JUNEAU AMATEUR RADIO CLUB MEETING MINUTES 11/5/2014

Transcription

1 JUNEAU AMATEUR RADIO CLUB MEETING MINUTES 11/5/2014 The November 5, 2014 regular meeting of the Juneau Amateur Radio Club was called to order by President Richard Anderson at 1902 hours. Attendance: Richard Anderson KL2QZ, Ivan Hazelton KL2UG, David Bruce WL7BKA, James Zuelow KL2ZZ, Larry Walter KL7IWC, Howard Shepherd AL7I, Pat Moore AL7L, Scott Novak KL3JM, Ernie Mueller KL2UH, Robert Breffeilh KL3ZF, Joe Johnson KL2ZS, Rick Pearson N7PHB. President Rich Anderson announced that following the meeting Scott Novak will give a presentation on his fan dipole setup. Minutes of the October Meeting: Minutes of the October meeting were distributed by . As no corrections or additions were noted, a motion to accept them as distributed was made by Ivan, seconded by James and passed. Treasurer s Report: Treasurer Scott Novak, reported that the general account had a balance of $ , and the gaming account has a balance of $ The gaming account can only be used for emergency preparedness and public education. Approximately $100 of the gaming account must be spent soon. The gaming permit fee has been paid for the following year. Membership Report: David Bruce reported 63 members, two new members since last month, Rob Breffeilh KL3ZF and Rick Pearson N7PHB. VE Report: Rob Breffeilh KL3ZFpassed the General Class license exam on October 4. Ben Downing KL2UF of Sitka is interested in teaching a license class and would need help with VEs administering the exam. VHF Report: Howard Shepherd reported that he, Joe Johnson and Ron Hagerup repaired the door on the shelter for the Mount Roberts repeater. The repeater is working properly and should be powered on through the winter. ARES Report: Larry Walter reported that he will be spending several months in the Philippines this winter and will not be returning until February 2, Ivan Hazelton will take over the ARES Section Manager responsibilities while Larry is gone. Larry also reported on the ARRL Alaska SET Exercise. For complete information and Larry s written report and lessons learned see the November 2014 Club Newsletter. Larry mentioned that Joel Curtis would like the Club Station at the Juneau National Weather Service Forecast Center be available for use as a communications center during an emergency. If that was to happen, an internet connection would have to be available as well as 40 meter packet capability (which also means a 40 and 80 meter antenna.) Larry and Pat emphasized that it is proper emergency communications protocol to both check in and check out of a net. If an operator leaves the frequency without checking out, Net Control assumes that the operator is still on frequency and available and may try to contact the operator. If an operator leaves a frequency it is proper protocol to check into the net when returning.

2 Larry also mentioned that he distributed the ICS 205 form with the Alaska HF Frequency matrix to the Northern Southeast ARES group. Training Report: Pat reported that the Saturday Sessions What To Do With Your Radio Besides Check Into the Net were going well but participation is low, as few as 3 people at several of them. The presenters go to a lot of effort to make these available and it would be great if there were more Club members attending the sessions. Old Business: 1. David reported that the Forest Service is ready to process the Club s application for the installation of an antenna next to the Weather Service building. Originally the Club wanted to install a 40/80 meter wire antenna. However, the Forest Service will not allow the Club to attach an antenna onto a tree. One option would have been to develop a buried radial field for the Club s vertical antenna. Pat suggested that other vertical antennas could be used without buried radials. In that case the Forest Service permit would not be required. David indicated that he would take no further action on the permit at this time. He also reported that the permit fee is $ Rich mentioned that Russell Strandtmann and David Carnes are completing their work as the Nomination Committee for 2015 officers. 3. David reported that the Club and the Fire Control Training Center have executed an agreement regarding the storage of the Club s tower trailer at the Center. Thanks to Rich, David and Howard for organizing the move of the tower trailer to the new site. 4. Rich reported that he received a letter from ARRL Northwestern Division Director Jim Pace K7CEX thanking him and the Club for its hospitality and encouragement during his visit to Juneau in September. A copy of Jim s letter is attached to these minutes 5. At the October meeting the matter of joining Amazon Smile was discussed and a decision deferred until the November meeting. David moved and James seconded that the Club join the program. The motion passed. Ivan will set this up and instructions on how club members can link their Amazon accounts so that donations to the Club from Amazon can be made. New Business: 1. Pat announced that the 81 st Annual ARRL Phone Sweepstakes, Amateur Radio s longest running contest, will be held November 15, 2100 UTC to November UTC. If the Club is interested in participating, including setting up on Friday November 14 and a potluck and teardown right after the contest ends, he would be willing to organize the event. The Club agreed to participate and thanked Pat for his generous offer. 2. Rich announced that he has appointed James to prepare an inventory of all Club property and to label all items, starting with the Club station at the Weather Service and the Winlink station. Thank you, James for taking on this task. 3. Ernie presented the report of the Finance Committee appointed by Rich at the October meeting. The report is attached to these minutes. The Committee recommended that the annual dues be increased by 25% beginning in 2015; that the cost of the Annual Meeting and Banquet be reduced by eliminating

3 the gift certificate raffle item and the door prizes; and that the Club carefully monitor its expenses and take further action to balance the budget if necessary. Pat moved and Scott seconded a motion to increase the general membership dues from $36.00 to $45.00 per year and that additional family membership dues be increased from $12.00 to $16.00 beginning in Larry suggested that some portion of the Club s revenue be set aside and invested so that in the future the Club may be able to using earnings from the fund to help defray expenses. Pat mentioned that the last time the dues increased was in 1982 and that the current value of that $36.00 amount is $ Rich suggested that the motion be votes on at the December 3 meeting so that all Club members would be properly notified of the proposals and could attend and vote. Pat moved and James seconded that the motion be laid on the table until the December 3 meeting. The motion passed. Dave noted that he has had members express interest in paying the 2015 dues early and that he typically sends out dues notices before December 10. Pat moved and Larry seconded that dues not be collected until; after the matter is decided at the December meeting. The motion passed. 4. Rich brought up the matter of the annual meeting, typically held in January. Pat said that he has contacted St. Brendan s Church and that it is available on January 17 th. It was decided that the meeting will be held on that date, before the meeting there will be a license examination session and a flea market. The meeting adjourned at 9:35 P.M. After the meeting Scott gave a very information discussion about the fan dipole he designed and constructed. His construction was very professional and he has had considerable success with this inexpensive antenna. The next general membership meeting of the Juneau Amateur Radio Club will be Wednesday December 3, 2014 at 7pm at the National Weather Service Juneau Forecast Office, 8500 Mendenhall Loop Road, Juneau. Respectively submitted, Ernie Mueller KL2UH, Secretary Juneau Amateur Radio Club

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5 Date: 30 October 2014 To: Richard Anderson, President Juneau Amateur Radio Club From: Ernie Mueller, Secretary Subject: Club Finances At the Club regular meeting of October 1, 2014 you appointed a committee to investigate the matter of Club finances and to report back with recommendations. The members of the committee are: Ernie Mueller, Pat Moore, Sam Smith, Dave Bruce and Scout Novak, Treasurer. Findings: Income: The Club s sources of income include dues, grants, cash donations, gambling revenue and proceeds from the sale of donated goods. Of these the most regular and predictable is the income from dues. The current dues rate is $36 per individual member and $12 for family members of an individual member. There are about 50 individual members and 11 additional family members. This generates $1932 per year. Donations are not significant and the Club has not received any cash donations this year. Gambling revenue is small, and is currently from 50/50 raffles held among Club members at events. It is about $200 per year. The Club has not received any donated goods it could sell recently, although it has in the past. Grant funds have been available, and are likely still available, for initial establishment of the Club s repeater system, upgrades to that system, and development of the Club s Winlink station. Grant funds are typically useable only for new equipment purchases, not for operations, repair or maintenance. The committee estimates regular recurring income of $2132 per year. Expenditures: Based on a review of past expenditures and the personal knowledge of members of the committee, expenditures are estimated at: Events, including food, room rent, door prizes, raffle items, dining items: $ Administrative costs: Repeater system maintenance, repair and operation Tower trailer maintenance and repair and operation Contingencies Total: $ * *Some items in the past have been paid or donated by individual Club members without acknowledgement. Although these donations are deeply appreciated, the Club cannot rely on this continuing. As the repeater system and tower trailer age, the cost for maintenance and repair will increase. Recommendations: The Club s projected current annual deficit is in excess of $1700. There is not a balance in the Club s treasury to support this deficit. In the past revenues from sale of donated equipment (particularly a used ambulance) and grants have helped support the Club, but these revenues are not presently available for this purpose. I. Expenditure reductions: a. The Club should reduce the cost of the annual meeting (now about $1000) by eliminating the gift certificate raffle and door prizes. The gift certificate raffle is available to all members, whether they attend the annual meeting or not. Purchase of the main meat course and condiment items for the annual meeting does act as an incentive for attendance and helps promote the important social and fellowship aspects of ham radio. The committee members themselves did not believe that the door prizes were a significant incentive for attendance. It is possible that donated items could be used for door prizes. If the gift certificate and door prizes were eliminated, the cost of the banquet would be reduced about $420.

6 b. The Club should consider that any costs for transportation and lodging associated with supporting the Yukon Amateur Radio Association in its communications assistance to the Kluane Chilkat International Bike Relay and the Klondike Road Relay be borne by volunteers providing the assistance. There are amateur radio operators in Skagway and Haines who may be available to provide this service and they should be recruited and trained. c. Capital and equipment costs associated with expanding and upgrading the repeater network should be borne by grants and other donations to the Club. Wherever possible the costs of upgrading and replacing obsolete repeater equipment should be paid from grants or other onetime revenue. d. The costs to operate and maintain the tower trailer should be carefully monitored to determine its cost-effectiveness. Its use is limited and replacement of major components may be prohibitive. II. Revenues: a. The Club should increase dues to an amount which will make up much or all of the deficit. The committee recommends that dues be raised to at least $45.00 for individual members and $16.00 for each additional family member. This is a 25% increase. This would increase income from dues to $2426 and total revenues to $ The deficit will remain considerable and the Club will have to continue to seek sources of new revenue (see e. below.) b. The Club should encourage its members to make additional voluntary cash donations to the Club for operating expenses or to make an in-kind donation for items that would otherwise be paid out of the Club treasury. As the Club is classified as a 501(c)3 organization, these donations are deductible for federal income tax purposes. c. The Club should encourage its members to donate equipment they may not continue to use. This equipment can be sold to generate revenue, or retained to improve or expand the Club s radio equipment inventory. Club members may also be encouraged to leave a portion of their estates to the Club, whether in cash or property. These contributions may also be tax deductible. d. The Club should do a comprehensive inventory of its property, including condition, and make sure that property is preserved and protected. It may find that there is property surplus to the Club s need that may be sold to generate revenue. The inventory should be done each year. e. The Club should actively seek other sources of revenue. The committee discussed the Club sponsoring a public raffle, seeking funds from pull-tab providers and looking for operating grant funds, primarily from Government Agencies, although there are local commercial enterprises that may also be solicited. All of these options would take considerable effort on the part of Club members to be successful. In conclusion, as of right now the Club cannot continue to operate as it has in the past without changes in its financial structure. Over the last few years the Club has spent down its fund balance to the point where it will very soon be gone. Although these recommendations will not balance the Club s expenses and revenue completely, they will go a long way toward making the Club solvent. We must continue to work, particularly on revenues, to be sure the Club fulfills its responsibilities to its members and the public.