick a night (reach consensus)
    • concerns: we need to account for EAB completion
    • create documentation that describe the new volunteer night
  • Explain how the other open shop night will be different
  • Start a crabgrass page about the list of task that we feel the shop needs to have done (regular/non/regular basis)
  • The communication committee need to address the documentation needed to self-direct volunteer during regular open-shop nights so that the volunteer coordinator figure will be removed from those nights.
  • Concerns about this proposal:
    • Add an additional night or take place of one open shop night?
  • We concluded that since we are doing all these changes about EAB and coop, then we could just add the changes for the volunteer night.

Aside comments:

• We need a documentation/communication committee meeting to take place
• We identified some communication needs:
  1. description of tasks to do in the shop during regular open shop shift that will allow the volunteers to operate without the volunteer coordinator
  2. prepare a task-list that can be kept in the shop for people to review and to identify needed tasks to be accomplished
  3. documentation about volunteer night
  4. Documentation for the EAB program as listed above
• In the past we talked about addressing education in the shop: is this still like a plan or in some people mind?
• The shop is very unorganized and some people get frustrated when they have to spend hours of their time other people time to fix their bike for the EAB program.
• A few of us noted that on the FR website there is the wrong schedule about the opening of the shop. Zach reported to have seen many people at the shop on Sat (02/07/09) hoping that FR was open. This should be fixed.
• Is is possible to have a combined place for the shop calendar and staffer calendar? Confusing to have two separate places as it is now.
  1. Philip will look into some options
  2. calendar in the shop so that people would see it.
• Morgan is going to look into getting a computer into the shop and the cost of having a DSLconnection.

Agenda items for next week (02/18/09):

• Shop reorganization ideas/suggestions
• Volunteer night issues to be addressed
• Check on implementation task for the proposals

• Split Earn A Bike (EAB)

• Limit EAB Projects

• Incentives for Staff/Volunteers

• Retention of “lazy” staffers

• Free Ride as Bike Co-op

• ‘Monday’ Night Drop In Mechanics Class (Schedule not set)

• Free Ride Computer Database

• Free Ride Classroom

• Create a checklist for EAB projects that has a bike diagram where problem parts can be circled
• Assess EAB problems in the proposed split EAB night
• Extract EAB from open shop

Retention/Incentive

• Reward/Incentive system: once a month party/dinner
• Make staff time more enjoyable by changing the structure of open shop but shifting responsibility to Free Ride users
• Time Out Box for staffers
• Group Bike Rides scheduled and posted
• Open shop nights for committed volunteers that have logged a set amount of time
• Rotate staff jobs throughout the shift

Administrative/Communication

• Update WIKI, mailing list, blog, crabgrass
• Create messageboard that is accessible through website
• Inquire about BIKE PGH link to messageboard
• Consolidate issues: How do we modify schedule, increase educational opps. and provide volunteer incentives in a single solution?
• Provide avenues to meet up with knowlegable teachers to fix specific bike problems

Project management/Issue Resolution

• Create task based committes to solve issues.
• Integrate education with volunteerism and reinforce participant feeder programs
• Seperate education from open shop and have work time only on designated days
• Institute Co-op model for open shop which requires active management and provides perks

Last night the collective held the first meeting of a series of meetings to be held while the shop takes a break. Jessica held the meeting at her house as well as a potluck beforehand (thanks Jessica). An in-depth history of Free Ride was given as well as discussion about goals/visions/values and problems. A few solutions were mentioned though they will be talked about more at the next meeting. Here are the lists that we came up with! (they can always be added onto though)

Goals, Visions, and Values (personal and collective)

· Mutual Aid

o Immediate and over time

· Burn less fossil fuels

· Build strong communities

· Personal empowerment

o Confidence

o Knowledge

· Less waste/recycle

· Legitimize cycling

· Have publicly visible community center for bicyclists (tangible rallying point)

· Education space

o Mechanics

o Social

o Bikes as transport

o Sustainability

· Open to anyone (class, race, gender, etc.)

· Gateway to alternatives

o Lifestyles

o Transportation

o Modes of organization

o Communities

o Etc. etc. etc.etc.

· Resource for cyclists

o Repair, tools, knowledge, etc.

· Experiment in alternative organizational practice

· Non-hierarchical organization

· Learn mechanics

· Anti-oppression (pro human/respect etc.)

Problems

· Not clear how to become more involved

· Staffing/collective membership is too taxing

· Tension with having a functional yet non-hierarchical organization

· Not enough time for planning/questions

o Pressed by functional needs

· Lack of health in personal feel to organization

· Lack of accountability

· Lack of follow through

· Personalized knowledge

· Community is less cohesive/social than in past

· MORE COMPLEXITY

· Less enthusiasm

· Tension from being open to anyone

o Conflicting ideas

o Disproportionate use by certain groups

· Open shop can be difficult, exhausting, no fun

· Organizational structure slanted towards doing tasks (Open Shop)

· Don’t use volunteer labor well

· Not enough benefits for volunteers and collective members

· Not enough people resources to accomplish needed tasks (or not well used people resources)

· Needs not communicated

· Organizational structure/procedures not well documented

o Compounded by more people

· Don’t transition to new volunteers well

· Not good communication between committees and general Open Shop volunteers

· No opportunity to learn mechanics for new volunteers

· More demand for Earn-A-Bike/Free Ride services than we can accommodate

· Can’t identify staffers in Open Shop

· Imbalance in number of people who run Free Ride and number of people who use Free Ride

Ideas for Solutions

· Message board

o General internet

· Computer at shop

· Accountability

o Small group committees

o Periodic shifting “directors” to encourage accountability

· Job rotating (and organizing education)

· Interactive Stations (mechanical education documentation of shop procedures)