Scott Kowalski

Free Ride Council Meeting Minutes

1.13.2017 || 12:00pm – 3:00pm || Everyday Café

Attendees: Scott, Tom, Tess, Kyle, Dave, Katie, Joel, Ryder, Jen*, Hannah*

 *= remotely called in 

Agenda

1. New Council Term
   1. Applications given to those interested (2018 term)
   2. Scott, Tom, Tess, Kyle, Dave, Joel, Katie, Jen, Hannah shared intent for Council
   3. Applications due back to Free Ride safe, Tom will collect & process
2. Re-Use Fest
   1. Saturday, April 21^st at Children’s Hospital in Lawrenceville
   2. Are we interested in being a part of this?  YES
   3. Will need people support day-of (2-3 people)
   4. Will need to rent van to transport bikes (Joel has Cargo Van, may work)
3. Shop Rearrange
   1. Are we interested in moving forward with the rearrange?  YES
   2. Hannah will email out designs to council list
   3. Aim to start one day per week during “off hours” (perhaps Sunday)
4. Volunteer Application
   1. We are in need of an electronic way to track volunteer hours
   2. Are we interested in Scott developing a proposal for web-based application?  YES
   3. Kyle is talking to a co-op in Illinois that uses an electronic sign-in, will bring to the table if that is an option
   4. Scott will draft proposal idea and bring it to future council meeting
5. Email/Mail Chimp Communication
   1. Discussion around use of current communication method (mail chimp, mass email) as a notification system versus a two-way communication system
      1. Several different lists in the system (volunteer, staff, council, Women & Queer)
         1. Scott will differentiate when sending out notifications in future
      2. Can’t send attachment with Mail Chimp
      3. Emails are also located on Webpage
   2. Discussion around alternative methods (google account, slack, etc)
      1. Jen will look into alternative ways that could work for us
6. Frigid Bitch
   1. February 17^th ladies alleycat race
   2. Do we want Free Ride (Women & Queer) to sponsor again this year  YES
   3. What should that sponsorship look like? Everyone gets:
      1. 3 Fee-Waived passes to Women & Queer Open Shop
      2. 3 Passes to our classes
      3. Stickers
      4. [Only Winners] Purple/Women’s cut Free Ride T-shirt
   4. Katie will draft the W&Q passes, send to Scott for edits & prints
7. Saturday Hours
   1. Should we extend hours beyond the 1-5 current hours?  UNSURE
      1. Looking at maybe two shifts (9-1pm / 1-5pm)
      2. Desire to be open longer, yet unsure if we have the volunteer/resources to effectively make this reality
   2. Brainstorm discussion about alternate ways to include staff
      1. Pitt/University Volunteers
      2. Bike PGH (Positive Spin)
   3. Will table this, everyone able to brainstorm ways to bring on more staff
8. Officer Duties
   1. Brief discussion around what the officer (President, Secretary, Treasurer, etc) duties are
   2. Tom will make a draft of what the duties might be
   3. Everyone will brainstorm what they want of those positions to discuss further next meeting
9. Duties of Staff and Volunteers
   1. Brief discussion that we (staff) don’t always have same priorities for volunteers
      1. Sometimes volunteers have specific projects they want to work on
      2. There is a written list of volunteer duties on website and in the shop
   2. Kyle and Katie will collaborate about making those more visible in the shop
10. Two Staffers During Open Shop
    1. Do we want to have 2 staff people during open shop  YES
       1. Used to do this; increases safety & accountability
       2. Have 1 person as “greeter” who understands Free Ride, can do cash register, greets people as they come in, introduces what Free Ride is/does
       3. Have 1 person as “floor mechanic” who has bicycle knowledge, helps people tinkering with bikes
    2. How do we make this a reality?
       1. Pair up two people to staff in teams (1 experienced person with 1 newer person)
       2. Through a calendar (have 2 slots for staff) if not two slots filled, no open shop
          1. Maybe have an officer manage this?
       3. Have an outreach/growth position on board to build our staffers
    3. Goal for the moment; will check in again about making this reality

Additional Agenda Items Tabled for Future Meetings:

• Tags for bikes
• Signage in shop
• Marketing/website/Instagram
• Year-end books
• Bike!Bike!
• Heat in shop
• Ability to pay people

Council Meeting 11/16/2016

Attendance

1. Tom
2. Scott
3. Tess
4. Greg
5. Mike

Greg Requested a new lock for the gate so it is more visible at night.
We will get  a new coded lock that easier to read

Color Code Bikes for sale
Did not discuss

Drugs and Alcohol in the shop
Discussed no tolerance for drinking or taking drugs while staffing. Everyone agreed on this. No policy would need to be written

Electric
Discussed final bid from Bob Boden for the Electric
Should have dropped off final Proposal on Saturday 19th

New Dead Bolt for Door.
Scott Will install at some point over winter it will be a coded lock so no keys will be needed to enter shop.

Shop restructure
Talked about new in shop bin

Mr Baker Bakers Market Homewood
Greg would like to do a bike giveaway every sunday for kids. Everyone Agreed  great idea Greg’s Pet Project.

Kids – Lisa was absent.

Classes Next Year.
Still working on proposal for to submit for grants .
Tom is going to work on Getting the needed Paperwork up to date.

Council

Vote at next council meeting December

Email Collection

Discussed a 40,000 piece email collection from gmail account requesting people to join our mailing list. This would be a one time request. Scott said he would be working closely with mailchimp to make sure we did everything legally and within the companies parameters.

Winter Hours

• Sat 1:00-5:00
• Mon 6:30 -9:30
• Wed LGBT Night 6:30 – 9:30

Next Council Meeting 12/17/16 10 am at Food Coop.