June 2018 Meeting Minutes
Snoqualmie Valley Radio Club
Meeting Minutes for June 7, 2018
Business Meeting called to order 6:15 p.m. Duvall Fire Station #66 by Tom Needham, WA7TBP
Note: As an experiment discussed by board members and committee chairs by email following the May meeting, the business portion of the meeting was switched this month to 6:15 p.m. with the intention of freeing prime time in the evening for our 7 p.m. Field Day planning session. The idea was to assist meeting attendees who wish to avoid lengthy business discussions to attend only the portion of the meeting of most interest and value to each individual.
22 members and guests present for business and/or Field Day planning session: Robin Amundson, Rowland Brasch, Rick Burns, Paul Butzi, Bill Condon, Lindy Friedlander, Jacob Grotte, John Grotte Linda Hanson, Milt Hanson, Ken Kosters, Ralph Lease, John Lento, Mark Miller, Irvina Mizell, Jim Myers, Tom Needham, Dan Pflugrath, Tim Schmoll, Shawn Somers, Carol Swanton, Kirt White
Parliamentary discussion: Our vice president, Ralph, KC7QXD, pointed out according to bylaws club members must be given opportunity to vote on decisions such as meeting time changes. Three options for meetings going forward were discussed. A motion to vote on the following three options was made by Robin, WA7CPA, and approved by voice vote of those present.
Option 1: Keep meeting times as they have been in the past. That is, business meeting begins at 7 p.m., with the Elmer session following from 8:00 to 9:00 p.m.
Option 2: Start Elmer session at 7 p.m., followed by business meeting at 8:15-9:00 p.m.
Option 3: Business meeting at 6:15. At 7 p.m. Our president, Tom, WA7TBP, will give a 15-minute summary of business meeting discussion and bring any necessary votes to the membership. The Elmer sessions will begin at 7:15 with the option of running as late as 9:00 p.m. when we must vacate the meeting room.
At 7 p.m. after additional attendees were present, Tom brought the three options forward to the membership for a vote. Robin, who tallied the hand votes, had written the options on the white board. Results are as follows:
Option 1 received 1 vote.
Option 2 received 7 votes.
Option 3 received 11 votes.
Therefore, going forward the monthly business meeting shall be held at 6:15 p.m., followed by a 15-minute summary and any voting at 7 p.m. At 7:15 p.m. our programmed Elmer session shall commence until as late, but no later than 9:00 p.m.
Secretary Report—Shawn, K7ATA, as administrator for our groups.io online club communication platform, will add the bylaws as a file and notify the membership. This has now been done. Ralph, KC7QXD, motioned for approval of minutes as posted on groups.io. The motion was approved.
Treasurer Report—Lindy Friedlander, KG7IFA. The most recent bank balance is $2,668.42. The CDCCC board has not yet approved the May financial report. Currently, our equipment is being depreciated over 5 years, but she recommended that we use 3 years for used donated equipment given the shortened expected life. In addition she emphasized the importance of following equipment rules. For example, equipment held on the books with a value in excess of $500 must have CDCCC board approval for disposal. This was not done for the Mike & Key Swap Meet. So she advised that all equipment purchases and sales should be run by her as treasurer to make sure we are conforming to the appropriate rules. This is important to maintain our fiduciary responsibility for CDCCC to keep its 501(c)3 non-profit status.
Prior to the meeting there were 45 members with paid dues and one new licensee member with unpaid dues. One new application for membership with check was brought to the treasurer during the meeting. There was a confused message at our recent technician licensing class about dues for new licensee members. SnoVARC had previously decided not to offer free first-year memberships but our friends from Lake Washington Ham Club helping administer the exams offered free first-year memberships to their club. We are looking for a tactful way to clear up the confusion.
Member dues for 2018 and the annual membership application with signed liability waiver need to be turned in. Please make the checks out to CDCCC and mail to PO Box 644, Carnation, WA 98014. The link to information on joining the club and the form is at http://snovarc.org/join/
Committee and Task Force Reports
Repeater task force—With the addition of a second crossband repeater in Duvall, there was discussion of renaming the old and new repeaters in a manner to eliminate confusion. Paul, W7PFB, suggested the names we adopted. Ralph, KC7QXD, made the motion to name them, and Rowland, K7RWB, seconded. The motion carried. The Carnation crossband will continue to be called the Carnation Crossband. The Northern Repeater, the newer repeater residing in Duvall, will now be called the Big Rock Crossband. This will be added to the website and the Net Script.
Shawn, K7ATA, reported the Cougar Mountain repeater move from one building to the other is unlikely to happen in 2018. This is due to commercial contract negotiations related to ownership of the space we rent. Shawn recommends we make a plan to proactively do prep work because when a contract is signed we will have only 90 days to complete the move. Building F will become storage. We will need to clean and possibly paint Building E. Robin, WA7CPA, found a donor for server racks we could acquire and bring to the site in anticipation of the move.
Emergency planning and mobilization task force—Ralph, KC7QXD, announced he is stepping down as chairman of this task force committee. He is looking for his replacement. Interested parties are invited to contact him and/or Tom, WA7TBP.
Education & community outreach task force—
The new hams net continues weekly on Tuesdays at 7 p.m. with Dan reporting 17 check-ins the previous week. The weekly ham gathering at Big Rock Ball Fields has been driving participation in the net.
Carnation space—Paul, W7PFB, reported he and Jim, W7ABD, installed the new antenna. Jim, WA7ABD, reported Milt and Linda Hanson came during the Saturday learning opportunity he provided.
Jim, W7ABD, reported the defective controller was replaced, bench tested, and is ready.
Old Business
Grant Update—Paul, W7PFB, reported on 100 Women Who Care grant. A grant to purchase Stop the Bleed kits was made. Paul will resubmit our application for the next round.
New Business
Tom, WA7TBP, asked for a vote on whether to move the July meeting from July 5 to July 12. At 7 p.m. the general membership voted by raised hands 13 to 3 to keep the July meeting on the first Thursday, falling on July 5. Secretary Robin, WA7CPA, did the official tally.
King County badges—Tom, WA7TBP, reported one reason some people have never received their badges is a Duvall City employee whose desk the applications were on left employment and the ball has been indefinitely dropped. Background check is required for KC badges. In the past some people have declined going through the process. Badges are not required for club membership.
Elmer Session: This month’s Elmer session was a discussion and planning session for Field Day led by Tom, WA7TBP. Field Day begins at 9 a.m. June 23 and ends at 11 a.m. June 24. We decided upon a leather-gloved work party Friday evening June 22 bringing loppers and other gardening tools to clear the brambles and other vegetation from our operating site under and around the old cow shed high up on the hill at Carnation Farms. Tools needed are leaf blowers, loppers, leather gloves, brooms, eye protection, long rakes, and anything else that might be handy.
We agreed setup would be in the early morning on Saturday, June 23, rather than Friday evening. The plan is to be operational by 9 a.m. Robin, WA7CPA, and Jim W7ABD, will be bringing portable stations. Jim’s will cover the higher bands and Robin’s will cover the lower bands, but not 80 meters. Available modes will be CW, SSB, and (hopefully) FT-8 digital. The stations will be low power this year. Ken will bring gear to make a satellite contact. Each attendee must bring his or her own personal supplies including water, food, radio gear, camping gear, hygiene items, as if this is a true field event emergency. The club will, however, share a 6 p.m. Saturday potluck dinner. Anyone with box fans is asked to bring them in case it is hot. Shawn, K7ATA, agreed to coordinate the upload of .adif log files to N1MM software for submitting after Field Day. Ken, W7ECK, will arrange for porta-potty delivery. Tom emphasized our club is not a contesting club. Our Field Day goals are to give newer hams and visitors a chance to get on the air and also to socialize, as well as test out our gear in a field situation. Maps and access codes will be provided by Ken, W7ECK, as Field Day approaches.
Rowland, W7RWB, introduced a very special visitor, a founding member of our club, William (Bill) Condon, K7WJC, who kindly shared some club history. We look forward to his return.
Upcoming Events
June 23-24, 2018: Field Day, Carnation Farms, Access code and information TBD
July 4, 2018: Carnation event traffic management needed
July 5, 2018: SnoVARC meeting, Thursday, 7 p.m. Elmer session is alternative sources of power for radio by Shawn, K7ATA
July 11, 2018: CERT bi-monthly meeting, 7:00-9:00 p.m., Carnation Fire Station?, topic TBD
August 2, 2018: SnoVARC meeting, Thursday, 7 p.m. Elmer session is directional antennas and foxhunt facilitated by Dan, KA7GPP
September 22, 2018: CDCCC Disaster readiness exercise
Minutes respectfully submitted by Robin Amundson, WA7CPA
