CALL TO ORDER
Chairman Tim Edes called the meeting to order at 10:00 AM at the Brandli home, 2106 9th Ave., Oakland.
ROLL CALL
Board Members Present: Tim Edes, Jessica Furui, Steve Goldfield, Dave Gooding, Mark Hogan, Jim Ingram, Maria Nadauld, Larry Phegley, Geoffrey Sargent, Mikki Feeney (via conference phone.)
Board Members Absent: David Brace
Officers and Coordinators Present: Darby Brandli, Colleen Hogan, Carl Pagter
SETTING OF THE AGENDA
The meeting agenda was approved with three changes.
APPROVAL OF THE OCTOBER 2016 BOARD MEETING MINUTES
The October 23, 2016 minutes were approved as written.
PERSONS DESIRING TO ADDRESS THE BOARD ON UNAGENDIZED ITEMS
None
OLD BUSINESS
Membership Decrease:
The board discussed the possibility of appointing a special committee to focus on the steady decrease in membership; however, since the FDF strategic planning committee is already working on branding and outreach, they will wait until their presentation in February to determine if another committee is necessary.
Online Voting:
The board agreed to look into options for electronic voting before the next election. It may be possible to conduct online voting outside of the CBA site using inexpensive polling software if the site doesn’t have the infrastructure to support it.
Conflict of Interest Forms:
Board members who had not yet turned in their signed Conflict of Interest agreements were asked to do so at this meeting.
VP and Concert Policies:
This item tabled pending consolidation of the two different policies that have been presented.
VP Appointments and Title Changes:
Two Area Activities VPs have resigned: Bruno Brandli for East Bay and Bill Schneiderman for Delta Sierra, though Bill will continue a newsletter for that area. While replacements have been discussed, they were not brought forward at this meeting for approval.
As a follow up to the October meeting, the issue of title changes was discussed. There is inconsistency in how titles are used; for example “director” vs. “coordinator” vs. “vice president”. There was a motion to change the title from Area Activities Vice President to “Area Representative”; however, the motion was withdrawn pending the examination of job descriptions and accountabilities.
5 year FDF Plan Update:
The committee continues to meet monthly and is working on a presentation that they’ll bring to the board at the February meeting.
Great 48 Update:
There was no one present to give an update on The Great 48.
NEW BUSINESS
By Laws Review:
A review process will begin in order to bring the bylaws up-to-date. The deadline for changes is the May board meeting to allow time for an attorney to review before any amendments go onto the ballot for members to vote on in October.
Golf Cart Proposal:
The board discussed a proposal to change the current golf cart/ATV policy to allow attendees to bring their own personal use vehicles to the Fathers’ Day Festival. Since the Fairground’s policies are very strict on this matter and the CBA is ultimately responsible for the behavior of all drivers, it adds a significant level of risk to allow personal use vehicles of this type. The decision was made to leave the policy as is.
International Bluegrass Music Museum Donation for Seat:
The board agreed to donate another $500 to IBMM in order to get a CBA plaque on a theater seat in the new Bluegrass Center.
Ticket Prices 2018:
Fathers’ Day Festival ticket prices need to be reviewed before FDF 2018 to eliminate discrepancies and encourage early bird purchases while also emphasizing the (monetary) benefits of membership. Further discussion is postponed until after the 5-year plan presentation.
2017 FDF Program:
The Bluegrass Breakdown editor was authorized to contract with a graphic designer to assist with production of the FDF program.
Publicity:
Production of publicity cards for FDF 2017 will begin with the goal of having them to distribute at The Great 48.
REPORTS
Executive Committee Report:
The committee discussed two items between meetings:
–Approval of a concert proposal from Ted Kuster for Slocan Ramblers in San Francisco on 11/20.
–Discussion of the Golf Cart/ATV Policy
Membership Report:
The CBA membership number is down to 2592. The decrease in membership was discussed at length in agenda item E.1.
Treasurer’s Report:
The Treasurer was not present at the meeting but emailed the financial reports ahead of time.
Music Camp Report:
The final Music Camp Report from 2016 should be finished by the next meeting as well as a budget proposal for Music Camp 2017.
Youth Program Report:
–So far, we have only received $2,500 towards the goal of $6K for the Scholarship Fund.
–The IBMA KOB selection committee will start receiving applications in January 2017.
Area Activities VP Reports:
Larry Phegley (South Bay/Monterey Bay) –Larry stated that there is nothing new in his area.
Mark Hogan (North Bay) – Mark reported that contracts are going out this week for the Sonoma County Bluegrass & Folk Festival on 3/11/2017, and the Cloverdale Fiddle Festival is ON for 4/1/2017. The contest and festival is all day Saturday 4/1 with concerts Friday and Saturday nights at the brew pub in town and camping available at the Cloverdale Citrus Fairgrounds all weekend.
President’s Report:
Darby Brandli had no additional items to discuss.
Chairman’s Report:
Tim Edes stated that a friend of his has been promoting bluegrass concerts at the Morgan Hill Community Playhouse including One Button Suit on December 18th. He is hoping that the CBA can become involved.
December Board Meeting:
The board agreed to cancel the December meeting. It was noted that it would be better not to schedule a December meeting in the future since it is generally cancelled and ten meetings per year should be sufficient.
CONFIRM TIME AND PLACE FOR THE NEXT BOARD MEETING
Next meeting is set for 11:00 AM on Saturday January 14 at The Great 48 in Bakersfield, CA.
ADJOURNMENT
Meeting adjourned at 11:55 p.m.